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Shocking though it is that it took savagery on the scale seen in Peshawar last week to shake Pakistani society out of its stupor regarding the spread of violent extremism, there does now seem to be some introspection under way.
At the level of the state, the government has made a renewed pledge to fight this hydra-headed monster, and while the wisdom of some of the moves announced is being challenged, there is no doubt that such political consensus and will is urgently needed. At the societal level, too, several hard, ugly realities that have gone largely ignored by the majority are being confronted, even if reluctantly.
Also read: Action likely against seminaries involved in militancy
Foremost is the one that is also perhaps the most ironic: that religion and the pulpit have been hijacked by groups and individuals intent on spreading mischief and sowing divisions; society itself has been infected by deep-rooted extremism that is exacerbating already dangerous divisions.
This may not necessarily lead individual citizens to resort to physical violence, but it certainly constitutes the bed from which the seeds of intolerance and bigotry take nourishment; the fact that extremist views are rife in society explains why it has taken Pakistanis so long to recognise the problem, despite suffering years of witnessing innocents being slaughtered.
Like all societal malaises, the path to redemption is fraught with challenges, but some measures are readily apparent. These should apply immediately to the misuse of mosques in general, and in particular to the Friday sermons in which views that are divisionary and that often amount to outright hate-speech or incitement to violence are disseminated.
These must be curtailed. One solution can lie in crowd-sourcing: citizens can be encouraged to report violations, with the state then stepping in to investigate and apply the law.
All mosques and their khateebs should be registered with the government, and the merits of requiring religious figures to apply for a licence to deliver the Friday sermon, which goes out over loudspeakers, can be considered.
It is already the case that the Friday congregations can only take place in some, and not all, places of worship; the oversight net can be tightened by the law requiring that all sermons be recorded and the records kept in order and be readily available.
To stem the tide of extremism in society, extraordinary measures are needed. Perhaps even more than the state, it is the people themselves that need to step up to the challenge.
Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2014
Comments (38) Closed
All the sermons, including friday ones - must be recorded and published and a copy submitted to government. It should be uploaded into government- domain internet website and it should be accessible for all public to listen to what these sermons are all about. If someone raises a red flag, it should be quickly checked by government without delay. Also, government should randomly check and find if someone is doing injustice to society. It should be available to general public and any voluntary group should be able to randomly check and fix the ones that need a rebuke. Also, the attendance and registration of local people attending the gathering should be made mandatory so that those from outside can be identified easily.
A little too late to wake up in the day ... however, it is the only right path ... the culture of hatred and intolerance has to be addressed at the grass root level ... !!
What about Pakistani talk shows. I have never seen as much hatred on TV as Pakistani media.
This is the least that should be done. Better yet, the govt should hand out sermons to be delivered on Friday. One message to the whole country would be a good start.
@krishna Prasad Also give some concrete measure to check Sangh Parivar who are creating hatred in subcontinent.
Sorry, no one has woken.Despite instructions given by CM Punjab loudspeakers from the mosques keep blaring day and night. I rang up local police station and the attendant showed ignorance and no action was taken. Our police is interested only in fleecing the people who have been wronged. Their high ups keep sleeping till mid day and it is beyond the dignity of bureaucrats to get out of their cosy offices.
The remedies recommended for harnessing the spread of ill effects of so called otherwise bad and venomous sermons delivered in the mosques on Fridays are right ones but the implementation thereof seems very difficult in the present day social atmosphere.The media's role can be controlled but can not be curbed especially in view of such sermons coming from other Muslim countries day and night.
You might be asking too much too soon but goals have to kept high if this war has to be won .Kudos to civilians esp who are fighting this war. Media too needs to stop giving space to these killers
Islam allows religious freedom in a Muslim country. But not unchecked.
This instruction should come jointly from the Ulemma and the Muftis of all sects. But the problem is these people themselves spew hate filled views on TC chat shows. Solution use Masjids for prayers only.
@krishna Prasad The Russian tried that during the communist era, with many institutions. didn't work:)
Time to restore the meaning to the religion of PEACE.
