Aamer Liaquat may be the most obnoxious manifestation of the phenomenon, but the key issue still is the rise of ‘mullaism’ in Pakistan and the public indoctrination that has taken place.
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Times | Op/Ed
By Dr. Basharat Nazir | July 17, 2012
As a TV host, televangelist Aamer Liaquat started with Geo, a Pakistani Television network, in a show called Aalim Online. Shortly after a broadcast in 2008 in which he and his religious pennalists urged fundamentalist Muslims to kill members of the Ahmadiyya community, two Ahmadis were murdered in Sind, Pakistan. Later on Liaquat had a falling out with Geo Network and Aalim Online was cancelled.
Despite the horrendous nature of the scandal involving Ahmadi murders, Liquat was yet offered a lucrative gig at another network, ARY Digital, issuing scholarly religious advice on a show titled Aalim and Alam. For the flamboyant televangelist this lasted until, once again, the self-proclaimed scholar found himself embroiled in a scandal after the release of certain video tapes allegedly portraying an extremely vulgar side to his personality – which Aamir Liaquat has vehemently denied.
Now, again, following the re-hiring of Aamer Liaquat by Geo, and the pieces in BBC, Alarabiyya, etc., there is a lot of debate on twitter and elsewhere that is blaming Geo.
I think the real culprit here yet again is the mullah-cult of Pakistan.
Mullah has slowly but surely gotten hold of the school curricula and the media, especially the Urdu media. This has radicalised Pakistan for at least two generations to come.
Aamer Liaquat rehiring is purely for commercial reasons. When 90% Pakistanis wants to watch him, including those abroad especially women aunties, then Geo couldn't afford to let him loose. His acquisition was timed for Ramadhan; he's going to bring hundreds of thousands of new subscribers to Geo during Ramadhan from the middle East, North America, Europe.
What mullah have done in Pakistan is a career opportunity for Aamer Liaquat, and a business opportunity for Geo. As they say, it's the economy stupid!
One could justifiably say that Aamer is a part of the Mullah cult himself, therefore not only is a contributor but also a beneficiary. Yes, Aamer Liaquat may be the most obnoxious manifestation of the phenomenon, but the key issue still is the rise of ‘mullaism’ in Pakistan and the public indoctrination that has taken place. If Aamer were to die today (god forbid) another evangelist will come to take his place – so we are not fighting him as much as we are the mindset. And, this is missing from the pieces published by BBC, Al-Arabeyah, etc.
-- Pakistan: Mullah-cult and Televangelism: Contributes and beneficiaries
-- Ahmadiyya Times
-- By Dr Basharat Nazir. Follow on Twitter: @BashaNazir
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