Interfaith is the positive reinforcement of relationships between people of different faiths. The world is a disparate place, with people holding a variety of perspectives, beliefs, and practices. Conflicts, tensions, and misunderstandings caused by differences in faith and beliefs necessitate the need for interfaith harmony. Since the religion of Islam recognizes the usefulness and necessity of differences of opinion within a permissible limit and our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called this scholarly dissent mercy, but this difference of opinion in scholarly matters should be made only to explain religious matters in good faith. The role it has played in the development and rise of the Islamic nation and the promotion and dissemination of Islamic knowledge is a part of our scientific and national history that we can be justly proud of it, but the aspect of discord which divided the Nation of Islam into different warring groups has always been condemned and is still condemned today. The background of all the conflicts that have divided the Muslim Ummah into warring sects has been political, not scientific, and religious. If any attempt is made to expose the causes and motives of such conflicts, then the conspiracy of the enemies is reflected in the background.

However, there is no doubt that evil forces have taken advantage of sectarian divisions and whenever the Pakistani nation seems to be moving towards a common goal, the enemy’s secret hand has sparked sectarian strife among Muslims and non-Muslims. In this regard, external conspiracies are being hatched in Pakistan to spread unrest through sectarianism. By the Islamic Ideological Council, the adoption of a 20-point Unified Code of Conduct for the promotion of professional harmony is a very diligent step for which the need was acutely felt as hostile forces are constantly pursuing national security and are engaged in nefarious conspiracies to disrupt peace and order on regional, ethnic and sectarian grounds, for which such a code of conduct was indispensable.

Every other day, there is a heartache story in a country like Pakistan where some people have the power and authority to completely change the thoughts of some people by scare tactics, social power, persuasion techniques, and propaganda. Where ignorance of people is somehow attributed to the formation of an ill-minded society and it is not limited to one geographical location. However, it evaded the whole world. Similarly, some people have been accused of blasphemy by opponents just to settle their personal scores. There is a blasphemy law for the protection of Islamic authority. According to this law, a person who has committed the allegations of blasphemy has to face a death sentence if he has insulted a holy figure and life imprisonment in case of defiling the Holy Quran. Whereas in some cases, religious extremists or strong people blatantly abused this law to discriminate and crack down the minorities. This has been done for getting their vengeance. Thus, such sensitive matters ultimately provoked a mob that wanted execution immediately even before the trial began. To solve all this in a better way there should be a need for fabricating a strong blasphemy law that not only protects religious minorities but also gives severe punishments to the accuser of blasphemy and false witnesses. Predominantly, false accuser has been alleged by some people who hold utterly personal motives. For doing proper jurisdiction, the false accuser of blasphemy must be immediately put on a trial and if he has proved himself as a false accuser then the false witnesses must also give the punishment under the blasphemy law. Other than this, a set of strong laws should be devised that discourage false accusations, blasphemy cases, and nuisance creating in society.

Therefore, the code of conduct signed by scholars makes it clear that no school of thought will be allowed to make baseless accusations and hate speech against others. No one can defame the Prophets, the Caliphs, and other religious figures. The code of conduct also states that no one has the right to declare a person affiliated with the government, armed forces, and law enforcement agencies as an infidel and the movements of linguistic, regional, religious and sectarian prejudices against the state will be avoided.

This can be done through schools, universities, and interfaith dialogues. People need to learn about different religions, beliefs, practices, and values to thwart the conspiracy of any evil that seeks to destroy national unity through sectarianism. It is necessary that scholars of all schools of thought while following the guidelines of the government, effectively inform people, and promote unity among them. It should be kept in mind that the anti-national forces can succeed in their nefarious activities through our mutual hypocrisy, therefore, as a supporter of interfaith harmony, thwart the nefarious intentions of such elements by going beyond professional affiliation. Let us forget our differences and unite against the anti-Islamic and anti-patriotic forces and give a full and blunt answer to the negative propaganda against the Pakistani nation and its minorities. We need to understand the fact that the survival of a nation is not in sectarianism and factional differences, but in mutual unity and solidarity.

It is gratifying that the scholars representing all religions, sects, and schools of thought have tried to understand the security needs of the issue along with the social aspect, but have also assured to play their role in improving the current situation. At present, sectarian hatred can be a major threat to a state plagued by terrorism, economic woes, corruption, and political instability. The guarantor of the end of this sectarianism is the message of Pakistan which is also the message of Islam, Christianity, and any other religion. However, anti-national elements are openly sending the message that Pakistan will be destabilized through sectarian riots. The unfortunate aspect of this whole situation is that some ignorant people become instruments of these conspiracies. The irresponsible attitude of the ruling political parties is incomprehensible despite scholars and intellectuals have always played a positive role in safeguarding the interests of the state, yet the state and scholars need to create as many opportunities as possible where scholars of all religions not just sit together, but even explain the common strategy to fight the anti-Islamic forces. The tactics of the enemy are aimed at dividing us. So, if we remain united, especially the youth then the enemy will fail on its own and that is the message of Pakistan.

Attiya Munawer
The writer is an activist and environmentalist. She covers human rights and politico-environmental issues. She tweets @AttiyaMunawer and can be reached at attiabutt121@gmail.com