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Islam the solution to mental illness?
Mental health in Pakistan is an important issue and needs to be attended to with help from civil society, Punjab Special Education Minister Qudsia Lodhi told a conference on âIslam and Mental Healthâ organised by the International Conference of Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologists (PACP) in Lahore on Saturday. âSolution to our problems lies in the teachings of Islam. We can achieve success and peace by following universal principles of our religion,â Ms Lodhi said.
| Likewise, if you accidentally drive a nail through your forehead, the solution is to drive more nails into your forehead, and maybe a few into your temples as well... |
The minister said Islamic laws stressed human relationships and urged Muslims to treat parents with kindness and love. Parents, she added, had similar responsibilities towards their children. âRights of the relatives, orphans and neighbours are defined clearly in Islam. There is guidance also on how to treat your teachers, strangers or travellers. In fact, it all adds up to a charter of human rights. Even animal rights have been spelled,â she said.
| "And if you get tired of being nice to people and to animals, there's always jihad." |
Ms Lodhi said that since the parameters were already drawn, it made the job of a clinical psychologist relatively easier. She said the conference should focus on Islamic teachings and take public mental health as a serious problem at the grassroots level in Pakistan. She said globalisation resulted in people around the world being flooded with new information as well as rapid social changes. âContemporary realities can threaten cherished traditions and values and pose serious challenges to personal adjustment.â
| "One has to be careful not to allow this external reality to intrude on our Islamic world. I have set djinns to guard us, but the efrits are very powerful! There are dark conspiracies™ trying to promote the illusion of paranoia..." |
Posted by: Fred 2004-04-11 |
