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It was supposed to be a month of peace and tolerance. It turned out to be anything but.
A mob attacked homes belonging to Ahmadis in Gujranwala, causing the death of three innocent civilians. In the backdrop of religious chants and slogans, the youth ransacked private property and set alight homes belonging to Ahmadis.
The police, as usual, stood idle.
These scenes of extremism were no different from the ones in Ayodhya in 1992 when Hindu extremists destroyed the Babri Mosque, or from the recent scenes of wanton destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza.
The murder of Ahmadis in Gujranwala is a manifestation of hate that appears to be deeply ingrained in Pakistan, which was founded on the basis of religious distinction. Having religion being considered the sole raison d'etre for a nation state breeds extremism.
It consumes diversity in all its manifestations, leaving hate in charge of the streets and society.
The mob in Gujranwala that burnt and killed, and those who are now hiding and protecting the miscreants, are no better than others doing the same elsewhere. Remember, Muslim mobs rampaging through homes in Ramazan does not make their murderous acts halal.
Imagine the predicament of parents who lost children either in Gaza or in Gujranwala days before Eid.
What should they do on Eid with the surviving children?
Should they dress them up, as they must have planned weeks earlier?
Or should they mourn in silence and remain in hiding from shells in Gaza and murderous mobs in Gujranwala?
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| A house of a family belonging to the Ahmadi community was torched by an angry mob in Gujranwala (left). A United Nations-run school sheltering Palestinians that was hit by Israeli shelling in the northern Gaza Strip (right). –Photos by AP and Reuters |
The mob in Gujranwala caused the death of an elderly grandmother and her granddaughters, seven year old Hira and 10 months old Kainat. The victims were citizens of Pakistan and innocent of any crime. Still, it did not deter the mob from attacking them because the zealots found the three victims guilty by association.
Somehow being a minority in Pakistan has become a crime. Ahmadis, Shias, Christians and others have been killed for being different. This discounted model of citizenship will continue to divide people and consume the society from within.
Pakistan has evolved into one of the world’s least tolerant places. Dozens are murdered on suspicion and rumours. While the world is getting more connected with the Internet, Pakistan is moving in the opposite direction.
Already, YouTube is banned in Pakistan for carrying material that some Muslims find offensive. After the Gujranwala incident that was allegedly provoked by a Facebook update, Facebook may be next to be banned in Pakistan by the government.
The sustained failure of Pakistan’s criminal justice system has strengthened militant groups and mobs, who are encouraged by the knowledge that they will most likely escape justice.
For instance, those behind the murder of 94 Ahmadis in Lahore in May 2010 have not been brought to justice. Countless other religious fanatics turned mass murderers have won their freedom from the courts.
The lack of religious tolerance in Pakistan has brought the country to such lows that a recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIR) observed that Pakistan represented “the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the US government as ‘countries of particular concern’.”
The report further lamented that though the recent transfer of power from one civilian government to another was a step in the right direction, still both the old and the new government tolerated egregious violations of religious freedoms.
The blasphemy laws continue to be abused in Pakistan. USCIR observed that blasphemy laws have put 17 individuals on death row and another 19 are serving life sentences.
Ahmadis in Pakistan are treated even worse, where those accused of blasphemy have been killed while in police custody.
Mr Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, observed yesterday in Jeddah that only democracy could being a revolution in Pakistan. An odd statement to make in Saudi Arabia, a ruthless monarchy. Pakistan, however, needs law and order along with democracy.
If there were law and order in Gujranwala, Hira, Kainat and their grandmother would have been alive today.
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Murtaza Haider is a professor of Real Estate Management at Ryerson University and a Director of Regionomics Inc. He is also a syndicated columnist with Post Media and writes a weekly column on urban economics in Canada. He is the author of the book Getting Started with Data Science: Making Sense of Data with Analytics.
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On DawnNews
Comments (97) Closed
Jul 30, 2014 05:29pm
It was an abhorrent act of violence. It is in no way in accordance with Islamic teachings. Government should take strict action against those who committed this murderous crime. Their should not be any tolerance for such acts if Pakistan needs to survive.
