By Sheraz Khurram Khan

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — The filing of a petition in the High Court by a Muslim student against construction of a chapel on the campus of the University of Peshawar on the plea that it will fan “sectarianism” reflects on the scale of religious intolerance in a multi-religious state of Pakistan.

According to the Asia News, the student, Masood Khan’s attorney, Khurshid Khan, presented the petition on the plea that “having a Church in the university was un-Islamic and would fan sectarianism.”

North West Frontier Province’s Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani had laid foundation stone for the construction of the Church in a ceremony on December 19, 2006, it said.

One wonders what could have prompted the student to oppose construction of the chapel on the university’s campus. Does it have to do with his raising in a conservative Muslim family ? Or his affiliation with a radical religio-political party ? or his bias against Christianity which may have taken its genesis due to either pejorative material against Christianity in the text books or violent hammering of the local Muslim priest against Christianity ? or his espousal to a Taliban-like rigid version of Islam ?

Whatever brought his anti-Christianity sentiment to this pass the position that he has taken against construction of the chapel is out rightly regrettable. The student and those Pakistani Muslims who see erection of a chapel or Church as not just must allow some soul-searching to see how fair their stand is on the issue in question. Perhaps the construction of the chapel in the academic groove came as an aberration to him (Masood Khan) given the dismal fact that they are absent in government run schools and universities in Pakistan where most of the universities have mosques constructed on their campuses.

Extremist elements have been sabotaging efforts of Brother Nazir Masih, 67 of Islamabad who wants to construct a Church in sector G-8/2 on a plot allotted to him by Capital Development Authority (CDA) for construction of the Church.

“a) Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion ; and b) Every religious denomination and every sect therefore shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institution.

(Article 20, Constitution of Pakistan) “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion ; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or community with others in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. (Article 18, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

If the court gives its verdict in favor of the petitioner it would not only be gross injustice with religious minorities but at the same time it would become a precedent, discouraging establishment of chapels on the campuses of government-run educational institutions in the future. It will leave the Christians students of the particular university disappointed who would like to go and offer their prayers in the chapel. It will only help hawkish elements among Pakistani Muslims to up their agenda of fanning hate in the name of religion. In the past they have been a “dazzling success” with it.

If the prophet Muhammad could allow a delegation of minorities who is said to have visited him to offer prayers in a mosque then how could the student justify his stance that construction of chapel in the university would fan sectarianism ? In presence of such a hostile and fundamentalist climate one is apprehensive that even if the court gives go ahead on construction of the chapel it will remain vulnerable to attacks by the student as well as by the radical Muslim students or even off campus students. Those who are aware of the nefarious motives of the radical Islamists in Pakistan may not find it hard to appreciate as to why a matter of building of the chapel could be made such a graver issue. It is what they are there for. If optimism and enlightenment had prevailed with the student he would have restrained him from going this far.

Construction of mosques, temples and churches in educational institution may rather come as classical example of inter-faith harmony. Forman Christian College in the eastern city of Lahore offers wonderful example of interfaith harmony since it has it on its campus some three mosques and a chapel.

The saner among Muslims should least encourage such elements who, are bent upon stoking religious hatred in Pakistan to peak. Non-governmental organizations claiming to be working upon forging inter-faith harmony should take note of this serious issue since its absence has far-reaching implications on Pakistani religious minorities who already feel discriminated against in a number of ways. Why is it that the so-called liberal politicians did not make statements in the media condemning the move of the student ? Why is it that leadership of hardline religious alliance is silent on this issue ? Does their silence not encourage the particular student and those of his ilk ?

They (leaders of religious parties) make sermons on respect for humanity and religions when an attack on Islam is made in the west or elsewhere in the world. When they do so their callous indifference on issues as graver as opposition to the construction of a chapel at home only makes one believe that they are only pursuing a dual agenda and are in fact the main actors contributing to the air of religious animosity in Pakistan. The cricketer-turned politician and the chief Pakistan Tehrike-Insaf (Movement for Justice) Imran Khan’s silence on this issue also leads one to believe that he is also a pseudo-liberal politician.

He is otherwise quick to slam incidents involving injustice with Muslims anywhere in the world. The leadership of the two mainstream political parties of Pakistan — Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan Peoples Party — flay the incumbent regime for their own vested interests. Their leaders when invited to minority functions make hollow claims and promises for helping safeguard their rights but they rarely offer any practical help. Their sham concern for religious minorities is more vocal and extremely uproarious when they are out of power. It is an open secret that there was no difference in the marginalization of the religious minorities in their stints in power.