Pak Tea House » Uncategorized » The Real Issue Is Not the Controversial Islamic Laws
The Real Issue Is Not the Controversial Islamic Laws
Raza Habib Raja
Right now, the news of a Christian young girl (merely 11 years old) being arrested in Pakistan for desecrating Holy Quran is making headlines (http://tribune.com.pk/story/423815/11-year-old-christian-girl-accused-of-blasphemy/). The liberal segment ( increasingly just restricted to facebook and english print media) is expressing outrage and needless to say that its voice is hardly reaching to segments which really matter. What is most regrettable is the overall virtual absence of large scale condemnation despite the fact that Pakistan’s already tarnished reputation has touched new lows with this news.
In that small liberal segment, actually a fringe in our society, the blasphemy law is once again under criticism with calls to repeal it. I would like to point out to all those that they are just targeting a symbolic thing. Culprit is the not the law. Of course law should be repealed, but repealing alone will never solve the issue. For that matter no one has actually been executed after even being convicted. Let’s not forget even if the law was not in existence, people would have simply killed the girl despite her very young age.
In fact in blasphemy cases, people have been even killed in the jail when their cases were in progress. Repealing the law will only remove a symbol of religion’s infusion with state; it will by no stretch of imagination prevent people from becoming violent. For that matter repealing it without addressing the real issue will cause people to become even more bigoted than they are now. In fact the law cannot be repealed through democratic ways in the first place until the major issue is tackled. Lets not forget that laws, even if imposed through dictatorial ordinances can only be repealed through legislature. No party has the guts to do it and one of the main reason is that most of ordinary Pakistanis want these laws. The inhuman laws are the reflection of general Pakistani will and also an unfortunate symbol of extreme reverence of religion. Assuming that even privately a sizeable number thinks that these laws are inhuman, they are completely impotent due to extreme reverence of religion and their inablity to bring any counter argument to conservative religious scholars and Mullahs.
The real issue is NOT the laws but general religious bigotry which is rampant in the society which in turn emanates from the mindset and the overall cultural set up of Pakistan. This cultural set up gives religion extreme reverence and cultivates an identity based on it, which is extraordinarily sensitive on all the religous matters. This reverence of religion and the resulting bigotry is primarily cultural though has state as its major patron. The issue is not restricted to the fusion of religion with state. State is one of the patrons of religion, but is not the sole determinant of its reverence.
The role of religion, particularly the sensitivity arising from it is chiefly coming from our childhood training during which religion is presented as something extremely venerable. A culture of not questioning it is imposed first at home and then later at the schools. The fusion of reverence along with its unquestionable status, cultivates a violent prone and bigotry ridden mindset. It cultivates an atmosphere where a mob can actually get away with extremely violent acts in the name of religion. People even if they do not actually feel the anger, can still get violent to vent out their gutter instincts under the guise of religious honour knowing fully well that no one will be able to stop them. In fact we know that several times Police became a silent spectator when the mob was imposing their “justice” on the victims. What happened at Gojra is still fresh in our memories. Police and the district administration actually became a de facto accomplice.
We cannot address the issue unless we are able to actually desensitize people from religion. And that cannot be done without cultivating a culture where religion can be critically discussed. Unless and until the educated of this country show collective courage and are ready to do that, frankly nothing can change. Moreover, change in this case has to take top down approach. Frankly the elite and the affluent middleclass have to play a role. The political elite which have historically shown impotence and tried to manipulate religious sensitivity to their advantage, have to muster up the courage and promote liberal discourse on the role of religion in the public sphere. Only from such discourse can a change in educational curriculum can take place which in time will promote a culture of tolerance.
Moreover, in Pakistan unlike Turkey, secularism and for that matter even religious tolerance cannot come from either barrel of a gun or other establishment institutions. This is because army in Pakistan has evolved to use Islam as a gluing force within its ranks. A powerful army in Turkey may be the guardian of secularism but this is not going to be the case in Pakistan. The best you can hope is that since army is still not radicalized and uses Islam only for strategic purposes (except during Zia’s time), it will not move in to thwart a critical discourse on religion. Our only hope remains democracy.
