activists-from-pakistan

"“The Punjab Muslims do not believe in non-violence and should not, therefore, be given cause for grievance because once the Muslim lion is infuriated it would become difficult to subdue him.”"

"Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar was reported to have said that Pakistan could only be achieved by shedding blood and, if opportunity arose, the blood of non-Muslims must be shed, for “ Muslims are no believers in ahimsa'"

"Pakistan can only be achieved through shedding blood of ourselves, and if need be, and if opportunity arose, by shedding blood of others. Muslims are no believers in Ahimsa."

"We have come here to tell you that if you can carry on the fight with the same determination and discipline as had been displayed during the past three days, not only will you have achieved victory in the Punjab, but you will also have reached nearer to your goal of Pakistan."

"To add to the embarrassment of the Police Chiefs, Mr. Suhrawardy arrived in the Control Room and established himself there for the space of several hours. He received messages, gave verbal directions, issued written instructions or orders, scribbled on scraps of paper, talked to the Police Heads, overrode the decisions made by them, received visitors, discussed the political events with them and generally interrupted the vital business of those in charge of the Control Room. He ordered that special protection should be given to all mosques and that police pickets should be posted at each one of them; but nothing was to be done to safeguard the inmates, sanctity or property of any Hindu shrine."

"Mr Suhrawardy at its head, and in bum the Qaid i Azam saw a most efficient instrument for executing his design. Suave of appearance and urbane in his manners he was a clever politician. He accepted Mr Jinnah as his leader because in this course he saw a splendid opportunity for furthering his own interests. Ho possessed the necessary skill for provoking a controversy and then turning the situation to his own advantage He was capable of starting a large scale and gruesome massacre im Calcutta and then afterwards associating himself with Mahatma Gandhis peace mission He was seen to interfere m the working of tho police m the Control Room but, when charged with procrastination and criminal neglect, he pleaded that the Commussioner of Police had declined to carry out Ins orders for restoring peace and sought shelter behind the wording of section 9 of the Police Act which entrusted “the exclusive direction and control” of the Police Force to the Commissioner of Police As head of the Government m Bengal he refused to issue petrol coupons to the Muslim League lorries but as a Muslim Leaguer he issued supplementary petrol coupons for hundreds of gallons to the Ministers individually and to himself. This petrol was later used to transport Muslim rioters on Direct Action Day. He was capable of issuing a statement to the Associated Press of India on the evening of August 16 that conditions were unproving when things had been going from bad to worse throughout the city When questioned on this point later he denied that he had issued such a statement. On August 23 speaking on the radio be urged the people of Bengal to live in peace and brotherly affection and within half an hour sent out a special message to the correspondents of the foreign Press which wholly contradicted his radio broadcast. It was probably on Ins advice that Calcutta was selected for starting a large-scale assault upon the non Muslims."

"On CM Suhrawardy’s Direct Action speech, writes Yasmin Khan, ‘if he did not explicitly incite violence, certainly gave the crowds the impression that they could act with impunity, that neither the police nor the military would be called out and that the ministry would turn a blind eye to any action that they unleashed in the city.’"

"The statements publicly made by the top-ranking Muslim League leaders reveal the temper and intentions of these leaders and the organization whose policy and programme they had framed. On September 9, 1946 only two weeks after the Calcutta Carnage, after the attack on Sir Shafaat Ahmed Khan, and the situation akin to Civil War which was developing inside the country, Mr. H. S. Sahrawardy, Premier of Bengal, said: “Muslim India means business.”"

"Mr. H. S. Suhrawardy, Premier of Bengal at that time, spoke words still more ominous and pregnant with a sinister significance the full force of which was not realized by the country perhaps at the time. “We await the clarion call of the Qaid-i-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah).”"

"Islam cannot leave certain spheres of life strictly to the individual, any action which is likely to prejudice the healthy growth of Muslim society will have to be severely prohibited. We do not believe in unrestricted freedom to bring about a lowering of human standards, of spiritual values of allegiance to our common idealism. Anything which brings in germs of decay and degeneration in our physical, moral or spiritual life will have to be ruthlessly curbed and steps will have to be taken that loose talk and loose thinking are not allowed to exist. This does not mean censorship but an enlightened and sympathetic censorship with an appeal to the highest tribunal in the land."

"Hitler was not wrong when he identified the democracies with international Jewry, because high finance and big business which are the backbone of social organization in the democracies are very much in the hands of the Jews; and because finance is the real master of bourgeoisie democracy, the Jews are very much in control."

