Adil Najam
From all of us at All Things Pakistan we wish our regular readers, our contributors, and all passers-by a wonderful and very happy Eid Mubarak (Eid Greetings). We wish you happiness, prosperity and all things good; now and forever.
[Pictures: Empire State Building, New York City, lit green to mark Eid-ul-Fitr, 2007].
We had started our Eid post a year ago with exactly the words above. Our sentiments remain the same, so do the words. Our best Eid wishes to all Muslims everywhere, including Pakistani Muslims everywhere.
The post had also highlighted that Eid is about community. And so is Pakistaniat.Com. We believed that then, and we believe that now. This year since the last Eid has been tumultuous. There have been too many ups and down. Maybe more downs than ups. The guiding spirit of community that had been behind this blog has not wavered. We have never wanted to make this a haven for like-minded robots who all think alike and say the same things. We have strong beliefs and so do you. We have wanted this to be a forum to share those beliefs, to discuss, to debate. But never to misbehave. Never to disrespect. Never to degrade. We do not want people to be disagreeable, but we never shy from disagreeing ourselves or letting others do that same.
Why am I saying all this today, in our Eid post? Because I believe that the spirit of Eid has much to teach us all about coexistence and respect for each other. This morning as I got up after Eid prayers and began embracing those around me, I realized that I disagreed (sometimes profoundly) with many of those who I was embracing on many issues, political, ideological, and others. I am sure that some of them disagreed with me on many issues even more than I disagreed with them. But that did not reduce the intensity or sincerity of the hug. Hopefully, that post-namaz embrace was not just a ritual for me or for them.
The galley milna at the end of the namaz, I realized, is not an indication of my total agreement with those I am hugging. It is an appreciation that at a higher level we are the same and we adhere to the same hopes, same aspirations, same principles. Even if you think it is just a ritual, it is a ritual of coming together, not of tearing apart!
Pakistaniat – both the term and the blog – is similar. It is a commonality of identity that does not demand common views and the same opinions, but merely the same aspirations for our nation. So, as I finished embracing those around me I thought about Eid, and I also thought about Pakistaniat. But, most of all, I thought about identity. Because that is central to both.
So, let us embrace each other today – in Eid and in Pakistaniat. Tomorrow we will have plenty to crib about and disagree about again. Today, let us just embrace each other. Not because we are all the same, but despite our differences.
Here is a sampling of our past Eid posts:
Eid Mubarak!
Eid Poetry
Hajj and Eid Greetings
Bakra On-Line
Multiple Eids
Auspicious Days: Juma-tul-Vida, Diwali, and Eid
Gallay hum ko laga kar milliye
Eid Is…
Eid Dishes.
Thank you to all for their kind wishes and congrats. I should add, however, that the Nobel was awarded to the work of the IPCC (a panel of eminent global climate change experts), so I am just one of the many experts on that Panel. I have served on the IPCC for some 8 years, the last many as a Convening Lead Author. So, yes, it does feel terrific to have one’s work and research celebrated by the Nobel Committee, but it really is an honor shared by many (including by Dr. Tariq Banuri who played a leading role in the IPCC’s evolution in the past).
Some links: Dawn, Boston Globe, The Fletcher School.
Yes, big time congratulations, Adil!!!
I didn’t know until I read some of the comments above and then went to look up Dawn. Congratulations once again!
Eid Mubarak to ATP readers and congratulations to Adil
This is really an Eid for Prof Adil Najam. :)
Many many congratulations for the nobel prize.
Not a single comment on the green ESB? It is the first time that the Empire State Building has been lit green for EID. Blog entry here http://lajawab.blogspot.com/2007/10/empire-state-b uilding-to-go-green-for.html
and btw EiDMuBarAk to all ~~~