Thursday, April 09, 2009
In the aftermath of the 'flogging video' scandal, Taliban apologists in the media and some political parties have come up with the following mutually contradictory and laughable 'excuses': 1. It happened before the 'peace deal' was signed; 2. It did not happen at all; 3. It happened, but not in Swat; 4. The girl is lucky; if it had happened before the 'peace deal', she would have been stoned to death; 5. It should have happened indoors; 6. The men holding the girl down are 'mehram'; 7. The people criticising the act of flogging are 'enemies of peace'; 8. It is a US-UK-Indian-Israeli conspiracy plotted by the CIA-MI6-Raw-Mossad jointly; 9. It is all because of the drones; 10. The NGOs are enemies of Pakistan.
All these mental acrobatics are from supposedly educated people, but not one word of criticism of the barbarism of the Taliban.
Afzal Siddiqi
Lahore
*****
Events have proven again and again that every time a peace deal is made with the Taliban, they come back stronger and more vicious. The recent attacks in Lahore and Islamabad, as well as the ongoing suicide bombings in NWFP, prove this. Besides such attacks they have been involved in serious crimes and assaults on decency, such as killing women for venturing outside their homes and hanging bodies of their slain enemies. The flogging of the poor girl from Swat is the most shocking of these and should serve as a wake-up call to every sane Pakistani. This is just one such incident that has come to light, there might be many others we are not aware of.
The most troublesome thing is not the crimes committed by the Taliban, but the covert support they receive from a large section of society, including prominent politicians such as Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif. They always recommend negotiations with the terrorists, perhaps because they share the foolish worldview of the Taliban. Negotiating with terrorists and murderers is a sure folly and we continue to pay the price. Instead of punishing the criminals, or even just pardoning them, we give them legitimacy and power by allowing them to set up their own courts and dispense 'justice' as they please.
The less said of the role of our religious political parties and leaders the better. These people were against the creation of Pakistan, and now they claim it their birthright to impose their own views on it, and continue to defend the actions of the Taliban. There was a reason Iqbal had a visceral dislike for the mullah.
The crimes that are committed by the Taliban are one thing, what makes them doubly bad is that they are made in the name of Islam! Why can our people not see this simple fact: that the Taliban are destroying not just the state and society, but that by their actions loudly committed in the name of Islam our glorious religion is being ripped apart too? Alas our people and politicians have a curious burying-the-head-in-the-sand attitude, they tend to believe any attack by the terrorists cannot have been performed by Pakistanis or Muslims. It is this attitude more than anything else which emboldens the terrorists.
Ultimately every Pakistani has to decide which side to support. If they continue to stay silent, the Taliban will eventually devour us all.
Uzair Hashmi
Copenhagen
*****
Has anyone noticed that Taliban apologists like Imran Khan and Ansar Abbasi have come up with all kinds of strange sociological and political arguments in defence of the Taliban? They seem not to be able to muster the moral courage to condemn the actual perpetrators of these acts. A better example of hypocrisy is hard to find.
Muhammed Umer Farooq
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
*****
In a TV interview the newly elected ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Munawar Hassan, has termed the Taliban government the best in the Islamic world. I wonder what these people are up to. He knows exactly what serious crimes the Taliban committed during their reign in Afghanistan. They banned education, beat people publicly like in Swat, burnt the houses of the Hazara tribe and committed worst atrocities ever recorded in history. They had absolutely no respect for others' religions. Take the example of destroying Buddhas' statues. Its time they must realise that we do not need more and more of Islam. What we need is justice and education.
Junaid Manzoor
Islamabad
*****
My heart bleeds for the people of Swat who are forced to face such brutalities. I cannot understand such Taliban and I cannot condone such behaviour. Islam is a peaceful, humanitarian religion and it is being hijacked by these few extremists who are bringing such a bad name to it. The video has sent a shockwave through Pakistan and rightly so. We need to wake up to the fact that this is a war between two mindsets; one a moderate one which believes in a live and let live philosophy and the other is that of barbarians. We, the moderates, desperately need to win. And I hope and pray that we do. We can't afford to lose.
