The post We the mob appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>We, the mob. We are born as weaklings, naked, feeble, and lame. The story of our lives is such that we can choose to a degree how we die, but in our birth, we have no say at all. We do not choose the time and place of our birth, nor we choose to whom we are born. If it were up to us, we would choose to be born to the richest parents belonging to the noblest race and the highest caste, princes and princesses, fair in color and high in rank.
But unfortunately, We, the mob, cannot choose, it is decided by nature, and nature is cruel. Most of us are born to poor, low caste, and ignoble parents. We are born as peasants and slaves, dark in complexion and low in rank. Childhood is oblivious, but as our eyes begin to open, we learn who is who, who is low and who is high, who is similar and who is different, who is pure and who is impure, who is to be accepted and who rejected, who is to be embraced and who is to be detested, who is to be loved and favored and who is to be hated and abhorred. Society, religion, and customs teach us to act in a certain way. This way decides the acceptance and rejection that we have in society.
Society is a cruel animal. It believes in customs that cannot be broken and should be respected. If “We, the mob” break its customs, we become outcasts. The fear of being outcasts makes us act appropriately.
We, the mob, detest the religion of our forefathers. We believe that religion was evil because it forced the customs of race and caste; it enforced untouchability, it preached Brahmin was superior. Shudra was low, but Chammar was a vermin, the true scum of the earth. We embraced the Arab imperialism; for us, Syeds are Brahmins, Mullahs are Pandits, and we serve the one true religion given by Allah through his beloved messenger. Our forefathers’ religion discriminated in the name of caste, but our new religion discriminates in the name of religion itself. Here the mantle of Shudras is taken by the kuffaar. They are the scum of earth and fodder for hell.
We, the mob, kill them because they are blasphemers. There are some who we stab, others we shoot, and there were some for whom We, the mob, could not wait for hellfire to pass judgment. We, the mob, can not let the peasants go free. We smite them with our anger; we issue a decree that they should be burnt alive for burning a few pages written in Arabic. Why should we not burn them alive? not only that, we also want to play a little; we beat them with clubs as their babes watch and cry. Babes shout for mercy, but we, the mob, are deaf. Why should we listen to what a lowly Churra says? How dare they ask us for their rightful wage, how dare they! Let us rip their bloody clothes off their bodies, let us have a look at them naked, let us see them beg a little more, let us have a little more fun, let them shout, let them beg, let them whine. We, the mob, have seen a naked pregnant Churri; let us kick her in the belly, let us make her feel the pain, let us see the reaction on her man’s face. We, the mob, brought a hammer, break! Break! Break their legs, tie them up and drag them behind a tractor.
Their Babes are crying, following us in the streets; we, the mob, kick them, we curse them. Let us now bring them to the kiln; let us see how the kiln cooks two dark bricks. We, the mob, burn these unbelievers, our god, our Allah, will save us from the eternal fire. We the mob are content, and we are doing Allah’s work; he is pleased, he smiles, Satan is weeping, he is sad, We, the mob, have brought justice upon his minions. We, the mob are happy, we the mob are victorious, We the mob are euphoric.
We, the mob, have solved all our problems. We the mob are saved, we are mesmerized, we have burnt our problems away, we the mob have cleaned our land of all the problems. Today is a happy day. Tomorrow is another story, but today we are free, happy, and content, today we have done something for God, today we have made him happy, today we have no tolls, today we are painless, today we are numb, but tomorrow is another story another day and another mob.
Shamma and Shahzad – Killed on charges of blasphemy in Pakistan on 4th November, 2014
The post We the mob appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>The post Khadim Hussain Rizvi and the plight of Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>No Doubt Khadim Hussain Rizvi was one of the most dangerous influences on the Pakistani masses. In the Pakistani Constitution, there are Islamic laws that discriminate against women and religious minorities. But the most dangerous is the Blasphemy law, which demands the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Pakistani minorities are disproportionately high victims of the blasphemy law. Since their inception in General Zia ul Haq’s regime back in the 80s, thousands of cases have been filed. It is nearly impossible to get bail in a blasphemy case.
