Adil Najam
Pakistan is a land of creative cell-phone ringtones. Sometimes, I feel, a little too creative.
You are sitting in a meeting with some very self-important and staid people - officials, businessmen, buzurg grandfather types - and one of their cell-phone rings: and the ring-tone is a computer synthesis of “Sanou Nehr Waaley Pul Tey Bulla Kay” or “Nawa Aaya Aye Soonia.”
Even though the first is one of my favorite Noor Jahan songs and the second my all-time favorite movie, my head spins and I wonders if in a society where everyone is always so proper and so cognizant of “loug kiya sochaiN gay” (what will people think?), cell-phone ringtones are like catharsis. One of the things that lets people show that little bit of their “fun side” that they were otherwise suppressing. Kind of like the otherwise all-too-serious professor in the US coming to class wearing a Mickey Mouse tie (I actually own more than one of those).
Yet, it seems that the vigilantism of the piety police that is the extremist fringe in Pakistan wants to even snatch (literally) this little pleasure from us.
Here is a small news item in the Daily Times (January 18):
Militants snatch computers from ringtone shops
LANDI KOTAL: Local Taliban militants snatched computers from ringtone shops in the main Landi Kotal Bazaar on Thursday, sources said. Earlier, they added, the militants had warned them to stop downloading ringtones onto mobiles, terming it an “un-Islamic” practice. Around 10 armed Taliban came to the bazaar and took away computers from ringtone shops at around 5pm.
Whatever else you do, folks, please do not try to answer the question in the headline. It is rhetorical. Frankly, I have very little interest in what anyone, least of all some militants, have to say about this and I am sure that God has far more important things to deal with right now than how my cell phone rings.
I have chosen to write about this question because I think there are two types of people who do take things like this seriously. So serious are they in their beliefs that they are even willing to condone violence in the name of those beliefs. I am afraid of what the fanaticism of these two extreme groups can lead to, especially in Pakistan.
One type are the puritanical extremists within Islam who think that they and they alone have a monopoly on piety and theirs and only their view is right and who are willing - even eager - to impose, even violently, their view on all others. The Taliban, of whatever ilk, are one such group. The second type are those who obsess about things that are supposedly wrong with Islam and who love to believe such nonsense because it reinforces their existing prejudices. Who are prone to taking such actions by the extremists and then project it as if all Muslims are like this. This set of people are often equally extreme in their beliefs.
Luckily, neither is a majority. Unfortunately, the ranks of both are swelling. Oddly, but not surprisingly, these two extreme types have much - too much - in common; including the monopoly they think they hold over the truth.
Sadly, but also not surprisingly, these two groups are probably the biggest threat to Islam and Muslims today, including and especially in Pakistan. Even though I fear their impact and influence in Pakistan and on Pakistan, I - like most Pakistanis I know - reject the message of both these extreme groups. I prefer, instead, to listen to cell-phone ringtones that go “Sanou Nehr Waaley Pul Tey Bulla Kay” or “Nawa Aaya Aye Soonia.”
well said D-A-N….
I find that many people are so polarized in their thinking that they lack the capacity to look at issues with any clarity. I don’t think Pakistanis want to turn the country in to Afghanistan (because thats what we’ll get if the mullahs are in control) yet I don’t think there is any indication that the country is going to go the other extreme either, which is the way the mullahs see it
.
What is troubling is how even “normal” behavior (such as downloading a ring tone) is seen as “being on the other side” by the mullahs….if they have trouble with ringtones and are ready to attack people, it is not surprising then that they will be happy to commit genocide or suicide bombings or attacking mosques too because all those awful acts will be for a “higher cause” that only they can understand and justify.
@D_A_N
I agreed with Bilal ? in which post? if so, on the face value of a revendication
justified by the non-absence of ” Authorities who should
have taken things in their hands, saying, now look, folks
functioning the writ is authoritie’s job, 239 Talibans cannot
run the 165 million’s country, some of their revendacations
can be authentic, but it should go thru proper channels.
In Islam. Anarchy is abhored and strickly forbidden , the
elected legislation should in the parlaiment propose
the project of ligislation in question. and get the votes.!
