Genius of CII

http://www.dawn.com/news/1243241/article-6-applicable-against-punjab-assembly

March 3, 2016: "ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Wednesday said that Article 6 of the Constitution, which deals with treason, could be applied against the Punjab Assembly for approving a bill without the council’s consent. “Pakistan was established on the basis of the two nation theory and Islam is the religion of the country, and the council is a constitutional body to ensure that all the laws are formulated in accordance [with] Sharia,” Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, the council chairperson, told the media after the first of a two-day CII meeting. He said the council has received the Protection of Women against Violence Bill 2015, with was recently passed by the Punjab Assembly, but the council has not yet reviewed it because it is in English."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1049717/khula-without-husbands-consent-is-un-islamic-rules-cii/
Feb 18, 2016: "ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has declared it un-Islamic for courts to use ‘Khula’ (right of a woman to seek divorce) without the consent of a husband to dissolve a marriage."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1026581/islamising-laws-in-a-first-senate-debates-cii-annual-report/
Jan 13, 2016: "The PPP senator also cited some controversial CII announcements: the body had rejected a draft bill for establishing homes for the elderly saying the idea was against the norms and traditions of society, rejected the Women’s Protection Bill 2006, and declared that DNA test results were ‘unacceptable’ as primary evidence in rape cases."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/29/pakistan-council-of-islamic-ideology-clerics-fight-over-ahmadi-sect
Dec 29, 2015: "A scuffle broke out on Tuesday between the two at a gathering of Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) when the chairman, Mohammad Khan Sherani, called on the group to consider whether Ahmadis, who are declared non-Muslims by the constitution, should be considered murtads that have rejected Islam.
A declaration of apostasy by the constitutional body charged with advising parliament on lawmaking would likely put Ahmadis in even greater peril, given that many interpretations of Islamic law prescribe death for people who quit the religion."
...
"At Tuesday’s meeting, Sherani also attempted to force a discussion on whether millions of non-Muslims in Pakistan should be subject to the medieval practice of paying a jizya tax, despite enjoying equal rights under the constitution."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/976546/cii-wants-co-education-abolished-at-the-earliest/
"October 21, 2015. CII wants co-education abolished at the earliest "

http://tribune.com.pk/story/976119/women-not-required-to-cover-faces-hands-and-feet-under-sharia-cii/
October 20, 2015: "Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said women are not required to cover their faces, hands or feet under Islamic Sharia law, a rare judgement from the conservative council of clerics seen as “encouraging” by rights activists on Tuesday."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/893571/khula-is-prerogative-of-husband-not-courts-says-cii/
March 28, 2015: "ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani said on Wednesday courts cannot use the term ‘Khula’ (right of a woman to seek divorce) while dissolving a Nikkah (marriage contract).
“Courts are dissolving Nikkah in the name of Khula, which is not correct. Courts can dissolve marriage contracts but only the husband has the right to grant Khula,” Maulana Sherani told a news conference after the 199th meeting of the CII.
He said the council has recommended an amended computerised Nikkah form to facilitate the masses. Letters will be issued soon to ask concerned ministries to implement the new forms, he added. Regarding the ‘Quran Asan Tehreek’, the CII chairman said the Holy Quran used specific language which should be understood properly in Arabic only and added that such campaigns should not be encouraged."

http://www.dawn.com/news/1092468/pakistani-laws-prohibiting-underage-marriage-un-islamic-cii
March 11, 2014: "ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) concluded its 191th meeting, here Tuesday with the ruling that the laws related to minimum age of marriage were un-Islamic and that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty."

http://www.dawn.com/news/1092435/cii-wants-law-to-make-2nd-marriage-easy
March 11, 2014: "ISLAMABAD: Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), said on Monday that the laws regarding second marriage of a man in the presence of first wife were against religious principles.
“Sharia allows men to have more than one wife and we demanded that the government should amend the law,” he told reporters after a CII meeting.
The marriage laws were discussed in reply to letters sent by citizens seeking advice.
The laws require a man to have written approval from his existing wife or wives for another marriage."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/627636/islamic-ideology-body-okays-test-tube-babies-terms-sex-change-operations-un-islamic/
Nov 5, 2013: "ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Pakistan on Tuesday declared that human cloning and sex change as un-Islamic acts while conditionally approving test tube babies."

