PAS: Is it to win the Federal Election OR to Fight for Islam ?
NO HOLDS BARRED: Read here full article by Raja Petra Kamarudin
Excerpts:
The 12th General Election will soon be upon us. Take it from me, though, the ‘next’ government will be the same government we have now.
It will still be the same shit, different day maybe, but the same shit nevertheless.
If they do not vote the present government back into office then which party do they choose instead?
The opposition does NOT have a coalition like Barisan Nasional. The opposition is an ‘understanding’ of three fragmented parties (PAS,DAP Keadilan) that have nothing in common save their hatred for the ruling coalition. There are many things standing in the way of opposition unity.
But let us focus on just one, THE MOTHER OF ALL PROBLEMS, the Islamic State issue. All the other issues could be easily solved if this one issue is settled. In fact, many of the other issues could even be self-solving IF THIS ONE ISSUE can be addressed.
Some PAS leaders say that upholding Islam and propagating the setting up of an Islamic State is the prime objective of the party. When pointed out that the Islamic State agenda does not go down well with the voters, even amongst Muslim voters, so this may hinder PAS in the election, they said that they don’t care.
Their objective, they argue, is NOT to win elections but to fight for Islam. Then PAS should declare this to the voters.
PAS should tell the voters that it is NOT INTERESTED IN WINNING ELECTIONS but only to fight for Islam.
Then let the voters decide whether to give them their vote or not. The voters should NOT be cheated.The voters should NOT be lied to.
PAS is an Islamic party and an Islamic party, above all, should be even more concerned about telling the voters the truth. Tell them the truth and let them decide for themselves whether they want to buy what PAS is selling.
If not, then never mind; vote Barisan Nasional then.
But if they choose PAS then they do so with their eyes wide open about what PAS is and what it stands for.
And why do I aim this at PAS and not DAP?
This is because PAS would be the alternative to Umno. So it is important how the voters perceive PAS.
Dr Kalim Siddiqui was an Islamic scholar and Muslim revolutionary who was born in British India in 1933 and died in South Africa in 1996. In 1992, he set up the Muslim Parliament of Britain. He is the author of numerous books on the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic State.
Dr Kalim is a staunch believer and propagator of an Islamic State. He does NOT believe this can be achieved through western-style general elections but only through an Islamic Revolution a la Iran.
Elections, as far as Dr Kalim is concerned, only helps put unsuitable leaders into power, basically because the system can be rigged in favour of certain people. You need an Islamic Revolution to change the system and to replace the un-Islamic leaders with Islamic ones. And ‘Islamic leader’ does not just mean one who professes the Islamic religion but one who leads a proper life of a Muslim.
According to Dr Kalim, the Iran Revolution was the closest thing to the creation of an Islamic State if not for the fact that Iran regarded it as a Shi‘ate Revolution rather than an Islamic Revolution.
If we go by what Dr Kalim believes, then Malaysia is NOT an Islamic State.
Malaysia does NOT have the ingredients for the setting up of an Islamic State. Malaysia practices a western-style election system which is NOT compatible to Islam.
To succeed in setting up an Islamic State, we need to abolish the general elections and instead embark on an Islamic Revolution.
But this is not what PAS is doing. PAS is not propagating a revolution, Islamic or otherwise. PAS actively participates in the general elections and is trying to meet its goals through winning enough seats in the general election.
But Dr Kalim said that not only is this not Islamic, but it cannot be done.
- So what does PAS have to say about this?
PAS leaders seem at a loss in offering examples of viable Islamic States, either in existence or in the past. When asked to define what a ‘proper’ Islamic State should look like, the impression we get is that the Islamic State is merely an ideal, a theoretical system that has yet to emerge in the true sense of the word.
One always goes away with the feeling that PAS is equally confused as to what constitutes an Islamic State.
PAS too should be allowed to tell us what their plans are and how they plan to achieve them.
- If we like what we hear, then PAS might get our support in the coming general election.
- But at least we will know for sure what we are getting ourselves into by supporting PAS.
