Naeem The Muslim
I must write or must I stay quiet? Should I write once the dust is settled? However, dust is not going to be settled any time soon in the land of the pure, it seems.
On 15th march, like majority of Pakistanis I was glued to TV, watching the match, and in between tweeted few times from my brother’s phone about the match, not really read anything else.
I don’t recall the exact time when I actually read some tweets condemning twin blasts at Lahore churches, right there and then, the momentum of winning turned in to a strange sense of perplexity of irony, why can’t we even enjoy little things in life? Why it had to happen? Why? Why another blast? Why can’t we enjoy the match? Also knowing that attack on minority is the one of the most humiliating incident for a nation and its rulers, then aint we all minority in our own country, whether Muslim, Shia, Sunni, Ahemdi, Hindu, Christian, poor, middle class, rich, privileged or not, women, children, doctors, LEA, Army, shopping malls, bazaars, schools, mosques, Imambargahs, churches or temples etc ???
All these thoughts were coming in and out of my mind while eyes were fixed on watching Pakistani batsmen chasing the target with ease.
Once the match was over, attention was then turned to the event unfolding in Lahore and I am going to be honest, a part of me was happy that our Christian community was on streets protesting, even damaging public property, they were mirroring the desire of violence in all of us to justify anger especially at an inept, corrupt to the core government and system. I was also recalling Kot Radha Kishan incident, Joseph colony fire, Gojra tragedy, I was feeling like a Christian, a minority in Pakistan, how they had been treated not so well by fellow Muslims, and there can’t be 2 opinions about it, from calling them chooras, karantey, bhangi to what not, yes! I was one of the minorities that night.
I was sick and tired of government, its condemnation and ineffective governance. And in my heart I was sure that 2 people who were burnt were suspects since police had arrested them, in short, the whole anger was directed at the government, their failed policies, injustice, lies, they were responsible for each and everything going wrong, police failure to control the mob effectively, police apathy or fear to protect the burnt suspects.
That wasn’t about religion but it would be a lie if I say it wasn’t, because whether you are secular or not, anything in this country would always be seen with that lens. It was about the marginalized community of my country and by night I was so upset that I wrote a poem in haste and slept away.
Yesterday, by evening, news were in of more riots, and then news channels with all their maneuvering, flashed the screen with ‘Naeem the innocent Muslim’ killed by the violent Christians, yes, it was true but how media kept on playing it in news bulletin was enough to imagine the aftermath, communal tensions, havoc on social media, liberals going too far to justify lynching, religious brigade quickly forgetting about all the injustice and bomb blasts, just focusing on those2 lynched and to be precise one Naeem who was a Muslim.
By the way, why our channels had to rush in to interview the family and flash it in faces of an extremist society? sick of its rulers, sick of terrorism, sick of injustice, sick of poverty, sick of corruption, sick of themselves ,sick of their lives, sick of their existence, to be told that, hey you Muslims! You are in majority; the minority Christians has lynched your brother in faith, have some shame.
Don’t you know that is enough to bring out the best violence from the worst of the Muslims in the name of shame, don’t you know it?
Why being so precise about this? Why can’t media be as responsible as it was last year during Muharram and unfortunate incident of Rawalpindi? Was it to provoke emotional Muslims and make way for the professional army as a consequence?
Today is 17th, I haven’t watched the TV yet and I don’t how things are right now.
But I am praying that things get back to normal, as if normal is a state we can ever witness in our lifetimes any more, lets us be generous and not blame the whole Christian community for action of few. Let’s not make it an interfaith issue or justify one type of violence and condemn another.
Terrorism is appalling, crazy and sickening, so is the lynching of human beings in reaction. And why it all got to this point? Only has one explanation that exists, writ of the state doesn’t exist.
Important to note that situation got better once paramilitary force ‘Rangers’ were called in. This one simple fact tells thousand tales and trust me such tales aren’t fairy ones and they have a very bad and unfair ending.
