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January 5, 2011
Pakistani governor murdered for opposing blasphemy law was killed by member of 'moderate' Muslim group
Interesting, but surely no surprise ... turns out that the bodyguard that murdered the Punjab Governor is Mumtaz Qadri, who "was associated with the (so-called) moderate Barelvi sect" and "is said to be associated with 'Dawat-i-Islami', a non-political and non-violent religious group close to a moderate Sunni Muslim sect."
(AKI/DAWN) "Pakistan: Punjab governor's assassin 'linked to Islamic group":
The Pakistani Elite Force guard who on Tuesday shot dead Punjab governor Salman Taseer is said to be associated with 'Dawat-i-Islami', a non-political and non-violent religious group close to a moderate Sunni Muslim sect.Those five hundred Barelvi scholars warning that "anyone who even expresses grief over Taseer's assassination could suffer the same fate" ... pretty much say all that we need to know about "moderate" Muslims in Pakistan.Taseer's self-confessed killer, Mumtaz Qadri, was associated with the moderate Barelvi sect, according to one his colleagues. The Barelvis originated in India in the 19th century to defend traditional Islam and many practices and rites associated with the mystical Sufi strand of the faith.
Five hundred Barelvi scholars warned that anyone who expresses grief over Taseer's assassination could suffer the same fate.
Pakistan was on high alert ahead of Taseer's state funeral taking place in the Pujabi capital, Lahore, on Wednesday.
Taseer - a senior member of the governing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - had recently angered Islamists by appealing for a Christian woman, sentenced to death for blasphemy, to be pardoned.
Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared three days of national mourning and appealed for calm ...
As Robert Spencer notes over at Jihad Watch, so was the assassin an immoderate moderate all along, or is the moderate Barelvi sect immoderate in its moderation? What do they think of the blasphemy law and the imprisonment and murder of innocent people that it brings in its wake? Do they consider that, too, to be moderate?
And as a commenter at Jihad Watch quips ... surely there is some comfort from the fact that it was only a moderate execution as opposed to some violent terrorist Jihadi thing. We can all feel much more at ease knowing that the moderates are indeed in control now. Back to sleep.
Related: Shock murder, twice over - Death and life of a Pakistani adventurer
Cross posted from Hyscience
Posted by Richard at January 5, 2011 10:39 AM
