Daily Times

In Pakistan, throwing a burning matchstick into a madrassa is a bigger crime than carrying out a suicide or bomb attack on any worship place. Is it surprising and unbelievable? Take a look at the list of blasphemy cases that appeared in a new report of August 6, 2009 that says: “In 2005, Pervez Aslam Choudhry, a lawyer, was allegedly charged with blasphemy for flinging a burning matchstick on an Islamic school in the Sangla Hill stadium in Punjab, which caught fire.” Another blasphemous crime attributed to him was that, being an advocate, he used to appear as a lawyer for those accused of blasphemy. Several other blasphemy cases can also be cited wherein people were accused of desecrating the Holy Quran but nowhere in the recent history of the country do we find a single charge of blasphemy against the desecration of the holy places that resulted from bomb or suicidal attacks by terrorists. The Taliban have, quite often, admitted their involvement in such attacks but nobody dared to accuse them of committing blasphemy.

Since 2001, we allowed this kind of blasphemy to go unchecked and unquestioned, most probably for the reason that the perpetrators were strong enough to scare all those who dared to raise a finger at them. Reliable data shows that nearly 52 holy places were desecrated in the country during the last 10 years in terrorist attacks. Neither the clergy nor the judiciary could find these acts blasphemous so far. No prayer leader of any mosque ever called out the faithful for saving the sanctity of Islam and its religious places. Everybody watched silently and solemnly all these blasphemous events without feeling an urge to either counter or denounce them.

Marvi Memon of the PML-Q is the only woman among the whole clan of parliamentarians who dared to submit a white paper to the government and highlighted the 46 lethal attacks on worship places that took place during the time of the present regime. She asked what action the government has taken so far to protect such holy places and the people of Pakistan in future. To seek an action from a government squeezed from all sides is too wishful an expectation, especially when we all know that the lethal attacks on worship places have been going on since 2001 and similar attacks could not be averted even during the time when Ms Memon’s own political party, the PML-Q, ruled the country. Twenty-four lethal attacks on worship places took place throughout the country from 2001 to January 2008, resulting in the deaths of 354 persons and injuring nearly 721 persons. The worship places involved in these attacks were one Ahmedi worship place, eight churches, nine imambargahs, three mosques, and three Sufi shrines. What led or misled Ms Memon not to show her concern on these attacks during the time when her own party was in power is a question that she alone can answer. It does not mean that the present government has to be absolved of its responsibility of addressing this problem. No way! They are as much responsible as the previous government was and an equal responsibility lies with the opposition parties and other segments of society.

Another point she missed in her white paper is the condemnation of those who commit these violent and blasphemous acts in the country. If we add up all those lethal attacks on holy places that took place during the last 10 years, the number goes up to 51 and the holy places that got desecrated are 17 mosques, 16 imambargahs, four Shia religious processions, six churches, seven Sufi shrines, and one Muslim seminary. Nearly 1,146 persons died and 2,780 persons were injured as a result of 20 suicidal attacks, 14 bomb explosions, and 17 militant attacks on these holy places. The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 295 calls for punishment with imprisonment for “whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship” but it remains inapplicable to these blasphemous acts for reasons known only to the ‘believers’ like the former Federal Minister for Tourism Maulana Attaur Rehman who, as per a news report on November 24, 2010, said that the Taliban are the true followers of the Islamic ideology.

The writer is a freelance journalist and researcher. He can be reached at
mohammad.nafees@yahoo.com