Same Story Every Time
Raza Habib Raja Once again, a Christian colony has been attacked in Gujranwala and with similar results. Once again the alleged “Insult to Islam” has been used to vent out gutter instincts. Once again it is the ordinary masses who have been involved, putting this theory to dust bin that masses are just trying to meet their ends meet and are hence immune to religious chauvinism. Last time when Joseph colony in Lahore was attacked, some of … Read entire article »
Filed under: minorities, Religion
Attack on Christians: The Real Tragedy is Even More Horrifying
Raza Habib Raja What happened in Lahore yesterday has again put our heads to shame. A Christian was accused of insulting Holy Prophet and soon after the mob attacked the Christian colony forcing its inhabitants to flee. Under pressure from the mob, Police had to file charges against the accused man. The communal violence is not new to Pakistan and for that matter South Asia as the history of this entire region is full of incidents. However, … Read entire article »
Filed under: minorities, Pakistan, Religion
Can we pray together?
By Waqas Rafique How does it feel to be a minority in Pakistan? I couldn’t stop wondering, knowing inside the answer isn’t very encouraging, as I enjoyed warm hospitality that my Christian friends extended while I sat in a church in the audience of about 150 followers of Jesus. With extremism and sectarianism taking hundreds of lives again, I was reminded of this visit of mine to a small church this past Christmas. Many among the attendees were concerned their faith had earned a bad name in Pakistan because of them being associated with the alcohol trade in the country. Majority of the pastors touched upon this while leading prayers, calling upon their youth to stay away from alcohol and drugs. It’s quite strange that mosques are heavily guarded on Fridays and Eid … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
The Dwindling Hope and the Case for Military Action
Raza Habib Raja Terrorism has again struck Shiites in Quetta killing many people. As I write these sentences, the targeted Hazaras who have witnessed massacre over the past many years, are refusing to bury the bodies and demanding direct military rule in Quetta. This is the lowest Pakistan can get where the state has become so dysfunctional that people actually start wanting direct military rule. In the rest of the Pakistan, there have been sporadic protests … Read entire article »
I want to Believe
By Aasem Bakhshi Scully: “Really? And you think that makes sense?” Mulder: “It does to me.” (Chris Carter, The X-Files) Atheism is increasingly occupying some ideological space in Pakistani electronic print media. In a recently published piece, Mr Waseem Altaf makes an ostensibly strong self-statement regarding his choice to be an atheist. The aim of present exposition in not to question the sensibilities of his discourse, per se, but just to deconstruct it better from a completely rational and philosophical standpoint to create a dialogue. Mr Altaf’s profound presentation of his belief reminds me [1] of the character of Fox Mulder in the famous television series X-files, whose was portrayed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam, Philosophy, Religion
[Update]: Accused teacher blames school administration in the blasphemy mess (part 3)
by Salman Hameed (from the blog www.irtiqa-blog.com/) [This is related to the blasphemy mess of Farooqi Girls High School]. The discussion in the blasphemy mess has now shifted to ‘who is to blame for blasphemy’. On the one hand, this is to be expected. Individuals are not only fighting for their lives but also the lives of their family members. Last Friday, the school administration put out a full page ad in the local newspaper placing the blame for any blasphemous material in the negligence of the teacher (who is in hiding). Now, the accused teacher has blamed the school administration. While this exchange of blame is understandable, what may get lost in this is our outrage towards the burning of the school on the flimsiest of accusations, and the larger problem of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
Update: Umair’s father denied bail in the blasphemy mess in Lahore (part 2)
by Salman Hameed (From the blog www.irtiqa-blog.com) [This post is related to the blasphemy case involving Farooqi Girls High School. Please see these earlier posts here and here]. I don’t know the current status of Umair Asim. His name is not mentioned in the story below. It is possible that he was arrested in the initial stage (along with his mother and father) but now only his father is in jail (and he is in hiding). But it is also possible that most of the focus is on his father, and his name doesn’t make it in the news. In any case, his 77-year old father’s appeal for bail has been denied. Yes – apparently his crime is so severe that he cannot even be granted bail. Oh – yes. His crime is that he … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
About Umair Asim’s Blasphemy mess in Lahore (part 1)
