Pakistan: Ahmadi student ejected for resisting Islamists

World:  Asia

Pakistan: Ahmadi student ejected for resisting Islamists

Ahmadi Muslims live in constant fear of persecution in Pakistan. Earlier this year, hundreds were killed by Islamic radicals

Friday, November 25, 2011

By Rodrick Samson

Rabia Saleem, a female student of the Ahmadi religious sect in the final year of studies at the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Lahore, Pakistan, has been expelled on allegations of blasphemy. Rabia Saleem was accused of blasphemy by the student wing of the banned Islamist organization known as Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (TKN). She lived at a student hostel in Lahore, and allegedly removed a banner displayed by TKN condemning the Ahmadi community. A guard observed her removing the poster. He then accused her of committing blasphemy by dishonoring the verses of the Koran. The controversy has been extensively covered in the Pakistani media. Ahmadis are considered by many Muslims as heretics and are treated to the same persecution as are Christians and Hindus in Pakistan.

According to a fellow CIIT student, Nasreem Ghulam, the banner displayed at the hostel door condemned Ahmadis but did not include Koranic verses. Ahmadis claim that she has been falsely accused because of her faith. Rasheed Ahmed Khan, the CIIT Registrar, denied any connection between the removal of the offending banner with the student’s faith. According to the Al-Ufaq website, “Rabia Saleem has been expelled for violating the discipline of the Institution and not complying with the rules and regulation.” He refused to provide a copy of the notice that was served to the student.


Pakistani Ahmadis bury massacre victims, 2011.

A faculty member on the condition of anonymity said,” It was a petty matter that could have been resolved by the warden and the administration, but the warden along with the security guard and CIIT administration exploited the situation against the Ahmadi student, the administration has a very discriminating attitude towards the religious minorities and never leaves a chance to take action against them. In the past several similar incidents took place, but the administration allowed the Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat to continue their propaganda against the Ahmadis, the administration allows the TKN to act, because of the support from the administration they have become strong. The religious organizations should be barred from all the educational institutes, they are harboring terrorists by allowing such organizations to act freely and do whatever they like.”

The TKN has been displaying banners denouncing Ahmadis, while the CIIT administration has expelled the student with TKN‘s support and allowed them to display banners inciting hatred against the religious minorities and protest against the Ahmadis. They announced that they will not allow any Ahmadi student to live on the campus and will even kill if any of them resists. TKN has also started campaigns against the Ahmadis on various social networks as well.

The CIIT administration has been accused of allowing such extremist activities to continue on campus, while authorities and the ministry of education silently observe the situation allowing the propaganda against the Ahmadi students.

The Ahmadis have been living in continuous fear, earlier this year an Ahmadi religious institute was attacked in Lahore, and hundreds of innocent people were killed. In past several years the persecution against the Ahmadis has been on the rise.

In September an 8th grader was expelled for a spelling mistake in the Urdu exam in Abbotabad. Her mother was also expelled from Abbotabad.

The Masihi Foundation and Life for All Pakistan, which campaign for human rights, have also condemned the incident and issued a joint statement,” We strongly condemn the incident, the administration of the institution must be condemned for supporting a religious organization and allowing them to act against the code of conduct. The Institution‘s spokesperson said that the Ahmadi student was expelled for violating discipline, displaying banners against the religious minorities is not a violation of the discipline?”

Furthermore, read the statement “ Openly announcing a religious minority liable to be killed is allowed in an educational institution, is this not violation of the regulations and humanity? Where are we headed? Why was a banner against a religious minority allowed to be displayed at the hostel door? Many students suffer discrimination in the educational institutions, but no one addresses the matter. I fail to understand the role of the education Ministry, if they dont do anything for the education, then what is the need of having such an department, it is merely a burden on the nation, simply abolish such ministries which are not performing their designated duties. The state is allowing the religious hatred to grow and is not taking notice of the growing persecution.”

“The extremist mind set is growing and taking over, if this continues Pakistan will lose all the sane people alive. Ensuring the safety of the minorities is the state‘s responsibility, Quaid-e-Azam the founder of Pakistan said every citizen has the right to practice his / her religion freely, anyone‘s religion is their personal mater and not the matter of the state. Is today‘s Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam‘s Pakistan? The Director COMSATS must have immediately resigned on such a shameful incident.”

“This is the reason religious and state affairs should be kept separate,” continued the statement from the humanitarian organizations.