Loudspeakers should only be used for the Aazan and not for the Friday or any other day's sermons. The city governments should also regulate the timings of Aazan like Middle East e.g. all Sunni Mosques should start Aazan at a given time while Shia Mosques to start around 10 minutes or so later according to their Fiqha but it should not take almost half an hour to finish Aazans. There should also be a check on the contents of the sermon and visiting mullahs who come for collecting funds. The number of speakers and pitch of their loud volume should also be controlled.
One sermon each Friday should be dictated by a central govt committee for all mosques in Pakistan. It is done in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Turkey.
Excellent editorial. Besides checking the religious leaders, the state should also regulate media and civil laws to avoid hate speech by any other segment of the society.
Why do we need external loud speakers for Friday sermons?
After reading this fine write up, I get a good feeling that as long as there are level headed intellectuals like Dawn editorial board all is not lost and there is always a redeeming future for Pakistan. Keep up your noble work!
Sensible Editorial...the sense should also be acknowledged by those in command, at whatever level they are...can DAWN collect all the views and bounce them off the 'people-that-be' in the higher echelons of the government, and seek their view on this problem that exists in our society? Their mere acknowledgement will be an important step in the right direction. Thank you.
Besides preapproved sermons, timing of Azaan uniformaliy be fixed for all masjids.
@Lord- same principle applies to every other religion as well.
Each Medium of communication and information be monitored, print media , electronic media and especially as you said mosques and madressahs. no more hatred; and hate speech content and symbols be banned from our land. we want a peaceful Pakistan which is for all.
@lord PM Modi has already reprimanded one bof the lady minister and told other MPS to restrain .In fact PM has threatened to resign on this issue
Loudspeakers mounted on the minarets should only be used for call to prayers. For sermons, internal speakers must be used.
Agree on many points. There is no room for hatred in Islam. But .... the article does not say a thing about those causing these mullas to voice the hatred. Those who have created these criminal bodie -La-Qaida, Taliban..... They are the ones who have given reason to these mullas to mouth off.
Until these are regularised and provide positive message to the public to make a difference we will continue to fan flames of hatred.
Excellent editorial. Agree that public needs to be vigilant and report the hate sermons to government agencies. Pakistani public are eager to help. The problem is if you don't get any response from the government, people eventually give up. The primary responsibility lies on the government.
@lord Sangh Parivar do not spread hate from any Holy Place like Temple
I think credit has to be given to Ahmadies as their Friday sermon by their community head is available for the whole world to scrutinise.
In India, there are Friday sermons too. Ever considered how they may not be propagating hate? Does the Indian government watch? If yes, how? Pakistan could learn something here.
@krishna Prasad - It is not possible to upload all sermons from all mosques as there are so many of them around the country. It will require enormous amount of IT infrastructure, the network bandwidth, the storage, etc. I really believe that the civil society will need to play a bigger role here and should stand up and voice their concerns if they see that mosques are using load speakers or delivering sermons that have offensive contents.
@lord Yes that is done already. The conversions that the Sangh wanted to carry out of around 1 lakh Muslims and Christians in to Hinduism on December 25, were stopped.
@kuzzy There is lot of hatred in the Friday sermons in India too. But the governments in the Indian states towards such activities are more sympathetic than your own country's goverments. In fact in many of the muslim dominated localities in India, you can see flags with writings, "Pakistan zindabad". Sultanpet in Bangalore is one such example.
Finally some one spoke up. Also, any and all religious activities should be limited to places of worship. Means no more Religious juloose or Tazias whether Sunni or Shia. do it in your mosques or Imam Barhaghs not on the streets. Now do not call me Wahabi, I am a practicing Shia myself.
Friday sermons should be restricted to religion only. No politics should be allowed in sermon. Generally these clerics deliver their own personal views which in most cases is hate against some group or society. This should not be allowed at all.
Why would anyone want to hear a formulaic sermon? might as well play a recorded message from the Prime Minister and call that a sermon.
Only traditional Arabic Khutba be allowed on Jumma prayers.
@sandeep singh... Sangh parivar doesnt make hate speech from holy place instead they make it in parliament...correct me if I am wrong....Fanatics or on either side but now it is rising in India dont shield them...call spade a spade...
@Toordada ,That will be accepting and practicing Humanity--Not Islaam.