Pakistan clerics continue dominance over state, religion

The Council Islamic Ideology (CII), a constitutionally sanctioned body of the clerics, has taken the responsibility of ensuring that no legislation or policy contradicts the Islamic Scripture.

The CII endorses domestic violence and child marriage and the Pakistani Constitution itself upholds Islamist supremacism and grants sovereignty to Islamic scriptures, reports ANI.

"In Pakistan, everything from child marriage to domestic violence, is justified through quoting the hadith and Quran. An entire body of clerics, the Council of Islamic ideology (CII) is constitutionally sanctioned with the responsibility of ensuring that no legislation or policy contradicts the Islamic scriptures. In the past, the CII has endorsed wife beating," writes journalist Kunwar Khuldune Shahid in The Spectator.

"The Pakistani constitution, which mandates the CII, itself upholds Islamist supremacism and grants sovereignty to Islamic scriptures. Those opposing the scriptures’ usage for any form of bigotry – such as persecution of women – can be silenced by the penal code upholding capital punishment for blasphemy. As a result, in addition to the scriptures, the clergy is further emboldened by the constitution to a point that Islamist mobs take it upon themselves to regularly dish out vigilante justice," he wrote.

The position enjoyed by the clerics is evident from the manner in which a prominent religious scholar had blamed women in the country for the spread of COVID-19.

A popular religious scholar of Pakistan, Maulana Tariq Jameel, triggered a controversy after he blamed women of the country for the spread of Coronavirus.

He said women's "indecency" and universities out to mislead the youth were to blame for the virus' outbreak, reported Geo News.

The religious scholar made the controversial remarks during an event where he was invited to say a prayer during Prime Minister Imran Khan's Ehsaas Telethon a day.

"Who has torn honour to pieces in my country? Who makes my country's daughters dance? Who is asking them to wear skimpier clothes? Whom should I hold accountable for this sin?" he was quoted as saying in the event by Geo News.

"When a Muslim's daughter choose the path of indecency and the youth choose vulgarity [...] the biggest curse of God was on the people of Lut (A.S) because they crossed all boundaries of indecency," he said.

"God had cursed them five times. No nation was cursed more than once but they were cursed five times," Jameel had said.

"The country's colleges and universities, especially private schools, were making people go further away from religion," he had claimed as he triggered the row.