Political leaders and parties do not merely reflect public opinion but they are also a medium to engage and communicate with masses.It is important that those who think of themselves as liberals should be engaging the political parties including moderately conservative parties like PML N. Even religious parties should be engaged.
Leaders of liberal parties like PPP have to show the courage. They have the sway over the masses and moreover I think they have to rectify their historical blunders such as 1973 constitution and second amendment. Despite its mistakes, PPP along with other liberal parties remains the only hope. So leaders of PPP, ANP and MQM, all those who claim to be liberal, please come forward and prove your credentials.
Presdent Zardari deserves appreciation for publicly taking a notice of this incidence. But it will take much more than that. The discussion needs to be taken to the mainstream. It is a very long road ahead but at least we have to make a start.
Filed under: Uncategorized · Tags: bigotry, issue, Pakistan, religious
323 Responses to "The Real Issue Is Not the Controversial Islamic Laws"
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Tajender:
May be you did not understand my question.
I did not ask you the number of Turks in Germany with at least one parent being Turk because the most obvious way to do that would be to import 3M workers; to work, not marry German women. I hope you understand the difference.
To make it more clear and easy to understand I will repeat my question in two parts:
1. Please quote the source for the following statement:
.
“GERMAN HAD NO OPTION.SECOND WORLD WAR KILLED LOT OF MALE POPULATION.GERMAN PARLIAMENT PASSED RESOLUTION TO ALLOW 4 MARRIAGES.PROPOSAL WAS VETOED BY CHURCH…..”
.
2. And the following one:
.
“THEN 3 MILLION TURK WERE BROUGHT TO MARRY THEIR WOMEN….”
Thank you.
Casual: Source is Daily Jung an article by Maulana Bullshit Ahmed Bukhari, Phd Madrassah History (Holocaust, 9/11, 26/11 Did not happen fame)
We are on the verge of a huge refugee crisis in Rajasthan and Punjab as the Pakistani state crashes. Our last one was the Bangladesh crisis where we hosted 1.5 crore people for a few years and ended up sending back just about a crore. But these were political and economic refugees who were not indoctrinated. This time we have a large mass of intensely indoctrinated bunch who have been inoculated against all modern and critical thought. So even a doctor, engineer or accountant will have the seeds of supremacy and holy duty to spread of the message ingrained in him or her with no room for listening to another view on anything. What is terrifying is that these Luddites have a method of communication more powerful than any electronic social media in the Friday sermon and totally intransigent and unbending mindset due to the elegant thought framework which keeps the soldiers in the ranks. This will start as a humanitarian crisis due to which India will have to take them in and then will turn into a quest for lebensraum squeezing out other thought and people from their spaces. We better worry. Lots.
MAGUS, now you get it!!!
Rex minor sigh. Most of the time we ignore your attacks on hindus and India because they are infantile and seem to emanate from silly writings of tajender, who incidentally is a pakistani troll on Indian nwspaper HT. HIS real name is Mootandar Hussain, not a bad guy, just incredibly silly at times.
But your romanticising Pakistan is dangerously naive. Now read this fact= in UK USA, the richest and most advanced educational minorities are hindus and sikhs, they outperform even whites and Japs. They are hugely respected.
Sadly in Uk, muslims are now behind even Jamaicans. MUSLIMS IN UK ARE 3 percent of population but 12 percent of PRISON POPULATION. Being a good Turk, u must have a hookah at home. Pl put these facts in your hookah and smoke it and come back to me and acknowledge these facts are true. Sandhu. UK
Sandhu saheb,
Kya andhe ko chiraag dikha rahe ho?
Now brace yourself for a barrage from Tajender about ‘BRAHMNCL cunningness’ etc in foreign lands.
to ranjeet
It is not about showing light to the blind. ((Kya andhe ko chiraag dikha rahe ho?))
