Benazir’s Chastisement
December 28th, 2007Following the last news of today’s German TV, a group of al Qaeda was quoted taking responsibility for Benazir Bhutto’s death. If the news is authentic, then Bhutto has been assassinated by Islamic terrorist suicide bombers of al Qaeda who cannot tolerate any woman being a symbol of gender equality in an Islamic society.
Islamists have largely proved to be the carriers of death and self destruction in the name Allah. What concerns Pakistan, Islamic terrorist suicide bombers are being brainwashed in a number of Pakistani Madresseh (Koran schools).
Once such brainwashed Islamists in power, they would brutally kill any woman who does not match to their cliché from Islamic women, as it was the case of two Iranian women, Zahra Kazemi and, recently, Dr. Zahra Bani Ya’ghoob in IRI’s prisons, who were killed under torture by Islamic authorities of Iran. A “bad veiled” woman can be harassed and legally punished by the Morality Police of the IRI in Iran; it goes without saying that Islamists with the same misogynistic norms and belief system in Pakistan would not accept a woman as a PM of a Muslim country.
We tend to forget that large areas of Pakistan and chunks of its population are in the sway of fundamentalist Islam. This killing is consistent with the ideology of such groups – either agree with their backward vision of the world, discriminating as it is against women and exclusionary as it is of non-fundamentalist Muslims or prepare to die. That ideology needs to be pulled up by the roots and chucked. Until that is done, there is little hope for reconciliation or progress in Pakistan.
Since Zia-ul Haq’s coup in 1979, Shari’a (Islamic laws) was integrated in both social and judicial life of the country. Pakistani army is since charged with a series of mysterious killings of secular opposition in Pakistan. The army and intelligence community are the ones who want to keep the country away from secularism and democracy. They have been responsible for much of the covert activity that is responsible for terrorism.
While the death of Bhutto is sad, it dose not spell the end of terror. Political assassinations (including of females) are not unique to Pakistan and most innocent people in the Islamic world suffer from it.
What is unique, however, is how this tragedy is being portrayed by some as evidence that Muslim countries cannot learn democracy and are doomed to their backward traditions. It is sad how these eastern traditionalists along with the western pessimists or demagogues contain a spectrum from the Islamic to Christian fundamentalists and are only too eager to use a nation’s tragedy to air their prejudices and bigotry. It seems that these people are all too quick to jump onto the anti-democratic bandwagon.
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One thing that irks me more than anything else is when a self-hating anti-Islamic Persian who thinks he’s doing a fine service by emulating everything the Western world does tries to exploit this tragedy by jumping on the whole “they hate her because she’s a woman” bandwagon.
Jahanshah, your comment about “large chunks of the population are in the sway of Islam” marks your ignorance and idiocy quite well. What do you know about Pakistan other than reading neocon garbage?You judge everything from the lens of being anti-Islamic so it would be too much to take you seriously from this point on.
You’re unable to condemn the hateful aspects of your own people who think hating Arabs and Muslims is acceptable to kiss ass to the Western imperialists.
Stick to complaining about the IRI instead of a country you have clearly NO knowledge about, especially when you are unable to acknowledge the fact that the Muslim world is not monolithic.
Get that through your head next time before jumping on an event to air your anti-Islamic views. Muslims and Islam are going to exist in your country whether you like it or not, and will stay in Pakistan.
Not sure how accurate this comparison is.
Daniel, the “neocon garbage” media does report that “large chunks of the population are in the sway of Islam.”
Could you tell us what the real story is, please?
Anyone who has been to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, three of the largest cities in Pakistan, would know that there is little extremism running around compared to what the media states. Jahanshah failed to show the recent rally of 100,000 Pakistanis in Karachi against the Lal Masjid fanatics. He fails to point out that thousands of Shi’as have been massacred by the Taliban fanatics because it goes against his view that Sunnis and Shi’as are the same when it is evident that they aren’t. He also fails to point out that the majority of the residents in Islamabad do not subscribe to fundamentalist Islam.
He’s basing his view on the rather sparsely populated and historically backward areas of western Pakistan, as if they represented the ethos of Pakistan. Punjab and Sindh are the major influence-making parties of the country, always have been, and always will be.
Way to capitalize on her death to bust out every liberalist cliche about Islam and the non-European/American world. You are very convincing, Islam is clearly the problem because targeted assassinations, sexism, and anti-democratic activities never occur except in Muslim countries.
