You’re spot on. There’ll be no outrage and mass riots, sure why would they? It’s only a little girl who got shot at a school bus stop, It’s not like it was a crappy film. Nothing to get upset about here. Girls are worth nothing anyway.

Ye should probably take into account that the recent protests, despite how they were portrayed in the media, only attracted 0.2-0.4% of the Muslim world. There’ll be far more outrage about this even if it doesn’t get reported.

I think you’re confusing issues here. The people that encouraged the recent riots are more than likely groups such as the Taliban or Al Qaeda affiliates. Ordinary Muslims may have taken part in these riots but that does not mean that all Muslims share a similar view.

Secondly I don’t think the riots were solely about a ”crappy film.” Part of the riots are in response to US foreign policy including the Obama administration’s use of drones (which can lead to the death of civilians) and targeted assassinations. I’m not saying I agree with the rioter’s opinions or actions but I think it’s important to point out that the film in question was a catalyst for these riots (as opposed to the single issue which the rioters were demonstrating against).

Finally, the Taliban like other terrorist group use force to intimidate as in this heinous case of the girl being shot. The aim of this cowardly attack was to silence critics. By attacking this young girl the Taliban sends out the message that it will target anyone who speaks out against it (even civilian teenagers). This in turn could discourage others from speaking out or protesting against the Taliban in future. In that instance I don’t think a lack of protests should be interpreted as meaning Muslims are not outraged by this. I’m sure most Muslims would see this attack as completely cowardly and sickening. It’s unfair to suggest otherwise.

Animals have more morals and compassion than these people!

Dave and every body who is trying to connect both incidents, and asking muslms to go out and protest against the shooting, Pakistan’s Govt and Armed forces have declared War on the Taliban in pakistan the ones who shot the girl, A massive military action was conducted against them in the same area in summer of 2009, and they almost vanished, and as per ordinary muslims I can assure you 99% of the people of Pakistan condemn the taliban in Pakistan, And are considered open Enemies To Muslims and Humanity.. So just to asure you All we are doing more then protest in this case..

@yasir , the point I am making is that this outrage ,when a defenceless 14 year old girl is shot for “speaking out” should cause an enormous public protest in the middle east on a scale that matches that of the various marches and protests and fervour for issues such as cartoons or crappy insulting videos , it most likely won’t , with respect it’s not really relevant that the pakistan security are at war with Taliban that’s not the point , the point is the contrast of how people will react , if enough people in Pakistan could be mobilised against these pathetic cowards surely they would find it more difficult to operate , I mean the report even names the “spokesperson” who explains why they shot this poor girl…..honestly such cowardly warped inhumane filth to target a 14 year old girl..despicable

Dave your absolutely right and I am half-Pakistani myself. Pakistanis have grown the last 10 years to hate the Taliban because many of them get killed by their bombs but their ideologies are mere reflections of each other. Markhumphrys.com/Pakistan.html

@Petr – Coming from the guy who brings up Israel in every article that has nothing to do with Israel and always bashes Catholics. Most Irish-Catholics condemn the Church contrary to your claim that they don’t; but at the same time the term Irish-Catholic has another meaning to it other than just being Catholic. Maybe you should read some Irish history and understand the persecution Irish-Catholics faced.

“Replace ‘Muslims’ with ‘Jews’ on one of these threads and you’re back to 1930s Germany.”

That doesn’t come off as anti-Semitic what-so-ever? Seriously? You are the lecturing me on being a “vile Islamophobe”? I am very proud of my Pakistani heritage but I will never defend a religion that still lives in the crusades and is ruthless to minorities.
o 78 percent of Pakistanis support death for apostates.
o 83 percent support stoning for adulterers.
o On the other hand, there is increasing opposition to the Taliban as it threatens to take over Pakistan (despite the fact they agree with the Taliban on sharia).
o In 2008, only 33 percent had a negative view of the Taliban. In 2009, this is up to 70 percent. Killing Afghans is fine, but not Pakistanis, it seems.
o In 2008, only 34 percent had a negative view of Al Qaeda. In 2009, this is up to 61 percent. Killing Americans is fine, but not Pakistanis, it seems.
o In 2004, an appalling 41 percent said suicide bombing that targets civilians in defense of Islam can often or sometimes be justified. In 2009, this is down to 5 percent. Finally think about it for 5 minutes, did you?
o Pakistanis say India is a bigger threat to the nation than the Taliban or al Qaeda.
o 64 percent regard the U.S. as an enemy.

http://markhumphrys.com/pakistan.html

Haha thanks Niall.

When you hear about some Catholic priests abusing children do you also think to yourself some religion?

Exactly kingstown, that’s the only way to discribe a group so dependant on keeping people ignorant, that they will try to murder a young girl, simply because she said that herself and other girls should be allowed to go to school.
She must be an incredably brave individual to have repeatedly defided threats from the taliban and I hope she pulls though.

David

I’m surprised you would endorse kingstown clumsily tarring an entire religion with the with the Taliban brush.

Petr, I can assure you that I was referring to the Taliban and their form of Islam but do you believe there will be mass condemnation of this attack across the Islamic world.
As far as I’m concerned silence is a way to condone an act or at the very least not condem it.

