Taliban kills scores of Muslim And Christian Children alike in Pakistan

ARTICLE

On Easter Sunday, a crisp spring day, some of the city's Christian population mingled with their Muslim neighbors, celebrating in a neighborhood park -- taking their kids on rides or pushing them on swings. Then, the sound of tragedy.Without warning, a blast tore through the park, killing indiscriminately. Because of the innocent setting, an unusually high number of those injured were women and children. But the attack, claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, intentionally targeted Christians, the perpetrators say.The suicide blast, in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, killed at least 69 people, a local government spokesman told CNN.More than 341 others were injured, according to Punjab government spokesperson Jehangir Awan.

Hope @and1salttape is okay :(

I'm okay. I don't live in Lahore though not too far. Thanks for the concern.

May the victims find solace in afterlife.

For anyone looking for more information on the Jihadism scenario in Pakistan, check this article: http://www.dawn.com/news/1248135/a-fourth-wave

Glad you are okay my freind. Stay safe :)

Sometimes I ask myself. Will this madness ever end...

How can one defeat a disease of the mind?

There will be groups like Taliban and ISIS as long as Islam exists. There will be separatists and imperialists as long as nations exist. Indeed there will be deficiencies in the minds as long as minds exists. But there can be efforts to not let the minds harbor such deficiencies. A job fit for prophets and their inheritors. But alas, we live by our own desires and disputes.

Terrible, absolutely terrible. So sad to see these things happen.

But aren't prophets largely responsible for these atrocities? People aren't born with the idea that Christians are bad or gays are disgusting, that's something taught to them by sociopath tyrants such as Muhammad and Stalin. So how would listening to them help anything? we don't need prophets and dictators, we need common sense, equality and democracy.

Oh, it is burning alright.

@and1salttape: Glad you're okay.

they're starting to become incessant with their restless killing... I hope something is done soon.

People, by default, fear the different. The cavemen, when they formed communities, waged war. And those weren't ideological; those were based on instinct. If you believe Prophets to be not Godsends but just men - cavemen precisely - who rose right from among the savages, then that further defeats your point that ideology is the main cause of dissent among humans.

Common sense, equality and democracy may be virtues (I term them 'vague virtues) but our virtues and vices aren't rooted in other virtues and vices but rather in instinct. Their complex manifestation oft fools man to believe that carnage is given birth by revenge and grief is the end-product of love. No, our virtues and vices are rooted in our instincts - our very nature as complex beings; but beings nonetheless. Do not talk idealistically of abolishing terrorism or the likes when your whole approach about them is wrong. Talk of reducing them. Virtues and vices can only overshadow each other, never entirely delete the other.

As of now, neither common sense nor equality nor democracy can lessen this atrocity but only rationality can do so.

You seem to misunderstand me. I never blamed prophets for the existence war, I also didn't say prophets and dictators are solely responsible for these type of actions, what I said was that they are largely responsible for them. There is a difference.

You are correct that people are naturally inclined to fear and/or hate stuff that is different, but these attacks aren't just cases of random paranoia, this is systematic hatred. Individual people are mostly harmless but when they form as a group they can be incredibly dangerous, and when that group blindly follows the words of some prophet/dictator they are even more dangerous. Take Nazi Germany for example, anti-Semitism was very common in Germany even before Hitler got into power, but it wasn't until he did that such powerful and wide spread hatred began.

One could argue that rationality and common sense go hand in hand. Equality would obviously stop attacks like this since if you saw Christians as equals then obviously you wouldn't want to blow them up, but of course getting people to accept equality is the difficult part, but only a fool would think a dictator/prophet would be the best shot at getting someone to accept equality and as history has shown they always end up having the opposite effect.

@toast_burner: Ok, I grant you that. But that 'systematic hate' is actually a more orderly form of the instinctual hate.

Common sense is a vague term. Ostracizing Jews may have been common sense among Nazis. Equality is a little bit more well-defined but its also vague on its edges which gives rise to multiple conflicting definitions of it. For example, a rich and poor cannot be equal in regards to obtaining higher education and any effort to put them on an equal footing will result in a system destabilisation.

I advocate rationality for the simple reason that it has no moral implications whatsoever. The only way one can object it is this: "What's your standard for something to be rational?".

