Music video goes viral for 11-year-old Pakistani disabled girl arrested for blasphemy
PROTEST SONG GOES VIRAL AS CONCERN MOUNTS FOR RELEASE OF DISABLED PAKISTANI GIRL ARRESTED FOR BLASPHEMY
Within 24 hours of releasing the song Turn the Tide, protesting the release of 11 year old Down’s syndrome Christian girl in Pakistan, Ooberfuse’s music video received over 25,000 hits on Youtube. The statistic demonstrates the growing concern for the safety of Rimsha Masih. The song can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/
Turn the Tide highlights the plight of young Rimsha Masih arrested by the police, under pressure from the mob, last Thursday at Mehrabadi village, on the outskirts of Islamabad. It was first sung live outside the Pakistan Embassy, during a 2 hour demonstration from 7pm organised by the BPCA last Wednesday, 22 August calling for freedom for Rimsha. Lead humanitarians from a variety of faiths spoke out in unity seeking an end to the ongoing injustice.
Cherrie, ooberfuse front-woman, says “We wrote the song to express our support for Rimsha Masih and her family. We stand in solidarity with them and we hope that the blasphemy charges against her are dismissed.”
Hal, from ooberfuse, adds: “When is this madness going to end? The intolerance of the Islamic majority towards non-Muslim faiths in countries like Pakistan is staggering. The blasphemy law gives legal credence to preposterous claims from disgruntled disaffected members of the community that Islam has somehow been defamed. These claims are very often fabricated by extremists hell-bent of inciting religious hatred against peace-loving minorities. How can it be right for a fragile vulnerable girl to be forced to take on the might of the state apparatus of the Pakistan nation. Her future and the future of her family and fellow Christians lies in the hands of the police and the judiciary who in the past have colluded with Islamic fundamentalists to exact violence and death on unprotected minorities. ”
Wilson Chowdhry, aka Wizard MC, from BPCA, says: “this intolerance has sunk to new levels of depravity with the incarceration of a juvenile girl with physical disabilities. The founding father of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said in his 1947 inaugural speech :‘You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.’ Turn the Tide is inspired by his words and the tragic story of a defenceless disabled girl called Rimsha.”
Turn the Tide can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS :
ooberfuse (www.ooberfuse.com) is an experimental music project led by Cherrie and Hal. They share a common vision to infuse the increasingly moribund traditions of western pop with fresh eastern vigour. By refusing the standard conventions that determine the contemporary pop scene they invite their audience to rediscover ooberfuse-iasm not just for contemporary pop but for life itself! In addition to performing in front of 2million young pilgrims in the Madrid World Youth Day in 2011 they also sang the Youth Anthem for Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK in 2010. The band’s forthcoming second album Seventh Wave is launched on 28th September 2012 at AAA @ Archangel,11-13 Kensington High Street London W8 5NP.
Wizard MC is Wilson Chowdhry, leader of the British Pakistani Christian Association and is a leading human rights campaigner. http://