Jabran Ali:

For those of us that have always referred to mainstream "Barelvi" Islam as a "moderate" opinion within Islam, we have been left to face some uncomfortable truths. The killing of the Pakistani politician Salman Taseer was not carried out by a religious fanatic inspired by puritanical "Wahhabi" Islam from Saudi Arabia, but a member of the supposedly "moderate" Sufi-inspired sect called "Dawat-e-Islami" characterised by their devotion and praises of the Prophet Muhammed and their missionary travel.

What is more shocking is this callous and premeditated act of murder, rather than being condemned was applauded by a large section of this supposedly "moderate" majority calling him a brave man and showering him with flower petals. In Pakistani the Sufi-inspired "Barelvi" sect account for approximately 60% of the population and are an overwhelming majority in the wealthy Punjab Province of which Salman Taseer was governor. Religious parties have traditionally not gained a large vote in elections but many peoples underlying sympathies will always be with them as religion is an integral part of the Pakistani identity.

In the 1980s blasphemy was made a crime punishable by death. This law has been used to great effect to target religious minorities and spurious claims can be made against anyone without any evidence to back it up. For those that wish to defend anyone accused to blasphemy they are themselves declared blasphemers and can meet violent retribution. Salman Taseer is one such example of this.

Salman Taseer made a perfectly valid comment, the existing man made law is not perfect and therefore should be repealed or reformed. In a supposedly, albeit flawed "democracy" such as Pakistan, people must be allowed to have public debates about sensitive issues without a small minority of extremists using fear and intimidation to silence them.

For those that defend Mumtaz Qadri and commend what he did I would like to point out the following things to show that there is no religious basis in these actions.

• All laws are in effect "man-made" even those that claim to be derived from the Qur'an and Sunnah by the simple fact that it is man that interprets them. This is evident by the number of opinions and sects we have in Islam and differences in opinions over trivial issues. Man-made laws can be criticised and changed.
• Blasphemy is not a crime mentioned in the Qur'an and during the time of the Prophet he encountered far worse without having to murder anyone.
• Islam does not condone murder, there is no religious justification of it and nobody has the right to take a life except for Allah. Murder is Haram (forbidden).
• For those that mention "Amr bi 'l-marûf & nahi 'ani 'l-munkar" (bidding the good and forbidding the evil) there are a set of strict criteria for this that developed during the time of the Caliphate for a so called "Islamic State", one which Pakistan is not. There is no example of an "Islamic State" anywhere in the world because any State in which people do not have free choice over religious actions can not be said to be one that is Islamic. Islam requires that all Muslims declare their belief in God and the Messenger through their own free will without any force which can not be done in a State where Islam is the "official" religion and there are strict penalties for made up crimes like “apostasy” or “blasphemy”.
• Islam places strict emphasis of fairness, justice and equality. Any law which targets a minority and is unjust can not be said to be Islamic.
• Attaching Gods name to a criminal act does not make it Islamic. Extremists blow up Mosques in the name of Islam and there is no justification for this. This is Haram (forbidden) as demonstrated by hundreds of scholars in various fatwas.
• Bringing disgrace to the name of Islam is a far more serious crime than suggesting that a law isn't necessarily fair and justified and therefore should be repealed or reformed.
• The Qur'anic injunction against murder:

  (005:32)
  YUSUFALI: On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land

  (005.33)
  YUSUFALI: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

• Isn't abusing Islam and the Qur'an for power and authority the definition of "spreading mischief through the land"? In that case, what is the Quranic punishment for these people?
• For followers of a religion that teaches kindness and compassion how humane is it to rejoice and celebrate someone's death?

As a believer of Islam and a follower of the Prophet Muhammed I am shocked and outraged at this brutal murder which can not be justified in the name of Islam and it is contrary to all Islamic teachings. There is nothing more blasphemous than using Islam as a tool to justify murder and violence.