Respect between people of different faiths is a two way street. To get this respect often demands compromise between people of different beliefs. However there are some beliefs and ideologies that show daily that they are unwilling to compromise or have respect for the beliefs of others.
The area that now comprises Pakistan was once home to Sunni Shia and Ahmedi Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Jews. I would be lying if I said that all relations between religions on the Indian Sub-Continent were, prior to the end of the British Raj, entirely peaceful, but before the creation of Pakistan, Islam was not the dominant political and social ideology that it is now. There were killings and trouble but Islam did not dominate.
The effect of this new Islamic dominance which has come about since Pakistani independence can be seen in the conditions of life for religious minorities in Pakistan. Islam is rapidly making life hellish for them. Christians are routinely and sometimes maliciously accused of ‘blasphemy’ against Islam and subject to legal penalty and mob violence, Sikhs are persecuted by the Taliban, the Jews of Pakistan have nearly all left for Israel and elsewhere and the Hindus, as we can see from today’s example of Pakistani Muslim violence, now live in fear.
It is now well known and understood that despite the protestations of the apologists for Islam that the ideology of Islam and its followers are ‘tolerant’ the evidence available shows that to be an complete lie. Islam and its followers are only tolerant when they live as a minority. Placing the followers of Islam in positions of power swiftly turns members of minority religions into potential victims.
Today’s example of why Islamic Pakistan is a shithole comes from Latifabad where unidentified people entered a Hindu Temple and then set about smashing the place up. I cannot see that another Hindu would do such a thing neither can I believe that the Christians or the Sikhs did this, so that just leaves us with the usual suspects, yes you guessed it, Muslims.
The Pakistan Tribune said:
“A small temple belonging to the Hindu scheduled-caste community was desecrated on Friday morning.
Three unidentified attackers entered the temple of the Hindu deity, Hanuman, in the SITE area of Latifabad at around 7am. The men prayed for two minutes and then broke Hanuman’s idol before setting the temple on fire. This temple is located in the same compound as the more popular temple of Kali Mata.
“They asked me to let them in because they wanted to pray,” said Darshan, a student of class five, who has been looking after the temple for the last five months. “But, once they entered, they broke the idol, sprayed kerosene oil and set everything ablaze.” The temple’s caretaker, Revo Meghwadh, died five months ago, after being bitten by a snake inside the temple.
According to Darshan, the faces of the attackers were partly covered so he will not be able to identify them. They escaped without facing any resistance, he added. The fire, which gutted the photos of the Hindu deities hanging on the walls, was put out by the locals.
The temple is located in Kali Mata Colony on the foothills of the Ganjo Takkar mountain range. The colony, inhabited by around 500 to 600 scheduled-caste families, is named after the historic Kali Mata temple, which was located in a mountain cave before the new temple was built. Hanuman’s temple is situated at the colony’s entrance, some 350 to 400 feet away from the Kali Mata’s temple. The attack came weeks before the April 14 fair organised at the temple every year.
According to Krishan Kumar, who represents the colony’s community, Hanuman’s idol was placed at the colony’s gate. Last year, a family gave a small room to shift the idol. He refused to accept that Friday’s attacks were caused due to any rivalries. The people of this area mostly belong to the labour class, he said, adding that they neither fight with neighbouring communities nor have they received any threats. “We have been living here for centuries because of Kali Mata’s temple. Never in the past were we attacked this way.”
The attack triggered protests at Fateh Chowk, Tando Wali Muhammad, Liaquat Colony, Cantt, Bombay Bakery and GOR Colony areas. These protests were, however, attended only by the scheduled-caste Hindus. Those belonging to other castes did not show up at the protests but did issue statements to condemn the attack. Some representatives also visited the temple.
According to DIG Sanaullah Abbassi, the initial investigations suggest the attack did not happen due to any communal strife. Nevertheless, the local DSP and SHO have been suspended and an FIR has been lodged against three unidentified attackers on the complaint of Krishan Kumar.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Muhammad Nawaz Soho met the community leaders and assured them that his district administration will pay to remake the idol and the temple.”
The fact that this Hindu community in Latifabad were living mostly at peace with their neighbours for many years until this happened is proof that as Islam has grown in power in Pakistan, life has got worse for non-Muslims there. People or ideologies should sometimes be judged by how they handle power when they get it. We could see during the Cold War that the Communist ideology and fascist/ultra-nationalist dictators created countries which were not free, and we should also see that Islam, when it is in a position of political control behaves in exactly the same way.
When Islam the ideology, exercises political power, it create societies that are violent, oppressive and discriminatory, something that has not happened to countries that are NOT based on Islam. We should be rightly wary of when Islam or its representatives seek power for too often when Islam gains that power, it turns it upon those who are not Muslim.
A society where Islam is powerful, is a society where religious or social minorities live in fear and that is something that we should all guard against, no matter what our religious or political path.
