Vigil for Salman Taseer (in Singapore), Sunday 23rd January

(Via the Singapore Humanist Meetup)

An SHM member, Ali Zaidi, is holding a candlelight virgil for Salman Taseer, the assassinated governor of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Details:

Candlelight Virgil for Salman Taseer

23 January, Sunday
About 5-7pm (timing to be confirmed again)
Botanic Gardens
Open to public, to all races and religions
Contact: Ali Zaidi at taqi-zaidi@hotmail.com

**Salman's oldest daughter, Sara, will be coming to the virgil. Another daughter, Shehrbano, also wrote a commentary on the New York Times about her father's death.

What is it about:
Salman was shot by his own bodyguard on January 4th, 2011. In the months before his death, Salman had angered religious extremists in Pakistan because he challenged the blasphamy law in Pakistan. He defended a Christian woman from from an impoverished family was convicted of blasphemy and was handed down death sentence. This created an uproar in a society driven by extreme religious fervor and religious scholars issued edicts calling for his assassination.

Ali wishes to pay homage to a man that upheld the highest standards of human rights, was a paladin of secularism in a country where the very word has a derogatory term. He hopes to get people from diverse ethnic, religious and national backgrounds to come forward to pay a tribute in the most solemn way possible. If you are interested, please join us this Sunday evening.


Addendum: Belated update (sent at 1:05 pm on Sunday)

"The candlelight virgil for Salman Taseer at Botanic Gardens is unconfirmed. I have not been able contact Ali Zaidi and he has some problems getting a police permit for the virgil. For those who are planning to attend the virgil, do not come down to Botanic Gardens this evening. We are sorry for the sudden turnaround. "