This story was just too ironic to pass up. Apparently a Pakistani man died during a protest involving approximately 10,000 people. The anti-American rally involved the burning of an American flag, which reports indicate that smoke from the burning flag killed the man.
Around 10,000 people participated in the main rally organised on The Mall by the Tehreek Hurmat-i-Rasool (THR). The participants marched from Nila Gumbad to Masjid-i-Shuhada on The Mall. Despite a ban on rallies on The Mall, the road remained blocked for vehicular traffic from noon to 6pm.
The rally was addressed by Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, THR head Ameer Hamza, JD leader Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Pakistan Muslim League (Zia) head Ijazul Haq, Jamaat Ulema Islam-Sami (JUI-S) leader Asim Makhdoom and Jamaat Ahle Hadith ameer Hafiz Abdul Ghaffar Ropari.
One of the participants of the rally, Abdullah Ismail, passed away after he was taken to Mayo Hospital. Witnesses said he had complained of feeling unwell from the smoke from US flags burnt at the rally.
I suppose he should have taken a que from Bill Clinton and not inhaled.
Seriously though, while we continue to hear the rhetoric about a film that supposedly stirred all this up, which seems more and more bizarre with each passing day, Ameer Munawar Hasan said the film had been produced by a Zionist with US support.
Well, so far there is nothing to indicate that, nor does it mean that the America is seeking to insult anyone. Hasan asked, “If the US claims to be a civilized nation, why does it stoop to insult other religions and civilizations?”
I suppose I could ask the same thing of his protesters. If they claim to be civilized, why do they riot in the streets, burn effigies and flags of other countries? On top of that, why are they not wise enough not to breathe in the smoke of the burning flags?
Forbes reports,
The rally is part of protests, organized by Jamaat-Ud-Dawa, the political arm of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Protesters are allegedly insulted by America’s unwillingness to punish the makers of the film “Innocence of Muslims.” The protesters, demanding respect for and tolerance of Islam, threatened to destroy the U.S. consulate in Pakistan if the United States does not publicly hang the movie’s producer, director, and “all those involved in the production and release of the movie” (which would presumably include Google and YouTube employees). The protesters also will not be satisfied until the United States makes a “law against blasphemy.”
When they use the term tolerance, they really mean acceptance. So they won’t be satisfied till there is a blasphemy law in place, eh? Well I suggest they hold their collective breaths a very long time then, because I don’t see that law forthcoming in the near future.