by Salman Hameed (From the blog www.irtiqa-blog.com) I am still gathering information. But it is clear that Umair Asim himself has not been directly accused of blasphemy. Being part of the administration of the school (his father – Asim Farooqi is the main owner/principal), he has been arrested. From today’s Express Tribune: The school management took out front page adverts in two leading newspapers on Friday to deny it had any knowledge of the supposed insults to the prophet, saying Iftikhar distributed the work just 10 minutes before the school closed for the Eidul Azha holiday. “Our school management and the owners have no link whatsoever with this dirty act,” the advertisement in Urdu said. “We appeal to the government and the police to take legal action against this teacher and investigate her real motive”. The school’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
A Battle of Ideas
by Abdul Majeed Abid “When I knew that they were burning our schools, I thought they were burning education, they were burning books. I have to be educated. I’ll be educated no matter what the odds.” Malala Yousafzai Last Week’s attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old beacon of hope from Swat, garnered all sorts of reactions. Most people were shocked by the brutality of the perpetrators. The timing of that attack, in my opinion, was an extremely unfortunate one as it co-incided with the ending of PTI’s “Peace March” towards Waziristan. Attack on Malala has been construed as a stepping stone to military operation in Waziristan, a primer that turns public opinion towards a certain tilt. Conspiracy theories have been spun at an alarming pace about involvement of various Intelligence Agencies … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, Education, FATA, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Religion, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, violence, Women
What Sectarianism means?
by Abdullah Zaidi: A few days ago, at least 20 Shias headed for Gilgit-Baltistan were shot dead in Mansehra by militants. A day later a bomb attack on the Al-Quds rally resulted in the death of one Shia youth. Although, targeted killing of Shias is not a new phenomenon, but because of the recent surge in these episodes, I expected a stronger and more importantly, a definite reaction. To my dismay none of that came about. Instead, all one can hear regarding sectarian terrorism is general throat-clearing rhetoric which ends at condemning the attacks in isolation. Sometimes, the whole issue is simplistically reduced to lack of law and order and the government’s unpreparedness without any attention to the context of such attacks. Sectarianism in Pakistan started emerging in late 70s around the Iranian … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
What do Hitler, OBL and Stalin have in common?
“God bless Mujahid bin Laden” “God bless Sheikh Mujahid Osama bin Laden, and no consolation for the ignorant (Jahil) parrots of the West” These were the comments I read under the following (liberal?) image I came across Facebook… so here is some food for thought (or not depending on how indignant people get in the comments). The poster/picture was shared by a Jordanian friend and the commenters below were mostly Arab, (though I think Pakistani readers would have similar reactions). … Read entire article »
Ahmadis: The persecuted community of Pakistan
Strange that no one cared to look up the meaning of the Arabic word ‘Masjid’. Had they done so, they would have found that it is derived from the word ‘sajada’ and literally means ‘place for prostration’. A little further study and they would have found that the word ‘Masjid’ was used by the early Muslims for all places of worship, of all religions and not exclusively for a place of worship for Muslims. By Morafi : What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; (Romeo & Juliet) Four hundred years ago when the great William Shakespeare penned these words, one wonders whether he could have imagined how wrong he would be. Listen carefully and one can hear the echoes of chants from the shores of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion
Dr Shakil Afridi, How dare you?
by Abdul Majeed Mr. Shakil Afridi, the infamous doctor involved in the ‘fake’ vaccination drive that became the chief source of intelligence about OBL and his family, was sentenced recently under the FCR regulations to 33 years in prison. Dr Shakil was sentenced according to Section 121 (waging war against the state) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). US secretary of the State, Hillary Clinton expressed dismay over this action and demanded a fair trial for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Conservation, Doctors, FATA, human rights, ISI, Islam, Islamabad, Judiciary, Law, liberal Pakistan, North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, Religion, USA
Treating Religion like a brand?
By Amaar Ahmad: Just when it seems that the boundary of idiocy cannot be pushed any further, Punjab police has proved us wrong. There are recent reports that an Ahmadi “place of worship” in Sultanpura, Lahore was damaged by policemen to fulfill the demands of local religious clerics. The offense which the Ahmadi “place of worship” had caused was the public display of Kalima in the premise. Apparently, the Islamic creed “There is no God but … Read entire article »
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