THE killing of Allama Sarfaraz Ahmed Naeemi, a highly respected religious scholar based in Lahore, is a wretched example of the lengths to which the Taliban will go to eliminate those who oppose them, even non-violently. Naeemi's reputation as a moderate cleric who was assembling an array of religious opposition to the Taliban's activities had clearly made him a marked man. The scholar had solicited and received the support of clerics from across the sectarian divides and had openly declared that jihad could only be fought by the state and not by insurgents or anyone else. Furthermore, Naeemi had issued a religious edict against suicide bombing on the ground that it was incompatible with Islam — adding another degree of poignancy to the death of the man at the hands of a suicide bomber.

Yet, it should not be surprising that the Taliban would go after a Muslim cleric. One of the least understood aspects of militancy in Pakistan is the degree to which it is infused with virulent sectarianism, not just of the Shia-Sunni kind but intra-Sunni hatred of the Barelvis and others by the Deobandis. The phenomenon of declaring fellow Muslims

takfiris — 'impure' Muslims and therefore those who stand excommunicated from the fold of Muslims — and justifying their killing on that basis is not new. Internationally, the most prominent example is of Iraq, where Al Qaeda has routinely justified the killing of Muslims. Here in Pakistan, the most well-known examples are perhaps of the pirs in Swat, many of whom have been killed by Maulana Fazlullah and his TTP militants. In a particularly gory incident last December, the Swat TTP besieged Pir Samiullah and his small band of fighters and ruthlessly killed many of them. Later, when the TTP learned that Pir Samiullah himself had been killed in the fighting, they tracked down his grave, exhumed the body and strung it up as a warning to others who may have been thinking of challenging the TTP. Meanwhile, Qari Hussain, a TTP commander in South Waziristan Agency and known as ustad-i-fidayeen, is believed to have sent many brainwashed boys and young men to their death in an attempt to kill prominent sectarian leaders.

How do we as a people respond to such savage attacks? There is no doubt that the Taliban hope to trigger a violent response, thereby worsening the security crisis in the country and achieving their goal of mayhem. Grim as the death of Allama Naeemi was, it was reassuring to see many of the elders at the site of yesterday's blast trying to calm the younger and more hot-headed among the students and the faithful gathered at the madressah-cum-mosque complex to express their grief. Perhaps aware that violence begets violence, the leaders of the Jamia Naeemia were seemingly keen to abide by the non-violent principles of its slain spiritual head. This should be welcomed and encouraged. The fight against the Taliban is a fight against the rule of the mob; it befits none on the right side of that fight to resort to the Taliban's tactics. And it should never be forgotten who are the victims of mob violence and street protests the ordinary people already besieged by crises and struggling to eke out a living. Protests must be peaceful and they must take place within the confines of the law.