Pakistan lost a brave man today.
Punjab Governor Salman Taseer died after he was shot nine times by his bodyguard outside of Kohsar Market in Islamabad Tuesday, reported news sources. According to the Guardian, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the gunman, Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, told police he had killed Taseer for “criticizing the country’s blasphemy legislation,” calling them kaala qanoon (“black laws.”)
Taseer became increasingly vocal against the blasphemy laws after Aasia Bibi became the first Christian woman to be sentenced to death, allying “with rights activists, critics and several government officials in urging the government to repeal or revise” the legislation. His courage to stand up against the religious intolerance in the country was met with protests, and the NY Times reported that effigies of the Punjab Governor were burned in protests last Friday.
But Taseer would not back down, encouraging others to take to the streets against the laws [to learn more about this upcoming protest in Karachi on January 15th, see Five Rupees]. Just last week, he tweeted to his followers, “I was under huge pressure… 2 cow down b4 rightest pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I’m the last man standing.”
His words, though chilling, should remind us all of Salman Taseer’s bravery, his conviction, and his determination to stand up against the intolerance and discrimination that has long crippled this country.
I am deeply saddened by this tragedy, but I am also disgusted by those who continue to hide their own blasphemous faces behind the blasphemy laws, who use violence to mask their own cowardice. I am disgusted that Salman Taseer was one of only a few brave enough to stand up to the religiously bigoted, while others stood silent. And finally, I am disgusted by those who would rather speak ill of the dead and defile Taseer. Put aside your pettiness and have some respect.
Salman Taseer died a martyr today, and our condolences and prayers go out to his family. His death is a tremendous loss for Pakistan and for the fight to amend the blasphemy laws, but it is one that should mobilize us all to take a stand. Or else we all will have blood on our hands.
For a profile on Salman Taseer, see here. For great posts written by others in the Pakistani blogosphere, see Huma Imtiaz, Shahid Saeed, Five Rupees, and Tazeen.
May God bless his soul … sigh!!!
We (Pak elites) are not victims here–we have cultivated the forces that are now eating us. It is too late to pretend we are “secular” or “liberal.” We aren’t, we haven’t been, and now we face the fate of the creator of Frankenstein.
OMG! Thats sad.. The most crushed will be the Minorities in Pakistan.
kalsoom i am posting this another link on blasphemy law. please do go through it when you have the time. its quite informative and provide me with your feedback if possible
http://tribune.com.pk/story/96867/the-real-blasphemers/
Thanks Butterscotch – going through them now. So horrified with some of the comments I’ve seen on Facebook, people are so callous.
plus i also posted some fb links on your prev post. please do post them on twitter so that maximum no of ppl can report on them. at least we are doing our bit:(
The mainstream media as well as the blogosphere is full of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric, including disparaging and insulting remarks about the prophet.
Are we going to kill all of these guys?
No wonder these westerners say your God is different to our God.
These illiterate SOB’s are a blight on the face of humanity.
My condolences to Salman’s family. He showed courage, when the other politicians have shown cowardice in the face of these radical and hateful Islamists.
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This was a de facto assassination of an apparent cia operative and was done to send a message to the fbi/cia mass murderers that the NWO will not be achieved on the backs of the Pakistans.
http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/part4-worldinabo.html
Um, are you kidding me?!
Kalsoom, you could not have said that better
lol geral. good find!
I know a good doctor for you, but when you wake up tomorrow morning the government will have implanted a monitoring chip somewhere in your body so they can keep an eye on you.
they know where you live, and are watching you. 0_0
i am sad and horrified.
[…] at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan broke the news with this sentence: Pakistan lost a brave man […]
Very sad event. Hopefully his death will not be in vain.
Thanks for this. Salute to Salmaan Taseer, protest his murder. Candlelight demos today: Karachi Press Club 5.30 pm and Kohsar Market, Islamabad 5.00 pm. Jan 5. Pls come. Tell friends.
I am extremely sad and my heart bleeds for him. He was a brave man. RIP. The country has no future w/o voices like his…..
Most of the western world will just look upon this wishing for violence to stop. To them, without life, what is there in this world?
Personally i wonder how exactly these radicals plan to dominate the world when their grasp on this small corner of the world is weak and speaks of childlike zombie tantrums. “waah you offend us we kill you bad! bad!”
Kalsoom,
As shocking as the assassination is, what is really scary are the incendiary comments on fb. Even more horrific is the reaction of some clerics forbidding mourning. A real possibility is that this killer will end up as a hero for several extremist people within the security establishment who may well follow his lead in offing their protectees if they dont toe the ‘Islamic’ line. Will the killer end up teflon clad with all the ‘support’ he is getting & not be tried at all or, if tried will he be acquitted due to the fear factor among prosecutors/judges? Till yesterday, ordinary Pakistanis were left to themselves to survive the day but now even Rehman Malik, with his battalion strong security cordon, will feel very, very vulnerable. Very frightening!!!
So sad… i have been shocked ever since i heard this horrble news… we need more people like him… when will our society realise how deep the intolerance and hatred that extrmism spreads has penetrated our people?
