Blood on the prayer mats

2026-02-14 - 23:56

Dr Syed Shabih ul Hassan Rizvi FRIDAY is the most sacred day of the week in Islam. It is meant to bring congregations together in prayer, reflection and spiritual renewal. Mosques, in Islam, are sanctuaries of peace and devotion. Yet, the recent suicide attack on a mosque in Islamabad shattered that sanctity in the most horrifying manner. The loss of innocent lives, particularly of worshippers engaged in prayer, is not merely a national tragedy; it is a moral wound on the collective conscience of the Pakistani people. The grief deepens further because this carnage occurred in Islamabad, the capital of an Islamic Republic, a city presumed to be among the most secure in the country. The victims were not armed for battle. They were fulfilling a fundamental religious obligation. The brutality of such an attack strikes at the very core of Islamic teachings, which place immense sanctity on human life and, above all, on places of worship. The tragedy forces the nation into mourning, but mourning alone cannot suffice when similar incidents recur with disturbing regularity. Each repetition erodes public trust and normalizes horror in spaces meant for spiritual refuge. As this writer said more than two decades ago, the first terrorist attack inside a mosque occurred on the nineteenth of Ramadan, when Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) was martyred during prayer. Had the world stood in principled solidarity to condemn violence in a place of worship, the very idea of attacking mosques might never have gained acceptance. Such solidarity could have changed the course of violence. But the historical silence continues to echo today, as prayer mats are once again stained with blood. Alongside grief emerges an equally troubling concern regarding failures in security and intelligence. Such failures can and do occur in many countries and history shows that even advanced states have suffered intelligence lapses with tragic consequences. Similar shortcomings were evident during the suicide attack on the Islamabad Judicial Complex in November last year. These incidents should not be viewed merely as isolated breakdowns but as warnings. Authorities and agencies must now study recurring patterns in target selection, timing, reconnaissance and operational behaviour to prevent tragedies. Islamabad is not a remote or volatile region but the administrative heart of the country, hosting sensitive government institutions and foreign missions. If vulnerabilities are repeatedly exploited in the capital, public anxiety about the safety of other cities is inevitable. The attack also exposes the lingering menace of sectarian divisions within Pakistan. The existence of sectarian fault lines is neither new nor unique to this country. However, the scale and persistence of violence associated with them remain deeply disturbing. What sharpens the tragedy is the reality that Shias and Sunnis coexist peacefully in many other Muslim and non-Muslim societies. In neighbouring India and Bangladesh, despite complex religious landscapes and political tensions, large-scale sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis remains comparatively rare. Bangladesh, once part of Pakistan and sharing cultural and historical roots, has largely avoided sustained sectarian bloodshed. Even in countries marked by profound theological differences, peaceful coexistence does exist. Saudi Arabia and Iran, often portrayed as ideological poles in the Muslim world, contain significant sectarian minorities that generally live without routine civilian-level violence despite political tensions. Türkiye, with centuries of sectarian diversity, has not witnessed prolonged violent clashes between sectarian communities. The United Arab Emirates offers another example, where diverse Muslim sects coexist under strict governance and social discipline. Oman, the ancestors of whose native population were historically linked to early Islamic conflicts, has evolved into a society where sectarian harmony prevails through deliberate state policy and cultural restraint. This reality raises a deeply unsettling question: why does Pakistan continue to struggle with sectarian violence despite sharing foundational religious values that emphasize unity among Muslims? The answer cannot lie solely in theology; it lies in governance failures, the politicization of belief, unchecked hate speech and the long-term tolerance of actors who weaponize religious identity for power and influence. The tragedy deepens when political divisions within sectarian communities surface in the aftermath, particularly on social media, where grief is exploited to settle ideological scores or gain visibility, disrespecting victims and deepening social fractures. Families who have lost loved ones deserve compassion and solidarity, not opportunism Equally disturbing is the silence or selective presence of certain religious leaders. It is difficult to justify hesitation in offering condolences or visiting victims’ families because of political, sectarian or interpretational differences. This reluctance stands in stark contrast to the example of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH), who demonstrated compassion even toward non-Muslims. The prophetic tradition prioritizes humanity over division, empathy over dogma and unity over sectarian identity. Pakistan has previously shown that collective resolve can confront terrorism, most notably through the National Action Plan after the Army Public School tragedy in Peshawar. Yet the evolving nature of extremist threats demands renewed seriousness, with counter-terrorism strategies adapting to changing patterns of radicalization, recruitment, and urban sleeper-cell operations. Robust intelligence gathering and genuine inter-agency coordination must be immediate priorities, while urban centres, especially Islamabad, require focused monitoring of extremist networks. Border management along the Afghan frontier and eastern border also needs enhanced technological surveillance and sustained diplomatic engagement to counter infiltration and transnational militant linkages. The repeated rebranding of banned outfits continues to undermine counter-terror efforts, showing that organizational bans alone are insufficient. A more effective approach requires strict legal, financial, and social restrictions on individuals who propagate sectarian hatred, as extremist ideologies often survive through influential actors under new banners. Pakistan now stands at a crossroads where grief must transform into introspection and reform. The blood spilt on prayer mats demands more than temporary security alerts—it calls for a sustained national commitment to eliminate sectarian hatred, strengthen intelligence practices, and reaffirm the unity Islam fundamentally represents, ensuring mosques remain sanctuaries of worship rather than recurring sites of tragedy. —The writer is Chairman of the international think-tank World Future Forum. (worldfutureforum@gmail.com)