Sentient beings in Pakistan
Posted by Ethan Casey on June 12, 2010 · Leave a Comment
From filmmaker Mahera Omer in Karachi, who features prominently in Chapter 5 of my book Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip:
“All creatures on earth are sentient beings. There is not an animal on earth, nor a bird that flies on its wings – but they are communities like you.” The Quran 6:38
Swiss animal rights lawyer Antoine Goetschel recently made international news when he defended a dead pike in a case of cruelty by a local fisherman who was overheard boasting about landing the fish after a ten-minute-long struggle. The basis of his argument was that fish are sentient beings and that the fisherman had caused the pike needless pain. Islam is a religion where the sentience of all animals has been declared in the Quran. However, the expected application of such a belief is sadly amiss in Pakistani society. In fact, many of the most vocal advocates for animal rights in the history of Pakistan have been non-Muslim.
Read more from Mahera on the website of the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS Pakistan).