It is about showing light to the seeing so that they can clearly recognize the fascism, the violence, the perversions and the lies inherent in islam. The comments made by muslims like tajender, rex, thomas etc. reveal how islamic upbringing causes mental aberrations and perversions and how the world or society will be like when muslims take over.
balwinder,my name is not Mootandar Hussain and i am not pakistani.u people have no awnser or ability to awnser so resort to abuses.why u are interested in my name.i damn care if u are balwinder or mohan.attack me if i write something wrong.250000 muslims are living in refugee camps after ahmadabad riot,400000 are on run in assam.intead of being ashamed,u are abusing victim.it seems as if hate is duty.indian fascists fabricate lie,use their media to propagate it then perpetuate voilence and bully others(like in case of ram mandir).voilence in assam was instigated and excuted by rss goons to communalize atmosphere for vote bank politics.now economic condition of bangladesh is far better than economies of surrounding states,so nobody is entering.before there is no record.when sikhs hindu budhhdist and tamils are coming and india is accepting them why so much descrimination for muslim economic refugees.
i assam bengalee muslims were coming from 150 years to work.at the time of partition bangladesh had 3 crores muslims and 2 crore hindus.
now muslim population is 14.5 crores and 1.5 crores hindus.with 15 billion dollars remmittance,and generous international aid economic condition of bangladesh is better than west bengal and assam.from last 2-3 years, news of presence of rss agents in congress cabinet was coming.
balwinder dont forget that muslim countries are providing jobs to 20 million indias.
best of indians migrated to england while worst of muslim countries migrated there.gap is closing.
balwinder before boasting dont forget that per capita income of turkey is 8 time more than india and per person electrical consumption of iran is 10 times more than india.
I KNOW U WILL NOT AWNSER.
Casual Observer,
THEN 3 MILLION TURK WERE BROUGHT TO MARRY THEIR WOMEN,
YES SUCH HUGE NUMBER OF VISAS WERE ISSUED TO TURKS FOR SAME PUPOSE.but agenda was hidden.
the above 2 are from me not ahem please correct.sorry for inconvenience.
Are Tajender and Ahem two sides of the same coin ?
Haha got caught, tajender and ahem, same ppl. How many secret identities u have on Indian and Pak newspapers
to mohan
tajender could not resist the heinous deceit of writing under the name of ahem.
he forgot that he writes from canada and not from europe. so it was clear that he was trying to deceive.
to balwinder sandhu
you can recognize from the flags that tajender is writing from canada, Mohan from some arab land, and I am writing from europe and you are writing from UK.
so don’t be confused.
balwinder jee ahem is jansanghi parrot.it was my mistake as i was reading him just before typing my name.i will be if u correct me if i wrote anything wrong.
.i will be thankful if u correct me if i wrote anything wrong
Waiting for MR REX MINOR to respond to my post above. Best wishes Sandhu UK
Ahem,
I did not notice the flags earlier. Thanks.
magus,dont worry nobody will.pakistani hindus who enter india look far more handsome and healthy than indians who recieve them.when mascare of muslims was going on in ahmadabad,nobody touched hindus in tharparkar,a hindu majority city on border of gujrat.from jakarta to to istamboul to tripoli and sudan,u will find muslim societies very wlcoming and tolerant.
I did not notice the flags earlier. Thanks
mohan
i accept it was mistake.so what is the problem.
in UK USA, the richest and most advanced educational minorities are hindus and sikhs, they outperform even whites and Japs. They are hugely respected………………………………….
this is also fact that in most of the big scams indian hindus are caught and they are serving long term jail sentences in america.many of ur gurus are also serving long jail sentences for attempting rape on minors.
Tajender,
I don’t have any problem and I don’t want to discuss with you on
any subject as I will never be able to match your knowledge. You are
a walking/running/jumping encyclopedia on all the subjects of this
world. And I can challange anyone on this blog to discuss with you sanely?
