"Religion is a hypothesis about the world: the hypothesis that things are the way they are, at least in part, because of supernatural entities or forces acting on the natural world. And there's no good reason to treat it any differently from any other hypothesis. Which includes pointing out its flaws and inconsistencies, asking its adherents to back it up with solid evidence, making jokes about it when it's just being silly, offering arguments and evidence for our own competing hypotheses...and trying to persuade people out of it if we think it's mistaken. It's persuasion. It's the marketplace of ideas. Why should religion get a free ride"

Greta Christina

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Muslims celebrate Taseer assassination

If anyone harbours any doubts that Islam is not a moderate or peaceful religion, the assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer should dispel them.
Taseer was shot by his bodyguard, Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri, because of his defence of a Christian woman recently sentenced to death for blasphemy. An out spoken liberal in a far from liberal country Taseer was a strong voice for tolerance and reason in the region and in consequence had angered many Muslims.Make no mistake, even if this assassination were the act of a lone extremist, the response from the Muslim community has been anything but encouraging. The “moderate” Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims have warned that anyone who expresses grief over the assassination could suffer the same fate, saying.
"No Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for Salman Taseer or even express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident."
Only religion, could find justification in that kind of logic. Political assassinations are a feature of many societies and particularly in emerging democracies, still steeped in tribalism. But Islam’s western apologists should take note of the Muslim reaction to this killing and learn from it. Islam does not share the values of western secular society; it is repressive and regressive and will, in my opinion, never represent a force for reconciliation in the world.
In seeking political solutions in Pakistan and Afghanistan we should emphasise secularism and not attempt to accommodate religion in any form other than as a private right. Islam is not an honest broker or a willing partner in the region and probably never will be.

#Update:
Qadri appeared in court, unrepentant, where waiting lawyers threw handfuls of rose petals over him and others in the crowd slapped his back and kissed his cheek as he was led in and out amid heavy security.[source]

2 comments:

  1. you can read muslims defending the assassination on their message boards. it's disgusting!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Islam sucks forever.

    ReplyDelete