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Pakistan’s Minister of Tourism accused of “great sin;” fatwas forthcoming

posted at 9:27 am on April 10, 2007 by Bryan
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Nilofar Bakhtiar is Pakistan’s Minister of Tourism. She recently learned to skydive for a celebrity jump in France. Skydiving is not the sin she’s been accused of. What she did is sooo much worse than that. It happened after the skydive.

Her sin is so horrifying, so awful, so distasteful, so…shocking…that I ought not even type it. It’s that bad.

You won’t believe it. You really ought to stop reading this post right now.

I see you didn’t take my advice. Fair enough. You’ve been warned.

Nilofar Bakhtiar may have…hugged…a man. I’m not making this up. I’m also not making up the entirely reasonable reaction that her “great sin” has sparked at the infamous Red Mosque in Pakistan.

The Red Mosque isn’t just any old mosque. It’s next to Pakistan’s ISI HQ, and many agents attend there. It helped train up the Taliban. Lately it has been challenging Musharraf’s rule by mounting an anti-vice campaign (or it has been playing the radical foil to Musharraf’s secular rule, depending on how you view the situation). If Musharraf were Palpatine, the Red Mosque would be the Jedi Temple. They don’t seem to get along, both are major authorities, and everyone there knows it and may have to choose sides at some point.

But back to our shocking story.

Islamic clerics at a radical mosque in Pakistan’s capital have demanded the tourism minister be fired for hugging a foreign man, saying she committed a “great sin.”

Minister of Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar rejected the Taliban-style edict Monday and said her family and friends were concerned for her safety.

Two clerics at Islamabad’s Red Mosque demanded her dismissal Sunday, two days after setting up a court to deliver Islamic justice in a bold challenge to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally who has promised to promote moderate Islam.

The mosque’s chief cleric threatened last week to stage suicide attacks if authorities tried to raid the mosque.

Photos in the Pakistani media have shown Bakhtiar being helped by a male instructor during a charity parachute jump in France last month to raise money for victims of the devastating October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Another picture shows a woman — apparently Bakhtiar — hugging the instructor.

I would call these guys “Neanderthals,” but I think the extinct sapiens were probably a little more with it than these Red Mosque mullahs are. Neanderthals would be smart enough to realize that holding court hearings over an alleged hugging incident just might make those holding the hearings look a tad…insane.

Tragicomically, Bahktiar has denied that the hug in question took place. It was just a “pat,” she says.

Bakhtiar called the edict “baseless” and accused Pakistani newspapers of publishing “distorted” captions with the pictures. She said she had jumped without any previous training and her French instructor had just given her a pat.

“It was just a pat because he felt so proud of me,” Bakhtiar said. “I felt very happy also because it was affectionate and very encouraging.”

“Affectionate” and “encouraging,” huh? I think she’s saying that she enjoyed the foreign man’s non-hug. That’s gonna rile the mullahs.

And if she’s going to base her case on the definition of what a hug is, she’s going to lose. The mullahs will define hugs, thankyouverymuch, and those caught hugging will be harrassed without pity or mercy. There will be a fatwa. There will be rising calls for her ouster, and she will have to go into hiding for her own protection. Armed men will cause trouble in the streets.

Over a hug that might not have even been a hug.

And in a country where one lonely dictator stands between these anti-hug thugs and nuclear weapons.

Blowback

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Maybe someday these backwards savages will enter the 21st century and start piling on Imus.

a4g on April 10, 2007 at 9:45 AM

I would call these guys “Neanderthals,”

I’ll have the Roast Duck with Mango Salsa.

The Monster on April 10, 2007 at 9:48 AM

Burn her at the stake.

She will stand tall a proclaim; “I have no worry, the great organization for helping women known as NOW will defend me, as they have defended all women rights!” as she slowly turns and sees no one behind her…

right2bright on April 10, 2007 at 9:53 AM

Sheeeee huggged…a-a-a-a maaaaannnn???? Bryan! I am ouuuuttttrraagggeeddd! How dare she! Issue the fatwa! Issue it, quickly! The audacity!!

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 9:54 AM

I didn’t see a link for the photo. Call me a sicko for it, but I must see this sin!

csdeven on April 10, 2007 at 9:59 AM

Instead of denying the hug and claiming it was a “pat”, she should’ve said “Yeah, I hugged him, I hugged him REAL good … and it wasn’t just a hug … I GRINDED him sooooo hard!” Just imagine how many terrorists’ heads would’ve exploded! She’d have killed more terrorists with one word than a fleet of B-1’s with hundreds of JDAMs!

Tony737 on April 10, 2007 at 10:00 AM

I didn’t see a link for the photo. Call me a sicko for it, but I must see this sin!

csdeven on April 10, 2007 at 9:59 AM

How dare you, you infidel! You dare question the great and honest mullahs?

