In Pakistan, Islamic hard-liners expanding their grip on society

WORLD

In Pakistan, Islamic hard-liners expanding their grip on society

The killing of a governor opposed to the nation's blasphemy law, and the warm reception for his accused killer, has exposed Islamic fundamentalists' growing sway over the nation.

Pakistanis chant slogans as they gather to show their support outside the Rawalpindi home of Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, who is accused of killing Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer. (Aamir Qureshi, AFP/Getty Images / January 21, 2011)

By Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times
January 21, 2011

Reporting from Rawalpindi, Pakistan — Above a dank, darkened teahouse pungent with the aroma of green chili peppers, a bright blue banner depicts a neighborhood cleric, Qari Hanif Qureshi, declaring: “Anyone opposing laws protecting the sanctity of the prophet Muhammad is condemned!“

Such dire exhortations from local imams are embraced by millions of impoverished Pakistanis scraping by in squalid, dust-choked city neighborhoods and mud-hut settlements.

Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, a 26-year-old police commando assigned to guard Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer, says Qureshi’s preachings inspired him to assassinate Taseer on Jan. 4. And on a recent afternoon inside the teahouse, another Qureshi follower, Muhammad Zahir, said he was equally moved.

“If I were there, I would have done the same thing,” says Zahir, 26, scooping up boiled lentils with a piece of bread. “Qadri has brought honor upon his family. He’s a hero now.”

The killing, carried out by a man who saw Taseer as an apostate for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy law, has exposed the rising influence that Islamic fundamentalism has over Pakistani society, a mind-set that increasingly radicalizes the nuclear-armed nation, breeds intolerance and further weakens Islamabad’s feeble civilian government.

Led by clerics at the helm of the country’s religious political parties and its hard-line mosques and madrasas, the extremists demonstrated their reach after Taseer was assassinated in an upscale neighborhood of Islamabad. Days later, fundamentalist clerics rallied more than 40,000 people on the streets of Karachi in support of Qadri. A day earlier in Qadri’s Rawalpindi neighborhood, at least 4,000 people had gathered in front of the accused assassin’s house, chanting, “Salute to your bravery, Mumtaz!“

At Qadri’s court appearances, lawyers have showered him with flower petals and kissed his cheeks, a worrisome sign that his support stretches far beyond Pakistan’s underclass and into the upper echelons of society.

Hard-line clerics are now turning their anger toward another leading member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, lawmaker Sherry Rehman, who, like Taseer, called for changes aimed at reforming the blasphemy law after a Pakistani Christian woman accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad was given the death penalty.

Journalist Ali Kamran Chishti attended a Jan. 7 gathering in Karachi at which Munir Ahmed Shakir, imam of the Sultan mosque, labeled Rehman an infidel for proposing changes to the law to remove the death penalty as an option for punishment and require prosecutors to prove that the alleged blasphemy was intentional and not inadvertent. Pakistan’s blasphemy law makes it a crime to defame the prophet Muhammad or Islam, but is often used as a tool to repress minorities.

“This kind of rhetoric radicalizes people,” Chishti said. Imams such as Shakir, he added, “are slowly poisoning minds and making people intolerant. Praising people like Qadri is indirectly saying to society that anyone who takes this line [against the blasphemy law] should be shot dead. This is wrong.”

The outpouring of praise for Qadri also sends disturbing signals to Washington. At a time when the Obama administration is hoping for a more reliable ally in the U.S.-declared war on terrorism, the Taseer assassination and its aftermath suggest extremism in Pakistan may be going mainstream.

“A mind-set has been created that has to be undone,” said Ijaz Khan, who heads the international relations department at the University of Peshawar. “It poses a serious existential challenge to the so-called liberal community of this country.

“We still do not know how many more Qadris are out there,” Khan added, “and what will happen next.”

Pakistan’s religious extremists thrive on street power rather than on ballot-box appeal. In elections in 2008, religious parties collectively garnered less than 5% of the vote. Founded as a moderate Islamic state, Pakistan is governed by the largely secular Pakistan People’s Party.

But in the thousands of mosques and madrasas across the nation, fundamentalists enjoy a captive audience. Hard-line clerics delivering fiery Friday sermons are seen as more credible than the country’s government leaders.

“If there was economic development and more job opportunities on the horizon, they wouldn’t be as apt to listen to these clerics,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based security analyst. “At least not all the time.”

The rise of the Islamists has its origins in the military rule of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who in the 1980s forced a more conservative brand of Islam on the country. That resulted in the start-up of legions of madrasas, many of which became incubators for extremism.

Even state education under Zia “socialized young minds into religious orthodoxy,” Rizvi said. “Now these people who studied in high schools and state universities from 1985 onward are the ones who support this kind of far-right religious orientation.”

The large show of support for Qadri has both stunned and intimidated Pakistani secularists. Though several commentators on television and in newspapers have denounced the praise Qadri has received, top leaders within President Asif Ali Zardari’s administration have been conspicuously quiet amid the furor.

