If a handout perceivably issued by the Islamic State (IS) is to go by, the self-styled Islamists carried out Wednesday's bloodbath in a passenger bus transporting members of Ismaili community to mark their entry into a battlefield for "retribution" and "implementation" of Shariah in Pakistan. However, the local religious scholars representing different schools of thoughts think otherwise.
At the scene of deadly terrorist attack on minority members at Safoora Roundabout the law enforcement agencies found a handout titling "Advent of the Islamic State, News to Rawafidh's Terrible Fate!" Undersigned by "Daulatul Islamiyyah Baaqiya", the leaflet went viral on social media sites as this violence-prone city remained shut Thursday to mourn the carnage.
The day witnessed three more wounded succumbing to their injuries to take the death toll of the tragic incident to 47 as at least 44 deceased were laid to rest early in the morning in a community graveyard at Sakhi Hasan. "Beware! The mujahideen (fighters of Islam) of Daulatul Islamiyyah in Khorasan (present day Afghanistan) and the loyal troops of the khalifa (caliph) of all the Muslims have entered the battlefield for retribution and for the implementation of Shariah," reads the single-page document.
The Safoora bloodshed, the IS said, was carried out in retaliation of: "barbaric atrocities against the Ahl Sunnat Wal Jamaat by the Rawafidh (a critical reference to Shiite factions), especially against the women, in the Levant, Iraq and Yemen. The martyrdom of innocent Muslims at the hands of Rawafidh in Raja Bazaar, Rawalpindi. The martyred students of Laal Masjid. Martyrdom of mujahideen in Keamari and other fake encounters by scum like Rao Anwar and other foul officers".
"We swear that we will continue to make you and your family shed tears of blood," the leaflet warned what it called the "soldiers of Rawafidh and "Taaghut" (evil). The self-proclaimed Islamic State vowed not to rest until "we rid this land of your filthy existence and implement the Shariah on it". The local religious scholars, specially the Ahle Hadiths, who attach equal importance to the notion of Jihad in Islam along with preaching, said the "Daish" way of implementing Islamic Shariah was not compatible to the teachings of Holy Quran and revered Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
They, however, doubt authenticity of the "piece of paper" saying this could be the culprits' tactic to distract investigators and urged the latter to probe into the matter thoroughly. "There is no room for such acts ((indiscriminate deadly attacks) in Shariah," said Sheikhul Hadith Abdullah Nasir Rehmani, Sindh chapter amir of Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JAH).
Sheikh Rehmani believes that it is the responsibility of the government in place to ensure the implementation of Islamic Shariah. "Our Islamic role is to keep informing it (government) about what is going wrong," he added. Terming Wednesday's indiscriminate killing of innocent people as unjustified, the JAH amir said if the government did not take the positive feedback from "us" it would be deemed failed in the eyes of Almighty. "Nowhere in the world the Shariah has ever been enforced by killing innocents. This, rather, can be a conspiracy to defame Islam," viewed Muhammad Naeem, the grand mufti of Jamia Binoria Karachi.
Terming the IS a "fitnah" itself, the Deobandi scholar blasted the government for winking to its responsibility to apprehend the real perpetrators by basing its investigation on an anonymous "piece of paper". "This may be a distraction the investigators must be mindful of," he opined. Suppose the leaflet belongs to Daish? In that case, Mufti Naeem advised the IS to "talk to those sitting in the parliament" instead of targeting innocent civilians. "We don't accept this version of Islam. It is a Fitnah," he told Business Recorder.
Professor Kamal Hassan Usmani, former principal of Hamdard College and the Amir of Hizbullah, also dubbed the massacre un-Islamic. "What happened yesterday (Wednesday) is not at all going to help anyone implement Shariah," the scholar maintained. He wondered how come the self-declared champions of Islam harmed the minority group, Ismailis, which had done no harm to them. "The suppression of Muslims in India never warrants the same treatment for Hindu minority in Pakistan," said Usmani, also a doctor by profession. The retired professor recalled that never in the history of Islam a Muslim ruler had targeted minorities when challenged by a state of opposite faith. "Preaching", he said, was the Islamic way to promote the divine religion that also supports a "revolt" against the rulers provided the same did not lead to "Fasad Fil Ardh" (anarchy). The religious scholar also flayed Saudi rulers for creating an Islamic leadership vacuum to be filled by misguided non-state actors like IS. "Things like these are badly tarnishing the image of Islam world over," said Professor Usmani.
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