Tell me about it.
Her death is being exploited in the worst way possible, how shameful.
Jahanshah is a hypocrite that only serves the interests of Western neocons.
If it were up to people like him, Iran would have been under the hegemony of the U.S.
Persian nationalists who sell out to the Western imperialists are as bad as Islamic fundamentalists who sell themselves out to foreign powers.
Would Jahanshah had cared if a leader in Latin America was assasinated by citing the wrongdoings of Catholicism? I think not.
He has an agenda, nothing more, and it is one to bend over for the Western imperialists that represent the neoconservative crowd.
He’s an idiot, just like every other Persian exile out in the West who jump any bandwagon that serves their victimization mentality.
Salaam Danial:
The extent of the errors of your assessments are somewhat informed by the *fact* that “Western Imperialist Powers” attacked the Nationalist regime of the late Shahanshah of Iran and installed an Ayatollah from Paris, France. Clearly, a *western-aligned* Iranian King would present problems for his “allies” and their plans for the “middle east”. He had to go, or “Bayad bereh”, per instructions from the “Imperium”.
On the other hand, I do agree, and am most pleased, that Islam is an integral part of Iran and will remain so, inshAllah, forever.
Persians have always been Monotheist and always a Godly people. (C.f. Hadith of Prophet (SAWS) on Persians and Deen ..) So this is to be expected.
Finally, do note that the recent drumbeating about the ‘Persian nationalist threat’ is emanating from the same “Western Imperial” sources that you seem to rail against. It is somewhat funny, given that Persians have demonstrated for 1400 years that they are entirely capable of absorbing any external cultural input and that our national aspirations are, and remain, first and foremost Spiritual in nature (for over 3000 years now ..)
So by repeating the non-sense about “Persian Nationalism”, you merely identify yourself as either a tool or a fool of the “Western Imperium” which is intent on dismembering Iran Zameen, which is an un-Acceptable proposition to any Iranian, Muslim or not.
Salaam
She is one of those cases in which public’s first impression is of her being assassinated so she gets a get ouut jail free card.
There has been a lot of progress in this regard after the London train bombing.. so stop generalizing it! :@
been there, seen it
5 or so years back innocent people aslo joined the protest just because if they didnt they had a chance of being labeled as ppl who dont care if Muslims Bro’s are slaughtered by a “jewish” campaign, so seeing this every other mosque had imams getting all emotional over the attack..
now tht these ppl are opening their eyes n wanna know .. all these politicians are trying to fill the vacuum
the shia sunni thing is something imported and exploited by the F**ing Taleban, just liek they put every blame on the ‘jews’
the backward areas are isolated.. the extremists took their time, and manage to turn most of these poor simple minded ppl to their cause :@ When sons blow themselves up, mothers are always shell-shocked and they get nothing in return for the loss of themselves ..l.. em
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bhutto14nov14,0,2482408.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Even Fatima Bhutto was crying over Benazir!
I know idiots are going to blame this on Islam also, I would like to say that Islam is also responsible for Hitler and Stalin… somehow… don’t ask me how.
So that would be a small chunk, rather than a “large” one?
Jahanshah, Your article is not good one. Your data is just some hilarious guess and posibility not based on reality but based on stereotyped ideas in your mind.
Unfortunately every schoolchild knows that most muslims condemn kind of terrors and even they dont accept suicide attacks as an islamic act. (Just for you “ettela’at Umumi” commiting Suicide is banned in Islam.Kind of “Haraam” act)
If you want to criticize islam or muslims, better you do it neutrally and with justice. So maybe your words make a sense!!
Danial, Iran is not just for persians, but also it is completely a Multi Ethnic country. Our division in cultures and even languages are more than any other country in the mid east. We have Arabs, Kurds, Lor, Balouch, Sistani, Guilani, Mazani, Persian, Turk and many more tribes that all of them are muslims (Shia or Sunni). So i dont get your idea about hating muslims and arabs.
As you see, even if you condemn our government, we dont have kind of civil war which is common in countries like Pakistan or Iraq.
Jahanshah’s idea about muslim and islam is just his idea and it is not involved all Iranians.
We live together in one country in peace. I dont think there be any other country which has kind of calm and patient people toward tribal cultures. Most of us know ourselves as “Muslims”.
