Violence feared to replace community dialogue

HEADLINES Tue, 07/13/2010 8:42 AM

Violence feared to replace community dialogue

Dicky Christanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ongoing incidents triggered by power-hungry mass organizations wanting to uphold their own “law” is behind the increasing levels of conflict in society, according to experts.

Franz Magnis-Suseno from the Jakarta-based Driyarkara School of Philosophy said the situation will worsen if the government does nothing to handle incidents of violence.

Such violence, he said, has begun replacing community dialogue as shown in, for instance, repeated raids on places of worship by religious hardliners.

“It is a matter of the government’s political will and priorities. We have no doubt that state institutions have sufficient resources to take stern action against these mass organizations,” Franz said Monday.

When asked if the state apparatus’ failure in being tough on organizations would jeopardize the country’s unity in the future, Franz said he believed the country had enough experience to deal with such issues.

“We have been faced with many problems before, some of them huge. But we have managed to survive. I’m confident we can [solve these fresh problems],” he said.

A University of Indonesia sociologist, Thamrin Amal Tamagola, said a special order from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was needed to help boost the morale of law enforcers so they do not bow to pressure from violent civil groups.

“Our law enforcers have a problem coping with political pressure and they are easily bowed. Thus, a specific order is needed to authorize law enforcers to take stern measures against these organizations,” he said.

Thamrin suggested that members of society, who felt their rights had been violated by groups pushing their own agendas, file class actions lawsuits at the district courts.

“In a democratic country, the government is not authorized to disband a group or a mass organization. The only institution having such authority is a judicial body, in this case the courts,” he said.

National Defense Council outgoing secretary general Lt. Gen. Bambang Darmono, however, praised the government, saying it had done its best to preserve democracy.

He did, however, note that there had been problems relating to social interaction between the people and a few mass organizations.

“Thus, thorough mapping is needed to address the problems accurately and properly. This effort would ideally be conducted by organizations independent of the government, such as NGOs and the media,” he said.

Bambang said the results of the mapping should be given to the government for further measures.

Recently, there have been waves of protests and violence from several mass organizations, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), and ethnic organizations clashing with groups with conflicting interests.

Last month a joint forum of Islamic mass organizations in Bekasi ordered local Christians to close down a building they deemed as an illegal church. The protesters deemed activity at the church part of a global proselytization effort.

In another incident, a mosque that once acted as a house of worship for Ahmadiyah followers in Bogor was demolished by police on Monday. The authorities argued that if they did not tear it down, several Islamic groups had threatened to close the mosque by force.

Last year alone, there were 291 acts of violence nationwide, 118 in Java, against the freedom of religion and belief, according to the Setara Institute which focuses on Equality.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/13/violence-feared-r...alogue.html

Ahmedis’ assailants jailed on judicial remand

Ahmedis’ assailants jailed on judicial remand

Upadated on: 28 Jun 10 05:11 PM

Staff Report

LAHORE: Assailants of the Ahmedi places of worship in Lahore were presented in the anti-terrorism court Monday, where they were sentenced to be jailed on judicial remand.

The culprits were brought to the court again after a 10-day physical remand.

Both terrorists were caught by worshippers while they were attacking the Ahmedi place of worship at Model Town.

According to the police, Abdullah alias Mohammad belongs to Rahimyar Khan and was trained at Miranshah. He will be brought to court again on July 12 after a 14-day judicial remand.

The other bomber, 20-year-old Mooaz was from southern Punjab, and was earlier identified as Ameer Moavia.

Police also recovered explosive material from the culprits.

Gunmen attacked the Ahmedi places of worship in Model Town and Garhi Shahu on May 29.

Punjab police spokesman DIG Akram Naeem Bharoka told reporters that 79 people had died and 107 injured. However, a spokesman for the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya Pakistan said that 95 people had lost their lives.

Deputy commissioner of Lahore Sajjad Bhutta said that the death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it had warned of threats against the Ahmadi community centre in Lahore for more than a year and demanded “foolproof security and protection” from the government.

It expressed concern over “the increasing sectarian dimension” of militancy in Pakistan, which it called “a big security threat to the entire society”.

Police arrested three suspects on information provided by Abdullah. Abdullah identified the two other men who blew themselves up in Garhi Shahu as Darwaish of Swat and Mansoor of Waziristan.

Abdullah also said that he and three others were sent for the two missions by Badar Mansoor, the head of the Punjabi Taliban group in Waziristan.

The DIG said that the arrest of the two bombers had revealed their network’s link with the TTP and police would be able to reach others. He said that militants were in the habit of forming new groups.

This was the worst attack in Pakistan since March 12 suicide attacks seconds apart killed 57 people in Lahore while targeting the Pakistani military.

Nine attacks have now killed more than 220 people in Lahore over the past year, a historical city, residence for the elite and home to many top officials of the Pakistan military and intelligence establishment. SAMAA

URL: www.samaa.tv/News21825-Ahmedis_assailants_to_be_presented_in_court.aspx

Reaction: the response to the Ahmedi massacre

.

Reaction: the response to the Ahmedi massacre

   by SADAF on 06 14th, 2010 |

“We are all under threat. They will kill us. They will kill us,” claimed Rubina Saigol, repeating the conversation with members of the Ahmedi community a few months ago. Saigol, an independent social researcher, said that the community members wanted to show her some case files on Ahmedis and talk about the threats publicly.

“I feel guilty and terrible that I didn’t write – partly because of fear.”

But before Saigol could gather up any courage to take any action – the threats had become a reality.

On May 28, militants attacked two Ahmedi houses of worship in Lahore, which resulted in the tragic death of more than 80 people and left more than a 100 injured. Within days, other militants attacked Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital where the injured were still recovering from the first attack.

The Ahmedi massacre has left everyone in shock and the Ahmedi community crippled with grief.

The Ahmedis have struggled for rights within India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Indonesia for many years.

Although the majority of the Pakistani population is Sunni – there is a growing percentage of people who are seriously questioning the Sharia laws and the constitution. The trend can be followed on local blogs and even the op-ed pages of local newspapers – the rhetoric challenges Sharia laws against the basic rights of a citizen.

Pakistan’s Sharia laws are based mainly on the Hanafi school of thought.

According to Sharia Law, an Ahmedi cannot be accepted as a Muslim or as part of an Islamic sect because one of the basic fundamentals of Islam is to accept Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the last prophet in Islam – in Quranic verses he is referred to as the “Final Seal” (al-azhab:40).

