Growing up, I use to hear the older generation talk about how we are not functioning as we ought to be and as a nation, we have sunk as low as it gets. This not only black humor, but there was a certain optimism one could feel in such discussions. Surely, we have got no infrastructure. Half of our population is illiterate. There is no way to get hold of a doctor if you are injured or sick. Corruption is rife. You can get away with murder. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting wider and wider. We crave for democracy to get rid of dictators and when it finally happens, realize the politicians are worse and start craving for a strong handed military man to intervene only to crave for democracy again, all in short cycles of time. It goes on and on but still we were optimistic. The idea being, we have sunk so low, the only way is up. There was hope. And hope as some believe is a very powerful thing. And now it seems we have lost that as well.
For Pakistanis, its now coming to a point where there is fatigue setting in. I get the impression like we have just given up. Like we are just going through our daily business waiting for stuff to happen around us and to us. We stop for a moment and carry on driving by a site of terrorism act like it was just another traffic accident where some dim wit had drove in the back of another vehicle. We have now reached a point where these regular attacks have become part of life. Apart perhaps from those directly affected by such tragedies, nobody seems to feel any pain. Now that is a new low. Slowly but surely, we as a nation are losing ampathy, the ability to feel pain for others. Psychologists would term that as being clinically insane.
There is no other country where foreigners and locals get about killing human beings and throwing them away in dungeons without any legal procedures what so ever, except Pakistan. Even the Iraqis have a procedure regulating the actions of foreign troops on their soil and to some extents, the afghan president seems to make some noises whenever a daisy-cutter rips through a wedding ceremony. But here in our beloved country, the country that is supposedly a nuclear power, has 700,000 trained and paid soldiers armed with modern weapons barely lets rip a whimper. And it is not restricted to the government alone. Even the public are fine with it as long as they are not hit personally.
More and more of us, just don't care anymore.
But of course, it goes deeper than that. I first thought that we don't do anything about it because those in power don't want to. Fact is, we cant do anything about to. We are not allowed to. Anytime someone in charge thinks about taking a stand, they are brought to their knees so mercilessly, an example is made of them for all others to see. one by one they either comply or when they cannot anymore, they are consigned to the history faster than a piece of used toilet paper being flushed down the drain.
Doubt me? Then pay attention.
In the wake of the continued air strikes by the US in Pakistani territories, the gov. protested at first and demanded an immediate halt. It was never going to happen. Then they adopted a more conciliatory approach of claiming they are being discussed, intelligence being shared and all the other bullshit. That was also denied by the US. As a last resolve, the Pakistan defense minister admitted that we not capable of doing anything to stop these cross border attacks. In his words, not even our air force has the means to target these unmanned aircraft which is ridiculous, frankly for anyone who has the tiniest understanding of such matters.
However, during a visit to the IDEAS 2008 defense exhibition in Karachi, the chief of the Pakistan Air Force rubbished these ignorant claims of the Minister stating the force is capable of tracking and shooting down these planes anytime and at any altitude. He also suggested that the decision on the matter was not of military capability but a political one.
I believe these comments might have raised some eye brows from Islamabad to Washington. Just think about the implications of PAF shooting down American planes on Pakistani territory. It is not sane to imagine that Pakistan can afford a direct confrontation with the US but I am safe to believe, neither can the US. Some thing must be done and fast to keep these wandering thoughts in the power circles of Pakistan in check. No one can be allowed to disrupt the systemic destruction of any links or controls that Pakistan Gov. asserts in the tribal belt. Systematic terror attacks across Pakistan are a ploy to keep the police and intelligence agencies spread thin to counter those elements, who term them as Taliban of Pakistan nuder various names and aliases, as there existed no such thing before the US intervention in Afghanistan. These militants are the breed who were trained, funded and armed by not only ISI, who were only the front line (funny how such lables are recycled overtime) but the CIA and other agencies. These were the paople who fught wars, and still do, because they are paid to do so. You only have to see how the largest group of all is setup and commanded by Baitullah Mehsood. Someone who is said to be released from the Guantanamo Bay.
To divert the meager resources of Pak Gov even more and to stretch the armed forces even thinner, to a point where they are tactically unable to function at all, something even more evil was to happen.
So within one week of the remarks by the PAF chief, the targets in Bombay were targeted in a gruesome manner uncharacteristic of what the world has seen so far. These gunmen went about the affairs more like special forces commandos trained in modern urban warfare than some teenagers jumping hurdles at some far flung madrassah supposedly on the Pak-afghan border. The media is fed with stories pointing fingers to Pakistan within a couple of hours of the first shots being fired. Up to this point, not a single gunmen had yet been identified nor had any other evidence been analyzed. This information overflow did its business however and now the two countries, with their troubled history are again odds with each other. Even though I doubt there would be another war, Pakistan will be put under pressure to do even more in the war against terror. Conveniently, they also killed three very important counter terror police officers who investigated and uncovered how extremist híndus and not muslims, supported by ISI, were behind the explosions that brought destruction to teh Samjhota express in 2006 and how the state governement of Gujrat supported teh massacre of muslims on hands of hindus and got away with it. They recently arrested A Colonel and a Major on charges of providing support and training to these groups who admitted plotting these events to frame the indian muslims.