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Jul 30, 2014 05:52pm
The act of Ahmedi fellow citizens is condemnable in all forms. Totally horrid, totally unjustified. However, comparing matters to Israeli aggression is an overstatement.
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Jul 30, 2014 05:55pm
The recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIR). I don't take it. US is the biggest lie on earth and there are scores of example. However, in my opinion, religious tolerance can only be created when the whole society plays its role. It cannot be done by the religious scholars only not even by the law enforcing agencies. There is no short cut to it, we need to educate people as almost 70% of the population is illiterate. The brutal killing of the two teenaged brothers in Sialkot, recently the woman who was killed in the courts in Lahore by her father and brothers and many were killed brutally by the Taliban, made us believe that people in general are ruthless and they act like stone age people when it comes to retaliate or showing anger. Education is the only way forward if we want to be civilized!
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Jul 30, 2014 06:06pm
Gujranwala incident is no doubt a sad incident but it cannot be compared to thousands of deaths in Gaza. Dawn should realizes the difference between double figures(gujranwala) and tripple figures(1000+)
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Jul 30, 2014 06:11pm
@Adnan it is more wretched which makes it an understatement.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:15pm
The photos of the culprits are on the web for the world to see. This constitutes evidence.What is stopping the authorities from identifying and apprehending the self appointed guardians of faith and making an example out of them so no one will dare to try this ever again.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:18pm
On top of all this, Ahmadis are a forced minority, insofar as they are virtually indistinguishable from the so-called majority in all manners of culture, language and ethnicity.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:22pm
Its a pity that not a single political party leader speaks and condemns this act of barbarism. Nobody has the courage to speak against these butality, forget about providing justice to the minorities in Pakistan. Can some one ask Shahbaz Sharif where was he at the time when this crime was committed? was he sleeping and only came through newspaper about this incident? when he will make a judicial commission to have an enquiry?......how many times such horrendous crimes will be conducted in Punjab and "khadim e alaa" will choose to remain silent and protect these gullu butts.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:43pm
Either the writer or the editors, who are responsible for the headline, have tried to grab attention by giving this piece a headline that mentions Gaza, a very hot topic right now.
While the killing of any human being is condemn-able and wrong, I feel there was no need to relate the two situations as, besides loss of life, they are very different in nature and severity.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:47pm
In Pakistan even if other community oppose against the killing of Ahmadis, face the similar fate, usually by the mobs.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:48pm
"Somehow being a minority in Pakistan has become a crime. Ahmadis, Shias, Christians and others have been killed for being different. This discounted model of citizenship will continue to divide people and consume the society from within."
"Somehow"? When do Pakistanis Muslims ever concede that non-Muslims can have moral and ethical claims upon Muslims - both individuals and the community - for injustice and ill-treatment? Never, yes? That's how.
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Jul 30, 2014 06:56pm
Ashamed to be one of the majority
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Jul 30, 2014 07:06pm
Clapping while rockets fall on Gaza, or mob attacking and burning homes of minorities in Pakistan are equally abhorrent and condemnable. None of the act can be justified by any means
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Jul 30, 2014 07:08pm
@Adnan: no doubt two aggressions cannot be compared. One by a jewish army who believe in tit for tat, while others by so called muslims, claiming to be the followers of Rehmatulil Alameen saw, who believed that killing of one human being is like killing of entire humanity. Muslims have lost it.
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Jul 30, 2014 07:09pm
"Ahmadis, Shias, Christians and others have been killed for being different." So you have bracketed the Hindus and Sikhs under 'others'. Interesting.
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Jul 30, 2014 07:10pm
@JackDomm Bro ask the families who lost their love one.. number don't matter its crime to kill one innocent person and same applies for 1000 figures its a horrible sin and crime which should be condemned.. and same situation like ghaza but on smaller scale.. and fire always start with a spark
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Jul 30, 2014 07:13pm
@syed arshad kamal
As long as there are sanctimonious people like you,
there will never be a chance for progress. In your case,
even passing Matric, does not help.
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Jul 30, 2014 07:55pm
@Adnan how? Innocent children and women where killed? Only difference is we kill our own country men..