“The concerned authorities must intervene and take the necessary action. The growing extremism in the educational institutions must be checked, no one should be allowed to speak or do anything against any religion. Tolerance and Harmony must be promoted, the religious leaders must play a positive role and condemn such incidents, so that in future students like Rabia Saleem don’t suffer. The only Pakistani who won the Nobel peace prize - Abdul Salam - was never given the place he deserved only because he was an Ahamdi. It is about time the government takes steps to end the religious extremism before it consumes the nation like a plague.”

Rodrick Samson is Spero correspondent in Pakistan.

© Copyright Spero, All rights reserved.
URL: www.speroforum.com/a/OKRZLTUIGV5/...resisting-Islamists

Lahore: Ahmadi student expelled on false blasphemy charges

» 11/25/2011 17:11
PAKISTAN
Lahore: Ahmadi student expelled on false blasphemy charges
by Jibran Khan

Rabia Saleem ripped up an anti-Ahmadi poster. Students affiliated with Islamic fundamentalist groups accused her falsely in order to expel her from campus. The university usually covers up extremist abuses as silence reigns in the Education Ministry. Catholic priest slams the authorities’ inaction.

Lahore (AsiaNews) — An Ahmadi student from Lahore (Punjab) was expelled from her university in her senior after she was accused of blasphemy. Students affiliated with Tahaffuz-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (TKN) accused Rabia Saleem of ripping up a poster with anti-Ahmadi content. Ahmadi Muslims are considered heretical by mainstream Islam because they do not view Muhammad as the last prophet. The poster was on the door of the hostel where the young woman lived, and, according to sources, it did not contain any verses from the Qur‘an. A student, who asked for anonymity, said that the university “discriminates against religious minorities” and allows fundamentalist groups to “do as they as they please.”

Rashid Ahmad Khan, additional registrar at the Comsats Institute of Information Technology in Lahore, had denied any link between the student’s expulsion and her religion. Instead, he said she was expelled for “breaking university rules” since she “did not provide a document” required in order to register. Student sources say instead that the expulsion of the Ahmadi student was racist in nature, the result of an attitude of discrimination towards religious minorities that permeates the university.

In the meantime, TKN-affiliated students announced that “Ahmadi students would not be allowed” on campus, and that anybody who tried to resist them would be killed. The university and the education ministry reacted to the threat with total silence.

By contrast, it has send shockwaves through the Ahmadi community, which now fears fresh attacks, like the dual attack of May 2010 against two mosques in Lahore that left hundreds dead.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Amir John said that “many students are victims of discrimination in school and that no one has seriously tackled the problem.” In his view, the state “tolerates religious hatred” and “does nothing when episodes of persecution occur.”

For the Catholic priest, the extremist mindset continues to spread and because of it Pakistan could lose important and prominent people from religious minorities.

The Masihi Foundation and Life for All, two NGOs involved in helping victims of discrimination and violence, also condemned Rabia Saleem’ expulsion. In a joint statement, they called for “tolerance and harmony” and urged religious leaders to “play a positive role” in building a multi-confessional society.

They also noted that the only Pakistani to win a Nobel Prize (for Physics) is Abdus Salam, an Ahmadi, who was not appropriately honoured at home for his international award.

URL: www.asianews.it/news-en/Lahore:-Ahmadi...charges-23280.html

Persecution of Ahmadis Spreads

Persecution of Ahmadis Spreads

By Zofeen Ebrahim

KARACHI, Nov 22, 2011 (IPS) — “Hatred against us has now spread to small towns and villages,” Saleemuddin, spokesperson of the persecuted Ahmadiya community in Pakistan, told IPS.

The Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th century cleric, “was the messiah promised by God”. Such beliefs are seen by orthodox Muslims as unacceptable. Pakistan has declared its four million Ahmadis to be non-Muslim.

Speaking to IPS over the phone from Rabwah – a city in the Punjab province also known as Chenab Nagar – which is 95 percent Ahmadi, Saleemuddin added, “We are in a fix – if we say we are Muslims, we will be charged and sentenced; but we cannot say we are non-Muslim when we are Muslims.”

On May 28, last year, 94 members of the Ahmadi community were massacred in their mosques during the Friday congregation in the eastern city of Lahore. Since then, Saleemuddin said, there has been a marked increase in persecution, with 11 more people killed.

Last year, the Punjab government made it mandatory for students to reveal whether they were ‘Muslim or non-Muslim’ before being admitted to school or college, or even before registering for the board exams.

Two months ago Raziatul Bari, a 23-year-old English teacher at Chenab Public School in the Punjab village of Dharanwali, was sacked from work. The same afternoon ten students – some from Chenab Public School and some, like four-year old nursery student Manahil Jameel, from the Muslim Public School – were expelled.

