Myths Blown Away by Taseer Killing
Guest Column
By Rajesh Tembarai Krishnamachari
The assassination of Pakistani Punjab's governor Salman Taseer has once again highlighted the existential crisis plaguing Pakistan today. While it is tautologically true that a solution to Pakistan's current troubles must be preceded by an accurate analysis of its current situation, we claim that such analysis is impeded by certain exogenous constraints - such as the dubbing of any critical analysis as being racially or religiously motivated - placed on any Pakistani observer.
These constraints have led to certain viewpoints commonly found in western tracts that are unsubstantiated by any evidence on ground. In this short note, we take advantage of the extensive reporting by media sources in the aftermath of the Taseer assassination to shine a critical light on these shibboleths surrounding Pakistan and counter-act them using illustrative newspaper reports.
Case Background: A Christian lady Aasia Bibi from rural Punjab had been accused of blaspheming Prophet Mohammed of Islam - a crime in Pakistani law invoking the death penalty. Salman Taseer was the the governor of Punjab province, who has a member of the Pakistani People's Party and the publisher of a relatively liberal newspaper Daily Times from Lahore. Taseer had argued that Aasia Bibi was falsely accused of blasphemy, called for her pardon and proposed suitable modification to the existing statutes to prevent their misuse. Taseer was earlier in spotlight a couple of years back when pictures of his family caused a furore in conservative circles due to their perceived violation of conventional Islam-directed notions of modesty.
1.1 Myth One: Within Pakistan, moderate Barelvi Islam offers a solution against hardline Deobandi Islam.
1.2 Origin of Myth: Western analysts, in their over-simplification of Islam, often divide subcontinental muslims into the so-called moderate camp of Barelvi Islam and the hardline camp of Deobandi Islam.
1.3 Claimed Answer: No. The largesse showered by the Saudi establishment on the Deobandi madrassas, due to certain ideological similarities, had led the Deobandis to align themselves closer with the Salafi ideal. On almost all fundamental issues regarding the interaction between muslims and non-muslims, the views of the ulema of Barelvi and Deobandi sects are in consonance with each other.
1.4 Proof: The killer of Taseer was one Mallik Mumtaz Qadri, a Barelvi by persuasion [1]. Further, in the aftermath of the assassination, an unprecedented declaration by 500 clerics of the Barelvi sect gathered under the umbrella of Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat expressing strong support for the murder of the perceived non-believer [2], [3].
THIS IS NOT ISSUE OF DEOBANDI OR BARELVI BUT INEFFICIENT SECURITY OFFICIALS SLEEPING AND LETTING A KNOWN NUT TO GUARD A HIGH PROFILE POLITICAL FIGURE---A SECURITY LAPSE
AGHA AMIN
2.1 Myth Two: Leftists within Pakistan would reform it from within.
2.2 Origin of Myth: As the leftists born in other religions have adopted self-critical attitudes towards their religions, the muslim-born leftists shall also push muslim nations towards rational humanism.
Claimed Answer: The sub-continental muslims has used Marxism as a fig-leaf to promote their own agendas. From Jinnah borrowing the communists' arguments for partitioning India to the modern CPI-M making concessions for its muslim members in Kerala, the muslim-born members of sub-continental leftist movements have merely promoted their revisionist agenda under the garb of progressive politics.
Proof: The statement of an Islamabad-based trade union leader invoking his faith to justify the murder can be accessed at [4].
THERE IS NO LEFT IN PAKISTAN BUT ALL SELF SERVING INDIVIDUALS . HOWEVER THERE IS A STRONG CLASS OF MODERATES IN PAKISTAN.NO DOUBT THEY ARE IN MAJORITY AT LEAST AS FAR AS THE PPP VOTERS ARE CONCERNED CERTAINLY AND A VERY LARGE PART OF PML N AND MQM VOTERS
AGHA AMIN
3.1 Myth Three: Access to democracy would moderate the impact of religious parties.
3.2 Origin of Myth: Advocates for democracy believe that the ability to articulate suppressed desires through the process of voting would ameliorate the suffering of the electorate; this in turn preventing them from succumbing to the brain-washing techniques of the religious right.
3.3 Claimed Answer: No. Examples abound where democracy has led to intensification of religious feelings amongst the populace. The structure of Abrahamic religions renders them vulnerable to manipulation by self-seeking demagogues who through pandering persistently to the lowest common denominator end up pushing the society towards increased religiosity. The victory of Hamas in Palestine and the election of Ahmadinejad in Iran serve as illustrations of this claim.
3.4 Proof: Jamaat-e-Islami has been part and parcel of Pakistani politics for a while now, and till recently was in power in NWFP (now, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) as part of the MMA alliance. Yet, it issued a statement of support in favour of the murderer [5].
THE ISSUE IN PAKISTAN IS NOT DEMOCRACY BUT CORRUPTION .IF THIS IS REDUCED EXTREMISM WILL BE REDUCED.EXTREMISM ALSO IS PUNJAB AND PASHTUN SPECIFIC
AGHA AMIN
4.1 Myth Four: Access to Internet would moderate Pakistani-s.
4.2 Origin of Myth: This is a modern version of the 1950-s belief that FTV and MTV would suffice to counter religiosity in the extended Arab world. It relies on the assumption that puritanical beliefs would be counter-acted through availability of non-spiritual pursuits [6] and narrow-minded thinking would falter against critical analysis (as in [7]).
4.3 Claimed Answer: No. The modern Internet also causes a bandwagon effect (or argumentum ad numerum), where people with similar irrational beliefs strengthen their personal convictions through a subconscious appeal to the large number of external entities subscribing to consonant viewpoints. The opening up of social networks -facilitated through internet- has hence not been able to moderate extremist tendencies amongst Abrahamic religionists.
