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To those polluting Twitter with #IamMumtazQadri: Stop

To those polluting Twitter with #IamMumtazQadri: Stop

Qadri was a murderer. He is no hero. In fact, he is the anti-hero who deserves to be shunned to the gallows.

Khurram Zia Khan October 08, 2015

The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a landmark decision, maintained the death sentence awarded to Mumtaz Qadri, the man who murdered Governor Punjab, Salman Taseer. The judgment today must have led to a sigh of relief from the family of Mr Salman Taseer. They will finally get the justice they have been battling for an arduous four years.

This is a bold decision by the Supreme Court, which has upheld the institution of justice in the country. It clearly indicates that the country’s highest court has distanced itself from the likes of Maulvi Mushtaq.

Justice might have knocked on the doors of the Taseer family but this conviction will do little to change the prevailing environment of religious intolerance in the country.

This case should have been an easy, open-and-shut case. The verdict should’ve been at the tips of our fingers. Fingers should have been snapped and people should have affirmed in unison,

“He’s guilty, of course!”

But the horrific reality of the situation is painted across all our Twitter pages.

Photo: Twitter

#IamMumtazQadri
Go to hell who against #MumtazQadri
We Love #Ghazi ILMUDDIN
We Love #Qaid_e_Azam
We Love #MumtazQadri @ZainUlAbidin_12
— Asad Abbas (@TheAsadAbbas) October 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/momhaq/status/652009734787215360

https://twitter.com/AbuzarIlyas/status/652001861059395584

Qadri has become a symbol of faith and bravery for a large percentage of people in Pakistan who still advocate that he was ordained by a divine power to assassinate Taseer. They say that he was a soldier of God.

A murderer has been placed on a pedestal made of misguided religious opinions and beliefs. It is alarming that his execution will take place on that pedestal and immortalise him forever. Despite the ultimate victory for justice in Pakistan, it is a sad day for its history books. The reaction of the people is going to taint Pakistan’s legal legacy forever.

Qadri, for many, is going to die a martyr. Soon enough, the misguided section of society will prop up another caricature on that pedestal and the madness will continue.

Sunni Tehreek (ST) a religious organisation has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It asserts that,

“The death penalty awarded to Mumtaz Qadri is against Shariah and the Constitution of Pakistan.”

Religious groups are not the only ones rallying behind him. Lawyers of this country gave their unabashed support to Qadri in the early days of his trial. Ninety esteemed lawyers reached the court to defend him. Senior lawyers jumped onto his defence council. That fateful day saw the complete and utter breakdown of our rationality. Reason was defeated, education left abandoned. Even the educated elite faltered and fell into the rhetoric of religious intolerance.

Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, during the hearing in the Supreme Court tried to compare Qadri’s case with that of Ghazi Ilm Din, which I think speaks volumes of the thought processes of a senior lawyer who once was also the chief justice of the Lahore High Court.

He said,

“Educated people lack courage to take an action like Qadri.”

No, Sir. What Qadri did does not require courage. It requires a strong sense of depravity, a misguided sense of justice, a complete violation of Islamic teachings and ignorance so deeply entrenched that it translates into barbarism.

Moreover, do not insinuate that the ‘educated people’ of Pakistan are cowards. It took real courage for Salman Taseer to stand up to the mindless hordes of hate-mongers and speak up against the blasphemy law. That’s what heroism is.

A society which supports murder is not only regressive, it is diseased. People are being killed in the name of religion, honour and tradition. There is no united front against such inhumanity. Our voices are scattered. We’re letting ourselves be swallowed by white noise. Within this static, certain voices need to get louder and be heard. They need to reverberate through every corner of this country and drag all of us in the right direction.

I suggest our state better disband regulators like #PTA if they can block #youtube but cannot take notice of trends like #IamMumtazQadri
— Farrukh K. Pitafi (@FarrukhKPitafi) October 8, 2015

The one who kills others in the name of mercy for whole mankind (PBUH) is the biggest blasphemer. Shame on those trending #IamMumtazQadri
— Bilal Mahmood (@bilalmahmooduk) October 8, 2015

In the Mumtaz Qadri case one thing we should & must acknowledge proudly that today our judges have upheld the law & defeated fear #Pakistan
— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) October 7, 2015

It’s a shame that some of us need to be explained what the right thing is. It’s a shame that good sense needs to be spelt out for many of us. It’s a shame but it is our sordid reality.

