Assalam-o-Alaikum!

Now, let's try to understand how religious matters are the worst among all social issues and why religion is one of the biggest issues.

Let's break down why I am calling it the biggest issues, and I will try to compare it with modern societies and the society of Pakistan.

There was a student of a university in Pakistan, Mishal Khan, who was arrested in 2017 over false religious claims. It was claimed that he disrespected Islam and therefore, a crowd of people not only assassinated him but also cut his head and set his body on fire. But after this incident, when police investigated, it was revealed that Mishal Khan never disrespected religion; only a few jealous people blamed him for causing his death.

A similar example belonged to Priyanka Kumar, who was a Sri-Lankan factory manager in Pakistan and was beaten to death by the crowd in 2021 on false charges of religious disrespect. It was later proved by the police that he never practiced any activity against Islam.

Since 2001 to the present day, more than 4,000 Shia Muslims have been killed in Pakistan on religious matters. This is also a horrible example of religious extremism in my society. It is not just a matter of my society but a matter of the whole country. I use Quranic verses for wrong purposes, leading to defaming Islam among other nations.

Religion is always used as a weapon in my society, unfortunately 😪. Religion in Pakistan is used as a political weapon. In 2011, Salman Taseer was assassinated just to point out Islamic laws. No doubt his questions were wrong and against the emotions of the Muslims. But a Muslim named Mumtaz Hussain assassinated him, and he was respected not only by the people but by government organizations. Similarly, on his hanging, the Tariq-e-Labbaik Pakistan, known as TLP, forces shut down all the businesses in Pakistan and protested heavily on his hanging. Whenever the government of Pakistan tried to resist religious violence, that religious party blocked roads, attacked police, and broke roads and shops. Even the Pakistan army had to negotiate with TLP to resolve this matter.

Now, if we talk about the impact of such religious conflict on the progress of Pakistan, then wonderful consequences come out.

📌 Educational Setback: First, the education of Pakistan has been impacted badly due to these issues. The students become part of religious parties and lose their education.

📌 Decline in Foreign Investment: Foreign investors avoid Pakistan due to instability in its society, due to such religious intolerance.

📌 Weakening of National Unity: The national unity of Pakistan has been weakened over the past few decades in the name of religion.

📌 Global Trade and Diplomatic Challenges: Moreover, in the UNO and other international communities, Pakistan has faced hurdles in getting enough support and trade allowance with international communities due to religious extremism.

If I am given a chance to fix the social problem then the following steps will be taken by me in this regards.

✅ Educational Reforms: In this case, the solutions proposed by me are listed below. The textbook curriculum must be revised, and it should be tailored for the minorities. Any particular sect or religion must not be targeted in curriculum textbooks, and students should also be taught to show respect to all religions. In this regard, Saudi Arabia, which is the biggest and most divine Islamic country, is reforming its curriculum to remove extremist contexts, and I think Pakistan should take such steps in this regard.

✅ Legal Protections for Minorities: In this regard, the High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan should reform such laws that could protect minorities and their religious assets. Such as Indonesia has ensured the historical assets of minorities and also has reformed such laws to promote minority rights.

✅ Judicial Reforms: The judiciary of Pakistan should promote such laws to protect minority rights and the preservation of their religious assets.

✅ Regulation of Media Narratives: Media should be strictly regulated from promoting hateful and propaganda news against religions. Because the media plays an important role in communication between people and the government, it must be censored in this regard so that any fake religious narrative cannot affect any religious minority. Moreover, the media should be asked to promote the bright side of minorities in this society.

✅ Promoting Religious Unity: Different sects of Islam should be united on the basis that, at least, they are Muslims, and as they are Muslims, they are part of one religion. They must be asked to unite with one another and work for the goals of their country.

✅ Spreading Religious Awareness: People should be given religious awareness. We all should discuss at our homes and workplaces to change our mindset.

✅ Utilizing Social Media for Peace: We should use social media to admire the efforts of other sects and religions in their collaboration in the progress of the country, and we should give them respect.

✅ Encouraging Religious Leaders: Leaders are the main persons who can bring change at the maximum level. We should encourage them to take positive steps in the promotion of peace.

✅ Challenging Hate Speech: We should challenge hate speech and tell the people that particular religious or political groups use the emotions of people for their purposes.

✅ Social Media Activism: We should promote social media activism to reduce propaganda against religions. We should promote messages through videos, blogs, social media campaigns, and TV channels.

✅ Promoting Religious Awareness Through Entertainment: We should make entertainment movies that promote religion and that point out any particular error related to religion, sects, and minority rights.

✅ Organizing Interfaith Programs: We should break the wall of religious groups by organizing a together-building program, as India started a few years ago to promote peace between Hindus and Muslim's named India's Aman Ki Asha.

✅ Empowering Youth for Change: We should mobilize our youth to change their mindset, and we should train young people to build the concept of leadership and the concept of logical thinking rather than becoming an emotional fool.

I would like to mention @bhaiaslam, @sana-khan01, and @afzalqamar to you all about this contest.