Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

By: Syed Danish Hussain | Published: November 20, 2011

RAWALPINDI — It seems that city administration is waiting for occurrence of some untoward incident against Ahmadi community, as despite passage of several days the administration has not removed a number of banners demanding end to religious activities of the community on every Friday in a house located in E-block of Satellite Town.

It was approximately 10 days ago when residents of E-Block, who at all don’t have any problem with holding of religious activities by Ahmadi community on every Friday in a building near Holy Family hospital, saw hanging banners around the locality demanding “immediate end of unconstitutional activities by Qadyanis in E-block.”

The banners are displayed by some “action committee” which wants an immediate end to religious gatherings of the community people at their worship place.

As, according to them, the security measures taken by police as well as administration of the worship place are bothersome for the residents of the area.

A resident of the area, whose house is located few yards away from the worship place of Ahmadis, when interviewed, said that these banners were leaving a bad image on the hearts and minds of his schoolchildren. He said, though a link road in front of the worship place is closed down for every kind of movement for one hour on every Friday, it never created trouble for them.

He said such banners were a source of distress for them more than the activities of Ahmadis. He also said that those who were hanging banners in the area mentioning “area residents” on them were not at all living in the area.

He also criticised the administration of the city for not removing at earliest all such stuff from the streets and roads of the area that were creating hatred for the minority.

When contacted, one of the members of the administration of worship place of Ahmadis, termed such banners a conspiracy and a source of great danger for the community.

Wishing not to be named, he said the banners were getting the attention of more and more people with each passing day and it was alarming.

“We are frightened of being targeted on this baseless propaganda. It is like playing with the emotions of minority that is already facing a social boycott like situation in the country,” he added.

He also argued that people behind this activity were of the view that Ahmadis were using a residential building for worship place but it is a matter of fact that hundreds of residential units across the city were converted into mosques.

He said if something wrong occurred or someone tried to attack their worship place in the area, the administration of the city would be responsible for that.

He said the community was not doing anything unconstitutional, as inscribed on the banners.

The building belongs to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, a registered organisation, he added.

DCO Rawalpindi Saqib Zafar did not respond to several calls made by this scribe for his comments on the issue.

URL: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan...passing-10-days

CJ urged to take action against land grabbing

Monday, September 19, 2011

CJ urged to take action against land grabbing

Published: September 19, 2011

CHINIOT — Advocate Supreme Court Malik Rab Nawaz has appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu action against Qadiani Jama’at which is not accepting the amendment in constitution that declares it as non-Muslim jama’at.

Addressing the 6th Khatam-e-Nabuwat Conference under the auspicious of Khatam-e-Nabuwat Lawyers Forum here on Thursday, he said that Qadianis had refused to accept the non-Muslim status and entering their names in voter lists as Muslims. He also urged Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of Qadiani land mafia which had grabbed hundred acres of govt land situated at Chenab nagar (Chak Dhigyan).

Rab Nawaz highlighted that Qadianis Jama’at had occupied all the land of high way, railway and mineral department and the land of River Chenab’s old bridge road in the name of grassy plots and tree plantation. He demanded the CM to direct the Chiniot DCO and Chenab Nagar TMA to get this land free.

He further said Qadianis, violating the rules and directions of State Bank, had made private exchange bank where hundi system was on the rise. He asked the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to take immediate notice of this violation. He demanded the authorities concerned to create a column of non-Muslims in identity card for Qadianis.

Paying tribute to the leaders and workers of Tehreek Khatam-e-Nabuwat, he commemorated their sacrifices and struggles during the movement.

URL: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan...against-land-grabbing

Fatal Cikeusik attack ‘may have been orchestrated’

NATIONAL Mon, 02/14/2011 10:04 AM

Fatal Cikeusik attack ‘may have been orchestrated’

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

New facts emerging from last week’s fatal attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik village, Banten, indicate that a third party may have orchestrated the clash, lawyers for Islamic groups say.

Achmad Michdan of the Muslim Lawyers Team (TPM) said he suspected a number of outsiders had deliberately helped trigger the attack.

Three Ahmadis were killed in the attack by thousands of villagers in Cikeusik.

“We have studied videos that have been widely circulated and spoke to locals in the area. There were some facts in our preliminary findings that were disturbing,” he said.