In several interviews with religious scholars, from Sunni and Shia schools of thought in Cairo and Q’um in Iran agreed that Ahmedis were not a Muslim sect. They went as far as calling them, “heretics” and “infidels.” As well as, if a non-Muslim shows and preaches under a Muslim façade, then he or she must be charged, proven guilty, and punished in court according to Sharia law, a crime which is punishable by death (wajib-ul-qatl).

But one of the scholars in Cairo, who requested to stay anonymous, was quick to add that if a non-believer is a citizen of an Islamic state then he or she becomes the zami (responsibility) of the state. Therefore, it is the state’s responsibility to protect them more than the Muslim citizen, out of fear for violence against them.

“They should be treated with the utmost respect, because we, as Muslims, need to set an example for them,” he said. “As a Muslim, your responsibility is to follow the basics of Islam and lead a good life – violence of any type against anyone is not an example of leading a good life.”

This one scholar, who remains anonymous out of fear for the repercussions he could face, is not alone.

As soon as the attack hit the news, blogs went up everywhere in an uproar; some immediately condemned the brutal attack, others wrote malicious comments about Ahmedis claiming them to be wajib-ul-qatl (deserving of death), and some tried to explain the causes of the attack through religious, political and social analyses.

On the blog pkpolitics there were many harsh comments and the owners of the blog removed those comments and posted a warning to respondents on abusive language.

One of the more kinder comments on pkpolitics was, “Brother, The Qadyani religion should not be even be called ‘Ahemdi religion’, for you know that the Last Prophet Muhammad is exclusively mentioned by the name ‘Ahmed’ both in the Holy Quran and in the Bible (sic).”

Another respondent scolded back, “I cant believe my eyes, Instead of completely condemning the attack and humiliating the attackers, some are debating on the words used and about Qadyani sect or religion whatever…. no wonder Pakistan is heading towards its doom day by day… shame on us (sic).”

Tazeen Javed, winner of Best Humor Blog category for Pakistan’s first Annual Blog Awards, blogs at A Reluctant Mind wrote, a social aspect of the attack holding everyone accountable, event the public, for the attack in “We all have blood on our hands.”

The Waking Life blog posted, “Is it all worth?” questioning Muslims who asked for tolerance in other parts of the world, wrote, “Time to put things in perspective…Facebook may have partaken in blasphemy but there’s plenty of it going on in our cities and society. How about cleaning our own house first? (sic)”

The popular and controversial blog, Café Pyala, which sometimes uses profanity, condemned the attack in the political analysis “Original Sin:” “Truly, if ever there was short-sightedness among Pakistan’s establishment (and there are plenty of examples of it) this was it…The nurturing of extremist thought during Zia ul Haq’s (mis)rule and its repercussions in the shape of today’s barbaric attacks (and earlier targeting of Shias, Hindus and Christians) are a logical continuation of the original sin. (sic)”

Most editorials and columnists for print media did not have to directly respond to profanity like some online media blogs, however they condemned the attack, pointing out the government’s blatant disregard for protecting minorities, and feeding a culture of bigotry.

The Dawn editorial “Culture of Intolerance” wrote, “Religious minorities in Pakistan have not only been shunted to the margins of society but also face outright persecution on a regular basis…the state, meanwhile, remains largely unmoved by the plight of minorities — and that isn’t surprising either for it is a party to this persecution.”

Columnists did not try to hide the humiliation the government as well as the public should feel over the attacks.

Columnist Kamran Shafi, who writes for Dawn, wrote in A sad place, indeed that he recalled a time when there was no religious distinction, just Pakistani citizens. He stated, “The Ahmedis might be considered non-Muslim by the state; surely they are still Pakistani?”

Shafi added that an important member of the Ahmedi community told him that the compensation that was offered to the victims of the attack would be kindly refused and asked to be transferred over to the people of Hunza-Gojal for the relief work.

These voices of different generations and backgrounds of growing tolerance are currently at a grass-roots level, but they can still be heard, even in some political circles.

On the day of the attack, Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a press conference addressing the attack and the efforts of the police. Even though his offices had received reports on a threat to the Ahmedis several days prior to the attack.

While soon after the attacks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik was the only government official who personally went to visit the Ahmedi community to give condolences

Shahbaz Sharif has yet to visit the Ahmedi community since the attacks.

Although most recently, PML-N party leader Nawaz Sharif did condemn the attacks and named Ahmedis as “brothers” and “sisters.” Only for him to be threatened by religious leaders with an anti-Sharif campaign in the region.

If the public’s reaction has mobilised the government to react at all then it leads to the most important question: What is the next step?

Imam Shamsi Ali might have the answer.

“It is very difficult to accept the nature of the world we live in – part of this world is the freedom of expression. I oppose the idea (Ahmedi movement) but I cannot impose my ideas on anyone. I have no right to impose my ideas on anyone,” said Imam Ali.

Ali, who lived and studied Islamic Studies in Islamabad for seven years, is the leader for the 96th street mosque and runs the Islamic Cultural Center in New York.

“We need engagement. If we oppose those claims then we must have intellectual discourse. If we engage with Hindus, Christians, Jews, or Buddhists, then why cannot we talk to them?”

Ali, ultimately, feels that restricting the freedoms of a people is not the way of Islam, rather allowing people their freedom and showing tolerance is way for people to find the path to Islam.

Sadef A. Kully is a Reporter/Associate Producer for Dawn.com

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL: http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/14/reaction-the-response-to-the-ahmedi-massacre/

Life after the attacks

Life after the attacks

   by GUEST on 06 14th, 2010 |

Life in the neighbourhood, where two Ahmedi places of worship in Lahore were attacked by terrorists on May 28, goes on but under a shadow of fear.

The presence of gun-toting policemen and other community members (including the Ahmedis) guarding the gates of the places of worship in Garhi Shahu and Model Town’s C Block, indicates the level of fear in the neighbourhood. The Jamaat-i-Ahmedi centre, Darul Zikr is located on one end of Garhi Shahu and although bunkers have been placed in front of the main entrance, people are still terrified to enter.

The observance of the death anniversary of Dr. Sarfaraz Naeemi on Saturday (June 12) was a grim reminder of the terrorist attacks the area has witnessed in the past one year. Dr. Nameei, the principal of Jamia Naeemia madressah was killed on June 12, 2009 in a suicide attack at the seminary’s office. A section of the road leading to the madressah was cordoned off as police and volunteers frisked each person before allowing them to enter to pay their respects.