Khadim Hussain and nearly all mainstream Mullahs in Pakistan preach death for blasphemy. Khadim Hussain always praised vigilante justice against people alleged of Blasphemy. Last month, when a Muslim man in France beheaded a teacher named Samuel Patty, Khadim Hussain praised this act of terrorism and demanded that Pakistan stand againstBlasphemy’se French government. Khadim Hussain demanded that the Pakistani Government should openly warn the French ambassador with the threat of a nuclear war. Though hardly anyone in the government took what he said seriously, millions in Pakistan sincerely follow his teachings and believe that Muslims should behead anyone who utters a single word to dishonor the prophet. Soon after Samuel Patty’s death, a Pakistani asylum seeker in France stabbed two people outside Charlie Hebdo’s previous office. This young man did this in response when Charlie Hebodor republished the Cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.
Khadim Hussain Rizvi and his followers praised the stabbing outside Charlie Hebdo’s old office. French government displayed Charlie Hebdo cartoons on state buildings after this incident. This, in turn, triggered Khadim Hussain and his lot of Aashiqaan e Rasool(Lovers of the Prophet). He called for a sit-in Strike in Islamabad and demanded that the Pakistani government should expel all French diplomats from Pakistan. He also demanded that Pakistan end all diplomatic relations with France by closing the Pakistani Embassy in Paris.
Late November in Islamabad is cold, and Pakistan happens to be a country where Covid 19 has not been taken seriously. The government has not shown any interest in containing the pandemic. Khadim Hussain’s sit-in strike gathered thousands of followers in Islamabad who did not follow any health guidelines. No one was wearing masks or socially distancing. This truly was a super spreader event. Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi himself was wheelchair laden for the last two decades. He also had diabetes. Just two days after he and his followers ended their fiasco in Islamabad, his followers brought him to Farooq Hospital in Lahore. According to the medical staff, he was dead on arrival. The death certificate does not mention a specific reason for death, which shows that he died of Covid 19. The next day millions of people took part in his funeral at Minar e Pakistan, Lahore.
Khadim Hussain’s death saddened many. I was not happy either, I sad for the people killed by his words. Salman Taseer was killed because of the narrative that Khadim Hussain was preaching, shot point-blank by his own security Guard. Late Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was also killed because he spoke out for Asia Bibi like Salman Taseer. Asia Bibi spent many years behind bars because of the hatred preached by Khadim Hussain and others. Mullahs threaten courts and Judges in Blasphemy cases. Rashid Rehman represented Junaid Hafeez, a Baha ud Din Zikria University Lecturer accused of blasphemy. Advocate Rashid Rahman was receiving repeated death threats for representing Junaid in court. He was killed in his chambers on the 7th of May, 2014. Asia Bibi’s lawyer family and relatives were repeatedly threatened. When the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her, Khadim Hussain pressurized the government to review the decision, and her release was further delayed. Mashal Khan, a university youth, was killed by his own university fellows on allegations of blasphemy. The story goes on and on; Khadim Hussain and Islamic Extremists like him have made Pakistan a living hell for religious minorities. Allegations of blasphemy have increased a hundredfold since the 90s.
Pakistan has become a perilous place for people with a difference of opinion. Muslims all over the world are taking the issue of Blasphemy to another extreme. They are starting a new time in which any criticism of Islam can get someone killed. But is it the Muslim or is it Islam that is truly barbaric, extreme and uncompromising, people who know Islam know that Islam is the disease and terrorist is the carrier, Khadim Hussain was just one among millions? It will take decades if not centuries to reverse what he has sown in Pakistan and sadly many people will lose their lives because of him.
