Adil Najam
PIA print advertisement from the 1960s (Originally uploaded by PakPositive.com which is a blog that highlights the positives aspects of Pakistan).
Let me continue with the ‘Image Pakistan’ theme in choosing the picture for today. I find this advert for PIA absolutely fascinating; both for what it says about how PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) saw itself and how it saw Pakistan (or wanted Pakistan to be seen).
Was this the reality of Pakistan before theso-called ‘darhi wallahs’ took center stage? Or was this ‘image’ of Pakistan as much out-of-sync with the reality of what was Pakistan then, as the image of the bearded-gun-totting-bomb- throwing-jihadi-Pakistani is today?
Speaking of ‘image’ and ‘brand’ the Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP) has recently launched an initiative on the subject and held a thoughtful and thought-provoking event on he subject in New York on June 3. I was asked to moderate part of the program, and found the discussion to be mature, reasoned and reasonable–something we should have more of.
When you live in a society you follow the norms of that society - while you can run around naked on nude beach (if you like) but if you do that in NYC, you will be booked. So this whole notion of “I can do whatever I like” or “do not impose your views on mine” - these only go to a certain extent, if you cross the social and moral lines of the prevaling society ineffect - soemeon will stop you (if not the state) - that’s how it works, even in the most advanced so called liberal world.
I have skimmed through the comments on this post. It is my view that this ad is in no way “exploiting” the woman in question. The very first thought that hits my brain upon seeing this ad is how stunningly beautiful the model is. From a business standpoint, it is excellent advertizing considering the originality of the commercial, plus the fact that the airline’s tagline was “The most relaxing way to fly”. This and other commercials like it are not exploiting women. On the contrary, they are celebrating women. A woman is the beautiful side of humanity, the more loving half of humanity, the more deserving of freedom. Why force every woman in the country to lock herself up or cover every inch of her skin while out in public? If your mother, sister, wife etc does not want to be “indecent” then by all means let them live as they wish. But to say that this is offensive is partisan. Its only a tank top. How does a tank top cause even remote offense unless you are a bigoted, self righteous, self appointed guardian of morality? I am not flaming any person who posted here, but the zealots who tear down billboards bearing the images of women in Pakistan.
I am perfectly okay with my girlfriend, wife, mother or daughter appearing in any commercial she wants to. Why should somebody else impose his ideology on her? The bottom line is that liberalism and tolerance mean that you live others live the way they want to, even if it is against your own beliefs. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. Don’t force your religious ideas on me or my family please. This ad would not appear in the press today because of the religious constraints. That is why I believe this ad is such a symbol of Pakistani liberalism.
As for this ad being an accurate representation of the 60’s Pakistan, from what I have heard from my mother/grand mother/father about old school Pakistan, it is at least semi accurate.
A string of thought that I think can knit all these factions of thought is that Islam is not concerned purely with indivisual’s faith.So therefore in the early Caliphate did live the aforementioned masses of non-muslims;no one is forced to pray,do Hajj wear hijab(well it is a social-cum-personal issue)or have darhhi.
Islam has a more holistic goal of collective benifit for everyone.An influential majority is aimed at believing that if Allah’s orders aren’t obeyed, the concerned indivisuals may have to face the music sometimes.It is analogous to all of us thinking robbery a crime,smoking bad and raping evil.This combined with a true altruistic concern and compassion for others should force us to stop such wrong things from happening.
Such an approach help those who are at a weaker level of goodness(like me).Such people are analogous to those who think robbery is wrong but may do it when needed.By providing a social ambience in which one is compassionately explained and even forced not to think about doing wrong do alot of good to us all.
I think we have a society the elements of which have different yardsticks of what is right and what is not.
Publicly striping,using obscene language and the likes are totally unacceptable,drinking may be fine somewhere,movies and music have fans as well as refrainers while males not wearing proper shirts seem accepted at large.It is when an act is dislocated from your spectrum to someone else’s that clash arises.
If an Islamic country state should be allowed to force a Islamic lifestyle on the people - should in the governments in secular countries be allowed to exclude expression of faith from public life? If it is ok for the government or mullah’s to force wearing of hijab then is it ok for the french Government to to forbid Muslim girls from wearing hijab? If we are going to accept the mandate of forcing Islamic lifestyle on other people then we should also accept forcing of non Islamic lifestyle on us.
I think my point was very aptly made by MSK when he said: Decisions of faith SHOULD be based on people’s personal faith might be. That also means everyone has the right to do things according to THEIR faith. I would certainly be very very worried if Muslims living in a country where the majority is non-Muslim were forced to act against their faith and according to someone else’s. The same should be true for non-Muslims in Muslim countries, no?
Hopefully, Mr. Ijaz and I can agree that anyone trying to impose their vision on others (on religious grounds or on grounds of so-called modernness) are equally wrong and equally intolerant. If so, then we also agree that all people have a right to make decisions for themsleves on what they do, what they wear, etc. I fnd it equally unacceptable to put women into a skirt as someone trying to put women in a burqa.
