Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has signed a law introducing Islamic ‘shariah’ law in the picturesque Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan in an attempt to end Taliban violence, but critics warn that it could encourage Taliban influence to spread further in the fragile country.
Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament on Monday unanimously approved a resolution paving the way to install Islamic law in courts in the Malakand region, of which Swat is the headquarters.
Mr Zardari immediately followed the parliamentary resolution by formally approving the law, agreed on between the government and Islamic militants in February to end months of intense fighting between the Pakistani military and Taliban militants.
However, critics denounced the law on the grounds that it would embolden the Taliban to demand similar ‘shariah’ Islamic law elsewhere outside Malakand.
“This step by the government will only embolden the Taliban movement in the sense that if they demand for something, the government concedes, and then they come back with more demands” said Asma Jehangir, a Pakistani human rights lawyer.
The agreement has attracted fresh controversy after a group of Pakistani human rights activists earlier this month released footage showing the Taliban publicly whipping a 17 -year old woman in Swat after she was accused of adultery. The incident sparked fresh debate over the Taliban’s particularly harsh brand of justice.
“If you are the Taliban and you believe in such public displays of harsh measures, you are then capable of doing anything, especially once you have legal cover” warned a western diplomat in Islamabad. “The danger is that these laws give cover to practices that have questionable legitimacy.”
However, a Pakistani government official said the deal was vital to bring peace to Swat as a prerequisite for the government re-establishing its control over the area. “This was a bitter pill that had to be swallowed in the long term interest of Swat and its surrounding region” said the official.
who would have thought!? mashallah, i hope pakistan has shariah Law all over!
At the moment I have not direct daily contact with people in Pakistan and no longer live in a Pakistani community as I did in Austin. All I can do is repeat what I last heard in Austin on my last visit in December.
The people from Pakistan I know in Austin are in Austin primarily because they feel the Taliban concept of Shariah is rapidly bringing an end to Pakistan as a country. My friends and Pakistan in-laws predict a very dismal future for Pakistan and see it as being in it's final days and will soon be split between Iran and India. thes will in effect end any attempt at true sharia law and the result will be a divided country with no unity. Rather then bringing about shariah the Taliban can very well be the instrument that will hinder the implementation of a true Shariah government in Pakistan.
Just my opinion from what I heard back in December. we do have some members here currently living in Pakistan, perhaps their input could help us all see what is or is not happening in Pakistan and from their input maybe we can learn if it is heading Pakistan to true Shariah or leading the country further from it.
At the moment I have not direct daily contact with people in Pakistan and no longer live in a Pakistani community as I did in Austin. All I can do is repeat what I last heard in Austin on my last visit in December.
The people from Pakistan I know in Austin are in Austin primarily because they feel the Taliban concept of Shariah is rapidly bringing an end to Pakistan as a country. My friends and Pakistan in-laws predict a very dismal future for Pakistan and see it as being in it's final days and will soon be split between Iran and India. thes will in effect end any attempt at true sharia law and the result will be a divided country with no unity. Rather then bringing about shariah the Taliban can very well be the instrument that will hinder the implementation of a true Shariah government in Pakistan.
Just my opinion from what I heard back in December. we do have some members here currently living in Pakistan, perhaps their input could help us all see what is or is not happening in Pakistan and from their input maybe we can learn if it is heading Pakistan to true Shariah or leading the country further from it.
it seems strange that if you disapprove of someones interpretation of shariah you move to a land where there is no shariah at all, the very country aiming to stop shariah by any means possible or necessary, the country that seems to have taken the meaning behind the slogan 'better dead than red' and now applied it to the muslims rather than the communists they used to apply it to.
could you tell me yourself if you know, or if not could you ask them what aspects of the taliban rule they dislike?
i find most people who say this are secularists, liberals or modernists, do not understand shariah or quite simply do not want it as it is meant to be implemented, only wanting the bits applying to marriage, inheritance, divorce etc.
there are some minor aspects i disagree with with the taliban, but fundementally it is the taliban and other islamist movements working to establish shariah that makes me want to move to pakistan.
it seems strange that if you disapprove of someones interpretation of shariah you move to a land where there is no shariah at all, the very country aiming to stop shariah by any means possible or necessary, the country that seems to have taken the meaning behind the slogan 'better dead than red' and now applied it to the muslims rather than the communists they used to apply it to.
could you tell me yourself if you know, or if not could you ask them what aspects of the taliban rule they dislike?
i find most people who say this are secularists, liberals or modernists, do not understand shariah or quite simply do not want it as it is meant to be implemented, only wanting the bits applying to marriage, inheritance, divorce etc.
there are some minor aspects i disagree with with the taliban, but fundementally it is the taliban and other islamist movements working to establish shariah that makes me want to move to pakistan.
