IMPOSITION OF BATON AND KALASHINKOV SHARIAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ISLAM – ALTAF HUSSAIN

PEOPLE FROM ALL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT AND RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS MUST COME FORWARD

London – 10^th April 2007

MQM Founder & Leader Mr Altaf Hussain said that MQM alone is not responsible to raise its voice against religious fanaticism and kalashinkov shariat, people from all schools of thought must also feel their responsibility and come forward. He said this on Tuesday evening while speaking with the Members of Coordination Committee, Members of Zonal Committees, office bearers and workers at the MQM Head Office Nine Zero in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Zones. He discussed the preparations for the Muttahida Rally of 15^th April 2007 with the MQM office bearers and urged them to visit each and every home and make contact with people from all walks of life and invite them to join the Rally in Karachi. He said that the activities and behaviour of the baton and kalashinkov wielding religious fanatics present in Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa where they are coercing and harassing the public in the name of Islam and Shariat has no resemblance with Islam and the Shariat of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) spread and preached Islam not on the basis of baton or kalashinkov but through peace and his pious and positive character.

He stressed that the elements who are trying to impose baton and kalashinkov shariat in Islamabad and other cities of the country are not only victimising the innocent citizens but also maligning the image of Islam worldwide by presenting a distorted image of Islam and Shariat. Mr Hussain said that MQM alone is not responsible to raise its voice against religious fanaticism and baton and kalashinkov shariat but people from all schools of thought must realise that it is their religious, moral and human responsibility to come forward to struggle against the fanatic elements responsible for imposing the baton and kalashinkov shariat on innocent citizens. He also appealed to those religious scholars and ulemas who practice the religion in its true spirit to come forward and inform the world that the baton and kalashinkov shariat imposed by the elements of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa is not the real shariat. He prayed that by the Will and Support of Allah Almighty we will with the support of the public defeat the conspiracy to impose the baton and kalashinkov shariat. He also praised the office bearers and workers for successfully organising the general workers meetings of 8^th April 2007 on the short notice of 24 hours and paid them tributes for their efforts.