Islam and Irani being are not things that you can make them separated from each other. Iranians dont forget Quran on 7Sin Table in their Persian New Year. Big part of the culture we Iranians are proud of it, has an strong and deep root in Islamic culture. From buildings to paintings, from poetry to clothes..
Shahrzad, Persian doesn’t always equal ethnic Persians. For example, in my mother tongue, Iran is still called Persia and such that the nationality of those who reside in are Persians. Their ethnicity don’t come into play here even though ethnic Persians only make up of what 51% of the population?
I don’t think no one in the Middle East(or I am not that well versed in the demography of other ME countries) can compete with Iran when it comes to it’s multiculturalism and the relative peace among them or the government is doing a mighty fine job hiding the issues
Well, at least Jina didn’t blame it on Green beret teenage rock-n-roll get-highs of the US army airborne ranger persuasion. Still in shock over that one. The Iranian guy, is just trippin’ and Daniel sounds like a Berkley grad. The thing that seems to be forgotten is the dead, the soon to be dead, and the ones that will be dead next month or until someone decides who the “Big Dog” is going to be in Pakistan. For those poor saps I mourn. The countless innocent victims who nobody seems to care about except the concern about cleaning up the garbage. It just seems to go on and on and all involved are OH SO SELF RIGHTOUS about the fanatic belief of the week. Religion is supposed to be a vehicle to reach GOD. Too many are worshiping the vehicle and forgeting the goal of seeking God. Well, bless their hearts, as they say here in the south.
I am pretty sure it was the CIA, they probably did it to make it look like the Islamic extremists did this so that the the world can hate Islam more hence that will work in favour of the Christians all over the world who are planning more invasion of Muslim countries to convert them and/or take their oil in the name of bring democracy and freedumb to these uneducated and uncivilized masses living in these countries. So ya, it couldn’t have been the Green beret teenage rock-n-roll get-highs of the US army airborne rangers.
Thanks jina, you gave me a chuckle right there.
Stats are out! Religion of Peace stats for November 2007
Jihad attacks:……203
Countries:……….13
Religions:……….5
Dead Bodies:……..1138
Critically Injured:..1358
Somehow that says: “Islam is the Religion of Peace, and we’ll kill you to prove it.” Wow, what a selling strategy!
CIA has a nasty habit of doing this kinda things.. esp arnd the time when there was a shift in Global Power.. we will know after 40 some years..
aafter all last year they de-classified info tht US knew abt the plans to assassinate him so its aint just for chuckling
Irony:
Hmm its the same with the jews here.. they kill 2 or 3 everyday so most ppl just hate the ‘jews’ not knowing tht these soilder r required by law to join the IDF. Lots of ppl think of Jews as who kill muslim children..
its the minority who do bad things who get the time with the press
and a source would help…
Hmm its the same with the jews here.. they kill 2 or 3 everyday so most ppl just hate the ‘jews’ not knowing tht these soilder r required by law to join the IDF. tht gets children thinking tht Jews are who kill muslim children..
its the minority who do bad things who get the time with the press
and a source would help…
Ok, lets talk about Christianity now.
2 invasions, resulting in the deaths of over a MILLION people directly and indirectly. This out weighs by far any of these jihadi attacks and suicide bombings by Muslims. Btw, these invasions were ordered by a Christian who said that his god told him to do it. So should I now use your own logic?
People actually take the “religion of peace” site seriously? How sad.
It’s a requirement if you are a member of the KKK. Or you’ll get anal probed or worse, have to spend an hour alone with a priest in a shadowy place with a very dim light…
It’s also a requirement if you have the mental capcity of a retarded chimp.
Jina, I got my numbers from Religionofpeace.com And so what? The sneak attacks on the US/allies/non-combatants by muslim terrorists have been going on for 50 years or more. Americans have never noticed until 9/11, when “Sarsur” Bin Laudin really got their attention….ole “Bin” shoulda known better than to think the feces weren’t going to hit the air moving device. The last sneak attack that really got the American’s attention ended up with mushroom shaped clouds over Japan. Seems idiotic to me that a Religion of Peace would attack any country with that kind of murderous intent towards it’s enemy without an alternative motive or an insane death wish. Well they got it going on. For whatever reason Bin Laudin and his croneys have …..they’re getting it. Hope they’re happy with all the carnage. Makes me sick.
