Lynch mob and ‘blasphemer’
THIS is with reference to the news item “2,000 booked for burning ‘blasphemer’ to death” (July 4). According to reports, the person who was beaten by a lynch mob and was set alight perhaps when he was still alive was mentally ill. A mentally ill man was lynched by a large crowd on the allegation that he desecrated the Holy Quran. I wonder how sane were those who took part in this brutal, barbaric and cruel act and the silent onlookers who just wanted to view the event for the sake of thrill and did nothing when he cried for help.
Islam’s message of peace and tolerance is certainly not the message which was given to the rest of the world by that act.
If the alleged blasphemer had done anything wrong, it was the law which should have decided his fate. Courts specially take into account the mental state of an accused. Even in the court of the Almighty, insanity is treated compassionately.
A collective show of such a high degree of extremism by some 2,000 odd people towards a helpless individual displayed the
abject sense of mob brutality.
Every now and then, the media reports about dacoits having been caught red-handed and then brutalised by mobs. Two such cases have been reported in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, while we still remember lynching of two brothers in Sialkot.
In such situations the reaction of the crowd is up to an extent understandable. However, no one still has a right to beat and burn someone at his will. The public can only hold the alleged culprit until the police arrive to take the accused in their custody. There is no justification to beat someone to death.
The radicalisation of the Pakistani society is a major and foremost threat to the entire nation and as it seems it is gripping the nation into extremism and fanaticism.
This collective behaviour is frightening and detrimental to the very foundations of the country. Pakistan’s intelligentsia and civil society as a whole have a responsibility to facilitate a change to this attitude. The nation itself has to mend ways from
extreme and radical behaviour towards moderate conduct to make a prosperous, modern and civilised Pakistan.
ANAS A. KHAN
Canada
all the religious zealots are a lynch mob everywhere in the world
It shows that the person who was lynched was not as insane as those who were part of the mob. The one who died actually highlighted the deeper level differences between sanity and insanity. Those who are appear to be sane suffer from extreme insanity, and those who look insane are quite sane at a deeper level.
The real "BLASPHEMER" is not the accused but the ones responsible for this person death and the crowd tolerating such a crime.
Religious leaders are a big problem. They never condemn even a barbaric behaviour if
religion is associated with it. Pakistan problem can only be solved by dealing with these
so called religious leaders. These people who have lust for power and prone to violence
have masked themselves as religious leaders. They need to be dealt with harshly. It
is unfortunate that religion has crossed the red line in Pakistan. Old saying of Shakespeare
" excess of everything is bad" is relevant in this case.
Let us stop quoting Quran. It is obvious that the followers only pay lipservice to the sayings
in Quran but don't understand the meaning and internalize it in their daily conduct.
Pakistan is such a good country..and with such nice people…majority of whom doesnt liked what is happening in the country of extremism and fanatism..this tiny minority of people is giving pakistan a bad name. time to take collective actions against them by whole !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those who committed the brutal act of killing insane person were mentally sick and evil people. It was very strange to see none of the religious leaders condemned this brutal and barbaric act. This also shows the mental state of the religious leaders in Pakistan
I doubt about mental health of 2000 people. It should be written " A mob of 2000 memtally chalanged killed a mad man"
good comment
Raj you are 100% right. All these so called religious extremist who were the creation of Zia-ul-Huq have made Pakistan worst then Somalia. Due to these people Pakistan has become a completely failed state.
Such barbarism exists and it has existed without limitations of geography, man made borders or religion. Witches were burnt at the stake, gladiators dismembered, pogroms committed. History is witness to numerous bouts of collective insanity we are capable of.
Here, I would like to draw attention to the culture prevalent in countries like the Norway (or the other Scandinavian countries) and how the people reacted to the insane statements of a lone gun man in court. They were revolted, they did not agree but at no point did they lose civility.
I hope the generations to come in Pakistan and India are able to appreciate the importance of staying civil.
Extremism lack sense.
Extremism is insane.
What is making us extremist? This is what we must ask ourselves.
Killing a human being is akin to killing humanity or mankind, so says the Holy Quran. I wonder if the people of cloth ever preach that in their Friday sermons. Brutally killing a man only shows the low point our society has reached. Unfortunately, we find this low every day. Perhaps we can only tantalize our appetite with extreme reality.
We are looking for answers in all the wrong places, it is our heart and soul. If we see and treat others like we want to be treated then most problems will disappear. Morality is not the name of praying 5 times or fasting. It means to vacate for heart,mind and soul of all ills,