Not the Right Way to Protest
By Air Marshal (Retd.) Ayaz Ahmed Khan
Malaach House
Nathiagali, Pakistan
Today was the Ishaq-e-Rasool day, a day to express our deep love for Holy Prophet Mohammad. The Peoples Party government had declared September 21 a public holiday to allow the Pakistani nation to express anger and revulsion at caricaturing and tarnishing the sacred image of our beloved Prophet Mohammad. After addressing a meeting of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister addressed a huge gathering of diplomats, ulama, representatives of Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and Parsi faiths and urged the nation to demonstrate calm and civil behavior while protesting. He asked for unity and order while condemning disrespect and reviling of the Prophet by the mischievous film maker. He urged Pakistanis to show respect for all religions and protect churches, temples, and other places of worship.
Regrettably, in the charged atmosphere the passion of the inflamed mobs to resort to destruction, arson and killings could not be controlled. The mob tried to enter the diplomatic enclave and the Red Zone in Islamabad. The police was outnumbered and resultantly policemen and journalists were killed and injured. An ARY cameraman was shot dead by the mob.
The inflamed mobs were led by rowdy youngsters and loafers who set cinema houses, toll plazas, police vehicles, police posts, shops, petrol pumps and private property on fire. Two cinema houses were torched in Peshawar alone. Pakistani Christians were in the forefront of the minority communities who fully supported the public protests. Yet a church in Mardan was set on fire. Appeals by officials and religious scholars and police for restraint were disregarded by the hooligans. Despite provocation and stoning the police exercised immense restraint. It was most disgusting to see the protesters stoning and rampaging when they should have shown respect for Holy Prophet Mohammad and his message of peace and compassion. The best way to show respect to Prophet Mohammad is to pray in silence for peace and amity and interfaith harmony. Abuse, violence, arson, derogatory threats and killings are not what the Qur’an and Prophet Mohammad have taught us.
The torching of the church in Mardan and rowdy behavior, especially threats to the West by fanatic clerics and the mob, will weaken President Asif Ali Zardari’s case at the UN General Assembly on September 25 to seek the passage of a resolution condemning the video films mocking Prophet Mohammad. The people of Pakistan must control their passion and anger to convince the world that we are aggrieved and hurt our grief must be redressed.
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