Cities and reforms | Political Economy | thenews.com.

pk 8/1/21, 11'21 AM

Cities and reforms

The daily life is a challenge due to heavy traffic and
pollution, leading to tension, anxiety, and disease

When Mussolini requested Dr Muhammad Iqbal for some exceptional

suggestion, Iqbal advised, “Donʼt allow overcrowding of the cities. Limit the
size of the population of a city. Once that limit is reached instead of allowing
more people to settle there, build new settlements and cities for them.”
Bemused, Mussolini requested Iqbal to elaborate on the idea. Iqbal said, “As
the population of a city increases, its moral values and economic strength
start waning. Worse, immoral activities start challenging it cultural vigour.”
Mussolini looked at the Indian great in disbelief for a moment but the next
moment he stood from his chair and shouted with excitement, “What an
excellent idea!”—Extract from Allama Iqbal, the Great Poet of the East.

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The extract above emphasises the importance of small administrative units

for effective administration leading to good governance. Sir Muhammad
Iqbal was not a town planner but his advice speaks volumes about the
wisdom that surprised Mussolini appreciate him.

While he is praised for coming up with idea of Pakistan and for being the
Hakeem-ul-Ummat, very few people know about Iqbalʼs work titled, Ilm al-
Iqtisad, published in 1903. It was the pioneering work on economics in Urdu.
In this book and many others, he presented ideas for reforms for the well-
being of the people, especially Muslims. It is important to discuss these as
we prepare to celebrate our 74th Independence Day.

Welfare societies, even in large metropolises, provide citizens with the basic
amenities that a majority of Pakistanis lack in both urban and rural areas.
Based on the principle of self-governance, big cities are divided into smaller
units to cater for essential services for all. Except for recreation and travel,
residents get most of their needs in close proximity to their houses.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan the situation is quite the opposite. Population

density—due to migration from rural to urban areas is increasing rapidly.
Housing settlements are fast mushrooming without there being similar
growth in services like sewage, drinking water, roads, walking pavements,
parks, government-run educational institutions, hospitals and public
transport.

Consequently, even the newly established localities in big cities turn into
ghettos. Besides, people are forced to seek a living or reach affordable
educational institutions and hospitals in distant areas because of which
roads are choked with commuters moving in opposite directions. The daily
life is a challenge due to heavy traffic and air/noise pollution leading to
tension, anxiety, diseases, accidents and depression.

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Cities and reforms | Political Economy | thenews.com.pk 8/1/21, 11'21 AM

For 11 years now, we have failed to implement Article 140A(1) of the

Constitution of Pakistan which says, “Each Province shall, by law, establish a
local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial
responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local
governments.”

In successful democracies, elected municipalities levy municipal taxes in

accordance with local government laws. The elected members perform their
functions according to the laws. In our country, local councils, when
functional, are usually headed by elected but incompetent people who show
apathy towards those who elect them.

Had we been successful in establishing grassroots democracy by giving

extensive functions to local governments, including education, healthcare,
social welfare services, etc, today the municipalities would be taking care of
matters related to the residentsʼ recreation, housing, health, education and
management of their living environment (i.e. roads, streets, water supply and
sewerage), as well as land-use planning and Covid-19 related challenges.

We can still find solutions for our immediate woes by making use of mosques
in almost every corner of our cities/ towns/ villages. The jamia (main)
mosques which are comparatively larger buildings and host Friday
congregations can be utilised for many purposes besides prayers.

The following extract from Chapter V of the book, A Manual of Hadith

published in 1944 and compiled by Maulana Muhammad Ali, MA, LLB,
throws light on the significance of the mosque.

“The mosque is meant primarily for divine worship. To the Muslim, however,
the mosque means much more than a mere house of divine worship which
could, in fact, be offered anywhere; it is the real centre for the society of
Islam in a certain locality, as the Kaʼbah is the centre for the Muslims of the
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whole world. The mosque is also the cultural centre of Islam. The Prophetʼs
(peace be upon him) Mosque at Mad nah had a kind of boarding house,
called the Suffah, attached to it for students where at one time as many as
seventy students were accommodated (hh. 16, 17). In fact, the mosque is
plainly stated to be a place to which one should go to learn or teach some
good (h. 18). The Suffah of the Prophetʼs Mosque has left its legacy in the
form of the maktab or madrasssah (the school) — considered a necessary
adjunct to the mosque to this day—and the library which was generally
attached to the more important mosques by Muslims in all ages.”

It is tragic that over a period of time, like many others institutions, mosques
have been converted into clergy houses, as highlighted by Allama Iqbal and
others. In this article, we are not going into the details of this deterioration,
monarchies managing clergy for their perpetuation. If we want to fight
bigotry, obscurantism and religious militancy, we will have to reform the
institution of mosque to restore its original role.

Dr Nadeem ul Haque, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics

(PIDE) vice chancellor, in his article How to solve Pakistanʼs problems,
opined:

“If Pakistan is serious about eradicating fundamentalism, as an essential

step in allowing the country to progress, it must reconsider the role of the
mosque and the mullah (or maulvi), the equivalent of the priest or teacher in
Islam. Indeed, the way the mosque operates today has moved far from the
early days of Islam. It is no longer a community place.

No true learning activities take place there, no seminars or journeys of

discovery; no birthday parties or weddings either. The maulvi uses the
mosque virtually as a private domain to advance a personal-political agenda.

A reformed system of mosque should be publically owned and based on a

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system of community control. A hierarchy of mosques should be developed

on the basis of size and the area that they serve.

Smaller mosques close to larger mosques should not be allowed to use

loudspeakers; their roles should be confined to the service of tight-knit
communities on a one-to-one basis. The larger mosques should have
libraries, internet and learning facilities”.

The following can be added to proposals by Dr Haque:

Mosque should be renovated to provide primary level education adopting

the same curriculum as other public/ private schools (normal school timings
should be between Fajr and Zuhr prayers).

A government-run clinic should be opened in every mosque to take care of

the neighboursʼ health.

A gym can be accommodated in the Jamia Mosque to cater for the health/
free time activities for the youth of the locality.

A vocational centre for women within mosque premises can provide work
and productivity for the neighbourhood.

A soup kitchen in the mosque can be a vital source of nourishment for

labourers and those who maybe too modest to ask for food.

These measures could go a long way in solving many problems suffered by

the people every day. A primary school for children, clinic and gym in the
near vicinity would reduce traffic congestion on the main roads as these vital
facilities are made available at a walking distance from the peopleʼs
residence. Besides, when members are forced to meet daily on one pretext
or the other, social and economic issues could also be resolved by mutual
consultation. A feeling of belonging and good-neighbourly relations would
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be a natural consequence of these meetings. In short, much could be gained

from making the most of mosques rather than rendering them isolated as
concrete buildings for worship alone as resented by Allama Iqbal.

The writers, lawyers and partners in Huzaima, Ikram & Ijaz, are adjunct
faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), members of
the Advisory Board and visiting senior fellows of Pakistan Institute of
Development Economics (PIDE)

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