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Muhammed Muheisen / AP
A Pakistani youth pushes his motorcycle, with balloons that he hopes to sell on Valentine's Day, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. Romance may not be dead in Pakistan but it is under attack. Conservatives in Pakistan are attacking the romantic holiday as a western-inspired event helping to spread vulgarity in their country and putting up posters calling on people to boycott the holiday.
Some Pakistanis celebrated Valentine's Day on Wednesday with balloons and flowers, but others denounced the holiday as an insult to Islam.
In the port city of Karachi, home to 18 million people, billboards decorated with a black heart urged citizens to "SAY NO TO VALENTINE'S DAY."
"This tradition reflects insensitivity, indignity and ignorance of Islam," the signs read. They were put up by a group affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious political party that holds six of 342 legislative seats.
Secular parties dominate Pakistani politics and are likely to win the vast majority of votes in elections due this year, but religious parties often wield political influence through street demonstrations.
"Valentine's is against Islamic culture. In our view, relationships are sacred. We have arranged marriages in this culture and people don't get married for love," said Syed Askari, a spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami. "This is imposing Western values and cultures on an Islamic society.
"Look at the West - people love their dogs but throw their parents out when they get old. We don't want to be like that."
In the northwestern city of Peshawar, a handful of people burned Valentine's Day cards in front of television cameras on Monday. Women wearing black robes held signs denouncing the tradition.
The state broadcasting regulator, PEMRA, urged broadcasters to "respect viewers' sentiments."
"PEMRA has been receiving complaints from a large segment of society that Valentine's Day celebrations are not in conformity with our religious and cultural ethos and has, therefore, condemned its unequivocal propagation through media," the statement said.
But in the capital of Islamabad, hawkers selling heart-shaped balloons staked out street corners and florists were doing a brisk trade.
Lintao Zhang / Getty Images
From San Francisco to Sri Lanka, China to Cuba, love and romance know no boundaries. See the many ways Cupid's favorite holiday is celebrated across the globe.
"Valentine's Day is good for business," said a grinning Mohammed Ajmar as he handed a customer a huge heart made of red roses and glitter.
"I'm happy with Valentine's Day. The city if full of flowers and it looks nice," said 21-year-old student Faateh Khan, who was buying roses for his mother. "Those people are just a minority of extremists acting up for the media," he said of those making complaints.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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I noticed Islamic extremists have a problem loving others.
Silly me, I thought loving was human. Even animals appear to subscribe to it.
I think I found ETs, they live among us.
"Secular parties dominate Pakistani politics and are likely to win the vast majority of votes in elections due this year, but religious parties often wield political influence through street demonstrations."
The news reporter must be out of touch or has not done enough study of Pakistan's history and Islam.
Pakistan was established as a pure Islamic nation.
So where does "secular" come in Pakistan?
It is just like writing that "women rights" are best in Saudi Arabia!
.
"an insult to Islam" WTF?
- Petting a cat: an insult to Islam
-Riding a bike: an insult to Islam
-Reading a book: an insult to Islam
-Making love to a woman: an insult to Islam
-Making love to a Man without being raped: an insult to Islam
-Exercising to be healthy: an insult to Islam
-Talking: an insult to Islam
-Breathing: an insult to Islam
I don't know about anyone else, but I think I am signing up to be Muslim the first chance I get. Sounds like a wonderful life.
But will have to stop eating pork, drinking, smoking and some more!
But you can take drugs, smoke drugs, have as many wives including minors and more!
You don't have to work hard. You declare some rich nearby as infidel and then loot him/her bare.
If it is her, then you will not insult Allah if you rape and kill her too!
After all their Mohammed had an assembly of girls and women which included seven year old too!
Sir: after you become Muslim, please don't come to our neighborhood!
Don't those people EVER get tired of hating?
...arranged marriages are sacred and marriage for love isn't...they prefer living by the original roots from Pakistan's creation in 1947...murder, killing, death, murder, rape and murder. uh...yyyeeeeaaahhhh...no St. Valentine's Day celebrations here.
Happy Valentine's Day, rachel. Hope you had a nice one.
Divorce is easier than marriage.
Just say: "divorce/talaq" three times on mobile and then "sacred relationship" is over!
