Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Angry Mobs and the Pakistani state

Recently, a Pakistani lower court judge agreed with a petition stating that it is okay to rule against Americans who have committed blasphemy in America because it is within "judge saab's" jurisdiction. I would politely like to ask this little magistrate with delusions of international grandeur what kind of drugs he has been burning in his crack pipe. A Pakistani FIR has been filed against the likes of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Pastor Terry Jones and the President of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority which is in charge of blocking "blasphemous material".

Angry mobs in Pakistan, many which constitute of highly educated lawyers (ergo people quite familiar with the concept of the rule of law) keep channelizing their hatred on the basis of one thing, xenophobia. From the 1953 Lahore riots against Ahmadis to the state giving into the demands of extremists in the Zufiqar Bhutto era, the xenophobic angry mob has gained the kind of momentum in Pakistan from which there may be no turning back. The constitution of Pakistan promises to protect the rights of all religions and sects and yet the second amendment states that Ahmadis are not Muslims. to apply for a passport, one has to agree officially to a statement that once again asserts that Ahmadis are not Muslims. We can establish that angry mobs hate it when people have beliefs contrary to those of Sunnis (those people who usually constitute angry mobs in Pakistan). We can also establish these mobs are angry enough to make the state discriminate against its own citizens if pushed to it.

So its only logical that when headlines such as "Gunmen shoot dead 16 bus passengers in Pakistan" (regarding the killing of minority Shias by Sunnis) come out in the international press and local press, those constituting angry mobs do not seem remotely angry or mob-like.

By marginalizing a society of people, the Pakistani state is guilty of state terror. By letting xenophobic people dictates the edicts and laws of the state, the people in general have become more ignorant and xenophobic. these measures make it seem as if Pakistan is going out of its way to make life difficult for minorities. The issue just continues to exacerbate and grow even further out of proportion. Currently, a group of lawyers who belong to the Lahore High Court Bar Association have been trying to get the products of a Pakistani business called Shezan banned on court premises because "Shezan is owned by Ahmadis". By that justification, all Sunni Muslims everywhere should close themselves off from the outside world and only deal with other Sunni Muslims. Maybe people who believe this need to make a new state for themselves far away from human civilization (perhaps in Antarctica) and call it "Hermitsitan".

Lastly we have those Muslims in Pakistan who agree things are not going well but say, "beta, yeh sub kuch Allah ke haath main hota hai". my question to them is, "is it just me or does Providence just not give a rat's fart"?


http://tribune.com.pk/story/342763/blasphemy-burning-quran-is-a-form-of-international-terrorism-says-petitioner/


http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-02-28/pakistan-gunmen/53279686/1?fb_ref=.T0zeJSbDNbE.like&fb_source=profile_oneline


http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/amendments/2amendment.html


http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/16/bar-denies-drink-ban.html