From Mr Riaz Ali Turi
The new administration of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) has refused to hand over a mosque constructed for the Shia community by the previous management for no obvious reason, The News has learnt.
The beautiful mosque, built on the pattern of Hazrat Ali Raza's (AS) shrine, spreading over four kanals of the DHA land in Phase V, G Block, has been locked for over a year with over 4,000 members of the community awaiting to get what belongs to it with its fingers crossed.
Imamia Association DHA (IADHA), the representative body of the community, has been running pillar to post, seeking control of the mosque so that the purpose behind its construction could be fulfilled. The DHA administration has simply chosen to turn a deaf ear to them.
The IADHA, repeatedly, over time, had requested the administration to provide for their religious needs as they did not have a single mosque to practise Namaz-e-Jamaat, Namaz-e-Juma, Namaz-e-Eidein and Namaz-e-Janaza. The IADHA wrote letters and applications to the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of Pakistan in this regards drawing their attention to the issue and requesting for a solution.
The issue was taken up by former Administrator DHA Fazal Nawaz in 2007 and was discussed with then Corps Commander Shafaatullah Shah after which it was committed with the IADHA that a mosque would be provided against their longstanding demands. The then Director Land, Aamir Baig Mirza, was directed to coordinate with the IADHA for the finalisation of the mosque site. Aamir Mirza and the representatives of the IADHA surveyed different sites, finally choosing a location in G-Block, Phase V.
The IADHA suggested the construction of the mosque should be designed on their desired pattern, which was agreed upon by the director land. The IADHA recommended the mosque to be built on the pattern of the holy shrine of the 8th Imam of the sect, Hazrat Ali Raza (AS), to make the outlook of the mosque more relevant to their sect.
Around Rs 70 million, including the cost of the land, were spent on the construction of the mosque. The construction of the mosque was delayed for eight months, stating it was due to fluctuating construction material. The construction got underway and the project got completed in December 2008. Meanwhile, the delay in the construction of the mosque meant that the then corps commander and the DHA administrator had to make way for new DHA Administrator Brigadier Aslam Rana and Corps Commander Ejaz Bakhshi.
The IADHA also wrote letters to the DHA administration requesting the official appointment of a Khateeb-e-Masjid so that the mosque could start serving the purpose it was built for. However, all these requests and demands found their way to the dustbin. The community started offering prayers in the mosque on their own in the absence of a Khateeb as none was appointed by the DHA administration. Instead, in February 2009, the mosque was sealed by the administration without any reason.
The Article 20(b) of the Constitution rules that, "Every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions." It further states, "Action of authorities in stopping the Muslims from using the original site of the mosque for offering prayer and relocating it to a nearby site, amount to stopping them from establishing, maintaining and managing their religious institution".
Therefore, this act of the administration is not only a blatant violation of the Constitution but is sending out the most unwanted messages to the variety of sects and religions that have co-existed in this country. There is no provision in the rules and regulations of the DHA that forbids them from providing a mosque to a particular sect and the mosque in the DHA Karachi is a living example of this fact.
When The News surveyed the mosque location and talked to random people, asking them as to why this mosque was locked down, all of them had the same answer that this is a Shia mosque and has been shut by the administration for unknown reasons.
Sources have revealed that the operation of the mosque has been hindered by certain influential high officials who have not only created this totally unnecessary stir but have also made away with the documents that establish the provision of this mosque.
DHA Administrator Brigadier Muhammad Aslam Rana was contacted to know the reason behind the lockdown of the mosque, he reasoned that no serving military personnel could issue a statement except the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and that DHA PRO Tajammul Hussain was authorised to explain the stance of the administration.
When asked about the issue, the DHA PRO simply denied the fact that this mosque was built for any particular sect. When he was asked for the reason as to why this mosque had been shutdown, he said that it was still under construction. Explaining the unique design of the mosque and its symbolism associated with the shrine of the eighth Imam, he could not reason his way out and resorted to saying that Imam Raza (AS) was every sect's Imam. Furthermore, the excuse that the mosque is under construction does not hold its ground as there is no construction activity at the mosque site.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=230071&Cat=2&dt=3/20/2010
The new administration of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) has refused to hand over a mosque constructed for the Shia community by the previous management for no obvious reason, The News has learnt.
