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Irfan Husain: The worm turns

22 March 2015

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Dawn, 21 March 2015

Another murderous attack on Christian worshippers. More expressions of shock and horror. And yet more crocodile tears.

So far, so predictable. But one element that did not follow the script was the brutal killing of two apparently innocent bystanders by the enraged mob of Christians who poured out into the streets. Horrific images of the two victims were shown repeatedly on TV being set on fire after they had been beaten to death or into unconsciousness.

Chaudhry Nisar, the interior minister, called the lynching an act of terrorism, and TV anchors swiftly shifted the focus of the tragedy from the church bombings that killed 15 people, and injured many more, to the spontaneous Christian response. Adding fuel to the fire was the attack on a car that prompted the woman driver to drive off, killing two protesters and injuring several more.
Many in the Muslim world are increasingly intolerant of other beliefs.

Clearly, there is no moral equivalence here between the bombings and the swift and savage reaction they provoked. Both deserve our unreserved condemnation. But while the attack on the churches was clearly premeditated and carefully planned by the TTP, the response was not.

Obviously, mob violence cannot be tolerated, and the perpetrators of the lynching will probably be tracked down, tried and punished. But can the same be said of those behind the church bombings? Although the TTP has claimed responsibility, little has been done by the Punjab government to root out the organisation that has infested large swathes of territory in the south of the province.

Over the years, Pakistan’s minorities have come to expect no justice from the state. Time and again, imambargahs, churches and temples have been attacked; Hindu and Christian villages and localities have been sacked by baying mobs incited by local clerics; Ahmadis have been gunned down; and Shias have been targeted across the country. Few, if any, of the perpetrators have been apprehended or tried.

It is this bitter knowledge of the state’s indifference that probably clouded the minds of the survivors of the recent Lahore attacks as they mistakenly lashed out at two men they thought were involved. Tired of being forever the victims of extremist violence, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Not long ago, a Christian couple was burned to death in a brick kiln after their legs had been broken. The wife was pregnant at the time. They were working at a kiln as indentured labour, and the owner, thinking they would flee without repaying their debt, ordered them to be burned. The pretext for the mob was the discovery of a burned copy of the Holy Quran that had allegedly been planted.

The blasphemy law continues to be misused as a licence to kill. Between 1986, when it was introduced by Gen Zia in its present form, and 2010, over 1,700 people have been charged under it. Over 50 of them have reportedly been killed in prison before the conclusion of their trial. Anybody who wants the law to be debated and amended is at risk: for speaking up, Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by his security guard, while Sherry Rehman faces threats to her life.

Whereas Pakistani minorities face daily discrimination and violence, Muslim migrants in the West not only build mosques and proselytise freely, they also complain of Islamophobia if they are prevented from aggressively expressing extreme views. Any attempt by authorities to curb radicalism is considered an assault on their human rights.

Whenever Chris­tians are targeted, Muslims piously quote the verse from the Holy Book declaring Jews and Christians ahle kitab, or People of the Book, and therefore to be protected. But the reality is very different across much of the Muslim world where Christians are being killed and subjected to vicious persecution in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and Libya.

The reality is that many in the Muslim world are increasingly intolerant of other beliefs. While they do not actively participate in the kind of religious cleansing we are witnessing today, their acceptance of the violence in the name of Islam contributes to the growing persecution of minorities.

Apart from a handful of civil society activists, few in Pakistan — or in other Muslim countries — protest against the treatment of non-Muslims who have lived in their midst for centuries. Contrast this with the large demonstrations that have taken place in Europe against right-wing, anti-immigrant marches aimed at intimidating Muslims.

We cite holy texts to define our relationship with non-Muslims. But surely our dealings with those who follow different religions ought to be dictated by common decency, not by articles of faith. Under our Constitution, we are all equal citizens. Except, of course, Muslims are more equal than others. And minorities are the least equal of all.

So what does the Lahore horror story teach us? For cynics, it’s the same old lesson: the weak and the vulnerable are always the victims.

P.S.

The above article from Dawn is reproduced here for educational and non commercial use