Pashtun poet's mausoleum bombed in Pakistan

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan blew up on Thursday the mausoleum of a 17th century poet revered in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, apparently because women visited the shrine.

The ethnic Pashtun poet, Abdul Rehman, is commonly known as Rehman Baba, and is loved by Pashtuns for his mystical verse.

People regularly go to his white, marble mausoleum on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar to pay their respects but no one was hurt in the pre-dawn blast.

(snip)

Militants had warned people to stop women visiting the shrine, a resident told DawnNews television.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL486331

---

:mad:

[annabanana]

1. This heinous act will

backfire, to our advantage. It seems Al Qaida is now fighting the taliban (small t, local warlords)

[IrishBuckeye]

3. How do you figure?

Does al Qaida like this poet or...I'm confused.

[annabanana]

16. The Pastun are the locals in the whole afg/pak border areas...

This guy was a big Pashtun favorite. The pashtuns are Al Qaida's "base" . . This will alienate those who aren't personally infused with the idiological fervor..

[Xithras]

17. No, it's pretty well in line with the Taliban's beliefs

The Taliban follows a strict Wahabbi version of Islam that declares that ANY sort of monument to the dead is evil and must be destroyed. These are the same people that bulldozed an archaeological site in Saudi Arabia because it MIGHT have been one of Mohammed's residences, and therefore COULD have turned into a place of pilgrimage. They couldn't risk it, so they scraped the site clean.

It's also the same mentality that led them to blow up the Bamiyan Buddha's and to crush thousands of years worth of pottery and art in the Kabul History Museum. The strict wahabbist version of Islam militantly crushes ANYTHING that might be the subject of, or inspire, "ancestor worship".

[sledgehammer]

18. Yep

And the scary part is that most mosques around the world (including the West) have gradually become wahabi, thanks to Saudi money.

They want nothing but puritanism. They want to destroy all aspects of culture that don't fit within their narrow view of religion.

[lxlxlxl]

2. so sad...

the way they destroy the most beautiful symbols of their better heritage...and have nothing to replace them...just fucking sad and disgusting...

[damntexdem]

22. True, so much like our own religious right, that way.

[Dorian Gray]

50. Really?

I mean I suppose that you could compare them to the Westboro Baptist Church, full of hatred. They are a vile cancer on our society. But the regular religious right, though misguided and full of ignorance, doesn't quite bulldoze cultural artifacts. Maybe if they had more control on society it would be different, but I don't think there is a comparison.

[Karenina]

51. The religion of capitalism has just destroyed

the Archive in the city of Cologne. 2 deaths and over 1000 years of cultural artifacts buried under the rubble of a collapsed building.
The fierce opposition of the citizens came to nothing in the face of the $$$$.

[Dorian Gray]

52. That's very sad.

[Bhaisahab]

4. Sow Flowers

A poem by Rahman Baba:

SOW FLOWERS

Sow flowers so your surroundings become a garden
Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet

If you shoot arrows at others,
Know that the same arrow will come back to hit you.

Don’t dig a well in another’s path,
In case you come to the well’s edge

You look at everyone with hungry eyes
But you will be first to become mere dirt.

Humans are all one body,
Whoever tortures another, wounds himself.

Obviously, such a man must never be left in peace.

Edit: Translation from http://rahmanbaba-poetry.com/rahmanbaba-samples

[xchrom]

5. kicking for baba.

[Evoman]

If you didn't have ignorant meat-heads without respect for culture bombing people, shit like this

wouldn't happen.

I don't know...seems to me that it would be common sense to...gee, I don't know, make sure you know what the fuck your bombing before you bomb it. Fucking assholes have religion take away the part of the brain other people use to think.

[closeupready]

7. Are you talking about US drones, or what?

??

[Evoman]

9. No, these were terrorists.

I realized I was being unclear, so I edited. I was trying to say that these religious idiots were so busy reading their stupid religious books, that they probably didn't even know who the poet was (or didn't care).

[Coventina]

15. It was about misogyny. Their "official" reason was because

uppity women had the nerve to visit the place.

:puke:

:mad:

[closeupready]

6. Where are the bombs coming from?

What about the money to finance organizations which have time and resources necessary to plan and execute these kinds of schemes?