“We are sitting on gunpowder,” said Shahzad, the supervisor of Faizan Filling Station located near the main entrance of Darul Zikr. Shahzad said the filling station remained safe during the attack because of pure luck. “But I shudder to think the extent of damage the fuel station could cause if it came directly under attack,” he said.

Sales have declined considerably as people avoid coming near the vicinity of Darul Zikr, mindful of another potential attack. “We have no choice because this is our source of livelihood.”

Malik Mehmood owns a rent-a-car business in a plaza across from Darul Zikr. Mehmood was witness to the attacks and claims how apprehensive everyone in the community has become. Usman lives in the street adjacent to where the attacks took place. According to him, people are now using alternate routes to avoid going near Darul Zikr. He said fear escalated particularly on Friday June 11, as the Ahmedi community gathered for prayers. “The street remained deserted almost the entire day,” he said.

Those living within the barricaded streets are subjected to scrutiny by armed guards at the street entrance. Faqir Mohammad, a chowkidar at a house adjacent to the place of worship, talked from behind a small window in the huge gate but before doing so, he carefully scrutinised this reporter. “We are safe here,” he said. “Our children do not go out.” he snapped. In the background, a few guards with guns could be seen.

An employee (wishing to remain anonymous} of an office set up in a house at the corner of the street said that the police allowed entries to the company vehicles whose registration numbers they knew. He wondered whether life was safe anywhere else in the city – Lahore has been subjected to at least four terrorist attacks (safe houses of security agencies were the earlier targets) in the past year.

The place of worship in Garhi Shahu is located next to huge parks (between blocks C and D). But the attacks have not deterred the children from playing; matches were being held on the two cricket grounds and preparations were underway for a football game in the third ground when this reporter visited the area.

“Yes, these are hard times. But life must go on, we cannot continue living in fear,” said the gardener of the football field.

Intikhab Hanif contributed for Dawn.com

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL: http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/14/life-after-the-attacks/

Prisoners of conscience

Prisoners of conscience

by GUEST on 06 11th, 2010 |

How many of us have experienced prejudiced discrimination and prejudice first hand?

Post 9/11, Pakistanis are often subjected to random security checks, prolonged questionings and distrusting stares at international airports, not to mention an unspoken, unwritten “discouraging policy” for visa applicants wishing to study or travel abroad, despite legitimacy of the applications. Being misjudged and misunderstood abroad has become the norm and we complain, we point fingers at the unfairness of the system and we sit back disgruntled and frustrated, unable to change anything.

Here, we’re touching the surface of the iceberg that symbolises the disillusionment Ahmedis have to live with, in every walk of life. Saying you’re Ahmedi elicits a reaction one would expect to get if they just confessed harbouring a contagious disease. It begins with school where your first run-ins with blatant discrimination and ill treatment are with misguided students and misinformed teachers who sadly make no effort to question the archaic laws of the state and instead skip over religious questions regarding Ahmedi beliefs and even accomplishments of Sir Zafrullah Khan or Dr Abdus Salam absent from Pakistan studies textbooks.

I still remember samples from the buffet of reactions I have received over the years, “my parents say you’re really nice but my grandmothers scared about you influencing or brainwashing me so I think its best if we keep a distance.” As you get older the rebuttals aren’t as polite or restrained. Young boys often have to put up with insults, derogatory remarks and unbearable comments from immature colleagues at schools and colleges. Young women cite the “in-laws don’t want me associating with Qadianis” and break off childhood friendships and associations after marriage. Personal disappointments might sound trivial but they represent a much larger social disease.

Unwritten rules are enforced in governmental jobs and institutions particularly the armed forces where its acceptable to have an Ahmedi soldier or general lead from the front, risk or lose his life, but not acceptable to award due promotions or accolades, but instead early retirements are encouraged by posting Ahmedi servicemen to ’sideline’ positions till they are left with no other choice. They are sent home with pats on the back by supportive seniors who say, “We wish things could have been different, no one deserved it more than you”.

One cannot even begin to understand the enormity of the security threat Ahmedi families are faced with everyday. All it takes is one trigger-happy lunatic or a group of narrow-minded opportunists and we hear the announcement at Friday prayers about another Ahmedi arrested or slain. A large portion of the Hindus and Christians have fled from Pakistan for safer pastures and yet some of the obstinate ones, including Ahmedis, choose to remain. Some might say it’s foolish on their part to expect any different from a repressed and misdirected society others might admire their steadfastness. Either way those who remain after each murderous attack and unjust conviction, make a choice; a choice to stand their ground to be recognised by the people, by the state for what they believe in.

Almost all repressed factions in countries world-wide react, often militarily, against the aggressors and the state. There are estimated to be more Ahmedis in Pakistan than there are Jews in Israel and Kurds in Iraq. The Jews since as far back as we can remember have never shied away from defying every international law and human rights directives to achieve its goal in establishing its homeland at the cost of thousands and thousands of Palestinian lives, but are plagued with the unending Hamas problem. The Kurds on the other hand have been dealt massive blows by multiple regimes, the British, the Iranians and the Iraqis and in spite of various attempts to reach a workable compromise they sporadically return to a military resistance upon failure of talks. The point is, based on religious differences history is filled with plenty of examples where the suppressed have either taken on arms or been a constant threat to the stability of their own nation or peaceful existence of others. Can Ahmedis be found guilty of either?

It would be foolish to assume that the writ of the opportunistic religious parties will not lose steam in the years to come. The attitude of the people in power towards the religious ones changes as often as the power tariffs in Pakistan. As global factors evolve so shall we, beyond the war on terror, beyond the economic and civic regression we are trapped in, beyond the baseless jihadists who either need to be absorbed or expelled from our soil.

In the meantime, Ahmedis will continue to bury their own and conform to the laws of the state while maintaining their own dignity and self-preservation. While the rest of the educated enlightened lot should ask themselves, each time they shy away from discussion with an Ahmedi acquaintance afraid to unravel years of misunderstandings, each time they sign the infamous box on the passport form (a practice that exists in no other country might I add) and each time they find themselves thinking there must be something wrong with them, to incur this kind of wrath. To the ill-advised neighbour who hurled and shouted hurtful derogatory remarks at me not too long ago at a children’s park about the founder of my community, I ask, as a prisoner of conscience in the country I was born in and plan to die in, mine is clean, how about yours?