Whenever a major tragedy is brought on humans by other humans, the first question to ask should always be, 'who could profit from it?'. The people of India are angry at Pakistan calling for blood. The people in Pakistan have lost more lives to terrorism than any other country and are as big a victim as any one. So who benefits from all the death and destruction?
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Fitna
NOTE: I started writing this post before Fitna was released but had to update and reorganize and add to it after first watching it myself. This delay was prolonged due to some unforeseeable events in my personal life that have now been amicably mitigated. So even though its late, please send your thoughts and comments on the effort.
FITNA : a burning of fire, a melting of (metals) in order to distinguish the bad from the good, a means whereby the condition of Aman is evinced in respect of good or evil, punishment, chastisement, conflict among people, faction and sedition, discord, dissension, difference of opinions, a misleading, causing to err, seduction, temptation.
(Arab-English Lexicon, Lane, E.)
Growing up in the age of digital animations, I was disappointed with the quality on display in this short film that is cobbled together with images out of TV and Internet. Most of these images have been actually published by various Terror groups around the world in their propaganda videos and they would definitely thank Mr. Geert Wilders for furthering their cause. Also, the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) wearing a turban shaped bomb on the head, this time with a lit fuse, was used without due permissions and the owner has sued Wilders for copyright infringement. This is no doubt another tactic to keep it in focus of the media and the people and the both would 'reach an agreement' rather conveniently.
Secondly, the message in the film or the criticism pointed at the Koran, marking it out as a book that encourages violence for the sake of violence and Has no respect or tolerance for other religions or values as long as they do not fall under the direct control of Muslim are not new at all. In fact, the verses shown in the video are frequently brought up by all opponents of both Islam as a religion and as a way of life. There are also many inconsistencies and errors in the film for example implying that female sexual mutilation is chartered by the Koran. Islam forbids such practices that are carried out not only by a very few Muslim but mostly non-Muslim Africans. This practice finds no place in either Koran or Hadeeth.
I am very pleased that for the great part there hasn't been any major violent incidents in response to the film and wish it could stay this way in future as well. But in the real world I am not that hopeful. I for one never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers nor the determination of a minority that is hell bound to impose its point of view on the majority thereby claiming representation. I hope Muslims would remain peaceful, reply with reason and be available to questions by their fellow non-Muslims, most of whom would be searching for answers or explanations. But that requires one to have a considerable knowledge of the religion in the first place and this is never a given. Not even in the case of very conservative or hard lined ones. Most of them don't even know the Line they are taking blindly following some miserable excuse for an Imam.
So we turn our attention to the creator, the film itself, the message it is trying to convey and the reasons why the West is afraid of Islam and Muslims.
This film however is not the only anti Islamic or anti-Muslim material to circulate the media in recent times. The much famed Danish Cartoons, the Film made by the murdered dutch director Van Gough are only examples. There is now an incarnation of the book "the Satanic Verses" by Sulman Rushdie at a German opera.
Here I would like to mention that Geert Wilders the person and for some it might also be interesting to know about his deep love and unquestioned support for Israel. It would definitely cater for the various conspiracy theories regarding the motives for the film.
But I would disregard this fact and focus on the film itself and the man behind it. It is however, to note that he is not someone who has had little or no interaction with Islam or the Muslims since Wilders has traveled extensively through Middle-East and Iran.
This film therefore a calculated effort in a series to try to westernize Islam. To somehow shame the Muslims into disregarding impart or whole of the Basic Islamic values that give Islam the makeup it has and restrict it to at most a collection of Rites and Prayers to be carried out in private without affecting the public or creating a nuisance. An Islam that is as far removed from public life as Christianity is from today's Europe. An Islam Light if you will.
All the verses shown in the film are indeed taken from various passages of the Koran. But should you only read these verses and makeup your mind or should you read the context in which they are written as well? For any student of the comparative religions, Koran is no more violent than other divine revelations be it the Bible or the Torah. It is however, much more politically active and thus much more influential. Another thing hat sets Koran apart is the fact that there has not been a single change or amendment made to it since it was compiled some 1400 years ago. And I've got news for Wilders, there wont be any passages taken out of it. The Koran embodies a religion. As the Koran states itself, No one may be forced into accepting it but anyone ready to accept it has to take it as a whole and make his choices under its guidelines.
But the main purpose of this article is to highlight the background of this fear and resentment against Islam.
