"Blasphemy & the Continuing War" by Roman Ahsan

“BLASPHEMY & THE CONTINUING WAR”

by Roman Ahsan (August 25, 2012)

Rimsha, an 11 year old Christian was arrested over blasphemy issue recently in a low-income area of Islamabad on Thursday. Neighbours said Rimsha had burned papers collected from a garbage pile for cooking in her family home and someone alerted the local cleric after spotting the remains being thrown out as rubbish.

There can be different approaches to this incident but no sane person could support the treatment given to the child. Though it is true that the spirit of religiosity could mislead many people but illiteracy is the basic problem of our country. People who lack education, whether they are religious or irreligious, always behave in a different way compared to those who have education. So we have to identify the roots first. Rimsha’s case is of course a matter of shame where a 11-year old girl has been arrested for burning pages of Qur’an when in God's eyes a minor till the age of 15 years (needs to be verified and researched) or so is not considered sinful if he/she falls for misdeeds. We need to find better ways to educate our masses instead of flaring up on such issues. Punishing a child for blasphemy is an occurrence which could be equated to assault of women in rural areas by parading them without clothes. In the former case, it is the misguided and uneducated religious elements that are committing excess while in the latter it is the people devoid of any compassion and religious spirit that do not feel any shame. In both cases, the entities have little or no quality education. LET’S GET THIS CLEAR IN OUR MINDS FIRST.

It is sad that certain groups amongst us become most vocal and hyper on issues but they lack a broader vision. Why are our eyes closed when we see 60-70 TV cable channels operating in a poor country like Pakistan most of whom are imparting all the wrong lessons to the audience? About 10-15 channels are sufficient for this nation which is suffering enormous economic collapse since the last few years. The funds should be diverted instead towards optimum educational measures, especially in the rural areas but this is obviously the job of the government officials to apply ‘checks’ where they are needed instead of proceeding like asses. When you turn on TV in these times, all you see is a single host standing in the middle of an expensive set. Even a phony like Dr. Amir Liaquat still being promoted by GEO TV is seen in front of high-priced sets that speak of glamour.

Superstores in Pakistan are another story. We do not say anything about hundred brands of Shampoo (and other products) being displayed in the shelves in a superstore. And then we start blaming the country. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

A hundred brands of a product are there in the shelves of a superstore in a very poor country like Pakistan because you like to see them there, because you are mad about shopping even though you are loyal to just one brand. Wouldn’t it be better for us if the government had limited the number of brands per product to a strict number in our country? Or if the government is not loyal to our country, then at least its people need to stand up and be vocal about different issues instead of choosing selected themes just because they ‘seem’ to threaten their freedom.

What is happening in our country is this. There is a continuous war going on between the liberals (both literate and illiterate) and the religious elements (both literate and illiterate) especially after 9/11. The liberals want freedom for homosexuality and want to make Pakistan a country like Dubai without feeling having empathy for the poor. If they had any feeling for the poor then they would speak on such issues also which have been pointed above. We are copying the trends of economically sound countries without using our own minds. There should be concern for the people of whole country and not just focus on individual success and priorities. But a businessman would just like to make money without carrying any concern for the masses. And so he would like to set up a chain of superstores that import branded products from abroad to fool the people into believing that this is vital for our survival. The fact is that we are neglecting our recently discovered natural resources and agriculture sector which are most vital for our country and where there are ample opportunities for businessmen to invest also.

The religious elements on the other hand are divided between good and bad also. Though there are some very refined people in this category who are full of compassion but there are religious people also who are full of pride because they think ‘just’ keeping a long beard and having religious knowledge (which is in fact their own version and is rather complicated) makes them superior to others. Again quality education or lack of it makes the difference here. Ironically, some people who want to embrace religious way of life fall into wrong hands and leave Western philosophies altogether (even the positive ones that are not in contradiction to our religion) making their outlook on life rather rigid and myopic.

Let’s pray to God to grant us the right sense to distinguish between right and wrong in this country, and to adopt a way of life which paves way for national progress and not just our own individual growth – aameen!