Zainab Mahmood contributed for Dawn.com

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL: http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/11/prisoners-of-conscience/

Plight of the Pakistani Ahmedi: a timeline

.

Plight of the Pakistani Ahmedi: a timeline

    by SADEF on 06 10th, 2010 |

The persecution of Ahmedis is deep-rooted and dates back to pre-Partition India. Even so, the massacre in Lahore on May 28 was one of the worst in the history of the Ahmedi Movement since 1953. Here is a timeline of important events that took place since the beginning of the Ahmedi Movement:

March 1889: The Ahmedi Movement, founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, began in northern India in the city of Qadian, and spread across northern India (including present-day Pakistan’s Punjab province).

1890: In Delhi, religious scholars sign a fatwa against Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and his beliefs.

May 1908: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmedi Movement, passes away.

October 1947: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, an Ahmedi who was influential during the separation, became Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister. Khan went later onto become the first Asian judge to sit on the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

March 1953: Post-Partition, the backlash against Ahmedis became violent in Pakistan. Riots broke out in Lahore after the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, criticised the Ahmedi movement. As a result, an estimated 300 people died and a disputed number were injured, and martial law was imposed in Lahore for 70 days to stabilise civil unrest.

1954: The Munir Report – a historic state-run investigation stirred by the riots – concluded that if the state left the decision of who is or isn’t a Muslim than according to the ulemas and fatwas, every citizen would be declared a non-Muslim.

1962: Religio-political groups gained ground when the ulema and Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology added a clause in the constitution, which stated that no future and existing laws should contradict the teaching and requirements of the Quran and Sunnah.

1974: In a response to the backlash from religious groups and pressure for votes, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s regime amended the constitution to include the definition of a Muslim and listed groups that were consider non-Muslim, explicitly listing the followers of the Ahmedi Movement as non-Muslims.

1979: Dr. Mohammad Abdus Salam, an Ahmedi and a Pakistani citizen, won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on the Electroweak Theory. Dr. Salam became instrumental for Pakistan’s nuclear plants as well as outer space projects. After Dr. Salam passed away his tombstone which had “Muslim” carved in it was scratched out by officials.

April 1984: The constitution was amended yet again when President Zia-ul-Haq included the full Sharia Law. Ordinance XX included restrictions on religious minority groups. Ahmedis were restricted to: the misuse of epithets, descriptions, titles, etc reserved for certain holy personages or places of Islamic origins. Ahmedis could not call themselves Muslim or propagate their faith – these practices were punishable by death, life imprisonment, and a fine. The public was also refrained from referring to Ahmedis as part of a ‘Muslim sect’ or their places or worship as ‘mosques.’ If a person was found guilty, they could serve up to three years in prison and pay a fine.

1993: Ahmedis who were charged with blasphemy appealed the law eight times but the court maintained that Sharia Law was to be upheld, and even likened them to notorious writer Salman Rushdie.

April 1995: In the town of Shab Qadar in Peshawar, two members of the Ahmedi community were stoned – one of whom died, the body was stripped and dragged through the town, while the second was critically injured – all while the police watched the debacle with the rest of the town.

October 2000: Gunmen opened fire during prayers; five worshippers were killed as several others were injured.

October 2005: Eight people were killed and 18 injured when three men on motorbikes opened fire on them as they were offering prayers. Two of the attackers entered the place where prayers were being offered and sprayed the 26 worshippers with bullets.

June 2005: All Ahmedi students expelled from a medical college in Faisalabad. Dr. Asghar Ali Randhawa, Principal of Punjab Medical College rusticated all Ahmedi students, 15 female and eight males, from the college as well as hostels.

September 2008: “Aalim Online,” a show hosted by Aamir Liaqat Hussain on GEO TV, incited religious hatred and violence against Ahmedis along with two guest panelists, Maulana Mohammad Ameen and Dr Saeed Inayatulla, who referred to members of the Ahmadiyya community as kafir (infidel) and maintained that anyone who holds beliefs as Ahmadi Muslims is wajib-ul-qatl (deserving of death). As a result, religious zealots murdered two eminent leading members of the Ahmedi community.

May 2010: Militants attacked two Ahmedi places of worship during the Friday prayer service. According to government officials the death toll was 80, while the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya Pakistan spokesman put the toll at 95. More than a 100 parishioners were injured.

Sadef A. Kully is an Reporter/Associate Producer for Dawn.com.

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL: http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/10/plight-of-the-pakistani-ahmedi-a-timeline/

Not an eye-opener: time to act

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

VIEW: Not an eye-opener: time to act —Daud Khattak

The current set up of militants is the amalgamation of many diverse elements from different areas and backgrounds with the apparent patronage of the Wahabi-dominated al Qaeda out to carry forward its religious-political agenda in the region

Few countrymen rejoiced as the military high command announced victory against militants in the Orakzai tribal agency the other day mainly because the bleeding sore is finally emerging in the heartland of Pakistan now.

Friday’s blatant attack on the Ahmedis’ places of worship in Lahore followed by an audacious attack on the ICU of Jinnah Hospital in the same city just two days after, and that too at a time when the so-called ‘stepped up’ security measures were in place, is anything but an eye-opener for the Punjab government to do away with its compromising stance towards the religious bigots operating in the name of Jaishs, Lashkars, Tehriks, Hezbs or anything of the sort.

Alarm bells have been ringing about the breeding grounds, training facilities and presence of leadership of various sectarian, jihadi and other banned militant outfits in southern Punjab over the past few years, but criminal negligence on part of the previous and current government emboldened religious extremists to challenge the government and security agencies in the provincial capital of Lahore, the most secure and peaceful of Pakistani cities.

The Friday and Monday night brazen strikes are not the first in this eastern city. Rather, those were par for the course underway in Lahore or other cities of Punjab and even Azad Kashmir since early 2009.

The first of the series was the March 3, 2009, attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team that killed eight people, besides tarnishing the image of Pakistan and blocking the way of international cricket in the country for many years to come.

On March 30, 2009, armed men attacked the Manawan police station killing eight people. That same year, on October 15, three simultaneous terrorist attacks were carried out in Lahore killing 30 people. And the twin suicide attacks in the same city on March 12, 2010, killed 45 more people.

Besides, two major and daring attacks were also carried out in Rawalpindi, home to the headquarters of the Pakistan army, on the GHQ and a high-profile mosque in October and December 2009 respectively.

But, to the dismay of many, the Punjab government, instead of picking up the gauntlet, continued with its compromising attitude and occupied a reactionary position instead of advancing with action.

