Condemnation always starts pouring in right on cue – but condemnation alone is not enough. Outrages like Jaranwala will continue to visit us until we impose consequences on the perpetrators.
By Ahmer Kureishi
The outrage against the Jawanwala violence is pouring forth from all sides. From the political leadership of the country to the civil society and intelligentsia, from the social media influencer to the common hack, everybody is intent on outdoing everybody else in the use of strong and ornate language to condemn the incident. So overpowering is the trend that some religious types have also jumped aboard the bandwagon.
In other words, everything is true to the old routine. Not an iota has changed. And this sanitised routine is why outrages like Jaranwala and worse have become commonplace in our part of the world.
Remember that time when a Sri Lankan citizen was lynched by a fanatical mob incited by his work shirking subordinates in Sialkot? Remember how loudly everybody condemned the incident and its perpetrators?
Remember when a christian couple was burnt alive in Lahore, pushed down a brick kiln fire pit after being bludgeoned, when a rabid mob of largely illiterate zealots egged on by a local maulvi became judge, jury, and executioner after the unfortunate couple were accused of desecrating the Holy Quran?
The chorus of condemnation that follows every such event would have you believe we are all a nation of upright people, the godly among us always mindful of their religious duty to protect the minorities and the secular staunch champions of pluralism and peaceful coexistence. You would be hard pressed imagining where lynch mobs like Lahore, Sialkot, and Jaranwala come from.
And yet, these lynch mobs seem to occur in nature in the land of the pure, ready to precipitate at the slightest … opportunity? Is it possible that such lynch mobs are made up of people like us – we who are loud and passionate in our condemnation of such lynch mobs?
If you look closely, it is obvious from our cacophony of condemnation that our vast majority is part of the problem: We are not prepared to go an inch beyond condemnation. There is no thought, no hope, of bringing perpetrators to the book.
On the contrary, dwell a moment too long over the violence and you are sure to be confronted with a stern: “So should we forget the act of blasphemy against Islam?” Talk bout legal reform and you are almost certain to precipitate a lynch mob baying for your blood.
This is precisely why the liberal types among us who are indeed queasy at heart about this phenomenon generally keep their peace. Why jeopardise your personal safety and that of your family when you can keep your mouth shut and survive? We forget that the inciters of such lynch mobs do not really need a reason – they can conjure a reason whenever they wish.
Consider Jaranwala: We are told that one or more christian youths defiled the pages of the Holy Quran and penned a proclamation to this effect, containing blasphemous remarks. Nobody stopped for a moment to consider why a person in his right mind would indulge in such self destructive behaviour.
The truth is, if somebody did indeed act in this crazy manner, they deserve to be sent to the madhouse and have their head examined. But hordes of the faithful in Jaranwala were quick to believe the allegation and take offence, and quicker to embark on a holy war to punish a whole community for a misdeed allegedly perpetrated by a couple of individuals.
If we carefully consider, the only plausible reason for this cavalier attitude is that every single holy warrior of Jawanwala, every single preacher of hatred, some of whom spread the inflammatory report using mosque facilities, knew there would be no consequences. There have never been. The upshot is that incidents like Jaranwala will continue to happen in the land of the pure as long as the powers that be are unprepared to impose consequences on the perpetrators.
The caretaker government has a limited mandate, but maintaining rule of law is still integral to its function. Caretaker prime minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar has come up with brave words in response to the outrage, promising stern action against “those who violate law and target minorities”. Let us hope he can match his words with concrete action.
It is time to go beyond condemnation and put fear of the law of the land in the hearts of ignorant men all too eager to play havoc with public safety when there are clear legal avenues to seek redressal of the wrongs cited in this case, whether real or fabricated.
In particular, if the investigators find that the wrong was fabricated in this case to fan hatred, those who committed this outrage must be tried under the same laws they tried to invoke against their targets.
The prestige of Islam is too serious a matter to be left open to such evil machinations. It is time to assert that anti-Islamic deeds of these lynch mobs hurt rather than help Islam – and bring a bad name to the country.
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