The beautiful mosque, built on the pattern of Hazrat Ali Raza's (AS) shrine, spreading over four kanals of the DHA land in Phase V, G Block, has been locked for over a year with over 4,000 members of the community awaiting to get what belongs to it with its fingers crossed.
Imamia Association DHA (IADHA), the representative body of the community, has been running pillar to post, seeking control of the mosque so that the purpose behind its construction could be fulfilled. The DHA administration has simply chosen to turn a deaf ear to them.
The IADHA, repeatedly, over time, had requested the administration to provide for their religious needs as they did not have a single mosque to practise Namaz-e-Jamaat, Namaz-e-Juma, Namaz-e-Eidein and Namaz-e-Janaza. The IADHA wrote letters and applications to the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of Pakistan in this regards drawing their attention to the issue and requesting for a solution.
The issue was taken up by former Administrator DHA Fazal Nawaz in 2007 and was discussed with then Corps Commander Shafaatullah Shah after which it was committed with the IADHA that a mosque would be provided against their longstanding demands. The then Director Land, Aamir Baig Mirza, was directed to coordinate with the IADHA for the finalisation of the mosque site. Aamir Mirza and the representatives of the IADHA surveyed different sites, finally choosing a location in G-Block, Phase V.
The IADHA suggested the construction of the mosque should be designed on their desired pattern, which was agreed upon by the director land. The IADHA recommended the mosque to be built on the pattern of the holy shrine of the 8th Imam of the sect, Hazrat Ali Raza (AS), to make the outlook of the mosque more relevant to their sect.
Around Rs 70 million, including the cost of the land, were spent on the construction of the mosque. The construction of the mosque was delayed for eight months, stating it was due to fluctuating construction material. The construction got underway and the project got completed in December 2008. Meanwhile, the delay in the construction of the mosque meant that the then corps commander and the DHA administrator had to make way for new DHA Administrator Brigadier Aslam Rana and Corps Commander Ejaz Bakhshi.
The IADHA also wrote letters to the DHA administration requesting the official appointment of a Khateeb-e-Masjid so that the mosque could start serving the purpose it was built for. However, all these requests and demands found their way to the dustbin. The community started offering prayers in the mosque on their own in the absence of a Khateeb as none was appointed by the DHA administration. Instead, in February 2009, the mosque was sealed by the administration without any reason.
The Article 20(b) of the Constitution rules that, "Every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions." It further states, "Action of authorities in stopping the Muslims from using the original site of the mosque for offering prayer and relocating it to a nearby site, amount to stopping them from establishing, maintaining and managing their religious institution".
Therefore, this act of the administration is not only a blatant violation of the Constitution but is sending out the most unwanted messages to the variety of sects and religions that have co-existed in this country. There is no provision in the rules and regulations of the DHA that forbids them from providing a mosque to a particular sect and the mosque in the DHA Karachi is a living example of this fact.
When The News surveyed the mosque location and talked to random people, asking them as to why this mosque was locked down, all of them had the same answer that this is a Shia mosque and has been shut by the administration for unknown reasons.
Sources have revealed that the operation of the mosque has been hindered by certain influential high officials who have not only created this totally unnecessary stir but have also made away with the documents that establish the provision of this mosque.
DHA Administrator Brigadier Muhammad Aslam Rana was contacted to know the reason behind the lockdown of the mosque, he reasoned that no serving military personnel could issue a statement except the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and that DHA PRO Tajammul Hussain was authorised to explain the stance of the administration.
When asked about the issue, the DHA PRO simply denied the fact that this mosque was built for any particular sect. When he was asked for the reason as to why this mosque had been shutdown, he said that it was still under construction. Explaining the unique design of the mosque and its symbolism associated with the shrine of the eighth Imam, he could not reason his way out and resorted to saying that Imam Raza (AS) was every sect's Imam. Furthermore, the excuse that the mosque is under construction does not hold its ground as there is no construction activity at the mosque site.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=230071&Cat=2&dt=3/20/2010
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