While sectarian groups were already holding all the aces in southern Punjab, jihadi outfits started camping there following the withdrawal of support by former president Pervez Musharraf for their armed struggle in Indian Occupied Kashmir in 2006 and 2007.

Finding no other way to quench their jihadi hysteria and thirst, these young misguided men, numbering in the hundreds and later multiplying into the thousands, started pouring into the tribal region, where the predominantly Pashtun Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was spreading its offshoots with full impunity and attracting youth from the lawless region through its heroic statements and videos about fighting against the Afghan and ‘infidel’ forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The mishandling of the Laal Masjid episode proved to be a catalyst. The Punjabi Taliban, mainly belonging to banned sectarian and jihadi outfits, got so much leverage in the TTP that they were given seats in the 40-member Shura of the Pashtun-dominated umbrella of Taliban groups.

It was during their stay in the TTP — an associate of the US-declared terrorist network of al Qaeda — that those dubbed the Punjabi Taliban discovered new recruitment vistas, financial backup and technical and planning support, mainly from al Qaeda. As their bases remained intact in southern Punjab, while the number of religious seminaries multiplied over the years there, members of the jihadi and sectarian outfits returned to their old bases along with some of their TTP leaders and colleagues, following the increasing attacks by CIA-operated spy planes and the launching of operations by the Pakistani security forces in the tribal areas.

The obvious case, in this connection, is that of one Dr Osman who was allegedly involved in the October 2009 attack on the GHQ. In the first stage, Osman was a member of the sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who then went on to join the TTP and later became a member of the al Qaeda network.

Though an investigation spanning some years has yet to bring something to the fore, some recent statements from top government functionaries revealed that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was involved in the 2008 bombing of a five-star hotel in Islamabad.

It is depressing, at least for the peace-loving citizens of Pakistan, to see that a militant outfit that once used pistols, AK-47s and hand-grenades at worship places or gatherings of rival sects, could assume that much power, men, material and technical expertise to target high-profile places like a five-star hotel and the GHQ by using truckloads of explosives and several armed men without the knowledge of nearly half a dozen intelligence agencies, the police force and the all powerful army.

The current set up of militants full of religious frenzy is not as simple as to be called only the TTP, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish, etc. It is the amalgamation of many diverse elements from different areas and backgrounds with the apparent patronage of the Wahabi-dominated al Qaeda out to carry forward its religious-political agenda in the region.

In the words of Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside al Qaeda, “Jhangvi is now the eyes, ears and operational arm of al Qaeda and the TTP (based in Waziristan). It is hard to distinguish between the three.”

The fresh attacks in Lahore left no room for a second thought for the government in going all out against all these groups, their patrons and supporters, both materially and financially, in southern and the rest of Punjab.

The attacks per se should not be taken as an eye-opener to think over what to do. It is time to act and act decisively, lest it be too late to force the army to open another unending front like the ill-fated tribal region.

The writer can be reached at daud_72@yahoo.com

URL: www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\08\story_8-6-2010_pg3_4

Sharif’s statement on Ahmadis angers clerics

Pakistan Punjab

Sharif’s statement on Ahmadis angers clerics

June 07, 2010

Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia asks PML-N chief to retract his statement

ISLAMABAD: Top leaders of an organisation representing Deobandi madrassas across the country have reprimanded PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for calling members of the Ahmadiyya community as “brothers” of Muslims.

“Sharif should be ashamed of calling them brothers of Muslims,” said a statement issued by the Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia (WMA).

Sharif said in Lahore on Saturday that Ahmadis were as important citizens of Pakistan as people from other religions and called them an asset.

He made the statement to express solidarity with the Ahmadiyya community following last month’s two synchronised attacks on their places of worship in Lahore which claimed more than 80 lives with many more injured.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, leaders of the Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia – an umbrella organisation of more than 12,000 Deobandi madrassas – called Ahmadis “traitors”.

WMA leaders Maulana Salimullah Khan and Qari Hafeez Jahalindri urged Sharif to retract his statement and advised him not to “defy religion for petty political gains.”

The statement termed the Ahmadis as “infidels” and said that they could not be brothers of Muslims until they convert to Islam again.

Ahmadis were declared a minority under the 1973 constitution – a move that some people believe intensified hatred against Ahmadis.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 7th, 2010.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/19379/shari...n-ahmadis-angers-clerics/

Counter-terrorism flaws need to be removed: Sharif

Pakistan Punjab

Counter-terrorism flaws need to be removed: Sharif

By Agencies

June 06, 2010

PML-N chief’s views on attack come a day after Punjab govt’s apathetic attitude

LAHORE: Emphasising that terrorists have neither religion nor state, chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif said that flaws in the counter-terrorism strategy need to be removed in order for it to be effective.

Giving his views over a week after terrorists killed over 80 people in an attack on two Ahmadi places of worship in the city, Sharif said “Terrorists have neither religion nor state. The nation and its institutions are united in the war against terrorism. Wars against terrorism are fought by the people, not governments.”

He further said that the Ahmadis were also citizens of Pakistan. “Ahmadis are our brothers and sisters,” he said.

Sharif’s views on the attack came a day after Ahmadis expressed dismay over the Punjab government’s apathetic attitude towards protecting marginalised sections of society.

According to reports, one of the injured terrorists was allowed to use his cell phone in hospital and authorities even arranged a meeting between him and his family members.

The Ahmadis have severely criticised the provincial government for failing to get tough with the arrested militants.

The government and the people have to join hands to fight against terrorism, Sharif added. He urged the chief minister of Punjab to eliminate terrorism from the province as a matter of priority.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 6th, 2010.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/19177/counter-terroris...e-removed-sharif/

News on Sunday - Editorial

Editorial

June 06, 2010

The contrary view has been heard so loud and clear, perhaps, for the first time in the last three decades. It took about 100 odd brutal killings of Ahmadis in Lahore that allowed this to happen. But will it change things? Perhaps, when the contrary view becomes louder still.

It is ironic how we in the media who kept silent each time the Ahmadis were persecuted and discriminated against – which they are on a regular basis – have finally found the courage to acknowledge the persecution and the discrimination. And that’s not where the irony ends. It started when within the first hour, the breaking news about the attack on Ahmadi ‘mosques’ changed to their “places of worship”. It continued when the law enforcers saw the hands of RAW in the attack which could not have been conducted by a Muslim. Nor was the irony lost when the attack was seen as a way to sabotage the country’s right to celebrate its nuclear status on the Yaum-e-Takbeer or how there were no spontaneous crowds against the Lahore attacks the way there were on Facebook issue and the Israeli attack on the aid carrying ship.