A series of video recordings of the attack have circulated on the Internet, showing angry mobs attacking a building believed to be an Ahmadi house of worship. The mob attacked Ahmadis with bamboo sticks and stones and burned a parked car. Some of them wielded machetes.

Arif, who filmed the event, is now under the protection of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency. Mahendradatta, another TPM lawyer, said he suspected the videos had been deliberately made for publication.

“We suspect the videos were edited before being released to cut out parts that may disrupt the ‘plans’,” he said.

Arif’s lawyer from the Human Rights Working Group, Choirul Anam, said the videos were not continuous due to a malfunctioning camera battery.

In the video, most of the attackers wore blue ribbons. Agus Setiawan, the head of TPM Banten, said the ribbons were distributed by an unidentified man.

“The mob walked down a small street toward the Ahmadis. About 200 meters before the clash site, a man distributed the ribbons, telling the mob to ‘wear it to avoid being confused [for Ahmadis]’,” he claimed.

The videos showed a man in a black leather jacket holding a machete leading the mob in the attack. Although his actions indicate he was a leader of the group, Agus said none of the villagers knew him. Provocative text messages were also received by villagers the night before the attack, supposedly from a cleric.

“But the numbers used to send the messages don’t match the cleric’s cell phone number,” Agus added.

The TPM, which represents the five suspects named by police for the attack, said it would hand over its findings to police.

The TPM, however, acknowledged that public anger against Ahmadis had intensified.

“Anger at the Ahmadis erupted prior to the clash for a number of reasons. First, they found the Ahmadis had called on friends for back-up instead of leaving the village. In fact, the Ahmadis had also prepared weapons.

“Second, two of the Ahmadis who were captured by villagers refused to renounce their deviant faith,” Agus said.

Two days after the attack, another incident of religious violence occurred in Temanggung, Central Java. Angry crowds attacked three churches in response to a blasphemy ruling at a local court.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono responded to the incidents by calling for a ban on violent mass organizations. Many believe he was alluding to the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which responded by saying Yudhoyono would be toppled if he banned the group.

In his official website, presidensby.info, Yudhoyono countered the group’s statement. “I won’t be afraid of bluffing,” he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/14/fatal...%E2%80%99.html

Don’t dare touch blasphemy law

Monday, January 31, 2011

Don’t dare touch blasphemy law

Published January 31, 2011

LAHORE — Leaders of religious parties from all schools of thought, joined by the bigwigs of PML-N, PML-Q, PML-Zia and PTI, at a mammoth rally in the provincial metropolis on The Mall on Sunday vowed to render any sacrifice for protecting the blasphemy law, saying that no Muslim would compromise on the honour of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Thousands of people participated in the rally organised by Tuhaffaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM) from Nasir Bagh to the Faisal Chowk where the top leadership of the mainstream political and religious parties addressed highly-charged participants. The participants were carrying flags of different religious parties, placards and banners inscribed with writings in favour of blasphemy law and against Pope Benedict, the US and European Parliament.

Highly-charged participants continued waving flags inscribed with Kalima Tayyaba throughout the proceedings of the rally. They were also beatings effigies of Pope Benedict, Sherry Rehman, Fauzia Wahab, Shahbaz Bhatti and Aasia Bibi with sticks.

The demonstrators chanted slogans ‘Mumtaz Qadri Ko Raha Karo, Gustakh-e-Rasool Ki Saza Sar Tun Se Judda, Ghulami-e-Rasool Main Maut Be Qabool Hai’.

Law enforcement agencies made unprecedented security arrangements to avoid any untoward happening during the mammoth rally. The Police closed down The Mall, from Nasir Bagh to the Governor’s House, for traffic a couple of hours before the start of the rally. Though it was weekend holiday, massive traffic jams were witnessed on the adjoining arteries due to closure of The Mall. The Police allowed entry to the participants after thorough search and that too only from Masjad-e-Shuhada and Nasir Bagh. Besides policemen in uniform, plain-clothed men were also deputed to keep a close eye on the participants. Trained shooters were also deputed on almost all multi storey buildings on both sides of the Mall, from Nasir Bagh to Faisal Chowk.

