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Saturday, June 30, 2007

Convert to Islam or else- Pakistan's Talibanization

Christians (and other non-Muslims) in Muslim majority countries are increasingly facing harassment, violence and death. Here's something lovely just out of Pakistan:
Lawyers in Pakistan are investigating a report that up to 30 men tortured and gang-raped a young Christian man for refusing to convert to Islam. The victim is seriously injured and unable to move, Release International’s partner in Pakistan has reported. However, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) the police are keeping him locked up and have denied him medical treatment. The police are also refusing to register the rape following a counter-claim made by his principal attacker – “a man of influence”, Release International has told Christian Today.
According to Andy Dipper, CEO of Release International there has been a worrying increase in the amount of attacks on Christians in Pakistan:
“We are receiving reports of rape, abductions and forced conversion. Pakistan is becoming an increasingly difficult place for Christians to live. To make matters worse, the government is pushing through a law which could impose the death penalty for any Muslim man who converts to Christianity – and life imprisonment for any woman. As well as being an attack on the basic human rights of Muslims, this will also make things harder for Christians who preach the gospel.
(For more details on this story) H/T Weasel Zippers

Pakistan seems to be failing in its attempt to keep the extremists at bay. As much as they claim to be helping in the "War on Terror" they seem to be losing a major battle on the homefront. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was recently warned, by his Interior Ministry (in a 15 page document)

"that the influence of the extremists is swiftly bleeding east and deeper into his own country, threatening areas like Peshawar, Nowshera and Kohat, which were considered to be safeguarded by Pakistani government forces. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, the prime mover behind the document, narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack in April by extremists in his home area of Charsadda, 18 miles northeast of Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province. The attack on Mr. Sherpao shook his confidence in General Musharraf’s policy toward the militants, which has included a series of peace deals. Since the peace accords have been signed, the militants have filled a vacuum left by tribal leaders, who have taken a back seat, and by the military, which has retreated to its barracks, the president’s critics say. The policy has been questioned by the United States and by some of General Musharraf’s own officers. “It’s a policy of appeasement,” said Brig. Mahmood Shah, who was the senior Pakistani government official in charge of security in the tribal areas until last year. “It hasn’t worked. The Talibanization has increased in the past year.”


The document divulges the names of the many known Taliban (and other militant) leaders in that country and describes the various problems that they are facing in the various regions of Pakistan including:

In Swat, a scenic area that the government recommends for tourists, an extremist imam has begun to issue edicts against vaccination, female education and female health workers. A local FM radio station spouts jihadist beliefs, the document said.

In two areas, Bannu and Tank, the police are “patronizing the local Taliban and have abdicated the role of law and order,” the document said. In an example of the impotence of local government forces, the document said that “every military or sting operation” drew retaliation in the form of suicide bombings or terrorist attacks. In an illustration of the surge in violence, the report said Taliban fighters had gone on a rampage in Tank, ransacking banks, schools, gas pumps and
checkpoints after an assistant to a Taliban leader who was enrolling students for jihad operations was killed by the police.

In a series of recommendations, the document called for the local enforcement agencies to tackle the militants “head on.” But it gave no suggestion how that was to be done. It suggested blocking FM radio transmissions by extremists and called for a media campaign to mobilize public opinion.

A Western Diplomat claims that although the Pakistani government is aware of the spreading cancer of extremism in their country, they are either unable to do anything about it, or choose not to. Fear and appeasement will send us on a fast train to hell.

The problem with losing the Middle East to the fundamentalists (and that's happening faster than anyone cares to acknowledge) is that it's a quick hop, skip and a jump to Europe and then what?

9 comments:

lizze said...

"spreading cancer of extremism in their country, they are either unable to do anything about it, or choose not to."

Islam terror is working efficiently.
Also what is wrong is that the moderate Islam does not do anything against to these extremist. They are actual the real bad elements in there. they just doesn't seem to care.

If their rights get in anyway limited then their outcry are at an equally disproportional as the extremists.

If one school of thought cannot be in peace and harmony with the rest of the world, then maybe it should be banished. How do we know this is not another Nazi example where the world was too tolerant?

MUD said...

Then some day someone is going to wake up and we will be required to play cowboys and Muslims. By keeping the war there we were able to keep it there. When we come home, it will jump to Europe and slam bang we will be in the middle of WWIII. I hate the idea but it isn't my idea of fun.

Pat Jenkins said...

this shows the scope of the war on terror. the taliban may be out afghanastan for now, but in some regard they are alive and well, and pakistan may become another governmental stronghold for their ideology.

WomanHonorThyself said...

great stuff Incog!...the Muzlim madness marches on my dear!!

Blazingcatfur said...

WW III is on the horizon.

Frasier said...

The US needs to listen to India when they say Pakistan is evil.We had to go thro all their nonsense.I personally believe they are fully supporting Osama and the Iraqis.
The US needs to realise that they are not to be trusted.
It is so sickening to hear about the rapes and stuff like that...surely it is a sign of the end times!!

Karen Townsend said...

Appeasement never, ever works. Until the leaders of the world grow a spine and realize that, then it all continues to spiral downward. It is really scary out there, whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not.

The events of this past weekend should wake everyone from their apathetic naps but I doubt it will happen. It'll take another horrific event in this country to force the people to focus on terrorism again. Such short attention spans.

I am reading "A Mighty Heart" this weekend, set in Pakistan, of course and the realities of the region are not good.

Daniel Ruwe said...

You can see the same thing happening in the Phillipines- a judge ruled that a woman couldn't convert from Islam. He said that people couldn't just change their religion at whim. Moderate Muslims, if they exist, seem pretty rare.

Incognito said...

LIZZE: Exactly, the moderates do nothing because they either are A.) too fearful to stand up against their more radical brothers or B.) condone and agree with what the extremists are doing. And I would agree.. if they can't live in harmony with the rest of the world and world religions, then maybe they should be banished. And I think we are treading very close to what happened with the Nazis and the Ottoman Empire.

MUD: No, not fun at all... and there are those who believe we are already in WWIII, or IV.

PATJ: But they're not out of Afghanistan.. we were never able to purge them because Pakistan has not been doing enough. So now they are spreading to Pakistan as well.

BCF: I would agree with you...we're in the beginning stages of it, I think.

FRASY: I know, Poo. It's too bad, but the world is too PC and doesn't seem to want to play favourites. And I would tend to agree. At least they aren't doing enough.

KAREN: Absolutely, appeasement never has worked, never will. It just emboldens them. And I don't think it will wake people up.

DANIEL: That is so insane. In a non-majority country like the Phillipines?!! And who has the right to tell someone they can't convert to another religion? That's insanity! And, yeah.. they do seem rare..at least they're not making their voices heard.