No room for secularism: JI

LAHORE Islam is Pakistans sole identity and there is no room for secularism and its believers in this country, deputy Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Sajid Anwar said here while addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque. He said a Muslim could not tolerate blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and even the Interior Minister Rehman Malik had told media that if someone committed blasphemy in his presence, he would shoot him to death. He also demanded immediate release of Mumtaz Qadris relatives. Hafiz Sajid Anwar exhorted the rulers to learn a lesson from Salmaan Taseers murder as none of the official Khatibs and Imams was ready to lead his funeral prayer. He said there was consensus of the Ummah that blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was punishable by death. Taseer publicly sympathised with the blasphemer woman, expressed full support to her and promised her clemency. All this was unbecoming of his high office. He said Asia had been convicted by a law court and not by any mufti or cleric. Salmaan Taseer had been issuing statements in violation of the countrys constitution, the Quran and the Sunnah which gave the impression of his anti-Islam views and finally led to his murder. Addressing the Friday congregation at Syed Maudoodi Institute mosque Hafiz Muhammad Idrees said Salmaan Taseers murder should be an eye opener for the other rulers who were clamouring against the Blasphemy Law. Referring to Rehman Maliks statement that he would shoot down a blasphemer, he asked what crime Mumtaz Qadri had committed. He said the protection of the minorities in the country also lay in obedience to the law of the country. He said that Islam guaranteed protection of the minorities. He advised the anti-Islam elements in the country to stop attacks on Islam and study it thoroughly. He said that the western powers could cow down the Muslim rulers but not the Muslim masses.

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