So here is the truth about the Salman Taseer case:

Qadri was a murderer. He is no hero. In fact, he is the anti-hero who deserves to be shunned to the gallows.

Salman Taseer did not commit blasphemy. I repeat, he did not commit blasphemy.

And even if he did, which he didn’t, his murder does not make Qadri a heroic vigilante. He is still a murderer, who foolishly considered himself the hand of God and delivered ‘justice’.

If we are to embody the victims of injustice, we should not be embodying him. He is the injustice in our society. If things are to trend on Twitter, they should be in the name of the individuals who were lynched by a mob in Kot Radha Kishan.

Pakistan has a very important lesson to learn in the wake of this development. Difference in opinion should be celebrated, not riddled with bullets. Debate is good, it is necessary for our legal sense to flourish. However, discourse needs intelligent articulation, not mindless rhetoric on social media. Pakistani society is heavily polarised, but that does not have to translate into violence and chaos. We’re lucky that Pakistan has so many opinions. That presents us with a unique opportunity; we can engage with subjects in a rigorous and wholesome manner.

However, we have to guard ourselves against prejudice. We have to arm ourselves with rationality, not guns. We have to embody a sense of justice that is not touched by misguided religious beliefs, a stunted idea of tradition and a foolish sense of honour.

Therefore, I urge everyone to think about what they are saying and who they are supporting. Those who are polluting the Twitter-verse with #IamMumtazQadri:

Stop.

God forbid such evil should befall you.

WRITTEN BY:
Khurram Zia Khan The writer is the media manager of Asiatic Public Relations and tweets @KhurramZiaKhan (https://twitter.com/KhurramZiaKhan)

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

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COMMENTS (32)

Syeda Ali | 9 years ago | Reply "Islam is a most tolerant religion, but we have zero tolerance..." Here lies the problem.

Muhammad Muzammil | 9 years ago | Reply You have decided alone that the decision of court is as per the Islamic Teachings, but you didn't give any reference of Quran and Hadith. Salman Taseer words were against the law which is as per the teachings of Islam and is proved with hadith. He said it was a black law ultimately it applies on Quran and Hadith supporting that blasphemous law. No body was launching FIR, no body was taking action against Salman Taseer even after the protest of millions of Muslim. Government didn't leave any option except the one which Mumtaz Qadri did. Please see the background and learn Islam, then talk about Islamic teachings.#IamMumtazQadri

Syeda Ali | 9 years ago What is the law? Are they exact words of a Quranic verse or Hadis? No! What if you just read how this law has been misused by people for their own benefits? Salman Taseer condemned a law that was not sufficient enough to protect those who are wronged in the name of blasphemy. Doesn't Quran teach you to never accuse anyone for a crime without enough proofs? Doesn't Quran teach you to be tolerant? Did YOU or Mumtaz Qadri try launching FIR? Did you or Qadri file a petition in a court before going for murdering an unarmed person? If he were brave enough, he wouldn't have disguised himself as his guard. He would have declared a war & fought like a man. Just imagine for a second if this is what Prophet Muhammad(SAWW) would have done(Nauzobillah) had anyone committed any form of blasphemy(against Quran or Islam)? He never stabbed from the back & never taught you to. Open your eyes & you will find more teachings of patience then emotional revenge.

Salma | 9 years ago If what you say is true, and it is patently a big lie, Islam would be the most intolerant religion. In fact a terrorist faith. So you better watch your thoughts and words.

Xyz | 9 years ago So as per you Islam condones murder - killing is justified just to shut a voice! Good to know.

Khurram Zia Khan | 9 years ago As you claim to have read and understood Islam better than me, please you give reference in support of your argument. Quran in Surah-E-Maida said, killing of one person is like killing of whole humanity. Hope to have your reply with references. 295-C was included in constitution of Pakistan in 1986. Tell me why religious leaders were quiet and accepted the law which was in place prior to 1986

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Hiba Moeen | 9 years ago | Reply What's the point of our education if nonsense like #IamMumtazQadri trends and people speak in favour of such lunatics who go killing people in the name of religion? This sad reality has tainted Pakistan to an utmost level.

