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?”
I fear commenting here because people seem to immediately become personal and the rules of muhazib gutagoo are ignored. But at the risk of getting igniting some people (who I will ignore) I do have a serious question I keep worrying about. It seems that most people of all types in Pakistan are convinced that the Lal Masjid operation was done to please the US and the West. But the problem is that anyone who lives in teh West or reads teh Western media knows clearly that the West is NOT pleased by the operation at all. Most western media seems to agree with MMA maulvis that the operation even if needed was heavy-handed. So, it seems that theory is either not correct or did not work.
PETITION TO APPOINT A JUDICIAL COMMISSION TO FIND THE TRUTH ABOUT LAL MASJID:
Please consider signing. The petition will be delivered to CJP in 15 days.
http://www.ipetitions.com/peti…..-Pakistan/
Join the coalition of the truth and the battle to save the soul of Pakistan.
-TAKE PAKISTAN BACK COALITION
Adnan, when I said “we”, I meant America and Pakistan; I have a stake in both. Also, would you care to comment about the actual points or was that the best you had to offer?
A person sitting in US and making statements like:
I’m so glad we are back to the normal now.
Funny!
What are you doing over there? why don’t you come back?
“Its all to make happy our masters sitting on other side of world…”
…..hmmm, let me guess, these would be the same masters that six years ago, you were cursing every day to have foresaken you. The ninetys was a vey strange time for us Pakistanis: we couldn’t blame America for our problems, we could’t blame the military and yet we killed each other in record numbers and drove the country to bankruptcy. I’m so glad we are back to the normal now.
Death to America for…..the flooding in Baluchistan ….and for the termite problem in my closet!
Why Govt is not taking action against the brothels and wine shops?
Its all to make happy our masters sitting on other side of world… if some one will take action against these centers which presently serves rulers than normal folk in Islamabad, our masters will brand us EXTREMIST:)
Nothing to talk about law and constitution… if culprits can be made Governers.. then anything can be happened….
NOTE:
IF ANY ONE SAYS THAT IN OUR COUNTRY LAW PREVAIL ANYWHERE… HE MUST OPEN HIS EYES OR BETTER GO TO DOCTOR FOR TREATMENT:p
….in the previous post, there was a “not equal to” sign between the words amr & Danda and Nahi & danda. For some reason, that didn’t go through.
Adnan, here’s a definition of religious extremism:
“imposing one’s own religion or one’s own version of their religion onto others by using force or threat of force when such force is not sanctioned by the law of the land”.
What’s so disputed about that ?
……and the last time i checked,
“amr” danda
and “nahi” danda
I’m pretty sure those terms were meant for imparting tableegh and not takleef.