Islam is a basic religion; some would even call it simplistic. It is a religion of complete surrender and it does not permit asking questions about the dictates of the holy books.

In the past, the Moslems formed a body of people, to whom, spreading the message of Islam by conquest was the accepted way of life. As long as there were fresh lands to conquer, non-Moslem rulers to rebel against, kafirs to plunder, everything went on as usual. Battles were fought, non-Moslem populations subdued and the codes of Islam clamped down.

However, once the conquest was arrested for whatever reason, the Islamic countries found themselves in trouble. Quarrels started between opposing factions. Each side claimed the support of Allah. After the decline of the Arabs, the Turks took over and the caliphate went to the Turks. Some owed allegiance to the Turkish caliph but some did not. Thus, when Aurangzib ascended the throne in India, a powerful country at the time, he called himself the new caliph without paying any attention to the then existing caliphate in Turkey.

The current fight between the Shiites and the Sunnis in the Middle East is a case in point. There are no more Hindus or Sikhs or Christians worth mentioning in Pakistan any more. You cannot attack these non-Moslems for the simple reason that they are not there. It is similar to not being able to have a headache, if the head is missing. But the previously existing unity among the Moslems of different factions seems to have disappeared. Now is the time to fight among themselves. The new object of persecution are the Ahmediyyas, who are being dubbed as non-Moslems. The Shia-Sunni fight in Karachi in recent weeks has taken an ominous turn to the worse.

The real difficulty is caused by the inherent change that our world is subject to. Islam is a rigid religion and no change or improvement is permitted in its practice. The other countries where Islam is not followed, are progressing forward, leaving the Moslems behind. In non-Moslem countries, pursuits in science, arts, education, medicine, physical well-being and intellectual development are being encouraged among men and women alike. But in a Moslem country, it is forbidden for a Moslem woman to be a judge or a lawyer or a ruler and administrator. The world outside seems to get on well with a leader like Britian's Mrs. Thatcher. The United States seems to be quite comfortable with women in the nation's topmost judicial or administrative positions. Several metropolises in America have women mayors; the number of women doctors, nurses, educationists, writers, thinkers and other important professions runs into millions. The progress of women in all non-lslamic countries has been extraordinary in recent years. Scientists like Madame Curie, women astronauts and climbers of the Everest, gymnasts, poets and even executives in big corporations are accepted by non-Moslem societies as a matter of course today. But the Koran is dead against Moslem women undertaking similar responsibilities in Islamic countries.

Although Ghazzali harped on the so-called weaknesses of women, he failed to see the strength that is inherent in the female of the human species. Women who are the mothers of the human race have a tendency to be a great deal more compassionate, tolerant and understanding than average men. The special values of women seem to have been ignored by the proponents of Islam. If the women in Islamic countries are still imprisoned in the 'harem' or its modern equivalent 'the four walls' then the future progress of the Moslem countries is surely going to be negated.

Improvement of the race can only come from freedom and more educated mothers. The mother is the best teacher a child can have. An uneducated or even an educated mother, who lives in an atmosphere of uncertainty of divorce, feels very insecure. This insecurity during his formative years, seeps into the child. He grows up to be a very sad child and eventually takes out his hostilities on others at the slightest pretext, when he grows up and faces the world outside. The extraordinary intolerance, cruelty and selfishness that one comes across in Moslems, may stem from this unhappy childhood environment which created abnormal personality and behavioral traits passed on by the unhappy mother.

Time has come for the Moslems, in all walks of life, to rectify the situation, regardless of what the mullah says and that includes guys like Khomeini of Iran and Bukhari of India. The alternative is surely going to be as dismal as before. This is an item of social reform that cannot be postponed ad infinitum. The price may be too high, if Moslem women are still left behind in order to propagate the Moslem way of life.

At the same time, the Moslems today must treat the non-Moslems as equals in their own countries. They should have the same rights of propagating their religious systems, cultural values in Islamic countries as the Moslem minorities demand in non-Moslem countries and enjoy. Chasing them away has weakened many Islamic countries. Today the Islamic countries in the Middle East are practically devoid of all other religious minorities due to the intolerance preached by Islam and its followers. The rule of the mullah is supreme and even if a Moslem leader appears who is more liberal than a fanatical fundamentalist, the mullah seems to succeed in getting him out or assassinated. The people do not seem to have any recourse in the matter. The run of the mill Moslem is really very passive in such matters. The Islamic countries are thus denied the special contributions that people of different backgrounds can make. The United States is a good example. Here a Moslem can practice his religion as long as he does not impose it on others by force. But a Christian cannot go to Church in a Moslem country like Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. They cannot decorate their homes on the happy occasion of Christmas. All decorations have to be carefully hidden from public view. Christians have to pray to God in total secrecy and isolation, devoid of community access to sharing their beliefs as brethren. There should be a limit to intolerance! How would the Moslem minorities feel if all nonMoslem countries imposed similar rules against their religion? There are important aspects of judging a nation of people, its religion, and ultimately its sense of morality and relevance to today's world. A great responsibility lies with the Moslems themselves, and if nothing is done soon, then Islam will continue to be synonymous with terrorism, death and barbarity.

