Lahore Massacre: A Wake-Up Call
By: Arif Humayun

The despicable terrorist attack on two Ahmedi places of worship (May 30) in Lahore has highlighted several critical reactions.

The instantaneous and widespread condemnation of the attack by Pakistanis, as reported by the electronic media, is indeed commendable. However, some PML (Nawaz) politicians and politicised clergy have reserved their outright condemnation and attempted to exploit the outdated conspiracy theories to justify this indefensible monstrosity.

Pakistanis should make no mistake that the two-headed monster of religious radicalism and terrorism is their own creation. The Taliban-associated extremists find cover in the anti-Ahmedi laws in the Constitution, Pakistan’s egregious apostasy and blasphemy laws, and the government’s unwillingness to protect the religious freedoms of this community.

Keeping these laws on the books and blaming outside forces will only embolden terrorists.

The misplaced sympathy that the radicals are somehow servicing Islam needs to be eliminated. Sectarian and religiously-motivated violence is chronic, and the government has failed to protect members of religious minorities from such violence and to bring perpetrators to justice. Religiously discriminatory legislation, such as the apostasy and the blasphemy laws, foster an atmosphere of intolerance in the country and embolden extremists.

No individual or body has the right to define a person’s religion; the comment that the terrorists were not Muslims is a veiled justification to defend Pakistan’s discriminatory legislations.

Pakistan initiated this process of defining a Muslim in the 70s. Over the past five decades, various government policies to Islamize society by implementing so-called Islamic regulations has brought the country to the brink of economic and political collapse; terrorists have been the only winners during this period.