Adil Najam
Here is a rather gruesome ad from the Punjab Anti-Narcotics Force, warning prospective pilgrims going for Hajj to Saudi Arabia of the dangers of drug trafficking.
The painted bill board ad makes the point, rather graphically and quite clearly that anyone caught bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia will face death. One wonders, however, if that point is being made a little more graphically than necessary.
The wording on the billboard (seemingly quite large and on an outdoor public location) says:
Don’t unknowingly invite death.
By taking someone’s else luggage or unnecessary foreign or local medications do not put your own life at risk.
Taking narcotics or addictive elements to Saudi Arabia will result in a certain death penalty.
Anti-Narcotics Force (Punjab).
How, I wonder, does a parent explain to a child who sees this billboard why the Arab-looking man is beheading the Pakistani-looking man with such gusto.
One wonders who it is that really gives Muslims a ‘bad name’? The message for the prospective drug smuggler to Saudi Arabia is quite clear. But, what is the message for the rest of us? And the rest of the world?
adnan: -That Islam gives the worst punishment in the world.
-Islam is the terrorist religion.
-Islam doesn’t care about human rights etc etc
The punishments may be better, per the picturization is bad. Still, i agree they’re a thousand times better than the 3rd degree torture going on by the west
[quote post=”456″]How are illiterates going to get the message? [/quote]
-That Islam gives the worst punishment in the
world.
-Islam is the terrorist religion.
-Islam doesn’t care about human rights etc etc
some of our ignorant englightened muslim will believe in theories given by west after seeing such images and would come up and would propose the theory of “MODERN” Islam. This picture also shows the mentality of the person who brought up the idea.
I believe that punishments proposed 1500 years ago are STILL infinite times better than 3rd degree torture and others given in jails of Gitmo and Abughariab.
@Uzma: Actually poster trying to hide sins of Pakistanis by blaming to saudis *grin*.
Who says Saudi Arabia has a drug problem? Of course, no one is claiming that there is not an ounce of an illegal drug anywhere in the country, but the situation is miles and away better than many western countries that spend billions of dollars combating drug traffic. Heck, genres of TV-shows and movies have been created by drug trafficers!
If the death penalty was imposed strictly and swiftly in the US on all drug trafficers who were found guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, the problem could be drastically reduced in a few years.
For all those who claim Saudi Arabia has some sort of a “drug-problem”, I think they need to qualify that statement. I spent my childhood there, and there was no whisper of drugs at my school. In the same vien, not once did I even hear a rumor that someone’s house was robbed (not even something like “my cousin’s uncle’s nieghbour’s inlaw got robbed”). There was certainly no drunk driving. It was a very, very safe and secure place to grow up in. Never once did I hear of a murder, or a drug user, or an alcholic or a robber.
Just looking at the poster, the man with the sword in hand and a triumphant look on his face seems to be the perpetrator and the one with his head on the chopping block a hapless victim.
If public executions could solve the problem Saudi Arabia would have been a drug-free society by now, for they have been using the chopping block for years. Intriguingly, the number of executions is not coming down but going up every year. Obviously, something else needs to be fixed.
The Pakistan Narcotic Board could have used a better message than this gruesome picture. Would anyone want his/her child to see this picture?
How are illiterates going to get the message? The pictures tells them about execution but not the reason for it.