Most European citizens and politician are , not unduly, concerned that the continent is changing. Its not the same country or town they grew up in. Thank globalization, they have seen their industrial might wither away. The skills and know-how that were once kept secret within communities are either irrelevant or are available to others in far flung lands as well. This has led to a feeling of insecurity towards feature that was not there when the generation currently in charge of the affairs and trusted with forming opinions was growing up.
The second but more visible change is demographical. After the post WWII Baby-Boom, the current generation is increasingly opting to have fewer children as compared to their parents. In presence of excellent health services, the older generation is enjoying longer lives, in some cases claiming pensions and other state benefits for a period longer than they spent working and paying into this system. This has led to an unfavorable skew in the ratio of those working to pay taxes and support the cradle to grave Social Welfare system that is still existent in most West-European nations. Enter immigrants, the cheap, often unskilled, poorly educated workforce that is ready to do the jobs the locals don't want. Interestingly, these immigrants leave their own countries because of a combination of political economic or social reasons. A large part of these immigrants originates from the former European colonies across Africa and Asia. These first generation immigrants are mostly thankful for a chance for a better life than the one they left behind and try to get by under any circumstances for even the worse they experience here is better than the best they left behind. Buoyed by this newfound success and hopeful of a better future these immigrant families have more children on average than the indigenous thus further enhancing the impact on the demographic make up of the host country. A large part of these Immigrants has turned out to be Muslim. With little or no interaction with the local communities, they wrongfully chose to build up parallel societies of their own. We see little turkeys, little Moroccos, little Pakistans, little Indias, little Africas and many more of these 'little' variations sprung up all across Europe. These people had small ambitions and for most part they were aware of their outsider status.
The current generation of youths born and being raised here are a different story. having been schooled and taught in the European civil societies, they rightfully consider themselves to be on par with those born to indigenous Europeans. Thanks to the European democratic and social values they learn, they are more inclined to decide for themselves to stand for whatever they consider to be right and just as they are to oppose the injustice and oppression. Rejected by the countries of their birth as outsiders or aliens, they cling to the religion or culture of their parents in search of a sense of identity. These youths could pose a potential threat to the European social order as they impact from within Europe's boundaries. In most cases, they even prove more hardened on their religious and cultural stances as their parents. Europe will do good to turn this motivation to its good, but is it ready to accept that the future landscape will depict more minarets than most of its politicians and the public is today comfortable with?
Europe, with its proclaimed values of tolerance, religious freedom, freedom of expression, equality, democracy and justice cannot ban Islam, or any other religion or foreign ideology for that matter, like so many of the third world countries so easily can and do. And it is this set of beliefs, values and freedoms that is paving the way for Islam and its followers to get a stronger hold in Europe.
So, Fitna, the film, is not only a realization of the fear and hatred of Islam but also an acknowledgment that Islam is having an impact on the way a European goes through his daily business and there is little one can do to stop this change.
FITNA : a burning of fire, a melting of (metals) in order to distinguish the bad from the good, a means whereby the condition of Aman is evinced in respect of good or evil, punishment, chastisement, conflict among people, faction and sedition, discord, dissension, difference of opinions, a misleading, causing to err, seduction, temptation.
(Arab-English Lexicon, Lane, E.)
Growing up in the age of digital animations, I was disappointed with the quality on display in this short film that is cobbled together with images out of TV and Internet. Most of these images have been actually published by various Terror groups around the world in their propaganda videos and they would definitely thank Mr. Geert Wilders for furthering their cause. Also, the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) wearing a turban shaped bomb on the head, this time with a lit fuse, was used without due permissions and the owner has sued Wilders for copyright infringement. This is no doubt another tactic to keep it in focus of the media and the people and the both would 'reach an agreement' rather conveniently.
Secondly, the message in the film or the criticism pointed at the Koran, marking it out as a book that encourages violence for the sake of violence and Has no respect or tolerance for other religions or values as long as they do not fall under the direct control of Muslim are not new at all. In fact, the verses shown in the video are frequently brought up by all opponents of both Islam as a religion and as a way of life. There are also many inconsistencies and errors in the film for example implying that female sexual mutilation is chartered by the Koran. Islam forbids such practices that are carried out not only by a very few Muslim but mostly non-Muslim Africans. This practice finds no place in either Koran or Hadeeth.
I am very pleased that for the great part there hasn't been any major violent incidents in response to the film and wish it could stay this way in future as well. But in the real world I am not that hopeful. I for one never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers nor the determination of a minority that is hell bound to impose its point of view on the majority thereby claiming representation. I hope Muslims would remain peaceful, reply with reason and be available to questions by their fellow non-Muslims, most of whom would be searching for answers or explanations. But that requires one to have a considerable knowledge of the religion in the first place and this is never a given. Not even in the case of very conservative or hard lined ones. Most of them don't even know the Line they are taking blindly following some miserable excuse for an Imam.
