The two sides of Extremism in Pakistan

In my previous post I gave a very brief account of the reasons and the present state of Pakistan. Now there are two extreme sides existing in Pakistan. On one side we have extreme Mullahs who interpret a version of Islam that they think is right, and on the other side there are seculars who have no value of Islam and they also interpret and mould Islamic values according to their new modernized mindset. Both want Islam to be the way they want it to be rather then accepting it the way ALLAH has revealed it for humanity.

Seculars want Pakistan to be a secular state and there should be no Islam in Politics and other areas of the country. The strange thing is that these seculars call themselves Muslims and claim to understand Islam better than the rest and give an entirely new picture to the teachings and morals of Islam. They paint Islam in a way that is accepted by the modern western secular society. Where coeducation, singing, dancing, movies, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Christmas and other westernized activates becomes a part of Islam or at least not against Islam.

On the other hand there are Religious extremists, who have no modern education and have only religious education and therefore have a very limited understanding of the world. Parents put their children in Madrasas, for Quran learning and religious education. Mostly it is because of financial reasons or because their kids are mentally weak. In most cases, they don’t have wisdom to improvise according to the modern times and needs. By improvising doesn’t mean changing the values of Islam like seculars do but rather adopting and devising ways according to Islam in the present times.

The Scholar Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick gives a nice description of the problem with such types of Muslim Scholars