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Jul 30, 2014 07:58pm
@Amin Syed .... True, the deaths in Gaza require attention. However, as Pakistanis we need to address our own issues before pointing fingers. How many minorities do we kill within our borders? How are minorities protected in Pakistan? When will Pakistan stop being an apartheid state? When will Pakistan abolish the blasphemy laws? Until we fix our own issues we cannot go around pointing fingers at Israel. We are no better than the Israelis in my opinion.
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Jul 30, 2014 08:11pm
Hello Toronto from Karachi. What about Muzaffarnagar and recently Saharanpur. You come all over from Gaza to Pakistan leaving so many countries in you stride.
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Jul 30, 2014 08:12pm
It is ridiculous to compare the Gaza situation with Gujranwala. The writter is sick mind.
The mob could be controlled by Police. Police action is condemnable.
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Jul 30, 2014 08:41pm
glaring omission of Hindus in list of minorities being killed is striking.
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Jul 30, 2014 08:49pm
@Nakul Gote They have fortunately NOT been target killed! Although some hindus are facing conversions
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Jul 30, 2014 08:50pm
@ajit paldhe They have fortunately NOT been target killed! Although some hindus are facing conversions
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Jul 30, 2014 08:55pm
Shahbaz Sharif just announced that 2000 IDPs from Waziristan will be given homes. What about the Ahmadi IDPs of Gujranwala? Does he not consider Gujranwala's area where Ahmadis lived under Punjab government's protection? Or is it very convenient to close eyes from the plight of Ahmadis?
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Jul 30, 2014 08:55pm
As many people have stated, there is not relation between Gaza and Gujranwala incident. In Gaza the killing is done by Jews and in Gujranwala, the killings are by Islam followers, both in the name of religion. Think !!!
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Jul 30, 2014 09:33pm
The truth shown in above news is half truth,
Actually,the axact and true photo of this incident is that
An ahmady boy post a photo at.facebook which disgrace
Islamic emotions and attachments when people go to thier
Home that boy fired at them many people injured one
Of these injured died yesterday ,in responce to thia act people
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Jul 30, 2014 09:40pm
Nice article.
Feeling ashamed of being Muslim!
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Jul 30, 2014 10:01pm
When you have justice in the society you wont have incidents like these, Tens of Muslims are killed in only Karachi on daily basis. And there is no such thing as Religious extremism. Muslims are as extreme as people of other religion. I would say Muslims are less extremists. All the killings in Karachi because of Political extremism, all the killings in world because of Jewish/Christians extremism.
I am sure the above incident is not an act of religious extremism but name of Religion is used to achieve personal gains. Proper investigation should be made. but since the CM of the said province himself has ordered to kill many people i doubt if any proper investigation will be made.
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Jul 30, 2014 10:17pm
Great and courageous point of view and so true. But if you read some comments you can feel the mind set of a lot of Pakistanies. That is one reason that to tell the truth you have to be living out side Pakistan. Why not compare Gaza? Is Palestinian life more valuable than a Pakistani's life killed so brutally.All talk shows and religious and political leadership does not tire from talking and crying about Gaza.No body talked about Gujranwala, It is just politics it is shameful and beyond. God or should I say Allah bless and protect a few truthful Pakistani journalist.
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Jul 30, 2014 10:20pm
i abhor this act of violence. i wish Pakistanis understand the real essence of islam
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Jul 30, 2014 10:24pm
we humans started the journey on earth around 11,500 years ago, when the earth began to heat up. Unfortunately, in spite of such a long life span, we humans never had a chance to acquire common sense. Lack of common sense could not be avoided till the development of internet. Now that humans have the internet, it is time that humans acquire common sense. The Jews like the hindus of India and the Zorastrians of Iran had certain religious faiths, whether right or wrong. Then came the individual religions of Buddha, Christ and Mohammed and for the followers of these new religions, their faith is superoir to the faiths of others. It is a fact that the Muslims of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are the descendants of Hindus. Similarly Muslims of other countries are the descendants of people wth dith different beliefs. This is the reality This has to be understood by every one, whether one likes it or not. Or else you can go ahead with the killing of Ahmedias or Shias or get killed as happening in Gaza.