So we turn our attention to the creator, the film itself, the message it is trying to convey and the reasons why the West is afraid of Islam and Muslims.
This film however is not the only anti Islamic or anti-Muslim material to circulate the media in recent times. The much famed Danish Cartoons, the Film made by the murdered dutch director Van Gough are only examples. There is now an incarnation of the book "the Satanic Verses" by Sulman Rushdie at a German opera.
Here I would like to mention that Geert Wilders the person and for some it might also be interesting to know about his deep love and unquestioned support for Israel. It would definitely cater for the various conspiracy theories regarding the motives for the film.
But I would disregard this fact and focus on the film itself and the man behind it. It is however, to note that he is not someone who has had little or no interaction with Islam or the Muslims since Wilders has traveled extensively through Middle-East and Iran.
This film therefore a calculated effort in a series to try to westernize Islam. To somehow shame the Muslims into disregarding impart or whole of the Basic Islamic values that give Islam the makeup it has and restrict it to at most a collection of Rites and Prayers to be carried out in private without affecting the public or creating a nuisance. An Islam that is as far removed from public life as Christianity is from today's Europe. An Islam Light if you will.
All the verses shown in the film are indeed taken from various passages of the Koran. But should you only read these verses and makeup your mind or should you read the context in which they are written as well? For any student of the comparative religions, Koran is no more violent than other divine revelations be it the Bible or the Torah. It is however, much more politically active and thus much more influential. Another thing hat sets Koran apart is the fact that there has not been a single change or amendment made to it since it was compiled some 1400 years ago. And I've got news for Wilders, there wont be any passages taken out of it. The Koran embodies a religion. As the Koran states itself, No one may be forced into accepting it but anyone ready to accept it has to take it as a whole and make his choices under its guidelines.
But the main purpose of this article is to highlight the background of this fear and resentment against Islam.
Most European citizens and politician are , not unduly, concerned that the continent is changing. Its not the same country or town they grew up in. Thank globalization, they have seen their industrial might wither away. The skills and know-how that were once kept secret within communities are either irrelevant or are available to others in far flung lands as well. This has led to a feeling of insecurity towards feature that was not there when the generation currently in charge of the affairs and trusted with forming opinions was growing up.
The second but more visible change is demographical. After the post WWII Baby-Boom, the current generation is increasingly opting to have fewer children as compared to their parents. In presence of excellent health services, the older generation is enjoying longer lives, in some cases claiming pensions and other state benefits for a period longer than they spent working and paying into this system. This has led to an unfavorable skew in the ratio of those working to pay taxes and support the cradle to grave Social Welfare system that is still existent in most West-European nations. Enter immigrants, the cheap, often unskilled, poorly educated workforce that is ready to do the jobs the locals don't want. Interestingly, these immigrants leave their own countries because of a combination of political economic or social reasons. A large part of these immigrants originates from the former European colonies across Africa and Asia. These first generation immigrants are mostly thankful for a chance for a better life than the one they left behind and try to get by under any circumstances for even the worse they experience here is better than the best they left behind. Buoyed by this newfound success and hopeful of a better future these immigrant families have more children on average than the indigenous thus further enhancing the impact on the demographic make up of the host country. A large part of these Immigrants has turned out to be Muslim. With little or no interaction with the local communities, they wrongfully chose to build up parallel societies of their own. We see little turkeys, little Moroccos, little Pakistans, little Indias, little Africas and many more of these 'little' variations sprung up all across Europe. These people had small ambitions and for most part they were aware of their outsider status.
The current generation of youths born and being raised here are a different story. having been schooled and taught in the European civil societies, they rightfully consider themselves to be on par with those born to indigenous Europeans. Thanks to the European democratic and social values they learn, they are more inclined to decide for themselves to stand for whatever they consider to be right and just as they are to oppose the injustice and oppression. Rejected by the countries of their birth as outsiders or aliens, they cling to the religion or culture of their parents in search of a sense of identity. These youths could pose a potential threat to the European social order as they impact from within Europe's boundaries. In most cases, they even prove more hardened on their religious and cultural stances as their parents. Europe will do good to turn this motivation to its good, but is it ready to accept that the future landscape will depict more minarets than most of its politicians and the public is today comfortable with?
Europe, with its proclaimed values of tolerance, religious freedom, freedom of expression, equality, democracy and justice cannot ban Islam, or any other religion or foreign ideology for that matter, like so many of the third world countries so easily can and do. And it is this set of beliefs, values and freedoms that is paving the way for Islam and its followers to get a stronger hold in Europe.
So, Fitna, the film, is not only a realization of the fear and hatred of Islam but also an acknowledgment that Islam is having an impact on the way a European goes through his daily business and there is little one can do to stop this change.
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Whose war is it anyway?
