Page 1 of
2 Pakistan: Trouble in the
mosque By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - Pakistan's military and
political movers and shakers have traditionally
frequented the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in
Islamabad's city center. Now, a standoff over the
mosque, which has become a potent symbol of the
power of Pakistan's radical Islamists, threatens
the very core of the country's ruling
establishment.
The mosque and its
affiliated madrassa (seminary) Jamia Hafsa
are pitted against the government. The crisis
began when the mosque and the madrassa
challenged the writ of the government
by
calling for the declaration of Islamic (sharia)
law in the country, leading to the occupation of a
nearby library and kidnappings.
Last
Friday, the chief cleric of Lal Masjid, Maulana
Abdul Aziz, announced the setting up of a
Taliban-style vigilante Islamic court and vowed
suicide-bomb attacks if the authorities tried to
crack down on the mosque and its followers.
Also on Friday, Aziz's brother, Ghazi
Abdul Rasheed, gave the government a month either
to follow sharia law or see it enforced through
the mosque's parallel system.
Already,
girls from the Jamia Hafsa, backed by their male
counterparts from Jamia Fareedia, another
religious institution administered by the Lal
Masjid, have been roving through Islamabad, asking
music- and video-shop owners to close down their
businesses. "Vice and virtue" squads urge women to
adopt the Islamic dress code.
The mosque
compound has taken on the form of a rebel camp,
with young men armed with sticks posted at the
gates and at lookout points along banner-strewn
walls. More than 10,000 students are affiliated
with the mosque's two madrassas.
President General Pervez Musharraf has so
far resisted the temptation to use force, and was
due on Wednesday to receive advice from his
cabinet on ways to defuse the situation. The only
action taken so far is by the privately run
Federal Madaris Board, which has canceled the
registration of the seminaries.
Waiting
and watching developments are remnants of the
military elite of the 1990s who planned an Islamic
coup before Musharraf seized power in 1999, the
Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) Islamist political
party, underground militant organizations and a
segment of the establishment - all of them
dedicated to bringing Musharraf down.
They
see the crisis as an opportunity to take
khurooj (mass mobilization to change the
regime) to the next level, and even to revive the
idea of Pakistan becoming a caliphate.
The brothers of Lal
Masjid Maulana Abdullah was assassinated in
the Lal Masjid in the late 1990s, and since then
the complex has been run by his sons, Aziz and
Ghazi, both in their 40s. The brothers were active
in the mujahideen struggle against the Soviets in
Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The brothers
come from Balochistan province's Mari tribe, which
is the most active component of the ongoing Baloch
insurgency. Maulana Abdullah was known for his
critical speeches in Friday prayers, even against
the late president Zia ul-Haq, who provided
Maulana Abdullah with the land in the most
expensive sector of Islamabad to construct Jamia
Fareedia. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
was widely blamed for Maulana Abdullah's killing.
Maulana Abdullah was a highly respected
figure, known for his piety, knowledge and
struggle for an Islamic way of life. Many top
generals and bureaucrats attended his Friday
prayers. These included disgraced nuclear
scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who frequently
contributed to the needs of seminary by donating
books, food and construction material.
Maulana Abdullah's legacy was transferred
to his sons, who also supported the cause of jihad
and earned respect from such people
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
