Adil Najam
The news is developing by the moment. But the bottom-line is clear. The security forces have taken control of the Lal Masjid from militants after a severe gun-battle. But the story is far from over.
It will continue to unfold. There are too many unanswered questions. They will certainly be asked and discussed threadbare; here at ATP and elsewhere. But the real story of tomorrow remains the same as the real story of yesterday. Can a society that is so deeply divided against itself learn the lessons of tolerance? This question will continue to haunt us well into the future, in multiple shapes, in multiple forms, in multiple contexts.
This is a question that we at ATP have confronted from our very beginning and will continue to confront. But now is not the time to ponder on this. Even though what has happened had become inevitable over the last many days, I am too heartbroken to be able to do so.
Right now I can think only of Muzammil Shah (photo, from Associated Press, above). This photo was taken as he waited for his son who was inside the Lal Masjid. I do not know whether his son was there voluntarily, or as hostage. But I do know what the look of Muzammil Shah’s face means. The more important question is whether his son came out alive or not. I pray that he did.
Analysts - me included - will discuss what happened at length. They will try to understand the meaning of all this. What does this mean for Pakistan politics? What does this mean for Gen. Musharraf’s future? What does this mean for Islam? For Democracy? Does the fault lie with Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his militant supporters for creating a situation that could only end this way? Why did he not surrender? Is the blood of everyone who died not on his head for his stubboness and arrogance? Or, maybe, it is the government that is to blame because it did not act earlier? Act differently? Waited just a few days more for a negotiated solution?
Right now all these questions seem really petty and small. This is not the time for scoring cheap political points. This is not the time for spin.
Moreover, there are too many questions to ask. To answer. The head hurts as you think of them. But the heart hurts even more as you look at the face of Muzammil Shah.
Maybe the only really important question is the one that you can read between his wrinkles: “Why? Oh God, why? Why must things happen this way?”
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Dan
read the Quraan people…read our history and understand why we became masters of our own destiny….read about our laws as they once were…the same laws that made the jewish population of Al-Andalus flock to tunisia and morocco and other arab lands when the catholics were wiping them out….
read and arm yourselves with knowledge so that you may fight the Mullah and shout back at him when he begins to spew his so called knowledge…for he has none..and the little that he does have is tainted by firqawaariyat and rejectionism….read and you will understand what made us great..powerful and strong..read and you will find out how we were once the source of all that was beautiful and good…..how we were once magnanmimous and tolerant and strong…there was no place for the Mullah as he is now…he must be sought out…de bunked…discredited…his power to divide taken away from him..his power to inspire hate removed…
Dan bhai - Islam teaches that we make the best of life for others and ourselves and trust in Allah SWT - the Mullah wants a position that is not allowed in Islam that of the go-between of Allah and the Human -( remember that blesphemous wretch Mullah Aziz he dreamed the prophet pbuh told him to do XYZ) is certainly very much like the termite or even the rat which is infecting the body of the nation and destroying it from within, we should tell the pakistani people about the truth of islam and falsehoods of mullahism - as i said above if sharia was established in Pakistan then probably 95% of these mullahs will get the death penalty!
Save the Mullahs? To hell with them Pakistan Bachao!
Pakistan Zindabad!
Azra, killing a murderer is justice. Opposing extremist Mullahs a duty. Don’t confuse yourself.
@Pyara Adnan Bhai
“but if some of them start abusing my parent and I don’t react just because they worked good for karachi then it’s an absurd demand.”
So you clearly say that mullahs are like your parent and you can’t take an abuse on mullahs. Thats fine.Why are you taking it so personal. Just because you respect mullah so highly doesn’t mean we have do it to.
“The reason I mentioned my parents because this is very closed relation and even I am not some good practised muslim, I would sure react and respond these mentioned people if they try to offend Islam or islamic clergy, just like I would react on insulting of my parents.Huh, who STOP you psuedo intellectual to offend mullah. Most of the time you “educatedâ€? do here. Infact you should have written.We have born right to disrespect every Islamic clergy but noone else have right to offend our GUYZ because we are intolerent.”
Now you started throwing up emotionally. I think one should not offend only when he doesn’t like being offended. YOu sound like Sean Haninty, emotionally overdrawn conservative.
“yes as everybody knows that I try my best to pay respect molvis/mullah, the islamic clergy just like every other religious people respect their clergy. I am not ashamed of it. Why should I? just because few blacksheeps? they are in every fields including field of yours,mine and field of college professors.”
Why i have to respect what you respect? Sorry I don’t consider teacher as parents. Parents (strong bonding biologically) are different, teachers (no bonding) are different. I will repect a person of what I know about him not because he read/recited quran or has a PHD.
“Offcourse you will feel disturb when someone curse your family member and you definately react someway or another.”
Adnan bhai, keechar may pathar marho gay tho apna he kapray ganday hongay nah.
Sorry I would walk away from such a person. Because reacting to that person would not be wise. I don’t have to be like him.
“For me molvis are like my family members because they are religious mentors just like my school teachers were my mentors. Since you people use religion as a spare part therefore you will not understand this.”
WHAT? I don’t understand what you mean? loss of words?
“You people didn’t respect any teachers in your life that’s why you reject everyone which you can’t comprehend by using your brain.”
what???? Are you being presumptuous?
