It has been stated numerous times and being reiterated here that Pakistan is the only country in the world which was created in the name of religion (Zaman, 2020). However, our forefathers seem to have made a slight mistake when choosing which exact Islamic sect Pakistan will stand for. Since all the Muslim sects have significantly dispersed belief systems. We as Muslims make our religious beliefs controversial when we as a community have divergent belief sets in total contrast to one another. Yet there is one point on which all the Muslims unite and there is no second opinion and that is Namoos-e-Rasalat (Sanctity of Prophet Muhammadﷺ). Protecting the Honor of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the crux of our religion.
However, protecting that honor comes in many forms and most important of which is not indulging in any activities that are against the teachings of Prophet ﷺ. And that is the biggest honor we Muslims reflect in our daily practices whether it is offering prayers, conducting business, arranging funerals or even the smallest thing as drinking water while sitting down and in three sips. Thus all Muslims agree on a similar stance when it comes to protecting the Honor of Holy Prophet ﷺ , including Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to a recent study by Ali, Anwar and Khan (2020) prime minister wants to achieve the same objectives as that of TLP but the clash is in the way both parties want to achieve their goals. Using Critical Discourse Analysis technique the researchers analyzed the speech of PM Imran Khan and concluded that his stance regarding the situation he too is against islamophobia and blasphemy, but he is more inclined towards a long term solution rather than temporarily igniting heat and eventually reaching no end.
In this blasphemy crisis Prime Minister Imran Khan is antagonist, hopeful to achieve his objectives through unity and mutual co-operation. He suggests that the situation in hand is universal for the Islamic world and not limited to Pakistan
It is a fact that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is a representative party of the Barelvis who comprise of around 75 – 80 percent of the Muslims in Pakistan (Ahmed & Ranjha, 2020) . It is a party of the common man. Their leaders do not have any air-conditioned containers or SUVs. Their leaders do not have bullet proof glass installed when talking to their followers. Their leaders do not have security guards at their disposal. Maybe this is why these leaders resonate so much with the general public that TLP became the third largest political party in a matter of 5 years.
Going by the norm if majority of the population of your country is taking a similar stance it does not challenge the writ of the government rather it means the government needs to re-evaluate their strategies.
زبان خلق کو نقارہٴ خدا سمجھو
And that is the essence of democracy. TLP is not an Islamist group as being consistently reported by Oxford Analytica (2020, 2021) in the last two year rather it is the third largest democratic political party of Pakistan and very much likely to become the opposition (or even form the government) in the next elections. And maybe that is what everyone is so afraid of.
References
Ahmed, A., & Ranjha, B. Z. (2020) Salafising Barelwiyat: Salafi Doctrine of Al Wala’Wal Bara and TLP Politics in Pakistan. Journal of Research in Humanities Volume 56-2.
Chacko, J. (2020). Religious Parties. Pakistan’s Political Parties: Surviving between Dictatorship and Democracy, 105.
Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Burhan Anwar, Mansoor Khan (2020) An Insight into Attitude of Govt. of Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan Reflected in Imran Khan’s Speech. Elementary Education Online, 19 (3), 2855-2862
Oxford Analytica. (2020). Pakistan will keep Islamist protesters in check. Emerald Expert Briefings, (oxan-es).
Oxford Analytica. (2021). Banning Islamist party is risky for Pakistan’s Khan. Emerald Expert Briefings, (oxan-es).
Oxford Analytica. (2021). Pakistani Taliban are redefining their goal. Emerald Expert Briefings, (oxan-db).