Lol | 9 years ago Hahaha Lol! Madrasa education is not REAL education.

Human | 9 years ago | Reply How on earth did these mullahs get on to twitter isnt it haraam for them ??? & those who stand with this cold blooded murderers are all murderers .

Shehryar | 9 years ago | Reply @ author Good job.

Sahir | 9 years ago | Reply Unfortunately we have glorified Ghazi Ilm-ud-din case for so long that now Mumtaz Qadri has become a modern day version of him. That pre-partition case has come to haunt us today. Had we not justified Ilm-ud-din's case, we wouldn't be seeing this situation. Both Ilm-ud-din and Qadri took law in their hands and became judge, jury and executioner. One was punished accordingly and one will be punished Inshallah. Murder has no justification. Even if you have a valid reason to kill someone, taking law in your hands can never be justified. Taseer case is different from Rajpal only because Rajpal did commit blasphemy and Taseer didn't. He only criticised a man-made law which is not blasphemy even by law itself. However, both Taseer and Rajpal deserved a fair trial and both were denied this right. I only want the rule of law in my country and that means Qadri should meet his end as soon as possible. At the end, I applaud SC for taking an unpopular but landmark decision.

SJ | 9 years ago | Reply Highly courageous act on your part sir to speak against evil, bravo. Ignorance has blinded the reasoning power of people, without in-depth knowledge they try to forcefully assert their ideologies and issue judgements against those who oppose them. People have become highly insensitive towards violence and senselessly they affirm every illegitimate deed that is related to their so called faith (how could they call themselves true Muslims when their justify a brutal killing, a true Muslim cannot allow an innocent death of an animal even)

Kickass | 9 years ago | Reply All comments are from Bharati trolls who are ashamed of the name of their country and call themselves indians.

marik | 9 years ago | Reply Good article. Shame on people who support qadri

ali | 9 years ago #isupportmumtazQADRI

Junaid | 9 years ago | Reply Our nation is so confused!! This twitter trend has exposed how the so-called peaceful Mullahs control the Pakistani nation's mentality!!

fze | 9 years ago | Reply Those who are posting 'iam....' are brainwashed like this murderer which has brought the country to this pathetic state but still they have not learned any lessons. They are not loyal to this country nor to the religion.

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply The SC indeed gave a bold and just decision........decades and millions of dollars pumped into this country in order to radicalize the marginalized masses for purposes that would entail a serious ' blow back ' was not considered then......today we see this blow back happening and taking various forms ' I am Mumtaz Qadri ' is just one of them.

Videlicet | 9 years ago | Reply Long live this blogwriter who belongs to an presumably endangered species in Pakistan-- the sane. Debate is good. The way to defeat your opponent in a debate is through logic not bullets. And unfortunately these fanatics take islamic religious scriptures as true to the letter than try to differentiate between the timeless and general principles and era- and region-specific traditions.

Anonymous | 9 years ago | Reply Great article.

Rohan | 9 years ago | Reply This country is more barbaric than 7th century Arabia! Rant against beef ban all you want, at least we don't trend and tweet in support of people who kill under blasphemy laws!

nishantsirohi123 | 9 years ago | Reply 35 minutes of posting the article, and not a single comment, ah .... had this been about #crushindia or something , oh watch them pour

Jayman | 9 years ago Just goes to show that most of Pakistan has been turned over to the dark side of militancy.

Anon | 9 years ago Indians and Indian media are the biggest trolls obsessed with Pakistan which shows since you are on a Pakistani newspaper commenting. We are just reciprocating your obsession and lies with facts

nishantsirohi123 | 9 years ago no comments yet, shows a lot about the mindset, watch out mr writer

Saira Khan | 9 years ago Actually there are other things to do here in Pakistan other than obsess over this loser Qadri. If there is a small radical loser group in Pakistan with lots of Saudi money, it doesnt mean everyone else likes Qadri as well. We all know how the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) forgave the people at Ta'if, we know how he forgave the people who killed his relatives, and lastly we know how he forgave the woman who used to regularly throw garbage on his head. So the thing is...we can't care less.

longlivepak | 9 years ago Or modi, there wud be 100 comments by now even 6hrz later justv1 comment

Kushal | 9 years ago They are busy giving lecture to India how to be nice and moderate to Muslims, in the other blog.

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