Desecration Of Quranic Aayats (Verses) By Newspapers
I’m not sure but research vaguely hints that it would have been some time in 70s or 80s when Jang News or Nawa-e-Waqt introduced, and consequently all other Major Urdu newspapers in Pakistan started publishing translations of Quranic Aayats on their Front Pages which, “at least for some” later spread onto the other pages too.
While one can accept and appreciate the apparent motive “for this tradition to kick-start” being positive and intending indirect teaching and spreading the word of God, nevertheless, it was not only observed and for very obvious reasons later objected and strongly opposed by many to be the open source of desecration to the Holy text.
We all know the manner in which newspapers complete their journey from printing press to the end users and their treatment after being used has also been no secret, ironically the same Aayats of Holy Quran that see many individuals burnt alive or going to the gallows on account of mistreatment or desecration, have been left unpreserved and rather subject to humiliation by the same Muslims who would otherwise go to any extent to punish the culprits and have their reverence and concern acknowledged.
The following Fatwa regarding such desecrating acts was issued by Dar-al-Ifta that read:
“Throwing papers containing Quranic verses and the beautiful Names of God in the trash and on the streets”
Question:
It has become customary in governmental divisions to write the Bismallah (meaning, “In the name of God Most Gracious, Most Merciful”) at the top of any request. These requests (and pages from newspapers containing Quranic verses and the Names of God) are later disposed of in trashcans or thrown on the street, and thus get stepped on which undermines their sanctity. What is the ruling for this?
Answer:
It has become common to write the names of God Almighty and Quranic verses on pieces of paper, plastic bags, and containers, on governmental envelopes and requests, and so forth. This causes excessive difficulty for those who are legally responsible to observe the rulings of God2. This is because this responsibility demands that they dispose of these objects in a manner that befits the sanctity of God, His Book, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) but which may include excessive hardship upon them due to lack of time or resolution. They have no other alternative but to desecrate the name of God, His Book, and the name of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) under the pretext that the practice is common and it is difficult to dispose of these objects in any other manner.
Consequently, the matter requires a common effort to eliminate this sin. Whenever possible, it is obligatory to avoid using any piece of paper or envelopes and so forth containing the Names of God, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and verses from the Quran. We call upon those who write the names of God and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on anything, those who promote merchandise, and those in authority to draw up a system to collect such papers and dispose of them properly, either by burning or recycling them. We also call upon those who are financially capable to establish paper and plastic recycling projects. Finally, we call upon the public to exercise discretion as much as possible when disposing of paper and products containing the names of God, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Quranic verses either by cutting them into small pieces or burning them. God Most High says:
“Anyone who honors the sacred ordinance of God will have good reward from his Lord” (Quran 22:30).
“Those who honor God’s rite show the piety of their hearts” (Quran 22:32).
God Most High knows best.
Footnotes:
- Something which is so well establishing in the religion that rejecting it is akin to rejecting the religion itself
- Those who are adults, free, sane, and able
Ref: http://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewFatwa.aspx?ID=6307
Over the period of time, in public conversations, online blogs and letters to newspapers, many people extended their grave apprehensions on public mistreatment of Holy Verses and a kind of criminal negligence towards safeguarding their sanctity. Links given below are few examples of the same;
http://zameer36.com/prevent-blasphemy-of-the-quranic-verses/ July 2014
http://forums.wiredpakistan.com/t/printing-of-holy-quaran-verses-and-hadith-on-newspapers/14446/10 Blog
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/presspakistan/4UUiWAxqe54/CAmzJUKhfowJ Blog
Meanwhile LHC was also requested through a petition filed by Kashif Mehmood Advocate In 2011 to bar this continued disrespect and it seems that either this petition was not accepted for hearing or remains pending any decision as nothing was later heard of.
The odd and very strange thing one notices is that apparently publishers seem to believe that only Urdu Newspaper Readers need to be reached for whatever purpose they want this Holy text to serve, as no English newspaper prints Quranic verses for their readers on daily basis.
Lately, concerns and questions started to be raised by the parliamentarians in both upper and lower houses of Parliament, for government to clarify its position and take some immediate actions in order to resolve this issue, In 2014 Federal Minister For Information Pervez Rashid expressed government’s inability to solely ban such publishing and encouraged all the stakeholders to join hands and agree on a solution that resolves the matter, This take by the Government was recorded in the following news, published in Business Recorder;
The Federal Minister for Information Broadcasting, Pervez Rashid on Wednesday June 19, 2013 said that input from parliamentarians, political and religious parties, Ulema and owners of newspapers is necessary before devising a workable mechanism to check desecration of the Holy Quran verses printed in newspapers.
Rashid, while responding to a calling attention notice, moved by Makhdoomzada Basit Bokhari about the desecration of verses of the Holy Quran printed in newspapers said that Ulema, religious and political parties should guide the government how to discourage publishing of verses of the Holy Quran in newspapers.
