PEER E KAMIL

Untitled Part 28

When Imama got home that day, she locked herself in her room and cried her
heart out. Tehreem's words had really hurt her.
Hashim Mubeen got back from work earlier than usual that day and his wife
Salma told him that Imama was unwell. He went to her room to see her. He
was taken aback to see that her eyes were swollen.
̳What is it, Imama?' he asked, coming closer. She sat up in bed and without
saying anything, she burst into tears again. He sat with her on the bed. ̳What
happened, Imama?'
̳Tehreem was very rude to me in school today,' she said between sobs.
Hashim was a little relieved. ̳So did you have a fight again?'
̳Baba, you don't know what she said to me,' Imama said. ̳Baba she...'
Imama told her father all that had passed between her and Tehreem.
Hashim's face began to change color.
̳Who told you to take those books to school to educate them?' he scolded her.
̳I wanted to correct their impressions about us,' she responded weakly.
̳What is the need for you to go around correcting people's impressions? They
may not visit our home; they may think we are bad—so what? Let them be:
what difference does it make to us?' Hashim tried to explain. ̳But I wonder
what she'll think of you after this...what you were trying to do by giving her
those books. Her family will also be very angry. Imama, you should know that
you do not have to tell others all about yourself or your community. Even if
someone pulls you into an argument, just agree politely with them, otherwise
they will make unnecessary and unwelcome comments and will become
needlessly suspicious about us,' he counseled.
̳But, Baba, you yourself preach to so many people. Why are you stopping me
from doing it?' Imama was puzzled.
̳It's a different thing with me—I talk about religion only with those people
with whom I am close and friendly...when I feel they are ready to accept what
I have to say. I don't go about distributing books to mere acquaintances,' he
clarified.
̳Baba, they are not just acquaintances—we have been friends for years,'
objected Imama.
̳Yes, but they are Syeds and their families are very orthodox . You ought to
have remembered that.'
̳I only wanted to tell them about our sect so that they do not think we are
non-Muslims,' said Imama.
̳Even if they think of us as non-Muslims, what difference does it make? They
themselves are non-Muslims,' said Hashim very piously. ̳They are the
misguided ones, on the wrong path.'  Baba, she said that you receive funds from foreign missions, that they payyou to convert people to our faith.'
Hashim Mubeen shook his head with disdain. ̳I get money only from my
community—money that our community collects at home and abroad. We
have enough finances of our own...haven't we got our own factories? Besides,
if foreign missions were to finance me I would accept it happily—what's
wrong with it? If Christianity can be preached in this country, then why not
our faith? After all, we are another sect of Islam trying to bring people on the
path of real guidance,' he elaborated.
̳Don't talk to others about this issue,' he continued. ̳There's no point in
argument or discussion. We are a minority now, but when we become the
majority then such people will not dare to speak up like this—they will be
afraid to insult us to our face. However, you should not get involved with such
people now.'
̳Baba, why have we been declared non-Muslims and a minority in the
constitution when we are a sect of Islam?'
̳All this is the handiwork of the mullahs—for their vested interests, they
ganged up against us. When our numbers increase, we too will bring in laws
that favor us, and all such amendments to the constitution will be abrogated,'
declared Hashim forcefully. ̳And you need not lock yourself up like this and
cry,' he said as he got up. Imama watched him walk away.
That was the last day of her friendship with Tehreem . Imama was so heart-
broken by Tehreem's diatribe that she could not bring herself to continue
their relationship. Tehreem too did not try to bridge the silence between them.
Hashim Mubeen was one of the influential leaders of the Ahmadi community.
His older brother Azam was also an important Ahmadi leader. Barring one or
two people, his entire family had converted to the Qadiani creed many years
ago when Azam had begun this mission; those who had not done so had
severed ties with the others. Following in his brother's footsteps, Hashim had
also converted, and like his brother, he too worked towards its propagation.
In about ten or fifteen years, both brothers had made a name for themselves
in their community. They were amongst the elite of Islamabad but despite
their affluence, their homes were very traditional. Their womenfolk observed
purdah but there were no undue restrictions placed on them.
Imama had also grown up in this environment. Indeed, she was one of those
born with a silver spoon in her mouth , and though she knew that her father
was actively propagating the Ahmadi faith, she accepted it as a matter of
course. She had grown up seeing her father and her uncle preaching their
faith and to her it was something being done in the service of Islam.
Imama regularly attended religious gatherings with her family and also  listened to the lectures by their leaders transmitted via satellite from London.Before the showdown with Tehreem, she had never really pondered over her
religion—for her, her sect was just another one of the different sects in Islam.
She had been brought up to believe that her community was the only one on
the true path of Islam and would be the only one to enter paradise.
Very early Imama and her siblings had been instructed not to divulge
anything about their faith in school. In school Imama had learnt that in 1974
the Constitution had been amended by Parliament to declare them to be non-
Muslims and their community as a minority community. She believed it was a
political decision taken under pressure from other religious leaders. However,
the argument with Tehreem compelled Imama to think more deeply about her
community and her faith.
This brought about a change in her: she began to read literature and the holy
writings on her faith as well as other books. Initially, there was much
confusion in her mind, but as she studied this in greater depth, it cleared her
mind. Soon after her matriculation exam she was engaged to Asjad, her uncle
Azam's son. Although this was not a love match, Asjad and Imama were
happy with this relationship and after the engagement Imama developed a
soft spot for Asjad.