by B. R. GOWANI
Rinkle Kumari’s family say that she was forcibly converted to Islam. PHOTO/BBC
“Pakistan mein sab log ek doosre ke saath mile huwe hain, yahan insaaaf sirf muslaman ke lye hai, Hindu ke lye koi insaaf nahee hai, mujhe yaheen court room mein maar daalo, lekin Dar-ul-aman nahee bhejo, yeh sab log mile huwe hain yeh humein maar dale.nge”
“Everyone in Pakistan is hand in glove, there is justice only for Muslims, there is no justice for Hindus. Kill me here in court, but don’t send me to Darul-Aman, all these people are hand in glove, they will kill us”.
Rinkle Kumari, a 19 year old Hindu student, vented her anger and frustration on March 26 when the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court said that Rinkle Kumari, Dr. Lata Kumari (now Hafsa Bibi), and Asha Devi (now Haleema Bibi) should be sent to a women’s shelter in Karachi for three weeks so that they have time to think about it freely. (Watch the KTN TV report in Sindhi.)
On February 24, Rinkle (from Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh Province), was abducted during the predawn hours. Within 10 hours, she had been converted to Islam and was married off to Naveed Shah. Her Muslim name is Faryal Shah. The two brothers behind this and other conversions are a local rogue politician Mian Mitha, a member of the ruling PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) and the National Assembly, and his brother Mian Shaman.
The marriage was presented as a union of two people who liked each other.
President’s sister and Sindh Chief Minsiter’s daughter, both National Assembly members, have raised the issue of the plight of Hindu girls.
In the court of Civil Judge Gotki, Rinkle told that she wanted to go back to her family; she was instead sent to the Sukkur Women’s Police Station.
Rinkal Kumari’s brother emailed a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (a copy was also sent to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan).
According to him, Rinkal’s abductors have told her that “if she wants to save her parents’ life she should choose to convert [change] her religion and marry [an] unknown guy…. And yesterday [the] judge ordered that [the] girl wants to change her religion and want[s] to marry …Naveed…. [The] judge even didn’t allow [the] girl to meet … her parents or anybody from her family. There were 500-700 people in [the] courtroom all with guns and there was nobody from [the] girl’s family…. Now hundred[s] of people will take advantage of [the] 18-year-old girl and after that they will sell her to somebody”.
On GEO TV, Mitha insisted that Rinkle Kumari decided to become Muslim because after death she didn’t want to be cremated but preferred to be buried! Who can tell this religious nut that the fire of cremation would be much better than the hellfire called Pakistan.
When he was asked would she be allowed to go back to her parents if she wanted to, he replied that in that case she would be eligible to be murdered or “wajib-ul-qatl” But because Pakistan is a Muslim state just in name (Islamic Republic of Pakistan) and not in reality, it would not be possible, he added.
But for these kind of characters nothing is impossible. Look at what happened during the court proceedings in Mirpur Mathelo. Only four persons from Rinkle’s side were permitted in the court building, and out of those four, only two were allowed in the court room. Whereas hundreds of Mitha’s people were in the courtroom and thousands of more were raising slogans outside the court. Bearded people openly displaying weapons was an open threat to the judges and court.
Later, during the press conference, Rinkle’s answers to journalists were being dictated via blue tooth. She wanted to say that Sura Al Ikhlas inspired her to convert to Islam. Instead she said “Sura Eeklus”. Upon questions as to the meaning of the sura, “she was dumbstruck and was forcibly taken out by Mithu’s son. Yes, you read it right. While in Police custody, she was under complete control of Mithu’s men.”
Mitha also pointed out that if a non-Muslim comes to a Muslim to convert to Islam, the Muslim should not delay it even by a day, because then he will be considered an infidel.
Mitha should have been asked one simple question:
Would he have allowed his daughters or sisters to marry men of their choices, not non-Muslims but Muslims?
He or his henchmen would have buried them alive.
Politicians don’t miss a chance to utilize any issue which is beneficial to them. Not surprisingly, the main opposition party of Nawaz Sharif claiming itself as a “progressive” party has shown some sympathy towards the Hindu victims but with a qualification: If the women have willingly accepted Islam, then they have the right to do so.
And that is how you avoid annoying the fanatics. Rinkle is shown saying a Qalma or Shahada: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s messenger.” (Shia Muslims add one more line: “And Ali is the vicegerent of Allah.”)
In almost all Muslim countries, it is almost impossible to officially leave Islam. You can’t just declare: “There is no Allah but god, and Muhammad is not Allah’s messenger.” You say that and you leave this world*.
This is not the first time that forced conversions have taken place.
Supreme Court decision
On April 18, the Supreme Court of Pakistan Chief Justice gave the following verdict:
“We gave these girls sufficient time to think about their future and we will not force them. They are grown-up and are allowed to go wherever they want to go.”
At first glance, it seems a sound and reasonable judgment. The Chief Justice recognizes that the girls are adults and so should have the right to decide what course of action they would like to pursue. And the court has acted in a democratic fashion because it is not using any “force” to coerce them in acting against their free will.
But wait a minute.
Did the Chief Justice inquired as to how these women ended up in this situation in the first place.
Did the Chief Justice issued an arrest warrant against Mian Mitha for his involvement in so many abductions of Hindu girls?
Did the Chief Justice regretted his decision to send these women to a shelter house and not to their parents as Rinkle Kumari had requested?
This is the same Chief Justice who in 2007 stood up against the then President General Pervez Musharraf when the later suspended him. He fought back and thus began Musharraf’s downfall.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should have followed the example of Justices Muhammad Munir and Malik Rustam Kayani set almost six decades ago. In 1953, many religious parties rioted against the Ahmadi Muslims in order to force the government to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims. The Punjab governor ordered an inquiry. The Munir Report of 1954 was the outcome. The gist of the conclusion was that all the ulama agreed that the Ahmadis are not Muslims but none of the two ulama agreed on what constituted a Muslim. And so the Justices rejected the demand of the Muslim parties to declare Ahmadi Muslims as non-Muslims.
It was a very enlightening decision.
And what did Chaudhry do in 2012? Using a vague language, he retreated because he is scared of the religious fanatics.
What he should have done and can still do it if he wants to save Pakistan from the claws of these religious madmen.
He should have told, people like Naveed Shah who abduct Hindu and Christian girls in the name of love and then convert them to Islam, in clear language:
“You’re in love with a Hindu or a Christian girl? Fine! I can understand that love is blind and doesn’t care much for caste, creed, color, or religion. And now a days, for gender. Pakistan’s 95% population is Muslim. About 2% are Hindus and 2% are Christians. In this situation it is understandable that minorities, whose condition is extremely miserable, should get scared when members of their communities leave them.
“So what I would order is that you should leave Islam and convert to the religion of the person you’re in love with. And you wouldn’t notice the change of religion, because love is blind.
“And don’t worry about Islam in Pakistan. Even if all the Hindu and Christian girls get married to Muslim men, at the most, about a percent or two of the Muslims will have to leave Islam.”
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com
*(Kuwait is considering death penalty for insulting Allah or His Prophet.)