And to that I have no sensible answer. I can tell the questioner my way of rationalizing but I can never tell him what I consider rationally bad or good. Which is a further indication of the fact that this stance is very close to human nature. It's just like faith; even the staunchest atheist has faith in something, whatever that may be. You can rationalize faith as far as its observance goes. At the root of it lies an unfounded, subjective, belief. And rationality is pretty much the same. Its only saving grace is the fact that all rationalists bear pretty much similar views or that the dissonance among them is minimal. Whereas faith, religion, and the likes can cause massive friction because they all have various types though they may be the same token, rationality is one token and its type is also the same.

@LostProphetFLCL: what for? Would not do anything constructive and, in case you have not noticed, these attacks tend to occur more often in the Middle East/West Asia.

Though sometimes all-out destruction would seem like the easy thing to do, I can't deny that :( The problem is that there is no mutually-assured destruction with these groups: they want chaos, they want to be the underdog, and the more ruthless the response to their attacks are, the more they feel justified.

There will be terrorists groups for as long as anything exists; terrorism is not Islam-exclusive (not trying to be an apologist here, I swear!). In the US we have Christian fundamentalists, rabid pro-lifers, mentally unhinged militias, and so forth.

This makes me feel better about people. Gotta keep loving because of our flaws, not solely in spite of them. Naive, I know some IS member wouldn't hesitate to ship my head to my parents or burn/drown me inside of a cage, but whatever.

News that 69 women/children died distresses you so much that it makes you want to kill millions of more women/children?

lol wtf...

And yet people still support an organization that intentionally does this. These kids were targetted, it wasnt collateral.

@indzman: so Christians in Muslim countries are persecuted and murdered. Yet muslims in predominantly christian countries are not only protected, they're catered to.

Why?

Question anything about them and they label you racist.

Quarantine the minds of the young as best we can from religious nonsense.

Pakistan should have not split from india

I disagree. Talk to children with the intellectual respect they deserve. An empty mind is easy to prey on, but one with a robust understanding can spot bull**** a mile away.

It's insane to me that the leaders of the Taliban have college degrees, yet they can blow up people, and still believe they will get 72 virgins in another dimension.

The governor was a Muslim. The guy who killed him got hanged in February. Now shit's gone rowdy.

Reading your post at the time when a RAW agent was caught brewing raw conspiracies in Pakistan makes it all the more NO NO.

Oh get over it
Bad shit has been happening for thousands of years
Now we see it 45 times a day and think it's somehow new that people are dying
The black plague lasted for 17 years and killed up to 200 million people
****
Imagine if our media was around back then...

Isn't it the term collateral damage in America?

I should clarify. I'm not saying keep ALL religious education from children. However, we should not be introducing religion to children as 99% are in today's world i.e. the one we're bringing you up with is the only true one. We trick ourselves into believing that we're giving our children a choice by saying, 'Hey, we're going to give him a Christian upbringing, and if later he doesn't like it, well that's HIS choice'. That's a false dichotomy we're creating, and its certainly not a fair 'choice' we're instilling on the child.

There's a massive difference between learning about a religion in an educational setting and one where a parent makes/pressures their children into believing it as a child. If you're referring to the former then I have no problem, the latter, yes.

I think we're pretty much on the same page. My viewpoints are just less antagonistic to the idea of religion, I think (although our proposals are in step).

I think that exposing your kids to as much information as is reasonable is preferable to hiding it away from them out of fear with what they might take away from it. That includes religion - and not just your religion (if any), but others as well. And that should be accompanied by honest discussions about why you are a member of religion X and not religion Y (which I actually think is something that a lot of people have not really given much thought to themselves). If they end up growing up to be a member of a different religion (if any), then at least you can take solace in the fact that they made an honest decision based on actual information that you provided in an honest manner - there's integrity in that. And if they end up growing up to be a member of your same religion, then their faith will be stronger than it would be otherwise as it will have been built on an honest assessment rather than a refusal to acknowledge the age of the Earth and reality of evolution (as examples).

And on top of that, a robust worldview it makes it less likely that they will be convinced to strap dynamite to their chests and slam themselves into a building because doing so will get them a harem afterwards.

Remember when America and the Coalition went into Afghanistan to fight Al Qaeda and found Taliban instead?

And then we found out that Al Qaeda was a possible fabrication of the the CIA?

But only after the US created the Power Vacuum formerly known as Iraq?

And funded and armed Syrian "Freedom Fighters" that would later become ISIS?

And when President Obama denied the cries of the citizens of Iran to overthrow their dictator, an opportunity US politicians have been waiting on for years?

And then the US paid Iran billions of dollars to fund Iran's ballistic missile program to ensure that they can send their warheads anywhere in the world once they get them?