"Interestingly enough an academic conflict is going on between those who do not wish to tamper with facts (Mohammad Habib, S.S.A. Rizvi) and those who are determined to give a benign face to Islam (I.H. Qureshi, Mohammad Mujeeb, Ashgahar Ali Engineer)."

"His approach is strongly communalistic... He is proud of the political achievements of Muslims in medieval India and believes that they more than satisfied modern ideas of tolerance, benevolence and efficiency... (He) treats the Delhi Sultanate as a welfare state, the Muslim community in medieval India as a nation, and the Sultans of Delhi as Muslims both in a religious and political sense."

"It can be seriously contented if he possessed wisdom of the highest order. If he had, he would not have sought to weaken Islam and the Muslim community of the Subcontinent. At least he would have refrained from interfering with the established principals of Islam. Even Vincent Smith, who narrates Akbar’s aberrations from Islam with relish, concludes that ‘the whole scheme was the outcome of ridiculous vanity, a monstrous growth of unrestrained autocracy...’ How can it then be asserted that Akbar possessed wisdom in the highest degree?"

"They established their khanaqahs and shrines at places (i.e., temples) which already had a reputation for sanctity before Islam."

"Islam does not distinguish between the religious and profane. There being no ecclesia, its counterpart the saeculum becomes redundant. In a sense Islam is a secular religion, because it has no church."

"The Quran has always held the central position in Islamic thinking. Indeed it holds a position even higher that that of the Prophet, because the Prophet was as much bound by its injunctions as any believer."

"The status and the function of the Ulema in the Muslim community have seldom been properly understood by non-Muslims scholars. Superficial observers have thought that the Ulema correspond to priests without a church; hence, they consider the presence of priesthood in Islam inevitable. The Ulema are venerated for their learning and piety, hence also they are taken to be priests."

"And the achievement of that goal depends on the success we achieve in this land of India in establishing and maintaining a polity in accordance with our ideals. That depends on our will to live, which depends on our willingness to die."

"In the present times of grave crisis we need dissident intellectuals who can challenge the establishment... Pakistan did not develop any tradition of dissident intellectual activity."

"However, the question who built Taj Mahal no longer remains a mystery. Surely it was not built by Shah Jahan but by architects, calligraphers, masons, stone-cutters, and metal workers and ordinary laborers who built it and made it a symbol of creative mind of the Indian society."

"Power intoxicates those who hold it."

"If history remains neutral and does not condemn and declare such acts as immoral, it would fail to create any consciousness about these evil deeds."

"Historical process is not a linear one. It is also not stagnant. On the contrary, it moves ahead and brings changes to social, political and economic structure."

"History is a repository of human experiences and one can not only understand the present by studying history but also find solutions to its problems as well. However, historians sometimes present a very pessimistic view of life whereas at other times, they inspire dejected and disillusioned people to struggle for survival."

"In our society, we don not study history to understand the process of change but just to entertain ourselves with past events. For this reason, history is not regarded as a useful subject. The history that we teach in our educational institutions is political history and, as such, it is used by the ruling classes."

"History is a powerful subject which can be used to create a true historical consciousness. Unfortunately, it can also he misused and we often sec how politician distort it to whip up the emotion of people in older to achieve their political agenda. As they have a large following their version of history becomes popular among their followers. If not corrected the falsification of history is accepted as the absolute truth. This reaise the question whether historians should challenge the popular emotions of the people and correct historical facts or keep silent and let the falsification go on unchecked."

"History is full of the accounts of those who imposed their absolute power against popular will."

"History records that those who ruled with an iron hand and implemented oppressive and draconian laws, in the end failed to keep their power. People can endure suppression up to certain limit and a certain period of time; after that they rebel to get rid of callous rulers."

"There are two types of writers: those who write to support the existing system and prove and augment its legitimacy through their writings. On the other hand, there are those who critically examine society and make an attempt to restructure and reform it on the basis of fresh ideas."

"In Victory and defeat, War is a drama which most historians, poets, and writer like to narrate with passion and vigor. It is such a powerful and moving topic that when they describe scenes of battlefields, killing and bloodshed, dialogues between victors and vanquished, they make epics out of such descriptions which sensationalize and thrill the coming generations when they read them. In case of victory or defeat, both sides eulogize their warriors and transform them into heroes, who sacrifice their lives defending honour and dignity of their country."

