How is Murder conservative?

Yesterday’s assassination of Pakistan’s governor of Punjab Province, Salman Taseer, is another instance of the backwards use of conservative and liberal labels.

Taseer, who opposed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws the country’s military dictator, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, imposed 30 years ago, is considered in accepted lexicon as “liberal” and is described as publisher of a “liberal” English-language daily newspaper.

In reality, Taseer, like me, was truly conservative and those he opposed and who opposed him are extremely liberal.

Contrary to being liberal, Taseer favored the very conservative use the government to impose religious views, practices and restrictions on the country’s population. In this case, Zia’s blasphemy law made insulting Islam punishable by death.

Today’s news reported that “conservative” factions in Pakistan were celebrating Taseer’s death. Rather than “conservative” those factions’ adherents are very liberally advocating the use of violence against those with whom they disagree. Nothing conservative about that.

Taseer’s opponents not only quite liberally imposed their religion on all Pakistanis, they, as seems to be the wont of most religious fundamentalists/extremists, revel in hatred and advocate and the use of force and violence to impose their will and oppose anyone who disagrees with them.

Resorting to violence, in this case murder, seems much more of an insult to Islam – or any other religion – than blaspheme.