http://tribune.com.pk/story/608359/rape-cases-dna-test-not-admissible-as-primary-evidence/
Sep 24, 2013: "ISLAMABAD: First, it said that DNA tests are not admissible as evidence in rape cases. Then it went back, and instead blamed the media for ‘irresponsible reporting’. On Monday, however, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) ruled against the admissibility of the DNA test as ‘primary evidence’. Not only that, the council also ruled against death penalty for anyone making false accusation of blasphemy."

http://www.dawn.com/news/158803/charity-collection-through-lottery-un-islamic-cii
"Sep 28, 2005: ISLAMABAD, Sept 28: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has declared charity-based business through lottery as un-Islamic."

http://newsweekpakistan.com/losing-their-religion/

"Syed Afzal Haider, a Council member, in his 974-page book, Council of Islamic Ideology: Evolution and Activity, tells us how the Council came to its final draft of the Hudood Ordinance as it was later promulgated by General Zia. It records that Dualibi visited the offices of the Council. However, the Council’s own report to the government in December 1981 observed that Hudood laws were discussed by the Council and the law ministry “under the guidance of Dr. Maruf Dualibi, who was specially detailed by the government of Saudi Arabia for this purpose.”

The Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980, was framed by Dualibi in Arabic sitting in the Council office. It was then translated into Urdu by the government and applied equally to both the Muslim sects despite the fact that the Shia traditionally did not pay zakat to the state. The first clash with the Shia community took place when it staged its “long march” to Islamabad against imposition of zakat on them not permitted by their jurisprudence. The consequence of going against good sense led to comic results. The Supreme Court first exempted all the Shia from paying zakat, which caused most Sunnis to submit certificates under oath that they were Shia, thus preventing deduction of the tax from their bank accounts. Later, the court, acting on equity, extended this exemption to Sunnis as well, thus making zakat voluntary, in violation of the traditional interpretation of Islamic law. Ushr, meaning 10 (percent), fared even worse.

In Agrarian History of Pakistan, land-revenue expert A. K. Khalid has made a study of ushr, coming to the conclusion that it was not correct on the part of General Zia to accept the clerical demand that ushr be treated as zakat. The act of haste that produced the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance ignored the disparity of rates between rain-fed land (10 percent tax) and canal-fed land (5 percent tax). Canal-fed land deserved the 10 percent deduction, but the fear of a backlash from the ulema suspended reason. Now the subterfuge part of the policy on ushr collection is that while ushr on canal-fed lands is compulsory (on the basis of self-assessment), it is “voluntary” in the case of rain-fed lands—even though it is only 5 percent.

The next chief of the Council, given to somewhat fiery advocacy of laws on TV, often rebuking the Supreme Court for letting modern banking run in Pakistan, was S. M. Zaman who led it for two three-year terms. He was said to be a Harvard graduate but was nonetheless hardline and is now in the academic council of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Institute of Policy Research headed by Dr. Khursheed Ahmed and which also features two distinguished retired ambassadors, Akram Zaki and Shamshad Ahmad Khan."

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The myth of ‘misinterpreted’ Islam
Khaled Ahmed's

A n a l y s i s

There is a common fallacy that Islam as enforced in Pakistan is misinterpreted and somehow there exists a true religion of Islam which should be revived. At least Masud Mufti in Dawn (29 December 2001) seems to imply that. The truth of the matter is that under the prevailing principles of interpretation, what we have is the correct interpretation of Islam. The ‘rational’ Islam of Sir Syed Ahmad was rejected in his lifetime by all schools of thought among the Muslims, Deobandi and Barelvi alike. In Egypt the reformist spirit of Muhammad Abduh has been challenged and set aside by the Islamists of the 21st century including the ulema of Al-Azhar. There is an emphasis on fiqh under the principles of ijtehad (reinterpretation) . Not many people know that Islamic law is based on fiqh and that ijtehad is allowed only on matters not decided by fiqh . Allama Iqbal once tried to write on ijtehad and corresponded with Maulana Salman Nadvi, asking him tough questions on points where fiqh actually supersedes the Quran, to which the maulana made no reply.

