Should Taseer’s death be in vain?
Taseer staunchly opposed the blasphemy law even when many in his party backed down
I would be lying if I said I’m shocked by Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassination. Ever since he announced support for Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations, religious zealots had been calling for his head, on the streets, on Facebook groups and in fiery Friday sermons. Of course, no one took that seriously.
His own political party deserted him when Prime Minister Gilani, shamelessly playing to the religious right to save the coalition government and his seat, vehemently claimed he would never even think of amending the blasphemy laws. One would expect the prime minister to have more sense than to play the fiddle while the country is engulfed by intolerance and barbarism. I wonder if the premier feels even slightly guilty about this.
Not surprisingly, Taseer’s assassination has not, and will not, change much. Online message boards are rife with apologists, claiming ‘after all, he was supporting a blasphemer.’ Most religious clerics continue to maintain the man deserved this fate.
Then there is the Facebook group heralding the assassin Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri that has over a thousand ‘fans’ already. A close look at its member list reveals that the fans are not radicalised madrassah-educated folks. They’re either young, middle-class Pakistanis enrolled at universities or expatriates mostly from United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, television anchors continue to mull over how this will impact the Sharif duo or the government, not for a second pausing to question how this will impact the society at large. Is it not time to stop hiding behind metaphors and hold an open national debate on the media, like the one held in 2006 over Hudood laws, the result of which was the Women’s Protection Bill? Is it not time to put an end to this arbitrary state of affairs? If Taseer’s death does not bring this about, I’m afraid it will be in vain.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of The Express Tribune.
Neat observation !Recommend
Thankyou for writing this gulraiz..i think a lot of people are feeling increasingly trapped and claustrophobic after this incident..although of course, the ones celebrating are outweighing us by far.Recommend
Couldnt agree moreRecommend
This insane killing proves that some Mullah brigade wont let anyone, having some sort of sanity left, even breathe in this self acclaimed ‘citadel of Islam’. The more shocking has been the reaction of our so called educated lot justifying it with one thing or the other.
The ghost of Zia just refuses to go away..Recommend
You know who is failing the country ?
US… Secular cowards who are too worried about a bashed in head or a bullet.
Mullahs have their heaven to look forward to, and what do we have ?
Blogs and forums and our neatly articulated english pieces? What the jack would it do?Recommend
The fault lines have clearly emerged. It is darkness versus light, suffocation versus fresh air, tyranny versus justice, bigotry versus humanity and zaid hamid, ansar abbassi, hamid gul and the like versus I.A Rehman, sherry rehman, NFP, Fasi zaka, cyril, kamran shafi, cafe pyala and many more…May the latter win.Recommend
To be honest, it seems like our society’s suffering from bipolar disorder.Recommend
The signals are already there that his death will indeed be in vain. Even before the completion of his funeral ceremony President’s chief whip Babar Awan was claiming on National TV that Taseer’s murder was politically motivated. This is a clear signal from the Government that; firstly they are ready to use his murder as a political leverage and secondly, that the Government is not going to take this opportunity to address the root cause of his murder; the Blasphemy Law. In a way all of us are responsible for the Governor’s death as we did not condemn the insane fanaticism that ultimately set the stage for this incident to happen. While a lot could be said about the personal life of the late Governor one thing is certain; he had more courage and audacity than most of us. I am not sure what kind of Islam do we intend to enforce in Pakistan but I am pretty certain that the Blasphemy Law is only a man made law and there are defects in it. To highlight these defects is a service to Islam and law. The killer and others who support him have actually tarnished the name of Prophet (SAW) and the image of Islam. Ultimately this murder will deepen the divide between the moderate and the allegedly religious population of Pakistan. The Governor might have been an unacceptable person to most of the country but he has been killed for all the wrong reasons.Recommend
Definition of a ghazi – one who terrorizes and kills unsuspecting, unarmed people and riddle with bullets the one whom the so-called ghazi has taken the responsibility/oath to protect.
When a snake is honored as a ghazi, let it be known that the society has become a mob and the place is a law less jungle of zombies. Even the animals have a better code to live by.Recommend
Oh please! Give me a freaking break! Just because a nut case killed the dude, doesn’t make him a national hero or a saint etc. His death SHOULD heat up a debate in the society but then again who am I kidding! Isn’t his own party’s slogan “rooti, kapra and makan”, not having had these things why the heck should the common man on the street care about anything else? Don’t start painting Taseer something that he never was, he was never a person for the masses of Pakistan, always running behind controversy. He was a Zardari crony and remained that till the second he died! Enough said!Recommend
@Moazzim Salim wrote “Ultimately this murder will deepen the divide between the moderate and the allegedly religious population of Pakistan.”
The moderates are far an few in between. They go with the wind as they lack the spine to face up the zealots. If you know what a thali kaa baingun means, that is how the moderates are rolling from side to side depending upon how lazy they feel at the moment. They are more like zombies, neither dead nor alive. The ST murder will only stunt the minuscule level of spine growth which is hard to happen in a zombie in any case.
The game will be played with full freedom according to the edicts of one mullah after another jahil mullah. In the meantime, no foreign leader would dare step in Pakistan. Only an insane would trust the security provided to them. The zombies are pretty much on their own at this point and they are free to play the game as they see fit.