INTERNET IS NO DOUBT A POWERFUL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION TOOL BUT IN TASEERS CASE INTERNET WAS NOT AN ISSUE
AGHA AMIN
4.4 Proof: Within hours of the assassination, a Facebook fan page honoring the murderer had more than a thousand followers with the number increasing at five per minute, before the company closed the page down to prevent further additions [8], [9].
5.1 Myth Five: Access to education and wealth would moderate Pakistani-s.
5.2 Origin of Myth: Modern education, influenced by liberal principles developed over the past six decades, instills a sense of healthy skepticism and ingrains a propensity to question wisdom received through societal traditions. Wealth alleviates material misery of the subject and obviates to an extent the need for a support in the form of formal organized religion.
5.3 Claimed Answer: No. The Pakistani terrorists implicated across the world tend to hail from either the middle-income or upper-income classes of society. Many are highly educated, and like the 9-11 Saudi bombers, hold advanced degrees from the west.
5.4 Proof: In a still-developing country like Pakistan, access to Internet can be considered a barometer for measuring both educational attainment and income levels. Comments by such Pakistanis on message boards and comment sections of even relatively moderate websites reveal deep-rooted support for this murder [10]. The statement of TV anchors on prime-time shows - as reported in the article [5] cited above - corroborates this claim.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE UNEDUCATED IN BETWEEN AGE OF 12 AND 22 AND MOSTLY PASHTUNS . SUICIDE BOMBING IS A TACTIC INITIALLY PRACTISED BY JAPANESE IN WW TWO AS KAMIKAZE AND PICKED UP BY ISLAMISTS IN 1983 OR SO AND INTRODUCED IN PAKISTAN IN 1995 BY EGYPTIANS
PAKISTANIS ABROAD HAVE BEEN MISERABLE PRACTITIONERS OF SUICIDE BOMBING AND VERY FEW HAVE OCCURRED.99 % OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS ARE OCCURRING IN PAKISTAN AS A REACTION AGAINST DUAL POLICY OF PAKISTANI STATE AND IN AFGHANISTAN AGAINST US AND NATO WHERE IT HAS BEEN MILITARILY VERY EFFECTIVE.HOWEVER IEDs AND NOT SUICIDE BOMBINGS ARE THE MAJOR METHOD
6.1 Myth Six: Fundamentalist thinking is favored only by a tiny minority in Pakistan.
6.2 Origin of Myth: The notion of a silent and benign majority enables the analyst to deflect the accusation of being elitist. Depending on the whim of the theorist, the same majority wish can be dubbed either as democratic aspiration of the suppressed masses or an inherent authoritarian urge. However, if if the majority aspiration is assumed a priori to be benign, then the above nomenclatural choice resolves itself.
6.3 Claimed Answer: No. Based on the collection patterns of terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, some scholars had argued as far as a decade back that the Pakistani society was considerably radicalized. Unlike the armchair western analyst relying on elitist English-language press to understand an oriental society with an occidental perspective, the native observers knew the fact of widespread Islamist radicalization to be an all-pervasive fact of life.
6.4 Proof: The ubiquitous support at the ground level justifying the killing was noted by several Pakistani observers, including the popular novelist Mohammed Hanif [11]. The welcoming of the murderer at the court with showering of rose petals and shouts of Allahu Akbar, the distribution of sweets at Mansehra, and the celebratory gunfire in different cities was also reported in the media [4].
THE ISSUE IS NOT MAJORITY ! IN 1917 BOLSHEVIKS WITH 12,000 MEMBERSHIP CAPTURED POWER IN RUSSIA.THE AFGHAN LEFTISTS WERE A MERE 1 % OF AFGHANISTAN YET THEY CAPTURED POWER.
THE GREAT DANGER IN PAKISTAN IS THE GROWING POWER OF NON STATE PROXIES OF THE STATE WHO HAVE ALREADY GONE OUT OF CONTROL.
CERTAINLY MAJORITY OF PAKISTANIS IS NOT EXTREMIST HOWEVER THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT HAS STREET POWER WHICH IS CONFINED TO SHORT TERM RELIGIOUS AGENDAS ONLY
AGHA AMIN
Conclusion
It cannot be anyone's case that a new theory be established based on a few reports on a solitary event isolated in time and space. The purpose then of the above argument is not as much to establish a new viewpoint, but to challenge the existing theoretical paradigm that far from enabling perceptive analysis actually impedes it. A novel perspective on Pakistan that would emerge then might provide solutions to Pakistan's troubles that seem intractable today.
(The writer is based in Colorado, USA and writes on 'the convergent triumvirate of Indian nationalism, Indian culture and Indian nationalism'. Email: tkrajeshcontact@gmail.com)
References:
1. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0105/What-Salman-Taseer-s-assassination-could-mean-for-Pakistan
2. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/916334--pakistan-muslim-scholars-praise-killer-of-governor
3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8241517/Clerics-salute-brave-Pakistan-killer.html
4. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7042ZZ20110105
5. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703675904576063581434623072.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
6. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/12/data-shows-pakistan-googling-pornographic-material/
7. www.faithfreedom.org
8. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0105/What-Salman-Taseer-s-assassination-could-mean-for-Pakistan
9. http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/05/facebook-praise-for-taseers-assassination.html
10.http://pakistaniat.com/2011/01/04/salman-taseer-killed/#comments
11.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/04/punjab-governor-murder-pakistan
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