Female Pakistani minister shot dead for ‘breaking Islamic dress code’ – TimesOnline.co.uk – Dress the wrong way, say the wrong thing and you end up dead? More than half the Muslims in England want to implement Sharia Law, is this to be expected by the extreme implementation of it?
A Pakistani minister and woman’s activist has been shot dead by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil.
Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare in Punjab province and an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, was killed as she was about to deliver a speech to dozens of party activists, by a “fanatic”, who believed that she was dressed inappropriately and that women should not be involved in politics, officials said.
Mr Sarwar, the shooter, appeared relaxed and calm when he told a television channel that he had carried out God’s order to kill women who sinned. “I have no regrets. I just obeyed Allah’s commandment,” he said, adding that Islam did not allow women to hold positions of leadership. “I will kill all those women who do not follow the right path, if I am freed again,” he said.
Since we are dealing here with an extreme representation of Islamism, there’s also this story about a father that killed his family for being ‘too western’:
A father killed his wife and four daughters in their sleep because he could not bear them adopting a more westernised lifestyle, an inquest heard yesterday.
Mohammed Riaz, 49, found it abhorrent that his eldest daughter wanted to be a fashion designer, and that she and her sisters were likely to reject the Muslim tradition of arranged marriages.
On Hallowe’en last year he sprayed petrol throughout their terraced home in Accrington, Lancs, and set it alight.
Caneze Riaz, 39, woke and tried to protect her three-year-old child, Hannah, who was sleeping with her, but was overcome by fumes. Her other daughters, Sayrah, 16, Sophia, 13, and Alisha, 10, died elsewhere in the house. Riaz, who had spent the evening drinking, set himself on fire and died two days later.
[Edited out as lame. (Besides it’s “versus” not “verses”. If you are going to criticize a mispelling, you need to spell things correctly yourself.) – Ed.]
Well, she did break the dress code. Rules are rules.
Reminds me of the ad for a clothing store, which closes with:
“It’s a free country… dress accordingly.”
Kinda reminds me of the Puritans.
Is this all that different from politic extremists of any type?
Extremists that blow up women’s clinics…
Extremists that blow up airliners…
Extremists that blow up federal buildings…
Extremists that censor peoples views on public forums…
Extremists that burn their wives alive because they were tired of them…
Extremists that provide $47 billion tax cuts to the Walton family, while cutting 53 Billion from Medicaid…
Extremists that instead of fighting for full accountability in a voting system, fight to hide the vote and then rely on political cronies to pull them through…
Lest anyone think that Islam is the only primitive religion repressive toward women, let me remind you that a portion of the Christian dress code for women specifically forbids women from wearing gold and pearls (from the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy). Paul also prohibits women from holding any position of authority over a man, just as the Muslim nutjob in the article above cited a similar Islamic prohibition.
If you click on the link in my first paragraph, you’ll also see Paul’s pronouncement that a woman’s true value lies in childbearing. Of course, I’ve always admired the ability of Christians to evolve 😉
read “The God Delusion” and let’s finally start overcoming bronze age!
Religion is evil, simple as that.
pj
The Middle East is more backwards than North Texas. Film at 11.
#8. Now James – that’s cold. True – but cold.
Your suppose to say something like “Islam is a religion of love and tolerance” & “Radical Christians would do the same thing”.
Of course the fact that radical Christians don’t do the same thing and most Islamists act like retarded two years olds is besides the point….
I assume that when the article says Mr Riaz had been drinking it means alcohol rather than water as that’s what is usually meant.
I didn’t think muslims were allowed alcohol. I wonder what he thinks of himself and what an appropriate punishment would be.
Riaz, who had spent the evening drinking…
I assume alcohol, which is forbidden… I guess you follow the “holy rules” that applies to others, but skip the ones that prohibit yourself from enjoying life.
#6 Please work on your hermeneutics. Christians know that everybody has fallen short of God’s standards and need grace and mercy that is why we (Christians) should show it. And thus you don’t have to worry about a Christian saying “he had carried out God’s order to kill women who sinned.”