The post Khadim Hussain Rizvi and the plight of Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>The post Pakistan, COVID, Ramadan, Rehmat ya Zehmat? appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>COVID 19 has presented Special Challenges. Pakistan is already facing the brunt of the infection, where many people are dying daily. Ramadan, amidst COVID in Pakistan, is going to bring some unique problems and issues. Pakistan, COVID, Ramadan, Rehmat ya Zehmat?
Ghalib Kamal – Pakistani Freethinkers
The post Pakistan, COVID, Ramadan, Rehmat ya Zehmat? appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>The post Ramadan amidst COVID in Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>Ramadan is the worst time to be in Pakistan. Tempers are high, people are restless, no one wants to work, and no one wants to speak. In Offices, people crowd for prayers. People go to work late and run back early. Prices skyrocket, and markets are overcrowded. Everyone is in a state of urgency. Near Iftar on the road nearly everyone is rash driving, there are accidents, people don’t care for traffic signals or rules. Most people are at a much worst behavior than they usually are. Since I remember every year at least there would be some news beating a diabetic for eating in the market or office. Has the situation change during Ramadan Amidst COVID in Pakistan?
Usually, during the first few days of Ramadan, people are fasting. But after just a week most people do not fast anymore. Staying hungry is one issue. But thirst is the more serious issue in Pakistan. Summer is really hot and staying thirsty is not possible for the majority of wage earners.
Laborers, cleaners, and small shop owners cannot fast because they have physically demanding jobs. At the same time, many construction projects and other labor-intensive jobs come to a halt. Ramadan During COVID in Pakistan makes the situation even more difficult for them because people want to just fast and rest all day because they want to manage the thirst and hunger.
Such people stay awake all night, watching movies, or listening to music. But as soon as the dawn breaks, they become Pious Muslims who just sleep during the fast.
Women are mostly in a lot of trouble during Ramadan, though the family is skipping the afternoon lunch. A woman’s Iftar food preparation requires three to four-time more work than usual. They have to prepare Pakoras, make Sharbat, make sweet, fruit chat, and much more. Most of the houses have small kitchens in which they have to work during the fast. It’s tiring and difficult, mostly because they cannot drink any water. Wise women usually refrain from fasting. But the ones who still fast are in a lot of trouble.
Doctors see an increase in patients with gastrointestinal trouble, the reason is binge eating during Ramadan. Roza is an excuse for avoiding all kinds of work “Roza lag Raha hai(Roza is hurting me)” is the best excuse during Ramadan. People who are not even fasting use it. People do not tell one another that they are not fasting. Instead, everyone is a hypocrite during Ramadan, and everyone pretends that they are fasting.
Ramadan amidst COVID has changed nothing in Pakistan, now people have an excuse to even not wear masks because this makes their Roza more difficult. Why are you not wearing a mask? Roza Lag Raha hai g. People will no longer maintain social distancing outside shops because they are fasting and cannot stand in the sun. Dehydration is one of the most serious medical hazards associated with Ramadan. We have all seen people falling down in Ramadan because they cannot drink water anywhere.
No one can say something that goes against Islam in Pakistan. We are better at being a hypocrite if a crowd beats someone in the market for eating, ninety-five percent of the public is not fasting at all. All those who are not fasting will add a slap or two to the cheek of the person who was caught eating. This is the height of hypocrisy. Ninety-five percent of the rash drivers involved in road accidents are not even fasting, but they pretend.
The pretension includes being rude, not working, rash driving, telling others that Roza is hurting me, not maintaining social distancing, not wearing a make to avoid COVID 19, and many other behaviors that are very common. Even during Ramadan amidst COVID in Pakistan, you will see many people with dry lips in Markets and offices, but their lips are not dry because of fasting, their lips are dry because they have been able to drink water in secrecy.
During Ramadan amidst COVID in Pakistan, nothing has changed, people are still the same, and condition is even worse. Many families have lost their income and are already hungry. Instead of pretending of Fasting during Ramadan people should be allowed to eat and drink, that they stay hydrated, and maybe the situation will improve.
