But, more important than all this was that almost everybody was scared to give their opinion in public. I asked many, from ordinary citizens to political workers, from the educated to the uneducated, from the young to the old. People would first give a cautious smile, trying to judge what my opinion was. If their opinion matched with my opinion, they would admit to it, else they would try to give a diplomatic answer.
The interesting thing, however, is that it was not the fear of being labeled either a supporter of blasphemy or a supporter of assassination, but the fear of being persecuted for holding that opinion! If one surfaced as a supporter of blasphemy, another Mumtaz Qadri might kill them. And if one surfaced as a supporter of the assassination, they might be intellectually humiliated, shunned socially for life or even ‘picked-up’.
I was on a social visit. My friend’s mother-in-law was sitting on her evergreen couch. I asked her what she thought of Mumtaz Qadri. To my surprise, she almost jumped out of her couch in her enthusiasm and instructing a finger at me, she said ‘He did the absolute right thing. Salman Taseer got what he deserved. When government institutes become sitting ducks, that is when people take law into their own hands…’
I was very happy for her clear-cut, loud and unabashed opinion. I said, ‘Very good Aunty, here, please write me a postcard on this one and I will post it for you.’ Would you believe it that she recoiled back with the same force that she had come out with? And she said, ‘What the hell? Are you crazy? They will pick me up and bundle me away…’
It was very funny, but also very sad. For one thing, people responsible for our protection are now considered kidnappers and persecutors. Second, the phenomenon of enforced disappearances has become so widespread and common that it has made the people spiritually dead. People now seek simply to save their bodies and let their spirits die and hence not say or do anything for a change. Third, people wish for others to do the stunts and revolutions and themselves to enjoy the results and celebrate. They will not even pick up the pen to defend the convicted ‘hero’ behind bars, in torture or facing the death penalty; but will distribute sweets and confetti for the convict’s achievement.
Fear is a natural phenomenon, but we need to handle it maturely. Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas; One day he was riding behind Allah's Messenger Pbuh, who said, ‘Young man, if you are mindful of Allah, He will be mindful of you, and if you are mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. When you ask for anything, ask it from Allah, and if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that if the people were to unite to do you some benefit, they could benefit you only with what Allah had recorded for you, and that if they were to unite to do you some injury, they could injure you only with what Allah had recorded for you. The pens are withdrawn and the pages are dry.’ [Hadith: Al-Tirmidhi, N. 1405]
Episodes like Shahzeb Khan, Nirbhaya and Sandy Hook Elementary School are a stark reminder of the fact that a calamity can hit anyone in this life, be they activists or non-activists.
We evade participation in campaigns and movements to protect ourselves from persecution, imprisonment and assassination. Though to die is easier in comparison to imprisonment, for it amounts to honorary martyrdom and the pain is over in seconds. The only pain remaining is the pain of separation for the family left behind, and even that is much less than the phenomena of imprisonment. It is terrible beyond words and imagination, both for the person and family, to be detained in prisons and torture, especially secret, unknown prisons. And that is exactly what is happening mostly in these times, commonly known as ‘Illegal Detention’ and ‘Missing Persons’.
I read somewhere that perhaps they also know this, that honorable people hope to attain martyrdom in lieu of death as the end of their life, somewhere along the line, and hence are brave to step forward for causes. Consequently, they replaced killing with imprisonment to increase the terror and deflect people from participation. Little do they know that imprisonment and suffering for the sake of Allah Almighty has its own merits and He is the One Who provides solace and endurance to the one afflicted with it. They should have known it, for it is there in the Bible as well,
‘Blessed are those who suffer persecution for living righteously, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My Sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for likewise they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’ [The Holy Bible, Matthew 5:10-12]
Another worthy aspect of imprisonment is that it sets off a massive movement; the imprisoned person’s family, friends and supporters begin a movement for the release of their loved-one, a movement, a struggle, a revolution, much stronger than the revenge sought for the martyred one.
Despite all this, imprisonment and torture is terrible. Yes, imprisonment and torture is terrible. The thought of it pushes one to back off from participation in campaigns, until a noble soldier’s thoughts are fathomed by the foresighted mind…imprisonment is terrible, but the very worst of prisons is the grave, from where there is no escape.
Have we ever imagined? Of dying in the Bad Books of Allah Almighty? Of being whipped-up by the Black Angels at the moment of death as depicted in the Hollywood movie ‘Ghost’ of 1990? I am quite sure we have not. For most of us, deep in our hearts, believe ourselves to be sin-free or at most having trivial sins which The Ghafoor-ur-Raheem, The Forgiving and The Merciful, will ‘definitely’ forgive. In our minds, the only criminals around here are Bush, Saddam, Shahrukh Jatoi and likewise. Little do we realize that in Allah Almighty’s world, the grading is relative. Big people do big crimes and little people do little crimes; Allah Almighty takes to account both. And very few people know that in some situations, to stay mute is also a sin, for which we are punished in this world by becoming the next victim or are punished after death.
Narrated Anas ibn Malik, Allah's Apostle Pbuh said: ‘If I did not fear that you would stop burying your dead one’s, I would have certainly supplicated Allah to let you hear the torment of the grave’. [Hadith: Sahih Muslim, N. 1334]
Let us say, if Musharraf is a criminal for cowering under the US threat and jumping into the so-called war-on-terror, then we are also criminals in our capacity by being silent upon it. He did what was in his jurisdiction and we were supposed to do what was in our jurisdiction; to protest, campaign and refuse. If our excuse is that we feel threatened and scared, well then Musharraf also felt threatened and scared and he felt so on behalf of the whole nation. Then did he do the right thing? There are some who believe that he did the right thing because it is not wise to endanger the whole nation to save a few. Is that so? Well, what about the same people giving raving reviews for the story of the Indian art-movie ‘Mirch Masala’, in which the panchayat, a jury group comprised of elders of the village, decide to handover the attractive woman, Sonbai, to the lecherous Subedar because, using his position of power, he threatens to raze the village to the ground if his demand is not met. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? As the story continues, a simpleton, elderly guard of a factory ends up taking a stand for the protection of Sonbai and thus becomes the hero of the movie. While the panchayat and its supporters are rebuked and considered sissy for giving in to the threat of the arrogant Subedar.
It is for us to decide now, our destiny, of this world and the Hereafter. As quoted by an Internet blogger, ‘The choice is between living to die and dying to live. Choose to live and eventually die, or keep shivering in fear, and die every minute of your life’. My friend’s mother-in-law died her natural death recently, about one and a half year after that flippant episode. She was a good mother-in-law, and may Allah Almighty grant her a good place in Heaven. I wish she had written that one postcard for Mumtaz Qadri, who happens to be still alive, and secured a higher place with Allah Almighty in the Hereafter.
