Politics in Pakistan
After the recent bombing of a Sufi shrine in Lahore by the Taliban and their acolytes, Yasser Latif Hamdani, a columnist for Lahore's Daily Times, wrote on July 4: "The purpose was not to create fear. The purpose was to target the soft traditions of Sufism traditions that have influenced Punjab's social milieu for centuries. This popular Islam is the reason why there is a Muslim majority in Pakistan." It is the Sufi tradition of non-violence and toleration in the sub-continent that attracted many low-cast Hindus to convert to Islam. Moreover, Sufism allowed Sunnis and Shias in the subcontinent to live in relative harmony.
Now the Taliban, supported by some reactionary elements in Pakistan, are slaughtering fellow Pakistanis in the name of their brand of Islam which they tried to impose in Afghanistan before ouster by the U.S.-led coalition forces. When they ruled Afghanistan, the Taliban engaged in the brutal suppression, including mass executions, of those who didn't share their brand of Islam; banned all education for women and engaged in the wholesale destruction of Afghanistan's rich cultural heritage. After their ouster, the Taliban have installed themselves in Pakistan to carry out their mass slaughter of ordinary Pakistanis. The attack on the Sufi shrine is in line with their brutal attack on popular Islam.
How to stop such attacks in the future? Pakistan needs a public campaign to educate the masses about the danger they face from the Taliban and their acolytes. Anti-Taliban campaigns by all political parties may raise the public awareness of the danger. Anti-Taliban rallies should be held all over Pakistan. Unless the masses rise up against the Taliban, the extremists will continue to slaughter ordinary Pakistanis in the name of Islam.
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