Is ISI killing Sunnism – by Ali Lahori
Like many social and biological systems, the success of religious movements is often a function of securing some type of evolutionary advantage. In simpler terms: better ideologies win while inferior ideologies vanish. Moses challenged Pharaoh and staged a rebellion with a bunch of slaves and his religious movement emerged successful. Jesus challenged the corruption of his time and offered an alternative ideology and his religious movement became victorious. In the thriving trade city of Mecca and among the warring tribes of Yathrib, Mohammad offered a new way of life and soon the entire Arabian Peninsula saw the rise of Islam. What was common among these powerful movements was the same fundamental evolutionary advantage: they offered greater social justice and a better way of life for their followers.
Unfortunately those who are bent upon using Sunnism for their political advantage are doing just the opposite in Pakistan. They are offering Sunnism as an ideology of evil, of death, of destruction, of murder, of hate. Far from standing for it, the Sunni platform is being used to obliterate social justice in Pakistan. And since Sunnism, in its current state, is destroying social justice in Pakistan, in the process it is destroying itself.
Consequently, Sunnism is losing its evolutionary zeal and the faith is degenerating into a failed ideology.
Say the word Sunnism and it brings to mind psychopaths beating women, blowing up schools, burning the homes of minorities, and bombing innocent people.
Hence it is no surprise that Sunnism has lost its moral authority and spiritual significance. Terrorists are using the term “Ahle-Sunnah” to name terror organization and murderers of innocent children and women are being acclaimed as the charismatic Sunni leaders.
This outright mutilation of the Sunni faith in Pakistan is directly attributable to ISI’s use of “religion” to prepare a paramilitary force to do Pakistan Army’s dirty little jobs. In some ways ISI took a perfectly peaceful and legitimate ideology and transformed it into a lethal and evil ideology. The problem is that in doing so it has also brought an end to the evolutionary advantage of Sunnism. The Sunni faith, that evolved and coexisted with other sects and other religions, is now being viewed as a faith of criminals and social misfits.
The real Sunnis, those who understand that the authentic Sunnism stands for love and justice, not only reject this ideological transmutation, they are disgusted by the ISI’s hijacking of their religion. They are confused because they don’t understand how their religion can be used in such a grotesque manner. They are repulsed by this wicked alteration of their faith. They want to revert back to the Sunnism that once gave them the advantage to create a powerful and proud Pakistan.
It is time that Sunnis must take control of their religion and stop ISI running and corrupting their faith via puppet terror organizations who call themselves Sunnis. The real Sunis must reclaim their right to define Sunnism as an ideology with an evolutionary advantage and in doing so they must expose ISI’s crime against Sunnism. This is the only way to resurrect and save Sunnism from annihilation in Pakistan. ISI must be confronted for murdering Sunnism as it knows that along with the corpses of thousands of innocents killed by the Sunni terrorists lies the fatally injured soul of a religion – a religion that was once patterned after the great message of a revolutionary prophet from Arabia.