What Pakistan achieved on Sept 21 – a day declared to mark our love for prophet (PBUH) – scores of dead bodies, hundreds of injured demonstrators and policemen, looted banks, ransacked properties, burned businesses, cinema halls, restaurants. Complete country, from Peshawar till Karachi was stand still —- no business, transport, factory, trading was operative, that’s a loss of approx Rs 100 billion GDP, public and private properties worth of Rs 25 billion looted, ransacked or gutted.
After all this, one question should be haunting every Pakistani; what he or she has achieved on Sept. 21? One mischievous person sitting somewhere in California is capable to turn a country of 180million people upside down. How about if there are say few dozens more such wicked persons, should we presume this dance of death and destruction will continue unabated throughout the year.
There are only two ways to respond to such inciting acts: ignore all such works and move on, otherwise, any violent reaction will encourage him/her to further frustrate you. Other way to fight back is taking legal and intellectual route. Sue the hate mongers and get them punished/ penalized in a court of law which may produce deterrence for others. If required respond to them at academic level and prove them wrong using the intellectual and historical data. Any other means to rebut the hate mongers will lead to shooting one’s own foot.
Since last two weeks I have been extensively searching if anyone has tried to respond at academic level, so far failed to see any, other than hate speeches, destruction and announcements of bounty money. Mind you the West is not going to amend its stand on ‘free speech’; instead we have to earn to live in a global village while fighting back with dignity and honor.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
