Karachi, Pakistan – Pakistan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has launched a website in a hostile cyberspace in which the government blocks thousands of sites for displaying “objectionable and offensive” material.

“Queer Pakistan”, launched last month, aims to act as a virtual support group for an LGBT community on the fringes of mainstream society that has no other platform to interact with one another. The site already has an estimated 8,000 users.

The website attempts to provide psychological support, counselling and networking while raising awareness about sexual health in a country where the topic is rarely discussed in schools or families.

“The LGBT community in Pakistan is a vulnerable group. They exist, but the mainstream society just looks the other way,” explained Noman*, who helped spearhead the initiative. “This website is our way of breaking the silence and shame that surrounds us.”

In Pakistan, a tightly guarded silence surrounds the issue of homosexuality, which is religiously and legally condemned – making it very rare for those with a different sexual orientation to acknowledge this openly.

Homosexuality remains an offence under Pakistan’s penal code, by which a person voluntarily engaging in intercourse “against the order” of nature can be sentenced to 2-10 years in jail – or, in some instances, to death.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/08/201386115346584582.html

Throughout the Muslim rule in the subcontinent, from the Sultanate period to the Mughal rule, the views of the ulema contradicted those of the rulers. Despite state policies being in contradiction to religion according to the ulema, the rulers did not permit them to interfere with the state.

During Akbar’s rule, the ulema disapproved of his policy of sulh-i-kul or peace with all. When Mullah Mohammed Yazdi issued a fatwa, several disgruntled nobles and the ulema rebelled against Akbar who dealt with it in a diplomatic manner. He cancelled the maddad-i-ma’ash jagirs belonging to the ulema, only to reallocate them after interviewing the ulema and confirming their loyalty. He also appointed bureaucrats to supervise their conduct, so that in case of misconduct they could be reprimanded. He then continued with his policy undeterred.

During the reign of Jahangir, a religious scholar, Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624) wanted to convince Jahangir to change Akbar’s policy towards non-Muslims. He tried to influence the nobles to help fulfil his ambitions and wrote letters to them, expressing his fanatical ideas.

In a letter to Shaikh Farid, a devout Muslim who had supported Jahangir’s succession to the throne against his eldest son Khusrau, Sirhindi wrote that Islam was in critical condition, and insisted that as a man of faith, it was Shaikh Farid’s responsibility to take action to revive the glory of Islam. In the same letter he expressed his pleasure on the assassination of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, regarding it an admirable step. He further explained that the government should adopt a policy to humiliate Hindus and that the imposition of jizya rightly kept the infidels in a state of subordination. According to Sirhindi, this was the right time to convince the emperor to eliminate un-Islamic practices which had become a part of the Muslim culture and to eliminate the influence of the infidels. He appealed to Shaikh Farid to play a role in reviving the purity of Islam. If no action was taken and idolatry continued to flourish, the emperor and his nobles would be responsible for damaging the cause of Islam by not creating a consciousness about sharia among the Muslims. Click Link for full article;

http://www.dawn.com/news/1035127/past-present-letters-of-discontent

Posted By F. Sheikh

Shared by Dr. Nasik Elahi

Malala Gives me Hope!

Song: Composed and sung by Pakistani Artists.

Melodious music, beautiful song.

Worth listening, cherishing and celebrating. Duration about 4 minutes.

Looking for hope under shockingly disturbing conditions.

Please click underneath to listen the song.

https://vimeo.com/70403225

Expression through song in Pakistan.

Nasik