Religious Murders Hurl Pakistan Back into Medieval Times
General Monday, March 23rd, 2009Recent events in Pakistan remind me of Medieval Europe. In the 12th century, king of England Richard the Lionheart decided to wage a bloody campaign against the Muslim world aimed at conquering Palestine. But before starting his Crusade, he thought it befitting to hang several locals Jews as a symbolic tribute to the Prophet Jesus. News from Pakistan tells a shockingly similar tale.
Two weekends ago, in the Wapda colony of Multan, unidentified assailants broke into the home of Drs. Shiraz and Noreen Bajwa. They tied the couple down and taped their mouths shut. Then they mercilessly strangled them to death. The husband and wife had married just three years prior. Dr. Shiraz was an eye specialist, Dr. Noreen a Pediatrician. Both were honor students who extensively volunteered in medical clinics that served the poor. What would have passed as a random act of horrible violence actually turned out to expose a dark conspiracy against freedom of religion in Pakistan.
The first peculiarity was that the intruders left untouched all cash and valuables at the home. The second more pervasive finding was that the young victims were active members of the religious sect the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Because the group opposes any violent notion of jihad, they have become the primary target of extremist groups in Pakistan. So much so that in 1974 the government was pressured into declare Ahmadis as ‘non-Muslims.’ Then starting in 1984, a series of Constitutional amendments were enacted to deprive them of the basic right to vote and declare their faith in public. In Multan, the scene of the grim murders, the Mullahs launched an intense campaign of intimidation against the Ahmadis. Drs. Shiraz and Noreen had also received numerous death threats prior to their murders.
The brutal killings also bleed with irony. Sadly, they occurred on the eve of celebrations marking the exemplary life of the holy founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him. The Holy Prophet would never have condoned any murder perpetrated in his name, just as the Prophet Jesus would not have considered the symbolic killings by King Richard as worthy of any merit. The holy messengers of God had categorically condemned the slaying of innocent lives.
The murderers of the young Ahmadi doctors are no different from the barbarians of the medieval age. While the rest of the world advances in protecting human rights, the influence of the intolerant Mullah hurls Pakistan further back in time. But this writer hopes that the chilling murder of Drs. Shiraz and Noreen will awaken the leadership of Pakistan to its dangerous, retrograde course.
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on Mar 23 2009. Filed under