Tell me…does this clip of the NPR interview from last week strike any of you as eerily familiar? As too close for comfort? As though this could be a story told by the daughter of a progressive politician in America who steps forward to defend the rights of Muslim Americans to worship and live freely in our democracy. Here is a portion of that interview by Steve Inskeep on June 27, 2011:

INSKEEP: Has the public reaction to your father’s murder been, in some ways, almost harder than the murder itself?

Ms. TASEER: Well, it was very tough, because this is my father, actual. To everybody else, it’s the governor and it’s the leader, but this is my father. And so to have seen 200 lawyers saying that this is right what happened and then to see a rally of 40,000 clerics take the streets in Karachi in support of the blasphemy laws and in support of what happened to my father, it made me sick. Because if you have your lawyers who are your supposed vanguards of justice taking these kinds of stands, then it means that your judicial system is a sham.

But the public reaction, I don’t think that it’s representative of the majority of Pakistanis, because, you know, these clerics, there were 40,000 of them that took to the streets, but in a city of 18 million. So I don’t think that it’s indicative of the Pakistani mindset.

INSKEEP: This is something that is often said about Pakistan, often said by Pakistanis, they would say to outsiders like me: I realize that terrible things are happening in this country and that there are extremists and that they are the loudest voices in this country, but that the great mass of people are moderate and tolerant, if only they could have a voice and if only they could have greater power. Is that true?

Ms. TASEER: Yeah, I definitely agree with that, and they do have a voice, and that’s called voting. These extremist parties or these religious parties, they lack legitimacy in Pakistan because they’d never managed to get more than 10 percent of the popular vote, but they have a disproportionate amount of street power. They’re loud. They’re well-armed. They’re well-funded. They’re well-organized, and they know how to make noise and grab the headlines. But the average Pakistani wants peace, and we are exhausted with this extremism and terrorism.

INSKEEP: You know, last year in Pakistan, we – in Lahore, actually, we sat down with a young lawyer, 25-year-old woman who spoke for many people who are better educated, more privileged in Pakistan in saying that she felt that a lot of people her age were hedging their bets. You know, you’re a Pakistani, but you see if you can get a visa or a passport to some other country to which you have a connection and maybe you’re not abandoning the country now, but you’re preparing yourself for that necessity. Are you?

Ms. TASEER: No. I feel a very strong sense of duty. I was educated abroad, and I certainly had the opportunity to have a nice comfortable life here and – or, you know, in Europe and get a job, and I don’t have to deal with the problems in Pakistan. I can live a happy life outside of there and just, you know, go back to visit and that’s it. But I think…

INSKEEP: But you were nodding your head when I was talking about people hedging their bets. It’s happening, isn’t it?

Ms. TASEER: It’s definitely happening. There’s a huge brain drain in Pakistan. And it’s sad because our doctors, our lawyers, our teachers, our engineers, these people are all leaving the country to make better lives elsewhere. You know, they have one life. Why would they want to live in Pakistan? But, you know, I think that if you do that, you’re allowing these people to take over. So I think that ask Pakistanis it’s our duty to come back and to fight for Pakistan.

INSKEEP: So you’re not going anywhere?

Ms. TASEER: I’m not going anywhere. I’m very much in Pakistan, yes.
INSKEEP: Shehrbano Taseer, thanks very much.
Ms. TASEER: Thank you.

Here she is repeating this message that is SO important that it bears repeating again from an article in ColumnPK, whose tagline is “Pakistan’s largest current affairs portal”.

“She said that if it was not for the current government or the previous government appeasing terrorists, then these incidents would not have taken place.

Taseer said the rallies that took place after her father’s death made her see the ugly face of extremism in the country however the people who held those demonstrations were not a majority. “They are certainly loud, well armed and well funded but they are not a majority,” she said.

The late governor’s daughter said that she felt the media was also responsible for Salmaan Taseer’s assassination because it acted irresponsibly. She said the media gave undue space to “hot-headed right wingers, screaming bloody murder,” instead of starting a debate on the blasphemy laws.

“In a country that calls itself a democracy, the frontiers of expression have shrunk,” said Taseer commenting on the murders of the Punjab governor and the minister for minority affairs.”

I will tell you what this is reminding me of…America in chaos as it is happening now. Let’s examine the similarities that made me sit bolt upright when I heard this interview the other morning on NPR.

• 40,000 clerics protesting do not represent 18 million in population
• …”I realize that terrible things are happening in this country and that there are extremists and that they are the loudest voices in this country, but that the great mass of people are moderate and tolerant”…
• Question: “they could have a voice and if only they could have greater power. Is that true?”
• Answer: “they do have a voice, and that’s called voting.”
• “These extremist parties or these religious parties, they lack legitimacy in Pakistan because they’d never managed to get more than 10 percent of the popular vote, but they have a disproportionate amount of street power.”
• She said the media gave undue space to “hot-headed right wingers, screaming bloody murder,” instead of starting a debate on the blasphemy laws
• Taseer said the rallies that took place after her father’s death made her see the ugly face of extremism in the country however the people who held those demonstrations were not a majority. “They are certainly loud, well armed and well funded but they are not a majority,” she said.

I hope I am making my point and that you are understanding why I was jolted by the similarities. This is a Movement that we all need to take very seriously. I use the following one line statement to point out the distinction between Christians and Dominionists who I do not legitimately recognize as Christians.

All Christians are NOT Dominionists ~ but ~ All Dominionists CLAIM Christianity

I can do the same for the majority of Muslims in this world by saying that, “All Muslims are not Islamic Fundamentalists ~ but ~ All Islamic Fundamentalists Claim the Muslim faith”….