Dr. Abdul Salam: Why does the Nobel Prize-winning scientist face religious discrimination?

 

Dr. Abdul Salam was the first Pakistani and the second person in the Islamic world to be awarded the Nobel Prize

The incident of finding lime on the picture of Dr. Abdul Salam: Why does the Nobel Prize winning scientist face religious discrimination?

A video of some youths getting soot on a picture of Dr. Abdul Salam with a number of celebrities outside a college in Gujranwala, Punjab Province, Pakistan has surfaced, prompting a backlash on social media. ۔

The incident on Thursday took place outside the National Science College in Gujranwala and the youths seen in the video belong to an organization called the State Youth Parliament.

It should be noted that Thursday was also the 41st anniversary of Dr. Abdul Islam receiving the Nobel Prize.

While the incident is being condemned on social media, there is also the question of what is the basis of negative feelings in the minds of today's youth about Dr. Abdul Salam and his religious leanings. To answer this question, we must look at the historical aspect.

The background of the incident?

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Speaking to the BBC, the president of the organization, Shaheer Sialvi, said that he was told by some youths of his organization from Gujranwala that a picture of Dr Abdul Salam was hanging outside a college in the city where pictures of Tipu Sultan and Allama Iqbal were displayed. Which people allegedly object to.

The video, shared on social media, shows a young man spraying black paint on a photo, followed by some chanting anti-Ahmadi slogans.

Shaheer Sialvi said that this was done to show the people that Dr. Abdul Salam was "anti-Pakistan and he also spoke against the constitution of Pakistan and its nuclear program".

However, when asked if Dr Abdul Salam was not declared a traitor by any court and there was no evidence in this regard, he said that "the state cannot actually do so due to external pressure".

What is the historical background of anti-Ahmadi ideology?

Leading historian Dr Mubarak Ali told the BBC that if one looked at the historical background in this regard, the basis of anti-Ahmadi ideology was not only religious but also political.

He said that even before the partition of India, the Ahrar Majlis had launched a movement against the Ahmadis, popularizing the issue in such a way that they were "conspiring against the Muslims and have the support of the British". ۔

He said that we can see the effect of this even after partition and Ahrar party was also in the forefront in the anti-Ahmadi riots of 1953 which led to martial law.

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"His only demand was that the government declare Ahmadis non-Muslims, but when the PPP declared them non-Muslims, the situation worsened," he said.

Dr. Mubarak said that this issue is more related to Punjab and the main reason for this is the large number of Ahmadis here compared to other provinces.

He said that during the PPP era, there were several demonstrations in this regard and pressure was also increased from religious parties in which the Ahmadi leader was also called to the parliament and questioned, after which he was asked in 1974. The constitution of Pakistan declared him a non-Muslim.

Why does a scientist face religious discrimination?

"Their religious beliefs aside, we have a problem with their anti-Pakistan ideology," said Shaheer Sialvi.

However, the video released on social media not only chanted anti-Ahmadi slogans, but also made similar comments while sharing the video on the organisation's Facebook page.

On the other hand, when Dr. Mubarak Ali was asked about the allegations against Dr. Abdul Salam, he said that "we as a society use the word traitor indiscriminately but no concrete evidence is ever given."

"According to my research, Dr. Abdul Salam was a supporter of Pakistan and as a scientist stayed away from politics," he said.

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He said that not only about Dr. Abdul Salam but also many people are accused of being traitors.

"Opponents call someone a traitor only to defame that person. This is normal, it should not be given too much importance.

Dr. Mubarak Ali says that "all this is due to religious extremism, otherwise science has nothing to do with religion."

"Around the world, when scientists work in their fields, they do so not on the basis of their religious beliefs but on the basis of their scientific ability," he says.

"Because extremism has entered our country, we look at the religious beliefs of a scientist but ignore his scientific ability."

What are the factors behind this thinking of the youth?

Dr Mubarak Ali says the youth have been told that "Dr Salam is not a Muslim and is part of a conspiracy against Muslims, so he should not be accepted."

"You can guess that Dr. Abdul Salam's tomb is in Rabwah with the inscription 'First Muslim Nobel Laureate', but if someone erased a Muslim there, now there is only 'First Nobel Laureate' Has written

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"Dr. Abdul Salam was a scientific figure but the youth do not know about it, so they have developed religious extremist sentiments in this regard, which is sometimes expressed through riots and sometimes through such incidents."

Social media every reaction

 

Reacting on social media, economist Dr Atif Mian said, "I wish they knew how much Abdul Salam loved them and how much he loved them and how he spent his life for their welfare." Just for. '

Referring to the incident, journalist Bilal Farooqi said that it was in fact "getting soot on the face of the nation and it is also a prelude to the coming dark age".

 

Another user pointed to science, saying, "This is a scientific age and we need to think about how we can make progress in it, not how to ban Dr. Abdul Islam."