Were people scared to come out and speak up? Alongside the reaction and the outcry on the media came whispers about whether it was right to say funeral prayers for the non-Muslim Ahmadis. Once again people affirmed their faith by finding fault with others.

The two reactions set the ball rolling. It has indeed been a history of prejudice but how and why did we come to this point. What were the political compulsions that changed the secular moorings of the state to religious ones? Why did we find it so easy to sign this declaration every time we filled out a form to register for an identity card or a passport that we are not ahmadis? Why couldn’t we have stood up and protested? Why did we allow the state to exercise the right to declare a group of people non-Muslims? Is that why the state still finds itself unable to protect them?

It is ironic how the brutal killing of a hundred citizens of this country has forced us to ask these questions now. It is ironic why we did not raise them in the last thirty six years.

URL: www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2010-week...2010/spr.htm#1

State of denial

	Saturday, June 05, 2010, Jamadi-us-Sani 21, 1431 A.H.
State of denial

Saturday, June 05, 2010
Arif Nizami

The simultaneous attacks on two places of worship of the Ahmedi community in Lahore, which claimed at least 95 lives, and the subsequent attack on the Jinnah Hospital to free an injured suicide attacker were perhaps not enough to wake the provincial government from its deep slumber. Despite the gravity of the situation, there is a state of denial and a pervading sense of complacency. The PML-N leadership is simply not willing to concede that the province has become a hub of terrorism.

On the night of the attack on Jinnah Hospital, a dishevelled, visibly shaken chief minister of Punjab was seen at the scene. Until then Mian Shahbaz Sharif had been hiding behind the vituperative statements of his law minister, Rana Sanaullah, who attacked anyone who even remotely suggested that the provincial government should get its act together and go after the Taliban sanctuaries spread all over southern Punjab.

The callous disregard towards a minority that is perceived as anathema to the obscurantist vote bank that the PML-N so assiduously cultivates, is evident from the fact that Mian Shahbaz Sharif chose not to visit the site of the massacres in Model Town and Gari Shahu. Nor did he bother to meet or offer compensation to the bereaved families.

The saddest part of this most unfortunate incident is that it has become a subject for point scoring. The war of words between Governor Salmaan Taseer and Rana Sanaullah, bordering on their use of abusive language against each other, has gone beyond ridiculous.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited Lahore on Sunday. Instead of meeting the chief minister to discuss the grave situation and the measures necessary to tackle it, he decided to go public about his own perceptions on the matter. He said that it was no disclosure, nor was the fact sensational, that terrorists from southern Punjab had now become active. He hinted to a section of the media that there was a possibility of army action in southern Punjab on the pattern of operations in the tribal areas, for which he drew a sharp reaction from the provincial government.

The very next day, the interior minister came up with the ludicrous statement that he was not aware that the terrorist Muaz was under treatment in the same hospital Mr Malik had visited a day earlier. Unless Mr Malik was suffering from another bout of Orwellian doublespeak, it was the job of the interior minister to inquire about the whereabouts of the injured terrorist.

The Punjab government’s attitude towards the sharp increase of jihadist activity in the province is a mixture of naiveté, ambivalence and opportunistic politics. The ruling party in the province is willing to go to any length in its eagerness to be the sole beneficiary of the perceived vote bank of the religious parties.

To say the least, it was criminal negligence on the part of the government to house the terrorist in a public hospital. They might as well have put him in a five-star hotel of the city, where at least security is better and more reliable.

On the very day of the terrorist incidents in Lahore, Rana Sanaullah, who was participating in a discussion with this writer in a programme on Geo Television, vociferously defended his party’s politicking together with members of the leadership of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba in the recent by-elections in Jhang. He was simply of the view that if such elements have the right to vote, why should the PML-N not bank on them?

What the foulmouthed Rana and his bosses conveniently overlook is the fact that Sipah-e-Sihaba was declared a terrorist organisation and banned under the Anti-Terrorist Act legislated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself in 1997. His claim that the PML-N by hobnobbing with such elements is bringing them into mainstream politics sounds hollow.

To claim that the problem lies not in southern Punjab but in North and South Waziristan where terrorists receive training is a travesty of truth. The cannon fodder, the militants, come from Punjab, and go on to receive training and indoctrination in Fata.

Not only are a large number of madressahs based in southern Punjab, but the origin of many jihadist organisations can be traced to the province. For example, Sipah-e-Sihaba, which is based in Jhang, was a reaction to the proxy war between Iran and the Gulf countries in the seventies and the eighties. Along with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, it has become a mainstay of jihadist elements in Punjab.

Similarly, the founder of Jaish-e-Muhammad is Maulana Masood Azhar, who hails from Bahawalnagar. He was released from an Indian prison in 1999 in a prisoner swap as a result of the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar. Interestingly, it happened on Gen Musharraf’s watch, the hero of Kargil who at that time was willing to go to any limits in pursuit of his anti-India agenda.

Lashkar-e-Taiba, under the tutelage of Hafiz Saeed based in Muridke, was formed in 1989 to replicate the Afghan jihad in occupied Kashmir. Thankfully, the LeT believes only in state-approved jihad and is Kashmir-specific

The Tablighi Jamaat headed by Bhai Abdul Wahab is based in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore. Ostensibly non-militant, over the years it has become the largest congregation of jihadists from all over the world. VIPs like Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, followed by then-president Farooq Leghari, would regularly visit its “Salana Ijtamah” (annual congregation). Interestingly, according to Rana Sanaullah, the terrorists who attacked the Ahmedi worship places lodged themselves there.

Maulana Abdul Aziz of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, a stone’s throw away form the ISI headquarters, belongs to Rajanpur. The mosque was besieged during Musharraf’s rule and the operation launched to lift the siege resulted in massive casualties inside the mosque, including that of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Maulana Aziz, his brother managed to escape.

It is high time the Punjab government recognised the grim situation, instead of sharply reacting to anyone critical of its policies, and got its act together to tackle the problem head-on. Admittedly, there is no quick fix solution to the problem. The jihadists cannot be eliminated in a day.

Talk of an army action in southern Punjab is certainly premature. It is neither desirable nor feasible. The terrain does not require an army action on the lines of operations conducted in Swat and South Waziristan. However, if things go completely wrong in this area, a military operation there will have to be contemplated because there will be no other option left.