I have never been involved in preaching, condoning, preparing, supporting or been part of any activity that can even remotely be termed as Terrorism. On the contrary, I have never broken laws of the land that I have lived in. Yet, and I am not alone in this situation that I share with millions of others around the world, I am a suspect. I am a suspect because of where I was born. I am a suspect because I am a Muslim. I am a suspect because I have an Arabic name and the same is true for my parents. I am perceived a threat to the public safety and I am sure some people in some 'agencies' would have read this post long before you and from now on you could also be on the watch list. They may have been doing so at the same time I was tipping the keys on my keyboard. I know its possible. My question is, what have I ever done to deserve this status. But more importantly, do I deserve this spacial status? Can I do something, anything to shed this ?
Apparently not.
The fact is, we are parts of a war not of our choosing but a war we have ended up in due to a combination of reasons.
Our position on the world map. Pakistan lies between India, China, Afghanistan and Iran. interestingly, if someone was to bet on what goes on in a single part of the world that could dramatically influence the future of the human civilization, you need not look any further. Specially once you take the other neighbors into account. Just a short hop across the gulf are ever 'involved' Arabs and the Israel. And being Muslim we end up being a part in that crisis as well. How convenient.
Our history. After nearly 800 years of Muslim (not Islamic) rule of (both in parts and whole) the combined Indian Sub-continent Muslims are still not a majority in the region. While it makes for a compelling argument if you are trying to prove Islam is not spread by sword, and the truth is the people following different religions did succeed in getting along for centuries with relative ease. Now though we are told to believe by both sides of the War on terror that it cant be done. Then comes the interesting period in our combined history when the European colonial masters, convinced of their own cultural and religious superiority, not only took on a missionary movement across the subcontinent and all other colonies worldwide but also exploited the local people and resources with utter contempt. In these times, anything that could provide the local third class citizens in their own lands with a sense of identity and unity was purged or corrupted as to hinder any united anti-colonial movements. This policy triggered the defensive and extremely conservative ideologies across Asia and Africa. Faced with a prospect of losing their religious identity, people clang sought to cling to a para-nationalistic ideology that promised to regain the lost pride and status that was once afforded to the Muslims. various Religeo-political movements in the Indian sub-continent and North Africa (especially Egypt) were fueled in most part due to the colonialism. The days of direct colonialism may be long over but the reminiscent of the exploitive and authoritative regimes litter the governments from Pakistan to Morocco.
Our political circumstances. All major flash points regardless of the location have deep political problems at root married with the fact that at least one party is Muslim. Islam is not shy of its Political and Social aspect that expects its followers to stand up for whats right and fight the wrong in the strongest possible way. The perception of right and wrong may differ from one waring faction to another but the basic idea is the same. In fact the ideology is the same to what the West in general and the Americans in particular base and justify their wars with. Upholding right and combating wrong. At least publicly. They are also bound to do so by their own self perceived moral high ground. The only difference between the two ideologies is that one is a political view point of a democratically elected government and the other is the decision reached by those who have witnessed grave acts of injustice in their own backyards and seeing no hope of justice through peaceful and democratic means even after a continuous suffrage spreading over decades, decide to take the matter into their own hands. These groups are increasingly disenchanted by their own so called representatives, most of whom are actively sponsored and/or backed by the western government. When the masses perceive some entity to be their enemy and the select elite who actually enjoy total control over resources and outlets of dissent. The more violent the struggle for their rights, higher the collateral damage, wider the recruiting base for such wars and lower the general trust and confidence in each other and hope of co-existence. People in these third world countries may not be able to rise up to change their own dictators but they do make note of all those flag bearers of democracy and human rights that help prolong their misery by accepting and supporting these tyrants.
The media. You sigh and shrug the tattered arguments accusing the media of bias but the fact is, it is biased. Biased not in favor of some imaginary Jewish secret society that lives by sucking blood of innocent Palestinian infants but biased in their own favor. Misery sells and misery of an American or a European with a buying power of 50,000$ a year sells much better than that of a Bangladeshi fisherman or a sub-Saharan African family living on less than a dollar a day. An Israeli settler suffering with shock is a bigger news than the 16 members of a Palestinian family annihilated by a single air strike. These shameful world perspectives and filtering glasses are doing more damage and indoctrinating more young Muslim men than those idiots that give Friday sermons encouraging to slaughter the infidels wherever they are found.
The lack of education. A combination of factors has lead to a wast majority of people in these lands having received little or no formal education. With media outlets being either state control or foreign media that is often suspicious and/or hostile to the national ideals, there is a huge lack of factual information. The History lessons at most of the schools could hardly be based on facts. On the contrary they end up galvanizing the distant glorious past, blaming the foreigners of all the ills while overlooking their own corruption, failures and bad judgments. The result is often in shape of nations far connected to ground realities. In Pakistan for example, more than half the population is illiterate. 80 million people who are dependant on others for information. These 'others', more often than not end up preaching their own perversive agendas and points of views.
