This morning I heard a Muslim cleric on the radio, the leader of a group that attacked and took hold of the Red Mosque in Islamabad. He was being interviewed but broke it off because the room that he was in was starting to fill with smoke.
I don't know who this man was and I've never heard of him. Perhaps in Pakistan he is a hero along the lines of Robin Hood, or some kind of anti-hero like Ned Kelly or one of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
He told the interviewer that if he was killed, then his soldiers would not rest until the families of the perpetrators of his death were all themselves dead.
Well, he's dead now. The interview was recorded just before he was shot "in crossfire", according to the Pakistani government. The fighting at the mosque continues, with snipers shooting at each other from the minarets.
It is awful stuff, and completely alien to me. It makes me worry for the friends I have in Pakistan. It also makes me wonder if there is any Christian cleric in any mainstream denomination in the world who, like this Muslim cleric, would threaten to kill the families of soldiers that were trying to kill him.
1 comment:
I hope not. It does seem very strange to us doesn't it?!? I was talking to someone at work last night while watching the news about how people can be so divided and what place religion has in these divisions.
That's cool about the tag (thought you might not be keen). I've been blogging since Nov '06. Been enjoying your blog lately - impressed at your diligence in posting regularly.
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