Shehrbano Taseer in UK speaks out against radical political Islam
by Lizzy Millar
Religious seminaries Madarash in Pakistan are raising a new generation of children to propagate hatred in the wake of bin Laden’s assassination.
Shehrbano Taseer, the daughter of Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab region who was assassinated by his bodyguard on 4 January for opposing blasphemy laws, blames Pakistan’s countless madrassas – or Religious schools – for using Islam as a ‘political tool’.
Taseer who was speaking at the Quilliam Foundation in London, the first UK-based Muslim think tank dedicated to challenging extremism, is calling on the international community to lobby her government to reform the madrassas and allow greater democracy in Pakistan.
She wants Pakistan to reform the madrassa syllabus so that children are taught viable skills for life and how to value religious freedom and rights.
Taseer, a journalist for Newsweek Pakistan, who describes herself as a civil society activist, has also warned that the death of bin Laden has stirred up extremist sentiment in the already troubled nation.
She said: ‘They are raising children to believe their only contribution to Islam is through jihad. They hail people like Osama bin Laden.’
Taseer said a lack of education coupled with a culture that discouraged any questioning of elders had allowed these radical clerics to spread their ‘poison’.
‘They are becoming more hardline by using Islam as a political tool and this mindset is exported all over the world,’ she added.
Taseer claims her country has been a victim in the war on terrorism after its leaders received direction and funding for schools and mosques from Wahhabis, ultra-conservative dollar-rich Muslims from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
She said this influx had brought with it a rise in the number of radical clerics who had a stronghold on their communities by running religious seminaries and influencing popular opinion.
Asked by Lapido Media about action taken by Pakistani civil society against so-called hate preachers, she said: ‘Absolutely nothing, as there is an atmosphere of fear. The silent majority feel backed up against the wall.’
She gave the example of Mumtaz Qadri, her father’s killer who was showered with rose petals by a group of two hundred lawyers as he entered the court building. She also mentioned students writing articles that hailed his deeds and criticised her father for speaking up for Asia Bibi, the Christian mother-of-five sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.
‘Mumtaz Qadri represents a mindset that is prevalent in Pakistan. Murder is legitimised because it’s done in the name of God.
‘Repressive mindsets have been allowed to flourish. The state has abdicated its responsibility, and hatemongers have been given a platform.
‘My father’s death has highlighted how grave the situation is, but blasphemy cases are still on the rise.’
Taseer paid tribute to the ‘brave men and women’ who were speaking out in Pakistan as well as the silent majority who she said are looking for a more open society.
But she added that their voices would remain fragmented without the backing of central government.
In recent months Pakistan has come under increasing pressure to crack down on extremism in the wake of the assassination of Salman Taseer.
His murder came only a few months before the fatal shooting of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minorities minister and the only Christian member of the cabinet. He too had criticised his country’s blasphemy laws.
In May protests erupted in Pakistan after US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, who had apparently been hiding in a compound near Islamabad for 10 years.
Meanwhile the UK Department for International Development (DfID), responsible for the recent allocation of £445m aid to Pakistan, is calling on religious leaders in Britain for their help.
DfID has set up a working group of religious leaders in the UK who have experience of working in areas of conflict and fragile states so that aid can reach the most vulnerable people and, in turn, help these communities build a better future.
Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, announced this new approach at the Synod of the Church of England in recognition of the role of faith groups in civil society and their ability to reduce global poverty and challenge extremist attitudes and behaviours at home and abroad.
nice post Excellent Ms Taseer !
Is that Sheherbano Taseer or Celine Dion?
She must continue with her efforts, because the Pakistani population is now getting tired of living this life full of fear and desperation. Hopefully, the silent majority would become the vocal majority in the coming times and things will get better.
i think its not just the madrassas who r radicalising our youth. u will be taken aback at how our ”educated ” youth of private institutions view ”jihad” and ”taliban” and ”blasphemy”. so, its quite a complex situation here in pakistan.moreover, no govt.can do any legislaion on blasphemy unless some public consesus z achieved before it.we all know how radicalisation started in pakistan. the critical question z how 2 get rid of this menance…there r no short term solutions. saudi govt. aint stop funding the extremist groups, right wing parties will continue to support the banned organisations in order to get their votes, jihadi elements in the media will keep promoting extremists agenda and army will keep ”protecting” its ”interests”. lets hope 4 the best and be prepared 4 the worst.
