Pakistan: Sectarian Killings and Role of Media

---Daily Aajkal, Pakistan
   
Pakistan: Sectarian Killings and Role of Media
By Mohammad Shoaib Adil,
Saturday April 24, 2010
Daily Aajkal, Lahore, Pakistan

"Not a single analyst in the media has raised voice in support of Ahmadis. Opponents took benefit of this silence and started one sided propaganda. It is an irony that law enforcement agencies also become a party and sided with religious groups."

In Pakistan, war against terrorism is going on. Taliban have added a new dimension to this war by introducing sectarian killings in urban areas. A large section of Pakistani media is supporting the war against terrorism but fail to express due resentment against sectarian killings. They fail to answer the burning question if sectarian killing is also not a part and act of terrorism.

Actually our media is supporting the war against terrorism half heartedly due to pressure of western countries and US. Other wise Pakistani media often support the activities of Taliban and try to present the unlawful activities of Taliban like burning of CD shops and restricting women to get education according to Shariah. The voice against sectarian killings in Pakistan is weak and government has no strategy to overcome this pathetic attitude. Media and its projected intellectuals do not discuss openly such issues and try to hush up the matter in one or other way. Not a single voice is raised in our electronic media to condemn fundamentalism and support secularism.

History of sectarian violence is as old as Pakistan. After three or four years of partition, sectarian violence is started against Ahmadis (a Muslim sect which was declared non Muslim by parliament in 1974). At that time, secular traditions of United India were prevailing and law enforcement agencies dealt strictly with such issues. But after the passing of objectives resolution (in which Allah is declared supreme authority in making laws instead of Parliament) fundamentalism has grown manifold in our society and secular traditions became vulnerable.

During the period of so called Afghan Jihad, which is declared by US and was actually against Soviet Union, Pakistani society became the hub of proxy war between Iran and Suadi Arabia and sectarian killings were started. So called Islamisation of Pakistan penal code by a dictator, General Zia ul Haq made the situation grave day by day. Now liberals, minorities and women have become targets of this Islamisation.

Actually people of Pakistan became hostage of different religious groups which have strong links with Taliban. These religious groups have been so powerful and dominant that if any government tries to change such legislation, they created hurdles. Recently, due to the pressure of these elements, constitutional committee, headed by Mr. Raza Rabbani, could not strike down the amendments added by a dictator General Zia ul Haq.

Currently People of Pakistan are facing unemployment, inflation and energy crises on one hand and on the other have become victims of suicide bombers. Besides this, large section of people is becoming target of sectarian killings. From the last many years Shia community in Dera Ismael Khan, Para Chanar, Gilgit-Biltistan, Quetta and Karachi have become target of sectarian killings. Ashura processions and majalis have been attacked by jihadi groups. As a result thousands of people have been killed. In Dera Ismael Khan target killing of shia community is continuing and the same situation at Quetta prevails where target killing of Hazra (Shia) community is continuing. Various jihadi groups have accepted responsibility for such killings, but law enforcement agencies kept silent. Media and its sponsored analysts do not dare to condemn these jihadi groups.

In central Punjab besides shia community, minorities are also becoming target of Jihadi groups. In July 2008, on blasphemy charge sixty houses were burnt by highly provoked procession of local people. This was a clear war against Christian community but our media did not mention it initially and reported it as a clash between two local groups. Government of Punjab constituted an inquiry tribunal headed by a Judge of Lahore High Court. Some two months back, the tribunal presented its findings and involvement of Jihadi organization was proved. But the law enforcement agencies are not interested to take any action against jihadi group.

Besides Shia and Christian Community, Ahmadi community is being persecuted and are also a target of sectarian killings. Many Ahamadis have been killed only due to their faith. The news of excesses on Shia and Christian community published in newspapers and noticed by different sections of civil society. But acts of persecution of Ahmadis were not reported in the print and electronic media. Not a single analyst in the media has raised voice in support of Ahmadis. Opponents took benefit of this silence and started one sided propaganda. It is an irony that law enforcement agencies also become a party and sided with religious groups.

Roots of fundamentalism are so deep in our society that if anybody speaks against persecution of Ahmadis he, too, is declared Ahmadi. This is a simple way to victimize such a person who try to support them. If anybody tries to write in favor of Ahmadis in the press a vicious propaganda is started against such person. In Faisalabad, many Ahmadis have been killed from during last three months and many have been kidnapped for ransom. A local cleric issued a decree in which he allows the looted amount and allow kidnapping for ransom. Ahmadi community in Fasialabad have received threatening letters, ‘advising’ them to renounce their faith, before their homes are raided or relatives abducted. Police have arrested some people and investigations revealed that the culprits belong to Lashker e Taiba, a jhidhi outfit. Last year 23 Ahmadi students (girls and boys) have to quit Medical College on the pressure of religious groups only due to their faith.

