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Land sakes!
About 150 seminaries and 56 mosques in Islamabad are illegal
A baton wielding Lal Masjid student
The last time the Capital Development Authority (CDA) demolished an unauthorized mosque, the move backfired and culminated in the 2007 Lal Masjid operation. And that is why the authorities are reluctant to take action against more than 200 illegal mosques and seminaries in Islamabad.
The Lal Masjid dispute had worsened after the demolition of seven mosques which the CDA had declared illegal, because they were constructed on public land. During the last five years, officials admit many such mosques and seminaries have sprung up, and some of them have even sheltered terrorists.
"Yes, some seminaries provided shelter to militants who later attacked government installations and security personnel," said Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema, who headed the National Crisis Management Cell during the Lal Masjid crisis.
He said he could not comment on the religious prerequisites for building a mosque, but as a law enforcer he knew building a mosque on public land was illegal.
But Maulana Abdullah, a cleric in an illegal mosque, said such construction was justified. "The whole world belongs to Allah," he said.
Brig Cheema said the local administration had failed to check the mushroom growth of illegal mosques in the capital, and that it was much easier to stop illegal construction at the initial stages than to demolish a mosque after it had been built.
Late Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rashid had once said to this scribe that after a mosque had been built, no matter legally or illegally, it could not be razed. He wanted the CDA to change its master plan to accommodate every mosque.
CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid declined to comment, saying it was a sensitive issue.
According to a recent survey conducted jointly by the CDA, the police and the district administration, about 150 seminaries and 56 mosques in Islamabad were constructed illegally. But no action has been taken so far.
"The Lal Masjid incident occurred in 2007. The CDA had been constantly demolishing illegal structures including mosques in the past. The Lal Masjid issue was politicized and mishandled," said a senior CDA official who used to supervise demolition operations.
Illegal mosques were razed late at night in order to avoid public backlash. "We never gave them time to react. Once a structure is demolished, there is little the land grabber can do," he said.
Illegal mosques and seminaries are more common in rural areas, but there are sporadic examples of such structures in sectors G-11 and G-10. These seminaries offer free lodging and food to hundreds of people, especially the families of the clerics. They sustain on local fundraising. The clerics generate significant influence over the local population, and that stops the law enforcers from taking action against them.
But the real strength of these illegal seminaries is their students. Most of them are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas, and follow their clerics' every order.
Before the eventual operation against Lal Masjid, the authorities had repeatedly planned action against Jamia Fareedia - an affiliated seminary situated in sector E-7 near Faisal Mosque. Baton-wielding students frustrated every such attempt.
A surprising aspect of the problem is the provision of utilities, especially electricity, to such mosques. Like the CDA, the officials of Islamabad Electric Supply Company declined to comment.
Qari Hanif Jalandhari, secretary general of Wafaqul Madaris Pakistan, admitted prior permission was needed from civic bodies for building mosques. "But a mosque that has been built and has regular worshipers cannot be destroyed," he said.
In a recent meeting with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, he said he had reiterated his demand of forming a committee to review and settle the issue of illegal mosques once and for all.
But with elections just a few months away, the government would not risk offending conservative voters.
TFT CURRENT ISSUE| December 14-20, 2012 - Vol. XXIV, No. 20
By Shahzad Raza
Report: Land sakes! by Shahzad Raza
About 150 seminaries and 56 mosques in Islamabad are illegal
A baton wielding Lal Masjid student
The last time the Capital Development Authority (CDA) demolished an unauthorized mosque, the move backfired and culminated in the 2007 Lal Masjid operation. And that is why the authorities are reluctant to take action against more than 200 illegal mosques and seminaries in Islamabad.
The Lal Masjid dispute had worsened after the demolition of seven mosques which the CDA had declared illegal, because they were constructed on public land. During the last five years, officials admit many such mosques and seminaries have sprung up, and some of them have even sheltered terrorists.
"Yes, some seminaries provided shelter to militants who later attacked government installations and security personnel," said Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema, who headed the National Crisis Management Cell during the Lal Masjid crisis.
He said he could not comment on the religious prerequisites for building a mosque, but as a law enforcer he knew building a mosque on public land was illegal.
But Maulana Abdullah, a cleric in an illegal mosque, said such construction was justified. "The whole world belongs to Allah," he said.
Brig Cheema said the local administration had failed to check the mushroom growth of illegal mosques in the capital, and that it was much easier to stop illegal construction at the initial stages than to demolish a mosque after it had been built.
Late Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rashid had once said to this scribe that after a mosque had been built, no matter legally or illegally, it could not be razed. He wanted the CDA to change its master plan to accommodate every mosque.
CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid declined to comment, saying it was a sensitive issue.
According to a recent survey conducted jointly by the CDA, the police and the district administration, about 150 seminaries and 56 mosques in Islamabad were constructed illegally. But no action has been taken so far.
"The Lal Masjid incident occurred in 2007. The CDA had been constantly demolishing illegal structures including mosques in the past. The Lal Masjid issue was politicized and mishandled," said a senior CDA official who used to supervise demolition operations.
Illegal mosques were razed late at night in order to avoid public backlash. "We never gave them time to react. Once a structure is demolished, there is little the land grabber can do," he said.
Illegal mosques and seminaries are more common in rural areas, but there are sporadic examples of such structures in sectors G-11 and G-10. These seminaries offer free lodging and food to hundreds of people, especially the families of the clerics. They sustain on local fundraising. The clerics generate significant influence over the local population, and that stops the law enforcers from taking action against them.
But the real strength of these illegal seminaries is their students. Most of them are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas, and follow their clerics' every order.
Before the eventual operation against Lal Masjid, the authorities had repeatedly planned action against Jamia Fareedia - an affiliated seminary situated in sector E-7 near Faisal Mosque. Baton-wielding students frustrated every such attempt.
A surprising aspect of the problem is the provision of utilities, especially electricity, to such mosques. Like the CDA, the officials of Islamabad Electric Supply Company declined to comment.
Qari Hanif Jalandhari, secretary general of Wafaqul Madaris Pakistan, admitted prior permission was needed from civic bodies for building mosques. "But a mosque that has been built and has regular worshipers cannot be destroyed," he said.
In a recent meeting with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, he said he had reiterated his demand of forming a committee to review and settle the issue of illegal mosques once and for all.
But with elections just a few months away, the government would not risk offending conservative voters.
TFT CURRENT ISSUE| December 14-20, 2012 - Vol. XXIV, No. 20
By Shahzad Raza
Report: Land sakes! by Shahzad Raza