Faroha Liaqat
Islamabad
*****
The country has grown old and at this certain level of expected maturity, you expect progress and significant change in the attitudes and behaviour of a nation. I am confused as to the result of the efforts of the lawyers, politicians, members of civil society and its people. There are hundred of families still lamenting the death of their dear ones who were blown up in suicide attacks, there are still many more who are embarrassed about the security lapse and attack on the guests from Sri Lanka. I have a daughter who is 21 years old. She is an outstanding student, a very loving daughter and an obedient pupil in her college. She needs to be out of her house everyday for her studies. I can't bear if somebody slaps her and will not let anybody decide a single rule for her. How come a 17-year-old girl is flogged in Swat then?
I am confused and ashamed. After 62 years we have failed to decide what law Pakistan should have, we have failed to define the true spirit of Islam.
Raana Irfan
Lahore
*****
There is no doubt that militancy in Pakistan was promoted by both international actors as well as successive governments since the time of Ziaul Haq's Afghan jihad. The more important fact now is that the militant outfits are a reality, and the government of Pakistan seems to be totally and utterly incapable of dealing with them. Not only are they fighting western powers in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are also enforcing their worldview and puritanical version of Islam on others. The recent video of a girl being lashed in Swat is an example of the latter.
Blaming the rise of militancy in Pakistan on the Americans is right, but is not the whole truth. Our own intelligence agencies have a lot to do with the menace also. Appeasing deals, and completely ceding the state's writ, as in Swat, is perhaps not the right answer. All the political leadership must sit together and chalk out some kind of strategy to deal with the menace, as the very existence of our country is in danger.
Akbar Jan Marwat
Islamabad
*****
We the members of the Karachi Bioethics Group, professionals from several healthcare institutions in this city, strongly condemn the widely reported episode of the brutal flogging of a teenage girl in Swat, an area which is an integral part of our country. Against all norms of humanity and decency, she was held down by men while hundreds of other men silently watched the spectacle. This is an atrocious and shameful event that has left an ugly scar on the hearts and minds of every conscientious citizen of Pakistan.
Arguments being offered by certain Muslim 'scholars', leaders of political parties, and government officials denying that this ever happened, or questioning the time and place of the incident, are immaterial. These are ploys meant to muddy the waters and divert attention from the deplorable event itself.
But by creating such controversies there can be no lessening of the shame that has been inflicted on our nation. What is being portrayed by some as Islam – a religion that sequesters women, deprives them of basic rights and dignity, and sanctions razing of schools that would educate them -- is not Islam. Islam speaks above all of justice and respect for the dignity of all humans irrespective of race, religious belief and gender; it is a religion that does not give anyone the right to assume the combined role of judge, jury, and executioner towards another human being.
The brutal flogging of the young girl is symptomatic of a gradual return in some parts of our country to the pre-Islamic jahaliyya period, an era in which girls were buried alive and women were nothing more than objects owned by men sans respect and rights. There is no room in Islam for barbarism and a culture of self-righteous religiosity that can only provide pleasure to those devoid of compassion and mercy towards others. Only those who are knowledgeable and learned about Islamic law and its intricacies are in a position to deal with complex issues such as these.
We would like to acknowledge the media for bringing this heinous episode to the attention of the citizens of Pakistan. At the same time we also request that they practise discretion and sensitivity in broadcasting these horrifying images. Finally, we are profoundly grateful to the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for taking suo motu notice of what has happened.
The Karachi Bioethics Group
Karachi
*****
The flogging of the girl in Swat is a barbaric act which makes us hang our heads in shame. Equally disconcerting is that political parties like the JI, the PML-N, the PTI and the JUI-F are not taking a clear stance on the matter. They all need to answer a simple question -- and that is, will they organise a long march against such blatant violation of human rights? People would like them to say yes -- or in the next election they will think twice before voting for them.
A concerned citizen
Rawalpindi
*****
I completely agree and share the sentiments expressed by Basil Nabi Malik (April 8), condemning Syed Munawwar Hasan, the recently elected JI amir, for his utterances over the flogging incident. Such comments reflect the moth-ridden, skewed mentality of the mullahs in general and the JI in particular. Not one leader of the so-called religious parties, the likes of 'turncoat' par excellence and master manipulator, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Samiul Haq and the rest of the self-righteous brigade has condemned the act.
In the same context, I was disgusted and appalled by the statement of the head of the Ruet-e-Hilal committee, Mufti Munibur Rehman. The gentleman, who cannot even sight the moon properly, has the audacity to justify flogging. Islam is being brutally and grievously damaged by such people -- and there is a dire and urgent need for an intelligent interpretation of its tenets.
M S Hasan
Karachi
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