Daily Times

Ever passing day is a grim reminder that we live in a truly cruel and heartless world. Those who were offended by my rather blunt depiction of what happens in the holy month of Ramazan must pause and ponder a bit. What this month is all about, and how we see it and try to go through it with barely miniscule or meaningful reflection. I am no scholar, let alone a religious scholar, but in my opinion, this is a month of extreme patience and utmost compassion. The churning abdomen and dry throat in the blistering heat remind us of those people who frequently go through this, and have to bear such conditions as part of their daily lives.

The month evokes basic sympathy and empathy for the less fortunate and conditions us to have compassion for the less fortunate. Our demeanour,which includes yours truly as well, is quite deficient of these virtues. The harsh conditioning that we go through while struggling for basic human necessities builds rage and a great deal of pent-up anger. Those emotions ruthlessly display a lack of empathy and compassion for the less fortunate segments of society.

Despite the 24/7 channels, social, electronic and print media repeating the canned messages about the holy month and its benefits, it surely seems like all of that falls on deaf ears. We are told that the Almighty locks up Satan in this month, and showers His mercy and blessings in abundance on all of us. Yet in the same month, “minions” of the chained devil, multiply manifold and fill in the steep void left by their wicked master. Criminalsgo about their usual business, and killers and terrorists continue their deadly rampage. Quietly after their brutal, repulsive and abhorrent acts, at sunset, they probably go about breaking their fasts like many of us. As ifa fast is only meant to abstain from food and drink.

A recent incident that shocked many was the killing of the globally renowned devotional vocalist, Amjad Sabri. Motive is unclear, but is subject to interpretation. There is the customary acceptance of responsibility from a known terror outfit, some condolences, some condemnations, some blame game, some point-scoring, same old canned promises, feel-good clichéd tickers, justice-will-be-served, and declarations of this-war-will-be-fought-till-the-last-terrorist.

The immediate reaction is how a Muslim could kill another Muslim in the holy month. Perhaps the self-appointed arbitrators of our faith had a major issue with Sabri’s soulful renditions blended in music. According to many who call themselves the “purists,” music is forbidden in Islam. Again repeating my humble disclaimer of not being a religious scholar, at least, Mr Sabri was praising the Almighty, His Messenger (PBUH) and his companions. His qawaalis transcended many to a spiritual level that one cannot put in any defined terms.

The self-righteous media kept highlighting the fact that Mr Sabri had received many threats and the provincial government failed to provide him adequate protection. This begs a simple question. What if there had been some protection and yet the result had been the same, then what would the chest-beating media wail about? The most ludicrous argument is that in order to live in the financial hub of the country, you needround-the-clock, armoured protection.

The lingering question that remains in many minds is why a person of Mr Sabri’s calibre has been targeted. The obvious answer is that the assassins tried to register their strength. This act was to demonstrate their rejoinder to the much-touted Rangers operation meant to cleanse the city oftheir presence.

By now people are so immune to all of this that it has just become routine for them. Public officials pretend that their measures will be very effective, and the culprits will be brought to book. There is this “perfect” and harmonious relationship between thetwo rulingstakeholders who are on that proverbial “same page.” What these bright minds tend to overlook is that the killers are also on the same page, although from a different book.

Laughable are the claims to the general publicthat allude to sweeping statements such as that a significant number of terror networks have been dismantled. While a significant segment of society still has a soft corner for terrorists, nothing will change. Terrorists do not carry identification badges, or have a certain symbol on their foreheads that identifies them as terrorists.The precarious situation evokes a rather basic question, depending on your frame of mind. For most it may be what’s next, and for me, very regretfully, who’s next?

The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He can be reached at dasghar@aol.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar