APROPOS the article ‘Is IS actually bad, unIslamic?’ (Oct 14). A formerJamaat Islami leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, says: “It is as difficult for a Muslim to live in a non-Muslim society as it is for a fish to live without water.” On the contrary, we find that millions of practising Muslims are happily settled in Western countries and are doing well. All of them including Pakistanis are reluctant to return to their countries. As a matter of fact, the fish is quite happy living without water in a modern democratic state.

According to Maulana Maududi , after the first four righteous caliphs, Muslim rulers in the Middle-East and the Ottoman Empire were all hereditary kings. If all these rulers found the establishment of a genuine caliphate impracticable, how would it work for us? Besides, Dr Iqbal was quite happy with the establishment of a modern democratic state in Turkey by the hero of Gallipoli -- Mustafa Kemal, after the First World War.

Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave a wide berth to the Khilafat Movement.

Finally, when the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established by the Taliban, all the educated people opted to quit the country. In this there is a lesson for all.

Brig ( r ) Usman Shah

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2017