He maintained that the government could not solely take any decision regarding imposition of ban on printing of Holy verses in newspapers without taking on board the owners of newspapers. The government should devise a comprehensive strategy to tackle the issue without creating an impression that it wants to curb fright of freedom of expression. He said that being a Muslim it is our responsibility to ensure the sanctity of the Holy verses. The Ministry of Information would implement the proposed recommendations of the stakeholders, he added.
http://fp.brecorder.com/2013/06/201306201201229/
Usual as it has always been, for three good years there seemed no further activity in this regard and thus no progress at all was made, however in August 2016, once again replying to the questions submitted by MQM MNA Sheikh Salahuddin in the National Assembly, Information Ministry gave a clear-cut verdict in writing declaring all such publishing being illegal and in direct violation of the constitution of Pakistan, it was a big relief for all concerned and everybody thought that this is the end of all desecrations on the name of “no one know what”, below given news asserts and elaborates;
The Ministry of Information on Monday said that publishing Quranic verses and translation of the same in newspapers is a violation of law and an offense related to “defiling of Holy Quran”.
The Information Ministry said this in a written reply submitted to the National Assembly on MQM MNA Sheikh Salahuddin’ question regarding the publication of verses by daily newspapers.
“It is true that newspapers are publishing verses and translation of the Holy Quran for information and education of their readers. This is highly deplorable and a violation of an existing law,” the ministry said.
The MNA had put forward two questions in the regard: Whether publication of Quranic verses in daily newspapers causes desecration of the Holy Quran? If so, what are the steps being taken by the government in this regard?
The ministry added that Section 295-B of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) stipulates life imprisonment for an offender who willfully defiles a copy or portion of the Holy Quran.
The Press Information Department (PID) on the request of Ministry of Religious Affairs had written a letter to the President of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) and Chairman Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), requesting them to ensure observance of reverence of the verses of Holy Quran, the NA was informed.
“PID also sent a reminder, requesting all concerned media representative bodies to instruct all their member publications to avoid publication of sacred materials and to observe and preserve sanctity of the Holy texts in the newspapers,” the ministry said.
This has all happened but oddly enough, all concerned authorities and stakeholders paid deaf ear to their now constitutional obligation of stopping the practice at once, instead the issue once again got to the Committee For Government Assurances and it simply took it up as if previously there had nothing been done and 30 days were extended to relevant Ministries and all stakeholders to arrive at some solution, afterwards the following news appeared in the media in November;
On 10th November 2016, The Standing Committee on Government Assurances directed Ministry of Information to play its role to stop desecration of Quranic verses printed in newspapers.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony and the Council of Islamic Ideology were advised to sit together and come up with a workable solution ensuring stoppage of desecration of verses of the Holy Quran printed in the newspapers.
Secretary Information Saba Mohsin in her briefing said that her Ministry in compliance of the assurance has already written letters to presidents of All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Council of Newspapers Editors, CPNE and the Chairman Pakistan Broadcasting Association. She said media bodies were requested to help the government achieve this laudable objective.
Secretary, Religious Affairs informed the committee that the Ministry was already pro-actively writing to all concerned to play their role in this regard. It was suggested to the committee that a notice should be published in all newspapers asking the public to keep the Quranic verses printed in newspapers with proper care and respect.
The committee directed that the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Council of Islamic Ideology to have a meeting with the representatives of APNS, PBA and CPNE and all other stakeholders and come up with a workable solution of the issue within thirty days.
Ref: https://nation.com.pk/11-Nov-2016/na-body-calls-for-steps-to-stop-desecration-of-quranic-verses
Finally on the 19th January 2017 to everyone’s astonishment and surprise, the following news hit the headlines to mock our way of life and how we conduct ourselves in tricky situations;
ISLAMABAD: The meeting of the Standing Committee on Government Assurances, which was held on Thursday in old Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) Committee Room, Parliament Lodges, Islamabad has decided to chalk out a plan to safeguard the sanctity of the holy verses printed in newspapers.
The meeting was presided over by Muhammad Afzal Khokhar, Chairman, Standing Committee on Government Assurances. The committee was informed by the Secretary Information, Secretary Religious Affairs and Secretary Council of Islamic Ideology that they had a meeting to chalk out a plan to safeguard the sanctity of the holy verses being printed in newspapers. The committee was informed that All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) had agreed to publish a note on the newspapers to give due respect to the holy papers and the holy names printed in the newspapers.
It is pertinent to mention that on November 10, 2016 the Standing Committee on Government Assurances directed that, “The desecration of holy verses of the Holy Quran which are printed in the newspapers be stopped.” The committee has directed Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony and Council of Islamic Ideology to sit together and come up with a workable solution ensuring the stoppage of desecration of holy verses of the Holy Quran, which are printed in the newspapers.
That was what we call “back to square one”, during all that went on in the alleys of Legislature and committees of all types, for unknown reasons no one perused for it to discontinue nor accepted to abolish this practice.
Tahir N. Bajwa 05-07-2018
