I wish the cleric knew a little about science!
Quranic verses need scientific interpretation to be understood well. When we chop up trees; burn more and more oil, and increasing population, then global warming, climate changes, famines, pandemics, volcanic eruptions, and wars for survival must happen. He also gave a full of blether and giggle -guffaw-inducing statement on Aurat March that women had no the right to come out of their homes altogether. What a petulant cleric he was! Only prayer leadership(Imamat) suits them. Brain-washing and Fatwa-politics tarnish the very spirit of Deen-e-Islam.
Modern issues need modern solutions. Every issue must be asked from or shared with a concerned specialist one. Is a religious cleric a jack of all trades?
Perhaps the Harnai earthquake had made his blood cold. Earthquake is a scientific phenomenon. The main causes of earthquakes are the sudden cooling and contraction of the earth’s surface, coming into the activity of some dormant volcanos, and due to internal heat, sometimes water changes into steam, expands and this causes an earthquake. Geographically Pakistan overlaps both the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Hence this region is prone to violent earthquakes, as the two tectonic plates collide. Merely dressing head to toe, having long beards, avoiding watching films, and following only one religion cannot stop natural disasters.
Harnai earthquake claimed double-digit deaths. Some seriously injured people were flown to Quetta due to the lack of health facilities at the local hospital. The dilapidated condition of roads, the continuous hide and seek of electricity, the poor performance of the internet, and the absence of special natural disaster-dealing force rubbed salt into their wounds as well.
Earthquakes occur for a while and leave far-reaching effects on society. When Earthquakes occur, every incumbent government provides the effectees with cash, tents, and food commodities, but that is insufficient. Pak army’s involvement in rescue activities is although appreciable; however, such activities bar them from their real responsibilities and open the floodgates of massive corruption as well. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), NDMA and PDMA’s performance has not been satisfactory for pre-disaster predictions and overcoming post-disaster troubles so far. Similarly, some social welfare organizations also become active during such natural disasters, which have no legal grounds either. Every district of Balochistan must be given health facilities, rehabilitation centres, and evacuation places on a war footing. Every house must have at least two earthquake-proof rooms for emergency needs, every fund must be spent on long-term life-saving schemes, and building code must be implemented in letter and spirit so that 1935 like a catastrophe doesn’t happen again.
If we cannot stop natural disasters, but we can put an end to their far-reaching consequences by adopting effective precautionary measures. Natural disasters suffer only third world countries the most. Blaming a particular culture, civilization or lifestyle for invoking earthquakes does not hold water altogether. It is high time to help the effectees rather than telling cock-and-bull stories.
There is a nuance between disobedience to God and ignorance to nature: the latter one, at least, is not the subject of a religious cleric. We must be aware of the credentials and intentions of the cleric we listen to, lest we too become a frothing anti-science mob.
- Harnai Earthquake: Disobedience to God or Nature? - 18/10/2021