Addressing the rally, JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman urged the religious parties to continue maintaining unity in their ranks and make concerted and serious efforts for protecting blasphemy law.

Referring to the ongoing Tuhaffaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Tehreek, he said the flood of people would not stop before reaching the destination of protecting the blasphemy law. He said the Tehreek would be further strengthened and a big rally would be organised in Peshawar on February 20.

He declared that demonstrations would be held on every Friday till February 20. He said at the moment, the nation only had one-point agenda of protecting Namoos-e-Risalat.

“Unemployment, price hike, loadshedding and lawlessness have made the life of common man miserable. But the people have shown more concerns on Namoos-e-Risalat than all other issues”, the JUI-F Chief said, adding, the people would never allow the rulers to make any amendment in the blasphemy law. He urged the rulers to take a clear stance on blasphemy law instead of misguiding the nation by giving vague clarifications.

Referring to the participation of such a huge number of people in the rally, he said the nation had conveyed a strong message to Pope Benedict, the US and European Parliament. He said the people had made it clear that they would not let the present regime to implement the US agenda in the country.

“They (western countries) made attempts to damage Islamic values and culture, imposed ban on construction of minarets, published blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and subjected Muslims to inhuman treatment,” he regretted.

Referring to the fresh upsurge in Arab countries, Fazl stated that the US would fail to save its puppets and the same would happen in Pakistan. He said the people would have to decide whether they accepted slavery of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) or that of the US’ like our rulers.

Referring to the incident of killing of three people by US national in Lahore, he warned the rulers against setting culprit Raymond Davis free without judicial trial. He said the people would take the law into their hands if rulers adopted any illegal course to free the US diplomat. He counselled Governor Latif Khosa to visit jail to meet Mumtaz Qadri.

“Salmaan Taseer met Asia Bibi in the jail. Khosa should visit the jail to meet Mumtaz Qadri,” he said, adding, Khosa was in the Governor House only due to Mumtaz Qadri.

Ameer Jama’at-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hasan said the movement for protecting Namoos-e-Risalat and free the country from US slavery would be further reinforced and taken to its logical ending. He said the Muslim World was facing a wave of revolution and the Pakistani rulers could not escape this for a longer period. He said the world had changed after 9/11 and all should realise this reality.

“The US is implementing its agenda in the wake of change after 9/11. She wants to damage Islamic values and culture, change law and revise syllabus in Islamic countries and snub voices from mosques,” he stated, adding that the Muslims should realise and stand to fight the war of civilisations. He said that the US and western countries were hatching conspiracies to take the Muslims away from their religion.

The JI Ameer further said the nation accepted the challenge against the US and her agents.

Warning the present rulers of dire consequences, he said that they (rulers) and the assemblies would cease to exist if attempts were made to amend the blasphemy law.

He said it was only due to the cowardice of the rulers that the Americans were killing innocent Pakistanis on streets. He said there had been terrorist activities in the Punjab capital in the past when vehicles carrying arms were recovered from the Americans but they were later released. It was for the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to explain the whereabouts of those Americans, he added.

Convener TNRM Sahibzada Abual Khair Zubair said the rulers were not fulfilling demands and trying to keep people away from the movement by creating confusions. He urged the political parties having representation in the parliament to take up the issue at the highest platform. He congratulated the participants for fulfilling their commitment to protect Namoos-e-Risalat.

Ameer Jama’at-ud-Dawa Hafiz Muhammad Saeed urged the rulers to work for an international legislation to curb desecration of Prophets all over the world. He said the rulers who had taken oath on the Holy Quran should decide to sever diplomatic relations with the countries where blasphemous caricatures had been published. He said Pope Benedict’s demand for repealing the blasphemy laws was aimed at fanning lawlessness and anarchy in the country.

JUI leader Abdul Ghafoor Haidri said the rulers were paying no heed to the protests by the nation for the last couple of months. He said the TNRM earlier made four demands - dissolution of committee headed by Shahbaz Bhatti, withdrawal of bill submitted by Sherry Rehman, action against Salmaan Taseer for violating his oath and uttering against the law of land and statement of Prime Minister on the floor of the National Assembly that blasphemy law would not be amended. He said delay on the part of the government led to the killing of Salmaan Taseer. He urged the rulers to fulfil demands to avert any future eventuality.