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Jul 30, 2014 10:46pm
I am not in favor of Military rule, but only a ruthless military ruler can bring change in the blasphemy law which has destroyed so many precious lives.
Civilian governments will not be able to do anything about blasphemy law because they need votes.
Where is IK on these ruthless incidents, and is he not going to write letter to UN about what is going on in Pakistan in the name blasphemy law?
Thanks to ZA Bhutto who gave the nation the gift of blasphemy law.
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Jul 30, 2014 10:52pm
As muslim, how do we complain non-muslim killing muslims when muslim kill more muslims than anyone else!
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Jul 30, 2014 11:02pm
@irfan About the voilence in Muzaffarnagar and recently Saharanpur,it is not a regular voilence while voilene against Ahmediyas,Shias has been going on for quite a long time.About the latter Sahranpur voilence it was done by Muslims.The Muslim lost a case against Sikhs in a local court which enraged the Muslims
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Jul 30, 2014 11:26pm
its more than enough what writer indicated in his articles' title ..."from Gaza to Gujranwala" ....
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Jul 31, 2014 12:18am
As Ghalib said "aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahin insaan hona" A lot of people have no insaaniyat left in them. Intolerance is the demon at the root of those crimes.
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Jul 31, 2014 12:21am
and Modi is called as Butcher
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Jul 31, 2014 12:42am
@fakhar And you know this for a fact, you have seen the post on Facebook and know for a fact that it was posted by the accused, just confirming because this is what I got from your comment.
I for one knowing the society and long history of persecution of people (read minority) on false accusations under the blasphemy law, if I am a minority I wouldn't dare do that, don't you think?? Unless off course you have seen the boy do it and know beyond reasonable doubt, I will believe you as you are a Muslim.
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Jul 31, 2014 12:55am
The so called democracy of Nawaz Sharif and Zardari has created nothing but trouble for the innocent minorities of Pakistan. It is during their democratic rule when religious zealots are let loose to kill, burn and destroy. One is forced to assume that the administration is always a party to such heinous crimes against the minorities.
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Jul 31, 2014 01:00am
Unconditionally condemnable act by a group of people. However, comparison is equally unjust and irrational. What do you have up your sleeves?
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Jul 31, 2014 01:10am
Preposterous and stupid if i must say. No sense or logic. Comparing two complete different situations. though every one should condemn the killings of minority in pakistan. but issues like blasphemy can never be forgiven and the massacre of palestine is totally unjustified and incomparable .
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Jul 31, 2014 02:41am
@fakhar Foreign press is reporting that the Ahamadi boy's
account was hacked and the trouble creators posted the so
called hate maretial.
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Jul 31, 2014 02:52am
Prophet Muhammad, SAS, built a nation state based on deen al Islam, as well as the Mughals, Ottomans and Islamic Andalusian Spain. Please point out how these Islamic nation states bread terror. Israel is a nation that sprung from a philosophy, NOT from Judaism. This philosophy is called Zionism. It is WRONG to kill any innocent human being ,be it Ahmadi, Shia, Sunni or Jew, but please do not compare Islamic states to Zionist states.
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Jul 31, 2014 03:22am
@Realist applause
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Jul 31, 2014 03:26am
The posting of such material and the over reaction are both to be condemned. Every one is talking about the reaction, why not live in peace stop poking sentiments of any religion by doing blasphemy to any religion. When will we learn to mind our own business and when would we stop abusing holy people of Islam for a change so that such retaliations do not happen again. There are always two sides of a story, better start focusing on the other side as well.
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Jul 31, 2014 04:43am
@harikumar The Jew like Hindus of India or Zorastrians of Iran have certain beliefs which or right or wrong. What a garbage and who are others to decide what is right or wrong in someone else's beleifs. Making a judgement by others creates the rift. Please accept diversity in beleifs and move on.
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Jul 31, 2014 04:55am
@JackDomm spoken like a three saheen! how about 200000 death fig in Syria. is that good enough !
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Jul 31, 2014 05:08am
I admire DAWN for condemning killing of innocent persons on the basis of sects and religion anywhere in the world including Pakistan.
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Jul 31, 2014 05:26am
@Ahmed: I agree with you!
