Islamists Divided: Enforcing Shariah by Violence

Nicholas Schmidle is a Pakistan-based writer and a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs. This is his first article for the magazine.

Published in NY Times in 6th Jan 2007 - Next Gen Taliban- Nicolas Schmidle writes that, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, better known by its abbreviation, J.U.I., is a hard-line Islamist party, widely considered a political front for numerous jihadi organizations, including the Taliban. In the last parliamentary elections here, in 2002, the J.U.I. formed a national coalition with five other Islamist parties and led a campaign that was pro-Taliban, anti-American and spiked with promises to implement Shariah, or Islamic law.

In the past year, the J.U.I. chief has tried to disassociate himself from the new generation of Taliban wreaking havoc not only across the border in Afghanistan, as they have for years, but also increasingly in Pakistan. At the same time, Rehman has been trying to persuade foreign ambassadors and establishment politicians here that he is the only one capable of dealing with those same Taliban.

In the process, some Islamists maintain that Rehman has sold them out. Last April, a rocket whistled over the sugarcane fields that separate Rehman’s house from the main road before crashing into the veranda of his brother’s home next door. A few months later, Pakistani intelligence agencies discovered a hit list, drafted by the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, with Rehman’s name on it.

According to this past summer’s U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, approved by all 16 official intelligence agencies, Al Qaeda has regrouped in the Tribal Areas adjoining the province and may be planning an attack on the American homeland.

Rehman doesn’t pretend to be a liberal; he wants to see Pakistan become a truly Islamic state.

For now, it is Islamist violence that seems to have the political upper hand rather than the accommodation of Islamist currents within a democratic society.

Musharraf’s government says the increasingly frequent bombings are evidence of Talibanization creeping east from the Afghanistan border. The local Taliban militants blast shops selling un-Islamic CDs, cable-TV operators, massage parlors and other sites they consider havens of vice. A newspaper editor in Dera Ismail Khan showed me a letter he received, signed by the Taliban, warning him not to print anything that defamed the mujahedeen. They threatened to blow up his office if he didn’t comply.

Mushahid Hussain, secretary general of the pro-Musharraf faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, told me that no one can negotiate the politics of the North-West Frontier Province better than Rehman.

In September, he had the first meeting of his 30-year political career with an American ambassador. What did Rehman and Anne Patterson, the American envoy, discuss? “She urged me to form an electoral alliance with Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf,” he told me a few days after the meeting. “I am not against it. But politically, because of the American presence in Afghanistan and rising extremism, it is a bit hard for us to afford.” Plus, the fact that the Americans thought Bhutto could tackle the Taliban had simply baffled him. “She has no strategy in those areas, and nothing to do with those people,” he said.

“We are struggling for the enforcement of Shariah,” Sirajuddin told me inside a brick shed that was his office. “Twice, in 1994 and 1999, the government said it was committed to enforcing Shariah in this area, but it never did. The people here want Islam to be a way of life.” He added: “We are Muslims, but our legal system is based on English laws. Our movement wants to replace the English system with an Islamic one.” Read more

Aurat Foundation on Bannu's Beheading of Women

Anis Haroon, resident director of aurat foundation laments at the absence of public outrage on beheading of women in Bannu.

She writes in Daily Dawn about aurat foundation, one of leading human right organization, sending a fact finding team to Bannu.

Ms Haroon writes that the DIG perceives the Bannu security situation as an extension of the Waziristan conflict. The law-enforcement agencies claim to be at war with the militants.

She further writes that what is the police’s response to this incident? They are not seriously investigating the case which has led people to suspect that they are involved. A local journalist showed the AF team three threatening letter-cum-press releases from unknown ‘mujahideen’. Interestingly they were all posted from Peshawar.

Identifying two brands of militancy in Bannu, the DIG says the real Taliban apparently respect women. But worse are the common criminals who are acting in the guise of the Taliban. He mentioned two cases where police encounters with apparently religious extremists had caused the latter to surrender and they turned out to be ordinary criminals.

full article

Oct 2007: Aurat Foundation sends a fact finding mission to Bannu. complete report

Sept, 2007: Beheading of women in Bannu.

Aurat Foundation Reports on Beheading in Bannu - NWFP

ANAA requested Aurat Foundation (website) to make our readers more aware of human right situation in Bannu after beheading of two women. Click here for ANAA report on the incidence.

