Seminaries plan ‘Islamic revolution’

Published
0

ISLAMABAD, April 2: Two religious seminaries, Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, are adamant to enforce “Shariat” in Islamabad and across the country and said they will announce their movement in the Lal Masjid on Friday.

They warned the government of serious consequences if it tried to create hurdles in implementing the “Islamic law”.

“We will start our Islamic revolution in Islamabad on Friday by launching a crackdown on CDs, DVDs and other secular activities in the G-6 sector. The exercise will be extended to the NWFP and other areas at later stages. We have full support of madressahs in various cities,” Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa in-charge Maulana Abdul Aziz told Dawn on Monday.

“Ten thousand students of the two seminaries are ready to sacrifice their lives for Shariat and we are determined to enforce the Islamic law in Islamabad in order to make it example for people,” said Maulana Aziz, elder brother of Ghazi Abdul Rashid.

He claimed that thousands of people and government officials in Islamabad had lauded the recent raid on a brothel which, he said, was the first successful step of the movement.“I have received a letter from a policewoman alleging that she was exploited by a senior police officer,” he said. “The woman has already informed President Gen Pervez Musharraf and the Islamabad Inspector General of Police about sexual harassment of policewomen by senior officials,” he added.

Answering a question, Maulana Aziz said they would not stop enforcing Shariat even if the government withdrew its decision to demolish mosques in the federal capital. “There were only six Taliban who enforced the Islamic law in Afghanistan and we are 10,000. Then, how can’t we enforce Shariah at least in Islamabad.”

Asked what the funding source of the two seminaries and the Lal Masjid was, Maulana Aziz said: “Whenever we are short of essential items we close our eyes and demand the goods from Allah. Within a few minutes, we find the desired things in our kitchens.”

He said he was supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and South and North Waziristan and conceded that students of his seminary had joined the Taliban but on their own.

“No doubt, our students are joining jihadis because we are teaching them jihad but we have not pressurised them to fight, rather they are doing it by their own,” he said.

Meanwhile, a man, whose daughter is a student of Jamia Hafsa, told Dawn that he did not want her daughter to take part in enforcing Shariat by force.

“I have brought my child from Charsadda here to learn about Islam and not to fight.”

Opinion

Editorial

Saudi deployment
Updated 07 Oct, 2026

Saudi deployment

The country values its deep ties with Saudi Arabia and should do all it can to protect the kingdom from external aggression.
Housing policy
07 Oct, 2026

Housing policy

THE government has finally launched the national housing policy in collaboration with UN Habitat, marking the first...
Manchhar in peril
07 Oct, 2026

Manchhar in peril

MANCHHAR lake is filling up, but for families who live around it, that has brought little relief. Pakistan’s...
Farming reform
Updated 06 Oct, 2026

Farming reform

Agriculture needs investment, but not another round of costly interventions.
Improved performance
06 Oct, 2026

Improved performance

THE recently concluded Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, were a revival of sorts for Pakistan, and a huge upgrade...
Mass surveillance
Updated 06 Oct, 2026

Mass surveillance

THE new National Cybercrime Investigation Agency chief, Ali Nasir Rizvi, has adopted a “zero-tolerance policy...