Peshawar incident and the
Mindset
Attack on Kohati bazar Church
and killing of Punjabi speaking Christians of KPK is an attack not only on
Pakistani Christians but it is an attack on PAKISTAN
The issue should not be taken
as an issue of religious minorities only but it should be taken as an issue of
Pakistan. No doubt communalism and
sectarianism are fatal not only for the country but also for the future
generations yet it is high time to learn how to respond on such issues. The one good recent
example is a promo on Geo TV which is a statement by the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
The statement is very clear and the spirit of that statement is also there in
our constitution of 1973 too. But that spirit is not there in our text books(both
private & public). Respect for other faiths is the core issue and through
interfaith harmony we can address it but if we have "prejudices and prides" in
text books then it will be a lost battle. In 2011, I did a study “What are we
teaching our children” (www.jaag.org.pk) and identified lot of prejudices not only against other
religions but also against some Muslim school of thoughts. During this study I found
a book of ethics for class 9/10 students published by Punjab Text Book Board.
Next year I found another book of same subject for class 6. These books are good examples
of interfaith harmony yet there is room for improvement too. Unfortunately,
these books are for non Muslim students only. These books are for non Muslims who had to read Islamiat till 2008. But after 2008, at least in the Punjab they have seperate books for non Muslims but not for all students from class 3 to 10.
We are trying to address the issue of sectarianism in a situation where State by law has endorsed sectarianism. Cannot we develop a single book of Islamiat acceptable to all Muslim school of thoughts? This practice of two different books of Islamiat is there from Bhutto’s times and it was recommended none the other but Council of Islamic Ideology(CII) in mid 1970s. There is an urgent need to check content of text books (Public as well as private) regarding promotion of interfaith harmony and identification of prejudice material. By this constant check, media can play her role as early warning system.As it is very important & sensitive subject regarding public perception so it needs little care, research and more responsibility. Such programs cannot develop in emergency relief mode. In some cases that mode is essential yet one should not apply it on social disastersand for this we have to change the mindset. It is high time to change Kohati Bazar Church accident into opportunity and change this mindset without waiting for the next accident.
- Cannot we add same selected and approved lessons of these books in Urdu (the most infected subject as par study regarding prejudice material) and English?
- We have enough material in Islamic literature regarding interfaith harmony. Cannot we add selected things in Islamiat?
We are trying to address the issue of sectarianism in a situation where State by law has endorsed sectarianism. Cannot we develop a single book of Islamiat acceptable to all Muslim school of thoughts? This practice of two different books of Islamiat is there from Bhutto’s times and it was recommended none the other but Council of Islamic Ideology(CII) in mid 1970s. There is an urgent need to check content of text books (Public as well as private) regarding promotion of interfaith harmony and identification of prejudice material. By this constant check, media can play her role as early warning system.As it is very important & sensitive subject regarding public perception so it needs little care, research and more responsibility. Such programs cannot develop in emergency relief mode. In some cases that mode is essential yet one should not apply it on social disastersand for this we have to change the mindset. It is high time to change Kohati Bazar Church accident into opportunity and change this mindset without waiting for the next accident.
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