Allama Sajid Naqvi said the government was not taking clear stance on blasphemy law only due to the US pressure. He stressed upon continuing the struggle to protect blasphemy law. He said no one could be allowed to commit blasphemy.

Abdul Qadir Ropri urged the rulers to withdraw the bill presented by Sherry Rehman to stop another Mumtaz Qadri from coming into action. He said efforts would be made for freeing Mumtaz Qadri.

Ashraf Jalali said the nation had decided to punish blasphemers. He said Mumtaz Qadri had fulfilled his commitment for Hurmat-e-Rasool by killing Salmaan Taseer and he should be freed.

Addressing the rally, Senator Sajid Mir said the nation had recorded a strong protest against attacks on blasphemy law. He said the blasphemer deserved only one punishment and that was death. He said people from all schools of thought had consensus on blasphemy law.

Vowing to protect Namoos-e-Risalat, central leader PML-Q Ch Pervaiz Elahi said his party would be the first to quit the assembly if it dared to make any attempt to amend the blasphemy law.

“We have not adopted double standards like the rulers and our children and assets are of no values before Namoos-e-Risalat. Overwhelming participation in today’s rally proves that the nation is united to protect Namoos-e-Risalat. No amendment in blasphemy law is acceptable as Muslims value Namoos-e-Risalat more than their lives, children and assets,” he said, adding that his party would leave no stone unturned to protect the blasphemy law inside and outside the parliament.

Ilyas Ghuman termed Javaid Ghamdi an accursed and outcast but no speaker responded to his remarks.

PML-Zia Chief Ejazul Haq said a long march should be launched after giving a deadline to the government.

PML-N leader Kh Saad Rafiq said the PML-N had clear stance on blasphemy law.

“Blasphemy law should not be amended. Efforts should also be made to stop wrong use of blasphemy law,” he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice-President Ijaz Chaudhry pledged that his party would not allow any change in the law. He demanded public hanging of Raymond Davis, the US citizen who shot dead three Pakistanis on Thursday.

URL: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news...dare-touch-blasphemy-law/

Secular politicians jump on blasphemy bandwagon

Pakistan Punjab

Secular politicians jump on blasphemy bandwagon

Rana Tanveer
January 31, 2011

At the Tehrik-i-Namoos Risalat rally held on The Mall yesterday, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi shares a private moment with Maulana Ghafoor Haideri. PHOTO: EXPRESS/WASEEM NIAZ

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam will quit the National Assembly if it amends the blasphemy laws, said party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at a Tehrik-i-Namoos-i-Risalat rally here on Sunday.

“We curse the assembly that would dare to amend the anti-blasphemy laws,” Elahi said. “Our party would be the first to quit such an assembly.”

The former chief minister added that he and his party colleagues were deeply committed to the cause. “Our children and our worldly belongings are of no consequence in the defence of Namoos-i-Risalat,” he said.

Elahi was one of several political leaders from non-religious parties to attend the Tehrik-i-Namoos-i-Risalat rally. Analysts say that these politicians are trying to gain religious sympathies and to cash in on anti-government feeling following the assassination of Governor Salmaan Taseer.

Apart from pressing their own credentials in protecting the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the speakers railed against Raymond Davis, the American consulate employee currently in police custody for the killing of two Pakistanis. They told the government that he must be treated “according to the law” and not be handed over to the United States.

“The American gunned down two innocents but the government is trying to exonerate him,” said Maulana Fazlur Rehman, president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F). “This matter must be left to the courts to decide. If there is an executive intervention to stop the courts from exercising their jurisdiction, no one will respect the courts.”

He said his party would not let “American agents” continue their rule in Pakistan. He said that there would be another rally in Peshawar on the same issue on February 20.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq, who was introduced before his speech as a backer of the Taliban, told the rally that their primary demand of the government should not be that it pledge to leave the blasphemy laws alone, but that it pledge to remove all Americans and their supporters from the country. He urged the protesters to continue their “independence movement”, otherwise the killing of Pakistanis in drone attacks and firing incidents by foreigners would continue.

