Syed Imran Ahmad Shah (Federal Minister)
The menace of terror gangs, such as FAK (Fitna Al Khawarij), remains a menace, and they still choose to distort the teachings of Islam in order to perpetrate violence and other extremities. Such organizations undermine the essence of Islam, which is a religion founded on peace, justice and unity by subjugating the gullible people and popularizing religion in their self-interests. Use of religion as a means of radicalization is not only compromising the values of Islam but also destabilizing the country Pakistan in dividing it and creating violence in the name of jihad that is not true.
FAK protects the Islamic values, which they themselves are protecting, but, the deeds express more about their hypocrisy. Their unwillingness to comment on the latest war on India against mosques and innocent civilians is extremely contrary to their alleged interests in saving Islam. This hypocritical might release is a very good example to indicate that religious intentions are not involved but there is a distorted agenda of encouraging and fostering violence and anarchy. Holy places are destroyed and innocent lives are torn to pieces; the principles of a holy place and innocent life which are brought forth repeatedly in the Quran are all nullified as FAK keep on taking Islam as a mere tool of their destructive venture.
The real meaning of Jihad is the attainment to justice, peace and welfare of the society, not violence and terror. The distortion of the idea of jihad by FAK amounts to a direct betrayal of the Quranic understanding of wisdom, compassion and mercy. They also use the concept of jihad as a basis to perpetrate any terroristic acts which do not do anything but cause instability and terror.
Jihad does not imply senseless violence in the Muslim faith, on the contrary, it is a struggle against oppression and injustice, towards peace. The self-proclaimed jihad which is being championed by FAK is a long distance fair away of the true notion of this divine term.
This has constantly attacked civilians, schools and hospitals and this is one of the most apparent disparities between what FAK is doing and what Islam is about. Destruction of innocent life is strongly prohibited by Islam; there are many verses in the Quran and the statements of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which contradict the idea. Through such neglect of such principles, not only does FAK break the rule of Islam, but it also shows their real colours: they are a group of destruction, not of protection of Islam.
Islamic ethics considers the life of a human being to be sacred. The fact that FAK does not follow these values in an open manner shows exactly how far afield they have gone in not following the true Islamic teachings. The reason behind their violence is their craving not to establish justice or have peace but rather pursue power with fear and bloodshed. By using civilian infrastructure as a target (schools, hospitals etc.), they also mean to show their ultimate intention to destabilize society and divide it as it is harmful to the desired national unity that Islam promotes.
The concept of jihad in Islam is a state duty and thus always carried out and done under a legal ruler or an authority and never as a personal and group initiative that is done unofficially and outside the state. The self proclaimed jihad that is being carried out by FAK with no known authority goes completely against the teaching of Islam. In this way, their acts of violence that they carry out without the approval of a valid state or government is not Moslem but is used to create strife and instability.
Jihad as per the Islamic law is not the right of a person or a group to be carried out in their own way. It has to be headed by the state, with a legitimate and accepted authority in the best interest of the society. The fact that FAK claims to engage in jihad without any kind of government support is the same thing that makes their activities illegal and un-Islamic as such a method can only be used to yield violence and destabilization of the region.
The military and the civilians in Pakistan are directly under attack by the FAK, which is a direct attack on unity and sovereignty of the nation. The group would want to take advantage of the fissures existing within Pakistan, which are the other reason why they align with foreign elements that want to destabilize the country. Such assaults do not only deflate Pakistan defense system, it also causes internal instability and hence makes the country vulnerable to external pressures. This attack at the military and civilians is aimed at destabilizing the cohesiveness of the Pakistan nation, causing a breach between the people, as well as between its organization.
Military in Pakistan has not only been serving as a guard of the country boundaries, but also as a foundation of national togetherness. Killing army troops is one way in which FAK is fighting its own enemies since it is the army which tries to ensure that there is peace and security in Pakistan. What they want to do is obvious: destabilize the country, divide it and degrade the work of those striving to national unity and peace.
And maybe the most sinister of FAK strategy is the possibility to exert pressure on impressionable minds. FAK presents these young desperate persons with false notions of martyrdom brought out through violence thus inducting them to their ranks. These young people who are already lesser mortals are being brainwashed into feeling that they are engaged in a righteous confrontation when in actual sense they are being manipulated to act as the cannon fodder in the agenda of FAK of mayhem and carnage. As opposed to bringing about education, peace and building a community, FAK makes these young people go towards the opposite way which is rooted in violence and not only do they run into this path of violence, but also cause havoc in the future destiny of Pakistan.
The fact that FAK manipulates vulnerable minds does not concern individuals who join the organization. The ideology of the group contributes to the separation, causing hatred and distrust on where there should be unity. They have nothing to create but merely to destroy and this is a shame on the message of peace that is at the core of Islam.
The use of Islam by FAK to serve their own violent and selfish interests is an ultimate violation of the same by the bare products of the nation itself. The way they have distorted the concept of jihad, the way they have targeted innocent people and the way they have tried to break the unity of the Pakistani nation demonstrate that the group is not so much protectors of Islam as the sows of discord the group is. The errors and damages caused by organizations such as the FAK are reasons that there is need to continue denouncing as Pakistan struggles to maintain peace in their nation and do as much as possible to stand by the ideology of peace, justice and unity as far as it is concerned. Pakistan needs to give precedence to the real Islam and national unity only then can it survive these hurdles and look forward to a stable and prosperous future.