As per Islam, one can have four Isalmic "sacred relationship" at the same time.
Kuwaiti ruler was an exception and he had 65 sacred relationships at one time.
Funnier was: NATO forces after liberating Kuwait, and Kuwaiti ruler, the first thing they did was to fix his golden toilets!
As House of Saud ruler and his 5000 princes and princesses determine rules of Islam, they have no limits on "sacred relationships."
So they have assembled nice harems by collecting girls and women from all over the world.
So what do big words mean in reality?
In my country, the USA, we frown upon murder, rape, and demeaning women. Your culture seems to readily accept these things. Yes our values are very different, so Happy Valentines Day.
We should reenact the Valantines Day Massacre but with drones in Islamabad.
Big Al had more sense and compassion than Pakistanis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpOggnTqMBA
or start from Mecca and Medina?
Well, that's obvious. And you arrange marriages between little girls and grown men. We don't think that's very sacred; we think it's criminal.
Some love both their dogs and their parents, and some don't. I shudder to think about elderly abuse in Islamic culture, where reporting crimes "dishonors" the family. We also have this thing against beating your spouse, but it's okay there to beat your wife and kill your daughter. We don't want to be like that.
How does anyone know that they're women? Are they being paid?
Now there's someone who loves his mother, even if she is wearing black robes and holding a sign. But she's probably home fixing him a nice dinner for Valentine's Day. I feel bad for Syed Askari's mom--she's not getting anything pretty today.
Elk,
..and I add; it's ok to denounce a celebration of love, yet salivate over the 72 virgin orgy you supposedly get in heaven?.....backward thinking and illogical too.
Troy1101: There is no problem in backward thinking and being illogical if they limit themselves to their Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations.
We can think of putting "ring arounds" them.
Do they sit quiet: NO!
After these "holy Muslims" ruin their places, they sneak into our places; start their mosques; and bring their loud speaker screams/blasts five times a day.
For a start, at least, Islamic clerics should be honest enough to get out of the US, Britain, France, European and other non-Muslim nations, which they hate!
NO!
Liabilities and curses on earth won't do them.
Then it is beginning of cleaning the US by 9/11, Saudi's plan for use of chemical weapons for jihad, Bangladeshi Muslim planning blowing up fed and more killing plans.
In between, there are Dearborns, Michigan too!
We are left with few options but to strike at the roots of problems of Islamic extremism: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some more trouble spots!
rockin moroccan: Look, who is talking/posting!
Your Mohammed should have taught himself and his followers on what you are lecturing.
You start from your Syria, Pakistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, morocco and other basket case Muslim nations.
You people have fooled too many people for too.
Now it is time up for your Mohammed and his followers!
god for bid you should marry someone for love
having a 12 yr old girl marry a 50 yr old man is the norm in their society
isn't it great that were spending our tax dollars there ?
We not only spent our huge tax monies, kept the most ungrateful and backstabbing Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on the map!
Some of the seventh century desert mindset bigoted barbarians and beasts imagine that they are too smart!
Apparently anything that has to do with love or joy is an insult to Islam.
"Valentine's is against Islamic cult. In our view, relationships are scarce. We have arranged marriages in this cult and people don't get married for love," said Syed Askari, a spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami. "This is imposing Western values and cultures on an Islamic society Psychopaths.
The fundamentalists are a complete waste of protoplasm and natural resources. I agree with the 'Valentine's Day Massacre' comment above. We just don't have enough drones to do a proper job of it. Targeting is also a problem, since the wacko jihadis seem so well dispersed among the populace. Bottom line; the Paks are not our friends.
piss on Islam i am sick of listening to their crap
If Muslims don't reform with the times, Allah's prediction on end of Islam will become true sooner than most expect.
Hey Askari, if you are so anti-western culture, how come your country has nuclear weapons, a western invention? Your country has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world, and you are concerned with valentine's day? You are worried that people might love each other instead of spreading hatred? I have a great arranged marriage for you: your face and an American drone! Happy Valentine's Day putz!
What could be more vulgar than arranged marriages between young girls and bearded Muslim radicals? Of course, tradition is more important in Muslim countries than love and affection...except affection among men. That's what they're really trying to hide. Men are for casual sex. Women are strictly for procreation.