My personal feelings on this are that if Shariah Law is applied and Mr Zardari has made a statement of approval it should be throughout Pakistan and not just in certain places.................
If any of you watch the channels such as Geo, and Prime TV all this nonsense would be stopped.The newscasters should not be allowed to sit side by side whilst broadcasting the news after all they are ghair mehram for each other................ The women on TV and their clothes........alot of things should be questioned it is not as easy as it seems..........
so they are trying to implement shariah, so i support them and love them for it, indeed swat and pakistan in general have gone up in my estimation by a huge amount because of this and looks a more positive place to make hijrah towards.
Hijrah - you talk the talk but you don't walk the walk
We do have some members here currently living in Pakistan, perhaps their input could help us all see what is or is not happening in Pakistan and from their input maybe we can learn if it is heading Pakistan to true Shariah or leading the country further from it.
I'd very much like to hear from them, maybe one of them might like to do a house swap with Dawud.
there are some minor aspects i disagree with with the taliban, but fundementally it is the taliban and other islamist movements working to establish shariah that makes me want to move to pakistan.
it would be better if the taliban had better media relations, but that is not really the issue here.
the first issue is should the muslims impliment shariah? of-course they should, it is a fundemental part of our deen, the denial of which is kufr and takes you outside the fold of islam (not a particular issue for you i am sure but most people are muslim)
I guess it would depend on the Muslim. If you look at several countries from Turkey to Saudi Arabia you have varied interpretations of the law. Which interpretation and implementation is correct? There are even Muslims that don't even support Shariah law because they feel the law needs to reformed for modern day is currently to barbaric.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
the 2nd issue is whether this is the correct form of shariah, i agree there are problems with it but it is better than nothing at all. the people here have had no justice and no working legal system, now they have one.
The reason there has been no law was because of the Taliban. When a group of people come into a country ruled by another set of laws and tries to implement their own policies you are going to have violence. We all know that this area has been a battleground these last few years and because of that there has been no order and only chaos.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
so they are trying to implement shariah, so i support them and love them for it, indeed swat and pakistan in general have gone up in my estimation by a huge amount because of this and looks a more positive place to make hijrah towards.
Pakistan is not allowing Shariah law nation wide. They are only allowing it in Swat. The only reason they are allowing it is because the Taliban has been terrorizing the area for the last few years. Through violence they forced Pakistan to do things their way and now that they have Shariah law they implemented their violent strict form of it into the region. As I read your post it seems that common sense has been turned off. I don't mean that in a insulting way but people preach Islam is peaceful, Islam is against violence and then you have the Taliban. They do not advocate peace. The advocate violence, oppression, and submission.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
i love my taliban brothers and hope they are successful whether in afghanistan, pakistan or elsewhere and keep making dua for their success and also their continued purification so the occassional mistakes dont happen, but those mistakes are not any reason a muslim should not support them and support secularism instead which is what some on here have mistakenly done.
it seems strange that if you disapprove of someones interpretation of shariah you move to a land where there is no shariah at all, the very country aiming to stop shariah by any means possible or necessary, the country that seems to have taken the meaning behind the slogan 'better dead than red' and now applied it to the muslims rather than the communists they used to apply it to.
There is a difference between disliking ones mindset of Shariah law and being forced into following that persons mindset. Your 'better dead than red' comment is flawed. People do not fear Muslims. They fear extremists, radicals, and terrorists. Yes, I do not foresee Shariah law to ever be implemented within the United States. There are only roughly 6 to 8 million Muslims in this country in which 72% of the population is Christian. I would be willing as an American to allow portions of Shariah law to implemented within large Muslim communities as long as no State, Federal, or Constitutional laws were broken.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
i find most people who say this are secularists, liberals or modernists, do not understand shariah or quite simply do not want it as it is meant to be implemented, only wanting the bits applying to marriage, inheritance, divorce etc.
