FOR over three decades now, the twin plagues of sectarian terror and religious violence have caused immeasurable harm to Pakistan’s social fabric, taking thousands of precious lives and causing evident fissures within society.

Much of the blame for this falls on the state for either promoting ideologies that have nurtured extremism, or for looking the other way as violent actors with unabashedly toxic agendas have caused havoc in society.

Indeed debates within and between religions have been taking place for centuries, but in today’s Pakistan belonging to the ‘wrong’ sect or religious group can have dire consequences, thanks to the space provided to extremists.

Also read: Religious scholars stress interfaith harmony

The state has made a few attempts to reverse the tide of intolerance, with mixed results. Among these efforts have been attempts to foster interfaith dialogue along with bringing Islam’s different schools of thought together on one platform.

On Tuesday, the federal religious affairs minister organised a conference in Karachi which brought together clergy and representatives from different faith groups.

Participants of the event discussed the problems faced by minorities in Pakistan, as well as ideas about how to alleviate these concerns.

Earlier in the week, the minister — in a written reply to a lawmaker’s question in the National Assembly — said his ministry was taking various steps to tackle sectarianism in the country.

These included forming a committee on sectarian harmony, holding conferences and naat competitions, as well as issuing a uniform azan calendar for all sects to follow in Islamabad.

While all the aforementioned steps may be commendable, it is essential to ask how successful similar efforts have been up until now in tackling intolerance and promoting harmony.

For example, are the warm, positive messages espoused at such interfaith meetups and intra-religious events filtering down to the preacher in the neighbourhood mosque?

For it is here where matters are most sensitive, where loudspeakers can easily be misused to foment trouble and which need to be monitored particularly.

Equally important is the state’s attitude and actions towards clamping down on hate literature and speech, which is probably the biggest driver of faith-based violence in Pakistan.

Indeed there have been convictions related to hate speech over the past few months, particularly in Punjab, while numerous suspects have also been reportedly arrested.

Simply put, unless the state and the ulema — in their respective spheres — both work towards punishing and isolating, respectively, rabble-rousers who demonise any sect or religion, there will be no change on the ground.

Organisations such as the Milli Yakjehti Council have stated that they will monitor Friday sermons in order to promote sectarian and religious harmony.

Do the clergy have the wherewithal to isolate and report those preachers who spew hate and promote violence?

As for the government, in order to really promote harmony, it must prosecute and punish hate-mongers across the board.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

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