Yasser Arafat, the principal of Chenab Public School, told IPS, “The teacher was preaching her faith in school despite warnings, so she was asked to leave. The students left in protest.”

Arafat charged that the students and the teacher want “international attention so they can seek asylum.”

Bari, who had studied at Chenab Public before becoming a teacher there, said she had never faced a problem like this before.

“It all began a few months ago when a cleric came and poisoned our village,” she told IPS. Following the cleric’s visit, Arafat asked Bari on several occasions to convert to Islam. “Each time I would tell him I was a Muslim,” Bari said, adding that her insistence was in vain.

Of the 210 households in Dharanwali, Bari says just nine belong to Ahmadis, who live in constant fear.

“Today our children have been expelled from schools, tomorrow we may be forced to leave our homes. Where will we go?“

For years Ahmadis in Pakistan have kept a low profile, living in constant fear and humiliation. Now the hatred has spread and the oppressors have become more belligerent, which has led to several instances of overt faith-based persecution.

In June, pamphlets listing the names and addresses of Ahmadi families alongside messages inciting murder were distributed in the Punjab city of Faisalabad. Several months later 55-year-old Naseem Ahmed, whose name had appeared on that list, was shot dead in his home.

In another case, the local cleric of a small village in Punjab issued a severe edict after seeing the sons of a deceased Ahmadi offering funeral prayers for their father: “Anyone who offers prayers for a kafir (an infidel, in this case an Ahmadi) gets expelled from Islam.”

This anti-Ahmadi sentiment is not restricted to Punjab alone. In Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, a group of clerics forced an Ahmadi to ‘renounce’ his beliefs, warning him that if he refused his business would be set aflame and he would be killed.

According to Pakistan’s constitution, the Ahmadi minority cannot call themselves Muslims, are banned from referring to their places of worship as mosques and cannot even sing hymns in praise of Prophet Muhammad.

Meanwhile the government of Pakistan has updated the electoral list for the forthcoming 2013 national elections to include a new column for religion, meaning that if Ahmadis choose to cast their vote, they will be forced to mark this new form, thereby accepting their designated ‘status’ as non-Muslim.

The new form states that any citizen who declares himself a Muslim also affirms that “he believes in the finality of Prophet Muhammad; that he is not a follower of any person who claims to be a prophet after Muhammad and does not call himself an Ahmadi.”

Qari Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, a leading cleric for Khatme-Nabuwat Momin, one of the several religious movements in Pakistan that aims to protect the sanctity of Prophet Muhammad, has been living in Chenab Nagar since 1976. He believes that if the constitution has declared Ahmadis non-Muslim, they should accept that status if they want to continue living in the country.

“They lead astray the true believers and want Pakistan to disintegrate. They are enemies of our country,” Usmani said, adding he has never maintained any “social contact” with Ahmadis.

But Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch, told IPS that the government’s move to update the electoral lists was a “historical blunder”, adding that the “unwillingness” of the government to either repeal or amend discriminatory legislation has made it “complicit” in abuses perpetrated against the Ahmadis.

Since 1974, various civilian and military governments have passed a series of ordinances that discriminate against Ahmadis.

Hasan said, “the legal apartheid that the state instituted against Ahmadis in 1974 has led to increased social apartheid over the decades.”

Describing the recent expulsion of students and the teacher in Dharanwali as “obscenely abusive”, Hasan said Pakistan’s state and some sections of its society “appear determined to deny Ahmadis, Christians and any others who question bigotry and prejudice any place at all in the social fabric.”

Saleemuddin, too, blames the government for stoking hatred against his community. “It has allowed extremist clerics to hold hate campaigns against our community,” he said.

Rights groups and the usually raucous media have been virtually silent in the face of such blatant discrimination. “The role of the media in our society is deeply flawed,” Kamila Hyat, a rights activist and journalist told IPS. “The same biases that pervade the rest of society also influence the reporting of these cases.” (END)

Copyright © 2011 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105923

The Other Indonesia

By Emily Rauhala Monday, November 21, 2011

Guilt trip Dani bin Misra was sentenced to three months’ jail — AP

A year ago Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived as a boy, as President of the United States. In a speech at the University of Indonesia, he reminisced about catching dragonflies, flying kites and running through rice paddies in the Jakarta of his youth. “Indonesia is a part of me,” he told the audience, while lauding the nation and its people for their new democracy, commitment to the rule of law and tolerance for religious diversity. Obama’s affection for Indonesia is understandable. But as he prepares to go to Bali on Nov. 19 for the East Asia Summit, he needs to ditch the nostalgia and deliver a stern message to his onetime home for not living up to its purported ideals.

