The Mumtaz Qadri episode is by no means over, especially considering that the ‘ghazi’ who had braced himself for death has chosen to exercise his temporal right of appeal before the High Court. Yet his conviction does provide us with an opportunity to engage in some introspection over the whole affair. The motivations of Mumtaz Qadri in undertaking the barbarism that he did, in my opinion was not only to assassinate Governor Taseer but also send a message that no serious discussion on blasphemy law will be permitted. Infinitely disturbingly, Qadri succeeded on both counts: Governor Taseer is martyred and there is deafening silence on the blasphemy law debate. The aftermath of Salmaan Taseer’s murder saw mindless medieval ignorance, pathetic apologies and wishy-washy condemnation. It was easy to condemn the death of a brave statesman with “ifs” and “buts”, but it required some courage to reiterate and honour his stance on blasphemy law, unfortunately very few people stepped up.
The judge who has sentenced Qadri was just doing his job, but he deserves our praise and awe, because not many are. There are countrywide protests being carried out against the judgment by a consortium of religious parties. Not only is the murderer Qadri glorified but also there is clear and unequivocal incitement to violence against the gallant and honest judge. A few days earlier, a group of lawyers decided to attack and vandalise the courtroom of the particular judge, i.e. Anti-Terrorism Court, Rawalpindi. The Honourable Supreme Court jealously guards its “judicial independence” against any potential infringement by the federal government. One would think that calling for the blood of a judge and physical attacks on a courtroom may also be considered as very clear, direct and tangibly violent infringement of “judicial independence”. If there is a better case for taking “suo motu” cognisance, I have yet to come across it. Admittedly, taking “suo motu” cognisance of this fiasco will not be very popular with a certain, fairly large segment of the society and will also adversely affect the street credibility of the Court, but in theory the courts are there to do the “right” thing, we already have the parliament for capitulating and doing the “popular” thing.
The amount of discussion on blasphemy law before and after the murder of Salmaan Taseer gives a fair idea of the effectiveness of Mumtaz Qadri. Recently, I read about a teenage girl charged for blasphemy for a spelling error. The surreal, dehumanising episode did not get nearly the same attention that an incident of this nature mandates (with exceptions of course). Mumtaz Qadri has impacted the society that we live in, in more ways than we are willing to concede. As an example, the “Ghazi Illam Din” narrative that was routinely and lazily brought up in the aftermath of Salmaan Taseer’s assassination was hardly ever challenged by enlightened and cautious liberals (‘cautious’ being the operative word here). The intuitive question of what is so incredibly heroic about killing an unarmed Hindu publisher was deliberately not asked. The unsaid rule is that self-preservation is paramount. The only problem is that it is not really self-preservation, every time we allow the expression of undiluted bloodlust in a pro-Qadri protest go uncontested, we are inching towards the death of our society as we know it. Each occasion, on which the grim and insane edicts of homicidal theocrats go unchallenged, Mumtaz Qadri wins.
As for the celebrations on the Qadri verdict are concerned, I would not want to jump the gun. There is no revenge for the murder of Salmaan Taseer’s murder. In his chillingly exquisite essay, “Revenge is Sour”, George Orwell writes that the idea of revenge and punishment is a childish daydream. He goes on to say there is no such thing as revenge in any meaningful sense. Revenge is an act which you want to commit when you are powerless and because you are powerless: as soon as the sense of impotence is removed, the desire evaporates also. In the case of Mumtaz Qadri the impotence is painfully tangibly present and so is the hollow desire for revenge. Justice on the other hand is what we really should be demanding. Justice in this particular instance entails a lot more than the conviction and even the execution of Mumtaz Qadri. Whereas it is absolutely imperative for our survival as a society to see Qadri convicted and sentenced, the culture that sustains and allows the Qadris to survive and thrive is the adversary that cowardice compels us to ignore.
Had it been not profoundly tragic, it might even have been funny to see the couple of hundred liberals trying to put up a resistance on face book, twitter and study groups against the thousands on the streets cheering Mumtaz Qadri on. A particularly gory example of the partitionist and segregationist nature of our society was a couple of days ago. The Khatoom-e-Nabuwwat Tehreek along with almost all religious parties had given a call for a shutter down strike against the conviction of Mumtaz Qadri and for their unbridled freedom to spew sectarian ignorance. On the same day I received multiple invitations through e mail for candle light vigils for the demise of Steve Jobs. The moistness and the fake sob fest in a country, probably without an authentic Apple dealership would have been mildly amusing had it not been on the same day that the brutish fanaticism of Qadri was eulogized and vulgarly paraded on our streets.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2011.
COMMENTS (27)
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@Dr SA KHAN: Thank you for your perspectives. I try to be forgiving, compassionate, tolerant in whatever I do. After becoming an ATHEIST my whole outlook in life has changed and the reason for me being an atheist is because of people like you.
Can anybody tell me, in the days of our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) life, what was the punishment of those who were accused of blasphemy?
@Feroz
I agree with you that it is too late now and, in my view, perhaps a futile exercise now, especially, keeping in view the fact that Shahbaz Taseer is a captive in their hand. What we can do now is that we need not present soft targets to the murderers as Taseers, unfortunately, did.
