Martyrdom Frenzy

The Muslim world is going through a martyrdom frenzy and confusion.

Two groups of Muslims are at each other’s throat, and the deaths at both ends claim martyrdom. We have leaders with charges of corruption and they are continuously dodging the law. However, if they are assassinated, they also become martyrs. Also, the national forces who have been deviated from their oath of defending the land and its people, begin to kill its own people upon the orchestra of foreign governments. Even when they die, while serving the non-Muslims and the non-Muslim cause, rather the anti-Islamic cause, they also become martyrs, while the freedom fighters of the Islamic cause are the ones killed, not martyred, mind you.

The concept and word ‘Shaheed’ stems from religion. A title coined by religion has to have a religious criterion behind it. I thought that martyrdom was of the one who was working or fighting for an Islamic cause by the Islamic code of conduct.

The Nobel prize is given out by the Nobel prize awarding body only. The title of a Dr. is given out by a Ph.D. awarding educational board only. However, in the Muslim world today, any layman has the authority to call his family member, friend, group member, party member, leader, any other person he fancies Shaheed ad hoc.

I address the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan to formulate a board who document the criterion of Shaheed from the Quran and Sunnah. Further, they should make it a law that the title of Shaheed will only be awarded by the board itself either proactively or upon a case file.