No One Is Asking You To Celebrate Holi; Just Asking You To Respect It

We’re observing a public holiday to mark the religious festival of Hindus, *gasps*, and this is how most of the Pakistani’s reacted to it:

“Very soon, they’ll ask us to CELEBRATE Holi also!”

“Do they give us as much respect as we are giving them?”

osman khalid butt

Source: tumblr.com

Concisely put, we’re appalled that our government has asked us to acknowledge and respect the religious festival of Hindus, a religion that we believe runs completely opposite to Islam. It is rather sad that one of the most important teachings of our religion, tolerance and humanity, largely go ignored as the manipulated version of religion, preached by phony clerics, is propagated.

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source: www.sarkariresultgovt.in

A public holiday to respect someone’s religion does nothing to nullify or undermine the sovereignty of your own, and the mindset that it does, is exactly what needs to be targeted here.

 

The Hindu or the Christian community will go on and celebrate their religious occasions the same way that they did last year. This public holiday, and the upcoming others, is to instill in us a mindset of tolerance. It is for Muslims to no longer view the minorities as minorities; they are the citizens of Pakistan, simply put, and have just as much right as Muslims to practice their religious obligations, and celebrate their occasions without any hindrance or backlash. And despite what your television and political mullahs tell you, there’s no Islamic principle that is being negated in doing so.

Happy-Holi-Facebook-Photos

source: www.sarkariresultgovt.in

The argument regarding whether or not Indian Muslims receive the same freedom or respect is irrelevant. This isn’t a competition, and they aren’t a standard benchmark.

Epitomizing the ignorance and bigotry that is prevalent in our country, unfortunately, the Private Schools Management Association (PSMA) posted this on Facebook:

holi

Source: facebook.com

I’ll tell you what you need to tell your children about Holi.

What you need to tell them is that Holi is regarded as the Festival of Love, and that it is celebrated at the arrival of Spring, and marks the triumph of good over evil.

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Source: holifestival.com

What you need to tell them is that faith is a personal matter, and must never be used as a yardstick to judge people and treat them differently. What you need to tell them is, that even if they disagree with the principles of a religion, they must respect its followers right to practice it.

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You need to tell them to stop mouthing the word ‘Hindu’ with contempt and disgust, and you need to tell them to be tolerant and accepting of differences. These are basic lessons in humanity, that yes, are more important than the rote learning education that you are imparting. While this new regulation is a leap forward towards a more tolerant Pakistan, it is tragic to see that the majority of Muslims in Pakistan are viewing this as an ‘anti-Islam’ strategy, with an education management institute taking the lead with such horrific comments.

hindu marriage billAlso See: Towards A More Tolerant Pakistan: Sindh Passes Hindu Marriage Law

Holi-celebrations-Group-of-kids-playing-Holi-in-IndiaAlso See: Now The Entire Country Will Celebrate Holi, Diwali and Easter Together!

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