Potent Pompous, Flourish, Intersperse, Flamboyant, Hallmark, Circumspect, Derision,

Smugness, Interlude, Enliven, Erudite, Incarceration, Confabulation, Condescend,

Meander, Lackluster, Penchant, Yield the floor
If the recent abductions of activists and its aftermath has taught us anything it is that religious
extremism is not on the fringes of Pakistani society but at the very heart of it. The average Pakistani
is, indeed, a hateful bigot who is fully capable of condoning murder and torture of any individual
whose opinion offends his/her religious or nationalistic sensibilities.
Today, to be a Pakistani means acquiescing to the indoctrinated and fallacious metanarrative where
India is the ultimate enemy, the military is perfect in its piety hence beyond scrutiny, and that Islam is
above any debate, discussion or reform.
If you believe in secularism, have liberal inclinations or are an Atheist/Ahmedi/Hindu then you are to
keep your views and opinions to yourselves. You are barely allowed to whisper them even in the
safety of your own drawing rooms lest an ever vigilant Pakistani Muslim happens to witness a
painfully horrid event like independent critical thinking.
You are a worthless drone in a homogenous society where diversity is the bastard child of
liberalism.How dare you think differently when we all know the ultimate Truth that Pakistan is the
Madina-e-Sani destined to destroy Hindus in the glorious Ghazwa-e-Hind with the help of our Ghazis
the Pakistan army who have world records in Everything which in itself is a world record. If you're
born a Pakistani your fate is sealed with an ideology you did not choose, but fighting against it is an
effort in futility and almost certain fatality.
Pakistan is one of the world's most corrupt, incompetent and illiterate countries where shrines are
built for revered criminals while the enlightened are shunned and even banished. This is a nation
where moral decay has infiltrated every level of its being yet it has the audacity to moralize and claim
responsibility of upholding the reputation and dignity of the Prophet and an omnipotent Almighty.
The average Pakistani may be a religious extremist, but truth be told, the moderate Pakistani Muslim
is central in this whole debacle. The moderate stock of Pakistani Muslims have, for years,
deliberately overlooked the creeping virus of fundamentalism gradually engulf their country for fear of
sounding 'anti-Islamic' or, God forbid, 'liberal'. The silence of relatively 'good Men' turned a blind eye
towards some alarming changes which had then not infiltrated our society.
Now that this threat has come knocking at their very doorstep to kick them in their apologetic
behinds, the moderates are making active efforts in distancing themselves from the product of their
deliberate ignorance with claims that Islamic extremism "is not 'my' Islam" and "If it's violent it isn't

Islam" yet on more complex yet glaring matters such as treatment of homosexuals, Ahmadis,
Atheists etc. even these moderate Muslims will find it hard not to condemn them.
After more than two decades of being midwifed by the legendary Zia, religious extremism is flexing
its muscles claiming its space with impunity. As a handful of liberals scramble in horror to initiate
whatever meager defence they can muster, former moderate apologists stare at the ugly face of their
behemoth Frankenstein, too aware of that cold shiver racing down their spines.
As the likes of Maulana Abdul Aziz and Lashkar e Jhangvi are used and protected by the State and
the military establishment, as shrines are built for murderers like Mumtaz Quadri by consent of the
State, religion will continue to be used as a tool of control and submission, as future generations get
more rigorously indoctrinated in matters of bigotry and dogma.
The future of Pakistan is bleak. As much as the average Pakistani loves delusions, there is no hiding
from reality. The cancer of religious extremism has inundated this nation whether it be the individual,
the State or the 'Establishment'. Science is looked at with suspicion where Evolution is a Western
conspiracy and sex education vulgarity, and Faith is purveyed as fact beyond scrutiny or reform. The
product of such ignorance is a regressive, stagnant society gradually devolving into the abyss of
oblivion which reflects in the sheer dismal social and academic conditions of the (oh-so-virtuousand-pious) Islamic ummat of Pakistan.