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.
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?
Now the problem is that we get angry when our beloved Prophet P.B.U.H is called a Mullah but dont get angry or take any notice at all if our beloved Prophet’s teachings are disgraced, nullified, joked around and not adopted. I could never understand this kind of cosmetic love. For example its just like I keep on saying to my wife that “honey, I love you more than anything in the world” but never do things practically, physically or emotionally to make her happy or content. I dont think wife or any human being can be fooled around with lip service only and we think that we can such with Allah or His Prphet – how insane !! This is just a comment on our (including mine’s) behaviours so please do not take it personally. And I or anybody would not know what’s in the heart of others – MSK (male or female – I am not sure) could be very pious and close to Allah than all of us, inshallah.
Whats wrong in calling somebody a Mullah if West has made Mullah a bad word? In our traditions Mullah was never considered to be a bad word. Atleast in language we need to be freed up from western shackles.
Its not about me, you or somebody else wants, in Islam it is about what Allah wants. I am not asking you to read tafseer or “interpretations” – we (including me) just need to open Qura’an and make our decisions based on this “kitaab ul furqaan”. As a muslim I am only interested in what is right and wrong based on Qura’an and Sunnah not in what men or women or societies want. By the way one can be naked or can drink or can do anything in her or his house and Islam does not allow anybody or state to do anything in regards to that but when all of the above is done publically then Islam impose some duties on state.
Also I did not get the answer if Prophet P.B.U.H or first four caliph would allow such behaviours.