The Sound Of One Hand Clapping - Tales From Modern Day Pakistan

[mongers]

The boy accused of blasphemy who cut off his hand
19 January 2016

After a Pakistani boy cut off his own hand following a public accusation of blasphemy, BBC Urdu's Iram Abbasi travelled to his village in Punjab province to find out what happened. She is the first international broadcaster to speak to him. Some readers may find the details that follow disturbing.

"Why should I feel any pain or trouble in cutting off the hand that was raised against the Holy Prophet?"

Those are the words of 15-year-old Qaiser (not his real name) who chopped off his right hand just a few days ago believing he had committed blasphemy.

Many believe fellow villagers starting shaming the boy after the local cleric had made the accusation of blasphemy - and that is why Qaiser felt the need to prove his love for the Prophet Muhammad.

On 11 January, Qaiser was attending a celebration of the Prophet's birth at a mosque in his village in north-eastern Punjab.

The cleric hosting it worked the crowd into a fervour and, a few hours into the celebration, called out: "Who among you is a follower of Muhammad?" Everyone raised their hands.

He followed it with another question: "Who among you doesn't believe in the teachings of the Holy Prophet? Raise your hands!"

Qaiser, mishearing, inadvertently raised his hand.
Image caption
The mosque was empty when the BBC visited - but the mood was intense during the sermon

Witnessed by about 100 worshippers, the cleric immediately accused him of blasphemy and the boy returned home to prove his love for the Prophet - by cutting off his own hand.

For a 15-year-old, Qaiser looked exceptionally frail when I met him. But his fight with pain and fear was outweighed by a sense of religious righteousness.

"When I raised my right hand unwittingly, I realised I had committed blasphemy and needed to atone for this," he told the BBC.

It appears it didn't matter to him whether it was a mistake or not - he couldn't live with the shame of the accusation without punishing himself, so had to undo it.

"I came back home and went to the grass-cutting machine, but found the place dark so I took my uncle's phone to point some light at my hand. I placed it under the machine and chopped it off in a single swirl."

Qaiser picked his severed hand up from under the machine and, bleeding profusely, placed it on a tray and took it back to the mosque, less than 100 metres from his home.

.....

The full article is worth read for more details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35341256



I'm not sure I buy the story that he did it himself, maybe it was his father or a relative in a reaction to the mosque incident?

[Berkut]

It is important to remember however that all religions are basically the same, and any action taken by a follower of Islam for religious reasons is not really about religion, but rather about some other more fundamental social or economic reality.

[mongers]

It is important to remember however that all religions are basically the same, and any action taken by a follower of Islam for religious reasons is not really about religion, but rather about some other more fundamental social or economic reality.

Indeed.

It's worth reading the full article as there's one or two jaw dropping parts you might appreciate.


NB In case anyone wonders I've not been posting full articles for a long time now on languish as I think it's useful to encourage the originator's website to get some credit/traffic. As it is I've probably posted too much of the above item to be considered far use or whatever journalists callit.

[Legbiter]

Pakistan is what happens to a place after more than a millenium of cousin marriage + Islam.

[mongers]

Pakistan is what happens to a place after more than a millenium of cousin marriage + Islam.

So a Lot like Iceland, but with a more easily understood religion? 

[Legbiter]

  

At least the church insisted on 4 degrees of consanguinity...probably saved the nation. 

[Berkut]

It is important to remember however that all religions are basically the same, and any action taken by a follower of Islam for religious reasons is not really about religion, but rather about some other more fundamental social or economic reality.

Indeed.

It's worth reading the full article as there's one or two jaw dropping parts you might appreciate.


NB In case anyone wonders I've not been posting full articles for a long time now on languish as I think it's useful to encourage the originator's website to get some credit/traffic. As it is I've probably posted too much of the above item to be considered far use or whatever journalists callit.