TAJENDER
.
You need to see a PSYCHIATRIST
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
.
Otherwise you will Go Totally Mad
Mr Sandhu
What is your question? To be honest your statements do not impress me. You must be a very nice person but should know that UK have lost their colonies and consequently do no longer have any say in Europe. Enjoy the little country and be nice to the German Queen as well as the fellow residents. And make sure that when you cross over the little channel you know that cars are driven on right and not on left.
Rex Minor
Romain: Completely agree with you. I have been proselytising this view point for the last few months on Indian and Pakistani blogs and am a true believer in this. We have an eastern problem too which will become very visible when Sheikh Haseena goes. Over a crore people gathering for the annual Ijtema, terrifying.
LITTLE REX: so are you the German queen since they don’t have one. Btw, did you participate in this year’s Gay Stolz?
AHEM: yes we Hindu/Indians are the scum and all those millions you cite are in concentration camps. But just take a look at the Bombay riot and tell us all what excuse the peace loving Muslims of India have for that ultimate atrocity? They killed a pregnant policewoman, molested many policewomen and killed three policemen too. Additionally, they destroyed a martyrs memorial and burnt many police, media and private vehicles. The police did not hurt any Muslim in that violent, bloodthirsty crowd. Now tell me about Hindu extremists. Or tell me how this was revenge for Assam, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Thailand etc.
Rex MINOR- you said- “To be called an Indian is the lowest denomination that anglo saxons have given to the Natives”. This wont be the first time or the last that you have made insulting remarks on Hindu-sikhs and India.
You also said above “Chinese are a civilisation, Indians are not”. What colossal ignorance married by sneering arrogance. Maybe you have not heard of the glorious Hindu civilisation, but the world has. Sample this- Aryabhat the hindu mathematician and astronomer had among other things said THE EARTH IS ROUND AND REVOLVES AROUND THE SUN.
That was in 490 AD, Rex Minor. Your continual harping of Islamic and Pakistani supremacy is not grounded in reality. You have also ignored what Sandhu praji said above- Hindus and Sikhs form the cream of UK / US while most muslims in UK are at the bottom of the pile.
Including Turks of Stoke Newington who seem to make news only when they do honour killing.#
Regards Dr Mishra, Yorkshire
Mr Mishra
First of all you are not a Doctor, furthermore you have no idea what a civilisation is? Chinese civilisation, Islamic civilisation and the European civilisation, Gandhara civilisation. This is not to say that people originating from India were not the par excellence and the first in Maths, sciences and philosophy etc etc. This also does not mean that today their performance is any less than of chinese, Europeans or others. But you are nevertheless a Doctor, otherwise you would not have jumped up like a cat trying to pounce on someone who appears to be mice. Stay put in Yorkshire and enjoy yorkshire pudding. The subjects on PTH are not for peasants. Now chew back your nonsense and do not address me anymore. I still believe tha Mr Sandhu is a nice guy but this is not enough for PTH; knowledge and Knowledge alone what matters today and this is not in your grip. And cut this muslims under the pile and Turk out and stop calling yourself a Doctor.
Rex Minor
But just take a look at the Bombay riot and tell us all what excuse the peace loving Muslims
mumbai riot started after the meeting,police did not act.this was conspiracy.i am sure those guys were not muslims and muslim community condemned them.controlling the gundaas is duty of poilice not civilians.you are using this event as stick to beat muslims.
:42 pm
But just take a look at the Bombay riot and tell us all what excuse the peace loving Muslims……………….magus….
police did not act.this was conspiracy.i am sure those guys were not muslims and muslim community condemned them.controlling the gundaas is duty of poilice not civilians.you are using this event as stick to beat muslims.most probably they were rss goons whom media is projecting as muslim.
The knowledge that matters today is that of the Jinns, flying men, talking snake, and tall creatures in white robes, as contained in the Thousand and One Arabian Tales, the holy Quran, and the Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone.