Paramedical staff is using PPE for Covid, which makes them severly dehydrated and even under oxygenated. They need to stay hydrated that they are able to fight this pandemic. Ramadan amidst of COVID for them is impossible, they cannot and should not fast.
Ghalib Kamal – Pakistani Freethinkers
The post Ramadan amidst COVID in Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>For a young extremist Muslim who wants to follow Islam strictly, the Ideal Islamic self is unachievable, desired self though wanted cannot be had because its sinful and the actual self is lost, swaying between Islamic idealism and modern desires. Muslim youth is truly lost.
The post What does a young Muslim extremist think? appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>What does a young Muslim extremist think? As Islamic extremism is on the rise? How did so many young Muslims join ISIS during the past few years? Many of these young Muslims who were born and raised in western countries still adopted extremist Islam. Islam is producing extremists much more abundantly than any other religion. We hear terms like Islamophobia, Islamic extremism, and Islamic fundamentalism all the time. No other religion is subject to discussion as much as Islam. Muslims and non-Muslims are both trying to understand what Islam says about politics, economy, and the world altogether.
Every human being has many faces and dimensions. Ideally, everyone wants to become their “ideal self.” But deep down, we know how similar or different we are from our “ideal self.” At the same time, we know who we are, and this is our “actual self.” With mental maturity, even a young Muslim extremist can become aware of his real strengths and weaknesses. Our true self is what we are, but some people think of themselves differently. They believe they are or can become different. This belief in becoming someone better is our “desired self.”
If my desired self is at odds with my actual self, this will create a conflict in my personality. Sometimes people think that what is impossible is achievable. In our case, Islam sets a standard that is too high. But Muslims who adopt fundamental Islam believe in puritanism. Islam sets a rigorous regiment of laws. These laws dictate every aspect of a Muslim’s life.
So what does a Muslim extremist think about these laws and obligations? The answer is much more difficult. Many Muslims follow Islam casually, in a day out of five, they say one or two prayers. They only go to the mosque on a Friday. For them keeping religion and worldly affairs at a distance is easy. But some want to follow Islam down to every minute detail. Or at least they think they can. Such people genuinely believe they can become perfect Muslims.
Then it comes to sexual frustration, like everyone else they watch porn. After porn and masturbation, they are repentant and ask for Allah’s forgiveness, and promise they will never watch porn again. But it happens again and again. Now they blame the internet and all the indecency and pornography in the world. They believe that music videos arouse them. Because of this arousal, they watch porn and commit a Sin such as masturbation.
Planet’s top internet porn viewing countries have a Muslim majority, with our dear Pakistan at the top. Islam also puts an obligation that a Muslim should dress in a certain way. He should have a beard, removing facial hair is a sin in Allah’s eye.
As we know, young people want to look beautiful and fashionable. But Muslim youth is wearing a hijab, or they have a long underdeveloped beard, which makes them look horrible. So their desired self and the Ideal self-conflict. Islam prescribes an Ideal self, but the desire to look beautiful dictates the desired self.
What their desired self wants is a sin, so they should not choose it, and what their ideal self believes is impossible. The conflict widens, and anger rises. A Muslim fundamentalist teenager thinks that he is living in the wrong time. He blames the world for his sins.
A madrassah educated Mullah is even more miserable. These young men who come for low-income families learn the Quran by heart in Islamic schools. Lacking formal education, they can only teach recital of the Quran, or they can become Mullah in a mosque. They face all kinds of difficulties due to the lack of formal education.
During a discussion, madrassah educated mullah has nothing to say about worldly issues, and they are considered beggars. Deep down they know that as compared to a doctor, engineer, or businessman they are nothing. They are subjects of the inferiority complex. Not every madrassah graduate is able to become in charge of a mosque. They provide Nazra(Quran recital) tuitions which is a petty job. It is very important to know that What does a young Muslim extremist think?
