‘Righteous’ confusion

What differentiates the smiling face of Mumtaz Qadri from that of an apprehended criminal is a lack of guilt. Mr Qadri is beaming with pride because according to his religious beliefs, he has not done anything wrong. But this raises a question: How does having belief in a religion which literally means ‘peace’ result in senseless and guiltless killings such as that of Salmaan Taseer? There are various explanations making the rounds. Some blame this twisted sense of morality on the current American war against the Taliban, while others blame it on the previous American support of the Mujahideen.

But the profile of Mr Qadri and his followers doesn’t exactly match that of the past beneficiaries and the recent affectees of US intervention in Afghanistan. To begin with, Mr Qadri is a Barelvi, the sect of Islam that is portrayed by Pakistanis as anti-Taliban. He also does not represent a fringe element among the Barelvis, as more than 500 ulema of the Jamaate Ahle Sunnat Pakistan celebrated his crime. Facebook pages dedicated to Mr Qadri are teeming with fans that have no qualms about shaving their beards, listening to music or openly declaring their dating preferences.

The Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Syed Munawar Hassan, who blames Salmaan Taseer for his own death, explains that the emotions surrounding the issue of blasphemy are so intense that it makes it very difficult for Muslims to control their anger, it is because of their ‘hurt feelings’ that they are forced to take such actions.

The 40 dead in Daata Darbar blast and the eight dead due to the attack on the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, should also be held responsible for their own deaths because what they thought of as Islam was actually an ‘insult’ to the Islam professed by their ‘enraged’ murderers. Also, if ‘hurt feelings’ are a measure of the justification of an act, then the faceless suicide bombers of the Taliban seem to be much more hurt, and thus, more justified than Mr Qadri who, despite being supposedly blinded by rage, found the time to pre-negotiate a safe exit.

As the self-proclaimed guardians of Pakistan’s Islamic ethos, our religious right has always emphasised the importance of Islam as a complete code of life; a set of ideals that ensures the abidance to Islamic laws. The murder of Salmaan Taseer is a gross violation of the very same ethos that our religious right claims to champion.

The irony is thick in these ‘righteous’ celebrations because, by celebrating the death of Salmaan Taseer, these defenders of the blasphemy law are, in fact, celebrating the irrelevance of that very same law.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2011.