ANAA thanks Anis Haroon, resident director - Aurat foundation, for detailed look into the human right atrocity in Bannu.

Aurat Foundation reports that the law and order situation in the North-West Frontier Province has worsened beyond imagination. The civil liberties are under threat both by the state and medieval elements. The private FM radios are fully in action to spread the retrogressive ideas and in cases even leading to bloody clashes. The music and CD shops are being targeted with bombings to terrorize the masses and force on them their own brand of religion.

Unidentified killers beheaded two women in Bannu after accusing them of prostitution and dumped their bodies in a canal in Moomandkhel on Friday September 07, 2007.

On September 21, 2007 The Aurat Foundation fact-finding team led by Resident Director Rukhshanda Naz, and comprising human rights activist Jamila Gillani , AF staff members Noor Zeba and Asim Maik visited Bannu.

The team called on Bannu DIG Amir Hamza Mehsud. The DIG further added that there were two types of phenomena in Bannu militancy. One was the true Taliban who apparently respected women while others were the criminals acting in the guise of Taliban.

The team, after meeting the DIG, contacted one local woman rights activist Mian Mehfooz-ur-Rehman, presently employed in a government-run project in Bannu. He said the situation had a little improved in Bannu but still it was not possible for women to come to their work places. He said once they reached the office, they locked the door from outside as to show that no work was going on here.

Team then met an advocate who hoped that the civil society and politicians, would not waste time questioning the "morality" of the murdered, but articulate their criticism in strongest possible term against this gross violation of human rights.

Report concluded that the de-capitulation of two women in Bannu was done on suspicion of their involvement in "immoral" activities and the authorities made this statement. They themselves were also not convinced. But they want to take advantage of this propaganda to cite the justification for the murders.

Threatening letters were issued to Bannu NGOs MNAs/MPAs and media, but interestingly all were posted from Peshawar. Lack of immediate & strong action from the government against the criminals is leading to an increase in the incidents & no woman is safe in the conflict area and NWFP. full report

Red Mosque: Some Unanswered Questions.

In London review of Books, Tariq Ali (website), an astute observer, blasts the myth of extremists taking over Pakistan.

He says that the European and North American papers give the impression that the main, if not the only, problem confronting Pakistan is the power of the bearded fanatics skulking in the Hindu Kush, who as the papers see it are on the verge of taking over the country. In this account, all that stops a jihadi finger finding the nuclear trigger is Musharraf. Alas, it now seems he might drown in a sea of troubles and so the helpful State Department has pushed out an over-inflated raft in the shape of Benazir Bhutto.

In fact, the threat of a jihadi takeover of Pakistan is remote. There is no possibility of a takeover by religious extremists unless the army wants one, as in the 1980s, when General Zia-ul-Haq handed over the Ministries of Education and Information to the Jamaat-e-Islami, with dire results.

He explains the details of the saga of Lal Masjid and then remind the readers that following questions are still unanswered:

1. Why did the government not act in January?
2. How did the clerics manage to accumulate such a large store of weapons without the knowledge of the government?
3. Was the ISI aware that an arsenal was concealed inside the mosque? If so, why did they keep quiet? What was the relationship between the clerics and government agencies?
4. Why was Aziz released and allowed to return to his village without being charged?
5. Has the state decided to relinquish its monopoly of violence?
full article

BBC- Lal Masjid in pictures click here
NY times on Red Mosque - click here
Pervez Hoodbhoy on Lal Masjid - click here

Extremism and Pakistan's Education system?

Christian Fair (her work), Senior research associate at USIP, looks at the connections between Pakistan’s religious schools (madaris) and militancy in Pakistan.

She writes that contrary to popular belief, madrasah students are not all poor and madaris are not categorically tied to militancy. Madaris—along with mosques and public proselytizing events (tabligh)—are, however, “gathering” places where militant groups, religious ideologues, and potential recruits can interact. Religious leaders of some madaris issue edicts (fatwas) that justify the use of violence, and a small number of madaris are used for militant training. Limited evidence suggests that madrasah students more strongly support jihad than those of public or private schools—but public school students, who comprise 70% of Pakistan’s enrolled students, also have high levels of support for violence.

She rightly concludes that Pakistan’s entire education system requires comprehensive reform; such reform may be beyond Pakistan’s capability and there may be only limited scope for the United States to help. Increased participation by multinational organizations and demand for accountability by all partners are required to complete this daunting task. The costs of failure
are too high to countenance.

