Atif Mian
On Thursday, June 5th, the principal of Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, expelled every student who belonged to the Ahmadi community from the college.
A total of twenty three students, fifteen female and eight male, across the five years of medical school have been expelled as a result. Further details regarding the incident can also be found in reports from the BBC and from the Daily Times.
The Ahmadi students were “accused” of preaching their religious beliefs. The principal was pressured into expelling the entire Ahmadi student body by a mob of protesters belonging to Islami Jamiat e Talaba. The mob circled the Principal’s office and demanded the expulsions. The same day, a mob of about 300 college students also barged into Ahmadi students’ rooms, beat them and threw their luggage out of their rooms.
What makes this incident especially troubling is the fact that the decision to expel Ahmadi students was taken by a government-run medical school, under full knowledge of the relevant Punjab ministries.
As an academic, and a Pakistani, I am totally appalled by this latest incidence of religious fanaticism. One hopes that the present Punjab government turns a page, and instead of supporting the forces of extremism, comes to the protection of its ordinary citizens.
Atif Mian is Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.
there is a disturbing logic that some people advance in these comments and also in the comments on the Denmark embassy blast post which suggests that if someone has done a bad thing in context A, whatever that might be, then it is OK to do bad things in context B. Even if context B has nothing to do with context A. This logic thinks that if anyone has ever made a mistake anywhere then we have the right to do bad things to them including things to them that are much worse (like bombs) than whatever the people did in the first place.
This logic is wrong and disturbing because it can only be made by people who do not believe in justice.
Why can
“ilm haasil karney key liye agar tumhey cheen bhi jaana parey to jao, magar faisalabad sey niklo”
A witty urdu blog by Arif Shamim on the topic:
http://www.thepersecution.org/urdu/bbc/080606.html
I agree with others who have said that it is the weak of faith who are so threatened by someone drawing a cartoon or someone preaching their faith that they have to turn to violence. May Allah forgive these thugs of their sins and show them true Islam (peace).
We forget that there is no law or Constitution in this God-forsaken country, but a