[IrishBuckeye]

14. Taliban brings in $300 billion from the drug trade per year

NATO last Oct. finally gave the ok to go after drug operations which support the Taliban. Now you might ask why not go after all the drug operations? The problem with going after all the drug operations is that it would piss off a lot of locals who don't support the Taliban but need the $ from the opium trade, Obama should support the Poppies for Medicine program, it buys up the drugs and produces pain killers for medical application,Bush shot it down...we can't spend tax payers money on drugs after all...I hope Obama can see that this program makes sense.

more infor on the program...
http://www.poppyformedicine.net/

[Prometheus Bound]

25. $300 billion, you say Suuuuuuuuuuuure!

Or is that in Zimbabwian dollars?

[ananda]

8. Abdul Rahman Mohmand

Rahman Baba was a great Sufi poet who lived
from 1653 to 1711 BCE. He is known for his
mystical verse which has been turned into
marvelous Afghan songs.

There is little of his verse available in
English to be found on the web, though there
are some books for sale. Here is a nugget
of his I found:

There is no evil in the world, if no evil
comes from you.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7925867.stm

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Insert snark about how peacful and respectful islam is of other cultures and values

[brindis_desala]

12. You do understand that sufism is the mystical expression of Islam.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

26. Yes, I know what Sufi islam is and moreover how it is regarded by the rest of islam

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. Other? That's their OWN culture.

The fundie crazies think there is only one book worth knowing - just as the fundie crazies here think the bible is the only book worth knowing.

He was an Islamic poet. He was being honored by women. Women who READ. Therefore, they bomb his tomb.

This no more reflects Islam than an abortion clinic bomber reflects Christianity.

[sledgehammer]

19. These fundos are insane

They'll do anything to destroy anything that promotes love and tolerance. It's the slow acceptance of Wahabiism (saudi-sponsored fundo Islam) that has created this situation. Pakistanis didn't react for decades as their culture was being attacked by the Mullahs. Now, sadly, it seems like it's too late.

But just one point I need to make to your post. In Pakistan (and the rest of South Asia), some literary people like poets, artists, etc. gain a saint-like status because of their devotion to God (in a Sufi kind of way). So people visit their tombs because they feel their prayers have a better chance of being accepted. It is very possible that 90% of the women who went to his tomb can't quote a single line of his (and many of them wouldn't be able to read at all). But they feel closer to God, and go there for prayer/meditation/etc.

Really tragic stuff. Between this, the minority Shias being constantly targeted, and acceding a chunk of territory to Mullah rule, Pakistan is really in a bad situation.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. So they believe their artists are, in a way, literally touched by God.

Even being an atheist, I think that's pretty cool.

Too bad the fundies don't.

[sledgehammer]

23. Well...

if the artist was devoted to God, then yes. It's mostly poets we are talking about. And most poets in that region dedicate a significant amount of poetry to love of God. (Often in Sufi poetry, there is no distinction between love for a lover, and love for God. So the poetry can be interpreted in whichever way you want.)

But yes, some of these poets often become demi-saints and they are believed to have a special relationship with God. Some believe that the saint's soul is alive and listening to them, and passes their prayers through a special channel to God.

Songs (qawallis) are sung in praise of these saints. Each saint has an annual festival dedicated to them. Usually a week of celebration.

This culture is really the culture of Pakistan. It was that way for centuries. The mullah culture is not even a few decades old, and yet it has wreaked havoc.

[Renew Deal]

11. Is that near where their Taliban friends are?

:shrug:

[damntexdem]

21. Take that, you 300-year-dead poet!

That'll teach you to have all those women visiting you!

Aren't we happy to see that the grownups are in charge all over the world?

[Sultana]

24. .

Fuck you, Islamists


:grr:

[TheCoxwain]

27. Taliban blows up poet’s shrine

Source: Hindu

PESHAWAR: Islamist terrorists on Thursday blew up the mausoleum of a 17th century poet in Peshawar, apparently because women visited it. It was revered in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dedicated to Pashto poet Abdul Rehman, commonly known as Rehman Baba, the shrine drew thousands of followers, particularly at gatherings where his mystical love poetry was sung.

Reports said the poet’s grave was totally destroyed and the surrounding marble building badly damaged. However, there were no casualties.

Read more: http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030658790100.htm

---

Taliban's Assholery knows no bounds ...

[Faygo Kid]

28. Flush the Taliban. Awful stuff.

Thanks for posting, though.