May he rest in peace and may all other secular politicians be kept safe! Ameen!
Geral
You probably had a long dizzy new yrs.
I can’t begin to express how demoralized this makes me feel.
To begin with, the fact that a man such as Salman Taseer will be remembered as a martyr because he finally took the right stand on an issue, as self-motivated at that stand may be.
(Please note that I mean no disrespect to the memory of the man- I simply refuse to glorify him either).
Furthermore, that for taking this ONE good stand, he was murdered in cold blood. Then, the fact that the murder took place at Kohsar Market, a place that has somehow managed to escape unscathed over the past 3 years of bombings, chaos and terror.
And finally, the fact that his murderer is being hailed as a hero by a horrifying number of people.
If this is what Rule of Law means to us as a country, why did so many people take to the streets calling for the restoration of the judiciary?
Most importantly: What can be said of a society that greets such acts with mirth?
These are questions we have delayed asking ourselves for far too long.
Today I read this comment on one of my friends facebook feeds: “I think yesterday was the first time a country broke my heart.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Very sad event especially since its an “elite security guard” who is the culprit!
Most importantly , will FOREIGN LEADERS feel safe going to Pakistan anymore?? I guess if anything happens to PMs and Presidents of other countries it will be a DIPLOMATIC NIGHTMARE and may even lead to war……
i guess that is the most important but overlooked question till now!
Today I am ashamed to be a Pakistani. May God help us.
The disgusting celebration of the killer (e.g., lawyers showering him with flowers when he arrived at court) convinces me that I am (1) not really Pakistani–I’m more American, (2) Pak is not suited for democracy–too little middle class, too much ethnic strife that makes ordinary Western politics irrelevant, way too much illiteracy–>ignorance and (3) honestly I’m not proud of Pak, I’m ashamed of it and I hate it–the only place I feel comfortable is Islamabad, and that’s just a fairy-land that’s not the real Pakistan.
Too much focus on “democracy” is retarding things in Pak–what we need is literacy and economic development under dictatorship, like S. Korea or Taiwan. F*** what the “ordinary Pakistani” wants right now–they are retards.
So depressing–I yelled at my aunty today on Skype–she lives in Islamabad and “supports” the killing!! And she has a degree. WTF indeed!!
Our leaders are not even safe from their guards. Want to see Zardari dies worse then he did.
سلمان تاثیر کتے کی موت مارا گیا
Absolutely agree with Javed and Kamil Hamid.
Our ruling elite is too distant from our common man. Mr. Taseer had the power and the position to make statements and he did about things which he personally agreed or disagreed with.
True leaders are however, the ones who try to lead their nation with unity, who understand their followers and respect their thoughts.
Our ruling elite is living their life in isolation and they think they know best, It would be nice if they took sometime out and try to listen to the nation, rather then dismissing their thoughts try to communicate with them.
Hope better sense prevails in my Pakistan!
The problem with Islamic fundamentalism are the fundamentals of Islam.
To call Islam a religion of peace, as we hear ceaselessly reiterated, is completely delusional. There is a religion of peace in this world, but it’s not Islam. Jainism actually is a religion of peace. The core principal of Jainism is nonviolence. The crazier you get as a Jain, the less we have to worry about you. Jain extremists are actually crippled by their pacifism. They can’t even take their eyes off the ground lest they step on an ant.
So you’ll notice that the problem is NOT religious extremism. Extremism is really not a problem is your core beliefs are nonviolent. The problem isn’t fundamentalism. The problem with Islamic fundamentalism are the fundamentals of Islam.
Take Osama Bin Laden, Khaled Sheik Mohammad, or in fact Mumtaz Hussain Qadri. These guys agree on the nature of reality and how to live within it. The problem is, they are giving a very plausible version of the faith. Osama Bin Laden is not the Reverend Jim Jones of the Islamic world. It would be wonderful if he was, but he’s given a perfectly straightforward version of Islam. You really have to be an acrobat to figure out how he’s distorting the faith. Now if those guys were Jain, or Buddhist, or Amish, or Quaker, it would be patently obvious how they were distorting their faith. In fact, their behavior would be unintelligible. It is not obvious by the light of Islam, and that is just a fact we have to speak honestly about.
The belief is that Mohammad got the Qur’an directly from the archangel Gabriel in his cave in the 7th century. And therefore it is the “perfect” word of the creator of the universe. The consequence is that we have this single book, which is imagined to be the best book on any subject ever written, never to be superseded by any human effort, at any point in the future.
Now, this is a problem the Qur’an is a profoundly mediocre book. The idea that it is the best book written on ANY subject can only be maintained in a kind of fantastical intellectual isolation. This isolation has actually been achieved in Pakistan to an astonishing degree.
The country of Spain translates more of the world’s literature and learning into Spanish every single year than the ENTIRE Arab world has translated into Arabic since the 9th century. That is scary. It’s scary because the contents of the Qur’an really offers precious little rationale for living in a sane and pluralistic global civilization. What the Qur’an does give you rationale for is the ceaseless worship of a mediocre being who has given us this mediocre book.
