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?
The moderators do not allow any comments which includes a slightest mention of who is responsible for why Pakistan is where it is today. It requires courage and integrity to accept mistakes. Only then a corrective course of action can be charted. Otherwise all this blogging is nothing but a drawing room conversation that no one can beat us at.
How did the mullah who opposed the creation of Pakistan get so strong that now they assert ownership of Pakistan?
Well they came for Ahmadis, then for Shias, then for Christians and all that ‘we’ did was watch and root for them. Now they have come for the women and soon they will come for ‘us’. The mullah plague was planted by ZAB, watered by Zia, MQM/ML etc and nurtured by ‘us’.
Pakistan is enjoying the fruit of the tree that ‘we’ nurtured. How many among us have the courage to take responsibility for the unraveling of this country? We were bigots then and we are bigots now.
@pejamistri
There is a fourth group of people who believe all religions are based on superstition and ignorance.Slavery and misogny is accepted in Judaism,Christianity and Islam.
I have looked into these major monotheistic religions and don’t see where slavery was banned in any of them.
Jews claim they were enslaved by Egyptians for hundreds of years but God of Moses never told them Thou Shalt Not Enslave fellow Humans instead He told them to keep Sabath.
Now what is more important not working on saturdays or freedom of mankind?
I am sure one day reason and logic will prevail.
BARBARIC, GET rid of these guys from our country.
@inayat
Although it is as simple as you have described it i.e. “It is BARBARIC” , but there are many hurdles in accepting this truth. So there are three sections
1. The first group is of the people , who although in heart of their hearts may believe that it is “BARBARIC” , however it is not possible for them to accept that truth. The religious zeal demands that even if it is “BARBARIC” , if it is recommended by the religion we MUST accept it. This is very simple indeed for these people. I am not saying that such people are stone hearted, or brainless. As a matter of fact over the past few decades there have been many great scholars who have been propagating this theory to the general public on the basis of logical reasons. If you listen to contemporary scholars like Dr. Israr, Dr. Tahirul Qadri , Dr. Zakir Naik, etc.. you will find that the meaning of word “ISLAM” they would prefer is “submission to Almighty God” , over “Peace”. I was doing some comparison that how the “Submission to Allah” was slowly changed from “Peace”. So when you “submit your will to God” that means you loose the right to object any commandment from the God. I am not saying that this is only unique in religion Islam , all religions are more or less based on this principle. The question however is that whether a “seemingly Barbaric” act if prescribed the religion is acceptable or not. In the opinion of such people such acts is not only ACCEPTABLE but actually commendable as it is prescribed by the religion.
2. The second group of people is the one who sincerely thinks that such an act is “BARBARIC” because it was wrong way to execute such act. So the punishment/act in itself can not be considered as barbaric (because this is how Quran and Islam prescribed the punishment for adulterers) , it is the way “Taliban” have served the punishment (i.e. without following the due course of law) and the way it was executed (in front of public on a chowk, without any regards to sanctity of woman).
3. The third group is of the “enlightened moderated” group of people who think that even if such punishment was served thousand years back , it CAN NOT be practiced today. This is important to note however that such people are not “Kafirs” or “against Islam” however they think that there is a requirement for re-constructing the religious principles according to the modern day requirements.
I must say however that first group is in the majority looking at the comments on pakistaniat.com
What a silly discussion. THIS IS BARBARIC, even if it was practicesd a thousand years ago it shoudl not be practiced today. Can we not get that into our head!!!!