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Jul 31, 2014 06:40am
@Lucky Star
It was a military dictator (general Ziaul) who created all this mess in the first place.
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Jul 31, 2014 06:41am
@JackDomm A life is a life. It does not matter if it is in dozen or if it is one. Death cause by hate has to be recognized and actions have to be taken again it.
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Jul 31, 2014 06:43am
@Atif M
Yes, truth when posted in such material is often painful to absorb and embarrassing since the current attitude of the nation at large is exposed.
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Jul 31, 2014 07:16am
It is disgusting and shameful that any innocent life be taken away in this manner in the so called Islamic republic of Pakistan. All and and fatwa's ok'ing or even slightly suggesting that is it ok to kil ANY innocent person whos is nto an imminent threat to one's life are wrong to say the least. I feel ashamed and condem the killing of Ahmedi's, shias, christians and or any other faction of society by any group or individuals. We have to condemn it , we must. How can we even sleep with this happening in our society. ???
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Jul 31, 2014 07:18am
@fakhar
People have no right to attack the Ahmady's homes no matter what, period. Attackers are guilty of arson and murder.
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Jul 31, 2014 08:17am
@JackDomm
and yet Allah says in the Holy Quran that he who takes a SINGLE life unjustly kills the whole humanity.
It is not a numbers game sir. This is about right and wrong. Period!
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Jul 31, 2014 08:39am
@Atif M If you ever think that Ahamdies will be abusive to any Islamic figures or sites, then you are brainwashed. They may not be "constitutionally certified Muslims" but adhere to all tenants of Islam, and the holy places. They are more "Muslims" then the Muslims themselves as they practice Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad .They perform Hajj in Mecca secretly even they know they may get in trouble if the authorities ever found out. You cannot practice anyone from practicing Islam if such a person wants to!!!! I have the greatest of respect for all Ahmadies that I have met and known.
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Jul 31, 2014 08:42am
@Lucky Star I think I have to agree with you!! the so called leaders know that the Maulvi is stronger then they are and would not try to upset the applecart. These leaders are corrupt and useless. I wish a Gen Kamal Ata Turk is born who can erase such law by force and violence if necessary!!!
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Jul 31, 2014 08:45am
Hamaray dil se pochein kis tarah ki guzri Eid hamari
Khareidein hain kafan ,bachon kay kapray ki jaga!!!!
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Jul 31, 2014 09:10am
These Toronto based so called Pakistanis seem to be doing the bidding for their masters....
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Jul 31, 2014 10:05am
Nice Article -- Just put yourself in their shoes for a min who were flamed up in four walls of house then you might have slight clue of what they been through.
Govt. of Pakistan needs to revise the blasphemy law and educate what actually its meant for. ISLAM OR DESTRUCTION?
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Jul 31, 2014 10:17am
Islam itself means peace and prophet (pbuh) tought us peace not voilence . We cannot find any violence on personal issues of his life. E.g. his reaction to the incident of Taif, freedom after Badar and fatah mecca. There are a lot of examples we can learn from them.
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Jul 31, 2014 10:34am
@Akil Akhtar --- Hope you are familiar with word HUMANITY.
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Jul 31, 2014 10:46am
Words cannot describe this act of barbarism. But Mr. Haider also not to forget what happened in Raja Bazar Rawalpindi. The barbarism showed by the mob which was in majority killed hundreds.
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Jul 31, 2014 11:03am
Gaza is being attacked by arch enemy from outside and here in Gujranwala and other cities mostly in Punjab, believers of a certain group are being attacked and burned by fanatics from within.
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Jul 31, 2014 11:08am
@Amin Syed Yes, education is vital, but a strong legal framework must come first, so those who are being disadvantaged have some support and recourse, in the interim years until the education really kicks in. Often this is 20-50 years or more
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Jul 31, 2014 12:40pm
@fakhar what a lie
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Jul 31, 2014 01:16pm
@Lucky Star - "Where is IK on these ruthless incidents"? But first and foremost where is your PM?
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Jul 31, 2014 02:53pm
What was the real crime, for which such a harsh punishment was meted out. Does any one know?
