Widely popular religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel on Friday came under intense scrutiny on the social media after his remarks on the gang-rape of a woman on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway earlier this month went viral on Twitter and Facebook.
In a video posted to different social networking platforms by users across Pakistan, Maulana Jameel vehemently condemned the incident and called on the government to award the strictest of punishments to those found guilty of the gang-rape.
Maulana Jameel expressed remorse and regret on the incident, and said the news had triggered anguish and distress among many Pakistanis. He also said that the moral and ethical values of the society had suffered in recent years, leading to increased crime.
مولانا طارق جمیل نے موٹروے پر خاتون سے زیادتی کا ذمہٰ دار کالج یونیورسٹیوں میں لڑکے لڑکیوں کے ساتھ تعلیم حاصل کرنے کو دے دیا اور موصوف کہتے ہیں “جب پیٹرول اور آگ ساتھ ہوں گے تو آگ کیسے نہ لگے؟ مخلوط تعلیمی نظام نے بےحیائی کو جنم دیا ہے۔” یہ ہے مولانا طارق جمیل کی مُذمت! pic.twitter.com/Qrt4YMR8ZM
— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) September 18, 2020
In the video, Maulana Jameel condemned the barbaric act against women and children. He also said that co-education – a school system wherein boys and girls study together – was responsible for increased obscenity in society.
On Sept 9, a mother of three children was looted and raped in front of her children on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway while she was waiting for help after her car ran out of petrol. The incident jostled the entire nation and there were calls for public hangings of rapists.
Read more: TV Anchors grilled Maulana Tariq Jameel on his comments on media
Likewise, Maulana Jameel also issued his statement on the incident. He said that he was extremely and pained and could not find suitable words to channel his emotions in words. “Such incidents happen when nations lose moral grounds and forgo their ethics,” he said.
He went on to add that nations who adhere to their moral values progress and develop eventually, but those that forget their values suffer the consequences. He also claimed that the co-education and private schools systems were promoting indecency in society.
Read more: Maulana Tariq Jameel apologizes to women after social media outcry
He added that teachers were failing to act upon their responsibility of teaching young students moralities and ethics. He asserted that the role of mentors in the moral upbringing of the children had significantly reduced in the modern education system.
His comments on co-education, rising indecency, and cases of abuse against women left several social media users fuming. Pakistani Twitter split into two groups – one that defended Jameel and the other that slammed him.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also blamed Bollywood movies for sexualizing youth through explicit content that triggered sexual offenses in the society. The premier made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview with journalist Moeed Pirzada last week.