In another situation when the authorities, are not serious
in public order, no laoud music respecting the decibels
allowed, similarly, in the muhalla, abuses of Loudspeakers
to make the life of enfants, babies, buzurgs, ladies miserable,
they can’nt have sleep!hours and hours of mishmash, reciting
irrelevant Mauzu, no place no audience, making listen to
the doors and windows of the Bazar,
Bazaron mein Shour-shraba will be illegal,
In Karchi near my Abba jan’s house a kilometer away a musjid started giving dars on L.speaker, one day, two days, third day I went to them horrible over grown beards very savage, try to stop me to cut the wires, but I did it and brought all their BUNG_BOSRA out on the street, the responsible came to talk to me with 5 lathi bardar jiyalay, I warned the leader that I will bring my jiyalas then ??
so the chap was reasonable, and we started discussing the matter peacfully, and the Mullah got convinced after a while, and it was arranged,
I discovered that their chef told them at the begining that “O chaloji dubba fix kar deoo, koi
nehein puchay ga, ay Allah de Kam hay ”
I said Allah da kam tay hay par lokan day demagh
Baja denday way. Any way they stopped the broadcasting
of Dars in strange language and just outdated subjects
which had no sar-pair.- so this was the outcome,
i am so tired withmy bronchits and went to hear
Mushy in Brussels, hoorible behaviour of pendoos, never
seen in mylife, will write on this matter as it is intolerable.
@ Dear Rui,
yes, this is where we all have differences, State and religion
when working together, that means the business should
be run by all the partners of social life, making legislations
alone by some baised legislators might attack Human Rights
freedom of expression and freedom of practicing Islamic
legislation and Qanoon, the functiones of those remain
identical, law and order, economy, defence, employement,
business, justice, policies, etc etc etc.
The Human Rights demands full participations of all
citizens without distinction. Do you think by any chance
that relgious factions are not capable to work in the Govt.
decorate their banquets, protokoles civil services ??
Rafay Kashmiri,
You’re right: Radicalists usually aren’t the poor people in the islamic societies.
I think I didn’t make myself clear: I meant Islam still has an intense power on social and cultural muslim life, which doesn’t happen with christianism, per example. “Modernization” was used as meaning the necessity of leaving religion aside of state’s matter. The Taliban are a group of people with political intents. You don’t see this kind of groups surging in the West, and that’s because no state is based on religious morality.
Best regards
@ Rafay Kashmiri….
Hmm….so if you agree that the Taliban are not on the right path..then how come you agreed with Bilal’s post that they are?
please make up your mind….it is known to help in the development of a coherent argument
and to be honest what me or my ‘comrades’ (whatever that means) has got nothing to do with the topic under discussion…mainly because I am not killing people or applauding while people are killed because they do not agree with me
your post really is confusing..i would invite you to please expand on it…
namely…..there is Genocide in Afghanistan ….so the Mullahs are suicide bombing fellow Muslims for listening to Music…getting their beards trimmed or shaved or sending their daughers to school?
pray tell sir just how does that make any sense…
and just so we have our facts straight here…where is the Genocide in Swat??…a semi literate Mullah stops he state from giving Polio medication to children……executes POWs….(some mujahid huh??)….blows up every shop or school he does not agree with..all but declares independance from YOUR country and you expect the state to sit back and do nothing?
where is the Genocide Sir? where??? …i am calling you on this lie and I demand an answer here….please clarify your position..
These terrorists could not operate themselves without cell phone and you see them operating through these fancy sattelite phones and cell phones for communication as well as for bomb triggering. So, who do they have on their phones if they do not like ringtones and bells because they are all music?
Well not that you’ll make an honest effort to write about that, but even highlighting such a notion gives me comfort.
Pinpointing the stubborness of such people who would propogate such ideals on the convenient ride of religion is fine with me. Nobody can deny that this extremism would eat us from inside like its already doing while i write.
Let me give you my two categories of people who are a threat to our stability and cohesion as a society.
Enough said abt the religious zealots and their “satanic” plots …… what abt the the secular extremists.
In my view, some of the misconceptions that arise in people with religion as a code of life, is due to what they see as a percieved threat to ISLAM in our society.
While there was alot of hopla blabber regarding the introduction r rather deletion of religion course materials from our text books, there is some truth in that also.
I’ve myself seen the new textbooks and they are not as comprehensively demonstrative of our national heroes than it ever used to be.
WHile we have the convenince of deliberating on such moves from a distant angle, parents whose kids will be in the line of fire of such education have the right to be suspicious of the motives behind such actions..
The phrase that We’ve got much bigger problems than this is not valid anymore because this religious divide has left us first bedazzled, now befuddled and perhaps soon bemusing as the biggest threat we could have hoped to avoid.
The fact is that these ringtones ca really be really annoying. But, still, that is no reason to become violent.
Interesting thing. When you open this post in full you see a set of ads come up right at the top of the page. I guess these are generated automatically by google. Guess what the first ad is there right now. It is for “MUHAMMAD RINGTONES”. I wonder what the Taliban have to say about that