Establishment and lack of democratic representation. With more than 40 years under military rule out of 60 years of independence from Britain, there isn't any political system in place that could provide the ordinary man with a say in his own matters. As a result the bureaucratic machinery set in place to rule a colony and not to serve a nation has gotten stronger to the point of invincibility. With intermarriages and relationships among the Military and civil bureaucracy, the industrialists and the Feudal, Pakistan's are decisions are made by an elite that is representative of less than 2% of its population. With the Judiciary being part of this evil cartel, chances of relief in courts are slim, even for out of favor Judges as seen recently. One cannot believe the scale of the problem unless you have experienced it your self by either being the victim or beneficiary of this system. These people cannot possibly be fired, are not prosecuted for their crimes and if very seldom they are, get out free. The general opinion being if you can get away with it, you can do anything you want.
Our demography. According to some UN statistics, more than 70% of Pakistanis are under the age of 30. That adds up to millions of mainly ill informed, unemployed, angry young Muslims with ready access to violent means thanx to the Afghan war against the Russians when they were trained, armed and indoctrinated by none other than the west to fight for the religion against the infidels, without any hope of justice being delivered by peaceful democratic means.
The current Afghan war is similar to the last one in the way how the ordinary afghan has suffered. This has led to the spillage of grief and eventually suffering to the Pakistan side of the Hindu-kush. With ever more increasing and ever so violent attacks in the previously peaceful (relatively) larger cities of Lahore , Karachi and the Twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are fueling similar sentiments among the more populous parts of the country. There is no doubt the War on terror has now reached the streets of Lahore and Islamabad.
But my question remains, Who's war is it any way. Is it still your war if you don't start it and cannot end it? Is it still your war if you cannot win it even if your opponent looses it because If its my war, which side am I on? Do I get to pick a side or is the decision already being made for me? As a young Muslim, do I have any chance of escaping this war? Can I be a non party? Can one be a non party to a massacre? For a civilized society with its moral values, is there something such as a being neutral to a crime? Should one not intervene to stop a murder? If there is no crime ,why are innocent people loosing lives? How will this end? Will this end?
These are the questions I am not sure I can answer all and be a non-party. I am any sure of one thing, when You are Your own opponent, You lose.
If you can help me reach a decision, I am waiting. Is it my War? Is it your war?
Apparently not.
The fact is, we are parts of a war not of our choosing but a war we have ended up in due to a combination of reasons.
Our position on the world map. Pakistan lies between India, China, Afghanistan and Iran. interestingly, if someone was to bet on what goes on in a single part of the world that could dramatically influence the future of the human civilization, you need not look any further. Specially once you take the other neighbors into account. Just a short hop across the gulf are ever 'involved' Arabs and the Israel. And being Muslim we end up being a part in that crisis as well. How convenient.
Our history. After nearly 800 years of Muslim (not Islamic) rule of (both in parts and whole) the combined Indian Sub-continent Muslims are still not a majority in the region. While it makes for a compelling argument if you are trying to prove Islam is not spread by sword, and the truth is the people following different religions did succeed in getting along for centuries with relative ease. Now though we are told to believe by both sides of the War on terror that it cant be done. Then comes the interesting period in our combined history when the European colonial masters, convinced of their own cultural and religious superiority, not only took on a missionary movement across the subcontinent and all other colonies worldwide but also exploited the local people and resources with utter contempt. In these times, anything that could provide the local third class citizens in their own lands with a sense of identity and unity was purged or corrupted as to hinder any united anti-colonial movements. This policy triggered the defensive and extremely conservative ideologies across Asia and Africa. Faced with a prospect of losing their religious identity, people clang sought to cling to a para-nationalistic ideology that promised to regain the lost pride and status that was once afforded to the Muslims. various Religeo-political movements in the Indian sub-continent and North Africa (especially Egypt) were fueled in most part due to the colonialism. The days of direct colonialism may be long over but the reminiscent of the exploitive and authoritative regimes litter the governments from Pakistan to Morocco.
Our political circumstances. All major flash points regardless of the location have deep political problems at root married with the fact that at least one party is Muslim. Islam is not shy of its Political and Social aspect that expects its followers to stand up for whats right and fight the wrong in the strongest possible way. The perception of right and wrong may differ from one waring faction to another but the basic idea is the same. In fact the ideology is the same to what the West in general and the Americans in particular base and justify their wars with. Upholding right and combating wrong. At least publicly. They are also bound to do so by their own self perceived moral high ground. The only difference between the two ideologies is that one is a political view point of a democratically elected government and the other is the decision reached by those who have witnessed grave acts of injustice in their own backyards and seeing no hope of justice through peaceful and democratic means even after a continuous suffrage spreading over decades, decide to take the matter into their own hands. These groups are increasingly disenchanted by their own so called representatives, most of whom are actively sponsored and/or backed by the western government. When the masses perceive some entity to be their enemy and the select elite who actually enjoy total control over resources and outlets of dissent. The more violent the struggle for their rights, higher the collateral damage, wider the recruiting base for such wars and lower the general trust and confidence in each other and hope of co-existence. People in these third world countries may not be able to rise up to change their own dictators but they do make note of all those flag bearers of democracy and human rights that help prolong their misery by accepting and supporting these tyrants.