He sees the bearded men and Hijab clad women professing their virtue all the time, and these young people genuinely believe in such claims. This belief adds to their guilt, and they think they are the scum of the earth because they cannot follow a clear and straightforward religion as Islam.
A young Muslim extremist thinks that Allah has praised jihad, and will give seventy virgins more beautiful than any woman in this world. Youth can usually be too confident in their beliefs. Such a young man is a perfect scapegoat for exploitation in the name of Islam. If someone tells him to wear a suicide jacket and blow up in the middle of a hospital, he will do it.
A young Muslim extremist thinks of paradise as an escape from the evil world and body, which makes him indulge in sin as great as masturbation. He wants an easy way out of a life where he is not married as soon as he hit his puberty. Desire and regret culminate in looking towards extreme solutions like jihad and martyrdom.
The above applies equally to all Muslim youth, especially to those who are sensitive and susceptible, who believe that the ultimate truth is found only in religion. These young Muslim extremists believe in idealism. They cannot accept that reality is much simpler, and Idealism is a fake promise, its an unachievable utopia. And any utopia whichever it maybe is nothing more than a political commitment and an evil plan.
Nothing is more accurate. Islam capitalizes on a young man’s frustration. It uses thinking of an extremist Muslim for its own political and ideological agenda. It adheres to a fourteen hundred-year-old tribalism. Muslim youth have to dress, act, behave, and eat according to Islam. Islam is causing them unbearable cerebral pain. Islam is a poison branded as medicine for these young people. The more strictly they follow it, the sicker they become. More Islamic they look, the more pain they feel. The more at odds with the real world and the actual self they become, in all their confusion, they wander far away from their desired self.
The post What does a young Muslim extremist think? appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>The post Repealing Blasphemy Laws—The First Step Toward A Better Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>Numerous others were also killed who mocked Muhammad. Today such tales found in the Hadith set death as the only legitimate precedent of punishment for blasphemy in Islam.
In recent months, a cartoon contest planned by the Dutch parliamentarian Greet Wilders became the center of attention in Islamic countries. The Pakistani Government recorded their protest on several forums. Greet Wilders received death threats. The Dutch government feared that terrorism could be faced by its citizens on Dutch soil, so Greet Wilders had to cancel this event.
It is astounding how Muslims are willing to kill for cartoons or minor criticism. Life appears awfully cheap according to Islam; Islamic Sharia is absolutely clear in this matter. Muslims demand to preach and practice their religion in non-Muslim societies, but their double standard is evident to religious minorities living in Islamic countries, who are not allowed to preach their religious views, as free speech is not an option in Islam.
After 9/11, extremism further erupted in the Islamic world. The subsequent political and militaristic conflicts have driven the Muslim world toward hardcore Islam. The rise of social media and the internet provided Muslim youth access to Islamic literature unavailable in previous centuries. Hardline Islamic clerics such as Anjum Chaudhry (Great Britain), Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi (Pakistan) and Maulana Abdul Aziz (Pakistan, Notorious Red Mosque Islamabad Imam) and many others have gained a much wider audience. These clerics have revealed the Islamic concept of blasphemy to the general masses according to the Hadith and Fiqah.
The twenty-first century has presented new geopolitical challenges; every idea, including religion, is being scrutinized. Muslims are vigorously questioned about their religion. The Prophet Muhammad as a person is the target of inquiry. According to the Quran, Hadith (Tradition about sayings of Muhammad) and Sirat (Life of Muhammad), he raged wars and plundered, adored sex with women, possessed slaves, ordered torture and murder, had anti-Semitic views, and had little respect for women among many other moral shortcomings. When these are brought to light, Muhammad drastically falls on the humanitarian pedestal and any apologetic defense is almost impossible, which results in an inherent insecurity about Islamo-Critical thought and literature. Consequently, hardcore Muslims abhor modern moral standards that undermine their religion as blasphemous and try to oppose with aggression and force. Liberal Muslims believe “Islam is a religion of Peace,” but in reality, its anything but a religion of peace as it compels Muslims to engage in Jihad against infidels. Regarding blasphemy, both liberals and hardliners loathe free speech and are emotionally hurt, though regarding consequence of blasphemy, the hardline view has gained popularity in recent decades. The slogan “Behead the Blasphemers” is chanted everywhere in the world by Muslims.