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 10:06 AM

They give her address, too. “House No. 166, Street. 58, F-11/4, Islamabad.”

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 10:09 AM

How dare she??? If I put fresh meat out in my backyard and some cats eat it….

Blame the woman. Always. It’s her fault if a man lusts after her. It’s her fault if she gets raped. And this woman obviously was asking for it.

Vanquisher on April 10, 2007 at 10:09 AM

It could have been worse.

She could have hugged a tree!

Nethicus on April 10, 2007 at 10:14 AM

They have warned nearby video and music shop owners to close their businesses and abducted a woman and her relatives for allegedly running a brothel, forcing her to make a public confession.

On Friday, the clerics announced the establishment of an Islamic court and gave the government a one-month ultimatum to close brothels and video shops.

Yeah, these people need a good bombing.

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 10:19 AM

Brazen Hussy!

infidel4life on April 10, 2007 at 10:29 AM

And in a country where one lonely dictator stands between these anti-hug thugs and nuclear weapons.

I guess the liberals were right…you can’t hug your parachute instructor with nuclear arms.

James on April 10, 2007 at 10:29 AM

The fatwa was already issued. Its the first of many promised.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070409/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanreligionseminarywomen2ndlead_070409105738;_ylt=Alu36l2wvdG2070RHotyA2fzPukA

Fatwa” against paragliding Pakistan minister by Masroor Gilani
Mon Apr 9, 6:57 AM ET

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – A Taliban-style Islamic court in the Pakistani capital has issued a fatwa against a female minister for posing in an “obscene manner” with French paraglider pilots, a top cleric said Monday.

The religious decree against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar was the first to be made by the self-styled court at the hardline Red Mosque in Islamabad since mullahs announced its formation on Friday.

“The muftis (judges) issued a decree against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar when their attention was drawn towards some pictures in which she appeared in an obscene and objectionable manner with paraglider pilots in Paris,” the mosque’s deputy leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi told AFP.

“They have called on the government to punish and sack her from the cabinet,” he said

Bakhtiar said the fatwa was “regrettable”, adding that she went paragliding to raise funds for children affected by the October 2005 Pakistan earthquake, which killed more than 73,000 people.

“I do not feel ashamed at all for what I did and I am not afraid of anyone except God,” she told reporters at an unrelated official function.

Local media have criticised the government of President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally, for failing to take action against the Red Mosque, especially after the suicide bomb threat made last week by mosque leader Abdul Aziz.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem condemned the fatwa but said the government was determined to resolve its standoff with the mosque through negotiations

William Amos on April 10, 2007 at 10:39 AM

Wow, firing the tourism minister for hugging sounds like a great way to attract tourists to your country. Who wouldn’t want to visit a country where all displays of affection are forbidden?

JaHerer22 on April 10, 2007 at 10:39 AM

Sorry about that long link title it screwed up when I posted it

This place really needs and ability to edit posts

William Amos on April 10, 2007 at 10:40 AM

And it seems noone has yet to ask why Pakistan has a tourism minister in the first place.

Reaps on April 10, 2007 at 10:41 AM

Ok. Am I the only one shocked at the fact that Pakistan has a tourism minister?

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 10:43 AM

Reaps, I didn’t reload the page before I posted. LOL.

amerpundit on April 10, 2007 at 10:44 AM

Yeah because Right Wing Neo Fascist Christians do the same thing with women (rolls his eyes)

Defector01 on April 10, 2007 at 10:59 AM

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – A Taliban-style Islamic court in the Pakistani capital has issued a fatwa against a female minister for posing in an “obscene manner” with French paraglider pilots, a top cleric said Monday.

This would be hilarious if not for the nukes. Oh, and if not for the gang-raped and dead Pakistani women throughout their tribal areas.

Posing in an obscene manner? How does any woman, in any culure, manage that while dressed in a mumu and headscarf?

Thanks to the entire HotAir team for keeping the focus on these developments in Pakistan. Could you guys forward a few links to Glen Beck or Bill O’Reilly so this can get some TV time? Thanks.

Anton on April 10, 2007 at 11:18 AM

BTW the BBC has a “have your say” area up for this story. And the Islamics are all over it like fatwas at valintines day meeting.

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6002&&&edition=2&ttl=20070410161923

Well! first to all non muslims commenting on this subject, please do your research first, before indulging on anything you’re ignorant of. now to the muslim bros & sis who disagree with the cleric’s ruling, know Islam will always be the same Islam that was sent through to mankind by the beloved prophet pbh, so in other words it isn’t according to your narrow minded little heads pretending that we’re now living a modern 21st centry life that this cleric should give a fatwa tailored to your tastes

Lazar, London

Fatwa is an opinion, its not bindery, and every Pakistani have a right to have his opinion about their public representatives. Stop being an Islamophobic.

