The threat that we face from religious extremism and culture of hatred against minority communities is much greater than the external dangers to our security and territorial integrity
Reportedly an enraged mob in a village near Kot Radha Kishan killed a Christian couple for alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and burnt their bodies. According to the police authorities an Imam of the local mosque incited the people to commit this dastardly act. No words are enough to condemn this bestiality and the gruesome enactment of mob justice. The incident has rightly been condemned by the civil society, human rights organisations and the Prime Minister who said, “A responsible state cannot tolerate mob rule and public lynching with impunity.” He has also directed the Chief Minister Punjab to show no mercy to the perpetrators of this crime and to ensure that law takes its course.
Regrettably this is not the first incident of its kind. The country has witnessed a string of such gory incidents where the members of the minority communities have been the victim of the wrath of the religious fanatics. In most of the incidents the Christian community found itself on the receiving end. An elderly woman and two children belonging to a Christian community died of suffocation from smoke when their house was put on fire by an enraged crowed at Gujranwala on 28th July while others present on the scene cheered the perpetrators of the crime in approval of their dastardly act. That was the exhibition of an ultimate bestiality. A Christian locality near Badami Bagh was also attacked on 8th May, 2013, when a Christian man was accused of blasphemy. The mob reportedly burnt 160 houses, 18 shops and two small churches in the locality.
The carnage of Christian community at Gojra in August 2009 would put to shame even Adolf Hitler, the architect of “the Holocaust”, for having underperformed. The most sordid aspect of that gory incident was that those who were lynched and whose houses were subjected to arson were not at all involved in the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. According to the investigations into the incident, some children belonging to the Christian community had cut out some pages out of an Islamiyat textbook and used them as confetti at a wedding ceremony in the village without being aware of the gravity of their actions. The imam of the mosque of the locality used the incident to incite the people against the Christian community.
All these acts ostensibly committed to uphold the sanctity of the Holy Quran are against the teachings of the Holy Book itself. In Sura Maidah the Quran enjoins the Muslims to do justice and shun hatred against other communities in these words: “Oh Ye who believe, be steadfast witness for Allah in equity and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly, that is nearer to your duty.” These regrettable episodes in fact are a ranting manifestation of the religious bigotry, intolerance and hatred against minorities, afflicting our social fabric.
The desecration of the Holy Quran is a very emotional issue for any Muslim and undoubtedly constitutes an act of blasphemy, if committed deliberately by an individual or an organisation with an explicit purpose to offend the Muslim community. But even then it provides no justification whatsoever to the people to take the law in their own hands and perpetrate mob justice on the offenders. There are laws in the country to deal with such matters and it is a responsibility of the state to initiate action against the accused person or persons, whatever the case may be, and the accused also have the right to be given a chance to defend themselves and prove their innocence. That is how the Islamic system of justice and the law of the land envisage dispensing of justice.
The growing graph of such happenings is indeed very ominous for peace and respect of law in the society. These criminal acts perpetrated on the hapless victims by the charged crowds, abetted and egged on by the religious extremists, have not only soiled the image of Islam but have also dented reputation of Pakistan as a progressive Islamic state where minorities enjoy protection of life and property as equal citizens in the light of the Islamic teachings.
The government and the civil society have to stand up and refuse to be a hostage to the bizarre brand of Islam bandied around by the religious fanatics. A loud and clear message should go out to them that there would be zero tolerance against their creed of hate and violence. As a first step the government should ensure to make an example out of those who have been and are found guilty of fomenting and executing killing of the members of the Christian community and destroying their properties.
Allowing the law to take its course, however, is only one aspect of dealing with the problem. Since it relates to the religious sensitivities of the people misguided by religious extremists, it also needs to be fought on the ideological front. First of all there is a need to revisit the blasphemy law in consultation with ulema of all schools of thought because this law in its present form has been widely misused. The religious leaders and media can play a very significant role in erasing the bad influence of the ideologies preached by the religious extremists and creating awareness among the masses about the true spirit of Islam and its emphasis on building a harmonious society boasting peace and tranquility as its hallmarks. This should synchronise with the efforts to bring all the seminaries in the mainstream of our education system and revision of their curricula with greater emphasis on Islamic teachings in regards to the rights of the minorities in an Islamic state and the importance of dispensation of justice through state judiciary.
The threat that we face from religious extremism and culture of hatred against minority communities is much greater than the external dangers to our security and territorial integrity. We shall be able to quell the external threats with greater confidence if we are strong internally. Any slackness on the part of the government or the civil society towards that end would, God forbid, have disastrous consequences for our very existence as a sovereign state.
