Just silent — and not a majority

For me the image of Salman taseer seated next to Aasia bibi will remain an enduring one. It is far more powerful that all the editorials and articles I have read about Islam being a religion of mercy and tolerance.

Salman Taseer was a rare politician in these times. I barely knew of him and yet I felt his loss very deeply. In the past 63 years I dont know of any politician in the subcontinent who has taken a just stand that would not win him any votes. Recommend

Aren’t the majority Sunni? Aren’t their mullah and muftis doing all the talking for them?Get out of denial. It is the majority and it is silent because they support it. Recommend

Blasphemy law is applicable for all faiths, why then does burning of Churches not fall under the blasphemy law? Truth is, there is no need for such a law in a country like Pakistan with 95% Muslim population, Ziais want to keep it to retain their power of coercion. Shame on all of us to allow atrocities against the minorities. Recommend

But I have also come to the grim realisation that the so-called silent majority in Pakistan is just silent and not a majority. Protest rallies organised by rights groups are almost always small, fragmented and leave little or no impact.

Mullahs,ISI and Saudi Arabia (at least their money and ideology donated to Pakistan) have turned out to be the three nails in the coffin of Jinnah’s Pakistan. The fourth is going to be provided by the racous majority milling around the courtroom showering rose petals on the killer.Recommend

Well Saudis think we are a bad example;
Saudi daily calls Taseer a martyr, justice crusader

How ironic is that.Recommend

Very well written.
Strange is it not, that Salman Taseer will be remembered for the compassion, the empathy he displayed towards a poor woman being subjected to a wrong and not for his wealth or life style. Strange it is because we claim religious superiority and to be the custodians of heaven, little realising how wrong we are. Recommend

well put …
did anyone notice how many activists gathered outside the house of Malik Mumtaz Qaderi? pl chck the city news edition of The NewsRecommend

Before Mr Taseer’s murder whenever i read, saw or heard about ignorance and intolerance manifest itself in our society through conduct that seemed clearly abhorrent, inexplicable and irredeemable, and as i found myself unsuccessfully trying to make sense of it, i would eventually hang my proverbial hat on the long held view by many of us, that most of us felt the way i did. That most of us felt just as frustrated and dumbfounded and given a chance will surely voice our vehement disapproval. The public slaughter of the brothers in Sialkot was one such instance. Although it was no consolation to their family but i felt reassured in our collective sanity when the public sentiment overwhelmingly condemned the killings and the surrounding circumstances . No such reassurance was forthcoming this time. Rather it was a rude awakening and the chilling realization that anyone who found Mr Taseer’s killing and the diabolical reasons for it repulsive and an affront to all that we hold sacred and reasonable, are most likely, in a minority. This became all too clear in the incidents aftermath, and the knot in my stomach grew tighter as each passing hour and talk show failed to bring forth a single person of any political or social standing, who categorically denounced the incident or the killers stated motives or the ensuing reaction of the masses. Sure their were the obligatory expressions of remorse but almost always accompanied with the implication that somehow Taseer brought this on himself, he should have known better. May be i should have also known better. Now i find myself pondering this newly discovered divide in what we find “reasonable” and “justifiable”. I don’t think it’s just about religious leanings, it goes deeper than that. It’s about all the social inequities we know all too well, about the haves and have naughts, but before you dismiss this unoriginal insight as an unacceptable excuse for the muddled moral landscape that gave us Qadri and his supporters, consider this. Most human beings need to feel some control over the events that shape their lives, that in a simplistic way is what we strive to do most of our lives. The lucky ones among us live their lives with the feeling of some degree of control over their lives but the vast majority in Pakistan, find such a feeling to be an unattainable luxury, that’s if they can even grasp the concept. Hence they control what they can, by whatever means they can. So you get primitive values and monumental resistance to any kind of social change. Add religion to this mix and the sense that all of the injustices and misery that seem to be their fate in this world, will be compensated for in the afterlife, if they just held on to certain ideals. And who is their to tell them what these precious ideals are but the same self proclaimed custodians who deemed Mr Taseer a blasphemer. Is it any wonder then that Qadri decided to do what he did. Not only did he exercise that fleeting sense of control on his surroundings by taking the life of another, whats more he did so to improve his chances in the afterlife, a “righteous” and noble reason no doubt. And if he felt a tinge of satisfaction while he was in this righteous trance, that the victim was someone who was a have and seemed to have all the control over his surroundings, well than that tinge of satisfaction and the ensuing status of a “ghazi” must be his just rewards and a glimpse of what awaits him in the afterlife. How lucky can one be. Perhaps that is why he requested his fellow guards not to shoot him, so he can bask in his “righteous” glory, for no doubt he would have gladly become a martyr for his convictions, but why rush a good thing. After all he was about to taste the feeling of being in control. Recommend

@ Hassan

“Salman, the article seems to portray a picture where somehow muslims in Pakistan are enjoying unbridled success and access to justice and the minorities are the only ones which are being oppressed. My friend access to justice in Pakistan is a dream for some and a fantasy for most others. The Social status of an individual determines the access to the law, maybe Mr Taseer (may god bless his soul) could have shown the same courage and passion for increasing the health budget for the people of Pakistan which has the highest mortality rates during pregnancy in south asia. Estimates calculate between 16000 and 35000 deaths every year. Then you have the honour killigs, target killings, suicide bombings and killings due to military operations amongst all these the late governer found the blasphemy laws as the issue to highlight and take a stand on.”

The problem is that all the problems which you have mentioned are a product of extremism and religious fanatics. Yes! The martyred Salmaan Taseer was right by raising voice against blasphemy law, and if you are following the Pakistani politics closely, he was equally aggressive against the “Punjabi Taliban”.
The state has befooled the people to an extent that they are unable to address the real issue and say that mullahs are the biggest monster and all other issues are their products.
That is why you and so many other “not so mullahs” are critical of Taseer, the martyr. Recommend

@ Hassan

“@ Raja Arsalan Khan, i dont know are you naive or just plain misinformed how has the following occured as a result of radicalism

The fact that the health budget for this nation is a measly 1.5% of our GDP
Honour killings in Sindh and Balochistan
Target killings in Karachi
Massive corruption by the goverment of the day
Rising Inflation due to the policies of this liberal peoples goverment”

The issues your are mentioning are product of “Mullah Establishment Alliance”. Yes! Mullah and their thinking are the root cause of all the evils. Unfortunately, the people are directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally supporting them. And because of their own doings and wrongdoings, whether state-sponsored or not, they are and should face the consequences.
If 1.5% is the share of health sector in the GDP (I think u wanted to say budget), it is because of the mullahs and their followers and mentors. I think what I mean and to whom I am referring to. It is not because of any Taseer. ZAB was hanged after which mullahs of all sorts were and are in the control. The present mess is their gift. Recommend