“Don’t be such a Taliban”

The Pakistani nation slowly awoke from its slumber after a video was aired on their TV sets on 3^rd of April 2009. Still half asleep, the nation wondered whether they were experiencing a form of hypnopompic hallucination as they watched the footage which was reminiscent of pre-historic and unruly times. The long flowing beards, the head turbans and the medieval crowd seemed familiar, an image from the near past but from another neighbouring country. Could this really be Swat in Pakistan?

Immediately the talk shows and other TV programmes on the local Pakistani media sprung into action. There were people who were ecstatic at the punishment awarded to this 17year old unfortunate girl. “The laws of the Sharia have been implemented” they gloated. Others condemned the act, while most seemed confused and dissonant. This dissonance was produced by the conflict going on in their mind: flogging is a religious punishment (Surah 24:2), but actually seeing it, produces uncomfortable emotions.

But since this is not a theological discussion it is best avoided going into the details.

There is a common belief that the Taliban are not only very swift in dispensing justice but also provide the purest form of judgements under their rule. This is only a myth. They are no doubt, good in identifying crime and associating that with punishment, but providing justice is the last thing they do. They are surely very swift in imposing punishment.

After identifying a crime, the most extensive method of investigation should take place. The punishment only comes at the very end. This is only done to avoid miscarriages of justice; as such severe punishments cannot be reversed.

In the case of this ill-fated Swati girl, apart from the stringent pre-requisites all the four witnesses (if they really existed) had to fulfil, it is pertinent to understand that all four witnesses must provide evidence that they found the man and woman in flagrante delicto (while the crime is blazing). Only and only then, can we implicate both of them of such a heinous crime.

And it is also clear in the grainy footage that the hapless 17 year old girl is bearing the brunt of the crime all alone, what about the other alleged perpetrator, the man.

Our nation is becoming even more divisive over such issues. Last year on a visit to Karachi, an acquaintance offered me a foreign and specially ‘brewed and fermented’ drink. When the reason for refusal cited was religious in nature, the spontaneous response was “Don’t be such a Taliban, Yaar.”

It is evident that we have become an excessively polarized society. The people who were liberal are becoming even more accommodating. And those who were conservative in their opinions are becoming more rigid and extreme in their views.

These things don’t happen overnight or even in a decade. The media and politicians in response to the brutalities of the Taliban repeat the same rhetorical argument and blame Musharaff and the War on Terror for the demise of our society.

The War on Terror could have acted as a catalyst, but this was 30 years in the making. We are reaping the fruits of the poison sowed by General Zia-ul-Haq’s repressive era. We have destroyed a whole generation just to help another country’s proxy war and to fulfill our illusive dream of ‘strategic depth.’

Our nation immediately goes into denial following such episodes of barbarity. The blame usually goes to phantom Indian, American and/or Jewish spies. To make matters more contradictory we believe the current Taliban in Pakistan are really puppets of some foreign enemy country but at the same time make peace deals with them and support their ideological stance on religion.

The first step in treating a disease is to accept that one is ill and then seek help. We need to accept we have a problem and that these criminals and terrorist are misguided Muslims rather than chanting the usual non-pragmatic slogan “These acts can never be perpetrated by any Muslim”

The events in Swat should have been be a wakeup call for all of us, I guess not. It is already too late; the footage aired on the 3^rd of April was just a preview of the original long and sad movie. If we do not awaken now I am afraid we shall slip into a deep abyss of irrationality and darkness.

The Taliban are known historically to impose their views on others forcefully and persecute those who hold a view contrary to theirs. It is hoped that one day they are able comprehend Islam in its truest sense and take example from Imam Shafa’I, who once said:

“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.”