Zeal and Honor Reloaded

Sharique Naeem left a comment in this post asking for the complete publication of his article so as to provide context. Okay:

A number of conclusions can be drawn from the events of Tuesday’s protests in Lahore and Islamabad. The first and the foremost what it reflects is the existence of deep divisions between the government and the masses at large.

The fact that the government buildings were deliberately targeted, not just by a few miscreants, but by large number of young men in Islamabad, shows that people disapprove the policies of the government. In the eyes of the public, the pro-Western policies of the government, makes these rulers shareholders in the guilt of the crimes the Western rulers are committing in their war against the Muslims.

The second conclusion, that can be drawn, is that the present system, is not only incapable of handling such protests, but also, it does not provides a proper medium for the expression of feelings that the masses have for their religion.

There is another point central to our politics today; that we lack genuine leadership within the present political apparatus. It is regrettable that the leaders of influence were not present at the scene to direct and guide the demonstrators.

The loss of lives, and property is regrettable. But these protests also prove the sincerity of the people towards the religion of Islam, and the zeal that they have to defend the honor of their beloved Prophet.

In my previous post, I had only excerpted the last paragraph.

Update
Alex offers a most hilarious take on this in the comments.

Comments

[Alex]

Ah yes. What better way to show love than by burning down buildings and killing people. Hell, if that's the way Muslims see things, I don't understand why they think the West is waging war against them. On the contrary, droping 2000lb bombs on buildings is how we in the West demonstrate our love for the Prophet Mohammed and his people.