Stop celebrating Sadiq Khan’s victory, Pakistan, you have no right to celebrate

Shouldn’t every citizen of any country have the same rights as those of another, Pakistan?

Farooq Mahmood May 11, 2016
Sadiq Khan is now the mayor of London. There are countless reasons to celebrate this feat. On a personal level, it is indeed a great achievement for someone who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was a Pakistan immigrant and a bus driver who brought up Sadiq and his siblings in a council property. Imagine the son of that particular immigrant getting elected by a record mandate in London; it’s a truly superb moment. Congratulations to him for a truly remarkable victory.

But can every Pakistani and every Muslim personally feel proud over the appointment of the new mayor’s triumph?

I feel a louder word of applause and appreciation is due for the exemplarily tolerant and accepting people of London, a clear separation of the state from religion and the rule of law founded on equality and meritocracy. His victory substantiates the fact that anyone from any race and religion can hold an esteemed public office through a due democratic process. Last Thursday’s election is only one such example.

The timing of his selection is tremendous since religious extremists are busy tarnishing the image of Islam, Islamophobia is on a steep rise and uneasiness towards Islam has witnessed a gradual increase.

British Muslims, especially Pakistani expats, are rejoicing a rare moment of pride. Alongside the sentiments of accomplishment, some would think it is everyone’s right to vie for public office and to indeed become part of the democratic process; a fundamental right that no one can deprive them of.

Indeed, that is a common thought, or is it?

Well, the worth of this fundamental right, that most of us take for granted, dawns even brighter upon us when we read the following notice by the Election Commission of Pakistan,
“...Ordered vide its letter No. F.1(6)/2001-Cord dated 17 January, 2007 that the competent authority has been pleased to decide that separate supplementary lists of draft electoral rolls for Ahmadis/Qadianis for the electoral areas concerned…”.

Being a ‘competent authority’ when they are ‘pleased’ to separate voting lists for an already persecuted community in Pakistan. A few days ago, Pakistan’s Parliament hailed the extraordinary success of a ‘Pakistani’ who made the country proud. I deem Pakistan’s Parliament and its people celebrating Sadiq Khan’s victory rather hypocritical. Why do we want the best for ourselves and do not mind if others are deprived of even the basics? Why do we only scream when we are in the line of fire? Why can we happily see our own law usurping the rights of others?

In Pakistan, Ahmadis can cast their votes for federal, provincial and local elections but only on the condition that they must declare themselves as non-Muslim. This is something that no Ahmadi’s conscience consents to; and every Ahmadi of eligible voting age does so at the cost of foregoing the very right that millions of Pakistani Muslims in several non-Muslim countries enjoy without a spec of discrimination.

Imagine what would have happened if Muslims were denied to vote on Thursday?

Here in the UK, all of us have one vote which carries the same value. Our vote knows no religion, class or colour.

Scores have been booked for being allegedly disrespectful to religious personages of utmost reverence under Pakistan’s blasphemy law. On the other hand, revered leaders and practices of different faiths and sects are not just derided openly, but laws of the land condone such acts. It is not just Ahmadis now, but several Christians, Hindus and even Shias who have experienced despicable torture and murder. Properties of minorities are unsafe and it seems that the growing intolerance is increasingly legitimising the looting and ransacking of moveable as well as immoveable assets of these defenceless citizens of Pakistan.

Dalits of Mirpurkhas should not need to fight for their rights, nor should it be only Christians who must worry about saving historic church buildings in Lahore; rather every Muslim should do his utmost in protecting every oppressed person and his place of worship.

How many religious leaders regularly quote countless Quranic verses in defence of all religions and their places of worship in Pakistani mosques? The Holy Quran even instructs Muslims to protect places of worship of all religions. The Holy Quran legitimises only those wars that are in self-defence and for the protection of people of all faiths and their places of worship.

I do not know whether Pakistanis should take pride in saying that a person of ‘Pakistani’ descent has ascended to an esteemed public office in London. The one thing that defines this mayoral election result is the victory for equality, a fundamental teaching of Islam which the West puts to practice. Let us not even bring the name of Pakistan into it, or else critics will simply mock our naivety.

The repercussions for those classified as minorities such as Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and other people in Pakistan are both psychological and physical. To be honest, I have a problem with using the word minority; shouldn’t every citizen of any country have the same rights as those of another?

