Can Reforms and Military courts prevent another “Kasur” tragedy?

Ms Tehmina Durrani, wife of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said in her tweet. “Hand this entire mess to military courts for investigation coz the system is NOT to be trusted unless it is reformed.” I would rather not consider it a simple matter that can be hushed up in military courts and our lives will be normally happy ever after. This incident demands serious thinking. We need to look at every aspect of the society and try to understand why such incidents are even happening.

Other than the military courts approach, we have a reformist approach that Ms Tehmina pointed out in her tweet. Rethinking the tragedy can help us identify many issues where reforms are seriously required. Like it was Kasur that came on limelight and there may be several other such incidents happening (broaden scope). It has being going on since 2006 (being done in an organized way for last 9 years). There were 284 children abused (massive scale!!), the CDs sold for just Rs. 50 (economic reasons), Police was not ready to register cases (incapable law and order system), Media has other things to sell (vision less media), Government politicians are defending the situation (nothing new here!), Opposition is not serious (doing politics), General Raheel Sharif has slept (not part of war on terror), Judiciary is not performing (we have made military courts!!), Education system is not being reformed (too many separate boards), Islamic clerics not giving fatwas (no suicide bombing here),  Awareness programs for child sex not launched (not in priority list), Law making not done (MQM has resigned). This shows that many reforms are required in EVERY section of the society.

It may be shocking to think about the incompetence of our institutions and how difficult it is to reform or revolutionize our society but what is more shocking are the situations of the developed world. We might have this understanding that if the country takes all the steps that I mentioned in the above paragraph (a.k.a the developed world), the problems will be solved. Well, this is unfortunately not true. 

The International business times reports, “In 2012/13, there were 18,915 sexual crimes against children under 16 recorded in England and Wales, according to the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Included in that figure were 4,171 offences of sexual assault on a female child under 13 and 1,267 offences of sexual assault on under-13 male children”. Another developed nation with all the required per requisites i.e. America has almost the same situation. According to the Children Assessment Centre (CAC) in the U.S, "Even if the true prevalence of child sexual abuse is not known, most will agree that there will be 500,000 babies born in the US this year that will be sexually abused before they turn 18 if we do not prevent it,"

What does this mean? It means that there is a fundamental problem with the very fabric of society. And this is not just our society but even the societies of the developed world. The real problem needs to be identified and solved.

I personally think the problem lies in man-made laws and thinking about regulating physical relationships between humans. Man-made thinking of secularism, liberalism and freedom tends to push human mind across the boundaries of decent humanity. This thought of freedom to do anything and everything that one wants in the social sphere destroys the basic construct of family life and inclines mankind towards experimenting sexual desires in unnatural ways. In other words, this thinking itself is the biggest cause of a person becoming pedophile, incest and homosexual. Freedom to think and satisfy oneself beyond certain restrictions as sacred should never be the fundamental thought in human beings. This is where religion comes in to save humanity from the disaster of social disorder. Religion defines sexual relations in a way which not only secures the human race but also ensures that Humans remain humans and not becomes free animals who can jump over any gender anytime they like.

Apart from the man-made thinking of freedom, another problem lies with the man-made Laws. Man-made laws are, in many ways, unable to regulate human life in the best possible way. Experiments of all developed societies clearly depict that it is impossible to come out of this vicious circle of crisis with the man-made approach. The developed world widely “discuss” what should be the punishment of such crimes. And since they are influenced by the thinking of Freedoms for humanity and tend to be moved by enlightenment arrogance, they tend to be biased in prosecuting such behavior. In-fact in many countries, the debate has turned to legalizing such unnatural human acts.  Here is where once again revelation comes in the rescue of humanity.

Divine guidance on the basis of human thought in matters of social life and divine laws can solve this problem once and for all. And since Islam, among all the religions is the only exception that has preserved its message in the minutest of details and has an aqeeda that is intellectually convincing, I would present its solutions.

As far as thought of social order is concerned, Humans are not free or in other words, not slave to their physical inclinations. Humans are to live their lives as per the commandments of their creator. By any intellectual standards, it is evident that the creator knows best the way its creations should work in the optimum manner. This thought automatically limits human thinking into the folds of humanity and does not wildly roam around looking for absurd solutions. As far as Divine Laws are concerned, Allah has regulated the relationships of humanity between man and women through a bond of marriage. The basic conditions of marriage are: man and women have passed the age of puberty; they are not incest and cannot be of the same gender. Any other physical relationship outside the marriage, whether it be with opposite gender or same gender or children or animals or anything else is Haram (Unlawful) and severely and publicly punishable.    

For example: The punishment of rape and zina is stoning the perpetrator (if he/she is married) and one hundred lashes (if he/she is unmarried) and that too, publicly. Holy Quran in Surah al-Nur, 24: 02-03, says:

“The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication,- flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.”

This punishment covers the issues of incest as well. While as far as the issue of homosexuality and pedophile is concerned. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Lut, kill the doer and the one to whom it is done”; As for Ijmaa’ as-Sahabah, the Sahabah differed in the style of killing the homosexual; however, they had a consensus (ijmaa’) on killing him. Al-Bayhaqi extracted from ibn Abbas that he was asked about the hadd of the homosexual and said, ‘The highest building in the town is looked for then he is thrown from it upside down, then he is followed by stones.’ It is also narrated from Ali (ra), ‘He is killed by the sword then burnt due to the enormity of the sin.’ Umar (ra) and Uthman (ra) adopted, ‘that a wall is collapsed upon him.’ All these opinions collectively indicate killing, even if they differ on the style of killing. It is stipulated in the hadd of homosexuality and pedophile that, whether doer or the one to whom it is done, be mature, sane and he must have done it willingly. With such severe public punishments, anyone feeling the desire to sexually abuse children or making their videos would think a thousand times. Those who think these punishments are “barbaric” should look at their child and try to imagine him sexually abused. They would soon realize that “barbaric” acts demand “barbaric” punishment.

Therefore, if we rethink the “kasur” incident and look at what the world is facing, we can understand that this problem is no more in the domain of military courts or extensive reforms or educational programs. This issue demands radical revolutionary change in the fundamental thinking of society and the fundamental legal structure which should be based on divine guidance i.e. Islam!!