While you can, enjoy the internet and the FBs of the world. These are the evils tools of the infidel and will be taken down. Butchers should take out their knives to chop off the zombie hands, ears, and noses. Tailors should get busy with making tent-like burqas for she-zombies. The blood-thirsty deity of the superior Muslims is in for a feast.
So much for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan! Just watch the country that is claimed to have been found in the name of religion destroying itself for religion. And mind you, the infidels will not allow the nuclear weapons to fall into the hands of the crazy mullah. Unless, of course sanity is restored by separating state from religion, which seems highly unlikely in the prevalent mindset, it is going to get very bloody and very messy.Recommend
Blasphemy laws are TOTALLY UNISLAMIC….Recommend
Dear Blogger ! Our society is full of bigots, barbarians and inhuman mullahs and politicians whose only aim is to destroy this country. We are a doomed nation who is bound to perish so lets face it instead of false hue and cry about freedom, optimism and bright future.Recommend
Now the law must be changed by hook or by crook! Who knows neighbours would start shooting at each other if that Qadri is allowed to get away with this. this is as bad as it could get. And no government is more chicken than ours!Recommend
@Humanity: Brilliant analysis. From top to bottom the whole national gives the look of a crowd, fighting on everything under the sun. The picture you presented so insightfully is very scary but v true. Expecting the Hemalayan energy, wit and honesty that are required to turn Pakistan back from its fast march towards the ditch of doom, from the present ‘leadership’ of all sorts political, military, ‘religious’ is far far far fetched dream! I wish you turn your observations into some detailed article for this newspaper.Recommend
“Should Taseer’s death be in vain?”
–> It WILL be in vain.Recommend
Did anyone of you see the statement of Jamaat-Ahl-e-Sunnat? They have asked everyone NOT TO PARTICIPATE in the funeral of Salman Taseer.
This is just disgustingRecommend
Bengalis ejected out of the crashing jet…Now is the time to part ways forthe rest – Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochs and Pathans to tackle the extremist monster at the provincial level. If one thinks hard – a break up will break the back of extremist ideology and at the same time will pave way for a new moden and liberal Pakistani Union to emerge.Recommend
I am very happy to see the column above. Shame on religious extremists and other fundamentalists who celebrate the death of Respected Governor Salman Taseer a moderate and bright thinking leader. I am also Muslim but i don’t think any body should commit murder in the name of religion. The Hadood Ordinance introduced by Dictator Zia Ul Haq ( May all put him in Jehanam) to longish his rule should be completely repealed. There should be secular laws in Pakistan. The laws should be as per International Standard keeping in view the human rights first. There should be secular educational system and media and other organizations should also play their role in promoting secularism and moderation. The fundamentalism and religious extremism should be completely discouraged and religious extremist and fundamentalists should be hanged or shot dead. It the time to wake up if we are true Muslim and True Pakistani. We should start Jihad against the extremism. Our society needs a secular revolution.Recommend
Glorification of Taseer’s assassin laid bare the moral void of our society. The killer crossed several limits in on go as in the first instance he violated the sanctity of human life. The killing of a human is the gravest sin in the Islam and Quran explicitly forbids it. Secondly, religious motivation cited behind the murder is mere hogwash. If the assassin was such a devoted Muslim, then he should have taken his duty seriously. He was under oath to protect the governor and it was his moral, ethical and religious responsibility to do so, and by acting on contrary he committed treachery against his country. The state had employed him and taking care of his family for these services. Religiously his act is the gravest sin and ethically he is traitor. In doing his reprehensible act, he brought a bad name to the police department and also put loyalties of thousands of police personnel across the country in doubt. His act is the cruelest mockery of the sacrifices of hundreds of policemen who laid down their lives across the country, while trying to protect their fellow countrymen over the past few years.Recommend
No point in writing in English language internet paper; literacy in Pakistan is 40%; out of that maybe 4% have access to and can read/write English; Out of that 4%, 80% are english-speaking fanatics like Faizal Shehzad, David Headley and London 7/7 bomber; rest 36% literate in Pak read in Urdu; the 60% -Totally illiterate listen to Mullah, etc.; What I am saying English language internet mein rone-dhone se kuch nahin hone waala; Jaake Urdu mein likho and un-padh logon ko radio mein sunao; Otherwise Ram-Kasam things are only going to get worseRecommend
You guys could try making music to raise social awareness for people to find. If its catchy enough, and speaks of events they have been part of, its sure to be a hit. Music can carry a lot of soul searching without raising hackles.
Or just, you know gatherings of liberals. No cause, nothing offensive, just become visible in the society, so that when craziness happens and you guys go quiet, it is noticed that its not ‘everyone’.
Use humor? TV shows?
While it looks quite ghastly right now, I doubt if there are really so many crazies. Or at least I hope not. More likely people don’t know the full story, and when they hear mullahs screaming that blasphemy laws are being removed and anyone can say anything about the prophet or something, they go nuts. I notice Muslims in general do that. Particularly if it were a trusted religious leader speaking about someone perceived as modern and western who may not care enough…
Its quite unlikely that the internet warriors are all that insane. I mean, you can’t really wander on the net without getting infected with a few values and broader ways of thought….
Its quite likely that when the pandemonium dies down, if you guys persist in raising dialogue, people may listen.Recommend