[Taverner]

29. They hate anyone worshipping anyone but them

[Sultana]

30. Already posted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3768592

[tabasco]

31. Ain't much bigger assholes than those guys.

I'm glad Obama is getting us out of the oil war to focus on the real enemy - the dirtbags of the taliban & al qaeda

[Prometheus Bound]

32. Actually, it wasn't the Taliban, but who cares about facts. It's a newspaper.

This is the only paper that blames the Taliban and only in the headline.

The International News in Pakistan calls them unidentified miscreants.
Pakistan's Frontier Post calls them unknown miscreants
Reuters calls them Suspected Islamist militants.
CBC calls them suspected militants.

The Hindu, in the OP, calls them Islamist terrorists in the text, but Taliban in the heading. It turns out the Taliban there is seminary students and no one knows if they did it or not.

The local residents said the seminary students —also known as Taliban — had driven out musicians who played at the shrine, in an effort to halt what they claimed were un-Islamic practices.

What a shitty little newspaper!

[iamthebandfanman]

33. i dunno if id listen to pakistani newspapers either

let alone use them for a source.

hard to debunk a bad source with more bad sources dontcha think?

[Prometheus Bound]

34. What do you call a good source. I also listed CBC and Reuters.

I'd be happy to google others you consider better.

[Prometheus Bound]

35. Hmmm... another Indian paper blaming the Taliban in the headline

With no evidence in the story, just like the Hindu.

Taliban bomb shrine for letting in women
Suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan ....
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Taliban-bomb-shrine-for-letting-in-women/articleshow/4231042.cms

Bomb Explodes at Sufi Shrine in Pakistan
Suspected Islamist militants....
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-05-voa45.cfm

Militants bomb ancient shrine in Pakistan AP
...hard-line Muslims
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/militants-bomb-ancient-shrine-in-pakistan-1637955.html

Militants bomb poet's shrine to protest women visitors CBC News
Suspected militants bombed the mausoleum....
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2009/03/05/poetshrine-bombed.html

Pashtun poet's mausoleum bombed in Pakistan
Suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan...
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL486331

[pasto76]

42. this is in the place that was two weeks ago declared to be Sharia Law zone

the MO for the Taliban in Afghanistan was exactly this. They blew up giant statues of Buddha back in the 90s - because they were not Islamic. no other reason.

Of course in the Swat valley they have been broadcasting radio transmissions at night reminding the local what is and what isnt against Islam....and who they plan to kill next for infractions. the use of "miscreants" might be in the interests of self preservations.

[eridani]

44. Taliban or no, they are fundie religious whackjobs n/t

[soothsayer]

36. i'm still upset about the Bamiyan Buddhas, and how the world did NOTHING.

[YDogg]

37. I concur.

[DRoseDARs]

38. That was a very depressing day in my world religions class...

Our Jewish teacher was close to tears at points and even the usually combative Protestant student (always polite and kept it appropriate to the class/subject matter; bonus fun: her boyfriend-now-husband is Catholic. Oi vey...) kept her mouth shut, realizing what a senseless loss it was. Those bastards were offered gazillions of dollars to preserve them or allow NGOs to safely remove them.

A few sticks of dynamite proved cheaper and faster.

[skooooo]

39. They're kind of like the Blue Meanies, aren't they??

[alfredo]

40. Nuttin like wearing out your welcome.

[IndianaGreen]

41. Religion at work!

Religion! How it dominates man's mind, how it humiliates and degrades his soul. God is everything, man is nothing, says religion. But out of that nothing God has created a kingdom so despotic, so tyrannical, so cruel, so terribly exacting that naught but gloom and tears and blood have ruled the world since gods began.

Emma Goldman
Anarchism: What It Really Stands For (1910)

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/goldman/works/1910s/anarchism.htm

[Mind_your_head]

43. Troublemakers!

Whomever is behind the "Taliban" just stirs up trouble for no good reason.

They're Shit-stir-ers!

[Coventina]

45. kick

:kick:

[Quantess]

46. Women can't visit the shrine?

What kind of ridiculous bullshit is that.

[Coventina]

47. Taliban bullshit. eom

[Quantess]

48. Too late to recommend this thread.

[Dorian Gray]

49. What they did to the Buddha statue

they are doing to their own cultural artifacts. It's really tragic.