As famous mystic poet of sub-continent Baba Buleh Shah says, “tear Down the Mosque and the Temple; break everything in sight but do not break a person’s heart, it is there that God resides.”
Source/Credit: Women Writes |
By Ayesha N. Rashid | October 1, 2012
On September 21st, religious zealots vandalized Sri Krishna Ram temple in Karachi. Surprisingly, the police not only took notice of the incident but also considered it blasphemy against, not Islam, but against Hinduism. Apparently, the attack outraged Hindus’ religious feelings. If and when the culprits are caught, they will be reprimanded under anti-blasphemy laws. The Hindu Community must be awe-struck at this protocol, for anti-blasphemy laws have always been used—or rather misused—to protect main stream Muslims’ religious sentiments. According to 295-A, the culprits will be fined as well as imprisoned for as long as ten years. Looks good on the surface, but why so much drama? Why can’t the culprits be tried on criminal trespass, theft or robbery? This is not the first occurrence of such an incident. In the past, such incidents have gone un-noticed. So, who is police trying to appease this time? Or is it yet another stunt to keep anti-blasphemy laws alive, this time under the cloak of equal laws for all religious communities in Pakistan?
As famous mystic poet of sub-continent Baba Buleh Shah says, “tear Down the Mosque and the Temple; break everything in sight but do not break a person’s heart, it is there that God resides.” The destruction of temples is a lesser type of outrage against religious sentiments of the followers of any religion—Hindus being no exception. The Hindu community’s religious sentiments are more outraged when their daughters are forcefully converted to Islam. Without parents’ consent, they are then forced into marriages with Muslim men. Pakistani Hindus were far more afflicted when the coffin of a Hindu Air blue crash victim was labeled with “Infidel.” The kind of behavior a Hindu child receives at school just because of his religion is a far greater outrage to his religious sentiments. Most Hindus are not promoted beyond clerk-level positions in Pakistan due to their religion. It is a far greater outrage to their religious sentiments, for their livelihood depends on it. So what if Sri Krishna Ram temple in Karachi is ransacked? It was just a building. Just as in 2006, the last Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to build a commercial building. In 2005, when a Christian janitor was accused of burning pages of Quran, a mob of hundreds of Muslims destroyed a Hindu Temple in Nowshehra along with several houses belonging to Hindu and Christian communities. They must have gotten used to losing their temples. In the aftermath of Babri mosque in 1992, a number of Hindu temples were destroyed—no one cared.
This is indeed a smart attempt to make anti-blasphemy laws look good. However, in an ideal situation it would be best if instead of redeeming their outraged religious sentiments, their stolen gold, valuables, and most importantly, their dignity were redeemed. For, anti-blasphemy laws do nothing to mend hearts once broken.
Read original post here: Hindu Temple Vandalized in Pakistan
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.