She further adds, Madaris merit continual observation as they may contribute both to the demand for terrorism and to the limited supply of militants. For the same reasons, Pakistan’s public school sector deserves much more attention than it currently enjoys. full report

Talibanization of Pakistan Tribal Agencies.

Hassan Abaas (his other article), author of Pakistan: drifting into extremism, writes that taliban forces and their sympathizers are becoming entrenched in the region and are aggressively expanding their influence and operations (especially in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat Valley in the North-West Frontier Province).

Pakistan will predictably revert to "peace deals" in the short-term, leading to a lowering of the number of military checkpoints in the area.

Hassan further explains that the factors that "limit" Pakistan's effective clampdown on all things Taliban in FATA remain linked to its fear about increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan if the Taliban are comprehensively defeated, and the lack of Pakistani public support for anything that appears to be done in pursuance of the U.S.-led global war on terrorism.

Hassan looks at all 7 tribal agencies (Map of FATA) that form FATA. He writes that Bajaur Agency is considered a stronghold of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) units, and the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) has representation in parliament from Bajaur (Daily Times, February 13, 2006).

He explains that Taliban, in order to show their control, have been successful in enforcing, in some agencies, following things:

1. Friday as the weekly holiday
2. Taliban-sponsored rumor that the Pakistani government-run polio vaccination drive was a U.S. plot to sterilize Muslim children
3. binding on all men of the agency to wear caps.
4. banning music
5. warned tailors to strictly observe religious codes while sewing clothes for men and women

Furthermore, Pakistan has been rattled by 39 suicide attacks in 2007, so far killing around 350 people, and most of these attacks targeted the Pakistani army, the Frontier Corps and government officials in FATA and the NWFP.

Indeed, Musharraf's capacity to respond militarily is curtailed because of political compulsions. For Afghanistan and the United States, this means a troublesome scenario. Pakistan's return to democracy may potentially change things for the better, but Musharraf's move in this direction is sluggish and uncertain. Full Report

Hassan Abbas Blog (click here)

Kohat: Local Taliban warns tailors to follow religious code

Bannu (women beheading on "immorality charges"), Taxila (threat to girls' school of being bombed if all girls not veiled) and now this other disturbing news from Kohat. Local Taliban have warned tailors to strictly observe religious code while sewing clothes for men and women and keep their shops shut during taraveeh time.

Kohat (Map) is south of Peshawar and Talibanization is slowly taking over all of NWFP, province of Pakistan.

Jamaat-i-Islami, well organized religious political party should distance itself by publicly condemning this as Dawn's report said that in a letter sent to tailors, the Taliban claiming to be from the Jamaat-i-Islami asked them not to play music during night and threatened to blow up the shops of those not following the orders. (Dawn Report)

The above horrific picture acts as a reminder of Taliban days in Afghanistan. Women are the first target. 17th Nov 1999, Taliban, in Afghanistan, seen in this movie publicly execute women.(click here to see movie).

Stand up and be counted against this oppression. Say "no" to Talibanization in Pakistan. JOIN ANAA mailing list (click here) and be informed.

NWFP-Taxila: Extremists threaten to bomb girls' school

A very disturbing news coming from NWFP. Extremist have asked a girls school that if the students and teachers did not don the veil, the school would be bombed.

Dawn Editorial writes that It is odd for the school’s acting principal to tell the girls that “nothing would happen if they wore the veil”.

Doesn’t this serve the purpose of the people behind the threats? The school administration should continue with its policy regarding the veil and let it be a matter of choice and not forced upon the students — even if out of fear for their security.

One way to avoid this is by asking the police to provide tighter security to schools (and NGOs) prone to such threats. (Full editorial)

Extremism and inter-related feudal and military

William Delrymple (his website), a historian, writes in Guardian that during Benazir bhutto first (1988-90) 20-month long premiership, astonishingly, she failed to pass a single piece of major legislation. Her reign was marked by massive human rights abuse: Amnesty International accused her government of having one of the world's worst records of custodial deaths, extrajudicial killings and torture.

Bhutto's premiership was also distinguished by epic levels of corruption. In 1995 Transparency International (Website)named Pakistan one of the three most corrupt countries in the world. Bhutto and her husband, Asif Zardari - widely known as "Mr 10%" - faced allegations of plundering the country.

