Pakistani Islamists take whole society - western liberals "shocked"
From the NY Times... being careful for copyright | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Cheering fanatical islamists crowds have gathered in recent days to support the bung-hole assassin who riddled the governor of Punjab with 26 bullets and to praise his attack -- carried out in the name of the Prophet Muhammad may bees pee upon him -- as an act of heroism. To the surprise of many, chief among them have been Pakistan's young lawyers, once seen
wrongly
as a force for democracy.
Their energetic campaign on behalf of the killer has caught the government flat-footed and dismayed friends and supporters of the slain politician, Salman Taseer,
a real hero in a hard country
an outspoken proponent of liberalism who had challenged the nation's strict blasphemy laws.
Brave soul. rest in peace. wish he lived.
It has also confused many clueless western liberals in the broader public and observers abroad, who expected to see a firm state prosecution of the assassin.
Instead, before his court appearances, the lawyers showered rose petals over the confessed killer, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, a member of an elite police group who had been assigned to guard the governor, but who instead turned his gun on him.
It may seem a stark turnabout
if you had no idea what was going on
for a group that just a few years ago looked like the vanguard of a democracy movement. They waged months of protests in 2007 and 2008 to challenge Pakistan's military dictator after he unlawfully removed the chief justice.
military dictators take over in Pakistan to repress the venom spittling holy men.
Washington has poured billions of dollars into the Pakistani military to combat terrorism, but has long neglected a civilian effort to counter the inexorable pull of conservative Islam.
didn't know that was the job of US taxpayers and their representatives... how about just cutting off the aid until they play ball?
By now the conservatives have entered nearly every part of Pakistani society, even the rank-and-file security forces, as the assassination showed. The military, in fact, has been conspicuously silent about the killing.
Posted by: anon1 2011-01-11 |