{UAH} Amjad Sabri: Pakistani Sufi singer shot dead in Karachi
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Another atrocity committed by Islamic zealots in Pakistan. A popular
musician is gunned downed in broad day-light because Sunni extremists
condemn Music as being un-islamic, even if Sufi music, popular among
muslims in India and Pakistan, is wholly devotional to Islam. As Dr
Paul Mugerwa pointed ut a few days ago, it seems there is truth in the
claim that the Koran bans and even punishes HAPPINNESS. But how can
any religion ban happinness? The Koran wants its devotees to spend 24
hours a day thinking about Allah- in othewords, it wants to lock up
people's minds and throw the keys away. It wants a world populated by
un-thinking, and unfeeling zombies who are told what to do.
Muslim zealots li8ke Jabby are clearly living in cloud cuckoo-land. A
few days ago, he uttered the ridiculous statement that No MUslim would
hurt even an insect during Rmadhan!! He said:
"I have stated before that no self respecting Muslim would even
consider offending during a month when he's supposed to seek
reformation"
What a stupid and self-serving statement. Even toilet paper has more
worth than such a statement above, atleast the roll has hygienic
value.
To people like Jabby, famous musicians like Amjad Sabri ruthlessly
gunned down by Islamic zealots in the name of the Koran do not count
as human beings, or even as insects because the Koran says so.
Bobby
Amjad Sabri: Pakistani Sufi singer shot dead in Karachi
Outpouring of grief across Pakistan as famed musician Amjad Sabri is
killed in Taliban gun attack on car
Thursday 23 June 2016 10.00 BST
One of Pakistan's most famous and respected musicians, celebrated for
devotional songs from a centuries-old mystic tradition, has been shot
dead by Taliban gunmen in Karachi.
Amjad Sabri, 45, was shot by two men on a motorbike as he drove
through a congested area of the port city on Wednesday, Allah Dino
Khawaja, the regional police chief, told Reuters. A relative
travelling with the musician was injured but survived.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Qari Saifullah Mehsud, claimed
responsibility for the killing and said Sabri was targeted because the
group considered his music blasphemous, local media reported.
The attack happened a day after a homeopathic doctor from the Ahmadi
minority was killed in the same city, and two days after masked men
seized the son of a top provincial judge, fuelling concerns about
violence and extremism in Pakistan's economic capital.
The songs Sabri performed are part of a Sufi tradition dating back to
the 13th century. Known as Qawwalis, steeped in mysticism and
sometimes based on mystic poetry, they are a key part of the spiritual
life of millions of Muslims across south Asia and enjoyed by wider
audiences of many faiths.
A bullet-riddled car in the Liaqatabad area of Karachi, after the gun
attack on Amjad Sabri. Photograph: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty But both the
music, and the shrines at which it is often performed, have long been
a target for religious conservatives who shun all forms of music and
consider the shrines unorthodox. Dozens of sites have been targeted in
attacks, including a 2010 suicide bombing at one of Pakistan's most
popular shrines.
The murder of a popular singer from a famous and well-loved musical
dynasty was a clear warning to others trying to celebrate and preserve
Pakistan's indigenous traditions, warned human rights activist Ali
Dayan Hasan.
"These attacks have a chilling effect on the pluralism and diversity
of religious practice and cultural expression in this part of the
world. That is very worrying," he said. "Whenever something like this
happens, you are a step closer to being a Wahhabi-Salafist wasteland."
Qawwalis have long been criticised by the Taliban and other hardline
groups that reject all music as un-Islamic, and particularly object to
those songs which focus on the life of the prophet Muhammad.
Sabri had been named in a blasphemy case brought by a conservative
lawyer over a TV performance of one of his songs two years ago, a
potentially serious allegation because the offence can carry the death
penalty in Pakistan.
Colleagues and fans denounced the Taliban for targeting a man who
devoted his life and work to religion. "Our own dear Amjad Sabri ...
was a true lover of God, life and all that's good," said Arieb Azhar,
another popular Sufi musician.
"His mission of love has tragically been cut short by those who spread
hate in the world, and is a great loss for all the divided people of
our country," Azhar told AFP.
Karachi, home to 20 million people, is plagued by political, ethnic
and sectarian violence. In 2013, a government sweep to clear out
militants and criminal groups reduced the scale of the violence
overall, but there is growing concern about targeted killings.
Last April, the activist and cultural leader Sabeen Mahmud was shot
and killed. In May, Khurram Zaki, a rights activist and prominent
critic of radical Islamists, was also gunned down in Karachi.
Sabri's murder prompted an outpouring of grief across Pakistan and
around the world for a man hailed as one of the best performers of
Qawwalis, from prime minister Nawaz Sharif to ex-cricketer turned
opposition politician Imran Khan, and a host of cultural figures.
The musician came from a dynasty of legendary performers, and was
known for reworking classics popularised by his father and uncle. He
regularly appeared on national television, and had been performing
daily for Ramadan.
