In short, Ayaz Nizami is a Pakistani atheist blogger who was arrested a few days ago charged under blasphemy laws. Apparently he disrespected Muhammad.
Hours after the arrest twitter was filled with Muslim tweets, mainly Pakistanis, demanding his execution with the hashtag #HangAyazNizami
tweets were too many. these are a few selected interesting ones.
1. "Your rights end where my feelings begin...your life too."
Second tweet: "His feelings matter more than your freedom of speech."
Third tweet: "He doesn't believe or understand freedom of speech. The most invaluable gift of western civilization to the world."
2. "I don't care to be called a terrorist or an extremist."
3. "Don't ban Social Media, just hang people who are blasphemous...no don't hang them, drill a hole in their head by a 50 Caliber round from an AMR"
Islam peaceful and progressive. It's just a little edgy. White cis scum just don't get it because they see the world from they white cis eyes.
4. "FUCK - FREEDOM - OF - SPEECH"
5. "Did you say Muslims have a serious problem of intolerance? You do know that's blasphemous to say right?"
6. "Listen, it's not about muh nation, I'm not a nationalist, that's racist. it's just about muh religion of peace."
7. "Hanging one guy behind closed doors isn't a good solution, do it publicly."
"I looked deep. now I sound deep too"
8. "I peacefully request my peaceful government to do as our peaceful Sharia Law commands and peacefully hang the violent blasphemy."
9. "Islam is the religion of Social Justice and equality. You must be hanged for blasphemy regardless of your religion."
10. "Kill'em All"
11. "We will NEVER tolerate Intellectual terrorism #RESIST"
12. "#MuslimWomensDay #StopHate <3 <3 (hang, ONLY if involved <3)"
13. "I look so peaceful and moderate, don't I?"
14. "I'm an engineer"
15. "From London with Bomb"
One of the things that I personally noticed, was that some of the tweets were sent from outside of Pakistan, mainly from Europe. But because of the number of the tweets it is very hard to actually see how many of them where from Europe. I certainly don't have the time for that.
Islamic ignorance and extremism: Education doesn't seem to be a good remedy for it
There is a narrative, repeated mainly by leftist liberals and progressives, that education is the only problem and the only answer to all forms of extremism. It is usually parroted by cultural relativists and apologists of cultures like Islam, who want to both recognize extremism in Islamic societies, and continue calling Islam a great religion and culture of peace etc etc. So they say it's the economy, it's the high illiteracy rate, it's colonialism, it's blah blah blah. And of course, they usually end up saying it's all UK and US's fault. While this is true, and extremist societies do suffer from high illiteracy rates, it is not always the case and not the entire problem.
Just consider this, that, since about 90 years ago, all the post-World War One Islamic terrorist organizations, including the mother of all modern Islamic terrorist organizations, the Egyptian Ikhwan al Muslimun or the Muslim Brotherhood, were founded and led by highly educated wealthy Muslims. And Muslim Brotherhood is still being controlled and staffed by educated Muslims. From Morocco, to Tunisia, to Egypt, to Syria, to Iraq, and Iran.
Islamic revolution of Iran too, which was a continuation of or the victory of the cause of the Iranian Islamic terrorist group called Fadayian e Eslam or the Devotees of Islam, which itself was a Shi'it equivalent/branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, was led by educated Muslims who've gone to expensive universities in the US, UK, France, and Germany. And we are talking about people that are 10 times more extreme than the average extremist Muslim.
And then look at America. 120 years ago, many Americans were illiterate. Education wasn't as available as it is today. But most American Christians, didn't even imagine hanging someone just for disrespecting Jesus Christ. Maybe they showed a worse attitude than they show today. But didn't go as far as execution. And America's laws certainly didn't allow that. So while education and illiteracy rate does matter a lot, it isn't the entire problem.
The other, even much more important problem, is the culture. Islamic culture, and Islam itself. It is the culture and many cultural and religious practices which enables this Medieval line of thinking. One of the main cultural problems in the bilad of Islam for example is a widespread rejection of philosophy. It existed before Ghazali, it was reinforced and became even more hostile after him.
Post-enlightenment western world was built on philosophy. Without philosophy there would be no enlightenment. There would be no Freedom of Speech, there would be no Secular education and secularization, there would be no Capitalism.
Many other problems stem from Quran itself, and what is much worse than Quran, is the Hadith. And what is worse than both of them? The "Usuli" or literalistic nature of both Sunni and Shia Islam. Islamic terrorism depends heavily on Islamic culture. To end Islamic terrorism it is Islamic culture that must go through many, many, many changes.
