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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (41963)	12/15/2001 3:30:32 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

This nuisance value must be eradicated, just ban religious parties, Mr President. Moreover, all mosques must be run by the government, whether District, Provincial or Federal is unimportant, the mosque pulpits must not be used to propagate a narrow parochial ideology. Writers asking for change..Ikram Sehgal demands that...''For starters, instead of "Interfering in Afghanistan" by being a food granary for Afghanistan and providing their refugees safe haven, we must start interfering in our own affairs. With the religious extremists on the run we must take steps to ensure they never ever reach a position to hold this nation hostage again. Why should religious groupings be allowed to function as political parties? It is the right of every citizen to be able to choose democratic platform, so why should we allow platforms that discriminate against the ordinary citizens simply because of his or her personal religious beliefs. The country has only one ideology, why allow its base to be narrowed down further? Those of a particular belief must have as a broad-base the ideology of Pakistan. As an Islamic country that gives equal opportunity to other religions we cannot afford myriad religious factions in our own. It is un-Islamic to give recognition to factions propagating their own interpretation of Islamic ideology. Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Jamiat Ullema-i-Pakistan (JUP), etc must become part of mainline parties. Presently, they have no hope of ever winning an electoral majority but they have the capacity to hold the majority to ransom by simply using their vocal militancy. This nuisance value must be eradicated, just ban religious parties, Mr President. Moreover, all mosques must be run by the government, whether District, Provincial or Federal is unimportant, the mosque pulpits must not be used to propagate a narrow parochial ideology.

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (41963)	12/15/2001 5:28:15 AM
From: SirRealist	Respond to of 50167

I do not agree with all the prescriptions in that article, Ike. Banning religion-based parties and control of mosques only leads to resentment and secret meetings. But making education available to all, and making parts of it compulsory for all to graduate will go a long way to weaken the grip of quasi-religious groups bent on the politics of destruction. If a near-term solution is required to defang the rabid clerics long enough for education to flourish and bear fruit, rather than outlaw them, they should sponsor public forums, where moderate mullahs can debate the disputed points of Islamic faith. Reason & justice can be persuasive and is usually more effective than sheer force.