I must write or must I stay quiet? Should I write once the dust is settled? However, dust is not going to be settled any time soon in the land of the pure, it seems.
On 15th march, like majority of Pakistanis I was glued to TV, watching the match, and in between tweeted few times from my brother’s phone about the match, not really read anything else.
I don’t recall the exact time when I actually read some tweets condemning twin blasts at Lahore churches, right there and then, the momentum of winning turned in to a strange sense of perplexity of irony, why can’t we even enjoy little things in life? Why it had to happen? Why? Why another blast? Why can’t we enjoy the match? Also knowing that attack on minority is the one of the most humiliating incident for a nation and its rulers, then aint we all minority in our own country, whether Muslim, Shia, Sunni, Ahemdi, Hindu, Christian, poor, middle class, rich, privileged or not, women, children, doctors, LEA, Army, shopping malls, bazaars, schools, mosques, Imambargahs, churches or temples etc ???
All these thoughts were coming in and out of my mind while eyes were fixed on watching Pakistani batsmen chasing the target with ease.
Once the match was over, attention was then turned to the event unfolding in Lahore and I am going to be honest, a part of me was happy that our Christian community was on streets protesting, even damaging public property, they were mirroring the desire of violence in all of us to justify anger especially at an inept, corrupt to the core government and system. I was also recalling Kot Radha Kishan incident, Joseph colony fire, Gojra tragedy, I was feeling like a Christian, a minority in Pakistan, how they had been treated not so well by fellow Muslims, and there can’t be 2 opinions about it, from calling them chooras, karantey, bhangi to what not, yes! I was one of the minorities that night.
I was sick and tired of government, its condemnation and ineffective governance. And in my heart I was sure that 2 people who were burnt were suspects since police had arrested them, in short, the whole anger was directed at the government, their failed policies, injustice, lies, they were responsible for each and everything going wrong, police failure to control the mob effectively, police apathy or fear to protect the burnt suspects.
That wasn’t about religion but it would be a lie if I say it wasn’t, because whether you are secular or not, anything in this country would always be seen with that lens. It was about the marginalized community of my country and by night I was so upset that I wrote a poem in haste and slept away.
Yesterday, by evening, news were in of more riots, and then news channels with all their maneuvering, flashed the screen with ‘Naeem the innocent Muslim’ killed by the violent Christians, yes, it was true but how media kept on playing it in news bulletin was enough to imagine the aftermath, communal tensions, havoc on social media, liberals going too far to justify lynching, religious brigade quickly forgetting about all the injustice and bomb blasts, just focusing on those2 lynched and to be precise one Naeem who was a Muslim.
By the way, why our channels had to rush in to interview the family and flash it in faces of an extremist society? sick of its rulers, sick of terrorism, sick of injustice, sick of poverty, sick of corruption, sick of themselves ,sick of their lives, sick of their existence, to be told that, hey you Muslims! You are in majority; the minority Christians has lynched your brother in faith, have some shame.
Don’t you know that is enough to bring out the best violence from the worst of the Muslims in the name of shame, don’t you know it?
Why being so precise about this? Why can’t media be as responsible as it was last year during Muharram and unfortunate incident of Rawalpindi? Was it to provoke emotional Muslims and make way for the professional army as a consequence?
Today is 17th, I haven’t watched the TV yet and I don’t how things are right now.
But I am praying that things get back to normal, as if normal is a state we can ever witness in our lifetimes any more, lets us be generous and not blame the whole Christian community for action of few. Let’s not make it an interfaith issue or justify one type of violence and condemn another.
Terrorism is appalling, crazy and sickening, so is the lynching of human beings in reaction. And why it all got to this point? Only has one explanation that exists, writ of the state doesn’t exist.
Important to note that situation got better once paramilitary force ‘Rangers’ were called in. This one simple fact tells thousand tales and trust me such tales aren’t fairy ones and they have a very bad and unfair ending.
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