The verdict on riba by the Supreme Court Shariat Appellate Bench in 1999 shocked many, but it was according to the standard application of fiqh . Right after that, the Federal Shariat Court also abolished the old Family Law Ordinance and allowed men to practise polygamy without the permission of their first wives. In an effort to make the verdict rational, the Court said it was good for Pakistan because there were more women here than men! After that the wife of Dr Israr Ahmad, the famous Lahore cleric, said that she would not mind her husband taking another wife. Famous leader of Lashkar-e-Tayba Hafiz Saeed never stopped saying that democracy was against Islam and that those who believed that Islam allowed parliament were ullu (owl). Only the army liked what he kept on saying, but he was right. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs should not be blamed for issuing outrageous Islamic proposals (the latest being that all banknotes be withdrawn and the photo on them of the Quaid-e-Azam be erased) because they are following the rules of accepted interpretation in Islam.

Most people think that extremism comes out of a misinterpretation of Islam. This is wrong. Extremism and violence occur when people do not accept what the Islamists regard as the irreducible crux of Islam in the shape of shariah . (What is shariah may differ from country to country). The mood among the clergy and the Islamists is aggressive since the turn of the 20th century and violence is normally resorted to when a literalist version of fiqh-dominated Islam is not enforced. That is where extremism starts. As for the practicability of literalist Islam, many laws in force have either produced malpractice or have simply lain dormant, as in many cases of dyat (blood money) and qatt-e-yadd (cutting of hands). In such cases the stand of the Islamists is that only they will enforce them correctly when they come to power through aggressively isolationist policies in the manner of Mulla Umar. Below are produced some of the ‘strange-sounding’ statements issued by institutions and individuals charged with the task of enforcing Islam in Pakistan:

Blasphemy to apply to Allah

According to daily Jang, Council for Islamic Ideology will soon hold its session to recommend that anyone blaspheming against Allah too should be punished. It will also recommend that no woman be allowed to marry without the permission of her wali (male guardian). It is expected to ban kite-flying, organ transplant and smoking.

Religion ministry okays Taliban idol-bashing

According to Khabrain , the ministry for religious affairs in Islamabad gave its verdict on the destruction of ancient statues in Afghanistan by saying that the Taliban were right in doing so. The Foreign Office had asked the ministry about the status of this destruction in shariat . Thus Pakistan had now to support the destruction of the ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan, although it was not made clear what should be done to such statues ion Pakistan.

Objection to Christian hangman

According to Khabrain , the Council for Islamic Ideology had become seized with the question of Christian jallad (hangman) executing Muslim convicts in Pakistan. Among issues taken to the Council by the religion ministry was the issue of girls marrying of their own choice.

Closure during namaz

According to daily Din, religion ministry had given the task of preparing a draft ordinance for the enforcement of namaz in Pakistan. Its directive was that all businesses should be closed down five times during namaz and during Friday namaz, and no one should be allowed to break this law. The entire country will have the same namaz and azan (call) timings.

Religion minister against Punjabi Conference

Quoted in daily Insaf , federal religion minister Mehmud Ghazi said that the Gandhis of Pakistan were trying to raise the slogan of Punjabi to undermine the Islamic ideology of Pakistan. He said that the Punjabi Conference held in Lahore was an Indian scheme which emphasised the region at the cost of Islam.

No songs on PTV, please!

According to daily Jang , the federal ministry for religious affairs headed by Mr Mahmud Ghazi had sent a recommendation to the ministry of information that all songs and dances shown on PTV be banned. The ministry’s letter said that PTV was involved in emulating Indian TV channels and was showing women shaking their bodies.

Ideology Council recommends ‘wali’

According to Khabrain , Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) announced that nikah of a girl without the permission of wali (male member of family) was un-Islamic and those girls getting married of their own choice should be punished under law. A verdict undoing such a marriage at Lahore High Court was set aside by the Supreme Court not long ago, but the CII favoured the earlier verdict. The other enlightened opinion of the CII was that co-education should be banned, that all lotteries like prize bonds should be banned and the paper used for printing the Quran should not be recycled.