David

Noted, cheers. A couple of points:

There’s no such thing as an “Islamic world” or “Muslim world”. The idea is preposterous. There are some 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Many cannot even communicate in the same language. They come from different countries, social classes, they have different politics, they look, dress, think, act differently. Even within Muslim majority societies you get a huge plurality of opinion on just about every issue. Speaking of a “Muslim world” is of no use. It doesn’t capture, describe, or explain anything. The “Christian World” (though also daft) would probably describe a much more coherent set of people.

But that point aside, you are asking do I think most Muslims will be outraged by what happened to this poor girl and the answer to that is yes; just as I would guess that most Catholics are outraged about a minority of priests and nuns raping and torturing children. But I know many people don’t see it that way, Muslims are ‘the other’, they don’t have feelings like us. They don’t care that a 14-year-old girl gets shot by twisted madmen. Well, actually they do.

If you want to see a sample of these condemnations go onto Twitter and you’ll see tens of thousands of examples there for all to see.

This from AP: “The shooting provoked outrage across the country, angering Pakistanis who have seen a succession of stories about violence against women by the Taliban.”

“This is an attack to silence courage through a bullet,” Hayat said. “These are the forces who want to take us to the dark ages.”

The truth is that Islamists like the Taliban are reviled in Pakistan and have fared atrociously whenever they’ve ran in elections.

Point taken Petr and I hope next time you are critising the USA, the west, or Israel, you will also realize that they are not to be thought of as one single group with homogeneous views as well rather then simply “the other” who don’t care about people in Iran or Gaza.
With that cleared up, maybe you yourself would now feel free to condem the actions of the taliban yourself rather then just assuring us that some muslims do condem this attack.

David

That goes without saying. I never make definitive statements about diverse swathes of people. It’s the social scientist in me! I’m not nicer or better than anyone else, I just use categories that make sense and discard those that don’t. Once we start speaking about entire groups in this kind of way we a not just being inaccurate, but also playing with fire.

I hope you’re not implying that I would condone such a vicious attack on a young girl. Was calling them twisted madmen not condemnatory enough for you?

Well your actually taking your own comment out of context, lets look at the quote;

“But I know many people don’t see it that way, Muslims are ‘the other’, they don’t have feelings like us. They don’t care that a 14-year-old girl gets shot by twisted madmen.”

When you called them madmen, you were written in the guise of someone who holds the view that all muslims are the same, in other words you didn’t out and out condem this act while writing as your self.
I’m not suggesting you would condone this act, but I don’t believe you are willing to outright and unambiguous condem it, though frankly, I’d be happy for you to prove me wrong in that respect.

David

When I called them madmen I was talking about the attackers, not the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, not the Pakistani public or any other large and diverse group, but reading back I can see this wasn’t altogether clear so point taken.

I still think it’s a pity you’d think I’d be in any way slow to condemn such a vicious attack on a young girl. I’d be some low life were that the case. I absolutely despise the Taliban and am sickened by this cowardly and vicious attack, and would be equally so regardless of the religion/colour/political affiliation of those who carried it out.

Petr, you are simply not being honest here! You have a very flawed argument going. You call yourself a social scientist? Do you have a degree to back that claim up. This article is about the shooting death of a 14 year old who stood up to the taliban and this is what she got. You are very slow to condemn it and have gone off course to bring in the catholic church. You are silent to the actions of the Taliban!

Indeed. He compassionate, but more importantly correct.

Your equally disgusted? Equally? Between a few comments on a forum and the cold blooded murder,and then justification of it, of a teenage girl.

You’re*

Let’s play ‘Atheist or Fascist?’

Bang on. If you believe in god you are a moron, it’s that simple.

Gingerman

My point – in a nutshell – is that when Catholic clergy rape and torture children (a comparable crime to this one) people here don’t equate the actions of those clergy with the views/actions of Catholics generally. And they don’t pretend that Catholics aren’t condemning these crimes.

But you never said that you were affronted!

Yes I did, and your attempt to suggest I’d approve of this type of attack is reprehensible, Declan.

Ok folks, this is getting too personal. Stick to the topic of the article and quit the personal attacks. Cheers.

Petr you’re a troll.
DublinLad72 – excellent comment!

I use my own name unlike some other anonymice!

Godwin’s law; you lose

Petr, as much as I dislike Zionism and the path of the current stat of Israel, I have I disagree with your comparison. The Jews in Europe pre-WWII did not behave in this way and if some did I’m sure there would be widespread condemnation from the rest.

Barry,

Muslims don’t behave this way either. The Taliban do not represent the views of the majority in Pakistan (which might explain why they are so election-shy); much less a majority of Muslims.

And there are widespread condemnations.

Petr, as I said above you have a flawed argument going. I will also say that you have a distorted view of the world. Just look at your red thumbs.

Personally, I don’t believe in Godwin’s law. I think that it’s importance is completely overrated. The idea that people who have lived through severely traumatic experiences, such as WW2, and then refer to them out of context, is entirely understandable, given the situation. What if Colm O’ Gorman mentioned sexual abuse every time articles on the Catholic Church were mentioned? I think it’s understandable, that when living victims , or their children tangentially link one system of abuse with an organisation that may seem to be not involved.

Declan

You’ll find that people who dissent from prevailing ‘wisdom’ are often unpopular. You should give critical, independent thinking a go sometime.

I hit the submit button by mistake. What I was trying to convey was that we and our children , cannot really be blamed for remembering the past. The crimes committed during the last century were truly awful. Unless we are ready to accept the past, as something that we do not want to return to, then we are doomed to return to it.