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Jul 31, 2014 03:30pm
@Rashid Oh that's fine then!! Phew!! Now we can all relax!!.. For a sec there, I was very worried!
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Jul 31, 2014 03:58pm
Don't quite see the comparison with babri masjid, which was a dilapidated unoccupied ruin, and no human life was involved in its destruction. Those ruins had no historical value either. Thousands of such ruins abound in India.
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Jul 31, 2014 06:30pm
@Nakul Gote "So you have bracketed the Hindus and Sikhs under 'others'. Interesting."
The people who follow the original culture of this land has been reduced to "others".
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Jul 31, 2014 06:43pm
Not only there is an immense difference of magnitude between Gujranwala and Gazza, there is also an immense difference of attitude. Pakistanis realize that the Gujranwala perpetrators are criminals. Israelis and Indians are not ashamed of their murderers. Netanyahu and Narinder Modi are prime ministers of their countries.
Narinder Modi's former minister of Gujarat for Child and Women welfare, Dr. Maya Kodnani was released from jail yesterday (Wednesday) by Gujarat High Court, citing poor health, no details provided. She was jailed in Aug. 2012 for providing swords to Hindu fanatics who hacked to death 97 Muslims, mostly women and children, in Naroda Patiya in Feb. 2002. She was originally sentenced to 28 years.
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Jul 31, 2014 06:49pm
@Lucky Star;
This has nothing to do with any blasphemy law, I don't think that mob cited any law while committing these atrocities.
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Jul 31, 2014 06:51pm
@kart
Hillarious
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Aug 01, 2014 01:07am
I guess these people are groping for anything. I repudiate this act of violence.
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Aug 01, 2014 03:21am
Many of you editorials/blogs and op-ed pieces refer to babri masjid destruction in India(very often even when there is no connection to the subject of the article). It is never mentioned that very often, hindu, jain, sikh temples in India were destroyed to build masjids. In certain cases, masjids still exist within the walls of temples. For instance, Aurangazeb built a masque within the walls of the Somnath temple. This should have been destroyed, but it is the credit of India's Sardar Patel that it was dismantled piece by piece and rebuilt at a different site. The list of atrocities on others' prayer sites committed by muslim rulers and sometimes populations could fill many pages. . Not a single commenter refers to this atrocious behaviour of muslims. Germans have expressed regret over the holocaust, have muslims ever..for anything. Any comments MR.HAIDER. No..probably not.
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Aug 01, 2014 06:15am
Gujranwala is our concern; Gaza not our problem.
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Aug 01, 2014 06:51am
Be the change that you wish to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
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Aug 01, 2014 08:55am
Having a few illiterate people who were riled up into a billigerant mob that vandalized property, profaned the sanctity of human life and created a social disgrace does NOT refute the two nation theory or the justification for the creation of Pakistan. What these people did to those Ahmedi's is despicable and a just and fair society should apprehend the miscreants and give them appropriate sentences. Please stop blaming religion, especially islam for all the evils you see in Pakistan. Pakistani liberals find faults in the religion itself, not realizing such carnage happens in many "civilized" societies as well. We have lost our way because our leaders are corrupt, there is no literacy, people dont have jobs, food and basic amenities of life. Frustration breeds the biggest evil in the hearts of men and a mob does not work with brains, it's fueled by hunger and despair and the comfort that comes from being part of a herd...
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Aug 01, 2014 09:12am
there was also another casualty where the unborn child in the womb of the mother died ...
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Aug 01, 2014 09:46am
@Adnan Why is it an "overstatement"? On both locations you are persecuted and killed because of your faith. You could say that in Pakistan at least it is not the government of a state which is actively committing the crimes because it was a mob of people who did all those horrible things BUT as you can clearly see in the video police is just standing by and watching! Thy are letting the perpetrators do their crimes and it becomes an invitation to others when they see that the police are just watching and "enjoying" the show. The same situation you have in Gaza where the whole (esp. Arab) world is watching thus confirming the Israelis that what they're doing is not really wrong.
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Aug 01, 2014 09:46am
@JackDomm Killing of one or one thousand is equally condemnable. What matters is the motive behind these acts. Death of one thousand due to negligence on part a pilot can never be as sinister as death of one hundred only because of their faith or their aspiration for freedom.