With so much injustice all around... with dacoits sitting right on our heads... where people kill robbers themselves as they know there is no insaaf..
the conviction of MQ atleast brings a sigh of relief and a ray of hope if not celebration
The religious bullies have cowed and intimidated the moderates and secularists, who have retreated into cyberspace, the last bastion of reasonable discourse in Pakistan, to make their final stand. Too little, too late.
Secular Pakistan will die without people willing to defend it. The Army won't. The bureaucracy won't. Some judges can try but without people willing to protect them and enforce their judgments they will quickly be reduced to irrelevance.
The mistake of Pakistan's liberals has been to try to work within the system rather than supplant or supersede it. The East Pakistanis got the point in 1971. When are people going to stop writing and going to start doing? Will it take another bloodbath before the rump of Pakistan is willing to act?
@Dr SA KHAN: You are mistaken. There is a silent majority of pakistanis who do not agree with you. What religious right do you have to make a statement that Salman Taseer got what he deserved. It is people like you who have corrupted our society. May Allah show you the right path....
@Antanu: Who are we to decide who has indulged in blasphemy. I am neither liberal nor religious but what right does Qadri have to assasinate a human being based on his interpretation of the blasphemy law. People have taken advantage of the law to settle scores and this has to be addressed. The silent majority in pakistan condemned the murder of Salman Taseer and I hope and pray that Qadri gets the taste of his medicine. If we allow him to roam free, then the whole ideaology of Pakistan is called into question.
I commend the judge and the writer for making a brave statement and inshallah we will come out of the existing crisis with our hands held high... Peace!!!!!
With due respect to all....why one has to indulge in blasphemy? Okay...what happened with Taseer was blind religious extremism...but what I want to know from so called liberals...who gave them authority to indulge in blasphemy?
I too am intrigued by the great ghazi making an appeal. Proves to me what a fraud he is. He may have redeemed himself in the eyes of some if he invited, nay welcomed, an early execution.
Even Bhutto went to the gallows like a lion.
@Dr SA KHAN: ooooo yessss the strong message to liberals "if u dont agree with us, we will kill you".and again where did you get the idea that liberals in pakistan are getting support from western liberals?tumhari sui har baar west ki taraf kyun mud jaati hai bhai. what makes you think that liberals are only 5% of the population?any figures and facts? how are your ultra-conservative parties doing in the elections?how do you figure that somebody expressing their opinion in an opinion piece is trying to impose his liberal agenda on pakistanis? just throwing words out of your mouth doesn't make them facts.cant believe u have a Dr in front of your name.
The moderates have been marginalised in Pakistan but those who stand against radicalinisation of society in Pakistan are the real heroes including the author, who will be blessed by the Almighty.
Yes after Taseer it was Bhatti. After Bhatti it was the 8th grader accused of blasphemy due to a speling mistake. Now the Ahmadiyas thrown out of school. There are less and less rights for Pakistani minorities and the definition of 'minorities and kafirs is gworing. Apart from people who do not believe in Islam, it now also includes Ahmadiyas, Shias and eveb Sunnis who worship at mazaars.
Also, you take George Orwell far too seriously. That's just one way of looking at things and you will find numerous examples of how pathetically empty Orwell's assertions on revenge truly are- I'd actually employ the world 'childish' to describe them.
Every thing is fine but think patiently that Salman Taseer was performing his job, and what actions he did were part of his duty, in this regard who started to propagate around the globe? Not only unnecessary praise but bullying blasphemy law not only made Taseer's action controversial but political. Please pick the papers and note that everyone was trying to pose as champion from president house to members of parliament. Salman Taseer was used by some quarters and that he admitted when his fate was written on the wall. I always preach for rule of law, and do not like to criticise courts but as stated in above article when everyone had belief about verdict of courts, why judge acted mysteriously like previously another judge in the case of Raymond Davis. There is some thing wrong some where, why courts did not function in normal routine, as an example Benazir murder case is running since many years. It looks that unnecessary praise to judge is also a political move.
Excellent article. Protection needs to be given to the brave judge.
I praise the authors efforts to create awareness and build a moral plank to take on the marauders ravaging society. I wish him luck too. The country is like a bus out of control without brakes and a steering wheel hurtling off a cliff. When the time to act has long gone past, indulging now in words is too little too late.
Thumbs up ... This judge deserves a medal. There are tons of other religious fanatics out there..
Pakistanis should pray for the Maulvies to have some common sense so that they abstain from creating FITNA - FASAD, on the pretext of Qadri's death sentence. If they feel so strong about it then they should go and fight his case in the appeal court than to create a law and order situation on the roads.
You have a way with words that manage to get right to the heart of the matter. I hope the justice system functions, the law is upheld and justice is done and a clear signal given.
Just a small correction: It is Khatam e Naboowat not Khatoom e Naboot. Nice piece. I couldn't agree with you more. Our expectations are so low these days that when a judge sentences a self- confessed murderer to death it is a cause for celebration.
We really praise the courage, sincerity and true Emaan of the ATA Judge who sentenced qadri to death. No court in the world would acquit qadri for killing an unarmed man in the day light and later confessing shamelessly on camera. Even, the court of Allah and Rasoo (PBUH) would throw qadri into hell, as Allah has made it veru clear in Qur'an that, killing an innocent is to kill the whole humanity. Keep it up all the loyal Judges of Pakistan, we are with you.