That Qaiser punished himself so severely after being accused of blasphemy is unprecedented in Pakistan. But some say he may have been spared a worse fate in an increasingly conservative country, where people accused of blasphemy, or those who defend them, can end up victims of mob violence and lynching.
In 2011, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was murdered by one of his own bodyguards in the capital, Islamabad, after criticising Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws and voicing support for a Christian woman sentenced to death for a blasphemy charge she denies.
Another outspoken critic of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, Shahbaz Bhatti, the country's first minorities minister and a Christian, was also shot dead in 2011.
Many will find the story of what Qaiser did to clear his name disturbing but it highlights the extreme sensitivity around the issue of blasphemy in Pakistan.
What may have started as a simple misunderstanding went on to have life changing consequences for a child.

What I find amazing is that people will still argue that Islam is not really any different from any other religion.

So far as I am aware, there isn't anywhere in the world where you can be executed as a matter of course for the crime of "blasphemy" that is not Islamic. We pretend like "moderate" Muslims are pretty reasonable people, and I think moderate Muslims living in western countries are in fact very moderate.

On the other hand, there are tens of millions of "moderate" Muslims who think that this kid is some kind of hero, and think execution for crimes like blasphemy, apostasy, homosexuality, and "adultery" is just fine. That is not, in my book, moderate at all.

[mongers]

I found this bit particularly depressing:

Farooq, a man in his mid-thirties, was one of those who came to pay his respects. Appearing at Qaiser's home, he took the boy's left hand, kissed it and pressed it against his forehead. Following local custom, he also placed some cash in the pocket of the teenager he hails as a hero.

"I heard that a boy sacrificed his own hand for the love of our Prophet. I came here to meet him."

"The boy's gesture to show his love for the Prophet is unmatchable. I'm here to encourage him and to pay homage," he continued, his eyes brimming with tears of affection.

So mutilation is to be praised and said so by a emotional stunted adult.
What annoys me in these stories is the waste of human potential ie young peoples futures. In this case actually truncated.

[Berkut]

Indeed. In this case it is is physical and tangible, but in a few hundred million other cases it is just as traumatic, but less visible.

[DGuller]

The downside of extreme political correctness is that it creates fertile ground for people like Donald Trump.  When polite people tell bullshit and everyone kinda knows it, the bigots aren't starting with as big of a credibility deficit as they should be.  The intention of PC culture may be noble, but it's ultimately counterproductive.

[PJL]

The downside of extreme political correctness is that it creates fertile ground for people like Donald Trump.  When polite people tell bullshit and everyone kinda knows it, the bigots aren't starting with as big of a credibility deficit as they should be.  The intention of PC culture may be noble, but it's ultimately counterproductive.

Yes, pretty much agree with this.

[garbon]

I think this thread would be better titled - echo chamber.

[Razgovory]

What I find amazing is that people will still argue that Islam is not really any different from any other religion.

So far as I am aware, there isn't anywhere in the world where you can be executed as a matter of course for the crime of "blasphemy" that is not Islamic. We pretend like "moderate" Muslims are pretty reasonable people, and I think moderate Muslims living in western countries are in fact very moderate.

On the other hand, there are tens of millions of "moderate" Muslims who think that this kid is some kind of hero, and think execution for crimes like blasphemy, apostasy, homosexuality, and "adultery" is just fine. That is not, in my book, moderate at all.

Lack of a better term.  I imagine that they don't respond that well to the idea that they are only a "moderate Muslim".  Still, it doesn't pay to insult your allies.

[The Minsky Moment]

B - In India, there has been a number of killings relating to alleged improper treatment of cows by Muslims.  These have involved mostly mob action, not state action, but the BJP government has not been overly discouraging.

[Berkut]

The downside of extreme political correctness is that it creates fertile ground for people like Donald Trump.

Indeed, that is a huge concern for me.

When the perception of the middle ground is that the left is sticking their head in the sand on terrorism and Islamism, and the right is rallying behind fucking crazy people, then suddenly it looks like only the crazy people (who are ideologically only a slight improvement over the crazy fucking jihadists) end up being the only people who look like they would actually DO anything.

What they would DO would likely be terrible and ineffective of course. But when the choice appears to be "do nothing" and "do something crazy", and the problem is as bad as potentially seeing terrorists with nuclear weapons, "do something crazy" starts to look like not such a crazy idea after all.

I am very afraid of what could happen if ISIS or some Al Quaeda like group pulls off a 9/11 scale attack right before elections...