A key measure of the level of justice and compassion in any society is how it treats its minorities — often its most vulnerable citizens. On that score, Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, is failing. In the past year, public violence against religious minorities, who together make up about 12% of the 240 million population, has been relentless: there has been a slew of incidents, from burnings and bombings of churches to attacks by radical Muslims on moderates. The authorities appear unable or unwilling to firmly intervene.

That seemed to be the case when I was in a packed courtroom outside Jakarta a few months ago. On trial were 12 men charged in connection with a mass assault early this year on members of the peaceful Ahmadiyah sect. Ahmadis believe that their Indian founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was also a prophet, after Muhammad — a claim orthodox Muslims find heretical. This plus other differences have made Ahmadis a target for hard-liners in Pakistan, Bangladesh and, of late, Indonesia too. The attack on the Ahmadis was brutal. A hundreds-strong crowd gathered at opposite ends of a remote rice-farming village on the western edge of Java and converged on an Ahmadi home. The people inside were surrounded and attacked with machetes, sharpened sticks and stones. Three men died; five were badly injured.

At the trial, before the judges entered the chamber, an Islamic cleric in a white robe stepped from the gallery and led the courtroom in prayer. Those inside — plus many more pressed against the outside gate — prayed for the mob, not those killed. People in the crowd told me the Ahmadis had it coming, that the mob was provoked and the violence spontaneous.

One of the accused, 17-year-old Dani bin Misra, was filmed smashing an Ahmadi man’s skull with a rock. He and the other defendants were convicted of “participation in a violent attack that results in casualties.” Dani was sentenced to three months’ jail. The rest, including two clerics, received five to six months. (By contrast, an Ahmadi got six months for wounding an attacker when defending a family’s property.) Said New York City — based Human Rights Watch: “The trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities will be treated lightly by the legal system.”

We expect better from Indonesia. When the 1997 Asian financial crisis sparked mass protests that helped bring down longtime strongman Suharto, the majority-Muslim nation shattered the tired myth that Islam is antithetical to democracy. Today, Indonesia is freer and more open than ever. Indeed, many see the country as a model for the postrevolutionary Arab world. Yet institutions are weak, corruption is endemic, and military repression persists in the forgotten territory of Papua. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has condemned the various religious attacks, but not, say his critics, forcefully enough. Extremists have flourished on the fringes of the moderate mainstream, spawning radical groups and religious vigilantes. Their actions undermine everything good about contemporary Indonesia.

I raised the Ahmadiyah verdict with Suryadharma Ali, Indonesia’s Minister of Religious Affairs, one of whose responsibilities is to keep the peace among all faiths. Suryadharma was unapologetic in tone: he said Indonesia respects religious freedom, but that minorities could not use that freedom to “completely modify” Islamic beliefs. He also defended regulations that ban Ahmadis from proselytizing or openly practicing their faith. The minister compared antagonism toward Ahmadis to flag burning: “Your country would get angry if you burned their flag. And the case of religion is higher than the flag.” Perhaps so, but for Indonesia to be truly the modern, moderate society it claims to be, it needs to show through word and deed that it will not tolerate intolerance.

Copyright © 2011 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
URL: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2099185,00.html?xid=gonewsedit

Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Banner against Ahmadis not removed despite passing 10 days

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minority report

	Sun, Nov 20, 2011, Zilhaj 22, 1432 A.H
Opinion
Minority report

Sana Bucha
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Blood, meat and hides marked the first day of Eid-ul-Azha in Pakistan. While most Muslims celebrated their holy festival by sacrificing animals, some decided to achieve new levels of faith by targeting Hindus in Shikarpur. Three doctors were shot dead in broad daylight in Chak Town, allegedly, after a conflict arose between the Bhayo tribe and the Hindu community over a dancing girl.

Prior to the murders, the issue had already captured the attention of the local elders and a jirga was to be convened after Eid. Threats were issued to the Hindu community and reported to the local police but to no avail. Why is it that the government machinery only comes into motion after a tragedy has unfolded? The president and prime minister have both condemned the murders and ordered an inquiry. The police have since been prompt in arresting many from the Bhayo tribe. As anybody in Pakistan will tell you, arrests don’t necessarily mean justice. This is not the only case of Hindus being discriminated against in Pakistan – Sindh, long known for the wisdom of renowned Sufis and saints, is now home to a whole new brand of faith.

This ghastly incident takes me back to another instance in Lahore last year, when two shrines of the minority Ahmadi sect were attacked, leaving more than 90 people dead. Threats to Ahmadis were ignored then too, and calls for greater government protection in the future fell on deaf ears.

