Silent against the hate

An Imam has directly attacked Sherry Rehman, declaring her ‘non-Muslim’, conductive to death.

After Friday prayers last week, at mosques in many places, pamphlets were distributed praising the murder of Salmaan Taseer and warning that others who spoke against the blasphemy law would be punished in the same way. The Imam of Karachi’s Sultan Masjid has directly attacked Sherry Rehman, declaring her a ‘non-Muslim’, and created against her precisely the kind of environment conducive to death. In Lahore, the Sunni Ittehad Council has warned NGOs not to hold protests against the killing of Taseer and said, ominously, a "Mumtaz Qadri would be present at every street corner’" Sinister text messages say others will die for objecting to the blasphemy law; some of the intended victims have been named.

While this campaign continues, the government has shown itself to be as spineless as a marionette freed from its strings. It has refused to consider even an amendment in blasphemy law. Under the law, incitement of hatred is a punishable crime. Yet, those who urge murder and deliver threats from public forums are free to do so. It appears that the government has handed over the country to those who refuse to accept the rule of law. Some TV anchors and columnists have joined this group, condemning the comments made by the late Taseer suggesting he deserved death.

Members of civil society and some activists of the PPP, the ANP and smaller parties stand on the other side of the divide. But they are not powerful enough to take on the religious groups who can bring thousands onto the streets. The government needs to take a stand for what is right. Irrespective of the merits or demerits of the blasphemy law, no one should be allowed to promote death or threaten citizens. The fact that this is happening before the eyes of the government says a great deal about the collapse of order in a society where extremism now holds sway.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2011.