- And if we support PAS it will only be because we agree with them and are doing so with both eyes wide open and not because we were sold a cow when we thought we were buying a horse.
Over to you PAS!
You want our support, then tell us what it is we are supporting.
And the truth please! Malaysia Today would be very willing to organise a dialogue session with PAS for the benefit of any of our readers who are concerned enough about this country’s future and would like to hear what PAS’ plans are and how this would dovetail with our own idea of what ‘future’ is supposed to look like.
Can PAS respond to this?
And I am even generous enough to allow PAS to pay for the whole event (and don’t forget the Satay).
-Raja Petra Kamarudin
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THE HISTORY OF MAJLIS ITTEHADUL MUSLIMEEN PARTY IN HYDERABAD
The grip of the Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen on the community remains strong, With a Member representing Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, five members in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, 40 corporators in Hyderabad and 95-plus members elected to various municipal bodies in Andhra Pradesh, the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is one of the foremost representatives of the city’s Muslims and the most powerful Muslim party in India and one can see the partys strenghth if it goes to Hyderabad old city and Parts of Muslim Dominated Villages of Andhra Pradesh everywhere u look u can see MIM written on walls ,lightpoles and buildings leaving aside green flags and posters of its Leadership and there small Offices . The Majlis has brought lot of development to the Old part of the city even after it is said it hasnt done anything by its opponents who are mostly Ex Majlis workers.The Majlis was formed in 1927 “for educational and social uplift of Muslims”. But it articulated the position that “the ruler and throne (Nizam) are symbols of the political and cultural rights of the Muslim community… (and) this status must continue forever”.The Majlis pitted itself against the Andhra Mahasabha and the communists who questioned the feudal order that sustained the Nizam’s rule. It also bitterly opposed the Arya Samaj, which gave social and cultural expression to the aspirations of the urban Hindu population in the Hyderabad State of those days.By the mid-1940s, the Majlis had come to represent a remarkably aggressive and violent face of Muslim communal politics as it organised the razakars (volunteers) to defend the “independence” of this “Muslim” State from merger with the Indian Union.According to historians, over 1,50,000 such `volunteers’ were organised by the Majlis for the Nizam State’s defence but they are remembered for unleashing unparalleled violence against Communal Hindus and the communists and all those who opposed the Nizam’s “go it alone” policy. It is estimated that during the height of the razakar `agitation’, over 30,000 people had taken shelter in the Secunderabad cantonment alone to protect themselves from these `volunteers’.But the razakars could do little against the Indian Army and even put up a fight. Kasim Rizvi, the Majlis leader, was imprisoned and the organisation banned in 1948. Rizvi was released in 1957 on the undertaking that he would leave for Pakistan in 48 hours. Before he left though, Rizvi met some of the erstwhile activists of the Majlis and passed on the presidentship to Abdul Wahed Owaisi, a famous lawyer and an Islamic scholar from jamia nizamia who also was jailed for nearly 10 months after he took over the Majlis leadership as the then govt wanted to abolish the Majlis party but Owaisi refused to do so and was seen as a person who had financially supported the party when it was a bankrupt and weak one after the Police Action in Hyderabad State.Owaisi is credited with having “re-written” the Majlis constitution according to the provisions of the Indian Constitution and “the realities of Muslim minority in independent India”, and fought the legal case for winning back darrusslam mim headquarters for years according to a former journalist, Chander Srivastava. For the first decade-and-a-half after this “reinvention”, the Majlis remained, at best, a marginal player in Hyderabad politics and even though every election saw a rise in its vote share, it could not win more than one Assembly seat.The 1970s saw an upswing in Majlis’ political fortunes. In 1969, it won back its party headquarters, Dar-us-Salaam — a sprawling 4.5-acre compound in the heart of the New City. It also won compensation which was used to set up an ITI on the premises and a women’s degree college in Nizamabad town. In 1976, Salahuddin Owaisi took over the presidentship of the Majlis after his father’s demise who also was also Jailed Various times .This started an important phase in the history of the Majlis as it continued expanding its educational institutions,Hospitals,Banks, including the first Muslim minority Engineering College and Medical College. Courses