Asserting that it would be a “terrible disservice” for the work and sacrifice of her slain father to die with him, Shehrbano Taseer told a packed room at the Middle East Institute earlier this week that the struggle against injustice and extremism in Pakistan must continue. The young journalist told a very moving story of her father, Governor Salmaan Taseer, who was a vocal critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and a passionate advocate for society’s marginalized and voiceless. He was assassinated by a member of his own security detail after taking up the case and seeking clemency for a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy under laws that Shehrbano called “draconian and archaic.”
Shehrbano related that while her father was shot 27 times neither his larynx nor heart were hit and that symbolically his voice would not be silenced and that his compassion for those unjustly persecuted in Pakistan would not end with his death. And to that point, Shehrbano is attempting to carry his legacy forward by recounting her father’s efforts to fight an extremist ideology that has come to significantly infect important institutions such as the judicial and education systems as well as the armed forces in Pakistan.
Shehrbano asserted that the “poisonous mindset” driving the extremists has happened as a result of Pakistan’s Islamic constitution which has drastically shrunk the frontiers of free expression. She pointed out that the blasphemy laws which were put in place to protect Islam are actually an attack on religious expression and are used to repress and even terrorize those with other beliefs. According to Shehrbano, government cannot protect religion and given that the actions of terrorists and militants in Pakistan are done in the name of God, the biggest danger to Islam actually comes from those claiming to serve God.
In her view, it is imperative for the Pakistani government to crack down on extremists and a continued failure to do so amounts to collusion. And fundamentally critical to developing a more tolerant Pakistan in the long-term is tackling the education system, specifically the Wahhabi curriculum being taught in Saudi-financed madrassas throughout Pakistan. She described visiting madrassas with boys 8-12 years old where they were not being taught math or science or given tools to become productive citizens. Instead, she said they know how to shoot a gun or strap on a suicide vest and are being told the only contribution they may make to Islam is jihad. Shehrbano made it clear that reforming this system by weeding out the extremist teachings being used to indoctrinate Pakistan’s youth is of the upmost importance.
Beyond the education system, Shehrbano insisted that the extremism which is often “hiding in plain sight” must be countered across Pakistan’s institutions and civil society and that doing so requires clear leadership and a no-holds-barred approach from the nation’s leaders. From her perspective, most have unfortunately shown little willingness to do so.
In responding to a question, Shehrbano said that while liberalism is not dead in Pakistan, it is dying and certainly threatened. That her father’s murderer is celebrated by adoring crowds and throngs of lawyers offering to defend him for free and his action condoned in mosques across the country speaks to the country’s descent into extremism. But Shehrbano believes the radical militants do not represent the majority but are instead a vocal minority who has been given a disproportionate amount of influence. She called on that silent majority of moderates to “reclaim the public square…that the extremists have hijacked.”
Acknowledging the tide will not be turned overnight, Shehrbano indicated it could take 10-15 years to take her country back. But what is clear is that despite being warned to stay silent or suffer her father’s fate, Shehrbano Taseer, like her late father, is articulating a vision for a future Pakistan where moderation and tolerance prevail over extremism. At one point, she rhetorically asked the audience whether her father’s death would be the last nail in the coffin for a progressive Pakistan. Shehrbano’s courage in standing up and speaking out forcefully following such a loss demonstrates that her father’s dream and legacy did not in fact die with him.
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Following in Her Father's Footsteps
June 29, 2011
Asserting that it would be a “terrible disservice” for the work and sacrifice of her slain father to die with him, Shehrbano Taseer told a packed room at the Middle East Institute earlier this week that the struggle against injustice and extremism in Pakistan must continue. The young journalist told a very moving story of her father, Governor Salmaan Taseer, who was a vocal critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and a passionate advocate for society’s marginalized and voiceless. He was assassinated by a member of his own security detail after taking up the case and seeking clemency for a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy under laws that Shehrbano called “draconian and archaic.”
Shehrbano related that while her father was shot 27 times neither his larynx nor heart were hit and that symbolically his voice would not be silenced and that his compassion for those unjustly persecuted in Pakistan would not end with his death. And to that point, Shehrbano is attempting to carry his legacy forward by recounting her father’s efforts to fight an extremist ideology that has come to significantly infect important institutions such as the judicial and education systems as well as the armed forces in Pakistan.
Shehrbano asserted that the “poisonous mindset” driving the extremists has happened as a result of Pakistan’s Islamic constitution which has drastically shrunk the frontiers of free expression. She pointed out that the blasphemy laws which were put in place to protect Islam are actually an attack on religious expression and are used to repress and even terrorize those with other beliefs. According to Shehrbano, government cannot protect religion and given that the actions of terrorists and militants in Pakistan are done in the name of God, the biggest danger to Islam actually comes from those claiming to serve God.
In her view, it is imperative for the Pakistani government to crack down on extremists and a continued failure to do so amounts to collusion. And fundamentally critical to developing a more tolerant Pakistan in the long-term is tackling the education system, specifically the Wahhabi curriculum being taught in Saudi-financed madrassas throughout Pakistan. She described visiting madrassas with boys 8-12 years old where they were not being taught math or science or given tools to become productive citizens. Instead, she said they know how to shoot a gun or strap on a suicide vest and are being told the only contribution they may make to Islam is jihad. Shehrbano made it clear that reforming this system by weeding out the extremist teachings being used to indoctrinate Pakistan’s youth is of the upmost importance.
Beyond the education system, Shehrbano insisted that the extremism which is often “hiding in plain sight” must be countered across Pakistan’s institutions and civil society and that doing so requires clear leadership and a no-holds-barred approach from the nation’s leaders. From her perspective, most have unfortunately shown little willingness to do so.
In responding to a question, Shehrbano said that while liberalism is not dead in Pakistan, it is dying and certainly threatened. That her father’s murderer is celebrated by adoring crowds and throngs of lawyers offering to defend him for free and his action condoned in mosques across the country speaks to the country’s descent into extremism. But Shehrbano believes the radical militants do not represent the majority but are instead a vocal minority who has been given a disproportionate amount of influence. She called on that silent majority of moderates to “reclaim the public square…that the extremists have hijacked.”
Acknowledging the tide will not be turned overnight, Shehrbano indicated it could take 10-15 years to take her country back. But what is clear is that despite being warned to stay silent or suffer her father’s fate, Shehrbano Taseer, like her late father, is articulating a vision for a future Pakistan where moderation and tolerance prevail over extremism. At one point, she rhetorically asked the audience whether her father’s death would be the last nail in the coffin for a progressive Pakistan. Shehrbano’s courage in standing up and speaking out forcefully following such a loss demonstrates that her father’s dream and legacy did not in fact die with him.