Pakistan was created in the name of Islam; 96 percent of Pakistanis are Muslims. Pakistan was willfully radicalized during the Afghan war; thousands of madrassas (theological schools) were created to train Mujahedeen as fodder for Jihad against USSR. The military dictator at the time, General Zia Ul Haq, added the new clauses to the already existing blasphemy laws that demand death penalty for defamation of Muhammad and desecration of the Quran.
The first blasphemy cases started to get registered in the early 1990s. The majority of these cases were filed due to personal vendetta against the alleged blasphemer.
The first case that received mainstream attention was filed against Salamat Masih, an eleven-year-old boy; Manzoor Masih; and Rehmat Masih. All three of them were illiterate and couldn’t read and write, but ironically they were accused of writing insults to Mohammad on a mosque’s wall. The Imam of the Mosque was the witness and had already erased what was written. In February 1995 after a court hearing, an assassination was attempted in which Manzoor was shot dead while Rehmat and Salamat were injured. Salamat, still a minor and Rehmat were sentenced to death by a lower court but were later acquitted through appeal in high court as they were illiterate and couldn’t write. They fled Pakistan fearing for their lives even after being proved innocent. Even a minor cannot be considered exempt from a blasphemy case. Over the years, cases have been repeatedly filed against minors.
In 1997, Judge Arif Iqbal Bhatti was shot dead by Sher Khan for allegedly supporting Salamat and Rehmat Masih. Sher Khan confessed, but mysteriously went missing from police custody, thus marking the beginning of death for any aid to the ones accused of blasphemy.
The first blasphemy-related lynching happened in 1994 when a Muslim named Hafiz Farooq Sajjad was beaten, stoned to death, and his corpse burned at the hands of an angry mob that attacked the police station where he was kept in custody after arrest.
In February 1997, the largest mob attack in which police stood by and watched, the whole Christian colony of Shanti Nagar near Khushab, Punjab, was burnt, a resident of this colony was accused of burning the Quran. More than 1,000 houses, thirteen churches, and more than twenty-five shops were burned. After forty-eight hours, the Pakistan army was charged with bringing an end to the mob violence and maintaining law and order in the area.
Most of the victims of blasphemy cases are Christians. In 2003, a Christian named Samuel Masih was accused of blasphemy. When the poor man caught tuberculosis in jail and was sent to the hospital for a checkup, a police guard killed the already dying man in presence of other guards, saying that it was his duty as a Muslim to kill the blasphemer.
Asia Noreen, a Christian woman famously known as Asia Bibi, is the first Pakistani woman who has been sentenced to death. In June 2009, she had an argument with some Muslim women because she drank from the same water as them, as they gathered berries in the field. She was arrested and tried for blasphemy. Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab Province at time, stood up for her and said that he would help her in any way possible. Taseer was openly vocal against blasphemy laws and expressed that these laws should be repealed. On January 4, 2011, Taseer was killed by Mumtaz Qadri, his own security guard. The death of Salman Taseer at the hands of Mumtaz Qadri has been the most polarizing issue among the Pakistani masses. Liberals and seculars regard Salman Taseer as a hero and titled him a “Martyr of Humanity” whereas religious hardliners and extremists regard Mumtaz Qadri as a hero and Ghazi (Victorious in Battle). Asia Bibi’s case didn’t only take Taseer’s life; Federal Minister for Minorities Shehbaz Bhatti was also killed at the hands of Taliban gunmen for supporting her. To date Asia Bibi is in jail and her case is on halt.
