Disturbing realities about the founding fathers of Pakistan

Often times, in times of severe difficulty and unbearable pain. A person looks to the heavens to show him his place in life, in society and the aspirations he should have. In search of such divine intervention a person finds solace, dignity, honour and loyalty in one’s religion. It then becomes his sole purpose in life. To defend, promote and utilise for his own ulterior motives. Everyone, from the political elitists to the ‘mullahs’ vie for a slice of power. When the world rejects and throws up dust on their faces, they ultimately look to religion to use as a weapon to galvanise people to their mission, aims and objectives. It is sad to say this, but it is the truth. The british are a prime example for this. When the public had lost all idea of loyalty and patriotism, during the dark ages of british history. The holy men then saw their opportunity to take center stage and galvanise people for their cause. Which was to send troops to the crusade. This gave people a momentum and an identity which they immediately took up, christian britain. The idea gave the holy men – the priests, a foothold of the general public. Making them twist and turn in which ever direction they wished. Similarly, when political elitists do not seem to be making any headway. They turn to religion to use as a last resort. We have seen this being done many times in our era. The British National Party (BNP), The English Defence League (EDL) are some of the ‘mule organisations’ amongst a whole host of others, who use religion as a stepping stone to drive through their own political agendas. In hope that it will win support for their cause and bring home the idea of impending danger.

When british colonial rule in India was being torn to tatters. The british used religion once again as a last resort to bind the ruling élite together. More importantly, to show how the british should continue ruling india as it was a ‘divine’ decree. The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is well documented in India’s struggle against the British. To subdue and dampen the muslim involvement, the british manufactured the devil and apostate ‘gulam mirza qaddiyani’ to act as a vicegerent and prop up ideas the british wanted to voice. One of the was, they should be the ruling dynasty, using made up religious dogma and ‘revelations’ as a back up to authenticate their claim. One of the groups of people who were at the forefront of the Indian independence movements were the muslims. gulam mirza qaddiyani was used as a tool to subdue the growing influence of the muslim jihadists. The produce of ‘gulam mirza’ was to alienate Islam from jihad. He claimed God had instructed him not to use force against the british and that jihad was no longer necessary to achieve the goals of Islam. That, physical jihad was to be abrogated and annulled completely from Islam!

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, chiefly known as the founder of Pakistan, ‘Sir’ Muhammad Iqbal, and Ghulam Ahmad Parwez are the widely accepted and believed to have been the instrumental figures in the creation of pakistan.
In other words, they are the founding fathers of Pakistan. Their names and life are known to most if not all patriotic Pakistanis and the indian sub continent in general. Glorified and idolised by both the political and the religious establishments of Pakistan. Seen as holy men by many, these men are, (in the eyes of Pakistanis) the epitome of ‘perfection’. With all due respect and consideration to the loyal followers, adherents and lovers of these men. I have to say, they hid a dark, infectious and alarmingly shocking idea about their concept of a ‘Muslim’/islamic Pakistan.

Ghulam Ahmad Parwez (1903–1985) was a prominent ‘Quranist’ Islamic scholar, famous in the area around Lahore. He urged the Muslims to ponder deeply over the Message of the Quran. He considered Islam a din (way of life), a form of government, a system of government like democracy, autocracy, or socialism. He proclaimed that according to Islam all authority rests with “the law of God” as given in the Quran. To put it simply he was a Hadith rejector. Someone who does not see the legality, the authenticity and honorary position of hadith in Islam.
His writings describe how Islam was treacherously transformed into a religion by kings who had perverted Islam for their vested interests. “The kings sponsored the creation and fabrication of hadith,” he declared.

Pervez denounced the Hadith which described Ayesha, the prophet’s wife, as a nine-year-old girl. “These are fabricated stories written by the enemies of Islam,” he said.

These are not my ideas or my attack on him. His ideas are circulated and known to his followers as clearly as they know their own children! Pervez himself condemned the Mullahs for “always serving as agents of the rich people” and being “promoters of uncontrolled Capitalism.”

In 1951, Parvez criticized Jamaat-e-Islami through several articles in Tolu-e-Islam. “The mullahs have hijacked Islam,” he said.

Pervez, was the right hand man of Muhammad Ali Jinnah an Oxford graduate, the founder of Pakistan, a secular-minded nationalist. Pervez was one of the leading individuals of the pakistan Movement.

Pervez joined the Central Secretariat of the Government of India in 1927 and worked in the Home Department, Establishment Division. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he worked in the Central Government and was also a counselor to Muhammed Ali Jinnah. Parwez took early retirement as assistant secretary in 1955 to focus more on the religious work

Gulam Ahmad Pervez was well-connected and linked with the élite of Pakistan. He was also in close contact with Muhammad Iqbal. The widely celebrated poet who helped influence Muhammad Ali Jinnah and was the spiritual force behind his motivation. The sinister attempts by the Hadith rejector, Gulam Ahmad Pervez, does not end there. As the unfolding events in the sub continent was taking shape. His works and publications were being readily consumed by the political, middle class, educated, populace of Pakistan. Pervez was working to destroy the image of the Scholars and the learned people of Islam, replacing them with the political leaders as the ‘new’ ullema of Islam, that he was slowly coining. The idea that the scholars were ‘stooges’ of the rich and only stood for their own vested interest! Introducing a reformist idea of understanding islamic knowledge. ‘The only source being the Quran and nothing else’. Muhammad Iqbal also harboured similar ideas and wanted to publish ideas, making them become the bedrock of ‘Islamic Pakistan’.

For a long time Sir Muhammad Iqbal wanted a journal to propagate his ideas and the aims and objective of the Muslim League. Syed Nazeer Niazi, a close friend and a regular visitor during his last two years, started such a journal at his instructions in 1935, naming it Tolu-e-Islam.

In short, to reject hadith is to reject the Quran. As, Ahadith are ultimately the exegesis of the Quran. Our knowledge of Quran can only be unlocked through the help of hadith. These men are credited with the struggles and pains of leading the Pakistani populace to independence. Well, in fact they have high-jacked the whole episode. When the upheaval was at its highest, these men saw their chance to bring their long harboured ideas to a large audience, and took hold of the reigns of upheaval and raced to make themselves known and famous. The unsung heroes are in actual fact the ulema who gave their blood, life and possessions, to see the light of Islam become the foundation of a new islamic state, that being Pakistan.

One wonders why despite the illustrious and long poems of praise , written by the poet Muhammad Iqbal about the prophet (saw). No signs of the fruits of his labour, the sunnah was seen on his person, or his friends; Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Gulam Ahmad Pervez. The answer is simple. They did not beleive in sunnah, or the hadith. So the question of dressing in the beloved’s (saw) lifestyle, the sunnah, is out of the question.

Lastly, religion was used as a ‘smoke screen’ by these men to bring forth their own political ideas and to make it flourish within the newly amassed audience. The idea that, modernist version of Islam was to be the bedrock of Pakistan. Where the women would no longer have to wear the veil or the men have a beard. That Islam was free from tradional constraints and frameworks.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah
http://www.tolueislam.org/Parwez/parwez.htm
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/iqbal/index.html