The news report on Pakistan today taken from Indiats renowned Illustrated Weekly of India dated February 27, 1983 is illustrative of Islam's treatment of its own followers especially the women:
 

Inside Pakistan Today--1

Women Are Not For Whipping

Strange indeed, are the doings of Pakistan's mullahs, moulvis, and military rulers. The country's new laws have reduced women to helpless targets.

by Lopamudra

For the first time in Pakistan a few weeks ago a woman was publicly whipped at Swat, Peshawar. Her husband had charged her with infidelity. The woman was arrested and a case against her filed under the Islamic Hudood Ordinance by the sessions Judge at Swat. She was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000. Her appeal to the Federal Shariat Court was set aside. That was not all. She was publicly given 20 lashes. Pakistani women organised a Women's Action Forum against this "cruel game" and voiced their protest to General Zia but to no effect.

Last year in September an 18-year-old girl, Fahmida, was administered 100 whips and her lover, Allah Bux, a bus driver, was sentenced to be stoned to death publicly. This sentence is, however, yet to be carried out.

Fahmida, a Std X student of the Prince Karim Aga Khan School, had produced papers of her marriage to the driver, which were rejected on the ground that at the time of marriage she was pregnant.

Eight prominent women's organizations in Karachi formed a Women's Action Forum, collected signatures against the Shariat order and sent them to general Zia. Fahmida's sentence was suspended till the disposal of her appeal in the Shariat Court, but it is feared that, after Swat, it may fare no better.

Not content with corporal punishment, the mullahs continue to heap atrocities on hapless women. In October, a new-born child was stoned to death near a mosque in Karachi. A, mullah on seeing a crying child on the stairs of the mosque, gave the 'fatwa' (without making any inquiry) that the child divas illegitimate, and should be stoned to death. The first Stone was thrown by the mullah himself. Thereafter a mad crowd showered the child with stones. When a few passers by tried to save it, they too were injured. The daily 'Dawn' further stated that witnesses were threatened with dire consequences if the news was leaked to the press. Fortunately, however, the press 'aid' get the information.

Strange are the doings of such mullahs, moulvis and military rulers. Dr. Asrar Ahmed, one of the leading religious scholars, has petitioned the 'Majlis-e-Shoora' (Federal Council) that since women are responsible for the growing rise in sex crimes they should not be appointed to Government posts or selected for the 'Majlis-e-Shoora' and other institutions, but confined to their homes.

It is also proposed to reduce the marriageable age for girls in Pakistan under the Islamic law from 18 to 15. Besides, a demand has been tabled in the Federal Council to rescind the Family Law Ordinance which says that a man cannot marry a second time without the first wife's permission.

The Woman's Value

General Zia has further issued a law which fixes a woman's value as half that of aman's. According to this law, if a man is murdered, the victim's next of kin can demand either the death of the murderer or accept in lieu of it 4.36 kg of gold as compensation. If the victim is a woman, only half this quantity of gold is to be paid.

There is also a strong movement all over Pakistan for keeping women in 'purdah'. Yet another indignity is an order instructing female TV announcers to keep their heads covered. In fact, a popular TV announcer was sacked for failing to comply with it. The mullahs propound a ridiculous justification. If women remain bare-headed, they emit rays that harm men.

An inevitable consequence of these harsh rules (of confining women within the four walls of their homes) is the phenomenon of kidnapping. Even worse is the actual sale of girls by their parents, another common occurrence.

Not only is crime against women in Pakistan on the rise, with an ever-increasing number of rape incidents and wife-burning, but it is only the women who are the helpless targets of new laws.

Only recently a lawyer, Ansari Barri, had filed a petition in Pakistan's Federal Shariat Court that women's appointment to the posts of judges, etc. should be declared illegal. Fortunately, the full bench of the Federal Shariat Court gave a decision that it is not against Islam to appoint women as kazis, judges and magistrates.

Though the women have won this battle, there is no end to the prejudices against them. Two separate medical colleges have been opened for women. But according to a prominent teacher, Anita Gulam All, the girls grduating from these colleges will get fewer opportunities than men to further their career.

At present only 11 per cent of the total population of women in Pakistan is literate. Of the 6S lakh school-going children, only 20 lakh are girls.

Women doctors, lawyers, professors, judges etc. are being continually discouraged from providing serious competition to their male counterparts. In the same strain, women athletes have been forbidden to participate in international sports competitions, the Asiad being the most recent example.