“Let Us Be Killed Again, My Friends, Come On.” : By Dr Ali Shazif

On January 4th, the anniversary of Salman Taseer’s martyrdom passed silently. In 2011, Salman Taseer, then the Governor of Punjab, the largest province in Pakistan, was assassinated by one of his security guards—an extremist religious follower who shot him dead. Governor Salman Taseer was a liberal and enlightened politician. While there may be differences in political ideologies, the courage he displayed by advocating for the rights of a Christian working-class woman and embracing martyrdom elevated his position in the hearts and minds of even his progressive opponents.
Salman Taseer was an affluent industrialist, associated with the Pakistan People’s Party at the time of his martyrdom. Despite participating in condemnable acts such as religious discrimination, the Pakistan People’s Party remains the most progressive political party in the country. This is why the PPP was the best platform for Salman Taseer to uphold his liberal politics.
I was inspired to write this column after seeing a post by the renowned poet and journalist Razi-ud-Din Razi, who depicted Salman Taseer in a post. In response, I wrote that considering Salman Taseer a martyr and praying for his forgiveness is a form of resistance in Pakistan. Pakistan has been under the shadow of Zia-ul-Haq’s ideology for over forty-five years, and Salman Taseer was a soldier in the struggle against Zia’s ideology.
Pakistan, originally formed in the name of religion, has become a divisive force. India was a country where humans of the same region, Muslims and Hindus, lived together for over a thousand years. Suddenly, some cunning politicians thought they could no longer coexist. After the partition of India, both countries have become victims of religious extremism, causing harm to minority communities in both. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan are major proponents of this extremism. It is unfortunate that India, which claims to be secular, has been governed by Narendra Modi, known worldwide for the Gujarat riots, for the past ten years. Pakistan is also known as a mulla_military state because the establishment uses religious groups to achieve its nefarious objectives. Perhaps Salman Taseer’s murder was possible due to this connection, as later this assassin group gained political supremacy, becoming a significant religious power and a pressure group in Pakistan. Progressive groups in Pakistan and India, such as the Pakistan People’s Party and the Indian National Congress, seem to have no chance of winning the elections in 2024.
During the period from 2010 to 2020, there was a surge of religious extremism in Pakistan. During this time, the progressive student leader Mashal Khan was mercilessly killed by a mob. Priyantha Kumara in the city of Sialkot, Pakistan, was killed under the false accusation of blasphemy. Moreover, during this period, many minority communities were targeted by mobs, resulting in the burning of minority settlements and places of worship. Recently, in the North Waziristan region, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan executed six individuals on charges of trimming their beards.
Takfirism means denial. Muslims of all sects consider each other infidels or view each other’s religious practices as infidelity. There is no harm in that, but the term ‘kafir’ has become so stigmatized that all religious followers in Pakistan consider it an insult. Therefore, we cannot use the word ‘kafir’ on social media, as even Facebook does not approve of it. Due to the consequences of takfiri acts, Muslim marriages are broken, leading to the need for remarriage, and people’s faith may become void, for which they may have to recite the Kalima again under the supervision of a cleric. Recently, I read an article by a female doctor who emphasized that Pakistani Muslims should socially boycott relatives who engage in dancing and singing at weddings so that the message of religion can be elevated.
To end religious extremism in Pakistan and India, we need to eliminate our double standards. On one side is moderation and enlightenment, and on the other is religious extremism. We cannot ride both boats. We need to adopt a clear stance. To defeat extremism, we must support a progressive and enlightened tribe so that we do not become victims of the capitalist mafia, and we can save the people from being exploited in the name of religion. May Allah forgive the martyr Salman Taseer.