The PML-N has decided to form a special anti-terrorism war cell to deal with the problem, instead of spending its meagre resources on training, equipping and improving the existing police force. This is tantamount to creating another tier of bureaucracy. The proposed setup could result in further lowering the effectiveness of the police and provincial intelligence network without creating a better alternative.

Socioeconomic measures must be taken to improve the lot of those who live in abject poverty and have no recourse but to send their children to madressahs for education. There is the need to beef up the intelligence and security apparatus. But the political will to take these actions is lacking.

The Elite Force was formed with a lot of fanfare by Mian Shahbaz Sharif in his previous stint as chief minister. The bulk of these smartly-turned-up and well-trained policemen are now being used to protect the political elite and their families.

The PML-N leadership needs to end its ostrich-like attitude. The stark reality that there must be no nexus with those who want to undo the system needs to sink in sooner than later.

The writer is a former newspaper editor. Email: arifn51@hotmail.com

URL: www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=243222

A muted response to minority killings

A muted response to minority killings

   by SANA SALEEM on 06 1st, 2010 |

Incomprehensible. That is the only word I can use to express my feelings about the indifference of people, the authorities, and the media towards the attacks against the Ahmadi community in Lahore on Friday. Attacks that were carried out in broad daylight, killing over 90 people and injuring many others. Attacks that turned into a hostage situation with over 1500 people at risk of being killed or fatally injured.

I am disappointed that there is no one to protest and lament the killings, especially since the Ahmadi community seems to have been silenced by years of discrimination and persecution. I was six years old and attending a Quran class when the maulvi sahib blatantly refused to teach two of my friends, Maham and Rija. I remember his words, his eyes flaming with hate as he refused to let them sit in his class, or even touch ‘their’ Quran. I did not understand why no one protested, why they had chosen to leave the room silently, as if the hate and discrimination was expected. I found myself in the same dilemma on Friday, when after one of the largest attacks against them in the history of Pakistan, this was the only official statement issued on behalf of the Ahmadi community.

Despite what has happened no Ahmadi has taken to the streets in protest; no Ahmadi has displayed anything but patience. Instead we have turned towards God and prayed for the victims, for their bereaved relatives and for the long term peace and prosperity of Pakistan. We will continue with this example no matter what is thrown at us in the full certainty that God is with us and always will be.

The only reality check regarding this horrifying episode has come from a woman who was attending to one of the people wounded in Friday’s attacks. She refused to accept a bouquet from Interior Minister Rehman Malik, and went on to lambast him for inadequate security provisions at the sites of worship. It was indeed ironic to see dozens of security guards accompany the interior minister to his trip to the hospital to visit the survivors of Friday’s attacks. If only half of those were present to guard the two sites that came under attack, this incident could have been prevented, or, if nothing else, casualties could have been minimised. There is thus absolutely no justification for this act of negligence.

Meanwhile, the social networks have also been abuzz with outrage. Twitter, in particular, was flooded with messages of condemnation, shock, and horror. Many were disgusted by the way in which media outlets were describing the sites that were attacked as ‘worship places’ instead of ‘mosques.’ Others accused the media of downplaying the casualties. Someone remarked how a popular news channel’s comments suggesting ‘worship places should have their own security’ were derogatory and inhumane. There were debates on whether the media channels will count those killed as ‘martyrs,’ and if not, then why not?

Here’s the thing: I do not care whether those killed on Friday will be labeled martyrs or not. It does not make a difference to me whether the authorities have traced the terrorist outfit responsible for this attack. I remain enraged that most of us refuse to recognise the attacks as a human rights issue, and, most importantly, as a violation of minority rights. And by ‘most of us,’ I am referring to those of us who are neither politicians, scholars, clerics, or media personnel. I have lived in Pakistan long enough not to expect the authorities to be sensitive towards the real issues of the people. But the public framing of Friday’s attacks is about the underlying hate, discrimination, and religious bigotry that has been suffocating us for years. This is about those of us who choose to use religion to justify inhumanity despite the gory images showing attacks on innocent civilians.

There is no justification for killing unarmed civilians – no religion or legal system allows a bunch of people to take the law in their hands and carry out barbaric acts of terror.

Today, I must confess that I am scared of the uncertainties the future holds. I fear that this attack might be one of many to come. And most of all, I fear that another attempt will be similarly downplayed and labeled an act of terrorism, rather than a violation of minority rights. The stabbing of an Ahmadi man at Narowal on Monday further strengthens my fears, especially as the threats of the assailant to “not leave any Ahmadi alive” serve as uncanny reminders of state-sanctioned discrimination against the Ahmadi community.

I feel that in our attempts to prove ourselves so-called pious Muslims and patriotic Pakistanis we have left humanity far behind. Our sympathies have become political, and our humanity has been compromised. Somewhere in our tussle to become pioneers of Islam and the darling of the West, we have stopped being human. For every atrocity that unfolds around us, we have a home-made conspiracy theory, a religious justification, or a history lesson with which to identify the culprits. But amid this information overload, the atrocities go ignored, priorities remain distorted, and the massacre continues.

For every one who witnessed the horrendous killings of Ahmadis this past week, I have one question: how many Garhi Shahos and Gojras will it take for us to stop abusing religious beliefs to justify killing innocent people?

Sana Saleem is a Features Editor at BEE magazine and blogs at Global Voices, Pro-Pakistan her personal blog Mystified Justice. She tweets at twitter.com/sanasaleem.

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved

URL: http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/01/a-muted-response-to-minority-killings/

Frayed ends of sanity

Dawn.com Blog

Frayed ends of sanity

   by NADEEM F. PARACHA on 05 29th, 2010 |

Over and over again I have been using Dawn and Dawn.com to hit home the point about the vicious, soul destroying mindset the bulk of Pakistan’s urban middle-classes (especially in the Punjab) have fallen in to.

I have tried to give numerous examples to highlight this devastating observation and here again is another one: On May 28 when terrorists associated with what is called the ‘Punjabi Taliban’ attacked various places of worship of the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore, the TV channels were out in force covering the gruesome event. However, that did not stop them from running happy-go-lucky commercials of their corporate sponsors during breaks, giving the whole event a rather surreal feel.

But this can be expected from this unfortunate republic’s many TV channels. There is now not an iota of doubt left about the level of sheer cynicism, sensationalism and demagoguery that they operate on. Most of them have become a reckless reflection of some of the most obnoxious, conspiratorial and chauvinistic sections found within the country’s convulsing middle-classes.

