Re: Intolerance of Muslims
No, i’m not. Hear me out. Obviously, as a non-Pakistani, I don’t have an insider’s point of view. I know people have posted about Taliban apologists, government policies, MPs, the system, about apologetic Mullahs and intolerant people in society and online. I know they exist but in my interaction with the Pakistanis especially abroad I haven’t experienced any intolerant views. I have close friends who are Pakistanis.
Then you have the Lal masjid issue. There are people who are sympathisers and intolerant like this guy who refuses to condemn the Taliban. Scroll down till you get to the video. https://www.facebook.com/rehmanifrahimband?fref=photo Then you have this guy who gives an inspiring speech on the need to stop people preaching hate and those who have taken over the mosques and won’t let liberal Pakistanis offer prayers for victims inside Lal Masjid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7kNIdfZLhk
I have Pakistani friends who support human rights of minorities, and are taking part or supporting the Lal Masjid protests and they tell me there is a wave of change taking over society. So as someone who has not had personal contact with apologist views i would say the people representing Lal Masjid protests are the tolerant Pakistanis that we don’t hear voice of often or they are hidden by Pakistani media. I hope this protest gets good coverage in Pakistani media so these views can be heard. The Lal masjid protests had people of different backgrounds like this Pakistani Hindu guy called Kapil dev mentioned in this article. Maulana Abdul Aziz feels the heat Pakistani Christians and Hindus held vigils for their fellow citizens and it must be because they have also received love and respect from Pakistani Muslims.
Why should we see Muslims of different countries, rather than Islam as a religion, as a monolithic group. Middle eastern Muslims can have differences in culture compared to white converts compared to African Muslims compared to Bosnian Muslims or desi Muslims. So if a convert Muslim commits a crime then why should desi Muslims feel responsible. Actually only the individual should feel responsible.
**Most Muslims of the subcontinent do not agree with what strict Wahhabis in middle east say so for me I’d say they are more tolerant. We can all name human rights activists from Pakistan (Salman Taseer, Rashid Rehman, Eidhi, Junaid Hafeez etc), entertainers from Pakistan who have made impact on world stage and don’t mind mingling with people of other cultures. We know in Pakistan majority tolerate another religious person’s right to practice their religion. A Pakistani writer, Reema Abbassi, wrote a book on historical temples in Pakistan. Can a middle eastern or Saudi Arabian writer write a similar book? I can’t name any such activists from middle eastern countries who have made such an impact. Or who have given up their lives for a minority’s rights to practice their religion. Then there are countless social media fb pages where lot of Pakistanis speak out for human rights. Are there any Malalas from those countries who speaks for rights of females like Malala speaks for rights of females in Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria.
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Then there are the inspiring examples of the following people who may not get media exposure but have risked/sacrificed their lives for others.
Maybe being from subcontinent and feeling a cultural affinity towards Pakistanis my views are biased but this is what i think.