The media. You sigh and shrug the tattered arguments accusing the media of bias but the fact is, it is biased. Biased not in favor of some imaginary Jewish secret society that lives by sucking blood of innocent Palestinian infants but biased in their own favor. Misery sells and misery of an American or a European with a buying power of 50,000$ a year sells much better than that of a Bangladeshi fisherman or a sub-Saharan African family living on less than a dollar a day. An Israeli settler suffering with shock is a bigger news than the 16 members of a Palestinian family annihilated by a single air strike. These shameful world perspectives and filtering glasses are doing more damage and indoctrinating more young Muslim men than those idiots that give Friday sermons encouraging to slaughter the infidels wherever they are found.
The lack of education. A combination of factors has lead to a wast majority of people in these lands having received little or no formal education. With media outlets being either state control or foreign media that is often suspicious and/or hostile to the national ideals, there is a huge lack of factual information. The History lessons at most of the schools could hardly be based on facts. On the contrary they end up galvanizing the distant glorious past, blaming the foreigners of all the ills while overlooking their own corruption, failures and bad judgments. The result is often in shape of nations far connected to ground realities. In Pakistan for example, more than half the population is illiterate. 80 million people who are dependant on others for information. These 'others', more often than not end up preaching their own perversive agendas and points of views.
Establishment and lack of democratic representation. With more than 40 years under military rule out of 60 years of independence from Britain, there isn't any political system in place that could provide the ordinary man with a say in his own matters. As a result the bureaucratic machinery set in place to rule a colony and not to serve a nation has gotten stronger to the point of invincibility. With intermarriages and relationships among the Military and civil bureaucracy, the industrialists and the Feudal, Pakistan's are decisions are made by an elite that is representative of less than 2% of its population. With the Judiciary being part of this evil cartel, chances of relief in courts are slim, even for out of favor Judges as seen recently. One cannot believe the scale of the problem unless you have experienced it your self by either being the victim or beneficiary of this system. These people cannot possibly be fired, are not prosecuted for their crimes and if very seldom they are, get out free. The general opinion being if you can get away with it, you can do anything you want.
Our demography. According to some UN statistics, more than 70% of Pakistanis are under the age of 30. That adds up to millions of mainly ill informed, unemployed, angry young Muslims with ready access to violent means thanx to the Afghan war against the Russians when they were trained, armed and indoctrinated by none other than the west to fight for the religion against the infidels, without any hope of justice being delivered by peaceful democratic means.
The current Afghan war is similar to the last one in the way how the ordinary afghan has suffered. This has led to the spillage of grief and eventually suffering to the Pakistan side of the Hindu-kush. With ever more increasing and ever so violent attacks in the previously peaceful (relatively) larger cities of Lahore , Karachi and the Twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are fueling similar sentiments among the more populous parts of the country. There is no doubt the War on terror has now reached the streets of Lahore and Islamabad.
But my question remains, Who's war is it any way. Is it still your war if you don't start it and cannot end it? Is it still your war if you cannot win it even if your opponent looses it because If its my war, which side am I on? Do I get to pick a side or is the decision already being made for me? As a young Muslim, do I have any chance of escaping this war? Can I be a non party? Can one be a non party to a massacre? For a civilized society with its moral values, is there something such as a being neutral to a crime? Should one not intervene to stop a murder? If there is no crime ,why are innocent people loosing lives? How will this end? Will this end?
These are the questions I am not sure I can answer all and be a non-party. I am any sure of one thing, when You are Your own opponent, You lose.
If you can help me reach a decision, I am waiting. Is it my War? Is it your war?
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Justice
It is an accusation of theft and carries a tough penalty under the laws of the time. The accused is a woman. Well connected family. These connections are trying to influence the Judge to let the matter slide or perhaps be lenient. The tribe is powerful, influential and hold prestige among the whole of Arab world and beyond. The accused and the Judge both belong to the Quraish. The Judge is Muhammad 
and the accused is
And then there was the second Caliph, Umar. Regarded by many a historian as the greatest administrator there ever was. Even though his decade long reign stretched and encompassed the great vastness of the
The real ground breaking message was the equality and the all enveloping Justice that followed Muslim rule in all its vastness. Umar once proclaimed, "If Allah had only revealed one word, "e-de-Lu" (do Justice) instead of the whole Quran. The shape of the religion could not have been much different."