Syed Munawar Hasan, ameer of Jamaat-i-Islami, said that the law should “take its natural course” and penalise the accused American. He said some Americans had previously been arrested in the city with weapons but were let off.

Ijazul Haq, leader of the PML-Zia, said the blasphemy laws were not made by a dictator, his father Gen Ziaul Haq, but were “the laws of Allah” and as such could not be amended. He said the religious parties should give the government a deadline by which it would pledge not to amend the laws in any way, otherwise they should plan a long march towards Islamabad.

JUI-F leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed referred to Davis as an employee of Blackwater, the American mercenaries. “During interrogation he confessed that he was on a special mission and was operating on instructions. The government should make public his mission and instructions and why he riddled our brothers with bullets.”

He claimed that the US government was offering visas in return for Davis’ release. He said if the government bowed to American demands and let him off, they would besiege the US embassy and the Presidency in Islamabad.

Also invited to the rally were Muhammad Waseem and Imran, brothers of Faheem and Faizan Haider, the two men that Davis killed. Repeated announcements were made from the stage to welcome them and express solidarity with them.

“The blood of the martyrs Faheem and Faizan will not go to waste. We will contest their case before the court. The government must stop its conspiracy to portray this as a case of self-defence, otherwise neither the city government nor the provincial government will be able to continue,” said an organiser in an announcement from the stage.

PML-Nawaz MNA Khawaja Saad Rafiq, representing his party chief, said the PML-N would not accept any foreign pressure for the release of Davis. He said “the American diplomat” had killed two people and one of his colleagues had crushed another under his vehicle, and they would be dealt with according to the law. He said US Ambassador Cameron Munter had telephoned Nawaz Sharif to ask for help to secure Davis’ release, but Sharif had refused. He also led the crowd in shouting the slogan: “Amrika ka jo yaar hay, ghaddar hay ghaddar hay” [Whoever is America’s friend is a traitor].

Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan general secretary Qari Zawar Bahadur said that the government should close the US embassy in Islamabad in protest at the incident. He said all “Blackwater operatives” must be forced out of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/11...blasphemy-bandwagon/

Defiance of law: Tahaffuz rally speakers threaten courts

PAKISTAN PUNJAB

Defiance of law: Tahaffuz rally speakers threaten courts

Rana Tanveer
January 18, 2010

In yet another rally TNRM leaders said they will respect no law if blasphemy laws are touched. PHOTOS: EXPRESS/ABID NAWAZ

LAHORE: The Mall saw yet another rally on Monday organised by Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM). Several speakers at the rally lauded Mumtaz Qadri, the confessed killer of Governor Salmaan Taseer, and warned the courts of stiff reprimand if any order was passed against him.

Most shops and offices on The Mall were closed during the four hours the rally took to make its way from Data Darbar to the Governor’s House.

TNRM, a coalition of eight Sunni parties, organised the rally to pay tributes to the police guard who shot Taseer dead on January 4.

Speakers said there could be no punishment for Qadri and demanded his early release. TNRM vice president Dr Ashraf Jalali, who led the rally, told the participants that if Qadri was punished they would hold a long march to Islamabad and snatch all those responsible for it out of their offices. Jalali also issued a warning to the media not to extend invitations to those who criticised Qadri or spoke in favour of amending the blasphemy laws. “Mumtaz Hussain Qadri is a hero of the Muslim ummah. Whoever criticises him or Section 295-C will have their tongues pulled out.”

Jalali praised the police deployed in front of the Governor’s House saying that Qadri’s act had lifted the status of the entire police force.

The rally goers and their leaders chanted slogans against Taseer. The participants burnt pictures of President Asif Ali Zardari and other Pakistan Peoples Party leaders.

The 3,000 or so participants brought traffic and businesses on the The Mall to a stop. Roads leading to The Mall were choked with traffic and it seemed as if city life had come to a standstill for the hours the rally was in progress. Shops and offices on The Mall were closed for fear of a flare up but no untoward incident was reported.

Punjab Assembly members got their share of the firebrands’ wrath as they passed the Assembly building. “We curse every member of the Punjab Assembly for carrying a resolution in favour of Salmaan Taseer,” said a rally leader.