Saif, Toronto

I was on holiday in Europe, I found Holland and Sweden so safe, we could go out whenever we wanted without fear of rape. Men do not stare at us. Men are relaxed. In my country men are frustrated because they have made these inhuman rules out of some twisted idea of religion. This kind of backward interpretation of religion can only make a whole nation SCHIZOPHRENIC. Whoever says women are to not be seen is mentally sick.

A Pakistani girl, Karachi

Does Pakistan fatwa promote intolerance?

Absolutely it does as a Pakistani I am ashamed of these women.
Having such a narrow minded approch.

This is not real Islam.Its Modified Islam according to their own Interests.

Haroon Mazhar, Dublin, Ireland

And for those criticizing Islam, please don’t do so. You’re doing so because you don’t know Islam, the actions of Muslims don’t necessarily reflect what Islam is.

Mushtaq Ilyas, Rawalpindi

Before you (non-Pakistanis) tell us what to do and what not to do you have to understand that there are a lot of things being mixed up here. In Pakistani tradition it is totally acceptable for a lady hug (respectfully) a young man or vice versa, but there should be a big age gap. Islam gives guidelines for men and women to protect themselves from immorality but traditions may interpret them differently. And It is expected that our leaders act as an example for the people.

Mushtaq Ilyas, Rawalpindi

Who cares? Surely the Pakistani people can make their own minds up about right and wrong.

We are not their moral guradians.

If the Church of England started issuing Fatwa’s now that would be a news item. But this story is nothing , it’s nonsense how did it get to be on HYS?

Desmond Gaeney, Cirencester

William Amos on April 10, 2007 at 11:27 AM

Excellent post about a country that promotes the “moderate” Muslim. We can see from their actions that their idea of “moderate” is not the same as ours.

I have come to the conclusion that the “moderate” Muslim is a myth. The fundamental tentants of Islam are not compatable with women’s rights, tolerance of others who believe differently than they do, require conquest or subjugation of those who practice a different religion, and advocate deceit and deception in any dealings with “infidel”.

omegaram on April 10, 2007 at 11:29 AM

I want my I hug Muslim chicks t-shirt. Except then I might have to.

raybury on April 10, 2007 at 11:47 AM

Yeah…You have to love the “religion of pieces”

brtex on April 10, 2007 at 11:55 AM

raybury on April 10, 2007 at 11:47 AM

Cool T-shirt idea…

brtex on April 10, 2007 at 11:57 AM

Musharraf should immediately announce “Hug A Neighbor” day where, wherever you are at the appointed date and time, you stop and hug the person next to you.

Let’s kill these mullah-fukkas with love.

CliffHanger on April 10, 2007 at 11:58 AM

Must call travel agent. In spite of compelling ‘Visit Pakistan’ brochures from ministry of tourism please cancel trip to Islamabad this summer. What a kick in the Karachi.

pistolero on April 10, 2007 at 12:03 PM

Why, oh why, would a woman want to be a Muslim? Why would any western woman, e.g. Yvonne Ridley, want to become a Muslim? I don’t get it.

archon2001 on April 10, 2007 at 12:09 PM

Of course Pakistan needs a tourism minister.

Pakistan is THE destination for Jihaddi tourists.

Tours go straight to the Peshawar arms bazaars, and from there, directly to Kashimir, Afghanistan, and India, where tourists can participate in Kaffir and Infidel Safaris.

( BTW … this is not a joke. Jihad tourism is real. )

Kristopher on April 10, 2007 at 12:16 PM

“mullah-fukkas” HAAAAA! Thanks for the laugh there Cliff! That was the funniest thing I’ve read on HitAir since Kevin said “Sheiks on a Plane” during the ‘Flying Imam’ crisis hahahahahaaaaaaaa

Tony737 on April 10, 2007 at 12:20 PM

Why, oh why, would a woman want to be a Muslim? Why would any western woman, e.g. Yvonne Ridley, want to become a Muslim? I don’t get it.

archon2001 on April 10, 2007 at 12:09 PM

Decisions are tough. Sometimes it seems like a good plan to let someone else make all your decisions for you.

It generally seems that way right up until you see what decisions get made for you…

gekkobear on April 10, 2007 at 12:54 PM

Note to Musharraf: One tiny nuke, and the problem goes away.

Kini on April 10, 2007 at 1:21 PM

It could have been worse.

She could have hugged a tree!

Nethicus on April 10, 2007 at 10:14 AM

Now you’ve done it, Al Bore’s gonna put out a fatwa on YOU! And having a bunch of rabid tree huggers after you has got to be a worse fate than a bunch of radical imams.

silenced majority on April 10, 2007 at 2:04 PM