So, in his words, the divine order to “Do Justice” or “Be Just” encompasses the whole encompassing message of Islam.
If we look at the situation in the so called Muslim world today, with its sixty odd countries, we cannot find a single country that fits the bill. And one must wonder why it is. The fact of the matter is, these are all countries with Muslims in Majority but not a single Islamic country.
By definition, an Islamic country must be one applying all of the basic Islamic Laws. Here I must differentiate between the basic Islamic laws from Shariah.
The basic Islamic laws for a state guarantee a society where everyone is equal before Law, a state must protect its week against the strong, stop the wrong and encourage the right, ensure the safety of the citizens’ life, property and honour and defend its citizens from external threats. Shariah, on the other hand is an interpretation of the individual laws regulating lives of Muslims and others living in a society and may vary significantly depending upon the interpretation of each individual source of inspiration be it Quran, Hadeeth or historical precedence.
The notion of Basic Law is not uncommon in modern western constitutions where it is present in some name or other be it Magna Carta, The basic Law, Bill of rights and so on. The Basic laws are therefore to define the responsibility of the State to its People and the responsibility of the People to the State. The basic responsibilities of a State include defending the citizens’ life, property and rights. These are supplemented by the state providing the infrastructure and the basic building blocks for the society to function. The citizens must follow the Laws of the land and strive to achieve betterment for them thus contributing to collective betterment. This can only be achieved if both parties stay with in limits. For the state to stay in limits, the citizens are able to elect their representatives who would thereafter oversee the matters of the state and ensure the wellbeing of the common man is at heart. For the individuals to stay in limits, the rule of law must be enforced by the state. In a representative society (democracy, in any form), the actions of those in charge are driven by those who elected them to these places of authority. Apart from the position or office these individuals hold, they are merely individuals, every single one of them equal to every single one in the public. It is this basic principle that is the fundament of the modern democracies the world over. Interestingly, the oldest modern democracy,
So it is not democracy and the freedom of speech and expression that is so revolutionary in the western societies but the sheer Justice and its sense thereof that is prevalent in the citizens. It is this sense of security of their lives and their rights that civilises them. They don’t have to tend to violent means to get what is theirs. They can therefore claim to be civilised because this civility is guaranteed. They can be proud of this achievement for they went through civil wars and bloody political campaigns before they reached at where they are today. All are equal before Law, be it a commoner or a royal or a head of state by any other name.
There is a lot wrong with
We expect to be treated with respect but are not ready to afford to someone else. We protest if someone gets ahead of us using unfair means meanwhile trying to figure out how he did it. Not to prosecute but to emulate. We pay our law enforcement officers minimum wage, demand 24/7, stifle the process at any level we can and then expect them to uphold law. We must be the mist ambitious nation on earth.
We need education, we need health care, and we do need a government that represents us and protects us, protects our life, respect and property. But most of wall we need to build a system that provides justice. A system that ensures no misdeed will go unpunished. A system where no one can stifle someone else’s rights and then expect to get away with it. We need a system that checks what our public servants do and how they go about doing it. We need courts that can call on anyone and everyone to explain and defend them if and when accused.
This lack of justice is among other things fueling extremism as well. While there are those who are plundering billions every year, others ar eleft no choice but to dispatch their childern to madrassahs because thats the best prospect for these kids on offer. One has to wonder what the worst could be. political miscairages are pusheing minority communities and smaller provinces and tribes to resort to armed uprisings and the vicious cycle if further fueled by attempts to crush these movements for rights with force, often resulting in considerable collateral damage without any sense or reason.How can we achieve it? How about refusing to accept favours and preferential treatment if offered. How about refusing to give preferential treatment if demanded? How about standing up for what is right and against what is wrong if we witness it? If we cannot do that at least let the offender know that we didn’t like it. It is tough and demands great courage. I wish I did not have to use the term but it is of course the greatest Jihad that you can do. Start with yourself. Do justice to yourself and those around you. Encourage others to stick to the book. No matter people will resist it for it is very hard to change old habits but I see no other way. Start with yourself. The satisfaction of doing the right thing is highly addictive
No doubt Allah may tolerate societies bound on Kufr but he destroys annihilates those bound on Zulm.
In the end I just wanted to post some Ayaat from the Quran that cover the topic of Justice. There are no doubt many more references and sources of inspiration but at the moment, with my limited knowledge I am posting only the following as they would suffice if one chooses to believe.
For the non-Muslim readers who don’t believe the Quran to be the Word of Allah, please refer to your constitutions.
Please remember me in your prayers. I’ll be waiting for your suggestions, views, criticism and guidance to continue.
"We sent aforetime our messengers with clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance, that men may stand forth in Justice." [Al-Hadeed 57:25].
"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." [An-Nisa 4:35]
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