On February 29, 2016, Mumtaz Qadri was executed for killing Salman Taseer. Since Qadri has been hailed as a martyr, more than a million people attended his funeral in Rawalpindi. Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi, whose sermon convinced Qadri to kill Taseer, has become kingpin of extremists trying to enforce strict Islam in Pakistan. He has developed a notion of no compromise or discussion on amendments to blasphemy laws and has arranged huge protests time and again on different religious issues.
On August 1, 2009, another mob attack happened. This time the victims were from a Christian colony of Gojra, Punjab. The attacks were triggered by the allegation of desecration of pages that contained verses of the Quran on a wedding ceremony. The mob was led by veiled youths who reportedly arrived from Jhang to take part in this attack. A total of seven people were burned alive, including a seven-year-old boy, four women, and two men. Eighteen others were injured. Forty houses and a church were set ablaze. Police stood by as the victims begged for help, just like in the Shanti Nagar incident in 1997.
On March 13, 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a faculty member of the English Literature Department at Baha Ud Din Zikria University, Multan, was accused of making blasphemous remarks on social media. It was difficult to find a lawyer for Hafeez, but the late Advocate Rashid Rehman bravely stepped up. On one occasion, he told the BBC it was like “walking into the jaws of death” to defend someone accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. Rashid continuously received death threats because of representing Hafeez. He even received threats in front of a presiding judge in court. On April 3, 2014, Rashid Rehman was shot dead by two gunmen in his chambers. His bravery has been exemplary in humanitarian work. Hafeez is still in jail; his case is progressing at a snail’s pace.
On November 4, 2014, At Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur District, Punjab, a Christian couple employed at a brick factory—Shama, aged twenty-eight, who was four months pregnant, and her husband, Shehzad, who was thirty-two—were accused of burning pages of the Quran. An angry mob tortured them, broke their legs, tore their clothes, and burned them alive in the fire of the same kiln that they worked on. Their eight-year-old son horrifically watched as his parents were tortured, killed, and torched.
In 2017, five Pakistani bloggers who were criticizing the Pakistani Army for their role in Extremism, politics, and the war on terror were abducted by Inter-Services Intelligence. They were severely tortured and interrogated for weeks. International pressure developed, and they were released. As soon as they were released, their online activity was termed sacrilegious and blasphemous. All five of them fled the country fearing for their life and freedom. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad high court took suo moto action against blasphemy on social media to gain prominence and avert attention form corruption cases against him. This judge played a crucial role in the crackdown against liberal and secular bloggers in Pakistan and gave a whole new dimension to misuse of blasphemy laws. Abdul Waheed and Rana Nauman were arrested from Karachi by FIA due to the crackdown instigated by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. They are on trial and might face the death sentence.
On April 13, 2017, Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan who identified himself as the humanist, was lynched to death by university employees and fellow students. Apparently, he made antireligious remarks on his Facebook that defamed Prophet Mohammed. During Khan’s lynching, many people recorded video of this incident using their cell phones, and it went viral on social media. Again, a polarization was observed between liberals and radicals. One side was saying an innocent life was lost due to blasphemy allegations; the other side was trying to prove that Khan was a blasphemer and deserved to die. The religious left provided legal aid to Khan’s murderers, hailing them as heroes of Islam. After a year the case was concluded. Half of the accused were released, and just like Mumtaz Qadri were showered with rose petals. The rest of the accused went for appeal in High Court, where the case is still to be conducted.
Viewing blasphemy cases in Pakistan, more than sixty people on trial have been killed since 1990. The number of people killed without any legal proceedings is even more. In Pakistan, allegation of blasphemy is a license to kill. Mullahs encourage mobs to act there and then. Police and law enforcement appease the extremists or avoid confrontation. The situation has become worse after the death of Salman Taseer and the glorification of Mumtaz Qadri. There are many Qadri wannabes looking to kill anyone accused of blasphemy. Those accused of blasphemy are among the lowest of low in the Pakistani society and standing up for them is not possible even for the most powerful.
