Younus Shaikh

Dr. M. Younus Shaikh was born in 1955. He is a medical
doctor (family doctor) and a lecturer at a medical
college in Islamabad. He spent several years in UK,
but decided to go back to Pakistan. He is strongly
committed to the idea of democracy and has deep
knowledge about its history. He wishes ardently that
his country may find its way to democracy and
religious tolerance and that South Asia may become a
region of peace and friendship.

In 1992, Dr. Shaikh made the courageous step to found
The Enlightenment, an organization that is committed
to rationalist and democratic principles and stands
for separation of state and religion. In public
meetings and newspaper articles, Dr. Shaikh raised
questions about womens rights and about religion.
While only few people dared to join his group openly,
many watched him with keen interest and with great
hope.

Another organization founded and lead by Dr. Shaikh is
the South Asian Fraternity, which wants to promote
understanding, goodwill and harmony amongst the people
of South Asia, religious tolerance, cultural harmony,
greater interaction, people to people contact and
friendship. We are loyal nationals of Pakistan as
well as patriotic citizens of the world, Dr. Shaikh
describes The South Asian Fraternity.

Dr. Shaikh had registered himself to attend the Second
International Rationalist Conference held at
Trivandrum in January 2000 and agreed to give a
lecture there. But he could not attend the conference.
He was aware of the danger of criticizing religion in
Pakistan. Till the recent arrest, he had not been
directly attacked, but he had lost two times his job
and his old parents had been threatened.

When General Pervez Musharaff assumed power in
November 1999, he promised to bring democracy to
Pakistan and declared that he was committed to the
principles of Pakistans founder Muhammed Ali Jinnah
and the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kamal Pasha.
Though it was an undemocratic act that made General
Musharaff the Chief Executive of Pakistan, Dr. Shaikh
supported him because of his claimed commitments.
Immediately after the coup Dr. Shaikh started a
lecture series about the origins of democracy.
Ironically, it is under this government that he is
sentenced to death now. Musharaff tried, by the way,
to liberalize the blasphemy law, but gave up when he
met with the fury of the clerics.

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