Author: Orr Ali
Publication: New Age Islam
Date: October 13, 2011
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=5685
Many decades ago Rafiq Sabir entered a Gujarati
businessman's palace-like home in Bombay. Almost 60 minutes after this intrusion,
he was led out, handcuffed, by policemen. The charge against him was that
he had attacked 'a leader of a religious party for political reasons'. This
leader survived the attack and went on to create a country where sixty-eight
years later 'another Rafiq Sabir' attacked 'a leader of a political party
for religious reasons'. The snake was taught another language, the venom was
given another colour but their effectiveness was undiminished.
Today, an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis
hold in respect a repulsive constable of Punjab police. My own house is divided.
My parents have asked me time and again to not write anything disparaging
about this 'courageous man'. I would have heeded if there wasn't a large crowd
a hundred yards from my house still protesting against the death sentence
of Mumtaz Qadri.
A much smaller crowd gathered weeks ago in
America too and they were also protesting against a death sentence. There
is nothing uncivil in such protests but if the protesters are trying to glorify
a confessing murderer, a cold-blooded fanatic, things do look threatening.
These are the people who cheered death of an innocent reformist and destruction
of a small Christian family. It's never enough for them. Should they not be
appeased by God's vengeance which will strike the 'unlearned'? Should they
not calm their hearts by remembering God's words: "And vengeance is mine,
I will repay…"?
Mumtaz Qadri also has something to learn.
Martyrs don't get glory for free; they have to sell their lives for it. And
under no conditions do they run about town filing appeals against their death
sentences. Perhaps, Mr. Qadri has become too accustomed to the attention he
is getting in this world and he has forgotten the next. This reminds me of
Omar Khayyam's wonderful couplet:
No doubt there is a heaven yonder too
But 'tis so far away- and you are near
Before emptying dozens of bullets into Salman
Taseer's chest, Qadri was fully cognizant of the fact that he was committing
murder, and that he would be executed for it. Why then this dilly-dallying,
these second-thoughts?
Then there are those liberals who don't want
Mumtaz to be executed. To them, death penalty is as criminal as murder, only
that the former is sanctioned by the state; it is a punishment which leaves
no room for reform and gives no values to remorse. Had they realized that
they are living in a third world theo-mobocratic state rather than in the
civilized West, they would have seen the fallacies in their line of reasoning.
A criminal who shows no remorse can't be reformed.
It's almost always the court verdict which awakens a convict from his delirium
and if he is unable to show remorse then, one can rest assured that he never
will. Expecting remorse from a deluded Mumtaz Qadri is like expecting remorse
from Hitler. Their crimes weren't the result of personal animosity with their
victims - they were caused by deep personal convictions. We can't even expect
that Qadri would reform himself, for what would reformation mean to him? To
the religious crowd, he sits at the pinnacle of chivalry, selflessness and
courage. Where do you go from the pinnacle? For me, the only non-repulsive
thing that Mumtaz Qadri can become is a dead man.
If people like Mumtaz Qadri keep rising up
in our society we must realize that it's time for some introspection. Bigoted
mobs, men suffering from Jerusalem syndrome and faux-liberals can't be waited
out. They have to be dealt with severely and their identities be thrown into
the dark parts of history. Before reading the sentence to Jinnah's assassin,
Justice Blagden made remarks which have something for everybody: (To make
it more relevant I have replaced the word 'political' with 'religious')
"No country can be happy and prosperous
which condones murder for 'religious' purposes or for any other purpose. The
only result of condoning a 'religious' murder is to substitute rule of hooligans
for the rule of reason…….You and misguided people like you have
to be taught fact by punishment and the example of punishment……"
Jinnah might have won against Rafiq Sabir
but he lost against history. Intentionally or unintentionally, he gave birth
to the very society he was fighting against. It's a society where even a brave
judge has to vindicate his position by prefacing his verdict with an apologetic
statement:
"A proven blasphemer is wajib-ul-qatal
(liable to be killed). He cannot be forgiven. Only the Holy Prophet (PUBH)
himself can forgive him."
How far have we come? Perhaps, hate does beget
hate. We are children of hate.
