THERE has been some willingness on either side for some time. The appearance of Hafiz Saeed of the Jamaatud Dawa — which believes Islam and democracy do not go together — on the dais alongside leaders of political parties in Islamabad the other day was an action-replay of a meeting in Lahore in June this year. The difference this time was that of the cause. The campaign in favour of the blasphemy laws, even when there does not appear to be any real move on the part of the government to amend these, surely promises much more capital than for the rights of the poor Palestinians. The pro-Palestinian rally in June was organised by the Jamaatud Dawa, which drew a number of leaders from the faith-based political parties that happened to be around to attend a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal meeting. Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan and Hafiz Husain Ahmed of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam were in attendance as, according to reports, was former ISI chief Hamid Gul. It was a gathering of the heavyweights that would surely be noticed.

Apart from some of the leaders present at the Lahore rally, last week's Namoos-i-Risalat conference had a far weightier speakers' list. The latter included Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi of the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (formerly Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan) as also PML-Q's Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and the JUI-F's Maulana Fazlur Rahman. The presence of Hafiz Saeed again led to remarks that some kind of project was afoot to rehabilitate the Jamaatud Dawa chief after his being sidelined in the wake of allegations that he was involved in the November 2008 attack in Mumbai. We could have a new formidable alliance on our hands — on an even bigger scale. Some political observers are already linking the pro-blasphemy law conference in Islamabad with Maulana Fazl's exit from the federal government. What possibilities do we have in front of us? An improvement and expansion of the MMA which can challenge the 'pro-West' parties by cashing in on the popular sentiment? One protest could lead to another and if this gains momentum, other opponents of the government may be forced to join in for maximum effect.