Some lawyers were also spotted in the rally. Advocate Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmed ‘congratulated’ the participants on Taseer’s death and said if Section 295-C was removed they would obey no laws. But, he also said no law was actually needed to deal with blasphemers as a few “true Muslims” were all it required to deal with them. He said no lawyer would appear before the court to prosecute Taseer’s murder.

Maulana Tasadduq Hussain, a Jaamiat Ulema Pakistan leader, said the media only invited a certain kind of religious scholar to debate blasphemy issues. He said those favouring Taseer or criticising Qadri were enemies of Islam.

TNRM secretary general Muhammad Ali Naqashbandi said the media should invite TNRM scholars for debate on blasphemy issues. He condemned the media for inviting ‘improper’ scholars to their talk shows.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/104903/jamaat-ud...violence/

Jamaat-ud-Dawa rally: Banned outfit incites violence

PAKISTAN

Jamaat-ud-Dawa rally: Banned outfit incites violence

Rana Tanveer
January 17, 2011

Clerics warned the media against criticising religious decrees.

LAHORE: Shockingly, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an organisation proscribed since the Mumbai terrorist attacks, not only managed to organise a sizeable rally, but clerics invited to speak during the demonstration spewed hate speech upon hate speech, targeted minorities, incited people to violence with impunity and roused people to adopt the ‘way of jihad’.

Despite the presence of clear cut laws, speakers “praised” the actions of the self-confessed killer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and warned media commentators against what they termed being critical of fatwas (religious decrees)” while discussing blasphemy matters.

Head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s political affairs wing Prof Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki said that anyone “supporting a blasphemer is also a blasphemer and both must meet the same fate”.

Hundreds of Jamaat-ud-Dawa activists and their sympathisers initially assembled near Nasir Bagh and started marching towards the Punjab Assembly building on The Mall.

Hafiz Makki said that Taseer had been assassinated because the government had not “educated him” about being careful on sensitive issues before appointing him as the provincial governor.

He said matters concerning blasphemy “are like (a live) high-tension wire with more than 11,000 volts … whoever touches (it) would be reduced to nought”.

Highly charged marchers, carrying placards declaring a ‘holy war against elements conspiring against Islam’, ripped away signboards and streamers in favour of the slain governor and surprisingly also in favour of his successor, Latif Khosa.

Endorsing Mumtaz Hussain Qadri’s actions, Hafiz Makki said the man had played “his due role and police department should be proud of … such a (true) lover of Holy Prophet (Pbuh)”.

Chagrined at Pope Benedict XVI’s statement in which he had urged the Pakistani government to “repeal” blasphemy laws, the speakers went ballistic and warned Christians and Jews “everywhere” that Muslims were “ready to take extreme action”. At one point, Hafiz Makki even urged all Christians to “convert to Islam”.

Warning people who had presented a “gift of tears for Taseer”, Hafiz Makki said that there would be more weeping in the days ahead, adding: “What is the death of one man (Taseer) when so many (people) are (being) killed on the streets daily?”

Earlier, Convener of Tehreek Hurmat-e-Rasool (Pbuh) Maulana Ameer Hamza said that whoever “commits blasphemy revokes his right to life”.

Addressing President Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Hamza said: “You should know that we will not allow you to free Aasia (Bibi),” adding in an offensive manner to take “this opportunity to convey the same message” to President Barack Obama.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/104903/jamaat...violence/

Pity the nation

Columnist

Pity the nation

   By Hajrah Mumtaz

   Monday, 07 Jun, 2010

Whether your leanings are towards the left or the right, if you’re a rational person in any way this will have set you shuddering. It’s awful, chilling and frightening. It is also hate speech, incitement to murder and violence, possibly conspiracy to commit crime (murder) and many other things viewed as criminal under the laws of the land. — Photo on file

The ironies we witness every day in Pakistan would have us shaking our heads were it not for the fact that they usually provoke such deep visceral dread.

Take the furore over the recent shutdown of Facebook and other websites. In Pakistan the debate framed the issue mainly in terms of either the freedom of speech or the legitimacy of government censorship. Both models, as constructed here in Pakistan, were flawed and reductionist. Let that be as it may, I wish to point out something else. The websites were shut down because many people found their content ‘blasphemous’ and hurtful to their sentiments as Muslims.