That said, one however does expect some semblance of decency and reason in the polished corridors of the companies that advertise their brands on these channels. Couldn’t any of these companies that always claim to be ‘good social citizens’ have the presence of mind and heart to ask TV channels to stop running their ads during the coverage of blood-splattered events?

Can’t they see how strange their ads look and sound when squeezed between images of blood, gore and tragedy? Don’t these ads with an unending series of plastic smiles and jingly material-worshipping actually end up mocking the tragedy that is unfolding live on the TV screens?

I don’t think such a thought even crosses their minds. And how can it when a number of the same companies so nonchalantly end up sponsoring TV shows run by utter hate-mongers. It’s quite a sight, really, watching macho, loud demagogues and so-called TV anchors spiting venom against the West and then asking for a break that are riddled with commercials of Western multinationals.

A religious TV show on a popular TV channel that in 2009 instigated violence against the Ahmadiyyas continues to be sponsored by various colas, facial creams, telecom brands and shampoos, and so is the show whose host is under scrutiny for allegedly having sympathies and links with terrorist organisations.

In my eyes the companies who claim to represent the decent, ‘family-oriented’ and peaceful ‘modern’ sections of the educated urbanites carry an equal amount of blame as do the channels that let hate-mongers run amok in the studios just to jack up their ratings.

It’s like shouting populist slogans mingled with idiotic juice, milk and telecom jingles over the dead bodies of all those unfortunate souls that these very channels so enthusiastically report and show.

Is there no one among us so-called educated urban classes with the sight, mind and conscience to at least question the kind of convoluted and surreal corporate-jihadi anarchy so clearly visible on TV channels?

Can’t we see that much of what is being preached and ‘debated’ on our channels in the name of religion, justice, reform and politics (and cynically being sponsored by multinationals), is one of the major reasons behind the confused and ravaged state our middle-classes (especially its youth) have come to suffer?

This is not an overstatement. Certain TV anchors and their shows have proven to have enough power to actually instigate violence. Examples are in abundance of idiots listening to idiots on TV, gathering hateful ideas about certain Muslim sects, ‘minorities,’ and personalities, with some actually going to the extent of committing murder in the name of religion.

And yet we can still see such TV anchors and their favourite side-kicks holding fort on prime-time television, and multinationals willingly sponsoring all the hatred and venom that is spewed on these shows.

So what is that narrative upon which a bulk of Pakistan’s ‘political’ and ‘religious’ TV programming is based on?

For years this narrative has gleefully been disseminated by the state, the clergy, schools and now the electronic media. It’s quite simple: Pakistan was made in the name of Islam (read, a theocratic state). Thus, only Muslims (mainly orthodox Sunnis) have the right to rule, run and benefit from this country. ‘Minority’ religions and ‘heretical Islamic sects’ living as Pakistani citizens are not to be trusted. They need to be constitutionally, socially and culturally isolated. Parliamentary democracy too can’t be trusted. It unleashes ethnic forces, ‘corruption’ and undermines the role of the military and that of Islam in the state’s make-up. It threatens the ‘unity’ of the country; a unity based on a homogeneous understanding of Islam (mainly concocted by the state and its right-wing allies). Most of our political, economic and social ills are due to the diabolical conspiracies hatched by our many enemies (especially India, Israel and the West in general). They want to break up Pakistan because Pakistan is the ‘bastion of Islam’ in a volatile region dominated by Indian, American and Shia Iranian hegemony. The many terrorist organisations operating in Pakistan are foreign funded …

This narrative can go on in its bizarre depiction of what we as a country are or should become. Not for a moment are we ready to stand back a bit and look at what we have made of ourselves and of what we call our home. We call ourselves ‘moderate Muslims,’ and yet applaud or quietly tolerate the hate-spewing claptrap that pours out from our mosques and TV screens. We cheer about the fact that Pakistan is one of the very few democratic Muslim countries with a constitution, and yet we will not speak a word about those clauses and sections in the same constitution that have triggered violence and repression against women and have sanctioned a religiously apartheid state that only allows the orthodox Muslim majority democratic rights to rule the country, or run in an election.

Isn’t it obvious that not only do these sections in the much celebrated constitution go against the modern-Muslim vision of men like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Iqbal and Syed Ahmed Khan, but are also against the basic spirit of tolerance, mercy and justice so vividly present in the Quran?

We have clearly lost sight of what Pakistan was supposed to be: A democratic, modern Muslim country where religion had nothing to do with the matters of the state and where the so-called ‘minorities’ were free to practice their respective faiths.

These are not my words. And neither are they the words that Pakistani children are taught at school, in spite of the fact that these words and thoughts were spoken by the founder of the country, Jinnah, when he succeeded in carving out a country for the Muslims of the subcontinent, thinking that they would struggle under what he believed would become a ‘Hindu theocracy.’

So what happened to that Pakistan? The obvious culprits in this regard are the many years of repressive military regimes and their growing nexus with obscurantist forces that we have had to burden and face. But were the democrats any better?

The 1973 constitution that legitimised religious apartheid was inaugurated under a brilliant and popularly elected Prime Minister and approved by equally elected members of the parliament. And even though the same constitution was further riddled with myopic laws against religious minorities and women by a fanatical and hypocritical ‘Islamic’ dictatorship, how many democrats that came after the demise of this dictatorship ever bothered to at least debate or review these laws?

So much has become taboo in this country — so much so that the question now arises, can we ever become a truly free, enlightened and intellectually robust nation? Or will we keep hiding behind our fragile masks of religiosity and ‘patriotism,’ a mask that goes up in front of our faces every time we are confronted by a situation in which our views and actions (especially in the name of faith) are questioned.

We do not debate. We react and then huddle up behind our flimsy and lopsided historical and national narratives for reassurance, cursing the world for our ills, looking out for ‘infidels’ and ‘heretics’ among us, or for scapegoats in the shape of media-constructed punching bags.

The nightmare we are living today has a lot to do with all this. We remain in a slumber, carving out an isolated ideological comfort zone for ourselves, while obnoxious, sectarian and so-called puritanical keepers of the faith attack and kill in the name of God whenever and however they please. We claim to be treading a middle-path between liberalism and fanaticism, when the truth is, it is exactly the middle-path that has gone entirely missing in how we think, behave, act and react.

 


 

Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL : http://blog.dawn.com/2010/05/29/frayed-ends-of-sanity/