"but we are good, you're bad"
P.S.
And this happened in Pakistan while in Iran too, a 21 year old young man was sentenced to death for insulting Prophet Muhammad.
A December 2010 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found relatively widespread popular support for the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy from Islam:
In Egypt (84% of respondents in favor of death penalty)
Jordan (86% in favor)
Indonesia (30% in favor)
Pakistan (76% favor)
and Nigeria (51% in favor).
Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases:
- In Qisas for murder
- a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse
- and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:83:17
#HangAyazNizami: When the Medieval Muslim (Islamist) mind meets modern technology
I understand disrespecting a religion. In fact Jesus is many times used as a pun for jokes. Of course I dont like it or feel it is appropriate, but I also am able to understand that there are some people who will take religion lightly since they dont believe in it. And although I may disagree and even feel offended by their behaviour, I dont think it is something punishable with the death penalty...
Who are these guys tweeting here. I also find it very hard to believe that the majority of muslims or at least muslims from countries in which they have more cultural diversity and are all around more inclusive and tolerant, would agree with this. I also dont think this is what their Quran says. Who is taking these things to the extreme? I'm appaled...
Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse;
and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims." — Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:83:17
Islam and the Muslim world are on the road to implosion. It is either peaceful change or violent change. there is no third option. I prefer to consider and try all peaceful ways before the seizure of change begins. Violent change will come itself when Muslims reject all peaceful changes.
I've never quite been able to grasp the idea that a religion can have passages in its holy texts that tell its followers to kill, and the people that kill do so in the name of that religion and cite those passages, and yet we are supposed to look at it like it's just a coincidence.
Criticizing Islam will not cause Muslims to burst into flames and die. Nobody has ever died because someone said "Islam has problems, and its people need to work on them."
The only way I can see criticizing Islam as a bad thing is if that criticism causes people to persecute Muslims more than it causes Islamic countries to reform. As time progresses, though, I see fewer people persecuting Muslims and I see more Muslims waking up to how much the radical elements of the religion need to be reinterpreted or gutted.
Deserved criticism is almost never more destructive than constructive.
I agree completely. Though the subject of criticizing Islam is being more and more suppressed, starting from Durban conference and the resolutions that were adopted by the UN to protect Islam in the name of combating 'defamation of religion'.
the free speech is being suppressed more and more every year since then.
I personally agree with the tweet number 5 and 12. Uhm, as for the other numbers... Well, I don't know. I mean, ulama' from what I know use a 'soft way' to warn a suspect. Arrest him and make him go to the jail is enough--here in my country, people who go to the jail are more productive in life, including spirituality because of their 'well-organized' schedule, they get religion education much better than people outside the jail, astonishingly. LOL. So, maybe when he get out of the jail, he can be a lot more religious or at least maintain his words in social media.
And, we here in Indonesia don't hang people for criticizing Islam cruelly, publicly, but yes we do arrest them. And it also happens with other religions.
My friend (Asker) seems hating Islam too much. No doubt she explores many Traditions and Sayings of Prophet but none is from Quran. Most of the Prophet's sayings in books have been found concocted and aiming at self- interest.
I personally feel that GaG is not a forum to preach hatred against any religion and respectable religious personality. If someone is genuinely wishing to learn "actual" Islam, he/she should first go through Quran.
It is also note-worthy that all such posts/questions relate to Islam only. Is this fear of Islam, ill-information, hatred or anything else?
all are equally important, all play an equal role in shaping the Islamic culture.
Islam =/= Quranism Quranists = a tiny minority of the Islamic ummah Quranists = considered apostates by many major Islamic sects and deserving of prosecution and even execution Quran = not empty of violent verses
I appreciate your understanding about Islam, but please keep in view that most of the scholars don't subscribe to such preaching you have pointed out. It is really unfortunate that so-called religious "scholars" who have no indepth knowledge, neither do they bother to read research oriented books, still cling to centuries old teaching using Prophet's authority and mis-interpreting Quran. You must be knowing that Sahih Bukhari, which is considered very authentic was written when its author had collected about six hundred thousand sayings of prophet but chose only 2,500. Rest of the lot was discarded being "unauthentic". A group of biased Muslim so-called "scholars" however still quote such Saying. It is not your fault, Muslim themselves are responsible.
What's your point? There are thousands if not millions that tell others to kill themselves all the time. Remember the Amanda Todd case? The problem doesn't rely with the religion, it relies with the people.
Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases:
- In Qisas for murder - a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse
- and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
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