Behind Pakistan's swings between military government and democracy lies a surprising continuity of interests: to some extent, the industrial, military, landowning, and bureaucratic elites are all interrelated and look after one another. The current negotiations between Musharraf and Bhutto - which have excluded Bhutto's democratic rival Nawaz Sharif - are typical of the way that the civil and military elites have shared power with little reference to the electorate.

According to the political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa, "The military and the political parties have all failed to create an environment where the poor can get what they need from the state. So the poor have begun to look to alternatives for justice. In the long term, flaws in the system will create more room for the fundamentalists."

Delrymple further writes that until then, if Pakistanis only have a choice between the inter-related feudal and military elites, the growth of the Islamist parties will continue, and the country's violent upheavals can only escalate. (Full Article)

Rising Extremism and US intentions to invade Pakistan

Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president JI, writes, 'Islam is a religion of love and peace, which invites all human beings to live like brothers and worship one God so that the entire world could become an abode of peace'.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, senior political analyst, looks deeper into Qazi sahib's statement and traces the systematic Islamization by Islamists. He then writes, " Also, it would not be bad if we encourage our women and non-Muslim citizens to feel that they are equal before the law and have the same rights as Muslim men. Therefore, Qazi Hussain Ahmad should join the ranks of those who want to repeal all laws that create a society of unequals."

Ishtiaq Ahmed makes a valid argument that for Pakistanis our main concern should be, "We need to make sure that the Americans do not attack and occupy our country, which they will do, if they feel that the nuclear facilities are in the hands of terrorists.

He further adds, "The student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islami Jamiat-e-Tulba, already terrorises liberal students on university campuses throughout Pakistan. Keeping such terrorism out of the streets of Islamabad and other towns and cities of Pakistan is most important if Pakistan is ever to start behaving like a civilised society that allows dissent and pluralism to flourish." (Full Article)

With recent comments by Senator Barack Obama and John Edward of invading Pakistan, if needed, to capture terrorist should make us look deeper of factors leading to rise of religious extremism in Pakistan.

Nexus of Military, JUI, Taliban and religious extremism.

Ahmed Rashid (Website), writer of a best seller "The Taliban", states that army is insistent in making JUI (F) a part of any future deal, may it be with PPP or PML. He says that JUI run madrassa's have been the backbone for support of Taliban in Pakistan. Any role of JUI in next government will lead to rise of religious extremism.

He explains how morale of soldiers are low as popularity of Musharraf plummits among common people. People sees military, not a solution, but a part of the problem. FATA (Wideangle-PBS on FATA) (Map of FATA) identified by US as hot bead of Taliban and al-Qaeda re-organization is becoming impossible for Pakistan military to control.

Ahmed Rashid, points out that Gen Musharraf has failed to convince the general public that the struggle against extremism is not just President Bush's war, but a struggle that all fair-minded Pakistanis must wage. (Full article)

Useful links:

Return of the Taliban (Frontline-PBS Documentary)

Bannu - NWFP:Women Beheaded by extremists in Pakistan

Rising influence of extremists is talibanizing FATA and NWFP. Women, like in Afghanistan, are the first casualty of this extremism. Burning of music stores, barbers warned for shaving beards and this gruesome murder of two women is an eye opener.


These women were returning from hospital. Their vehicle was blocked, one of their friend escaped and the other two were taken by the murderers and beheaded. Their bodies were thrown in a canal with a note saying, "All males and females running brothels, including the one who escaped on Thursday, are warned to wind up their ugly business or they would meet the same fate"



Courts should take notice of this act and civil society including politicians should criticise this in strongest possible way. Dawn Daily wrote a strong editorial (Click here) on the incident.

See ANAA Press Release (click here)

NWFP-Bannu: Beheading of Women

ANAA Press Release
8th Sept 2007

NWFP-Bannu: Beheading of Women accused of “immoral activities”

ANAA is outraged and saddened by the incident of beheading of two women, in NWFP, accused of “immoral activities”. The extremists are now concentrating on policing the morals of the society. Obvious talibanization of FATA and NWFP is very detrimental to the civil society.

Our society has become desensitized and accepted this violence as a way of life. ANAA hopes that the courts will use their new, well-deserved independence and take suo moto action.

ANAA hopes that the civil society and politicians, will not waste time questioning the “morality” of the murdered, but articulate their criticism in strongest possible term against this gross violation of human rights.

May the souls of these unfortunate ladies rest in peace.

For details of the case, click here.