Rex:
How are you today?
I am still waiting for a response to my earlier query that I am posting again. Can you please take the time to answer.
Thank you.
.
Can you tell me a reference from where you took this Helmut Schmidt, quote because I can’t find it:
“Only two muslim States have to undertake sanctions against the industrial Nations and the whole world will come to stand still today”
.
In the meantime I found the following published in the ‘Hamburger Abendblatt’.
Do you agree with it?
.
Last year, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt proclaimed that bringing millions of Turkish guest-workers into Germany was a mistake and that multiculturalism can only work under authoritarian regimes. He said: “Indeed, multiculturalism was conceived and developed as a Marxist strategy for overthrowing free governments. The former Soviet Union used massive immigration and deportation to dilute the ethnic, cultural, and political cohesion of the peoples of the Baltic states with the objective of making them more compliant and compatible with Soviet rule. Hundreds of thousands of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians were deported to Siberia, and hundreds of thousands of Russians were moved in to take their places.
Lebanon and Kosovo are good examples of what happens, when Muslim immigration and higher Muslim birthrates tip the demographic balance in former majority Christian regions: escalating violence and terrorism, assassinations, and civil war. Most Serbian Christians in Kosovo were forced to flee….”
Oho Mishraji, tusi firing on all cylinders today. Ki hoya??
Mr Rex Minor. Let me make it easy for you. Imagine a Swiss immigration or US immig officer. There is only 1 doctor or IT job in their country and there are three applicants=
1. Mr R minor khan, Turki
2. Mr Gupta, Delhi
3. Mr Kasab, Karachi.
Now who two will be excluded? Who are they most scared off? Who they may not want as a neighbour? Open your eyes and smell the coffee sirji. And pl Rex Minor buddy, lets stop this childish India baiting, you know very little about us. And you must be the only Turk who romanticises the idea of Pakistan when 90 percent of its own residents try to pass themselves off as Indian hindus when abroad.
ps, here in Hayes I employ many ppl incl Turks, I like them
Dear Rex:
.
“The straight answer is NO! Chinese are a civilization whereas Indians are not!…”
.
I am not sure the Chinese agree with you.
The following is a direct quote, from Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA.
Do you care to comment?
.
“India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”
.
And it is not a random quote either. Please also check the following. (When you have finished those, let me know there are many more from learned men, all parts of the world)
I would love to hear your comments please.
Again thank you dear Sir.
.
Will Durant, American historian:
“India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”.
.
Mark Twain, American author:
“India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
.
Albert Einstein, American scientist:
“We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”
.
Max Mueller, German scholar:
If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India.
.
Romain Rolland, French scholar :
“If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.”
Balwinder Sandhu,
There are some doubts among some Indians, especially no communal and Chote Miyan whether Rex Minor is a Turk. They believe he is a Pushtun!
Mr sandhu
you are a Nut! No wonder the Pope got upset and thought that the Pilot has mistakenly landed in India, instead of at Heathrow. He must have seen the smoke coming from your shop.
Rex Minor
rex,
u are very right.these hindus are least knowledged people in the world they live for themselve not for society…………………….
dr saheb and balwinder jee,there are poor muslims yes but london also have rich muslims.some of them are so rich that they can purchase ur entire comunity.how much is your income,they pay to their driver as salary………………………………………………..
dr saheb aryabhat and others existed in budhhdist era.in hindu period women was not allowed to touch vedas,shudra were not allowed to take knowledg,swarasti ur godess of knowledge was illerate.education was monopoly of brhmns…………………………………….
indian science and mathmetics was introduced to west by IBN BERUNI,AN ARAB.THESE BRHMNS WERE(EVEN NOW)WERE USING INDIAN SCIENCE IN MAKING JANAMKUNDALI.TELL ME THE NAME OF ANY LIBRARY OR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HINDU PERIOD……………………………………
DR U SHOULD TALK OF SCHOLARS AND DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS NOT MONEY.