"Culture plays also an important role in the life of minorities, who are generally discriminated in such societies where there is no political and religious freedom. Under these circumstances, their cultural values and symbols help them to retain their identity."

"When we talk about culture, it includes literature, paintings, music, dance, sculpture, folklores, festivals, and celebrations."

"Muhammad b. Qasim, Mahmud of Ghazna, and Shihabuddin Ghori emerged as powerful symbols in Muslim politics in the context of the 1930s’ communal atmosphere in India. Interestingly they continue to be used as symbols of perfect Muslim heroes who have the ability to restore peace and order through their belligerence. [….] The consequences of hero worship have resulted in disaster for Pakistan. Following the footsteps of the conquerors, the rulers of Pakistan treated it as a conquered country and, therefore, legitimated plunder and loot of its wealth and resources. The only difference between them and the model conquerors is that in the past the wealth was taken away from India and deposited in the state treasuries of Damascus, Bhagdad, and Ghaznin. Now the Swiss banks or American and Western countries provide safe haven to the plundered wealth."

"Islam is enough. It is a complete code for modern life"

"Islam is about selection, not election"

"Ours is an Islamic system that takes action where the state fails to act."

"The system of government in Pakistan doesn't work. It's corrupt, and the people are tired of it."

"How much money has been spent on the War on Terror? If these billions had been spent on basic education, on food, then we would love the Americans. The Americans are not getting benefit from Iraq or Afghanistan. Hatred will not bring you any positive results — hatred from Afghanis, hatred from Iraqis, hatred from Pakistanis."

"We are told that we, religious people, are against women's education. But we have proved that we are not.""

"I don't like democracy. Islam is not about counting people. In democracy, the weight of one vote is the same for a man who is taking drugs and doesn't care about his country as it is for the man with a vision for the future. The majority of people are ignorant people. This doesn't bring us a good system."

"We in al Qaeda organization call on God to witness that we will retaliate for the blood of Abdul Rashid Ghazi and those with him against Musharraf and those who help him, and for all the pure and innocent blood.~ Osama bin Laden"

"Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s belief is that Islamic fundamentalism qualifies as a universal pursuit for social justice and civic responsibility“ ~ Declen Walsh (Nine Lives Of Pakistan)"

"Ghazi's political heroes included Che Guevara and Fidel Castro~ Declen Walsh (Nine Lives Of Pakistan)"

"The reforms which Islam wants to bring about cannot be carried out merely by sermons. Political power is essential for their achievement."

"“God has prohibited the unrestricted intermingling of the sexes and has prescribed purdah [a word of Persian origin meaning the religious and social practice of female seclusion]” recognizing “man’s guardianship of woman,” for Muslims must guard against “that satanic flood of female liberty and licence which threatens to destroy human civilization in the West.”"

"Finally, no less a figure than Sayyid Abu ’l-‘Alā’ Mawdūdī, one of the major thinkers behind modern Islamist ideology, said that in an Islamic state as envisioned by him, “no one can regard any field of his affairs as personal and private. Considered from this aspect, the Islamic state bears a kind of resemblance to the Fascist and Communist states.”"

"Islam wishes to destroy all states and governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to the ideology and programme of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a state on the basis of its own ideology and programme, regardless of which nation assumes the role of the standard-bearer of Islam or the rule of which nation is undermined in the process of the establishment of an ideological Islamic State. Islam requires the earth—not just a portion, but the whole planet .... because the entire mankind should benefit from the ideology and welfare programme [of Islam] … Towards this end, Islam wishes to press into service all forces which can bring about a revolution and a composite term for the use of all these forces is ‘Jihad’. .... the objective of the Islamic ‘ Jihād’ is to eliminate the rule of an un-Islamic system and establish in its stead an Islamic system of state rule."

"In the jihad in the way of Allah, active combat is not always the role on the battlefield, nor can everyone fight in the front line. Just for one single battle preparations have often to be made for decades on end and the plans deeply laid, and while only some thousands fight in the front line there are behind them millions engaged in various tasks which, though small themselves, contribute directly to the supreme effort."

"[Muslims (of the right-thinking kind) constitute a Revolutionary Party whose objective] is to expend all the powers of body and soul, your life and goods in the fi ght against the evil forces of the world, not that having annihilated them you should step into their shoes, but in order that evil and con- tumacy should be wiped out and God’s law should be enforced in the world."