الخطاب الوسطي في الإسلام: قراءة في تحليل مقاصده و أسبابه ما بين الماضي والحاضر

The wasaṭiyyah (Islamic moderation) concept is deep-rooted in Islam. It is a straight path, a good between two evils; it maintains balance between the two extremes of excess and deficiency, and between fanaticism and negligence. Moderation was widely practiced with the advent of Islam. It was a noteworthy aspect of people’s day to day life and conducts. The term wasaṭiyyah (moderation) emerged in the early eighties. It was initially introduced by Shiekh Yūsuf Al-Qaraḍāwī. He used it in his books and discourses, and gradually it become very prevalent. Few factors resulted in widespread use of the term, the main factor is the western systematic campaign against Islam and Muslims to distort their image and label them with terrorism and extremism. Therefore, they frequently used the term wasaṭiyyah to prove themselves against these accusations. Another factor is the current situation in most Muslim countries and their struggle with social and political injustice which turns Muslim youth to extremism and terrorism that is why Muslim scholars and reformers, through their moderate discourse, stood up and condemned fanaticism and radical ideology. All that made the term wasaṭiyyah widely used by different people from all walks of life, and each has its aims and intentions behind embracing the moderate discourse and raising the flag of wasaṭiyyah (moderation).

Newspapers Coverage of Ethnic Issues in Karachi

Sindh’s best city in Karachi amid absence of any declared integration policy on part of the ruling elite has been faced with ethnic disharmony which often erupts into colossal ethnic violence taking scores of precious human lives. Though communal problem in the land of Sufis traces its link to the creation of the country in the late 1940s, it was actually the mid 1980s which saw ethnic fissures in the Sindh metropolis get widened with the battle lines being drawn between Pakhtun migrants and Urdu-speaking Mohajirs who started jumping down each other’s throat after a mini-bus ran over a refugee college girl student Bushra Zaidi on April 15, 1985. The provincial capital suffered colossal destructions in terms of loss of precious human lives and properties mainly caused by ethnic violence which started after the unfortunate Bushra Zaidi’s killing. The tragic death of the refugee girl not only changed the face of Sindh metropolis but also affected institutions and individuals including the press and journalists. The research has not only shed extensive light on the causes of ethnic violence in Sindh capital but also dealt with the press coverage of ethnic affairs by conducting textual analysis of national newspapers published in Karachi to decipher whether or not newspapers’ coverage of ethnic affairs has improved. Content analysis of national newspapers—Dawn, Jang, Jasarat and Naw-e-Waqat—of two time periods—1985, 1986, 1987 and 2007, 2008, 2009—has been carried out to see how ethnic affairs were covered by the national press in the mid and late 1980s, and in the late 2000s and whether newspapers’ coverage of ethnic affairs has improved. The result of the content analysis shows that English newspapers coverage of communal issues have improved considering Dawn low percentage points of state nationalism-driven news items among other factors like publishing of more exclusive news regarding ethnic affairs. There is still no finality in this regard amid the changed dynamics prevailed in the city in late 2000s as against the mid and late 1980s when ethnicity was the pressing issue. As for improvement or decline in the coverage of Urdu dailies, though state nationalism driven news items have posted a drop in the second time period, it’s not due to the fact that Urdu journalism has now started believing in fighting for the rights of ethnic minorities but the simple fact is that the city situation changed in the late 2000s with the Urdu dailies likely yet again to opt for news items containing nationalist rhetoric whenever there would be any ethnic conflict between ethnic groups.