Another Muslim Man Lynched In Pakistan Over Alleged Quran Desecration

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 22 June 2024 The Members Of The Mob Proudly Confessed On Camera That They Did The Job Main Points: 1. The man was lynched and burnt by a mob in Swat. 2. The allegation of Quran desecration was not proved. 3. People cheered while the body was up in flames. 4. A local TV channel televised the event live. ------ Just a month after a Christian septuagenarian was lynched by an angry mob in Sargodha in Punjab for alleged Quran desecration, another tragic incident of mob lynching of a 36 year old Muslim man from Sialkot in Madyan of Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over alleged desecration of the Quran occurred yesterday. But the way the man was lynched and the mob of the Muslims, including 13 year and 15 year old children behaved crossed all the limits of barbarity and bestiality. Local residents look a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over allegations that he had desecrated Islam's holy book, in Madyan, a town in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on June 21.NAVEED ALI/ASSOCIATED PRESS ---- The man named Md Sulaiman who was reportedly going through psychological and mental problems due to family disputes had probably visited the tourist spot of Madyan in Swat valley for mental solace. He was putting up in a local hotel. Some one reportedly saw him destroying some papers that had some Arabic text on it. Soon the word spread that he had desecrated the Quran. Some one went to the mosque nearby and announced on the loudspeaker about the desecration. Soon a crowd of fanatics gathered outside the hotel and started beating him. The police arrived on time and rescued him from the mob and took him to the police station. The mob followed the police to the police station and gradually more and more people joined the crowd. The police closed the main gate of the police station but the rioters jumped off the walls and entered the police lock up. They retrieved the accused and brought him on the road. The man was stripped naked and beaten to death. After he died, the mob poured petrol on his dead body and set it on fire. While the dead body was up in flames, the crowd surrounding him was cheering and chanting, "Labbaik YaRasulallah." What was more disgusting, the anchor of local TV channel of Pashto arrived at the scene when the body was still burning and said in his language, "Viewers, see what is happening behind me. Whoever commits such a crime deserves this." People involved in the lynching proudly confessed on camera that they had done the job and had no remorse. The victim, Md. Suleiman had been going through a bad phase of life and had court cases against him over family disputes. He had left home one and a half year ago and was living the life of a vagabond. He had come to Swat perhaps to find peace of mind unaware of the fact he could face blasphemy charges anywhere in Pakistan. His mother soon released a video in which she said that she had kicked her son out due to his violent behaviour and so should not be held responsible for his acts. In fact she was aware of the fact that in Pakistan, the family of the accused of blasphemy too is targeted and most of the time they have to go into hiding to avoid a backlash. In any other country, a mother would have condemned the lynching and demanded punishment to the killers but being a citizen of Pakistan her first priority was to save herself from being punished for the uncommitted sin of her son. The police acted in a lackadaisical way though it had rescued the victim. The police knew that the mob would attack the police station as has happened in similar cases but it did not seek reinforcement from the district headquarters. It should have taken the victim to an undisclosed location as it knew that the mob might attack the victim in the police station. Though the media by and large remained silent due to the fear of Islamic organisations that are involved in such crimes, some YouTube journalists condemned the incident and questioned the role of the police, the extremist religious organisations and the political parties. A YouTuberAsad Toor said that the incidents of mob lynching over the allegations of blasphemy were rising but the government was more concerned about what it called digital terrorism. The government takes steps to curb the media and national TV channels run debates on how to stop fake news while religious organisations like TLP spread hate and terror. The TLP had raided vans belonging to Ahmadis carrying animals during Eidal Adha while they were accompanied with the police. He said the police told them not to make animal sacrifice even within their houses. They even checked their fridges and booked them for having meat. He further said that due to religious fanaticism and increasing incidents of mob lynching, the governments of China, UAE and Saudi Arabia have expressed unwillingness to make investments in Pakistan. Due to this, there is no foreign investment in Pakistan. Another YouTuber Syed Muzammil Shah is also very critical of the government and the police. He says that the situation has come to a point of no return and there is no hope left for a reform because the masses have become an obstacle to reform or progress. In Pakistan, any body can be accused of blasphemy and then he will lose life in no time. The state will not come to his rescue because the state has withered. Not even clerics are safe here because even they can be accused of blasphemy. He cites the example of Maulana Tariq Masood. He was invited to address a religious programme in a town but on arrival there he found posters accusing him of blasphemy put up everywhere. He decided not to attend the programme and came back home. Syed Muzammil says, "I feel to be a part of a big ship which is sinking." Maulana Tarique Masood says that in Pakistan, it has become very easy to file a blasphemy case against anybody. Thousands of people are languishing in jails and many of them have lost their mental equilibrium." Syed Muzammil holds the politicians responsible for this mess. In his view, the political parties have pampered religious organisations like TLP for narrow political gains. Now these extremist organisations have grown out of control. The governments in Pakistan feel so helpless before these religious organisations that they cannot evencondemn these mob lynchings because of the fear of a backlash from them. Even a chief justice was accused of blasphemy and a campaign of blasphemy was run against the former army chief. Finally he had to make a compromise with the organisation. In short, blasphemy laws of Pakistan have proved to be a powerful tool in the hands of extremist clerics and religious organisations with which they can blackmail the authorities. Therefore, the extremist clerics and extremist organisations do not allow any reform in the blasphemy laws as it will weaken their grip on the government and society. With this situation in sight, there seems to be no hope of any reform in Pakistani society. On the contrary, the situation seems to be grimmer with the participation of the new generation in mob lynching as they have been made to believe that what they are doing is a part of Islam and not a Gunah-e-Kabirah, an unpardonable sin in the eyes of God. 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