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Aug 01, 2014 09:51am
@JackDomm Tragedies are not measured in numbers. Persecution of Palestinians is as condemnation as the brutal and public murder of Ahmadies. As a fact both groups are being attacked because of their faith. A crime with fewer casualties is not better than a crime with more.
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Aug 01, 2014 10:17am
@Amin Syed
You are true. Truth is only published from Saudi Arabia/pakistan/yemen.....
These countries represent high humanitarian index and moral values for truth except one for that of hatred for others.
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Aug 01, 2014 10:27am
@Nakul Gote :
Dude, the article is for Pakistan, where Hindus constitute only about less than 1%, Sikhs not even 0.5%. Hence, they are bracketed under "others".
Having said that, I totally liked the article - I am of the belief that only and only then a community starts climbing the moral and intellectual higher grounds when its members start voicing out against the misdeeds of the community. It is very hard to say anything like that staying in Pakistan.
Very aptly put points, which I believe not many people would agree at this point. But as long as there are people like Murtaza Haider, there is hope for Pakistan to survive - which has a greater threat from "Self Destructing Preachers" than it has from India.
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Aug 01, 2014 10:51am
Well said, no one should tolerate extremism of any kind. Also, the idea that the Ahmedi or the Shias are themselves the perpetrator of these heinous acts to gain immigration in North America and Europe is absurd. The others who are accusing Mr. Murtaza Haider of writing this article to gain something from the Harper government in Canada or the Indian government is also foolish and childish.
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Aug 01, 2014 11:42am
Well you invoking of Babri Mosque incident to establish parity is misplaced. To start with, this happened 20 yrs back. Secondly, the design elements were giveaway - it was forcefully built on a temple by an invader to spite the Hindus. Thus it was reclaiming what was rightfully ours.
Finally, not a single person was killed in that incident.
If you had looked around, you could have found ample instances of such vandalism/violence in the Muslim world, to build your case.
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Aug 01, 2014 12:02pm
@JackDomm
before you talk of human beings as numbers or 'figures' ask the mother of a dead child...by your logic, one child dead wouldn't be as horrible as more than one....right?...what if you were the parents of that 'one' child??
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Aug 01, 2014 12:25pm
@Sunil Funny coming from Indians when there are thousands of refugee who fled the mobs in Muzaffarnaggar and are to this day living in refugee camps. Never mind the killing and raping which you guys are so famous across the globe for.
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Aug 01, 2014 12:27pm
@Indian I am not sure if it is your blindness or your utter disregards for sentiments which speaks louder. If Babri Masjid was a non-issue then why have so many people died for it and why are feelings reunning so hight to this day?
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Aug 01, 2014 01:23pm
No comment is better. This is a Nation of Heartless, Shameless people who are blind, deaf and dumb when it comes to murder in the name of Religion.
Don't you hear the cries of the Politicians and the Public !!
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Aug 01, 2014 06:59pm
@Amin Syed Educating the masses!!! In a country with celebrated prolific "highly educated" writers like Umera Ahmed write novels like "peer e Kamil"!!! What a joke
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Aug 01, 2014 08:46pm
Nothing surprising here. This IS pakistan.
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Aug 01, 2014 09:09pm
@JackDomm
what is happening in Gaza and what happened in Gujranwala is similar,
In both cases humanity loose, and evil prevailed. (or prevailing).
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Aug 02, 2014 04:48pm
@Tahir A , No asked to expose truth, that is the problem at hand. What is the need to instigate such conversation? As I said, why can we just mind our own business. No one is perfect, so we better start being perfect for a change and stop getting into posts or comments that provoke hatred. I am all for peace and believe in living and letting others live in peace as well. It all starts with a spark, and all we see is the fire and cloud of smoke. So why not just put an end to the spark once and for all.
I respect every sect and anyone who practices their religion as every religion atleast to my knowledge promote peace. PEACE!!
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Aug 05, 2014 12:58am
The piece conveniently ignores that the only people openly standing besides and defending Pakistani Ahmadis and Gaza Sunnis are Christians and Shia.
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