“No wonder people like you in different varsities offend professors like Adil,MQ and Tina.”
people like me? what do you mean?
I don’t respect people based on their expertiese in their field they are in, may be you do and thats fine. By the way I respect Adil bhai not because he is a teacher but because he is an intellect and I seem to agree with what he says. And I am teacher myself. So keep this lecture to yur self
i am talking about Open Source and you brought MS in middle?
My friend don’t be naive, be it open source or microsoft (closed source), we were talking about software development. The difference is open source software have their code available for modification and redistribution. So writing Open Source doesn’t mean the software is better only its free.
Except pakistanis most of muslim nations are moving ahead in the field of technology.
Example??? Comparison based on what? Open Source Software? hehehehe and do you mean to say they are moving ahead because they are better muslims or because they respect mullahs and we don’t
My friend don’t underestimate us. Me and you 2 computer engineers talking right here produced by this country. Do you know we produce more computer engineers / scientist then any other muslim country in the world. We have more engineering university then any other muslim country in the world. Only muslim country to have nuclear power. Only muslim country to send a satellite in space or atleast tried to send(SUPARCO). My dear write it down ,…Pakistan is the most advanced Muslim country in science and technology among Muslim nations. If mullahs contribute and encorage people to science and technology we can do much better.
why yes ofcourse, I am the extremist for expressing my views against Mullahs due to their wickedness….their fondness to use fitna and fasad to divide Muslamaan against Musalmaan….their desire to act a bridge between Allah and myself when my religion asks for no such thing…
what total BS!!!!
I am the extremist?? I am the bigot?? I am the intolerant one?
am I the one looking to blow up anyone who does not agree with me? am I the one threatening suicide attacks against my fellow Muslims if I do not get what I ask for?
am I asking all to bow before my interpretation of how we should live our life? am I the extremists who condemns every other group of Musalmaans because they wear their trousers 2 inches lower or higher…
am I the extremists for holding a nation hostage?
am I the extremist for hijacking the Kashmiri freedom struggle and turning it into a Talibanised Operation and making the kashmiris hate the idea of joining Pakistan….
am I the extremist for stealing government land and then trying to use religion as a rouse for keeping it?
am I the extremist for kidnapping..of all people the chinese…thereby again…putting my own house at risk….
I am not calling for anybody’s execution…or am not declaring anyone else a Kafir…as is the Mullahs want whenever anyone agrees with him…
no..I am not the extremists that the prophet warned about when he gave his last sermon to the faithful gathered around him….these Mullahs are….these are the Munafiqeen…and as a beareded…practicing and proud Musalmaan…I for one am sick to death of these half wit mullahs with a dirty taaki on his shoulder who thinks just because he chooses to have a beard he can tell me how I should follow my religion…the hell with that I say..
and I am sick…am just sick of these Mullahs trying to win arguments by simply talking longer and louder than people like me…however, no longer should we allow this…
read the Quraan people…read our history and understand why we became masters of our own destiny….read about our laws as they once were…the same laws that made the jewish population of Al-Andalus flock to tunisia and morocco and other arab lands when the catholics were wiping them out….
read and arm yourselves with knowledge so that you may fight the Mullah and shout back at him when he begins to spew his so called knowledge…for he has none..and the little that he does have is tainted by firqawaariyat and rejectionism….
read and you will understand what made us great..powerful and strong..read and you will find out how we were once the source of all that was beautiful and good…..how we were once magnanmimous and tolerant and strong…there was no place for the Mullah as he is now…he must be sought out…de bunked…discredited…his power to divide taken away from him..his power to inspire hate removed…
the Mullah must be stopped…for it is not too late…
and Inshallah stopped he shall be!
Dear Toryalai, I wish what you say was correct. Just scroll up and read teh last half dozen or so comments. They will prove that extremism comes in all flavors.
Sophaeyyah said on Jul 12th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
”There was a message above the switch board. It was saying to conserve electricity as it is a blessing of God.”
Did they Umme Ehsaan not teach her Taliban-e-deen that life is a gift and blessing from Allah and no one is allowed to take that back.
Don’t you think that things like hand grenades, explosive jackets and other weapons (klashnikov and kalakov) were not supposed to be in the premises of mosque, in the hands of Taliban-e-deen (the real terrorists)?
To Azra: on this forum only one side promotes extremism and that is the side which defends the mullahs!
All my life I have wondered how people can take such extreme views that they are ready to abuse and kill each other. Then I read the comments here from those opposing the mullahs and those supposedly defending them. And both sets are equally reprehensible. I guess extremists on all sides are alike. They can not accept anyone else’s opinion except their own and can only spew hate at others. Too many comments above on both sides of the argument are like that. This is scary because if supposedly intelligent people can take and write like this then there is very little hope left.
I was just reading through all the posts and I was also against maulvis and used to say all the things u all said. Today I saw the press covering the insides of Jamia Hafsa after The Red Mosque massacre (there is no other word for that). There was one thing that opened my eyes forever. There was a message above the switch board. It was saying to conserve electricity as it is a blessing of God.
Believe me I have studied for my whole life in the best of educational institutes and I am a doctor. I have had the best of teachers but never in my whole life for once any one of them taught me this thing. Umme Hassan has become my teacher in some way and I salute her for this. They are not illiterates but we are.