The good ole USA spent 14 years killing Vietnameese, to the tune of 1.9 million(Hanoi’s numbers). What makes you think they care how many bodies pile up as long as the “problem” goes away? The only care is that it’s happening there, not here. Every once in a while, somebody climbs up on a soap box and crabs about how many body bags are comming home, and then it’s back to “Zune Tunes” and who’s going where with whom….that’s reality. The American public thinks that they are helping a backward society into the 21st century…..and from what the stats show, they might be right. What did Saddam’s numbers look like? How many Shias? How may Kurds? How many Kuwaitis? How many Iranians? What was his excuse again? Taliban ain’t no slouch either. How are their numbers stackin up? How about them Ayatollas, eh? They sure know how to rack up a score too. While we’re at it, how about Hezbulla and Hamas and Fatah and Amal? Geeez! Murder is a way of life! Yep, christians are mean….they’ll kill to live. These Middle East looney tunes kill to kill.
I didn’t realize that a relgion can kill things. Last time I checked, religion doesn’t have an arm or a leg to do such thing.
I know… Christians had to kill Iraqis to live since Iraq had this mysterious thing called WMD. Same WMD that everyone else in the world knew that didn’t exist.
Also, the Christians had to kill to and take over the world to live. You know… Christians feed on gold, if gold runs out, they starve to death… ask the Spanish or the Brits or the French… same for Portugese.
That’s not how they see it, and that’s now how the rest of the world or I see it when Chrisitans go to war.
I feel sorry for anyone who twists political terrorism and/or conflicts in the Middle East into a debate of which religion is deadlier, as if it has anything to do with political instability. Benazir’s death was a result of pure politics, nothing else.
I hope you will all grow up and realize how stupid you sound when you resort to such debates. Pitiful.
One more thing, conflict with in Pakistan is about each ethnic group wanting atonomy… most of these terror attacks have nothign to do with Islam… so STOP fucking pointing fingures at the wrong fucking reason.
I am pretty sure that if the stupid Americans hear about the LTTE in the news, they’ll probably tink they are Muslim and that website will add any and all terror attack by them as an act by Moooslim terrorists.
They have shown that they can destroy…but can they build anything. Perhaps, just perhaps, this has become a way for desperate, pathetic, ignorant men, to commit suicide…yet have it be sanctioned by Islam, which normally frowns upon suicide. However you choose to look at it….you men are making a mess of the world.
A feedback to your comments:
What concerns Benazir Bhutto, she had her ups and downs, she was a human, a flawed heroine on Shakespearean dimensions. She will remain a beacon to the tiny distant flame of democracy and modernity in Pakistan. Even if as a PM, she had close relations in 90th with the then US-backed Taliban in Afghanistan, then, she turned the back to them when the world changed.
For some Iranians with a nostalgia for the late Shah, I would remind them that the Shah does not merit the shakespearean dimensions. A frowned Shakespeare would not even mention his name.
Some younger Iranians, who did not experience the Shah’s dictatorship, only stick to complain that the IRI was brought to power to rob the throne.
I do not believe that the West swept away the Shah then installed the IRI. So mechanically a regime change could not happen in Iran. It was a historical process, independent from the westerns.
However, the western key powers could not safeguard their client Shah and capitalised, in vain, on the liberal faction of the regime—Banisadr, Bazargan…and the co.
Back to Bhutto, she is different from the Shah, She was probably corrupt, but not as corrupt as the Shah and his family with deep pockets. She was serving both her personal ambitions and her people, the Shah was only serving her megalomaniac “divine” status, his throne as long as he could. Bhutto could become a strong PM at the end, while the Shah was rejected by a big majority at the end.
A number Iranian commentators stick the head in the sand of obscurity or just recant publicly what they learnt their Mullahs. Their assessments are somehow exposed by the extensive dedication for Islam, the selected “facts” are only those preached by a Mullah or written in the dusty Hadeeths, Tafsirs, or school books of poor children. They should grow up.
When devotees of political Islam talk from “Western Imperialist Powers, neocons, capitalism”, they actually mean the “doomed guilty” non-Muslims. In actuality, the devotees of political Islam belong to the most reactionary and religious right-wings of society. Their Threshold of mediaeval world view is nothing else but the subjugated men and the semi-human women in a class society, in which every Sayyeds, Mullahs, Hajis and the new rich have the rightful “bestowed by God” privilege. In their Islamic justice, everything is “divinely” doomed.
