Second Phase: Informal Conversation

success. When I first gave my written work to a senior member of Jamaat-e-Islami, he returned it, saying, “I have read it thoroughly, but I will provide my comments after reading it again.” When I insisted, he gave a brief response: “Broad agreement with the objectives, but considerable disagreement with the discussions.” “This was on October 21, 1961. Our next discussion took place a month and a half later, on December 12, and six months after that, he shared his views with me in more detail. However, in his later comments, he only provided details of his “disagreement;” he did not share any “agreement” with me. Here, I must express my impression that among all the individuals in the Jamaat, I have interacted with, I hold this person in the highest regard in terms of his understanding of Islam. I am convinced that if he were an ordinary member of the Jamaat, his feedback might have been different. But it is natural that when an official expresses views on a matter, his formal position consciously or unconsciously influences his opinion, often leaving little room for alignment with the truth. 4. Another senior figure, a scholar and a member of the Majlis-e-Shura, read my writing and said,