I’m glad I’m in a country where Christianity is predominant. Right now all you as an anti-Christian need to worry about is a fundamentalist boycott or attempt to influence legislation promoting Christian standards. Keep on putting down Christianity and soon you will find yourself getting your wish and the US will be a “non-religious” country just like England or France where the people have left Christianity only to find that gap taken over by fundamentalist Islam.
-Al
#5, not that I put much stock in religious dogma, but do you think that families, and more specifically children, are better or worse off now that women do not, or can not, stay at home to raise them?
#13 – What the heck are you talking about ????? Some guy burns his family to death and you post that question to my reply? WIpe the drool of your chin.
#12, I don’t worry about hermeneutics — I’m a strict constructionist, like all the good ol’ boys I know.
Despite your reassurance that Christians pose little threat today, go back a few years in America’s history and you’ll see that some of the most brazen acts of evil were done in the name of Christianity. Read up on the Ku Klux Klan and perhaps you’ll reconsider the certainty of your assurances.
Why does PC require idiots to immediately bash Christians anytime a Muslim extremist commits murder in the name of Allah? Where do you learn this shit? There is either something incredibly wrong with the way your brain works or your hate overwhelms your common sense.
Do you not understand that by extending such abhorrent behavior to all religions, you both trivialize the murderous act and normalize it as part of everyday life? Our ancestors developed survival skills that heightened our ability to detect a lion in the shadows. All this politically correct BS does is blend the threat back into the background where it can remain hidden until it strikes.
#12, what are you talking about, and seriously, get out of your cave.
If you believe that England is prodominantly Islamic fundamentalist your out of your mind, because firstly, England is part of the United Kingdom, and secondly, britains don’t really care what religion his neighbour is. Just as long as he cuts his fucking hedges.
O and i’m really sorry about spelling errors, i’m more of a mathematician.
When you see someone urging others to do something for your own good, run like hell.
Somebody said that, or words to that effect. Wish I could find the whole quote, because I keep reading about crap like this justified by someone’s religion or (same thing) religion-based laws.
The closer I look, the more religion seems like a mental illness.
9, 17,
Extremist Christians may not shoot people, but they do murder people. Since 1977 in the United States and Canada, there have been 17 attempted murders, 383 death threats, 153 incidences of assault or battery, and 3 kidnappings committed against abortion providers. In the USA wack jobs have killed 7 people, including 3 doctors, 2 clinic employees, a security guard, and a clinic escort.
#20, Still a far cry from the violence done in the name of Islam.
#17 – Smith
“There is either something incredibly wrong with the way your brain works or your hate overwhelms your common sense.”
Nope. Brain working just fine, thanx. That’s why we agnostics reject superstition, beit witchcraft, Xianity, Islam, Rosicrucianism, Scientology, Jews for Jesus – and any other man-made belief system that not only flies in the face of all known fact, but does not have, and has never had, one tee-tiny scrap of a fragment of a fleabite off a subatomic particle of evidence to support it. That, if you’re unclear, means all religions.
When you will believe something that is irrational, all order goes out the window. Truth becomes meaningless. Any atrocity, any destructive act can be justified when logic and facts are ignored.
Just because most people’s actions on behalf of their “faith” happen to be benign means nothing. This is why over a billion Muslims can claim “But ours is a religion of peace” yet, working from the same body of superstition, people will willingly cause the terror, the horror of brutal murder of other humans – and their claims that their version of Islam is the “correct” one have exactly the same amount of evidence – i.e. none whatsoever. Zero. Now and always.
Xians don’t murder others in the name of X – today…! Go check your history book. Believers in insane ideas will believe in any insane idea – unlike logic and reason, insanity has no limits. When evidence and proof are regarded as unnecessary, anything goes.
Dawkins is right. Religion must be abolished if we are to survive. Humanists or atheists aren’t going to blow up the world, because they know this is all there can be proven to be. But idiots and madmen who accept fairytales of ‘another, better place’ and are willing to act on them are the biggest threat ever faced by humanity. 🙁
21,
I didn’t know violence against others was tolerable in small doses.
The point is that yes, Muslim extremists are crazy, but so are any other kind. Just as we expect moderate Muslims to condemn extremism, we must also be ready to do so.