Let us all celebrate this election through which a Muslim has won over a Jew in a predominantly Christian country; in a city which is truly a melting pot of all great religions, beliefs, no-beliefs, cultures and ethnicities. Do we not want to emulate, what brings peoples together rather than what divides mankind? Do we want to carry on turning a blind eye to what is in fact the golden thread of Islamic system of equity and justice, which others have employed to seamlessly sew their societal and political fabric?

I hope all those Muslims relishing the fruits of a just democracy start feeling equally passionate about their own countries to let common sense prevail and for its lawmakers to pass laws which are lawful and give a fair chance to all.

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WRITTEN BY:
Farooq Mahmood The author is a Senior University Lecturer in London, a Chartered Management Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (52)

Sara Khan | 7 years ago | Reply if a person does a suicide blast who has been living in the west for decades like the orlando attack couple the media is quick to link it up with pakistan and its role in shaping their mind set then why cant we celebrate if a guy whose roots are also pakistani when he gets elected as mayor !! double standared western media
Mian Faizan | 7 years ago | Reply I was nodding my head while reading your reply but at the point I differed path is, where you said Ahmadis are not allowed to call themselves Muslims. Brother in my humble opinion, I think there are some pre-requisites for someone being called a Muslim. “Kalma” has two parts, first part “Wahdaniat” of Allah and second the Prophet Hood of Muhammad, Last prophet, now what do you think, do Ahmadis accept the “Khatm-e-Nabuwat”? You again said minorities are not given due rights, what I can once again, that you deliberately (I think, I might be wrong) don’t want to accept the realities. Yeah I do agree that there are certain laws which do undermine the minorities due rights but its completely bizarre to say that they are not given “full rights”. And one of the laws, I think, Blasphemy, should be overviewed for soft image of Pakistan. What it seems to me, Just an inane argument to say that minorities are not given due rights. One last point, you said that in West humans are treated as humans, not on the basis of religion, but here you completely ignoring the current situation of Muslims in west, you are ignoring Islamophobia.
Mahmood Malik | 7 years ago Pre-requisites to call someone Muslim have been laid down by Holy Prophet (pbuh).One is kalima shahada.This requires testimony that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. Second testimony required is that Muhammad (pbuh) is Prophet of Allah. Ahmadis believe in this kalima. The word "last" doesn't appear in kalima. Ahmadis believe in Quran to be the last Book of Allah and Islam as the most perfect religion. Not an iota can be added to Quran nor deleted therefrom. Ahmadis believe Holy Prophet (pbuh) to be "Khataman Nabiyeen, the Seal of Prophets, as laid down in Holy Quran. That's a difference of interpretation. All sects of Muslims differ from each other in interpretation one point or more. That's how sects were formed. Yes there is Islamophobia in western countries in some quarters but majority are tolerant. Moreover there is rule of law. No laws are made that discriminte against any particular religion, belief or faith. State doesn't sanction discrimination or persecution. Freedom of faith is a fundamental right and part of UN Human Rights Charter.
Junaid | 7 years ago If you agree with everything before then you should also agree that declaring someone a non-Muslim is not the responsibility of any government in the world. You have the right to consider Ahmadies non-Muslims at a personal level, but legislation of this belief at state level is just not acceptable. For example, Hindus might consider cows sacred enough not to be slaughtered at personal level, but, it seems absurd to create a law baring non-Hindus from eating beef. Taking a hypothetical situation, if a Shia state decides to declare Sunnis non-Muslim for whatever reasons they personally believe, would you approve of it? This is the analogous situation with Ahmadies legislated to be non-Muslims in Pakistan. Besides, I believe we should not be discussing whether Ahmadies are Muslims or not. That is absolutely not the point of argument. It is completely personal issue. The important thing is that we consider everyone as equal citizen and give them equal rights in state policies. As far as minority rights are concerned in Pakistan, we do not need to argue much, but, to read HRW reports each year. The litmus test for whether a country gives due rights to minorities is in what the minorities themselves claim. In Pakistan, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadies and now Shias, all claim they are deprived of their rights at social level. So, Pakistan fails this litmus test. On the other hand, the west passes this litmus test with flying colors. Muslims in UK, USA and Europe all enjoy rights not only at social level, but so much so, they are part of governments (like Sadiq Khan). I, myself, am a first hand witness to this equality here in Germany. Last week, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, the first Muslim woman speaker for parliament was elected. This is significant, since there is an air of tension related to the refugee crisis here in Germany, with hate groups targeting Islam at every possible chance. But, the people have reacted positively. Islamophobia is true, but the west itself is at the forefront at fighting against it.
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