| Daily Times - Site Edition | Sunday, August 09, 2009 |
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ANALYSIS: The challenge of intolerance —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi
It is important that we recognise religious extremism and bigotry as a domestic challenge rather than attributing incidents like Gojra to foreign agents. Unless we give up the habit of shifting responsibility, we cannot rectify internal weaknesses
Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day on August 14. But the unfortunate incidents in the first week of August have negated the vision of Pakistan as articulated by the Quaid-e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. These incidents should be viewed as some of the most serious domestic threats to Pakistan as a nation-state and a respectable member of the comity of nations. It is the primary responsibility of the Pakistani state to protect the rights and lives of every citizen, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, region and gender.
Two incidents took place in and around Gojra (Punjab) on July 31 and August 1, both targeting the Christian community. The second incident was more violent, resulting in the deaths of eight Christians. The third incident on August 4 involved an attack at a factory on the Muridke-Sheikhpura Road (Punjab) by an enraged mob, killing the factory owner and two other people. In the case of the fourth incident in the Sanghar district of Sindh on August 5, local police saved a woman from the wrath of a mob by arresting and moving her to the police station. A couple of weeks ago, some houses of Christians were damaged in Kasur.
The common denominator in these incidents was the rumour that some people committed blasphemy by dishonouring the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or the Quran. No effort was made to verify the complaint and some people mobilised to take law into their own hands and physically assault the accused and others. In the second and third incident, the public address systems of local mosques were used to incite people. In these two cases, the attacks appeared to be planned as the attackers were fully armed and they brought petrol or chemicals to set property on fire. The media and official sources have accused a Punjab-based militant sectarian organisation of direct involvement in these incidents.
This is not the first time that religious zealots have resorted violence against Muslims and non-Muslims on the pretext of blasphemy. There have been numerous instances in the past when people were arrested on blasphemy complaints. In some cases, the accused was the victim of target killing or mob attack.
Such incidents are spearheaded by Islamic zealots, including elements in the local clergy and activists of militant-sectarian organisations. They are often joined by criminal gangs and adventurists who see this as an opportunity to loot and plunder others’ property. These incidents are also meant to terrorise people. Local administration and police have a tendency to ignore their activities. In the case of the Gojra incident, the issue simmered for a couple of days under the nose of the local administration but the latter was unable to anticipate the trouble and failed to control it when it erupted.
It is praiseworthy that the federal and provincial governments are endeavouring hard to heal the wounds and provide monetary compensation for the losses. However, the government should see to it that these incidents do not repeat. These should be pre-empted so that there is no loss of life and property.
There is a need to undertake a dispassionate and down-to-earth analysis of all the incidents that have taken place after the passage of the Blasphemy Law. There were only a small number of incidents of mob attacks in the pre-Blasphemy Law period. However, these incidents have increased since the passage of this law. The reason is not that more people dishonour Quranic verses now; the growing violence is the consequence of the rise in religious extremism in Pakistan that leads some to adopt the role of self-styled vigilantes. At times, some vested interests exploit this law to advance their personal or group agenda which may not have anything to do with Islam.
Another common feature is that prayer leaders and the clergy often encourage local people to take action against an alleged blasphemer. Mosque loudspeakers are used to incite people. There is hardly any desire (not to speak of effort) to verify the facts or seek the local administration or police to deal with the situation. Still another feature is that such charges are invariably framed against poor people. A large number of them happen to be Christians living in rural areas.
The Blasphemy Law is a manifestation of Pakistan’s drift towards religious orthodoxy and militancy under the military rule of General Zia-ul Haq, who cultivated orthodox and conservative religious clergy and groups, helpd them gain legitimacy and undercut the demand for restoration of civilian democratic rule. As a part of this strategy, he accepted their demand to enforce this law in 1986 in addition to other changes in Pakistani laws from 1979 onwards.
The orthodox Islamic clergy treats the Blasphemy Law as an article of faith and opposes any change in it. They often encourage the people to watch for any attempt by anybody to show disrespect to the Quran or the Holy Prophet (PBUH). It is interesting to note that an advertisement published in some newspapers on August 3 expressed the regrets of some religious leaders on the Gojra incident but they insisted that anybody indulging in blasphemy must be punished, and asked the people to identify whoever was engaging in blasphemy and hand over such people to law enforcement agencies. However, they advised them that they should not on their own punish the guilty.
The clergy’s call to the Muslims to look out for blasphemous people offers a good opportunity to vested interests to use this law to settle personal scores with their adversaries and pursue their individual and group agendas. A person having connections with a hard-line Islamic group can easily create a difficult situation for someone by accusing him of blasphemy. The ordinary people hardly bother to seek evidence and go straight for thrashing, if not killing, of the accused. It is unfortunate that Islamic parties were not active in providing relief to Christians in Gojra and some of them did not even condemn the incident or issue a brief statement in order to keep the record straight.
The Blasphemy Law can be misused either in an environment of religious intolerance or when religious hardliners assert their primacy through intimidation and violence. Under Zia-ul Haq, the Pakistani state took upon itself the task of enforcing Islam along orthodox and conservative lines. This encouraged Islamic hard-line groups and even individuals to take up the role of Islamic vigilantes. Such an intolerant and violent mindset is at the root of Pakistan’s many problems, including the misuse of Blasphemy Law.
It is important that we recognise religious extremism and bigotry as a domestic challenge rather than attributing incidents like Gojra to foreign agents. Unless we give up the habit of shifting responsibility, we cannot rectify internal weaknesses. We need to address the challenge head-on rather than look for excuses.
The Blasphemy Law should be abolished or amended in such a manner that it is not employed for vigilante action. Every city and town should maintain the data of mosque prayer leaders, especially those conducting the Friday sermons. The use of loudspeakers in mosques and other religious places should be restricted to inside use only, with the exception of the routine calls-to-prayer. Strict action should be taken against those found guilty of looting and arson in Gojra and Muridke.
Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi is a political and defence analyst