Pakistan has had its recent election in July 2018. In this election a new political party, Tehrik-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah formed by Alama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, got 2.3 million votes, which was more than many veteran political parties such as Muthida Majlis-e-Amal, ANP, and MQM, even though this party is only a year old and participated in their first election. Their election propaganda is blasphemy and Khatam-e-Nabooat (Belief that Mohammad is the last prophet of Allah); photos of Mumtaz Qadri were displayed on their campaign banners. Last year in a sit-down strike they brought the whole country to a standstill by closing highways in major cities on the issue of a minor change to the oath of members of national assembly.
The Issue of blasphemy is being further politicized. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan denied amendments to blasphemy laws. He has also yearned to get blasphemy laws implemented on the international level through the United Nations.
Muslims wish to globally enforce their medieval and brutal ideals. During the recent Greet Wilders scenario, a Pakistani present in Amsterdam asked help from fellow Pakistanis to kill Wilders. Khalid Latif, a Pakistani Cricketer, offered a bounty of $25,000 for Wilder’s head. Khadim Hussain Rizvi urged the Pakistani government to launch a nuclear missile against the Netherlands if the event was not cancelled. Pakistanis have become accustomed to forcing people to respect their brutal and barbaric ideology. They are now trying to threaten and terrorize people such as Greet Wilders, Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, and many others who practice freedom of speech in the free global society.
Though Wilders cancelled, he has succeeded in showing what Muslims and Islam are made of. The majority of Muslims living in the west might be peaceful, but it’s the violent minority that shows the true face of Islam; Islam is not a peaceful religion. There are many parts of the Quran and Hadith that demand violence and are against human rights such as freedom and free speech. Many alternate interpretations exist, but as long as only a single extremist interpretation is followed, Islam will always be a harbinger for terror and death.
Our modern world came about through rationalism, which is the direct fruit of freedom of speech, questioning ideologies, and criticizing ideals. Blasphemy is in accordance with freedom of speech. It makes ideals less sacred; without making ideas less sacred, there would be stagnation similar to the Dark Ages. Being confined to the Bible or Quran for all knowledge is a dangerous idea. When this idea was abrogated, the world moved forward, but the Islamic world is still stagnant. Muslims want religion to have the last say in every matter, and they don’t want it to be scrutinized. Muslims want to drag us back to the Dark Ages; they want to restart witch hunts and death at the stake.
Blasphemy laws in countries such as Pakistan have contributed to injustice and inequality. Minorities have been persecuted and deprived. Though the ideal of blasphemy is enough insult to humanity, formal laws are much worse. Before inclusion of capital punishment for defamation of Prophet Mohammad and desecration of the Quran—namely articles 295 B and C of the constitution—extrajudicial killings and mob violence never happened. After these laws were enacted, such incidents appeared and then increased. The popular notion is that repealing these laws will further contribute to angering extremist factions in the society and extrajudicial killings will multiply. Repealing these laws is impossible in radical Pakistan as Islamic indoctrination is not easy to reverse, especially when the possibility of a discussion is almost impossible. To repeal these laws, extremism has to be vigorously contested, for which there is neither a will nor a way—and won’t be for decades to come. Abolishing blasphemy laws can be a major symbolic step toward a better Pakistan, where every citizen has equal rights. If these laws continue, Pakistan will destroy itself through extremism.
References:
Shama and Shehzad
Shanti Nagar Incident
Timeline of Blasphemy accused till 2014
Pakistani Reaction on Greet Wilders
The post Repealing Blasphemy Laws—The First Step Toward A Better Pakistan appeared first on Ghalib Kamal.
]]>