The government has even tried to sound conciliatory: This week Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stressed that authorities have no plans to tamper with the country’s blasphemy law — a clear attempt to appease hard-line religious leaders angered by talk of amendments to the law.

Whether such gestures calm the toxic debate over Taseer’s assassination remains to be seen. The Sunni Ittehad Council, an influential assembly of Pakistani Muslim clerics, has vowed to hold rallies in major cities in defense of the blasphemy law this month.

“If we want peace in our country,” said Hanif Tayyab, the council’s general secretary, “we should try to understand that freedom of expression has some limits.”

alex.rodriguez@latimes.com

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
URL: www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la...3266594.story

ANALYSIS - Pakistan’s mosques, media and intolerance

ANALYSIS - Pakistan’s mosques, media and intolerance

Sat Jun 5, 2010 4:01pm IST

Policemen run towards gunmen attacking an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu neighborhood May 28, 2010. - Credit: Reuters/Hussain Abid/Files

By Zeeshan Haider

(Reuters) — Pakistan has been fighting Islamist militants for years, but tough measures are needed to overturn a system breeding religious intolerance after the long failure of authorities to confront mullahs and hardline groups.

Analysts say the notion of religious mistrust is deeply entrenched in the predominatly Muslim country – even in the school system – and it is now up to leaders to mobilise public.

Last week’s massacre in the city of Lahore of more than 80 Ahmadis - a minority religious sect deemed non-Muslim and heretical by the constitution - has generated a heated debate in Pakistan, a U.S. ally, on how to tackle the issue.

In a sign of how hatred is propagated, The News newspaper said one of the two surviving gunmen caught by security forces said he had been persuaded that Ahmadis were “blaspheming” Islam.

Identified as Abdullah, he told investigators that his mentors had him believe that Ahmadis were drawing caricatures of Prophet Mohammad during a recent online contest and “so their bloodshed was a great service to Islam”, the newspaper said.

That raised alarm bells in a country combatting militancy.

“The nagging feeling that the government has already lost the battle against extremism has now acquired the force of conviction,” Zafar Hilaly, a former ambassador, wrote in The News last week.

After joining the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Pakistan mounted a crackdown on militancy, outlawing several groups, arresting hundreds of suspects and warning hardline mullahs against delivering hate speeches and distributing hate literature.

ISLAMIC SEMINARIES

The government also vowed to reform tens of thousands of Islamic seminaries, known as madrassas, many of which are considered as breeding grounds for militancy.

Almost none of these measures, however, has been implemented.

Most outlawed groups have re-emerged under new names. Radical clerics still deliver fiery speeches against sects.

The U.S. Embassy acknowledged the difficulties, given the importance placed on Pakistan helping Washington battle al Qaeda and its extremist allies.

“We recognise this is a problem,” an embassy official said, adding that the embassy encouraged Pakistanis to take part in exchange programmes to see a multi-faith United States.

Analysts say Pakistani leaders dating back to the 1970s, however popular, took no action to counter radicals.

Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political and security analyst said governments have lacked the stomach to implement reforms, particularly in school curricula.

“In textbooks used in government schools, Pakistan is equated with Muslims…They teach Pakistan is a country only for Muslims. They don’t teach that non-Muslims also live here,” he said.

Journalist and analyst Ahmed Rashid described school programmes as “the most sensitive issue. But it is an issue in which any attempt to change the curriculum would have a whole host of fundamentalist groups oppose you.”

In 1974, Pakistan’s first popularly elected Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, bowed to Islamic groups and won approval of a constitutional amendment declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims.

He also switched the weekly day off from Sunday to Friday.

But much of the upsurge in militancy occurred in the late 1970s and 1980s during the “Islamisation drive” by late military leader General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq and Pakistan’s support for the U.S.-baked Afghan jihad or holy war against the Soviet invasion which saw a rapid growth of radical groups and madrasas.

Haq introduced several laws, such as the notorious blasphemy law, which are deemed discriminatory against non-Muslim minorities and fuelled tensions between different Muslim sects.

Subsequent governments did nothing to reverse the laws.

Military dictators, who ruled Pakistan for more than half of its existence, have also used militant groups to further policy objectives in Afghanistan and India and marginalise liberals.

“In earlier years, in order to pursue its foreign policy using the instrument of jihad, the state actively sought to create a religiously charged citizenry,” said Pervez Hoodbhoy, a physicist and analyst.

“But, now that the Pakistani military and political establishments have become a victim of extremism, they are foundering in confusion.”

Former President Pervez Musharraf, a military ruler, though he espoused a modern and liberal version of Islam, repeatedly failed to get the laws reviewed while in office from 1999-2008.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a pro-West politician and a vocal opponent of the militants, was killed in December 2007 in a suicide attack blamed on militants linked to al Qaeda.

Civilian leaders are made even more cautious now in tackling radical groups by the tremendous fear of militants who have unleashed bomb and suicide attacks across the country.

“Religious intolerance is getting worse in Pakistan because the political leadership lacks the will to fight this,” said analyst Rizvi. “They don’t want to face the wrath of mullahs.”