Due to Islamisation of General Zia ul Haq, people started to give religious dimension to their personal and business issues to exploit weak groups of society. With the passage of time situation become so grave that if anybody declared from mosque loudspeaker that his opponent is involved in blashpehmy. People became provoked and started to beat him or his family member and police became just spectator.

© Mohammad Shoaib Adil
URL : www.aajkal.com.pk/news.aspx?img=http://ww...=800&h=1222

Islamic veil unfolding over Indonesia

---The Malaysian Insider, Malaysia

Tuesday September 22 2009

Islamic veil unfolding over Indonesia

JAKARTA, Sept 22 — Recent moves in Indonesia, including plans by one province to stone adulterers to death, have raised concerns about the reputation of the world’s most populous Muslin country as a beacon of moderate Islam.

The provincial assembly in the western-most province of Aceh — at the epicentre of the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 170,000 people there nearly five years ago — last week decreed the ancient Islamic penalty of stoning to death for adultery.

The decision could still be overturned once Aceh’s new Parliament is sworn in next month.

But many, including Aceh’s governor, the central government in Jakarta, and local businessmen, are concerned about the impact a broadcast public execution by stoning could have on Indonesia’s international reputation.

“The perception and the reaction from the international community would be condemnation,” said Anton Gunawan, chief economist at Bank Danamon, who stressed that he thought an actual stoning unlikely.

“For investors who are relatively familiar with Indonesia and know it is mostly moderate, it might not have an impact. But for people who don’t know Indonesia, they will think ‘Oh, now I have to be careful of it’.”

The Aceh case is one of several showing how hardline Muslim groups are influencing policy in Indonesia.

Local governments, given wide latitude to enact laws under Indonesia’s decentralisation programme, have begun to mandate Syariah regulations, including dress codes for women.

One ethnic Chinese Indonesian businessman, a practising Christian who asked not to be quoted by name, said that he feared if the trend continued it could lead to capital flight by the wealthy Chinese, Christian minority.

“A lot of regional laws are going in that direction. It’s already alarming the way it’s going. It’s a minority who are doing this, but the problem is that the silent majority just keep silent.”

Last year, the government imposed restrictions on Ahmadiyya, a minority Muslim cult, following intense lobbying by hardline Muslim groups to have them banned.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s party also backed an anti-pornography law, which imposes restrictions on certain forms of dance, traditional dress and the depiction of nudity in art.

The law was widely condemned by minority religious and ethnic groups, including the Balinese.

A new film law passed this month goes even further, prohibiting depictions of drug use, gambling and pornography, and requiring film-makers to have their plots approved by the Minister of Culture before production can begin.

“I think the Islamic parties will be a strong influence on the lawmaking of the next cabinet,” said Suma Mihardja, who led a campaign against the anti-pornography law.

“Tension could be directed toward xenophobia, racism, or religious conflict as we see in Malaysia today.”

Other legislation on the cards at the national level includes a bill making halal certification compulsory, instead of voluntary as is now the case.

That would result in higher costs for many food and pharmaceuticals companies, domestic and foreign, ranging from Nestle and Unilever to Kraft Foods Inc and Cadbury Plc, said Suroso Natakusuma from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“Every single item will need halal certification and an external audit process may follow,” he said.

“The auditor may need to be sent to the country where the product was made to check the process is halal. That means air tickets, hotels. This will mean a lot of extra costs.”

The religiously inspired laws seem to run against the wishes of the electorate.

In the 2009 parliamentary election, the vote for the conservative Islamic party PPP declined 2.8 percentage points to just 5 per cent of the total vote, while the vote for another Islamic group, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), rose only 1.5 percentage points to 9 percent of the total. Overall, the share of votes for Islamic parties has steadily declined.

“People appear to be pandering to an audience that isn’t really asking for anything,” said James Bryson of HB Capital, which invests in Indonesian stocks. “The halal bill is not winning any votes and it’s making an already complex system of certification even more expensive.”

“Many of these laws lately are becoming more conservative,” said Said Abdullah of secular opposition party PDI-P who is on the committee debating the halal bill. “The government is trying to accommodate the Muslim community but they are actually not following our real constitution.”

Yudhoyono, a former general, won a second five-year term in July on promises to continue the battle against corruption and spur economic growth.

In the run-up to elections, Yudhoyono and his secular Democrat Party shifted closer to a clutch of religious parties including the hardline Islamist PKS, as relations with his main coalition partner, Golkar, grew increasingly strained.

Aceh wants to attract more investment, just like many other parts of Indonesia. Holding public executions by stoning, which could be televised and shown around the world, could well make that more difficult. — Reuters

URL: www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/bus...unfolding-over-indonesia