Let us hear the story from the Students, after all Muslims are tolerant and
Quran advises us to search for the truth and not just rush and fall in the
trap:
--------- ---- Interview with Umm Hasan Principal of Jamia Hafsa,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Why Did Islamic Women Decide to Risk their Lives to Defy General Musharraf in
his Stronghold?
New Trend: Sis. Umm Hasan, I decided to interview you after I saw that the
forces opposed to Islam are busy trying to discredit Jamia Hafsa on the
Internet. It is obvious that your Islamic university is having a tremendous
impact on the situation in Pakistan, located as you are in the capital of
Pakistan. BBC interviewed you ....
Umm Hasan: BBC gave a totally distorted picture of our struggle. It said
that we wanted to use violence and throw acid on the faces of women who do not
wear Islamic covering. That would be totally unislamic and against Sharia
[Islamic Law]. BBC tried to defame us.
New Trend: I have also heard that your university [Jamia] is facing a threat
of military action by General Musharraf which could happen at any time. Is
that true?
Umm : Yes, Musharraf has prepared a strike force known as Triple One. It is
heavily armed. We only have lathis [wooden staves] to defend ourselves, but we
will defend ourselves. We have heard that a special gas has been prepared by
Musharraf's forces which would put people to sleep.
NT: I dont think that will be easy for Musharraf. I have read that Islamic
volunteers from all over the country are coming to your defense and many have
assembled in Lal Masjid which is in the same complex as Jamia Hafsa. But how
did all this start? Why are the young women in your care coming out to fight?
UH: Women of Islam have been terrorized by General Musharraf for much too
long. We wont take it any longer. We are sick and tired of his anti-Islam
policies and actions. To give you some idea, our university was attacked first
by Musharraf in the year 2004 during the night of August 16-17. In the police
rampage, our young women were terrorized and attacked by the SWAT teams of
Musharraf.
NT: That is indeed shameful!
UH: Then in 2005, in the aftermath of the London bombing of 7/7, after 11
days, Tony Blair called on Musharraf to attack the Madrassas. Hardly had Blair
spoken, then on the very next day, July 19, Musharrafs Special Forces raided
Jamia Hafsa. They were shelling us with tear gas and firing plastic bullets at
the girls.
NT: You mean right there in Islamabad? What a dastardly act! The general is a
bloody coward!
UH: In this attack, Musharrafs forces injured 150 of our girls. One of them
had to spend three months in a clinic. When Musharraf learned that a number of
our students were in hospital and were being given oxygen, he ordered that the
oxygen be turned off.
NT: What an accursed coward!
UH: The raids of 2004 and 2005 emboldened Musharraf so much, he decided to
start demolishing mosques in Islamabad. Hamza masjid was actually demolished
along with 8 others. We received notice that Jamia Hafsa, along with another
80 [eighty] mosques and religious schools and establishments, were to be
demolished and that we should leave. This was the immediate cause of the
uprising of our young women and the occupation of a small library as the
symbol of our resistance.
NT: I have read that the occupation of the library and the young womens
open defiance of the regime had good results. The government announced that it
would rebuild Masjid Hamza and stop the demolition process. Then why did your
struggle continue? I have heard that the young women kidnapped a "madam" who
was running a prostitution den.
UH: Let me explain!
NT: Isnt that a violation of law and due process of law? [Benazir Bhutto's]
Peoples Party is making a big noise, calling on Musharraf to crack down on
Jamia Hafsa for this "violation of law."
UH: There is no "rule of law" in this country. No woman can appeal to the
police for help. Any woman who falls into the hands of the police is liable to
be raped or at least assaulted.
NT: What happened in the case of this "madam?" I read somewhere that her name
is "Shamim Naqvi" [a Shi'ite].
UH: She is known as "Auntie Shamim." Our girls had been watching her
activities for over a month. The neighbors are sick and tired of her
procurement of women for men in the government and the crime and noise which
goes along with it. She was very confident of her power. She told anyone who
objected to the presence of thugs in her area and the activities related to
procuring women that she has protection right from the top and that no one
will dare to touch her and survive. She was openly working as a procuress. She
was increasing her business with government support, even sending girls to
other cities.
NT: Then what happened?
UH: Our Islamic girls went to talk to her and begged her to stop her
activities, gave her the teachings of Allah and His messenger, pbuh. The
Islamic girls reminded her of the Hereafter. Instead of relenting, at this
advice she became very angry and took out a knife. She cut one of our Islamic
girls. Then the young women picked her up and brought her over. She was
kicking and screaming and used her mouth to bite two of the girls. She left
tooth marks. She was not hurt and was brought without injury,
NT: All praise belongs to Allah! And then?
UH: She was told that Islamic women mean her no harm and only want to stop
her shameful and sinful activities of procurement of women for government
officials. At first she threatened and said that she has "long hands" and we
will not survive. However, when she realized that the Islamic women were not
going to let go easily, she repented and wrote a full confession of her
misdeeds.
NT: Who were her clients?
UH: She did indeed have long hands. She gave us the list of her "customers."
Among her clients or customers are Shaikh Rasheed and his nephew Rasheed
Shafiq.
NT: You mean the Shaikh Rasheed who is the closest publicist of Musharraf?
He is Railway Minister perhaps, isn't he? The one who keeps giving press
statements about how great Musharraf is ? Are you sure?
UH: The very same. Top government women are also involved in this corruption.
NT: Such as?
UH: Nilofar Bakhtiar and Zubaidah Jalal.
NT: You might get into a lot of trouble. You are mentioning top people
including Shaikh Rasheed by name. He is a powerful man, very close to
Musharraf. Aren't you afraid?
UH: We have been taking names right from the time "Auntie Shamim" confessed.
