Does Religion Define Your Nationhood in Pakistan?

Qaiser Raja is the founder of the Revivalists, a movement dedicated to establishing Pakistan as an Islamic state. After completing his tenth-grade examination, he moved abroad and studied law at the University of Bedfordshire, where he also taught. He spent 23 years in Europe, with 20 of those years in the UK. Currently based in Lahore, he hails from Gujjar Khan. He describes himself as an “astute critic” of atheism, feminism, Marxism, and liberalism. He says that he opposes the misuse of science to promote atheism, which is why he condemns the theory of evolution. In this interview, he blamed Sarvarkar for being the architect of the two-nation theory, which made the creation of Pakistan inevitable (2:15). He also spoke highly of a book titled "The Muslim Holocaust in 1947" Earlier, I interviewed him in July 2024. In the first part of this interview, he asserted that it is well-documented that Maulana Maududi (1903-1979) supported the Pakistan movement, while the Ahmadiyya community opposed it. He firmly believes that both Dr. Abdus Salam and Malala Yousafzai were unworthy of their Nobel Prizes. Here are the links to both parts of the interview.    • Did Jinnah's 'Greatest' Speech Provide a V...      • Are photography and transfusion of blood n...   He also claimed that Maulana Maududi defended Jinnah’s speech of August 11, 1947, arguing that Pakistani liberals and secularists misinterpreted it as embodying a secular and liberal vision for Pakistan. It may be added here that Hector Bolitho (1897–1974), a New Zealand writer, novelist, and biographer commissioned by the government of Pakistan to write Jinnah’s first official biography, described it as Jinnah’s “greatest” speech. In this speech, Jinnah stated: “We should begin to work in that spirit and in the course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, will vanish. Even among Muslims, you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis, and so on; among Hindus, you have Brahmins, Vaishnavas, Khatris, as well as Bengalis, Madrasis, and so on. “If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his color, caste, or creed, is first, second, and last a citizen of this state with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. “We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” We also discussed the 22 'unanimous' points of the ulema (1951) and Ghulam Ahmed Pervez's critique of them. ************************************ Arvind Saharan is a New Zealand–based peace activist originally from Rajasthan’s Ganganagar district. In 2018, he launched Sarhad Ke Us Paar (On the Other Side of the Border), a Facebook–YouTube talk show dedicated to dialogue with Pakistanis across a wide spectrum of views. The show began with a six-part series on the Partition of India, featuring Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmed, a renowned Sweden-based scholar of Pakistani origin. The series was well received by audiences in both India and Pakistan. Since then, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent Pakistani thinkers and opinion leaders, and has visited Pakistan twice in pursuit of greater understanding between the two countries. ************************************ Shakil Chaudhary is a journalist, author, and researcher. He is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore. He later studied International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. Over the years, he has worked for several leading English-language newspapers and a few other organizations. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bilingual book Handbook of Functional English (Ferozsons), designed to help South Asians improve their English language skills. These are some of his notable interviews: 👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 1:    • Copying Tharoor? Shakil Chaudhary Slammed ...   👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 2:    • "You Are Representing India," Sardar Masoo...   👉 Ambassador Abdul Basit:    • Ambassador Abdul Basit: Pakistan has not d...   👉 Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani:    • Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, former ISI chief: W...   👉 Shahid Siddiqui, a former member of India’s parliament:    • Shahid Siddiqui: The partition ruined Indi...   👉 A lively debate, featuring Shaheryar Azhar and Arvind Saharan:    • Why Did Air Marshal Asghar Khan Say Pakist...   You’re welcome to follow him on these social media platforms: 👉   / shakilchaudharyofficial   👉   / shakil.chaudary   👉   / shakchaudhary