in MBA, MCA ,Nursing, Pharmacy and other professional degrees followed and now a daily newspaper known as Etemaad Daily. The 1970s were also a watershed in Majlis’ history as after a long period of 31 years, Hyderabad witnessed large-scale communal rioting in 1979. The Majlis came to the forefront in “defending” Muslim life and property Majlis workers could be seen at these moments defending the properties of Muslims in the wake of riots and these workers were very hard even for the police to control them even now it is a known fact that there are nearly about 2500 units of strong members who only act if there is a seirous threat to the Owaisi family and these members are under the direct orders of the Owaisi family which leads the Majlis party leaving aside thousands of workers and informers throughout the State and even outside the country far away till America and the Gulf countries.Salahuddin Owaisi, also known as “Salar-e-Millat” (commander of the community), has repeatedly alleged in his speeches that the Indian state has “abandoned” the Muslims to their fate. Therefore, “Muslims should stand on their own feet, rather than look to the State for help'’, he argues.This policy has been an unambiguous success in leveraging the Majlis today to its position of being practically the “sole spokesman” of the Muslims in Hyderabad and its environs.Voting figures show this clearly. From 58,000 votes in the 1962 Lok Sabha elections for the Hyderabad seat, Majlis votes rose to 1,12,000 in 1980. The clear articulation of this “stand on one’s feet” policy in education and `protection’ during riots doubled its vote-share by 1984. Salahuddin Owaisi won the seat for the first time, polling 2.22 lakh votes. This vote-share doubled in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections to over four lakhs.The Majlis has since continued its hold on the Hyderabad seat winning about five-and-a-half lakh votes each time.Despite remarkable economic prosperity and negligible communal violence in the past decade, the hold of the Majlis on the Muslims of Hyderabad remains, despite minor dents. And despite widespread allegations of Majlis leaders having “made money”, most ordinary Muslims continue to support them because, as one bank executive put it “they represent our issues clearly and unambiguously'’. An old Historian Bakhtiyar khan says the Owaisi family was a rich family even before entering Politics and he says he had seen the late Majlis leader Abdul Wahed Owaisi in an American Buick car at a time when rarely cars were seen on Hyderabad Roads and the family had strong relations with the ersthwhile Nizams of Hyderabad and the Paighs even now the family is considered to be one of the richest familes in Hyderabad.A university teacher says that the Majlis helped Muslims live with dignity and security at a time when they were under attack and even took the fear out of them after the Police action and adds that he has seen Majlis leaders in the front at times confronting with the Police and the Govt. Asaduddin Owaisi, the articulate UK educated barrister from Lincolns Inn College son of Salahuddin Owaisi and Former leader of the Majlis’ Legislature party and now an MP himself who has travelled across the globe meeting world leaders and organizatons and even in war zones compares the Majlis to the Black Power movement of America.The Majlis that emerged after 1957 is a completely different entity from its pre-independence edition, he says adding that comparisons with that bloody past are “misleading and mischievous”. “That Majlis was fighting for state power, while we have no such ambitions or illusions”.He stoutly defends the need for “an independent political voice” for the minorities, which is willing to defend them and project their issues “firmly”.“How can an independent articulation of minority interests and aspirations be termed communal,” he asks and contests any definition of democracy which questions the loyalty of minorities if they assert their independent political identity. “We are a threat not only to the BJP and Hindu communalism, but also to Muslim extremism,” Asaduddin claims. “By providing a legitimate political vent for Muslims to voice their aspirations and fears, we are preventing the rise of political extremism and religious obscurantism when the community is under unprecedented attack from Hindu communalists and the state'’. He can be seen in his speeches speaking against terrorism in the Country and says if the time arises Majlis will stand side by side in defending the Nation and Recently Majlis ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi has Visited Lebanon after the war with israel and met the leaders of the resistance group Hezbollah and he has even visited Bombay and Malegaon Muslims and raised there issues in Parliament and has even represented the police torture victims to the Prime Minister and has given aid From Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen Party Fund.
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