Ideology Council critical of Supreme Court

According to daily Din , chairman of the Ideology Council of Pakistan (CII) criticised the Supreme Court for postponing the removal of bank interest for another year. Its chairman Mr S.M. Zaman said that it was not an economic issue but an issue related to the Quran and the Prophet PBUH. CII had earlier endorsed the destruction of Afghanistan’s archaeological heritage by the Taliban and criticised the Hanafi law of letting girls marry without the permission of the wali. According to Nawa-e-Waqt , the Council also rejected religion minister Mahmood Ghazi’s plan to use zakat to allow the poor to invest in businesses by saying that zakat could not be used for investment of any kind.

Namaz defaulters to be punished

According to Khabrain , religion ministry had sent the draft of a new law called Amr bil maruf wa nahi anal munkir Ordinance to the cabinet for approval and enforcement. Under this law everyone will be required to say namaz , all government employees will have to lay aside work during namaz timings and will be fined if they didn’t say namaz. At all levels, ulema committees will see to it that non- namazi Muslims are punished. All those who refuse to say namaz after three warnings will be fined.

Insurance is un-Islamic

According to Khabrain , Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) ruled that insurance of all kinds was against Islam and should be abolished forthwith. Instalments paid into a policy should be given under mudaraba (leasing) to make insurance Islamic. Mudaraba business did not do well in Pakistan.

Non-alcoholic beer un-Islamic

According to Jang , the Council of Islamic Ideology came to the conclusion that soft drinks sold as non-alcoholic beer were not jaez (allowed) in Islam. The Council said that any drink which is not sharab (alcohol) could not be called sharab or that the name beer should not be put on it. It said preparation and trade of non-alcoholic beer inside or outside Pakistan was haram (prohibited).

Kalima for the flag

Daily Khabrain reported that despite the passage of 23 years since the Council of Islamic Ideology made its first proposal about it, the government had not changed the flag. The recommendation was that kalima tayyaba be inscribed on the Pakistan national flag along with Allah Akbar. It was a pity that such a good scheme for Islamising the national flag was not accepted so far.

No women in ads, please!

Quoted in Jang , the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) said that women should be disallowed from appearing in ads and that only men should be used to promote products through photographs. It said that women were allowed to work as air hostesses but they should wearing burqa or hijab on board. Also, no darzi (tailor) should be allowed to sew the clothes for women and that only women darzi should be used for women. According to the daily, CII also recommended that ACRs of all state employees should contain sections indicating religious observance and those not saying namaz should not be promoted.

Jehad is no defensive war!

According to Jang , the Council for Islamic Ideology in Islamabad declared that it was wrong to label jehad as a defensive war alone. The truth according to CII was that jehad could be offensive as well. According to Nawa-e-Waqt , the CII stated that Western propaganda against jehad had pushed it into the background, but everyone should be grateful to Afghanistan for having revived it. It said that the greatest act of piety was participation in jehad and one cause of the decline of the Muslims was their abandonment of it.

Currency will be banned

Daily Jang magazine quoted Lashkar-e-Tayba chief Hafiz Saeed as saying that when Islamic government is imposed on Pakistan currency will be abolished and gold and silver coins only will be legal tender. He said that the constitution too would be abolished as there was no need of a constitution in the presence of Quran. According to Khabrain , an insulter of the Prophet PBUH was sentenced to death in a Lahore Sessions Court because Yusuf ‘Kazzab’ had claimed to be the khalifa (appointee) of the Prophet PBUH.

Get rid of ‘bainamaz’ officers

According to daily Pakistan , the Council of Islamic Ideology recommended to the government that it should fire civil servants who did not say their namaz, and that areas where people said their namaz should be selected for concessional development funds.

Against Sunday holiday

According to daily Pakistan , Islamic Ideology Council (IIC) resolved in Islamabad that Pakistan should revert to Friday as weekly holiday for Islamic blessings, which supported a similar demand made by some shopkeepers in Lahore. However, two members of the CII, not member Afzal Haider, insisted that instead of reverting to Friday, the government should ensure that people said their Friday prayer.Jail against Islam

Prison not allowed in Islam

According to Khabrain , Council of Islamic Ideology declared that sending anyone to prison was against Shariat and recommended that prison sentences be abolished. Early Islam had no jails, no police, and no banks. Thieves used to have their hands cut.