As ye sow, so shall ye reap*
…aka “jaisi karni vaise bharni“.
Did anyone else realise the rich irony of “Jihad in Islamabad”?
The BBC reports that “Radical Islamist students have shot dead a Pakistani soldier in clashes outside a rebellious mosque in the capital, Islamabad…”
From the report:
“…Armed students and clerics at the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) have openly defied the authorities for months in their campaign for Islamic Sharia law.
…BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan …says regular police and paramilitary units ringing the mosque compound have now been replaced by what appear to be special forces. Ambulances and journalists have been told to move further away.
Dozens of students – mostly armed with sticks and petrol bombs, but some with guns and wearing masks – are patrolling around the mosque.
…The Lal Masjid and its seminaries have been at the centre of a number of confrontations with the authorities. They include the kidnapping of police and people the mosque says are involved in immoral activities.
Critics have attacked the government for failing to enforce its authority in the capital.
Correspondents say the authorities seem unwilling or unable to act. President Musharraf has said security forces cannot raid the mosque for fear of reprisal suicide attacks.”
I had worried about this kind of thing a few months ago. See The “Talibanisation” of Pakistan…”
UPDATE: The death toll is now reported at 12 people.
UPDATE # 2: The Chinese connection to Lal Masjid: (courtesy Acorn)
“By all accounts, the zealous promoters of virtue from Islamabad’s Lal Masjid went too far when they abducted nine Chinese nationals for running a brothel under the familiar guise of a massage parlour. For several reasons: China is an ‘all weather’ friend that Pakistan just cannot afford to annoy. But also because Islamabad’s powerful—including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, leader of Pakistan’s ruling party—used to patronise that establishment to relax their weary muscles.
…Ultimately, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Lal Masjid’s leader, announced that he had released the hostages in the interests of Pakistan-China friendship, on the government’s word that Islamabad’s massage parlours would be closed down.”
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In a separate newstory, the BBC also reported that a UK failed car bombing terror suspect was caught in Australia “carrying a one-way ticket to India” 🙁
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This comment might not be specific to this topic this reply wud have been better positioned in the article about spineless indian media but i left my reply here becos i have a few comments on the lal masjid issue too……i generally felt like offloading my anger against the secular indian media…. i got a migraine after watching headlines today and ndtv and its coverage of lal masjid and bangalore terrorist doctor.
at the outset excuse my casual spells and the lack of caps and exclamations……….am jus not in the mood to be proper n neat.
regarding the lal masjid stand off its true pakistan is paying the price for being a terrorist state over the years…
contrary to what most people think, this isnt the end… its the beginning of a very dirty and risky power struggle in pakistan and am sure there wud be more lal masjids to come in near future.
its becum fashionable for muslims anywhere be it india or pak to sympathise with terrorists.
the last few days its funny to see how the pathetic indian media is interviewing the family of the terror suspect in bangalore and trying to put a halo around the family and the terror suspect in question.
even before basic facts have started dribbling in we have the secular media hysterically claiming this doctor was an innocent victim on islam bashing.
one went to the extent of saying on tv ” hes really innocent becos he used to pray 5 times a day in the college mosque”
so what???????????? why is the media so paranoid?
when the kanchi acharya was arrested we had ndtv running contests calling him zero number one and gave away prizes for the best sms which wud berate the acharya. even the kanchi acharya prays several times a day…in fact nearly 15 hours a day is spent by the acharyas in vigorous prayers and poojas daily. people who know an iota about the acharyas or the mutt activities wudnt have indulged in the mudslinging campaign that was let loose on the acharya.
that its almost 3 years since the sordid drama unfolded and not even one charge against the acharya has been proved till date is another question.
the nation has also seen where jayalalitha stands now for all that she has contributed to the rape of the mutt.
now in terrorist afzals case and in the arrest of a hyderabadi cleric accused of abetting and aiding terror in gujarat and now in this bangalore doctors case the media seems to be crying from rooftop professing the innocence of hard boiled criminals.
who gives these spineless media men and inexperienced tv hosts ( half of whom cant even manage a decent conversation in english) the rights to decide whos guilty and who isnt?
funny part is not even one single media person seems neutral. the muslim bottom licking seems to have becum a pandemic.
Shantanu,
From the title of your post I get a feeling that Lal Masjid attack gives some kind of satisfaction (if not, pleasure) to all us (Indians) because it is happening in Pakistan
Ultimately, it is innocent people who are being killed and suffering most becuase of it. It doesn’t matter whether it is in India, Parkistan or any other nation.
