Would we have done any better?

Despite hate crimes in the US, the state response aims to protect all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs

Louisville Islamic CenterOn September 16, the (LIC) located in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA, was vandalised and painted with hateful anti-Islam slogans. This hate crime was immediately reported to the local police and the FBI. The disturbing act of vandalism that employed the use of disgusting words and hateful graffiti shook the congregation members because the LIC is not just a place of worship for Muslims only, but a place of love, harmony, tolerance, patience, mutual respect and compassion for the people of other faiths as well. The vandals tried to frighten the local Muslim community and did their best to sour the positive relationship that has developed among people of different faiths over the last many years in the city of Louisville. But our community outreach services deflected the impact of this action, which resulted in the community showing exemplary unity.

After the hate crime, a press conference was held by the city mayor, the police chief and local interfaith community leaders to reject and denounce this act of intolerance. The next day, more than 1,000 people from other faiths showed up to clean and remove the graffiti painted on the walls of the centre. Many local schools cancelled their classes early and sent their students to LIC to participate in the clean-up process. We saw people, aged between five and 90 years, participating in these efforts. Many local businesses and non-profit organisations sent water bottles, fruits and food for the participants. Most importantly, the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, sent his representative to support the Muslim community and to reject all hateful actions against all religions. At the end of the day, a very positive and strong message about the power of compassion and love was sent to the world.

Muslims living here are a religious minority and felt alienated and unwelcome after this hate crime. But just a few hours after this event, we received lots of support and help from our colleagues, friends and ordinary citizens, including law-enforcement agencies, all of them denouncing this act of intolerance and disrespect for religious belief, in the print and electronic media.

While I was going through all this emotional stress, I could not help but think about the religious and ethnic minorities living in Pakistan. Over the years, we have witnessed a long sequence of events of killings of religious minorities in Pakistan. From Kot Radha Kishan to Youhanabad, all tragic incidents involving the persecution of innocent religious minorities show that they are truly besieged in Pakistan. These atrocities and violence often seem like a planned effort to eliminate them from the land of the pure.

Despite the hate crimes that the US witnesses from time to time, at least the law of the land and the response of most state institutions here are aimed at protecting all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs, colour, ethnicity and creed. But, in my own homeland, Pakistan, there are those who have no qualms about killing their fellow citizens in the name of religion. The response of the state institutions to such crimes is woeful to say the least. We ignore the sayings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about compassion, love and respect and then claim to be the followers of this great human being.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2015.

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