Recently, I came across a status-update, at facebook, by a young girl named, Kiran Ashraf from Karachi. I seriously admire this girl, who went on to challenge, an all male crowd, despite being vulnurable. But this incident also provides, some points to ponder about our society. Here is an edited version of her story, as some of the sentences used, were in Urdu:
Kiran: ''Among a crowd I saw a man today with a rope tightened around his neck and hands joined together begging for mercy. I couldn't see clearly but I saw another man standing really close. A bearded man of age with a prayer mark on his forehead, wearing decent clothes and uttering something. The first thought in my mind was that atleast there is, this respectable looking person present, who must be helping in sorting out the issue.
But out of my curiosity I went a little closer and to my utter horror, I saw the same pious looking man holding the end of the rope in his hands, gripping it tightly telling the man to move his shop out of the way because it was his space, his area. And the crowd, as always, was standing dumb doing nothing!! When I started to raise my voice against the brutality, I was told to mind my own business, as it was not something that a woman should interfere. Also, few people from the crowd declared, that the old man (perpetrator of the inhuman act) was more of a saint and an extremely respectable person. He had the right to teach a lesson to those, who created problems for him.
And I was like, what kind of pious, religious man is he? What kind of message is he giving out that, if he appeared religious, he could treat a man like an animal? Even if that man on ground was at mistake, the other guy could have handled it in the right manner. Doesn't Islam teach tolerance? What would it take us to realize that?''
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This is not a story of Talibaan struck, remote village from the Northern areas of Pakistan. But a tale, right of the biggest city - the only metropolis of our country - Karachi.
Again, many of you would say, this is nothing as compared to terrorism, torture and torment, the entire city of Karachi suffers from.
Let me be more specific, why this story held my attention. It made me visualize, how our entire nation suffers at the hands of such, so called religious people.
That one person, who had the rope around his neck was not just one man - but he represented our entire nation. How we are being held by our necks, by these Pharaohs, who walk on earth, as if they are gods. Only because they believe, they are practising their religion. Is religion not a personal thing between Almighty and a believer? Is pride not a sin?
Our entire nation is suffering because of these pseudo religious people. Who distort, deform Islam for their personal motives. Who paint a wrong image our peaceful and respectable religion. They only use religion to as masks to unleash the beasts within their souls.
Note: And when I say Pseudo religious people, I do no intend to include maulanas / molvis or the real religious people or honest preachers of Islam. I respect them with all my heart. They are also victims of the kind of hypocrites, I refer to.
Kiran: ''Among a crowd I saw a man today with a rope tightened around his neck and hands joined together begging for mercy. I couldn't see clearly but I saw another man standing really close. A bearded man of age with a prayer mark on his forehead, wearing decent clothes and uttering something. The first thought in my mind was that atleast there is, this respectable looking person present, who must be helping in sorting out the issue.
But out of my curiosity I went a little closer and to my utter horror, I saw the same pious looking man holding the end of the rope in his hands, gripping it tightly telling the man to move his shop out of the way because it was his space, his area. And the crowd, as always, was standing dumb doing nothing!! When I started to raise my voice against the brutality, I was told to mind my own business, as it was not something that a woman should interfere. Also, few people from the crowd declared, that the old man (perpetrator of the inhuman act) was more of a saint and an extremely respectable person. He had the right to teach a lesson to those, who created problems for him.
And I was like, what kind of pious, religious man is he? What kind of message is he giving out that, if he appeared religious, he could treat a man like an animal? Even if that man on ground was at mistake, the other guy could have handled it in the right manner. Doesn't Islam teach tolerance? What would it take us to realize that?''
----------
This is not a story of Talibaan struck, remote village from the Northern areas of Pakistan. But a tale, right of the biggest city - the only metropolis of our country - Karachi.
Again, many of you would say, this is nothing as compared to terrorism, torture and torment, the entire city of Karachi suffers from.
Let me be more specific, why this story held my attention. It made me visualize, how our entire nation suffers at the hands of such, so called religious people.
That one person, who had the rope around his neck was not just one man - but he represented our entire nation. How we are being held by our necks, by these Pharaohs, who walk on earth, as if they are gods. Only because they believe, they are practising their religion. Is religion not a personal thing between Almighty and a believer? Is pride not a sin?
Our entire nation is suffering because of these pseudo religious people. Who distort, deform Islam for their personal motives. Who paint a wrong image our peaceful and respectable religion. They only use religion to as masks to unleash the beasts within their souls.
Note: And when I say Pseudo religious people, I do no intend to include maulanas / molvis or the real religious people or honest preachers of Islam. I respect them with all my heart. They are also victims of the kind of hypocrites, I refer to.
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
William Shakespeare
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_shakespeare.html#dkPwU4sWqqeT6Afe.99
William Shakespeare
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_shakespeare.html#dkPwU4sWqqeT6Afe.99