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
musician is gunned downed in broad day-light because Sunni extremists
condemn Music as being un-islamic, even if Sufi music, popular among
muslims in India and Pakistan, is wholly devotional to Islam. As Dr
Paul Mugerwa pointed ut a few days ago, it seems there is truth in the
claim that the Koran bans and even punishes HAPPINNESS. But how can
any religion ban happinness? The Koran wants its devotees to spend 24
hours a day thinking about Allah- in othewords, it wants to lock up
people's minds and throw the keys away. It wants a world populated by
un-thinking, and unfeeling zombies who are told what to do.
Muslim zealots li8ke Jabby are clearly living in cloud cuckoo-land. A
few days ago, he uttered the ridiculous statement that No MUslim would
hurt even an insect during Rmadhan!! He said:
"I have stated before that no self respecting Muslim would even
consider offending during a month when he's supposed to seek
reformation"
What a stupid and self-serving statement. Even toilet paper has more
worth than such a statement above, atleast the roll has hygienic
value.
To people like Jabby, famous musicians like Amjad Sabri ruthlessly
gunned down by Islamic zealots in the name of the Koran do not count
as human beings, or even as insects because the Koran says so.
Bobby
Amjad Sabri: Pakistani Sufi singer shot dead in Karachi
Outpouring of grief across Pakistan as famed musician Amjad Sabri is
killed in Taliban gun attack on car
Thursday 23 June 2016 10.00 BST
One of Pakistan's most famous and respected musicians, celebrated for
devotional songs from a centuries-old mystic tradition, has been shot
dead by Taliban gunmen in Karachi.
Amjad Sabri, 45, was shot by two men on a motorbike as he drove
through a congested area of the port city on Wednesday, Allah Dino
Khawaja, the regional police chief, told Reuters. A relative
travelling with the musician was injured but survived.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Qari Saifullah Mehsud, claimed
responsibility for the killing and said Sabri was targeted because the
group considered his music blasphemous, local media reported.
The attack happened a day after a homeopathic doctor from the Ahmadi
minority was killed in the same city, and two days after masked men
seized the son of a top provincial judge, fuelling concerns about
violence and extremism in Pakistan's economic capital.
The songs Sabri performed are part of a Sufi tradition dating back to
the 13th century. Known as Qawwalis, steeped in mysticism and
sometimes based on mystic poetry, they are a key part of the spiritual
life of millions of Muslims across south Asia and enjoyed by wider
audiences of many faiths.
A bullet-riddled car in the Liaqatabad area of Karachi, after the gun
attack on Amjad Sabri. Photograph: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty But both the
music, and the shrines at which it is often performed, have long been
a target for religious conservatives who shun all forms of music and
consider the shrines unorthodox. Dozens of sites have been targeted in
attacks, including a 2010 suicide bombing at one of Pakistan's most
popular shrines.
The murder of a popular singer from a famous and well-loved musical
dynasty was a clear warning to others trying to celebrate and preserve
Pakistan's indigenous traditions, warned human rights activist Ali
Dayan Hasan.
"These attacks have a chilling effect on the pluralism and diversity
of religious practice and cultural expression in this part of the
world. That is very worrying," he said. "Whenever something like this
happens, you are a step closer to being a Wahhabi-Salafist wasteland."
Qawwalis have long been criticised by the Taliban and other hardline
groups that reject all music as un-Islamic, and particularly object to
those songs which focus on the life of the prophet Muhammad.
Sabri had been named in a blasphemy case brought by a conservative
lawyer over a TV performance of one of his songs two years ago, a
potentially serious allegation because the offence can carry the death
penalty in Pakistan.
Colleagues and fans denounced the Taliban for targeting a man who
devoted his life and work to religion. "Our own dear Amjad Sabri ...
was a true lover of God, life and all that's good," said Arieb Azhar,
another popular Sufi musician.
"His mission of love has tragically been cut short by those who spread
hate in the world, and is a great loss for all the divided people of
our country," Azhar told AFP.
Karachi, home to 20 million people, is plagued by political, ethnic
and sectarian violence. In 2013, a government sweep to clear out
militants and criminal groups reduced the scale of the violence
overall, but there is growing concern about targeted killings.
Last April, the activist and cultural leader Sabeen Mahmud was shot
and killed. In May, Khurram Zaki, a rights activist and prominent
critic of radical Islamists, was also gunned down in Karachi.
Sabri's murder prompted an outpouring of grief across Pakistan and
around the world for a man hailed as one of the best performers of
Qawwalis, from prime minister Nawaz Sharif to ex-cricketer turned
opposition politician Imran Khan, and a host of cultural figures.
The musician came from a dynasty of legendary performers, and was
known for reworking classics popularised by his father and uncle. He
regularly appeared on national television, and had been performing
daily for Ramadan.
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
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