BUT U PEOPLE PASS UR LIFE IN EATING ENTERTAINMENT SEX AND CHEATING.
to magus
tajender wrote some foolish things under the name of ahem (by mistake as he claims). Did you not notice that?
—
rex and tajender are results of an islamic upbringing. They cannot argue, they can only glorify islam through their hate-filled anti-hindu and anti-brahmin lies and insult those who see through islam’s and their depravities.
Tajender,
The Muslims have been the biggest destroyers of libraries and educational institutes! The Islamic way requires that all prior knowledge be destroyed so people are left rudderless and convert! Is that the reason you always pose this question!
.
Look at the subhuman Pakis who helped subhuman Taliban to destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas. Before that the Islamic bugs destroyed many of Indian public libraries and universities!
.
Only those texts which were in private hands escaped the onslaught!
.
Islam is a knowledge destructive force! You can be proud of the destruction you have caused, be proud that you’re an agent of destruction!
tajender
The hindu kings of Tanjavuru (South India) had excellent libraries. Even earlier there were many libraries but the muslims destroyed them. Hindu religions were eclipsed for sometime due to buddhism. So in that period there were no hindu libraries, esp. in North India. Buddhism was rejected by the people due to its otherwordly character and lack of a colorful life and later destroyed physically by the muslims.
to tajender
Al Beruni was not an arab. He was a persian.
Iran became a slave-nation under arabs due to islam and the iranians had to give their children arabic names and worship an arab god. Unfortunately iranians have not been able to escape the slavery under Arabs even today. But I have read that 30 million iranians have secretly converted to zoroastrianism.
tajender is bootlicker of arabs due to islam. He will remain such a bootlicker all his life. He likes to lick the underside of the boots of arabs. His “free” choice.
So in that period there were no hindu libraries, esp. in North India. Buddhism was rejected by the people due to its otherwordly character and lack of a colorful life and later destroyed physically by the muslims
PURE LIE AADI SHANKARACHARYA DECLARED 52 GINNIS ON THE HEAD OF EVERY BODH BHIKSHU.BUDHHDISM WAS PHYSICALLY DESTROYED BY BRHMNS JAINESE MET THE SAME FATE LATER.NOW MUSLIMS ARE UNDER SAME PRESSURE.
Look at the subhuman Pakis who helped subhuman Taliban to destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas……………………………………………….
IT IS THE SAME PEOPLE WHO DESTROYES ALL THE SHRINES OF CLOSE RELATIVES OF PROPHET MOHAMMED.NEVERTHLESS BANIYAN IS REINSTATED BY MUSLIMS.WHEN U WILL REBUILT BABRI MOSQUE.
Tajender,
Babri Mosque will never be rebuilt! It was itself built over Ram Mandir! Have the Arabs reinstated the idols they broke when they captured Kaaba?
It was itself built over Ram Mandir…………………………….
THERE WAS NO RAM MANDIR.BEFORE 16TH CENTURY NOBODY KNEW OF RAM IN AYODHYA.AYODHYA WAS BUDHDHIST PLACE.this city is not mentioned anywhere in holy scripture.tulsi daas was ram bhakt wrote ram katha,even he never mentioned anywhere about this temple.rama was not born in ayodhya.like bangladeshi refugee this case was also fabrucated to get middle class hindu votes.
The Muslims have been the biggest destroyers of libraries and educational institutes!………………………………………………….name one in india
. Even earlier there were many libraries but the muslims destroyed them……………………………….
ahem name one.
reinstated the idols they broke when they captured Kaaba…………………….
will u return budhdhist places of worship to them.
tajender,
don’t ask a rhetorical question on Buddhists! Which buddhist places have the buddhists been claiming as having been “destroyed”? and even if there are any such, they can have them back any time!
.
You tell me whether the Arabs would reinstate the idols? And if not why not?