KARACHI: The nation needs to back clerics in their efforts to engage with them, said head of the Jamia Binoria Alamia (SITE) Mufti Mohammad Naeem at the launch of the remake of the national song, Yeh Watan Tumhara Hai, on Saturday.The remake of the national song, which was originally sung by ghazal maestro Mehdi Hasan, by the Binoria Media is, according to them, a “gift to the nation at a crucial time.”
Two versions of the song were screened at the event. In one video, the national song was sung by three naat khwans and students of the Binoria Madrassa with singer-turned-evangelist Junaid Jamshed, who is seen entering the frame while holding the national flag. In the other recording, Junaid Jamshed himself is on vocals.
Founded seven years back, the Binoria Media has been functional for the past two years, said media coordinator Mohammad Nasir. “We were not too keen to join media production. But looking at the circumstances, where all kinds of opinions and perceptions circulate about religious people in the media, we decided to give it a try,” he said.
This is the third production by the Binoria Media. The media house, backed by DANY Technologies in Karachi, produced a song, Paigham-i-Amn, soon after the Army Public School attack in Peshawar in 2014. Last year, too, they produced Pak Watan around Independence Day. “A lot of thought went into producing these songs. We want to tell people that clerics, or anyone with a beard, are not against the country,” said vice principal of Jamia Binoria Alamia Maulana Nauman Naeem.
At the event, speakers put a lot of stress on engaging with people through social media and using technology as a means to weed out differences.
About different perceptions, Mufti Naeem said: “It is widely considered that clerics marginalise people on the basis of sect. We want to counter this perception through our productions and messages on social media. Our Madrassas are not a sanctuary for terrorists. None of the governments have been able to prove it.”
He said that the nation must back both “mister and mullah” in order to maintain peace, as clerics couldn’t remain isolated.
Focusing on isolation, Junaid Jamshed said clerics should make themselves available and easier to engage with. “It is said that a cleric would prefer religion over country or that he can only speak about different sects. I feel this is a wrong perception to have but one which is being exacerbated by clerics themselves due to their fear of technology,” he said.
In one such attempt, a picture of Mufti Mohammad Naeem’s was widely circulated last year in October as he was seen holding a placard saying, “I’m a Pakistani and I don’t hate India,” as part of an online social media campaign hashtagged profile for peace. Though it was seen by many as a gimmick, it seems the Binoria chief has a plan. “We want to launch a TV channel that will present a diverse range of opinions unlike the one-sided version presented by news media,” he said.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2016