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When Religion Kills~Pakistani 11 Year Old Girl Facing Death Penalty
Telly03
Veteran
I'm glad there is an international uproar over the jailed Pakistani girl facing a death penalty for accusations that she had burnt pages of an Islamic study book in her possession... it shows that barbaric traditions, thousands of years old, can no longer continue unseen and unchallenged.
But for this girl, will change happen fast enough to save her life? Currently, the mandatory penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan is death, and the pressure from the religious community within the country to uphold this strict control may be stronger. She's lucky that the police nabbed her before the crowd was able to pull her from the house and stone her, but that still may be her punishment. In the meantime, she sits in jail missing her parents.
Reminds me of a Christopher Hitchens qoute: "If you want to get good people to do wicked things, you need religion"
But for this girl, will change happen fast enough to save her life? Currently, the mandatory penalty for blasphemy in Pakistan is death, and the pressure from the religious community within the country to uphold this strict control may be stronger. She's lucky that the police nabbed her before the crowd was able to pull her from the house and stone her, but that still may be her punishment. In the meantime, she sits in jail missing her parents.
Reminds me of a Christopher Hitchens qoute: "If you want to get good people to do wicked things, you need religion"
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Comments
This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied. Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful, Not proud and demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing That the wise would later reprove. Wishing: In gladness and in safety, May all beings be happy. Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small, The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born, May all beings be happy! Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings: Radiating kindness over the entire world Spreading upwards to the skies, And downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, Freed from hatred and ill-will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down Free from drowsiness, One should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views, The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, Being freed from all sense desires, Is not born again into this world.
That being said, just the belief in a deity, with perhaps some rituals, isn't "dangerous". If there were Muslims, but no fundamentalists, I guarantee that this would not be the issue that it is.
And I'm sorry, but (to me) Christopher Hitchens was just an incoherent drunkard who needed to sell some books. He had a few excellent points, but most just missed the marker. I'd take Nietzsche or Voltaire over Hitchens any day.
Is there an update on the girl?
@daftchris I used the Hitchens quote for the quote, not as a plug for his character. I could care less how much he used to drink.
Latest news on this case, as of yesterday, they are going to hold her in jail for another two weeks... I hope that means that they release her despite the "mandatory" death sentence.
I see. Just a reaction I guess. His alcoholism is irrelevant, but I guess I'm just one of the few non-theists who just doesn't get, or care, about his appeal.
I hope this girl is doing alright, and that the system isn't so harsh as it would seem from the outside.
I can't comprehend the morals of someone framing an 11 year old girl for a death penalty because of religious differences. This is really bothering me, like I just lost some faith in humanity. This is what we all are, or at least what we all are capable of. This isn't just someone else, this is me too, and it makes me sad
Within a patriarchal society, where perceived defects can by some, be considered a curse, you have to wonder at how this is all unfolding....
Here's the update: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/christian-girl-accused-of-blasphemy-in-pakistan-is-released-on-bail/2012/09/08/2616744c-f9cb-11e1-a945-6cd36411d000_story.html
I think she and her family need to do whatever they can to get as far away from that place/country as they can... I can't imagine living in fear like that.