Sermons of peace

The rise of extremism has many component parts, from the US invasion of Afghanistan to our own previous use of militant groups as a tool of foreign policy. By far the most important part may be the public space given to expressions of hatred and bigotry. For decades, extremist groups have been allowed to distribute their literature and place their donation boxes around the country. A particular problem has been the promotion of hate speech in sermons at mosques. As much as the state has to respect freedom of speech, this does not include the right to promote violence and sectarian hatred. News that the Punjab government is presenting a proposal to regulate Friday sermons at mosques in the province through the Auqaf department shows that the state may finally be waking up to the problem. The solution is one that has long been in place in other countries and could serve as a temporary measure here too.

There are some obvious issues that need to be addressed as well. The Punjab government should make sure it does not end up acting as a censor, and only rejects those sermons which violate the law. It also needs to be mindful of being captured by extremist elements itself who then allow hateful sermons to be delivered. Moreover, it should also be wary of anyone trying to appease extremists out of fear of being labelled anti-religion.

This imperfect solution needs to be accompanied by more substantive action, preferably by the federal government. Those who break the law should be dealt with by the courts. The National Action Plan specifically called for the state to stop differentiating between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ extremist groups but this has rarely been followed. There also needs to be a crackdown on fundraising by such groups whether through cash donations or the donation of animal hides during Eid. Mosque leaders are among the most influential members of society and that brings with it the responsibility to be wise stewards of their congregations. This is a duty that has unfortunately been shirked by many. Mosques have regrettably been used to spread hate speech. Madressah reform tried to address one aspect of this problem but too much else was ignored. The Punjab government, if nothing else, has shown that it is at least aware of the problem and is proactively trying to do something about it.