We want the people of Pakistan to know how corrupt and degraded this
government is. Thus when Musharraf tries to get these people "elected,"
Pakistanis will know who is being "voted" into power. Musharraf is going for
new "elections."
NT: You are challenging the power structure. Your girls have long sticks
[lathis]; the government has machine guns and tanks. Why do you feel so
strong? Who is on your side?
UH: Allah and His messenger, sal Allaho alaihi wassalam, and the believers.
NT: How many young Islamic women are holding on to the library?
UH: 150
NT: What's the total enrollment of Jamia Hafsa?
UH: We have a total of 6,000 female students. Of these, 3,000 are at the
middle school and matric level. The rest are at the university level. In
addition to regular courses, we teach Hifz Qur'an and at the senior level we
teach Fiqh [Islamic Jurisprudence\ and Study of Hadith.
NT: How many of the students are on campus at this time?
UH: About 1,500.
NT: How many teachers?
UH: 175.
NT: Since when have you been the Principal?
UH: Since we began in 1991.
NT: Thank you for the interview. I'll come back to you with more questions.
May Allah keep you safe and strong in Islam.
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---
Veiled female Pakistani Islamic students carry bamboo sticks outside Jamia
Hafsa religious seminary in Islamabad. AFP/Aamir Qureshi)
------------ --------- --
"S A Hannan"@yahoo.com
wrote:
Dear members,
Assalamu Alaikum.Please see the report below on the activities of an Alim
and some Madrasah students to enforce Shariah .The report indicates various
aspects of the issue bur one thing is clear that islam does not allow
citizens to take law into their hands.
Shah Abdul Hannan
Pakistanis Lambast Vice
Quads
By Aamir
Latif, IOL Correspondent
"This (seminaries' act) is
polarization, and against the Islamic teachings," said
Ahmed. (IOL Photo)
ISLAMABAD Pakistani scholars, politicians and lawyers
were united Thursday, April 5, in their opposition to a
controversial campaign by two religious seminaries to take
Shari`ah implementation into their hands, warning this
could be used to justify a government crackdown on
madrasahs. "Islam does not allow any
individual to take the law in his hand," MP Maulana Gul
Naseeb Khan, a senior leader of the six-party religious
alliance, the Muttehida Majlis-a-Amal (MMA), told
IslamOnline.net.
"If it is allowed, then every
individual will start enforcing Shari`ah in accordance with
his understanding, which will result in a total chaos."
The Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa
madrasahs announced on Monday, April 2, they would act to
enforce Shari`ah across the Asian Muslim country.
They claimed the move was motivated by
the government's failure to fight prostitution and other
crimes.
"We will start our Islamic revolution
in Islamabad by launching a crackdown on CDs, DVDs and
other secular activities," said Maulana Abdul Aziz, who is
in charge of the two madrasahs.
"The exercise will be extended to the
NWFP and other areas at later stages. We have full support
of madrasahs in various cities," he claimed.
Abdul Aziz claimed that thousands of
students were ready to sacrifice their lives to enforce
Shari`ah.
"Islam does not allow any individual to
take the law in his hand even if the government does not
fulfill its responsibilities," said Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman,
Chairman of the Moon Sighting Committee.
"I agree that the government has failed
to fulfill its responsibilities.., however there is still
no place for violence and force for implementation of
Shari`ah."
On March 30, three women and a man were
held by female students from the two madrasahs for
allegedly running a brothel in a middle-income bracket area
of Islamabad.
The detainees were later released after
"confessing" to their crime and promising to "abjure".
Backfire
Jamia Hafsa students want to take Shari`ah
implementation in their own hands. (IOL Photo)
Muslim scholars warned that the
controversial campaign would backfire and give ammunition
for the government to crack down on madrasahs.
"Shari`ah can never be enforced through
such kind of campaigns," said MP Khan.
"This can not only make the mockery of
Ulema and madrasahs in the world, but will also provide an
opportunity to the government to crack down on religious
forces across the country," he maintained.
"The way adopted by the heads and
students of these seminaries has paved the way for action
against madrasahs in the country," agreed Mufti Muhammad
Naeem, head of International Binori University.
"In my opinion, this is a calculated
conspiracy to malign the madrasahs.
"By committing such kind of blunders,
we are giving message to common Muslims of Pakistan and
rest of the world not to send their children to madrasahs,"
he said.
There are around 12,000 madrasahs in
Pakistan, often offering free religious education and board
for more than one million Pakistani children, especially in
areas neglected by state education services.
Pakistan has recently placed madrasahs
under close scrutiny amid accusations of breeding extremism.
Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttehida
Qaumi Movement (MQM), said using force t implement Shari`ah
would tarnish the image of Islam.
"Under Islamic jurisprudence no citizen
has the right to take the law in his own hand, and those
taking the law in their own hands and subjecting citizens
to atrocities in the name of Islam are in fact defaming
Islam throughout the world."
Divert Attention
Qazi Hussein Ahmed, MMA President,
accused the government of instigating the move to divert
attention away from the simmering judicial crisis.
"The government is involved in these
incidents so that the public attention can be diverted," he
told IOL.
"This (seminaries' act) is
polarization, and against the Islamic teachings.
"Such kind of incidents happen in a
lawless society. No one disagrees with the fact that there
is no law in the country."
Pakistan has been plunged into a
constitutional crisis since President Prevez Musharraf
suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry on charges of
misconduct and misuse of authority.
"When Musharraf is not abiding by the
law and the constitution, how can we expect this from
common citizens," said the MM leader.
Munir A Malik, President of the Supreme
Court Bar Association (SCBA), agreed.
"The government itself is involved in
these incidents," he told IOL, adding that he would not
approve any acts whereby individuals take law by their
hands.
"When there is a law of jungle in the
country, then these things do happen."
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