Madness in the 'land of the pure'

A large group of civil society activists have lodged a complaint against Sultan Mosque cleric Munir Ahmed Shakir at the Darakhshan Police Station in Karachi. The said cleric issued a fatwa (edict) against PPP parliamentarian, Sherry Rehman, because she tabled a bill to amend the flawed blasphemy laws. The complainants said that the cleric’s fatwa will provoke people’s sentiments and incite violence. There is a serious threat to Ms Rehman’s life following the recent furore over the issue of blasphemy laws. Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer lost his life at the hands of a religious zealot because the governor took up a principled stand against the misuse of the blasphemy laws. Following Governor Taseer’s assassination, the threat to Ms Rehman is now more real and palpable. What is worse is that Interior Minister Rehman Malik told her to leave the country for the time being due to the security threat. Ms Rehman has refused to leave Pakistan. It is a matter of great shame that instead of providing adequate security to Ms Rehman, the PPP is trying to abandon her. The PPP isolated Governor Taseer but he refused to cow down before the right-wing forces because he was a man of principles. In the end, he was martyred. At a time when the PPP has lost its sitting governor due to religious fanaticism and another leading PPP member’s life is in danger, the interior minister of our country ‘advises’ the latter to flee Pakistan. On the other hand, civil society and other concerned citizens of Karachi have taken up Ms Rehman’s cause, which is commendable.

Yesterday, at the call of Tanzeem-e-Islami (TI), thousands of people gathered in Karachi to protest against any changes in the blasphemy laws. It is all but obvious what kind of hate speeches were delivered at the rally. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addressed the rally and said that Governor Taseer “was responsible for his own murder” because of his criticism of the blasphemy laws. The maulana’s justification of a horrid murder is revolting and should serve as a wake-up call for the PPP. It has been mollycoddling the Maulana for quite some time now but his statement vis-à-vis Mr Taseer should put a stop to all such attempts.

In the meanwhile, authorities are looking for a cleric who instigated Mumtaz Qadri to assassinate Governor Taseer. It is imperative that the cleric be found as soon as possible and given exemplary punishment. Other clerics should be rounded up as well who gave fatwas against the late governor and cases against them should be filed under the law. Incitement to murder and hate speech is strictly forbidden under our laws. There should be no exceptions to this rule. Apart from the clerics, all those media persons and politicians who played a role in Mr Taseer’s murder by inciting hatred against him should be held responsible for this gruesome tragedy. Many television anchors gave airtime to illiterate mullahs on their programmes who spewed venom against Mr Taseer and Ms Rehman. In the print media, too, a lot of space was given to provoke the sentiments of religious zealots on the blasphemy laws. It would be a disservice to Mr Taseer if such people are left unpunished.

Pakistan’s tragedy is that the religious right has organised itself so well while the liberal voices are disunited. It is time for the progressive voices to unite and launch a campaign to counter religious extremism. Too many innocent lives have been lost in this madness. It is time to stand up and be heard!

(my editorial in Daily Times)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persecution without reason

Universities all over the world tend to hire people with a sound academic background as they want the best for their students. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan did the same when they hired Dr Ghazala Anwar as Deputy Dean of Usul-ud-Din (Islamic jurisprudence) at the women’s campus of International Islamic University (IIU) in Islamabad. Dr Ghazala earned her PhD in philosophy and religious studies from the Temple University (USA) in 1993, with teaching and research interests in Islamic jurisprudence, gender issues, Sufism and sexuality. She was appointed at the IIU under the Foreign Faculty Hiring Programme after her application was reviewed by a Peer Review Committee of scholars. Dr Ghazala Anwar has been part of a movement that has been trying to fight for the just treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Intersex and Questioning (LGBTIQ) Muslims. The movement does not preach to others to become homosexuals, but asks Muslims to be tolerant of these “sexual m
Read more

Protesters demand Imran Khan resign

Islamist party leader Maulana Rehman leads thousands to capital, gives PM two-day ultimatum Tens of thousands of protesters, led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, took out a march in Islamabad on Friday, demanding the resignation of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. “You have two days, we cannot show more patience,” Mr. Rehman warned the Premier. If Mr. Khan doesn’t resign in two days, “he will not be able to stop people from entering the Prime Minister’s House”, he said. “Nawaz Sharif had heard this, so had Asif Zardari. Now, they [establishment] should also hear what we are saying,” said Mr. Rehman in a pointed message to the establishment. ‘Stay here’ “Only the people of Pakistan have the right to rule over Pakistan; no institution has the right to impose itself over us,” said Mr. Rehman. “Stay here my friends, do not move... they have to resign in two days, you the people will decide what your decision is. It was your vote that was snatched from yo
Read more

We will shut down entire Pakistan, says Maulana

Maulana Fazlur Rehman says the protests will continue and that Imran Khan’s government should go. As the two-day ultimatum he issued to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan expired on Sunday night, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the protesters will continue the sit-in until their goals are met. “We have decided that we will not go to any tribunal or Election Commission or any court. The PTI’s (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) foreign funding case is still lying around with the Election Commission after five years. This ‘illegitimate’ ruler’s foreign funding case has not been decided, how will this Election Commission settle rigging cases?,” he said while addressing ‘Azadi March’ in the capital on Sunday. “This is a movement. After this march, we will not stop our journey… Today, we have shut down Islamabad. Tomorrow we will shut down the entire country. Today, we have a huge rally here; tomorrow we will make the entire Pakistan a rally-ground,” he said.
Read more