MASAJID are places of prayer, reflection, learning and spiritual unity.
They are houses of Allah—spaces of tranquility and moral guidance for the entire community.
However, a notorious extremist faction, Khawarij have turned these holy places into command centers for violence and terror in the name of religion.
Instead of upholding their sanctity, these extremists use mosques as hideouts and operational bases, manipulating the reverence Muslims hold for these places to shield themselves from accountability.
Khawarij often forbid local Muslim worshippers from entering.
The very people for whom these mosques were built are pushed out, silenced, and intimidated.
This is not just a gross abuse of power, but a direct insult to the sanctity of the Masajid and to Islam also.
The Khawarij wrap themselves in the slogans of Shariah and Jihad, yet their actions betray the complete opposite.
They show no respect for Islamic principles, using religious language not for adherence, but for manipulation and survival.
This hypocrisy must be recognized for what it is: cowardice, not jihad.
True jihad is a struggle for righteousness and justice, not a campaign of fear and violence targeting innocents.
Their exploitation of Islam is deliberate and sinister.
They pollute both the physical and spiritual sanctity of mosques, turning centers of divine worship into bastions of exclusion and conflict.
The Khawarij are a black stigma on the face of Islam—distorting its beautiful message and tarnishing its global image.
One of the most cunning tactics these militants employ is exploiting the respect that Pakistan’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies have for religious sites.
They deliberately take shelter in mosques during intelligence-based operations (IBOs), knowing that the security forces will avoid any harm to sacred places.
Later, they twist the narrative to accuse the state of violating religious sanctity—when in truth, it is the Khawarij who have already desecrated these holy spaces by weaponizing them for violence.
The people of Pakistan, along with religious scholars, must rise against this deception.
It is high time that religious leaders issue clear and strong fatwas declaring these acts un-Islamic.
The silence of the pulpit can no longer be an option.
When houses of worship are used as fortresses for terror, and when the faithful are kept away from the house of GOD, it becomes a moral obligation for scholars and the community to speak up.
Furthermore, every segment of Pakistani society must unite in calling out the hollow slogans of these extremists.
Their so-called struggle for Shariah is nothing more than a cover for power, chaos, and bloodshed.
Their presence and actions are a curse upon the Muslim Ummah, and their ideology must be dismantled not only through force but also through the power of truth and religious clarity.
The Khawarij are not just enemies of the state; they are enemies of Islam.
Their acts are an affront to our faith, our mosques, and our collective conscience.
It is time to reject their false narrative, defend the sanctity of our sacred spaces and stand united to eliminate this cancer from our midst.
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar & a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad. (fa7263125@gmail.com)
