Adil Najam
This is a VERY DISTURBING video. Please view at your own discretion.
It is important, however, that we speak about and shout out about this video.
It shows a 17-year old girl being flogged by a Taliban leader of some sort in a perverted form of justice. Reportedly the incident happened in Kalakalay, Swat around 3 months ago (before the supposed peace deal with the government). The girl is being ‘punished’ for going somewhere without a male relative. Supposedly, the male companion was also flogged.
This video is also be discussed vigorously at Pakistaniat’s new Facebook page. Some of that disussion does not carry over here, although we hope it ultimately will.
In more recent developments, supposedly Sufi Mohammad in Swat has condemned the act and said this was not Baitullah’s Taliban. More importantly, the recent reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has taken su moto notice of this incident. According to The News
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Friday took a suo motu notice of the media footage in which a 17 year old girl is being whipped out in the broad daylight in Swat. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhdy ordered the matter to be presented before a larger bench on April 6. He also summoned Secretary Interior, IG and Chief Secretary on April 6. He ordered formation of 8-member larger bench to be headed by himself.
This is a story that all Pakistanis and all Muslims must speak about and speak against. There are those who will try to make this a story about what Pakistan or Islam is. Such bigoted approaches are to be resisted. This is not a story about what Pakistan is. This is clearly not about what Islam is. This is a story about what the enemies of Islam and enemies of Pakistan are doing. This is a story about what Pakistan must not allowed to become. The bad news is obvious in the video itself. The bad news is about the criminality being conducted in the name of religion. The good news is that the media, the judiciary and ordinary Pakistanis ARE speaking up and speaking out. We must do more so. For if we do not speak out against this criminality, who will?
Taliban=”A Problem From Hell”! I heard the Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan and every word he said had the stench of evil. I cannot imagine any of it to be true, as Allah has repeatedly given the woman a respectful place in the world. The woman who is a mother, a daughter and the center piece of every household….could Allah have been so disproportionately unfair to have prescribed the treatment the Taliban spokesman keeps referring to? A full chapter on “Women” shows how Allah wanted women to be treated in this world. Anything that digresses from that message is corrupting Allah’s word. This raises another question in my mind and that is where is the “Allah of The Oppressed”?
@Faraz: Very true. Decoupling of religion and state is one of the fundamental requirements for a healthy society. The West made significant progress in this direction after the Dark Ages. The rest of the world still lags behind and Islamic countries all the more so. As long as the debate revolves around “is this the *correct* interpretation of Islam” (or any religion for that matter) there is no way justice will prevail.
Irfana:
According to Quran lashing 17 years old girl mercilessly is a just punishment.
But there are also amny things in Quran which are just. Like having slaves or buying womens and having them in your “haram”. Same is true about Bible but West is now civilized and ig their church found something totally against “humanity” they stop condoning it.
On other hand; we still admire a “tribal society” of 7th century as “golden era” of humanity and want to emulate it.
In Saudia they behead ppl in front of jubilating crowd. Rich ppl buy womens for their pleasure and and they can even beat 70 year old women by lashed if she is not accompying a male.
Unless we do a grand reformation in Islam; it is middle ages religion with middle ages value system.
@ Haider Ali
I condemn ALL extremists
Dont bring MQM here. You are just trying to change to topic. There are goons in MQM but they are still light years better then Taliban. They don