Ms. Taseer is unraveling the intriguing facts, but the concept of liberty is not intrinsic to Pakistani civilization.
unlike fatima bhutto, whose analysis and articles r based on personal vendetta against democratic elected govt,taseer z more objective in her analysis.she talks about issues which r current and bold.more strength 2 her.
Shehrbano Taseer: Hatred that killed my father hurts all Pakistan
Five months ago, my father Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by his security guard Mumtaz Qadri for opposing misuse of Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws. During the investigation, we were shown a video that made my blood freeze. In a tiny madrassa in Rawalpindi, the chief cleric of a little known Sunni religious group, Shabab-e-Islami, was frothing at the mouth, screeching to 150 swaying men inciting them to kill my father, “the blasphemer”.
Qadri was in the audience, nodding and listening intently. A few days later, on January 4, he casually strolled up behind my father and shot him 27 times. As was reported this week, the blasphemy laws are still being used to persecute Christians, while Qadri, who has still not stood trial, is treated as a hero.
How did it come to this? In the 1979 Soviet-Afghan war, the intelligence agencies of the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia joined together to fight a covert operation against the Soviet Union. The US offered huge amounts of aid as Pakistan became a conduit for assistance to the Mujahidin. About 20,000 to 30,000 fighters from 20 Muslim countries joined the battle, including Osama bin Laden. In local madrassas they were taught to hate and kill, and indoctrinated with extremist Wahhabi ideology. We thought the nightmare would end when Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. But it’s thriving and has come back to haunt us.
Madrassas are still the breeding ground of Islamic radicalism. More than 15,000 have mushroomed all over the country and 80 per cent teach militant Islam. Clerics can preach whatever they please, and are raising a generation of children to be merchants of hatred, who believe that their only contribution to Islam is jihad and that the only way to achieve it is violence.
Not all madrassas are evil. My grandfather was educated in one and he was a poet, the first South Asian to receive a doctorate in literature from Cambridge. But nowadays rabid clerics hijack the minds of young children, denying them contact with the outside world and teaching them to be bitterly antagonistic to non-Muslims and other sects of Islam alike.
A boy of 8 or 9 in a madrassa will not know much about history, maths or science but will know how to fire a Kalashnikov and strap on a suicide bomb vest. These children are being trained not how to live, but how to die. My father’s murder is the perfect example of the hatred and violence spewed daily to children who go out into the world deluded in this warped piety where murder and violence are legitimised in the name of Islam.
The weak Pakistani Government appeases extremist demands and allows these hate-mongers a platform. The ruthless military and intelligence agencies play a double game, dividing terrorists into good and bad, funding and arming those deemed “good”.
But Pakistan too is a victim of the ideology. We have lost an estimated 3,000 soldiers and 35,000 civilians in the War on Terror. Our mosques and market places are bombed every month. Police and military bases and training academies are attacked weekly. As a people, we are exhausted with the bombings, violence and assassinations. We are suffering because of an extremist ideology exported from Saudi Arabia.
The role of wealthy Saudi families in funding al-Qaeda and other terrorists has been kept in the background. But according to a US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks, $100 million a year makes its way from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to extremist recruitment networks in Punjab. Given Saudi Arabia’s importance as an oil producer, the presence of Saudi financial support is, perhaps, a big complication for the UK and US anti-terror effort. But it has reached the point of passive sponsorship.
An international effort to cut off the financial tentacles of the Islamist terrorist apparatus is needed urgently. No other family should have to suffer what mine have had to. No other nation should lose its brave heart because of this madness in the name of religion.
This piece was originally published in The Times (UK).