I am still not prepared to accept the equation of mullah with religious person. That is just wrong. Was wrong when Bulleh Shah was warning us about the dangers of the mullahs and is wrong today. I consider myself to be a VERY RELIGIOUS person. I take my faith seriously. I just don’t try to impose it on anyone. This is why I find the mullah so dangerous. Decisions of faith SHOULD be based on people’s personal faith might be. That also means everyone has the right to do things according to THEIR faith. I would certainly be very very worried if Muslims living in a country where the majority is non-Muslim were forced to act against their faith and according to someone else’s. The same should be true for non-Muslims in Muslim countries, no?
On your last prayer. I fully endorse it. Amen to that, for everyone.
Dear Ijaz:
I have followed your exchange with MSK with interest. You say, “to me my deen Islam is the most important assest…”. That is an unnecessary statement because I didn’t feel if MSK was trying to snatch anything from you or even to dislodge you from your firmly held perch. He was simply trying to explain his/her viewpoint.
You make an interesting observation, even though to prove a different point, when you say, “… more Christian, Jews, Zortishts and people of other faiths were part of Muslim lands (during the early caliphate) than they may be found in today’s Pakistan”. Did you know why?
Pakistan, too, was a very diverse country when it came into being? It had between 20-25 percent non-Muslim citizens including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Zorastrians (Parsis). That is why one fourth of the Pakistani flag was designed to be white, representing the minority faiths. But because of the mullaism (do what I do, wear what I wear, look the way I look, and talk the way I talk, or else …) most of them left the country. Today the minority faiths represent only 2 percent of the population. It was Pakistan’s loss. And look what is happening among the remaining 98 percent.
Iqbal was right when he said openly, “Deen-e-mulla fi sabilillah fasaad !” and then more subtly: “Teri azaaN maiN nahiN hai meri sahar ka piyaam”.
To your prayer at the end of your message, I would say Amen!
Ok so then Mullah is not name calling :-) but “Cool Angraizi medium guys and gals” is. I wish you had used the same logic when you advised me to refrain from name calling. It should be very clear, if we are into serious discussion, that I was referring to a behaviour which I think is completely immersed in extremely deep inferiority complex when I used “cool Angraizi guys and gals”. One does not become cool angraizee medium if he or she writes in english :-) rather it is a reflection of those “wanna be” behaviours which we observe left and right espeially within Pakistan’s elite class.
Anyways very respectfuly I “completely” disagree with your ideas because to me my deen Islam is the most important assest for me and it comes first before any other ideology, ism, liking or wanting. Now if you call me bigot, fundamentalist or Mullah :-) - I really do not care.
For your kind information the huge lands those four Great Caliphs ruled over were much more diversed culturally and religiously than today’s Pakistan and yet to them Qura’an and Sunnah were the supreme Law NOT the people’s choices (of course muslims of those eras always preferred Islam over their Nafs and were never ashamed of Islam like the muslims of today are …. to the extent that they do not want Islam to be the way of their lives). By the way more Christian, Jews, Zortishts and people of other faiths were part of Muslim lands than they may be found in today’s Pakistan. So keeping in view the actions of our Prophet P.B.U.H and four rightly guided Caliph I find it completely out of logic and place when one says that whatever Islamic Republic of Pakistan does should be based on what people want.
This vision is so weak, lousy and baseless that if we extrapolate on this further then we will find that there should not be any place for religion, Prophets or guidance from Allah in human life because the whole framework of Prophets which is based on Tazkiya, Anzaar and Dawah will look as if they tried to impose the ideologies on free human race.
Anyways to your point that these religious people/mullahs think that they are better muslims than others and that they find others mistake all the time etc etc …. I think Islam has no option for such disgusting behaviour and if somebody does it then he does it because of not knowing what Islam demands from them, actually he/she disgraces himself/herself in the similar fashion the liberals or those “cool Angraizi medium guys and gals” do the disgrace to themselves by going against the well established teachings of Islam becasue of their Inferiority Complexes of superlative degree and not knowing what Islam demands from them.
This is my last post and will not respond further because I do not see any point.
May Allah bless all of us with right knowledge, wisdom and courage to accept our shortcomings and mistakes. Regards…. Ijaz
Dear Mr. Ijaz
-On Mullah, maybe I was not clear. I do not care what the ‘West’ thinks r who it labels what. Mullah, to me is someone who is dogmatic about religion, cares more for ritual rathen than intent, focusses on the word rather than the intent of religion, and is forever concerned (interfering) in the actions of others and the imposition of his own narrow version of religion on other (by definition a Mullah is arrogant becasue they assume that they KNOW religion better than other… the easiest way to tell who is a Mullah is to find people who spend their time identifying what is wrong with others rather than doing the right things themselves; and nearly always they point fingers at rituals. Nor is this a new terminology. Bulleh Shah and others were talking about the same mullah that I am. So, in my view the Prophet was not a Mullah. He was kool becasue he was anti-establishment, a revolutionary, a visionary. Mullahs are usually none of these things.
-As to what the caliphs did. That is historically interesting and surely there may be lessons in some of those actions that we could learn from. What Pakistan does should be based on what the people of Pakistan want. And ALL people of Pakistan (not all of whom are Muslims and nor all are ’similar’ Muslims). As a Pakistani I am interested in what is good for Pakistan and for ALL her people.
P.S. It should not matter whether I am male or female, right?