Insulting Martyrdom

A state of affairs where martyrdom has no meaningful significance is designed to go in favour of Mr Mehsud, Hassan.

“Changez hai shaheed, Halaku shaheed hai, jo is sar zameen pay mar gaya daku, shaheed hai” (Genghis is a martyr and so is Hulegu, robbers dead on this land are martyrs) — these words of Habib Jalib are more relevant today than they ever were. The aftermath of Mr Mehsud’s death has seen a nosedive into quite unparalleled madness, even by our standards. First, he was mourned like a hero. Then, it was the Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) turn, terming the deceased a ‘martyr’. Good old Maulana not to be outdone said even a dog killed by the United States is a ‘martyr’. Finally, Syed Munawwar Hassan outdoing everyone and undoing himself said that not only Mr Mehsud is a ‘martyr’ but also our soldiers who lay down their lives are not ‘martyrs’. To explain what is wrong with these statements, particularly the pure vileness of the last one is like hammering on an open door; it is too strenuous, and too obvious.

Let us be clear on what Syed Munawwar Hassan wants. He wants our soldiers to lose their grit in the face of a lethal enemy; he wants the funerals of our martyrs to be deserted; he wants confusion and surrender. However, above all and make no mistake about this, he wants us to lose. His remarks are possibly treasonous and certainly treacherous and malicious. For starters, he deserves no deference or a mainstream public voice, at least till he apologises. For once, the ISPR statement has gotten it exactly right. However, it would have been nicer if the reaction came from the Federal Government and other political forces.

Our soldiers fighting for our existence do not need any lofty endorsements or certificates by the JI. There is the issue of the integrity and meaning of the word ‘martyr’/‘shaheed’. While precise definition of such terms is hard, yet, the core is easily and intuitively knowable. Martyr is a term of honour and of willingness to fight for a worthy cause.

Messers Maulana and Munawwar Hassan are deliberately cheapening the term martyr. It has already come to the point where it means very little in Pakistan, and now the attempt is to completely hollow it, so that it can be used indiscriminately. It now only reflects and highlights the leaning of the person using it and not for whom it is being employed. A state of affairs where martyrdom has no meaningful significance is designed to go in favour of Mr Mehsud and his biggest fan, Syed Munawwar Hassan. It is a state of affairs without any higher principles, or any at all. The cliche “one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist” is silly and overrated at best, and in any event, not applicable here. Wanton criminality is no cause, much less a defensible one. The world has seen enough mass murderers and serial killers to understand that not all homicidal fanatics can be subjected to some pseudo subjective criteria.

On the flip side, a persuasive critique of imperialism and the discourse on war on terror is how the terms ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’ were first emptied of a meaningful definition and then redefined to mean something ‘evil’ which needs to be ‘contained’ and ‘dealt with’, etc. Terrorism is now a concept with a religion and most times, ethnicity. This is a critique that Syed Munawwar Hassan and those of his ilk are incapable and ill-suited to make.

There is also a historical context to it. The shameful attempt and the debate to make commonplace the title of valour and honour is being conducted as we approach the tenth of Muharram, an occasion which defines and is defined by the concept of martyr and martyrdom. Our soldiers fighting the fanatic murderers are flag bearer of this elevated tradition. And Maulana and Syed Munawwar Hassan’s consistent dangerous spin doctoring of Muslims killing Muslims etc. continues. Let me end with “Ajab khel hua Islam ki taqdeer ke sath; Qatl-e-Shabbir hua nara-e-takbeer ke sath”.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2013.

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