On December 24, 2001, the Markaz Dawat wal Irshad was converted into Jamatud Dawah to meet the new challenges in the wake of the 9/11 events. However, the department of the Lashkar-i-Taiba was dissociated from its parent body and its activities were restricted to Jammu and Kashmir.

Jamatud Dawah has become an important national religious-political party in a very short time under the leadership of its amir Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. It very often provides a common platform to national political and religious parties to campaign for common causes. Jamatud Dawah has been placing great stress on khidmat-i-khalq in the post 9/11 period.

In an exclusive interview with The News on Sunday, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed spoke on his new drive, khidmat-i-khalq. He says his party has only been performing the duty of dawat (call to Islam) and dawat, like jihad, is one of the essentials of Islam. Excerpts from the interview:

TNS: What is the philosophy of khidmat-i-khalq?

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed: Islam is a religion of peace. The concept of khidmat-i-khalq is an important element of Islamic dawat (call to Islam). Our prophet (may peace be upon him!) urged us to serve humankind both before and after he received revelation. He used to help the needy people and feed the hungry people. The concepts of dawat and khidmat-i-khaq are closely linked. The Khidmat-i-Khalq Department is a very important department of the Jamatud Dawah. Our priorities include the provision of help to the vulnerable and poor sections of the society, the establishment of dispensaries and hospitals, and provision of ambulance service.

We particularly want to provide medical help to those classes, which cannot afford to pay for this. We want to raise a team of doctors to provide free medical assistance to the poor at their doorsteps.

TNS: What was the basic objective of the first Islamic Medical Conference?

HMS: We wanted to introduce doctors [and medical students] to the concept of Khidmat-i-khalq so that they could also take part in this work. The people in many parts of the country do not have access to medical facilities. We wanted to invite doctors to join us in this mission.

TNS: How successful has this conference been?

HMS: The conference has been very successful. The participants included 20 professors teaching at various medical colleges. Encouraged by this success, we have decided to hold similar conferences in Islamabad and Karachi.

TNS: What do you expect from the participating doctors?

HMS: We want doctors to do khidmat-i-khalq inside and outside the country. We sent help to the Iranian people who were affected by an earthquake. We even offered to send help to India at the time of the earthquake in the city of Bhoj in Gujarat. But, the Indian government did not accept our offer. We send medical assistance to the people of Afghanistan. We also send the meat of sacrificial animals to the people of Afghanistan.

TNS: Why has khidmat-i-khalq assumed so much importance today?

HMS: Today, the Jewish and crusading forces are running a smear campaign to malign Islam. That is why the importance of this department has particularly increased. We are to defend Islam. We have to tell the world that Islam gives a message of peace. Jihad is not zulm (cruelty). In fact, jihad is against zulm. It gives the people, including the non-Muslims, their rights and establishes justice.

TNS: How best can we describe your party: political or religious?

HMS: Our party is both political and religious. Our political department is fully functioning. Politics is an important part of human life. However, we do not believe in competing with other parties and dividing the people. We try to gather different political and religious parties on a common platform and give them an Islamic agenda.

TNS: Have you abandoned jihad in the wake of the 9/11 events?

HMS: We have not taken a U-turn on jihad. We became known because of jihad but jihad was just one of our departments. Jihad is also part of Islam like khidmat-i-khalq, education, and politics.