Terrorism is a cancer to the humanity, who would know this better than we Indians. It is somebody else’s “Karni”, reaped by innocent people.
If we really talk about terrorism, than most of the muslims comes under the defination of terrorist. As they are all zealot about thier religion. It is different story to fight for the religion. But here they are ready to kill and sacrifice when it is the question of Islam. This statement is not said by me or any non-muslim, but by apostates of Islam itself.
They know how cruel innocent muslim can turn into. We don’t need to go so far to find the truth. Truth is all around us. If one has really time to think about it please go to the http://www.iapostate.wordpress.com. The person is Indian muslim and has abandon Islam. please find out what he/she has to say about innocent muslims.
Pragya: I was referring to how Pakistan is itself in danger of being devoured by the monster it created.
Remember the story of Bhasmasur?
Of course, terrorism must be condemned – wherever it is in the world…and there is no justification for taking innocent lives – on that I am with you.
Thanks a bunch, Shantanu.
The analogy you gave is very apt. Wish there existed a practical “Mohini Roop” to help destroy the monster alone.
pragya,
sorry for butting in your conversation with shantanu.
looks like you havent been following whats happening in lal masjid.
the talk of innocents being holed up in the mosque doesnt arise cos the students ( or terrorists) which wud be a better way to address them, knew very well whats happening in there.
the rabid cleric of lal masjid has been barking from rooftops, sending fundamentalists to beat up women who sported revealing outfits and was running a taleban kinda feifdom for almost a year now.
of course the indian media being secular you might not have heard about it.
but being outside india and working with pakis i have personally heard my pakistani co workers berate this rabid cleric months before this happened.
this stand off was an open revolt against musharaff and his soft US approach and anti taleban stand in afghanistan.
its good finally they are getting crushed and are running out like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
3 days ago, the clerics brother was caught slipping out in a burqa. so much so for innocents being killed in lal masjid.
every single terrorist inside the mosque should be hunted out and killed.
and shantanu is absolutely right when he mentioned that pakistan is paying the price for being a terrorist state.
Becos all these small time jokers were emboldened by musharaff in his earlier days when anti hindu anti india stand was the single point agenda of his govt.
now the devil he grew in his background has come back to haunt him.
so lets not cry for the innocents getting killed.
they deserve it.
Energy,
Thanks for sharing the information I lacked.
I am new to this blog. After reading the first post “As ye sow, so shall ye reap”, my question to Shantanu and the forum was – “are we rejoicing (as Hindus/Indians) over whatever is happening in our neighbourhood?”
In fact, I was questioning the intent of the posting. However, Shantanu’s other posts and comments have already made it clear.
I would tend to disagree with you on people deserving to getting killed. I am a firm believer of the value and dignity of human life, over and above the religious ideologies and social systems.
The surprising fact is silence from Muslim organizations in India who took to streets when Saddam was hanged or when there were issues about desecration of Koran in Guantanamo or Danish cartoon …. Here you have a masjid being attacked in Pakistan and being destroyed and there is no whimper. Kashmir is silent too.
Makes one wonder who are real bosses of Muslim organizations like IML, SIMI and rest – they dance at Pakistan’s whims.
Commies, Congress and Samajwadi Party are strangely silent too – not the smallest protest from them … just imagine the rukus they would have created if something like lal masjid attack happened in India.
Also, just imagine what would have happened if there was even a simple search operation carried out in masjids in “SECULAR” India – it would have been a riot situation. While an proclaimed Islamic nation like Pakistan has no qualms in attacking a masjid when the government is threatned.
pragya,
thanks for ur reply.
its gud that you respect the value and dignity of human life.
but the people holed up in lal masjid are terrorists who lack the very basic understanding of value and dignity of human life.
so how would you deal with them?
as i am typing this, BBC tells me the rabid cleric and the terrorists inside the mosque have been killed in a strike by the paki security forces.
good riddance of bad rubbish
im sure if the same had happened in india sonia lalloo and prathibha patil would have invited the muslim cleric for chai at 7, race course road in delhi.
all the terrorists would have been decorated with civilian awards. mahesh bhatt would have produced another movie with emraan hashmi in the lead about how the mind of a secular terrorist works.
javed akhthar and shabana azmi would have sung shairees in their praise.
and if any one would have demanded action against the terrorists they would have been branded communal and saffron.
Exactly.
First and foremost, Indian cannot afford to be soft, when terrorism is wild spread, innocents are being targeted at public places and above all Islamic community is not ready to clean up their mess.
It is very clear from the case of Lal Masjid, that even Pakistan cannot afford such fanatics and cleaned up the mess. India should learn something from the neighbour.