Another Muslim Man Lynched In Pakistan Over Alleged Quran Desecration
By
New Age Islam Staff Writer
22 June
2024
The
Members Of The Mob Proudly Confessed On Camera That They Did The Job
Main
Points:
1. The man was
lynched and burnt by a mob in Swat.
2. The
allegation of Quran desecration was not proved.
3. People
cheered while the body was up in flames.
4. A local TV
channel televised the event live.
------
Just a
month after a Christian septuagenarian was lynched by an angry mob in Sargodha
in Punjab for alleged Quran desecration, another tragic incident of mob
lynching of a 36 year old Muslim man from Sialkot in Madyan of Swat district of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over alleged desecration of the Quran occurred yesterday.
But the way the man was lynched and the mob of the Muslims, including 13 year
and 15 year old children behaved crossed all the limits of barbarity and
bestiality.
Local residents look a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man
over allegations that he had desecrated Islam's holy book, in Madyan, a town in
Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on June 21.NAVEED ALI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
----
The man
named Md Sulaiman who was reportedly going through psychological and mental
problems due to family disputes had probably visited the tourist spot of Madyan
in Swat valley for mental solace. He was putting up in a local hotel. Some one
reportedly saw him destroying some papers that had some Arabic text on it. Soon the word spread that he had desecrated the Quran. Some
one went to the mosque nearby and announced on the loudspeaker about the
desecration. Soon a crowd of fanatics gathered outside the hotel and started
beating him. The police arrived on time and rescued him from the mob and took
him to the police station. The mob followed the police to the police station
and gradually more and more people joined the crowd. The police closed the main
gate of the police station but the rioters jumped off the walls and entered the
police lock up. They retrieved the accused and brought him on the road. The man
was stripped naked and beaten to death. After he died, the mob poured petrol on
his dead body and set it on fire. While the dead body was up in flames, the
crowd surrounding him was cheering and chanting, "Labbaik YaRasulallah."
What was
more disgusting, the anchor of local TV channel of Pashto arrived at the scene
when the body was still burning and said in his language, "Viewers, see
what is happening behind me. Whoever commits such a crime deserves this."
People involved in the lynching proudly confessed on camera that they had done
the job and had no remorse.
The victim,
Md. Suleiman had been going through a bad phase of life and had court cases
against him over family disputes. He had left home one and a half year ago and
was living the life of a vagabond. He had come to Swat perhaps to find peace of
mind unaware of the fact he could face blasphemy charges anywhere in Pakistan.
His mother
soon released a video in which she said that she had kicked her son out due to
his violent behaviour and so should not be held responsible for his acts. In
fact she was aware of the fact that in Pakistan, the family of the accused of
blasphemy too is targeted and most of the time they have to go into hiding to
avoid a backlash. In any other country, a mother would have condemned the
lynching and demanded punishment to the killers but being a citizen of Pakistan
her first priority was to save herself from being punished for the uncommitted
sin of her son.
The police
acted in a lackadaisical way though it had rescued the victim. The police knew
that the mob would attack the police station as has happened in similar cases
but it did not seek reinforcement from the district headquarters. It should
have taken the victim to an undisclosed location as it knew that the mob might
attack the victim in the police station.
Though the
media by and large remained silent due to the fear of Islamic organisations
that are involved in such crimes, some YouTube journalists condemned the
incident and questioned the role of the police, the extremist religious
organisations and the political parties. A YouTuberAsad Toor said that the
incidents of mob lynching over the allegations of blasphemy were rising but the
government was more concerned about what it called digital terrorism. The
government takes steps to curb the media and national TV channels run debates
on how to stop fake news while religious organisations like TLP spread hate and
terror. The TLP had raided vans belonging to Ahmadis carrying animals during
Eidal Adha while they were accompanied with the police. He said the police told
them not to make animal sacrifice even within their houses. They even checked
their fridges and booked them for having meat. He further said that due to
religious fanaticism and increasing incidents of mob lynching, the governments
of China, UAE and Saudi Arabia have expressed unwillingness to make investments
in Pakistan. Due to this, there is no foreign investment in Pakistan.
Another
YouTuber Syed Muzammil Shah is also very critical of the government and the
police. He says that the situation has come to a point of no return and there
is no hope left for a reform because the masses have become an obstacle to
reform or progress. In Pakistan, any body can be accused of blasphemy and then
he will lose life in no time. The state will not come to his rescue because the
state has withered. Not even clerics are safe here because even they can be
accused of blasphemy. He cites the example of Maulana Tariq Masood. He was
invited to address a religious programme in a town but on arrival there he
found posters accusing him of blasphemy put up everywhere. He decided not to
attend the programme and came back home. Syed Muzammil says, "I feel to be
a part of a big ship which is sinking."
Maulana
Tarique Masood says that in Pakistan, it has become very easy to file a
blasphemy case against anybody. Thousands of people are languishing in jails and
many of them have lost their mental equilibrium."
Syed
Muzammil holds the politicians responsible for this mess. In his view, the
political parties have pampered religious organisations like TLP for narrow
political gains. Now these extremist organisations have grown out of control.
The
governments in Pakistan feel so helpless before these religious organisations
that they cannot evencondemn these mob lynchings because of the fear of a
backlash from them. Even a chief justice was accused of blasphemy and a
campaign of blasphemy was run against the former army chief. Finally he had to
make a compromise with the organisation. In short, blasphemy laws of Pakistan
have proved to be a powerful tool in the hands of extremist clerics and
religious organisations with which they can blackmail the authorities.
Therefore, the extremist clerics and extremist organisations do not allow any
reform in the blasphemy laws as it will weaken their grip on the government and
society.
With this
situation in sight, there seems to be no hope of any reform in Pakistani
society. On the contrary, the situation seems to be grimmer with the
participation of the new generation in mob lynching as they have been made to
believe that what they are doing is a part of Islam and not a Gunah-e-Kabirah,
an unpardonable sin in the eyes of God.
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