#20 And just what the hell is your point??? Of course some “Christians” commit murder. I’ve got a bit of news for you: the bell curve really does apply to large populations. I’m guessing that there are about 200 million Christians living in Canada and the US. A population of that size is bound to include a few saints, as well as few serial killers. (By the way, wasn’t Ted Kaczynski an atheist?)
But what I want to know is if followers of Islam show the same distribution of behavior. If this group contains a far greater portion of people wiling to commit violence, then I damn well want to know about it. I have no interest in a war against religion, unless that religion has declared war against me!
In the US, I’m sure a Baptist has murdered a Catholic and a Catholic has torched a Mormon church, but I haven’t heard of a single case where such behavior is endorsed and encouraged by their church leaders. And that is what makes all of these other religions different from Islam.
When I hear a story about Catholic priests in Kansas forcing children back into a burning school because their faces were uncovered, then I will begin to equate Christians with Muslim fanatics. But until such time, save your useless comparisons for your simple-minded kin.
#22) I don’t believe in any religion. I’m not sure I even believe in God. But my beliefs don’t have a damn thing to do with this discussion.
I get irritated whenever someone begins to preach, be it a missionary at my door or some self-righteous agnostic/atheist on this blog. Unlike you, I do not feel the need to destroy another’s belief just because I don’t share their vision. Actually, I find the missionary at the door to be more honest than you, he at least acknowledges his intent to spread his religion.
#22, Lauren,
Well said.
#25, Smith
Then I don’t think you read Lauren’s #22 through. Although I can’t speak for him, I agree with his point.
Desperate people will do desperate things. If you encourage them by convincing them they are immune or will receive “divine” deliverance or forgiveness from “god”, that makes you just as guilty of the crime. It is probable that there are more acts of murder and revenge in the name of Islam at the moment. I would attribute that to their more Disparate plight. In similar situations, Christians have been known to resort to similar acts.
As an atheist or agnostic or whatever effen label you put on me (I prefer normal) I am pissed off at any one who tries to con others. Be it a swindle to pave your driveway or tell you there is a “god” that needs your financial help. A con job is a con job. And an unstable person should not be inspired to commit antisocial events.
Well, Smith #25, if you’re going to insist on equating a belief in the power of rational thinking with religion, then mark me down as a fanatic also. Let me proudly evangelize in favor of using our own minds to make ethical decisions, rather than blindly following the ancient teachings of people we never met, many of whom have questionable character and even identity.
It sounds like a kick-ass religion, dude!
Kudos to these Pakistanis who refuse to let George Bush and his lapdog Musharraf impose a different culture on them.
LOL. I really have a hard time with people telling others how they should act and what they should believe. I guess I made an observation many years ago that have eluded most of you: Intelligent, rational people can still believe in God. Take a look at history and see how many of mankind’s greatest thinkers believed in God. Wasn’t it Albert Einstein that said, “God does not play dice with the universe”? Belief in God doesn’t make someone irrational.
All of which is beside the point. My beef is with those that insist that Muslims are no more threat than Christians. Personally, I like living in country where I can safely ignore the tenents of any religion. Islamic beliefs threatens my freedom, Christianity does not. Fools who see Christians as the enemy of Western culture endanger us all.
24,
Read my #23 for your answer.
29,
You generalize a great deal for one so critical of others. Where have I said that Muslims are a lesser, or even equal, threat as Christians? I said that Muslim extremists are crazy, but so are all other extremists, whatever stripe.
You come across as a person like our current President, who takes any criticism as a rejection of and a solidarity with those against. the thing criticised. That is an idiotic assumption, and is only useful for bullshit straw-man arguments.
I love this country. I also believe in God. But I do not believe in religion, or any other dogma or philosophy that dictates how I must believe and behave beyond what is required under the Golden Rule.
Damn, What the hell is going on with this world today??? Why can’t people just live a life without others making things more difficult. Eventually everyone will die of old age or even sickness, but for someone else to take your life. Maybe they need to get rid of themselves if they disapprove of what others do with their lives.