Hoping, Without Hope

#62 by arjun_m

If the target of these attacks had been Musharraf... or a military compound... or US/European diplomats, then perhaps JeM could be suspected of involvement. But Shias? Shamazai? JeM`s literature and Jihad is against anti-US and anti-India, but it has never expressed any hatred toward Shias. In fact, both JeM and LeT contain many Shia muhahids.

As they say, we often define ourselves by defining whom we don`t like. Apparently the people who attacked the Shia mosque, didn`t like Shias. And there are quite a few (splintered but still alive) groups that hate Shias but have never been involved in the Kashmir jihad. This could be one of those banned groups. Other than the sectarian angle, I doubt if there is any Kashmir link here. And BTW, these Shia-Sunni gang wars started in 1986, even before Kashmir flared up.

The current sectarian violence can only be attributed to the prominence given to religion in public affairs. Had Jinnah & Iqbal were contemporary politician & thinkers in Pak, the former would have been persecuted & killed for having a fancy for ham sandwiches for breakfast, & the later would have been persecuted & killed under the Blasphemy law.
Let us face the reality: Pak can either be a theocracy or a modern constitutional republic. It cannot be both at the same time.
Pak is slowly going down the road of becoming a failed state. Its salvation lies in adopting the vision put forward by Jinnah in his speech to the nation.
Why is Pakistan a Islamic Republic when all the Islamic scholars opposed the creation of Pakistan?

#63 by Urstruly

I beg to differ with your statement that it is becoming a hard-sell for Muslims to convince them that Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization. Most Muslims consider Al-Qaeda and its extremist agenda as un-Islamic and terrorist. Although Al-Qaeda has many staunch supporters, they still remain a minority that is largely ignored by Muslim society. I also doubt that environmentalists, anti-globalization groups and anarchists will join hands with Al-Qaeda. These groups are opposed to pressure groups and vested interests within US and industralized nations of Europe. These groups do not believe in a clash of civilizations. On the other hand, Al-Qaeda believes vehemently in a clash of civilizations. Even their methods are different.

However, the only thing that has changed since 2001 is that the Muslim world and especially Europeans are now convinced that America is a greater threat to global security than Osama Bin Laden. Bush, Rumsfield, Cheney, Haliburton scandal, FOX News bias and Abu Ghraib scandal have basically tarnished America`s image.

In 2001, America could use the word ``terrorism`` to describe almost anything it didn`t like... and rest of the world acquiesced. In fact, India, Russia and Israel hopped onto the same bandwagon to discredit the genuine freedom movements in Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir. However, now the situation has changed considerably... especially in Palestine and Iraq. Although Bush and Sharon are continually describing these resistance movements as terrorism, rest of the world is not buying that argument. Spain even withdrew its troops from Iraq. And Sharon is under increasing pressure to show progress on the Mideast Roadmap.

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tintingem # 49

I might be breaking a taboo by saying this and I may be branded as a bad guy but as the time is passing by it is becoming a hard-sell to Muslims around the globe to convince them that Al-Qaida is a terrorist organization. Perceptions about AlQaida not only among the Muslims but also among the non-Muslim third world dwellers is fast changing. This is not exactly my idea but a harvard scholar (can`t recall her name) in her latest book has pointed towards it, in so many words. She also included in her list of orgs who have potential to become Al-Qaida allies organizations like some environmentalist groups, anti-globalization groups, anarchists and most importantly the people of the third world.

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#54 by arjun_m

You still didn`t answer the question. Why are these attacks happening only in Karachi and Quetta? These are the only towns that are easily accessible by foreigners and easy to hide in. If Shamzai was killed just because he was the patron saint of JeM, then his killers have to be RAW agents. Only RAW has a grudge against JeM (and therefore a motive). Pakistan`s Shia groups have no armed quarrel with JeM, and vice versa. JeM has never been involved in any terrorist activitiy inside Pakistan. I seriously doubt that RAW has the muscle and inclination to assassinate an aging pro-Jihad cleric in Karachi especially at a time when the Jihad in Kashmir is already winding down. And besides, Shamzai is a lesser known figure than Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Azhar. If there was a Kashmir connexion here, the first targets would be Saeed and Azhar who were the primary players of that Jihad... not some behind-the-scenes person like Shamzai.

This is a sectarian attack which is unrelated to Kashmir. This smells like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi versus Sipah-e-Muhammad battle that started in the 1990s, peaked in 1996-2001 period and then subsided.

As for the madrassahs, I agree with you that some of these madrassahs are indeed breeding grounds for Riaz Basra and Akram Lahori types.

#48 by dost-mittar on June 2, 2004 7:13am PT
”Could anyone make sense out of this? Who did it?”

“The MQM was the dream of a few Marxian scholars such as Rais Amrohvi, Mohammed Taqi, John Ailia and Shahanshah Hussain to establish an organization that could protect the rights of immigrants who chose Pakistan over remaining in India when the sub-continent was partitioned from British India in 1947.”

I don’t have time right now to take up every BS that contains in this article by Salim Shahzad.
I personally knew all the above so-called Marxist in Karachi except Shahanshah Hussian. Since most of them are dead, people can say whatever they want. Rais Amrohvi was likely killed by MQM. John Ailia had remained under MQM threat for years. His wife still writes for major newspapers in Pakistan and a dear personal friend of mine. She is totally anti MQM. She too suffered several threats from MQM. John Ailia was a non political person and a liberal no doubt about it.
They never had any hand in MQM formation it is complete BS.
The forerunner to MQM, APMSO was actually formed in Hyderabad Sindh. Altaf Hussain was a paid informer to Pak FIA and other agencies. The APMSO was formed to fight the sindhi nationalists students in Hyderabad Sindh and consisted of mostly former Jamaat Islami student wing members.
This article is yet another attempt to muddy the waters in the morass of ugliness in Karachi and Pakistan.

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I spent last two weeks in Turkey. Traveling from Istanbul on Bosphorous down to Bodrum on the Aegean Sea. Stopped in quite a few regions (cities/towns/few villages) in between these two points.
Besides enjoying the rich cultural & historical sites in Turkey, I was amazed at the religious tolerance in the Turkish society.
There are mosques everywhere, yet alchohol is available freely. There are women in total hijab walking on the same streets with women clad in short skirts & hip-hugging jeans. Men rushing to mosques for prayers while others sitting in cafes near by enjoying hukkah & cold beers!
This is what Pakistan, and for that matter all the rest of so-called muslim countries need, a total seperation of state & religion. Let individuals choose the life-style they want.
Otherwise we`ll have what is happening in Karachi these days!

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pmishra2 -- u overestimate the size of your brain -- and, u didnt run out of cliches by the way --

and oh yes, stop saying things i never said you raving lunatic :) -- jai ramji kee