Fine. I’m willing to go with that for the moment, and indeed add that the instigator of the Facebook event can also validly be accused of religious discrimination, hate speech and incitement to violence, which are criminalised in many countries.

A few days later came the sickening attacks on the Ahmadi community in Lahore. Here verbatim are excerpts from an email sent subsequently to some individuals and organisations, including Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, the military spokesman, if the message address field is to be believed:

“Congratulations for the whole nation. What the brave Mujahideen did yesterday in Garhi Shahu and Model Town, Lahore. […] As a whole we do like to encourage the nation for increasing this kind of activities like target killings of Qadianis, Shia, supporting political parties, Law enforcement agencies, Pakistan Army, racist parties and many more. […] We advise realistic people to take initiative and kill every that person who came in their range. There is no specific need of detonators, bombs and explosives. Just kill them either by means of just crashing them under their cars. […]”

Whether your leanings are towards the left or the right, if you’re a rational person in any way this will have set you shuddering. It’s awful, chilling and frightening. It is also hate speech, incitement to murder and violence, possibly conspiracy to commit crime (murder) and many other things viewed as criminal under the laws of the land.

Yet this email, sent by the ‘Taliban media cell’ through a web-based email account, received no attention. No one ordered the government to contact the email system’s authorities and have the address shut down. No call was made to ban or block the address. No Muslim found it repugnant to the sensibilities of either their religion or their own sense of right and wrong.

Perhaps this email did not come to the attention of either our right-minded justice system or the public. Fair enough. Nevertheless, this is just one example of criminal behaviour. One finds similar sentiments with regularity across the country’s media and academic landscape.

Television anchors have on air declared certain communities as deserving of being killed. Similar statements have been made in public rallies by rightwing people and parties. Recently, a journalist came under suspicion for having links with the Taliban. Religious seminaries print, teach and widely distribute books and pamphlets that incite hatred and violence against any number of communities, from Ahmadis and Shias to women and aid agencies.

Meanwhile, the law looks the other way. In fact, sometimes it colludes, as in the case of two banners that were up in Lahore. One was recently on Mall Road outside the Lahore High Court and translated, read: “Jews, Christians, Ahmadis are enemies of Islam.”

The other was a billboard put up last year, reportedly, for the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwat. Translated, a section of it reads: “Friendship with Ahmadis is rebellion against the Prophet, peace be upon him.” City authorities did not remove this venom for fear of provoking a reaction by the extremist right.

On May 30, Zaeem Qadri, adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, said in an interview on Dunya TV that the provincial government had failed to remove the threatening banners from the city’s thoroughfares in order to prevent “adverse reaction against the government” by the groups responsible.

Bombings and mass-scale massacres have become a regular feature in our country. And while they are condemned almost by routine, there are few examples of the average good Muslim standing up to say that murder and mayhem are repugnant to their religion and hurtful to the memory of and example set by the leaders of Islam. It took years for religious scholars to condemn suicide bombings as un-Islamic, despite this manifestly being the case. And it took politicians some time before they visited Ahmadi victims in hospital.

The fact is that over the years bigotry and religious discrimination have been institutionalised in Pakistan. The 1974 anti-Ahmadi amendments to the constitution are one example. Ziaul Haq’s 1984 Martial Law Ordinance XX was another move that legalised, even encouraged, the persecution of the Ahmadi community.

The blasphemy law continues to be used to target the Christian community in southern Punjab in particular, often for reasons of dispossession of land and assets. And where the laws of the land are not discriminatory in specific, the lack of reaction by law enforcers makes for the rest. Why is hate material in books, video and audio form so easily available across the country? Why are people who spew venom against others and create the social fabric that makes criminal acts not prosecuted? Why are the laws not repealed?

It could be because the mindset of bigotry and discrimination, and the violence it engenders, has been absorbed by policy formulators, justice dispensers, lawmakers and enforcers in the same manner as the rest of the citizenry. We have had, after all, at least three decades in which to steep ourselves in hatred for those who are different.

Khalil Gibran got it right: “Pity the nation that raises not its voice when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block. / Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.” — The Garden of the Prophet (1934). Except that in Pakistan’s case, it is the pity one reserves for people on death row, there as a result of their own crimes.


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