Maybe it's because we do understand it is to why we are secularists, liberals and/or moderates. There are some portions of Shariah law imho that are outdated and unrealistic and should not be implemented in today's society.
it seems strange that if you disapprove of someones interpretation of shariah you move to a land where there is no shariah at all, the very country aiming to stop shariah by any means possible or necessary, the country that seems to have taken the meaning behind the slogan 'better dead than red' and now applied it to the muslims rather than the communists they used to apply it to.
could you tell me yourself if you know, or if not could you ask them what aspects of the taliban rule they dislike?
i find most people who say this are secularists, liberals or modernists, do not understand shariah or quite simply do not want it as it is meant to be implemented, only wanting the bits applying to marriage, inheritance, divorce etc.
there are some minor aspects i disagree with with the taliban, but fundementally it is the taliban and other islamist movements working to establish shariah that makes me want to move to pakistan.
peace Brother,
As I stated in my post I do not have direct contact with Pakistan. However a large percentage of the immigrants to the Austin area are from Pakistan and many are recent. My last face to face contact with them was back in Dec.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
it seems strange that if you disapprove of someones interpretation of shariah you move to a land where there is no shariah at all, the very country aiming to stop shariah by any means possible or necessary, the country that seems to have taken the meaning behind the slogan 'better dead than red' and now applied it to the muslims rather than the communists they used to apply it to.
Those that I have spoken with speak in favor of shariah law. But, they do not see the taliban as trying to bring about shariah, rather as attempting to use the name of shariah to bring an end to Pakistan.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
could you tell me yourself if you know, or if not could you ask them what aspects of the taliban rule they dislike?
From what I gathered in my conversations the people (recent immigrants from Pakistan) I spoke to. Are anti-taliban, not anti Shariah. They see the Taliban as having come from Iraq and were originally supporters of the US in the battles against the Russians. After the Taliban were abandoned by the US they were replaced mostly with hoodlums and gangsters that are only interested in violence and destruction. they are more like organized street gangs using the name of shariah to bring about their own desire for anarchy.
I can only repeat what I heard in Dec. But the people I spoke to do not see the Taliban as enforcing Shariah, but as militant teenagers or gang members.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
i find most people who say this are secularists, liberals or modernists, do not understand shariah or quite simply do not want it as it is meant to be implemented, only wanting the bits applying to marriage, inheritance, divorce etc.
That is a possibility. But, the other side of the coin is also a possibility and the Taliban are not promoting shariah, but using the name of shariah to justify crimes.
I do also see a need for Shariah in much of Pakistan as there is a very large degree of immorality not only from the past governments, but among the people themselves. the use of alcohol is widespread, immorality between men and women is common place. While most people in Pakistan do appear to be good sincere Muslims there are many enclaves were immorality appears to be the rule. However, from what I have heard the Taliban is not the vessel to spread Shariah. the taliban concept of Shariah does not seem to be Shariah, if what I have been told is true.
format_quote Originally Posted by Dawud_uk
there are some minor aspects i disagree with with the taliban, but fundementally it is the taliban and other islamist movements working to establish shariah that makes me want to move to pakistan.
I doubt if either of us can say what is the truth about the Taliban as neither of us is living in the SWAT Region. I can understand you have heard a different view of the Taliban, which differs from the view I heard. but, I doubt if either of us can know for certain what is true at this time. If I was certain the truth was what you have heard, I too would support the Taliban. But, from what I have heard the Taliban seems to be a threat to Islam in Pakistan.
I don't know, ask thinker.
As for Dawud, it would seem he's been planning to move out for several years now. Surely in that that time he could have found a land more appropriate than the UK, even to serve him as a temporary hub till a proper sharia state is founded and we my be looking at one this very moment.
Law system in Pakistani province isn't my concern as Im man born and living in central Europe. All I wish is that citizens there suffer less and live better.
This country is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs.
I've actually lost interest in this discussion anyway tbh.
format_quote Originally Posted by Whatsthepoint
As for Dawud, it would seem he's been planning to move out for several years now. Surely in that that time he could have found a land more appropriate than the UK, even to serve him as a temporary hub till a proper sharia state is founded and we my be looking at one this very moment.
Perhaps, but brother Dawud alone knows the reality of his own situation and I have no doubt that he has genuine reasons. I don't know his true situation so I will leave it to him if he wishes to explain himself or not.
"I spent thirty years learning manners, and I spent twenty years learning knowledge."
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Quote
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Bookmarks