The thought of whether or not author Salman Rushdie was worthy of being knighted has been highlighted by something of more deep rooted concern – the response from Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq.
While the Pakistani parliament condemned Rushie’s knighthood, Cabinet ministers went to familiar extremes of justifying suicide bombings.
“If someone exploded a bomb on his body, he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws [Rushdie’s] ‘sir’ title,’ Religious Affairs Minister Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq told the Pakistani parliament.”
Coming from a representative of Pakistan’s government, no less, the religious affairs minister, Britain should not be the only nation concerned with such comments.
After Britain defended its award to Rushdie,
“…the Pakistani Ulema Council, a private body that claims to be the biggest of its kind in the country with 2,000 scholars, said it had given Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden its “highest title for a Muslim warrior.”
“Later Afzal Sahi — the speaker of the Punjab province assembly and a member of the Pakistan Muslim League party that backs President Pervez Musharraf — said in a debate that he would ‘definitely kill’ Rushdie if he could.”
Salman Rushie’s knighthood is just an excuse for barbaric, almost animalistic groups who call themselves Muslims, to incite violence. Apparently they have overlooked or refused to acknowledge that suicide bombings are not justified in Islam or by the law.
And the thought of the US looking towards Pakistan as an ally on the war against terror is scary enough on its own.