Not In Our Name, Say 63M Pakistanis

Source Article HERE.

From 'Times of India': In a gesture that has attracted record participation from ordinary Pakistanis, 63 million citizens - a third of the terror-battered country's population — have signed up to a unique anti-terror campaign. Billed as the biggest lobby effort anywhere in the world, Pakistanis signed a petition called "Yeh Hum Naheen (This is not us)" in a four-week period. It is seen as the strongest signal yet from Pakistanis - one could almost call it the cry of a nation stained with shame - that they don't want fundamentalism or terrorism to be known as the Pakistani way of life.

The campaign apparently ensured that most of the signatories were verifiable individuals. Given that the Taliban are raising suicide bombers and death squads from teens in the hardened badlands of FATA, children above 11 years were also allowed to sign. The campaign was launched in 2007 with a hit song featuring some of the country's biggest pop stars, including Ali Zafar. The idea originated with a British-Pakistani media consultant Waseem Mahmood, whose aim was to prove in a tangible manner that Pakistanis were against the violence that comes in the guise of Islamic "jihad".

"This is about giving people a common platform to fight terrorism," Mahmood was quoted as saying by a British daily. He said all signatures were verified and most signatures collected by direct promotions. The campaign was financed by Muslim businessmen from UK and Indonesia and has caught the imagination of Pakistani celebrities and media.

You can see a video of the original song with English subtitles HERE.

You can go to the Yeh Hum Naheen website HERE.