PESHAWAR, Nov 30: Exploiting radio waves, a religious leader in a village in Swat district is campaigning against polio vaccination drive, urging people not to immunise their children.

Maulana Fazlullah, son-in-law of the leader of the banned organisation Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM) Maulana Sufi Mohammad, is running an FM radio channel and motivating people to adopt ultra-conservative views on several social issue in Swat district.

In his three-hour lecture every night after the Ishaa prayers, the Maulana, popularly known as ‘Maulana radio’, speaks against educating girls, means of entertainment like music and movies and television.

“We should not expect any benevolence from western countries and we all know who is behind this anti-polio drive,” the Maulana told Dawn on the phone from Mamdheri village.

“According to Islam and Shariah, people should just stay away from areas which are hit by a contagious disease. It is not right to look for cure before (falling sick with a) disease,” the Maulana said.

The Mualana said that there were many patients of Hepatitis C who really needed treatment.

He said that we respect ‘our guests’ but polio teams should not bother people and should not insist on vaccination of their children.A local listener of Maulana’s FM radio channel said that Maulana had warned the people to ‘beware’ of polio teams and avoid administering polio drops to their children.

Most of the people, under the influence of the Maulana's teachings, in the backward villages including Mamdheri, Koza Bandaee, Bara Bandaee, Kabal, Kanjo, Shahdheri , Chaarbagh, Manglore, Matta, Bara Khela and Hazara villages refused to get their children vaccinated during the recent anti-polio drive, another local told.

The 28-years old Maulana is against polio vaccination and calls it ‘conspiracy of Jews and Christians to make Muslims impotent and stunt the growth of Muslims”, said a local teacher who regularly listens to the his lectures.

Dr Waheed Khan involved in the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) and polio vaccination campaign acknowledged the religious leaders as the main hindrance in their work of polio-vaccination.

“We have been facing problems in conservative areas and we have got such complaints from some areas of Swat district also,” Dr Waheed said.

In NWFP, Bajaur, South and North Waziristan, Khyber agency and Lakki Marwat and Bannu are difficult areas during the polio- vaccination campaign. There are some 15 polio cases in NWFP province eight polio cases in the settled areas and seven in the tribal agencies.

“There was a Maulana Tamachay (pistol) in Khyber agency who was spreading negative views regarding polio-vaccination and the provincial health minister had to go and convince him that there was nothing wrong with vaccination”, Dr Khan said.

He said the government is aware of the issue and wants to solve such issues by social mobilisation and awareness of the local religious leaders.

The father of Maulana Radio, a close friend of the TNSM leader Maulana Sofi Mohammad was also against use of Allopatheic medicines and never used them even in his own sickness till he died, said a local who knows the Maulana on the condition of anonymity.

Maulan Radio is not only against polio vaccination but also against the formal education of the girls, a listener said.Maulana said that he is not against the formal education of the boys as they are the bread-earners. “I, myself, have done Intermediate (F.A.) but (I believe) women should not go out of their houses whether for education or even preaching Islam,” he said.Whenever a girl discontinues her education for whatever reason, the Maulana hails the decision in his FM transmission.

He specifically prays for the welfare of the girl’s family and tells her family that God would bestow His blessings on them from now on, a listener said.

“I am against women education and subsequently jobs as they have to leave their homes for both reasons. Women should stay at home and men should go out for job,” he said.

The Maulana also preaches that if someone smashes one TV set, his heavenly reward would be equivalent to having killed two Jews, another listener said.

The popularity of the Maulana’s radio is increasing and the number of his followers, most of them women, is increasing.

The Maulana is spreading regressive views in the age of science and technology under the nose of the district administration, a teacher of Mamdheri said.