Diplomat: The turbulence seen in Pakistan since the turn of the year has spawned a keen effort, on the part of forward-thinking liberals, to disassociate everyday Pakistanis from the rampant extremism that plagues the country. Their views represent a counter narrative to the likes of firebrand cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz who claim that the “silent majority“ of Pakistanis support mullahs like him and the radical ideologies they espouse.

According to this outlook, the energetic hordes that in recent weeks protested the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard who murdered former governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer; challenged the writ of the state for supporting the decision of the Punjab Assembly to pass a women’s protection bill; and hurled abuse at Oscar-winning film-maker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy for exposing the reality of honor killings in Pakistan represent the will of a determined minority rather than the people as a whole.

In a comment piece for the British newspaper, The Guardian, author and columnist Bina Shah weighed into the conversation with a spirited defense of ordinary Pakistanis. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the bomb blast at Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal park, which targeted Christians celebrating the Easter weekend, she contended:

But jihadis are not representative of all Pakistanis. One thing to understand about Pakistan is that most of its people are socially conservative Muslims, but only a minority actually advocates and enacts violence.

The majority of Pakistanis are peaceful and would not act violently towards religious minorities even if they do not share their religious beliefs. Indeed, in times like these, Pakistanis forget about who is a Christian or a Muslim, and only think about helping the injured (…)

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