Sound of silence
The days of the Taliban are far from being over; their capacity to scar lives remains intact.
The Taliban quest to alter lives, and indeed human nature itself continues. The remote-controlled blast at Peshawar’s biggest market selling audio tapes and CDs immediately brings back memories of the not very distant past. The sight of music shops reduced to piles of rubble had become an all too familiar one over the years. We have seen the images itself. While the Taliban have not claimed direct responsibility for the latest blast, it seems obvious that they — or groups affiliated with them — are involved. Oblivious to the fact that music is a part of our culture, and indeed engrained in societies everywhere in the world, these forces have been brainwashed into believing it must be rooted out; that it is immoral and undesirable. The genuine immorality that we see all around us, such as the rape of women or the abuse of children, seems not to move these elements.
Through past years, hundreds of musicians have been driven out of Peshawar or forced to take up other occupations. The shops selling the beautiful traditional instruments played through the centuries have in many cases been closed down. It is only recently that the musicians have begun to return, the shops tentatively re-open and the strains of song heard once more at weddings. The attack at the Nishtarabad market, which killed five people, including a woman, will obviously disrupt this important process of a return to normalcy in lives. Fading fear will creep back in and the confusion created about religion in so many minds, by men who know so little of the peace and tolerance Islam teaches, will return.
The blast of course also highlights something we already know. The days of the Taliban are far from being over; their capacity to scar lives remains intact, despite the many claims made to the contrary. Even a city like Peshawar is not safe; it has already changed dramatically over the last decade and hopes that it could find its former, distinct character, with all its charm and verve dissipate each time we see violence of the kind inflicted on Monday on so many unsuspecting people.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.
Through past years, hundreds of musicians have been driven out of Peshawar or forced to take up other occupations. The shops selling the beautiful traditional instruments played through the centuries have in many cases been closed down. It is only recently that the musicians have begun to return, the shops tentatively re-open and the strains of song heard once more at weddings. The attack at the Nishtarabad market, which killed five people, including a woman, will obviously disrupt this important process of a return to normalcy in lives. Fading fear will creep back in and the confusion created about religion in so many minds, by men who know so little of the peace and tolerance Islam teaches, will return.
The blast of course also highlights something we already know. The days of the Taliban are far from being over; their capacity to scar lives remains intact, despite the many claims made to the contrary. Even a city like Peshawar is not safe; it has already changed dramatically over the last decade and hopes that it could find its former, distinct character, with all its charm and verve dissipate each time we see violence of the kind inflicted on Monday on so many unsuspecting people.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.