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*The war within*
By U*mber Khairi*
Dear All,
The assassination of Salmaan Taseer does not just reveal the chilling extent
to which religion-fuelled violence persists, it also reflects the increasing
brutalisation of the psyche of the Pakistani people.
Taseer is just the latest public figure to suffer because he had the courage
to speak out against the militants and the religious right. Last year, the
only son of the information minister of the troubled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was
targeted -- as the ANP minister himself is on the terrorists' hit list
because of his repeated criticism of them. Last year a number of religious
scholars who had criticised the Islamic militant activities were also gunned
down.
Pakistani people are hostage to the religious right. Law enforcement
officials in Pakistan say that it is possible to counter the forces of this
fundamentalist-rightist lobby if there is sufficient will in the government,
and a clearly defined line on what can or cannot be tolerated in terms of
violence, incitement to violence and criminal activity. Yet successive
regimes have, at some point or the other, given in to the demands of
blackmailing mullah groups, which threaten to proclaim their opponents
'apostates and non-Muslims'.
The brutality with which the religious right consolidates its power is used
so that a small network of intolerant men with beards can consolidate their
material and political interests and maintain fear in the people it wishes
to manipulate. 'Persecution of Muslims' and 'Defence of Islam' are their
main themes. But the chilling reality is: this message is not restricted to
their parties but has seeped into the general mindset of Pakistan.
Many Pakistanis blame the West, the US in particular, for General Zia's
11-year-dictatorship and the religious and sectarian violence that was the
direct result of his policies. But the fact of the matter is that now the
problem is not Western support or lack thereof, the problem is the people of
Pakistan -- who are either unable to stand up to the religious bullies or
who actually sympathise with what this group is preaching. Thus, you have
large sections of the so-called educated people toeing the rightist line and
rejecting any sort of logical discourse in favour of self-righteous outrage.
Marx described religion as the opiate of the people. In Pakistan it is the
heroin of the people: it is a drug that entraps, ensnares, enrages and
leaves you wanting for more. People need their fix of outrage, hatred and
fatwa.
The frightening thing about this is how the most unexpected people have
espoused the intolerant, inhuman ideology of the fundamentalists. Here's an
example: I heard our popular cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, our
handsome, playboy Lahori, speak at a seminar a couple of years ago and was
shocked to hear him say that the former military dictator Pervez Musharraf
'deserved to meet the same fate as Saddam'. He went on to say that Musharraf
should be 'strung up'. Later on when I chided him for preaching this lynch
mob rhetoric he was outraged by the criticism and insisted he was right to
say such things -- and that he would continue doing so.
What kind of thinking is this? That vigilantism and violence is perfectly
acceptable?
Yes, we are fighting a war against armed terrorists, but in Pakistan the
enemy is also now within: within the minds of our beleaguered people.
Taseer was brave to take a stand for justice and progress. He was on the
frontline of the war against the regressive forces of religious extremism.
He was on the frontline of our war, and we need to stand up and continue the
fight -- wherever in the world we may be.
With sadness,
Umber Khairi
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