Keep Your Hands to Yourself, Maulvi Sahib By Sahar Syed November 3, 2011 The word, 'Maulvi' (cleric) used

to be a word that would strike awe and admirati on. One day while I was travelling on a public bus on my way to university, I felt a hand on my backside. Startled, I turned around in an attempt to catch the culpr it. However, the only person standing behind me was an old man. Clad in a white shalwar kameez and topi, this mans pure white beard was long enough to reach his chest. He couldnt have been less than seventy-years-old. I doubted myself, thinking that I was just being paranoid and it was probably an accident. The old man probably had several grandchildren my age. He would never commit such an act. I turned back around. Thirty seconds later I felt the hand again. I was outraged. I turned and confronted the old man, but he pretended to be deaf. Excuse me! I am talking to you. What do you think you are doing? I got absolutely no response; he kept looking outside the window. After failing at confrontation, I called the bus conductor and reported the harassment. Alas! This too ended in mortification. He said something to the old man in a language I was unable to decipher, and the two burst out laughing. I was stunned at the standards of respect our society possesses. I was dressed modestly in a kurta shalwar, and wasnt wearing clothes that anyone could claim would prompt men to ogle or take me for a girl with a loose character. How else could I have protected myself? I thought miserably. I was clueless as to what prompted this old man to indulge in such perversity. Even though I had been brought up to respect my elders, after this incident, I r ealized that even the very elderly are capable of doing wrong. The word, Maulvi (cleric) used to be a word that would strike awe and admiration i n people a long time ago. Children were taught to respect these so-called pious old men, and try to imitate their deeds. However, I have heard the news of a Maulvi raping a girl in a madrasa and of th ese same men beating a student till his leg was broken. I have heard real storie s of Maulvis preaching Islam to others but promoting domestic violence at home. I have seen Maulvis shamelessly staring at women on their way to teach children the Holy Quran and I have heard the news of Maulvis assaulting innocent children . I have often noticed that instead of tapping the positive energy of the masses, sermons by Maulvis tend to encourage negative energy which promotes aggression, disturbance, confusion and racism. I have wondered if they do so on purpose, in an attempt to wrongfully use their power. When a person is given the respect tha t he does not deserve, this is the inevitable outcome. It is sad that two standards that should generate unquestioned respect from soci ety, Maulvis and the elderly, hold no special ranking with me. I was disgusted b

y the incident that took place on the bus. Where I used to see kindness and wisd om in the eyes of the elderly, now I see them on an equal platform as all others in our society. Similarly, my experience with Maulvis has led me to believe the y are no better than ordinary human beings and are not devoid of sin. In fact, t hey have taken advantage of people who consider them to be men of God. In a society like ours, where the two classes of people who should be most respe cted misuse their status, how can we trust and respect each other? The most resp ected group of people has been transformed in to most feared one. Parents now re main alert when the Maulvi sahib comes to teach their children. Will there be a time when these once respected segments of society will regain t heir lost status? Will we ever be able to imagine a holy figure when the word Mau lvi pops up? I wish I could say that change is around the corner. However, I fear that none o f this will happen anytime soon. Source: The Express Tribune, Lahore URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicCulture_1.aspx?ArticleID=5847

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COMMENTS 11/8/2011 9:22:17 PM satwa gunam @Ghazala Khan, Great that somebody has guts to tell the truth nothing but the tr uth.

11/8/2011 9:20:44 PM satwa gunam Hinduism gives all ordinary human four phases of life being Bachelor, Household, sanyasam in society and to forest in the search of truth. Celibacy has been given to only those whose thought are stable and beyond the pr imordial weakness of human like desire, anger, greed, obsession, arrogance etc.. . Generally in the open society like Christians and Hindus these are brought out a nd discussed so that this evil is bared before society. However it is not so in Islam where everything told against wrong done by Muslim is considered as action against Islam. This is the attitude of general Muslim wherever they are.

11/8/2011 12:52:46 AM muhammad yunus Dear Ghazala, Just to reassure you, the Qur an sets a timetable of three months for a divorce to become irrevocable. This is clearly stated in the passage 2;228 /229, 2:231/232. On the spot talaaq is neither prescribed by the Qur an nor supp orted by its message. Mullahs can bring Islamic law to defend their views but as demonstrated in a recent article, Islamic Law is NOT a Word of God and therefor e cannot take precedence over the Qur an. There are people like asses that carry loads of books but understand nothing, or are deaf, dumb and blind and cannot f ind their way. Those who are bent on denying the Qur an even after gaining its k

nowledge probably fit this category. So be bold but polite to challenge them.

11/7/2011 11:42:40 PM Ghazala Khan Dear Mr. Sadiq, Are you trying to defend the Mullah in Pakistan who does halala with a fresh woman every night? You must be sick. Go see a psychiatrist. This is nothing but rape in the name of Islam. Not very unusual in our religious practi ce, at least in the South Asian subcontinent. New Age Islam readers from other p arts of the world may tell us about other countries. Go to Phulwari Sharif or Deoband, tell the Juhala sitting there you have given triple talaq to your wife in a dream. They will tell you, you are now divorced, but if you don t want to divorce your wife or let us say want to marry her agai n, there is a way out: Halala. Bring her here, I will marry her, sleep with her a night and then divorce her, so that she is free to marry you again.

11/7/2011 9:06:26 PM muhammed yunus Saf Ali. Your comment is beautiful. I wish more young people come forward and ca ll a spade a spade. If they have any first hand experience with any perverted mu llah, they must be bold enough to post a small report to create greater awarenes s against those with sullied minds behinds white cloaks - those who hedge behind relligiousity to behave in an irreligious manner bringng shame to Islam. The y ounger generaiton must speak up - loud and in a chorus.