Yesterday the Governor of Punjab province was gunned down by one of his own bodyguards. The reason given by the assassin was that Salman Taseer was killed was the fact that he spoke out against Pakistan’s very strict blasphemy laws. As a secular and liberal politician he was a rarity in recent Pakistani politics.
That Pakistan has blasphemy laws is not surprising. They have, after all, an official state religion, and are even called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Mr. Taseer spoke out against the blasphemy laws he argued, correctly, that they were more of a tool of suppression of dissent than a tool for preserving the sanctity of Islam.
"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"
The laws themselves are quite draconian; defiling the Qur’an carries a life sentence. Defaming Muhammad can is a death sentence. Since all of these laws, with the exception of defaming the Prophet are predicated on intent to do so, there is a lot of lee-way to make accusations which are later dismissed. However, in Pakistan as in the US, the perception of being a criminal often attaches to those who are accused but are completely innocent.
It would be easy to write a post bashing the strictures of radical Islam or the failings of Pakistan to be tolerant, but that is not what I take away from this situation. The United States is a pluralistic nation where freedom of religion is one of our core values, but that does not prevent a sizable minority of the Religious Right from arguing that we were never intended to be that way.
You’ve all heard various asshats drone on and on about how this nation was formed as Christian nation and that we should follow the tenets of that group of religions (most often specifically the tenets of Evangelical faiths). They are out there agitating that we should replace our secular law with their version of biblical law.
It seems unlikely that we will ever go as far as Pakistan, which after all was formed by partitioning the mostly Muslim north of India from the mostly Hindu South after World War II. However the power of Evangelical groups and their politicians can not be underestimated.
For years there has been a concentrated effort to spread the Evangelical faith in the Armed Services. The Air Force Academy in Colorado has been the site of some very aggressive proselytizing by Evangelicals. This was so pervasive and aggressive that it not only caused a military investigation but lead to the founding of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to push back against the practice there and in other parts of the military.
Mr. Tareer’s killer stated that he did the deed because he felt Mr. Taseer was a blasphemer and he was proud to kill a blasphemer. This is what happens when politics and religion are joined at the hip. Not all believers, or for that matter even most will be fanatical about their belief. Those who are, however, can take their actions in the name of their god to any extreme. It is easy to see how, if there really were an all powerful deity then you really should obey his/her/its every whim, after all we are talking about a being that can create a universe 14 billion light-years in size and still have the focus of attention to watch each individual human’s actions and judge them. That kind of power, was it to exist, should be feared and respected. For the fanatical believer it is a real as stubbed toe.
The idea that Mr. Taseer’s political point of view was blasphemous, because he felt that the laws were being abused is ridiculous. But it is the very fact of blasphemy laws that are the problem. One persons joke is another’s blasphemy. The idea that any government should take the time to investigate and punish offensive opinions is anathema to the very idea of Democracy.
The danger in a pluralistic society is that one must value and practice tolerance of all points of view, but for those who don’t value a pluralistic society there is no such restraint. We have seen it is the rash of Islamophobia that has gripped our nation lately. I am no fan if Islam, hell, I am no fan of any religion, but the fear mongering of people like Representative-Elect Allan West and others on the Radical Right over vague and implausible idea that Shariah law will become the law of this country is an example of how we could go the other direction.
Being a non-believer in Pakistan or a non-Muslim subjects one to the risk of claims of blasphemy. It can prevent the free expression of ideas or attempts to gain political office. The same happens here in the US, though it is a little more subtle. Most Americans would never consider electing an Atheist. Even with our bought of Islamophobia they would rather see a believing Muslim in office than a non-believer.
We are closer to a religious state than most of us would like to think. What was once a private matter is now a litmus test for politicians. Over the last twenty years it has become necessary to proclaim your faith, to show that you are part of the believers, at least in lip service, if you would aspire to high office. We see the conintuation of this with folks like Sarah Palin who has made her brand one of "a Christian Conservative Woman", others like Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma are so in your face about their religion that he refused to participate in a parade that was called a holiday parade instead of a Christmas parade.
These are the folks who are insisting that we allow teacher lead prayer back in schools, that want to change our laws to match those of the old Testament and claim that all of our laws are based on the 10 Commandments, even though only three of them deal with anything like civil law. These are also the same people that consistently try to deny gay citizens full rights, based on their religious teachings.
It is to be hopped that we will never go down the path that Pakistan has followed. That we will never ever establish a State Religion and all the ills that come from it. Still hope is not enough. We must resist at every turn the pushes for more religion in public life and politics especially. I am all for everyone being able to practice a religion or not as they choose, but we can not let the fact that some are more fanatical about their religion define what is good and acceptable in our society. The ability to live together and be free to speak our minds without fear of religious violence is to precious to let those who only see their religion have the field to themselves.
The floor is yours.