Salman Taseer

This piece is dedicated to Governor Taseer. A man who had the conviction in his belief and fought for it till the very end. A brave man whom, in the words of Shakespeare, the death took with pride. It is a death that should be mourned for the bravery and courage of the dead, and for the loss of  multi-faceted life full of positive energy that has been lost.

My knowledge of Governor Taseer was of third person. In fact, I was not a fan of him when he became Governor and yet in few weeks, he made me his fan. His candidness, confidence, quick wit and analytical mindset coupled with his popular politics made him a trend-setter in the politics of Punjab which has been marred by pseudo, scripted, thoughtlessly conservative and tunnel-visioned politicians for most part. That he was a successful entrepreneur and business tycoon, a dedicated political worker, a successful political administrator (whom his opponents feared), and had a social circle spanning from cart-food owners to the top businessmen, speaks volumes of the full life, the Governor led. Lives like this should not only be cherished but be shared with the coming generations as role models. This role model is the only hope of return to normalcy of a society whose educated have been brainwashed to be conspicuous, narcissist, reactionary, and are devoid of the understanding of the value of a human life in the name of religion and as a result of a Utopian world view.

Any talk of this brave man and this courageous death will be incomplete without the talk of the manner of death and the talk of the issue of blasphemy. That the murder happened in the name of Prophet and then was hailed and cheered by a section of society without any rational discussion on the issue and merely on the hearsay speaks volumes about the selectivity that gets exercised in the matters of religion. Most people who try to defend this murder not only rely on twisted and misinterpreted logic but when challenged on their logic resort to a very baseless line of reasoning that highlights the dominance of their political inclinations and raw emotions. This murder for this, highlights not only the manipulative power that the abuse of the name of the religion possesses but also how religion could be used as an excuse to justify motives political and personal.

For those who are cheering the death, just one question for them. Has not the reality dawned on them that they, deep down, have forgotten about the value of a human life and are cheering a murder without delving into any retrospect on grounds Islamic or human?

For the rest of us, I leave us with three questions. The time has come to answer these and the answers will determine the future of our society. The answers will determine our value set and the realization of our value set will make us contribute to the creation of the society based on those values. But answer the questions on your own. Research, contemplate, think, and listen to your inner voice. Listen to all points of views and read and explore all you need to, but the answer in the end should not be an answer dictated to you by some Allama or Maulana or politician or a book written by a human being. The answers should be yours. I would just leave you with the questions in a manner simple and frank, unbiased and blunt. Let us start answering them.

First, what is the value of a human life? What merits taking a human life? And for those merits whether the individual should do it or the state?

Second, when the issues as sensitive as blasphemy have divergent views from jurists like Malik and Abu Hanifa, can the law of the land and social code of the society be based on Shariah? If so, how? Will we opt for Malik's punishment on blasphemy or Abu Hanifa's? Jaffer's view of stature of Prophet or Hunbel's?

Third, what is our role model? Do we want to be like Arabs or like Americans/Singaporeans (look around, there broadly are no alternatives in this time and space)? (for this please think deep)

Answer them not emotionally but honestly. They might reveal to you a lot about you that you, in the euphoria created by media and Mullah's syllabus, do not realize. 

Tail piece: I leave you with a video clip that shows religious clergy distorting Quranic verses to support their view of blasphemy law. 

With this is the verse of Quran (2:159), "Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture - those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse," 

Now I am not a fatwa factory but I leave it to your good judgment whether this was blasphemy or not? Do not take it for my word, research and think yourselves. However, if you are convinced that this is blasphemy, label the blasphemers, liars and blasphemers, but be compassionate. For the human that I am and the Muhammadan religion of compassion I have been raised in, makes me compassionate. May they and their offshoots see the light and humanity.