A few months ago, Faisalabad was witness to brazen warnings on Ahmadis; pamphlets labelling members of the Ahmadi community “wajib-ul-qatal” were distributed comprising names and identities of Ahmadi industrialists, doctors and businessmen. Most recently, Ahmadi residents in Lahore’s Satellite Town have been asked to leave or face dire consequences. This because they have established their place of worship which is deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by some.

It surprises me that we have forgotten those very people who helped draft the resolution that gave us Pakistan. Mohammad Zafarullah Khan was an Ahmadi but it was he who drafted the Pakistan Resolution and represented the Muslim League’s view when it came to deciding the future boundaries between India and Pakistan. He also served as Pakistan’s first minister for foreign affairs. Jinnah with his liberal views chose men to represent his country on merit, not religion, caste or creed. Pakistan’s first law minister was a Hindu who had more faith in Jinnah’s liberal views than the Congress’ secular ones; hence he decided to stay in Pakistan. Mandal was supposed to draft the first constitution of Pakistan; however he never got around to staying here long enough to see that to fruition. He resigned from the cabinet due to the consistent persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and moved back to India shortly after Jinnah’s death.

Encouraging persecution of minorities in Pakistan allows intolerance to flourish and has created precisely the kind of second-class citizenry in Pakistan – with uncertain rights and prejudiced values – that the country’s democratic principles were expected to avoid. For 64 years the whole point has been to come to some sort of conclusion as to whether this Islamic Republic of Pakistan can accommodate minorities without threatening their person, faith and livelihood. The idea has been to remove ambiguities and knock off a predominant holier-than-thou attitude towards Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Parsis. That clarity was in part, intended for the welfare of the existing minorities, so they could break free from their trap of uncertainty and insecurity. With a secular party at the helm, was this too much to ask for?

As religious historian Karen Armstrong stated recently: “like art, religion is difficult to do well and is often done badly.” The way to experiencing art is through an artist’s eyes. Similarly, religion is usually judged by how it is followed. The secular Pakistan Peoples Party distanced its views from those of Maulvi Nawaz Sharif’s – the alleged closet Taliban. However, it was “Maulvi Sahib” who made his way to Chak town and personally conveyed his condolences to the bereaved Hindu families. It was Sharif who pleaded to the Hindu community not to leave Pakistan, not our “secular” ruling party or its equally “secular” allies, the ANP or the MQM.

Pakistan’s minority dilemma is complex because secularism and conservatism don’t go their separate ways, but come together. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was considered Pakistan’s most secular and liberal leader, however by adopting the Objectives Resolution in the 1973 constitution, he ended up empowering conservative forces.

Similarly, the man who promised Pakistan “enlightened moderation” also gave way to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s regime gave more power to the maulvis than any other government in Pakistan. Claiming to be Pakistan’s ray of hope, Imran Khan too has disappointed his secular voters (and some party workers). In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Khan said he realised the need to ban militant organisations however, when asked to take names, he refused. Khan said he knew the threat that looms large since the Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was murdered and hence would not endanger his own life by taking names. And his motto is? You guessed it! Change.

However, it seems the most conservative leader has turned out to be the most secular. From his proposed policy of looking inward for a solution to the war on terror, to envisioning an open trade and better relations with India, Nawaz Sharif has ended up doing what the PPP has long promised. But there are still question marks on some of his party’s leaders harbouring relations with banned outfits and participating in their rallies. His own brother and chief minister of Punjab had previously pleaded with the Taliban not to attack Punjab because of their anti-US policy. As if the other three provinces are in complete disagreement with the views of the TTP and therefore deserve to die.

Persecution of minorities in Pakistan is on a steady rise. It’s not only non-Muslims who are under threat; the minority Muslim sects are also bearing its brunt. In the last two years, almost every important day in the Shiite calendar has been witness to attacks. There have also been attacks on religious shrines of Data Darbar, Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Baba Farid. Scholars who disavowed this form of brutal violence as un-Islamic were either martyred like Maulana Sarfaraz Naeemi and Maulana Hasan Jaan, or they had to flee the country.

Come to think of it, one way or the other, we are all minorities – Punjabis in Balochistan, Mohajirs in Punjab, Pashtuns in Sindh, Baloch in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – we are all victims of this prejudice. Will we realise, in time, what we don’t condemn today for others could very well be our fate tomorrow.

The writer works for Geo TV.

The News International - Copyright @ 2010-20
URL: www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=78453&Cat=9