And gave Israel the middle finger?

According to Open Doors USA, over seven thousand Christians were persecuted for their faith.

In total, the survey found that more than 7,100 Christians were killed in 2015 for "faith-related reasons," up 3,000 from the previous year, according to the group's analysis of media reports and other public information as well as external experts. Open Door's report is independently audited by the International Institute of Religious Freedom. Open Doors USA is an organization that works with Christians worldwide to "equip and encourage" those living under persecution while also helping churches in America advocate for the persecuted around the world.The group's report defines Christian persecution "as any hostility experienced as a result of one's identification with Christ." Open Doors found this persecution ranged from imprisonment, torture, beheadings and rape to the loss of home and assets, the loss of a job, or even rejection from a community.

Link - Click Here

Christians are not the only group of folks being targeted as Muslims in the United States are specifically being persecuted as well.

Hate crimes against Muslims in America spiked at nearly 500 reported incidents in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. That trend shows no sign of abating any time soon as the latest data indicates that Muslims are still being targeted, with over 100 hate crimes directed against Muslims every year. Keep in mind that hate crimes are generally under-reported or incorrectly classified by police, so those numbers are most likely higher in reality.

Link - Click Here

I think these occurrences are multi-faceted, and saying something like one or two ideas are at the core of the issues that people are facing today in relation to this is an oversimplification. It could be another class of issues, and those issues could have their own nuances as classes, and so on...ad nauseum. The question of whether or not these issues should be solved ought to come after they are properly identified. The idea that two proposed issues addressed here, fanatical leaders and religions, have the same solution is probably not correct. They are not a propositional function.

So 7,100 Christians were "persecuted": Killed. In one year

While 500 muslims were the victim of "hate crimes": as per source, "There are no such killings listed in the FBI's database for 2013. Most hate crimes involve assault, intimidation or vandalism....." Racially-motivated hate crimes outnumber religiously-motivated crimes by roughly two to one"

I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time seeing a valid comparison between an average of 100 possible assaults/threats, and 7,100 fatalities. The article goes on to specify that Islamic extremism is the primary cause of Christian deaths. As an atheist, one religion seems more violent than the other, with Sharia Law having no equivalent in terms Christianity and Judaism. What's your stance?

Well.. this is just what happens when you allow religion to run rampant or religions attempting to blend with other religions. Incompatible. Violence will surely ensue. You can never truly get rid of the problem as long as religion exists warping peoples minds.

This type of news doesn't phase me. It hasn't in years. It's what's expected from that part of the world. Until there is some sort or reformation or drastic change to their religion and/or society, it never will.

@Johnny-n-Roger:My stance is that a single act of violent aggression by humanity is as condemnable as one hundred.

So if I would hit 100 people over the head with a sledgehammer, I'm essentially on the same moral ground as someone who shoves one person?

@Johnny-n-Roger: Yes. Aggression is the main idea that both of your scenarios are dependent on, so the input is one of the most important aspects of those situations. This may appear as in agreement with Kant's categorical imperative, a deontological view.

I think it is clear that there are differences in results due to the variation in damage that such violence could cause. Therefore, the intent of the person committing the particular act of violence should be considered. It would not be fair to say that each scenario is equal in violence for regular cases like people being away from a cliff or traffic. It follows that the intent of the action is important. However, this is not all that matters as the outcomes are relevant, too. As the Biblical Scriptures say, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." People may intend well or wrong for others, but if they have no outcomes then their points are without being.

Terrible and disgusting. Religious extremism is the bane of this world.

Muslims, depending on their sect, are also persecuted and murdered. Trying being Shi'ite in Saudi Arabia and see how that works.

Don't be ignorant.

First yes, second no. See the United States or most countries such as Turkey or Lebanon.

In the first attempt it's clear he means a lethal action. The second could just be a moment of anger.....or fun. They should not be equated on the face as equal. Seems like an apologist strategy to me.

Nonetheless court systems have different responses to the two incidents because they aren't equal.

Bad analogy in your response @drunk_pi.

How so?

It is not apologist to defend the idea that all aggressive violence is first and foremost wrong. This is not controversial for most people; it is the law of the land in most developed countries.

Nonetheless court systems have different responses to the two incidents because they aren't equal.

Then, we are in agreement.

when people do not stand up to islamic terror it expands.

if the majority wanted it gone forever or at least reduced in frequency how difficult would it really be to achieve?

it would be child's play to infiltrate, inform upon and eradicate the vast majority of radical enclaves.

if that is what the majority actually wants.