And nobody should be speaking more honestly and more volubly about this than moderate Muslims. Moderate Muslims have to find some way to grapple with this fact. But to say Osama Bin Laden is David Koresh is just a lie, and it’s a dangerous lie at this point.
@HGW
“To call Islam a religion of peace, as we hear ceaselessly reiterated, is completely delusional. ”
———–
“When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion.”
Robert Prising
Inspiring blog. Great Tweets. Your words and actions give hope and provide an informed view on/in Pakistan.
I reject the idea that Mr. Taseer was at anytime a martyr for Islam. He was, on the other hand, a martyr for freedom of speech.
Mr. Taseer’s personal life (and yes, Islam does concern itself with one’s personal life) guaranteed that what happened earlier this week was by no means shahada. For us to mix religion and politics as freely as those we seek to rebuke is hypocrisy. Mr. Taseer does not qualify for shahada, and for us to declare his death to be that of shaheed is an act of lechery.
However unfit this man was for this world or the next, and however unbelievably amoral his tastes and lifestyle were, his death was a wake up call to Pakistanis: you cannot marry Islam to ethnic nationalism (real or imagined) and expect good results. For 30 years, to be a Pakistani meant to be a ‘Muslim’ by birthright. That as long as you followed the doctrine of a failing state obsessed with a non-existent Hindu threat, you would enter the gates of paradise. I think Pakistanis are finally beginning to see what I have observed and said all along: there is no ‘united’ Pakistan, and the country is on the verge of a class struggle, should it not take heed.
Back to Mr. Taseer: it is unfortunate that he died only because he represented much of what Mohammed Ali Jinnah had in mind for a Pakistani state: a country not governed by morals, but governed to ensure the right to practice those morals. However his death did serve a larger purpose: it might be enough to keep the PPP government limping on to be the only Parliament in your country’s history to actually complete a term, and by doing so, never be elected to power again (insha’Allah).
I don’t worry much that Pakistan is in as epic a battle as many Desi commentators above my comment do. The country’s populace seems to always *need* an epic struggle to justify its existence. Rather, I think that Mr. Taseer’s death will slowly make Pakistanis realize the very serious toll their society has taken since the Bhutto family first rose to prominence in the 60s. And will finally banish their legacy from the election roll.
(total ramble, my bad Kalsoom)
@ The Modern Rumi
“I reject the idea that Mr. Taseer was at anytime a martyr for Islam.”
Yes he couldn’t have been since he didn’t grow a beard, didn’t wear his salwar above his ankles and most of all was not a hypcrite.
hmmm. no because martyr is a person who parts with his life for the message of Allah. Taseer on the other hand did die for his belief but that belief had nothing to do with Allah or any religion. It was his own belief ,why must he be painted as a shaheed?Please i am sick of these shahadat jokes. Bhutto shaheed, his daughter shaheed and now taseer shaheed. It appears any politcian can be a shaheed. He openly said that he is against the laws because of the damage they do to pakistan in international spectrum. Not because he had sprouted a love for humanity please atleast listen to the interviews the guy gave.
And pray what that message of Allah could be?? What?? Kill in the name of Allah?? So it seems!!
Start a campaign where every newspaper, every blog, every TV channel repeats the exact words that Mr.Taseer spoke. See how many people these folks can attack. Extremists can only attack people. They can never attack an idea.
Pakistan is losing men and women every day,who is counting 😦
Hope LIves On.
Build Institutions.
One Person at a Time.
Be Good.
Do your job.
Blame yourself only.
Salman Taseer’s brutal murder in broad daylight is not only meant to spread fear in every common man but actually attack the symbol of liberals and progressives across Pakistan.
He reinvented the concept of Orwellian clarity of speech. He used even wit and insult to tell his political opponents what he really thought of their schemes. He spoke his mind, rested only when the point was made.
He had come to be the only man who defined the fight that is the only fight worth fighting – Between the Mullahs and the progressives. Before him no one had dared vocalize the fact that there remains an ideological divide in Pakistan. On one hand you have the Fazlur Rehmans from the religious party who call Salman Taseer an extremist for showing support to Aasia Bibi and cannot differentiate this act from the act of terrorism. For Mr. Rehman the perceived insult to a prophet of 1400 years past is worthy of the same punishment as that of cold blooded murder of a Public official.
These Mullah’s on the street, creating an hysteria among masses, remind me of Reverend Jim Jones of America who led more than 900 peeople commit suicide. They are no different from him.
@babag
‘Today I am ashamed to be a Pakistani’.
Today I am ashamed to be a Muslim as well.
I feel fortunate that I was born in India. although from minority(?), i never faced any hardship in my life. I dont think Pakistan will ever find its lost secular fabric
Tnavir Ahmed
Nagpur-India
Curious when shall the military take over the government. And ban the
Ullamh if you love the Prophet why kill your brother! No longer Islam tired of there distorted perceptions of Islam! No there Mahida Allah going to judge them! Only creates, hate Pakistan shall never evolve!