RIP Mashal Khan.
This is not the first time that such a barbaric incident has surfaced in our Islamic Republic. What is worrisome is that such abominable acts of inhumanity committed in the name of religion are becoming more and more frequent. This reflects the very mindset of our masses, who seem have been drugged on the most misconstrued version of Islam, that bears no semblance to the divine scripture brought to us by our Holy Prophet.
In this jungle which is officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, there is no law mightier than the Blasphemy Law. In a civilized world, the state and its institutions are responsible to enforce laws and impose sanctions on the deviants. In our country, however, every citizen has assumed the Godly power to penalize whoever they deem does not fit their respective interpretation of Islam.
This manmade law which was architected by one of the naïve souls of the Zia regime has done more damage to this country and Islam than any other exogenous or endogenous factor.
Interestingly, the law which was designed to upkeep the reverence of the Holy Prophet has been the most potent catalyst that has triggered mockery and disrespect for Allah’s beloved.
Thursday’s contemptible incident has once again stirred up intense emotions of wrath, anxiety, unease and dejection. I have a gazillion unanswered questions rattling in my brain.
Was it the secular, liberal unorthodox mindset of this 23-year-old Mashal Khan that met him with this ghastly end? Or was it the insecurities of those bearded perverts who could not accept to have their rigid, archaic ideals challenged?
Was it merely an inquisitive mind, that dared to deviate from the norm, that had Mashal murdered in cold blood or was it the helplessness of the callous mob to break free from the spell of hypnotism cast upon them by these demonic Mullahs, who have used the card of religion to establish their mighty forts of sanctity and morality, which resulted in such a heinous crime.
Mashal Khan had been alleged to have propagated some material which these nitwits found to be blasphemous. Now this was just an allegation. In a civilized world, the accused is given a fair chance to go through a trial, and it is again the worthy court that gives the verdict which is held in high esteem.
In this case, Abdul Wali Khan University was the court, mob the judge, without any trial, the verdict was announced and without any remorse these animals beat the innocent student to death. And this horde of wolves did not stop there. After lynching that unarmed boy to death, they stripped him naked and were too keen to put the dead body on fire. These self-proclaimed custodians of Islam, 'Lovers of the Prophet' paid their tributes by scoffing the very teachings of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H)
I am curious to find answers to some questions.
Isn’t this man made law the very reason for the increasing incidents of blasphemy in this country? By committing such crimes are we not allowing the whole world to hurl slurs and derogatory remarks about Islam and our Prophet?
Why are the Muslim scholars mum over this condemnable act?
Isn’t it the responsibility of the state to convene all the religious scholars and have them come up with a viable solution to address the crazy upsurge of fanaticism in the country? Isn’t the blood on the state?
I fail to decipher as to what is more blasphemous? A non-Muslim passing an objectionable remark about the Prophet or the very frequent acts of bigotry, corruption, prevalence of injustice, amassment of fortunes, ostentation amidst abject poverty committed by the very Muslims, that openly defy the preaching of Islam and Sunnah!
In my humble opinion, unfair dealings, disrespect and intolerance for each other, character assassinations, lust for material wealth and power, pride and prejudice, bigotry, hypocrisy should be added to the definition of the Blasphemy Law and then all perpetrators should be executed the way this innocent boy was killed.
What has disgusted me to the boot is the insensitivity of the spectators who had the nerve to capture the monstrosity on their mobile phones instead of stepping ahead to stop those animals who were attacking an innocent human. The way the recording has been shared on the social media adds embarrassment to my sorrow and anger. We are people sans an iota of morality. We deserve all that we are getting. Corrupt, immoral leaders, dysfunctional systems, unjust Judges, and restlessness. We deserve it all. These leaders reflect us. They represent us. And Allah chooses them from within us. We deserve nothing better.
We have witnessed such acts before as well. One such incident took place in the streets of Sialkot when two boys in their teens were lynched by the mob because they were suspected to have been involved in some measly theft. Those were the streets of Sialkot, a city with loads of rich businessmen busy building empires with least bit emphasis on education, so one could put the onus on the illiterate commoners for resorting to such an irrational act. But Mashal Khan was murdered within the premises of a university. Educational institutions are the most pivotal agencies of secondary socialization. It is an undisputed fact that our schools and colleges have not been able to build strong thinking individuals. Our curricula has been anything but progressive and our teachers have been denied the due respect and economic prospects due to which we are in such a sorry state.
Our emphasis has been on cramming rather than learning. I feel ashamed because I belong to this noble profession. I take it as my failure. The teachers have failed to instil in the students the lust for knowledge, pursuit for truth, desire to deliver, and conscientiousness to give back to the society. Rather we have turned a blind eye to the rising trends of intolerance, prejudice and hatred.
Teachers play the most crucial role of building the mindsets. What have our teachers been doing with the malleable minds of millions of individuals who have turned into demons? It reflects on the priorities of the state. When roads, bridges, foreign trips, palaces, Panama and Swiss accounts etc. are given utmost importance then we need not delve any deeper searching for the answers. We have failed to build a nation. The very ideological basis of this country have been jolted time and again. We all are responsible. Teachers, Mullahs, politicians, intelligentsia. We have embarrassed ourselves enough. Let us for once sit back and think of getting our house in order. How can we create a collective conciseness and solidarity and put these petty differences aside. The only answer that comes to mind is educate the masses. Educate your girls so that become sensible moderate mothers… Unless we educate our masses and turn these herds of sheep into literate aware individuals, such crimes would continue being committed at times in the name of religion and other times in the name of honor.
We need to build an integrated society. The immense polarization with the elite completely dispelling religious orientations on one end and the lower class finding ultimate solace in religion is one grave concern. This widening divide is alarming. We need to build the edifice on strong foundations of harmony and coexistence. Respect for each other irrespective of religious, social, religious and class differences is the ultimate cure for this cancer of intolerance that is now turning fatal.
