Over fifty houses belonging to Christians and two churches have been burnt and ransacked by a mob of villagers near Toba Tek Singh and at least six people have been killed. The mob meted out the collective punishment on the ‘accusation’ that three Christians were allegedly seen desecrating pages of the Holy Quran.
The perpetrators committed this vile act in broad daylight as hapless homeowners ran for their lives. Ironically, instead of arresting the culprits, the police – under pressure from the mob – registered a blasphemy case against the three Christians!
However, the irony doesn’t end here. While Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif condemned this incident, he had himself presided over an important meeting of the ulema just four weeks before with a very different message. The meeting put out a joint proclamation stating that “.. whosoever is even slightly guilty of blasphemy against the Prophet – directly or indirectly – is an infidel, an apostate, and liable to be put to deathâ€. So why condemn now Mr. Chief Minister?
Further irony is that the above statement was part of a joint declaration prepared to condemn religious militant extremism! The Punjab government was so proud of bringing these progressive minded ulema together, that it published the declaration in newspapers. (Click here or on image to see larger version).
But the greatest irony of all is that those who were so perturbed by the alleged desecration of pages of Quran, shredded its entire message to pieces by destroying a place of worship.
This earlier report from Reuters gives more details of the incident:
Six Christians, including four women, were burned alive in clashes with majority Muslims in a town in central Pakistan on Saturday, officials said. Tension has been running high between the two communities in Gojra town in central Punjab province over allegations that Christians had desecrated a Koran.
Clashes erupted early on Saturday, with an exchange of fire from the members of the two communities. Television footage showed burning houses and streets strewn with blackened furniture and people firing at each other from their rooftops.
Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minorities, said a mob “misled by religious extremists,” attacked a Christian neighborhood and torched dozens of houses. “We have received six bodies of people who died of burn injuries. They included four women, one man and one child,” Abdul Hamid, a Health Ministry official in the town told Reuters by telephone.
Rana Sanaullah, provincial minister for law, who is also responsible for security matters of Punjab, condemned the attack and said an inquiry had been ordered. However, he said, a preliminary investigation showed there was no desecration of the Koran. “It was just a rumor which was exploited by anti-state elements to create chaos,” he said. “I request both Muslim and Christian communities to show restraint,” Sanaullah said, adding the government would take strict action against rioters and also police who failed to stop the violence.
Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim nation and religious minorities, including Christians, account for roughly 4 percent of the 170 million population. Muslims and minorities largely live in harmony but there have been periodic attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan since it became a U.S. ally following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
As tensions have escalated, The News reports concern and statements from the Federal government, including the Interior Minister, Prime Minister and the President:
Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik Saturday took notice of violent incidents in Gojra and directed Punjab Inspector General to bring the situation under control. He also directed the Punjab government to improve the law and order situation in the province; he also directed Punjab IG to submit report on the Gojra violence. Urging the people to demonstrate patience, he maintained no one would be allowed to take law in his hand in the country. The interior minister expressed deep grief over the rampage and violence in Gojra, saying action will be taken against anyone involved in the gory incidents in Gojra.
In a separate news item in The News:
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Saturday, taking notice of the Gojra’s violent incidents, ordered to initiate inquiry into the Gojra, sources said Saturday. President Asif Ali Zardari ordered to send Punjab Rangers to Gojra so that the situation could be normalized. Rehman Malik said Punjab Rangers will help police in bringing back the situation to normalcy, adding the government will take stringent action against those who are involved in worsening the situation. Zardari asked the interior ministry to cooperate with the government of Punjab for maintaining the law and order in the province.
What an outrage! What is the source of these sentiments? What anger are they channeling towards such destruction? This is bringing jaahiliyyat to a whole new level. How easy it must have been to target a small neighborhood of minorities. To destroy their places of worship, burn them alive. I agree with those who have said this situation must be investigated thoroughly, and all those involved must be punished. But, being realistic, I know that this is difficult, given the fact that this event was allowed to occur in the first place. It means that many were not fulfilling their duties. It also means that (and especially if there was no desecration at all, which is highly likely) there exists, at least in those parts, a dangerous combination: those who are highly adept at manipulation, and those who are easily manipulated. And as long as we allow others to think for us, as long as we allow such petty things to consume our minds, we as a people cannot move forward or perhaps even remain standing.
1) @Wasiq: Beautiful words. A Spiritual Marshall Plan will be more effective in solving Pakistan’s problem than a fiscal Marshall Plan at this time. ‘Eat grass but be more inclusive in your thought processes.’
2) As @Eidee man says, it sounds absurd that Christians in Pakistan would be stupid enough to provoke an already overly-fundamentalist majority by ‘desecrating’ Muslim holy book.
3) It looks like preaching to the choir again in this blogspace. Except for @Adnan Siddiqui and or two others most bloggers don’t need to be reminded of the stupidity of the Blasphemy Laws.
4) The Urdu clipping “Mushtarqia Alamia” (Joint Declaration) in this article with the Chief Minister of Punjab’s name on it is perhaps even worse than the lynch-mobs burning to death a tiny minority. Point #2 in it clearly imply that a Blasphemer is ‘Wajib ul Qatl’ (to be justifiably killed) OUTSIDE of the normal penal code of Pakistan.
5) Please Punjab and NWFP: Don’t bring your fundamentalist idiologies to the last Sufi stronghold in Pakistan which is the province of Sindh. Once you may had people like Rehman Babas and Bulleh Shahs but that is fast diminishing. Suits Punjab better: They supported or at least were not active enough against Zia–the proto-Taliban–for years and so now is time to ‘reap the whirlwind’.
Z A Kidvai, “What’s the color of National Shame?”I read your poem. It’s moving.
The obsession with the physical integrity of the Quran is misguided and should never be more important than the sanctity of human life. Ridiculous laws regarding blasphemy, heresy, and sacrilege have absolutely no place in a free and enlightened society. In place of Zardari’s Marshall Plan, I propose another: that every Pakistani parent spend part of the day teaching their children to love and respect human life in all its confessional, ethnic, and cultural diversity.
http://tinyurl.com/n5or7v