(Additional reporting and editing by Chris Allbritton and by Ron Popeski)

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-49068420100605

Tackling terrorism and Jihad

---Weekly Blitz, Bangladesh

VOLUME - 5, ISSUE - 16,
DHAKA, April 14, 2010

Tackling terrorism and Jihad
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

The world is gradually getting united on one agenda on combating terrorism and Jihad. International community has reason now to speak out against Jihad as for past several years, multiple forms of terror acts are spreading in the world mostly by religious fanatics or Jihadists. Bangladesh is also a victim of terrorism and in recent days, especially after the arrest of activists of Jihadist outfits in this country, it has become clear that terror groups are trying to create a new avenue in Bangladesh for their notorious activities.

In Bangladesh, unfortunately, terrorism always gets political blessings mostly from parties in power. It is very clear to everyone that, all the political parties in this country are for reason unknown, maintaining their own segment of musclemen and hooligans. Such elements in political parties are used for various forms of terrorist activities. But, those Jihadist groups active inside Bangladesh are continuing to gather strength with the ulterior motive of establishing Sharia rule in this country. Though Bangladesh government already has banned a number of notorious Islamist militancy group, it is yet to take any action against groups like Hizbut Towhid, which is continuing secret activities around the country with the agenda of destabilizing democratic government and democracy. According to several surveys, the growth rate of Hizbut Towhid members is above 17 per cent every year. Meanwhile, this group has very successfully attracted or recruited more than 100,000 people in Bangladesh.

As I mentioned, Bangladesh is an active member of counter-terrorism efforts, there is serious lacking in the very strategy of combating terrorism and Jihad. It is well known that, breeding grounds of Jihadists in Bangladesh are those thousands of Koranic [Qawmi] Madrassas as well as mosques, where Tablighi activists are regularly seen giving sermons in favor of Jihad. Tablighi Jamaat [TJ] though pretends to be an innocent group preaching Islam, the real agenda of TJ is spreading the message of Jihad amongst people. In a number of terrorist activities in the world, Tablighi Jamaat’s involvements were clearly found. But, in Bangladesh TJ is spreading wings everyday, as the government or security agencies are yet to put focus on the activities of this group.

The second largest congregation of Muslims is the Tablighi Jamaat’s so-called Ijtema, which takes place every year in Bangladesh. According to statistics, more than 1 million people gathered at the Tablighi congregation in 2009, which from this year, the congregation will take place on three different dates as the organizers are sensing larger participation of people from this year.

Main objective of Tablighis is to encourage people towards religious conversion. The next agenda is instigating Jihadist notion. Third is ousting democracy. In a country like Bangladesh, where more than 83 per cent of the population are now Muslims, the only reason behind allowing Tablighis to keep active would be to actually ultimately wipe off the existence of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Bahai, Ahmadiya and Jewish community in Bangladesh. There are series of reports in Bangladeshi media about forceful conversion of mostly Hindu girls and boys into Islam. In most cases, where female Hindus are converted, the entire episode is given a ‘legal’ coverage of marriage. But, no one ever bothers, if the marriage was forceful. Actually, most of such so-called marriages are forceful. In some cases, the abductors rape the girl with the motive of putting mental pressure on her of marrying the rapist and ultimately getting converted into Islam. Members of Tablighi Jamaat are continuing to encourage people in trying to get any of the non-Muslims into Islam. Mostly uneducated or half-educated Muslim youths are getting hypnotized or attracted at such ‘calls’ of the Tablighis. And such, inspiration ultimately leads those listeners of Tablighis is doing anything in getting any of the non-Muslims into Islam.

As I said, Madrassas are the breeding grounds of Jihadists; it is unknown to many that, only 26 per cent of the students coming out of Koranic madrassas ultimately find a job with any mosque as cleric or assistants to clerics, while the larger segment of such madrassa educated people with high Jihadist brain-wash either mix-up in the society or just disappear from the scene. It is well anticipated that, such disappeared madrassa students find ways to any of the foreign countries for joining ‘Jihad’. Iranian embassy in Bangladesh as well the Palestinians encourage those people is joining Jihad against Israel and United States. Iranians spend millions of dollars in such activities every year. On the other hand, Pakistani intelligence agency ISI recruits madrassa educated people for joining war against India in Kashmir. Such elements are also sent by ISI to other parts of India with terrorist dictation. Bangladesh government and those combating terrorism should have carefully examined the case of those 84 per cent of madrassa students, who either mix up in the society or get into Jihadist activities. For the sake of fixing a workable and effective strategy on combating terrorism, such investigation and study is extremely essential. No government or security agency can combat terrorism without specific and in some cases even comprehensive information on the roots of terrorism and bases of such terror acts. For the sake of combating terrorism and Jihad, it is essential first of all to understand the strength and ‘route map’ of the terrorists and Jihadists. Once Bangladesh will get this, combating or countering terrorism will become much effective and meaningful.

URL: www.weeklyblitz.net/663/tackling-terrorism-and-jihad