The story of Junaid Jamshed inspired millions across Pakistan and overseas. Here we have one of the original rock stars of Pakistan, a heartthrob, leaving all the fame and turning towards Islam, growing a beard and changing his direction of life, so much so he moved away from the business that was not only his passion but also his sole source of sustenance. While making this 360 degree transition, not only was he successful in his new career as an entrepreneur, he also managed to become a household name in a different context though he inspired people in his capacity as a public speaker (his previous media image only helping to extend his cause) and was able to make a transition from the way of the devil to the way of God. All this, while very commendable, landed him in certain controversies which resulted in an emotional debate from people supporting and opposing him. Slowly, as it happens in most debates, we moved away from rationale and logic, and instead of having a meaningful dialogue, we ended up getting personal and moving away from the main point. The purpose of this piece is to try and evaluate Junaid in a more critical way and to try and figure out why every time he says something; there is a group of people who misinterpret him as his YouTube video suggests. Let us start with the most recent issue where he made these controversial remarks which state that God only named Hazrat Marium (AS) in the Holy Quran because God does not want to name women. This led to quite a strong reaction amongst some of the audience and started this entire debate of women empowerment and how they are not equal to men. His response, which came on another YouTube video, states that Allah does not like taking the names of women because of Haya (modesty) alongside drawing an analogy that they are like diamonds and should be kept hidden. Now this logically leads to certain other questions, such as why are these women’s names mentioned in the Hadiths if Allah avoids taking their names? Similarly, another explanation is, that the Holy Quran does not work like a directory and there are very few names taken indeed; names of male companions like Abu Bakar (RA) ,for example, are also not mentioned in the Holy Quran along with other reverend names but their references are there just like that of Hazrat Aisha (RA). This leads to the next issue which is the interpretation of the Holy Quran. We know the holy book can be interpreted in a variety of ways and not all can be agreed upon. ISIS interprets the Holy Quran and uses it to extend atrocities such as sex slavery and girls being allowed to be gifted as slaves. Ludovic Mohammed Zahed – a French homosexual leader– interprets the religious book as allowing homosexuality. Comparisons are made between APS attack and Banu Quraisa. Hence, the interpretation is usually left to scholars and muftis who have considerable objective qualification and knowledge of different fields like Arabic and Islamic jurisprudence, making them specialised in their field. It is the same with other Islamic traditions like fatwa (islamic legal pronouncement), ijma (consensus), qayas (deliberation) and ijtihad (independent reasoning). This leads to questions like, is Junaid qualified enough to give his opinion or is he just using his born-again celebrity status? The answer is his apology over the Hazrat Aisha (RA) controversy, where he apologised again on a YouTube video with tears in his eyes, stating that he committed a blunder and is not qualified enough. A lot of muftis and religious scholars also jumped in to tell people to forgive him rebuking his lack of knowledge and training that would qualify him to be an authority. So once we settle that Junaid’s comment over women has no solid foundations and that he lacks the qualification to form such opinions, we move to the next part of our analysis; can one criticise Junaid Jamshed? The question might sound absurd because supposedly, we live in a democracy with free media where a lot of Television Rating Point(TRP) is generated by criticising the politicians. However, there seems a glass ceiling because criticising and demeaning a politician might be the easiest thing but to criticise a cleric is, altogether, a different ball game. All of a sudden, the nature of opposition changes from objective to subjective and the debate becomes a personal rhetoric where you, rather than your arguments, are attacked. However, following the last episode over Hazrat Aisha (RA), a lot of pejorative adjectives were used against Junaid. Let’s analyse whether it is the first time he has had a slip of tongue or whether his misogynist conduct is consistent with his personality. Following are the instances that happened in public. To paraphrase him, do not teach your wife to drive because you would be insecure and if they go out, they will not adjust in your home. To begin with, this becomes a contradiction with the majority of the muftis who allowed women to drive and work, provided that they observe pardah (veil that secludes women from the sight of men)and other requirements. Secondly, it poses this moral judgment on the character of women that they are easily misguided and driving is enough of an incentive to lure them. Lastly, it gives rise to this protective attitude where the woman becomes dependent upon a man which would further result in skewed power balance within the household. The Hazrat Aisha (RA) incident, the latest incident revolving around the names of women in the Holy Quran; all these showed his bias towards women. As far as Islam is concerned, a lot of importance is given to Hadith and Sunnah in which not only many women are named but also a lot of them were quite active in the politics or as teachers. If taqwa (God consciousness) and integrity are the yardstick of being an orator of Hadith, then a lot of women pass this yardstick test just as men do and no division is drawn. Now last but not the least, do we see certain contradictions with in Junaid’s own walk and talk? In my opinion, there are quite a few. Firstly, if drinking is haram (forbidden) in Islam, so is selling, production, marketing and other ancillary activities. Hence, if ‘be-pardagi’ is an evil according to Junaid, selling sleeveless tunics and making profit would also be as big of an evil as flaunting them. Similarly, if co-education and sitting with a ‘na mehram’ (someone not belonging to your immediate family) are frowned upon, so should be co-hosting a television programme with a female ‘na mehram’ anchor. Moreover, if secularism is a system of the devil, how does this explain moving out of the beloved (Dil Dil) Pakistan to England, the mother of secularism? In conclusion, who is Junaid Jamshed? A TRP hungry musician-turned preacher who would make concessions for himself while abstaining others, an honest born-again Muslim who still does not know what he is talking about and has no authority to pass his claim, or a misogynist who considers women a source of insecurity by his own admission but is hell bent on making profit by selling more insecurity via his dresses? I cannot say for sure but he seems to be a man with contradictory behaviour and shrewd business acumen. The blogger is a parliamentary debater and a graduate of the FAST National University of Lahore.