Source/Credit: Beena Sarwar Blog
By Beena Sarwar | November 25, 2011
“Pakistani ‘Muslim’ youth wants blood,” wrote my friend and fellow journalist Mohsin Sayeed, tagging me on twitter with a link leading to a blog post titled “Plotting murder at COMSATS Lahore?” He wasn’t wrong.
The blog post of Nov 24, 2011, by journalist and cartoonist Jahanzaib Haque makes for horrifying reading, revealing a poisonous mindset that cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged.
Please see for yourself and take what action you deem fit. Below is a letter I just sent to the COMSATS Board of Governors, copied to a few friends who asked to be co-signatories, and my message to the facebook group administrator:
To Ali Raza, Administrator of VOC (Voice of COMSIANS) – [The biggest group of COMSIANS on facebook] which created the facebook event Protest against female qadyani student and Qadyani management of COMSATS:
“I am horrified and appalled to find content in this group inciting violence against a particular community, not just on your wall but also in the event created by this group http://on.fb.me/u6Seyo. It is disturbing that the supposedly educated youth of Pakistan would call for violence against an individual based on mere (and frankly, unbelievable) allegations, that may even result in the loss of human life. Please remove all content that may potentially be harmful. thanks.”
Email to: the Board of Governors, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology pro@ciitlahore.edu.pk:
Recent events at Comsats Lahore are highly distressing for anyone who believes in human rights and justice. These events stem from the accusation against a student for defiling the name of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) by tearing off a poster and trampling it under her feet. We are sure you will all agree that no sane person in Pakistan would knowingly desecrate any Islamic religious item, particularly given the current atmosphere. However, the student, who happened to be Ahmedi was expelled apparently in order to placate those who were using the incident to rile up other students in the name of religion. We don’t know of any action taken against those who were inciting violence against her in the name of religion.
Even after the girl’s expulsion there are some who seem bent upon poisoning the atmosphere with hate and incitements to violence. See the comments on the wall of the Comsats students’ facebook group and on their facebook event announcing a “Protest against female qadyani student and Qadyani management of COMSATS”.
It is highly disturbing to see these supposedly educated youth of Pakistan calling for violence against an individual based on mere (and frankly, unbelievable) allegations, that may even result in the loss of human life. We have messaged the group administrator on facebook asking him to remove all content that may potentially be harmful. However, what needs to be addressed is the mindset behind these hate-filled and violence-inciting messages.
It is morally incumbent upon the Comsats administration to scrutinise the contents of these pages and at the very least, call to account those who have posted hateful comments. A blog post by the journalist Jahanzaib Haque (copied here) details the names and content of the particularly disturbing comments. Perhaps Comsats should call an assembly and have a moderated discussion on the issue, on the importance of civil public dialogue, on the importance of rule of law, and on the illegality and immorality of inciting violence against another human being and fellow citizen.
Whether such incitements to violence are made on hearsay or whether they are made after a crime has been proved, is immaterial. There are courts and laws to deal with transgressions. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands and/or incite others to do so.
Thank you.
Sincerely
Beena Sarwar, journalist
Mohsin Sayeed, journalist
Nighat Dad, Human rights committee of Lahore High Court Bar, Public Prosecutor
Yasser Latif Hamdani, lawyer
Jehan Ara, President, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA)
Read original post here: Countering a disturbing mindset: Plotting murder at COMSATS Lahore
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