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| Mulla Qureshi who ordered the killing of Christian Asia Bibi |
Source/Credit: Daily Times | Pakistan
By Yasser Latif Hamdani | January 9, 2010
Make no mistake about it: the biggest blasphemer is the mullah who has sanctioned the killing of unarmed civilians in the name of the Prophet of mercy (PBUH). Today, Islam is in danger because Mumtaz Qadri and others like him hold it at gunpoint and kill those who try to reason with them
To recap, Mr Jinnah, on September 11, 1929, said: “If we are going to allow ourselves to be influenced by public opinion that can be created in the name of religion when we know religion has nothing to do with the matter, we must have the courage to say ‘no we are not going to be frightened by that’.”
Salmaan Taseer was a man who was not frightened in the least. Perhaps Faiz’s couplet “Jiss dhajj sey koi maqtal mey gaya, woh shaan salaamat rehti hai; Yeh jaan toh aani jaani hai, Iss jaan ki toh koyi baat nahi” (the grace with which one faces death is always remembered; death itself is immaterial) sums him up the best.
The governor faced death in the manner he lived his life. It took 27 bullets to martyr him. The killer is an ignorant fanatic who thought he was going to be the 21st century Ghazi Ilm Din. Or maybe he was looking towards the prize of two crores promised by a Multan-based tajir or businessman.
The assassination of Salmaan Taseer cannot be compared to Indira Gandhi’s assassination because the Sikh bodyguards who killed her were aggrieved by her attack on the Golden Temple and, while not justifiable, the act was the result of communal frustration. The assassins of Mahatma Gandhi carried out the brutal assassination because Gandhi had agreed to partition. Udham Singh murdered Sir Dwyer because of his role as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab during the Jallianwala Bagh episode. Ilm Din was an impressionable young man who was riled up against Raj Pal because of the publication of a book with a blasphemous title. Rafiq Sabir — the failed assassin from Khaksar Tehreek who tried to kill Jinnah — was operating on Allama Mashriqi’s theory that Jinnah was working for the British.
But why was Salmaan Taseer murdered in cold blood? Was it because Salmaan Taseer dared to say that the Blasphemy Law, as it is on the statute books, is not God-made but man-made? What is wrong with saying that? Or is it the mullah position that General Zia was — God forbid — divinely guided? If not, then where in the Quran or the Hadith do the laws in their present form occur? If the issue is that of punishing an offender, why is amending the law to make it more effective in ensuring that no innocent is persecuted wrong or blasphemous? Why is the element of mens rea absent from legislation when from childhood we are taught “Innamal a’malu binniyat” (all actions are judged by intentions)? How can the blasphemy laws then be an accurate reflection of God’s law?
From the very hour of the governor’s martyrdom, I have been inundated with e-mails suggesting that I should lie low because I too have spoken against the Blasphemy law and because I am the father of two little children. It is precisely because I am the father of two little children that I am worried about what kind of country they will grow up in. Unlike the elite of this country, I have long forsaken all Plan Bs. This country is all I have and I would like to see my children grow up in a civilised Pakistan. I want my children to love, not fear, Islam. I owe it to my children to say, “No, we are not going to be frightened by that.”
Make no mistake about it: the biggest blasphemer is the mullah who has sanctioned the killing of unarmed civilians in the name of the Prophet of mercy (PBUH), sarwar-e-do kainaat, khatam-un-nabiyeen (finality of Prophethood) Muhammad-e-Mustafa Sallallahu Alayhi wa’alihi Wa Sallam. Every Muslim must search his or her heart for the voice of Medina that beckons them to duty. That voice is calling out “not in my name”, or have we become deaf and dumb to it?
Mumtaz Qadri is himself the unfortunate victim of a rotten system — a system that has made a mockery of Islam and has put Muslims in peril. Today, Islam is in danger because Mumtaz Qadri and others like him hold it at gunpoint and kill those who try to reason with them.
Blasphemers are those unfortunate and ignorant fools who celebrated the assassination of the boldest son of Lahore with sweets. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) true enemies are those 500 mullahs who passed a fatwa extolling the murderer. More than any caricature or action, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) must be truly angered by the deliberate misrepresentation of the faith by the mullahs.
Qatl-e-Shabbir, the murder of Hussain AS, was also carried out by such believers, let us not forget. “Ajab khel howa Islam ki taqdeer ke sath; Qatl-e-Shabbir huwa nara-e-takbeer ke sath” (how ironic is the destiny of Islam, when the righteous are murdered amidst cries of ‘God is Great’). God save Pakistan and Islam.
(Concluded)
The writer is a lawyer. He also blogs at http://pakteahouse.net and can be reached at yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
Read original post here: No, we are not going to be frightened — II | Daily Times
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