I have to agree with Esra’a. “Political power grows from the barrel of a gun” is a quote from Mao that is pretty universal..and in reality, that’s what it’s all about. Religion is, and often has been, simply an instrument of repression or an excuse for thinly masked political agression. It’s been used by Christians often in history. We humans are so twisted aren’t we?
Sexist response are funny, especially when it comes from someone who have no idea what she’s talking about.
Danial,
I do understand why many Persians are annoyed when it comes to the use of force in the name of religion. We have had enough of that during these 29 years , after the revolution. Religion have been commanded and we had been monitored and patroled, so that we wouldn’t sticking to religious laws. Even if you go to a party for a couple of hours and there tey tell you you should eat the cake and they make you eat and eat, would you like to taste the same thing any more when you step out of that party?
The 28 years that has passed since the revolution had not been a party and the law inforcement not eating a piece of cake. Our youth reacting to negative aspects of claims in the name of religion , is natural, People think it is not, they are welcome to come and live under the same rules and see it for themselves.
This will change if..
We shouldn’t object the religions, religions are abstract concepts but the way people practice it and the way they claim they are the patrons of religion and what they do in the name of religion gives it the face it has to day, which is far from what it is supposed to be.
The best way to save the identity and dignity of religon is to iberate it from State, liberate it from the manipulative hands of those who use and abuse it in the name of religion.
Elinor, if you think living under Iran is bad, I suggest you speak to Shi’a Hazaras on what Hell they had to live under the rule of the Taliban. They had Sunni Islam shoved down their throats in the past 120 years or so (they are Shi’a Muslims) yet you never hear of any Hazara bashing on Islam, with the exception of Sunnism, which you really can’t blame them for.
Now I’m not saying Iran is a glorious utopia, but there are far worse religious governments out there, one that was a neighbor to your country, where women risked their own lives to flee to Iran where they could at least acquire basic necessities such as medical treatment and an education.
As for the crackhead that called me a Berkeley grad, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes I’m such a Berkeley grad that supports small government, a secular democracy, and fiscal responsibility.
Yes I’m such a “Berkeley grad” *yawn. Fucking idiot. R E go back to LGF and jerk off to Robert Spencer and Charles Johnson.
That’s right Daniel, or is that Denial? If the truth bites your ass, go to personal attacks. That is the tried and true tactic of the leftist liberal that you are. Truth stares in your eyes but you can’t cop to it because that would mean admitting that you are less than right….tsk, tsk. Typical Berkley.
You are right about one thing. Islam is not the problem . The power mongers using Islam as a vehicle to power is the problem. The west has them running scared because progress equals loss of their powerbase (which is ignorance and superstition). In the end, they will fall. Islam will survive and blossom again in it’s true majesty and beauty. The power hungry, that are frantically inventing new rules and inventive reinterpitations, will crawl back into their holes. It’s only a matter of time, and you can see that the evolution is happening already. Hope you can get your job pumping gas in Oakland back. You’ll be back home with your liberal friends plotting your renewed attack on the “Establishment”. Ah, happiness!
Danial,
As to problems with Hazarajat in Afganistan, I don’t think that is because of their being SHiites, religion plays a secondary role when it comes to ethnicities in the region. An ethnic group in a certain period of time and in a particular place dominates and consequently other tribes and other ethnic group is neglected, their religions taken for granted and their rebelion suppressed. Here is where democracy comes to resque, all different ethnic groups and religious minorities have their representative who would share power and decision making. I hope this happen to our region as well, properly and truely as we all have the respect we deserve, sunni, shiite, bahai, christian, jewish, religious and non-religious people as a whole.
You are right Danial, if I compare myself to those patient Hazara women who do not have a voice even in Iran where thousands of them have migrated, i do need to mark the difference of situation.
R E you fucking retard, I’m Republican. My views are closer to Pat Buchanan than to the jackasses in the Bay Area.
What I read here is much hate and intolerance of others views. If it happens here, why are you so surpised that it happens on a larger scale? Is it not one of the unique abilities of Islam, Judaism or Christianity? No one is exempt. The few always wish to dominate the many. It is the perceived priveledged rights of man. Human development is always impeded by the few who seek control for themselves.
Juli
I just need to dominate my ego, as not to suffocate me and not to kick some one else in the…. leg