it’s not safe to be a Christian in any of these places either --- not an American concern.
next ... On Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 6:01:06 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/one-hundred-thousand-in-praise-of-a-murderermartyr/ > > *One Hundred Thousand in Praise of a Murderer/Martyr > <https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/one-hundred-thousand-in-praise-of-a-murderermartyr/>* > > Posted on March 7, 2016 > <https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/one-hundred-thousand-in-praise-of-a-murderermartyr/> > > by mateenelass <https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/author/mateenelass/> > > One of the most pressing questions on the world stage today is: Who > represents true Islam — the moderates or the radicals? American Muslims are > overwhelmingly moderate, but they represent just a fraction of the 1.6 > billion Muslims worldwide. One can also point to other countries where > Muslims are in the minority and see those populations as relatively > peaceful. But given the fact that since 9/11 Muslims have perpetrated > almost 28,000 terrorist attacks across the globe and that the Islamic world > as a whole has not made any concerted efforts to root out the causes of > these attacks within their own teachings, it’s hard to believe that the > moderates wield much influence within their religion. Sadly, the masses of > Muslims around the world often seem to cheer on the radicals rather than > deplore them > > Just over five years ago I wrote a post > <https://mateenelass.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/the-soul-of-islam-in-the-balance/> > > on the arrest of Asia (pronounced Aasiya) Bibi, a native Christian woman > arrested by the Pakistani government under the charge of blasphemy, > punishable by death if convicted. [image: Description: Asia Bibi]In that > post, I detailed the elements of this blasphemy law, all geared to > defending Islam and its prophet from anything smacking of defilement, so I > won’t repeat that here. In the midst of the pro-Islamic fervor sweeping > that country, one influential Muslim politician stood up to challenge that > law, arguing that it was being used unjustly to punish non-Muslims, and > especially Christians. The man, Salman Taseer, was a senior member of the > ruling party of Pakistan, and governor of Punjab province. He spoke out > concerning the legal abuse being done to Asia Bibi under the blasphemy > statute, and even went to visit her in prison upon her conviction of > blasphemy in November 2010. > > Mr. Taseer [image: Description: salman taseer]was not lauded by many for > his courageous efforts to amend the blasphemy statutes so as to prevent > their usage unjustly to persecute non-Muslims. In fact, he raised the ire > of most Muslim religious authorities by his stance, and less than two month > after visiting Asia Bibi, he was gunned down by one of his own security > guards, who shot him 27 times in the back as the governor was walking back > to his car after a lunch meeting. No attempt was made to stop the murderer > by the other equally armed guards present. Mr. Taseer’s funeral was held > the next day, as is consistent with Islamic law, but even though he had > been a prominent politician and wealthy businessman, his services were > attended by only a few thousand people. Perhaps part of the reason for this > was that over 500 Muslim “scholars” issued a declaration praising the > killer as a religious hero and warning, “*No Muslim should attend the > funeral or even try to pray for Salmaan Taseer or even express any kind of > regret or sympathy over the incident.*” > <http://tribune.com.pk/story/99313/hardline-stance-religious-bloc-condones-murder/> > > The killer, Mumtaz Qadri, who gave himself up to police with a smile two > days after the shooting,[image: Description: mumtaz-qadri]was > subsequently convicted of murder, and has been held quietly in prison until > all appeals were denied and the death sentence carried out. Last week, on > Feb 29th, he was hanged at 4:30 local time behind the walls of Adialia > prison in Rawalpindi, and his body turned over to family members. His > status as a martyr and hero among the people is confirmed by the fact that > estimated crowds of 100,000 turned out for his funeral on March 1st. [image: > Description: qadri funeral] > > [image: Description: qadri2] > > Even before his execution, back in 2012 a mosque in suburban Islamabad was > built and named after him. The leader of that mosque, Ashfaq Sabri, reveres > Qadri, saying in an interview <http://www.dawn.com/news/1105513>, “My > faith is not that strong. Otherwise I and every other Muslim would also do > what Mumtaz Qadri did.” Since the execution, protests and riots have broken > out across Pakistan against the government’s action, and the Muslim > fraternity of lawyers declared a one day strike to underline their belief > that Qadri was unjustly executed. Earlier today, a Taliban suicide bomber > blew himself up in a courtroom in NW Pakistan, killing 17 and injuring at > least 30 others. The Taliban announced this was to avenge the death of a > Muslim hero at the hands of a renegade government. There will be more > violence to come, no doubt. > > So back to our original question: Who represents true Islam — the > moderates or the radicals? If Taseer and Qadri can be taken to represent > the two groups, then what we see in Pakistan is frightening. Taseer, who > had given his life’s energies to the people of Pakistan and argued for > moderation in the application of blasphemy laws, is honored by a few > thousand at his funeral but pilloried by thousands more. Qadri, who gunned > down Taseer in an act of cowardice to “restore the honor of the Prophet,” > is lauded by hundreds of thousands of Muslims, not only in Pakistan but > around the world. > > I keep wishing that the moderate Muslims were right — that they represent > true Islam. I have many relatives in this camp. But the actions of the > radicals, and the surging masses that vocalize their support of them, shows > that the moderates have failed to win the hearts of the large majority of > their fellow Muslims. Indeed, it is not a healthy option to be a vocal > moderate in a place like Pakistan today. Or Afghanistan. Or Iran. Or Iraq. > Or Libya. Or Saudi Arabia. Or Qatar. Or Yemen. Or…. > > By the way, it’s not safe to be a Christian in any of these places either. > Asia Bibi remains on death row to this day (over 5 years), waiting for her > final appeal for clemency to be adjudicated. That hearing is scheduled for > March 26th. If you find compassion in your heart, please pray for her > release, and for safe passage for her and her family out of Pakistan, for > there has been a litany of death threats lodged against them by Muslim > vigilantes prepared to carry our “justice” if the courts dismiss the > charges. > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmc29oZ244BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NTczOTQwNTU-> > > > - New Members > > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJnaXJlOTNvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2bWJycwRzdGltZQMxNDU3Mzk0MDU1> > > 1 > > [image: Yahoo! 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