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.
How can we celebrate eid when millions of people are dying , million others are homeless , millions others dont have food to eat and we are celebrating eid… I am not talking about millions of muslims and human beigns of afghanistan or iraq or kashmir or bosnia or checnia but the people all around us…. did you people ever looed into the eyes of that young boy who was standing out side the mosque/imambargah from where you came out after praying eid namaz….. on this day of eid he had the honour to get twnty or thirty or fifty rupees from you but is this his worth….. if given equal resouces as your children than who knows he can be the next Abdul Salam…. but than again what did the rascal mullahs did with Abdul Salam…. oh so I was talking about that boy standing out side your mosque on this eid day so what were we talking about yes yes I was telling you about the resources so if this boy would get a chance to go to LUMS or GIKI or Aga Khan than who knows that he may be the one of the top Bankers or a brilliant Engineer or a top sugeon which your lazzy useless child can never be…. what your boy can do is to gather that loads and loads of eidy and than go to that Pizza Hut or KFC with her girl friend…. but that boy standing out side the mosque…. what can I say…. what can I write….. and do I really need to say or write some thing….. come on you looser Pakistanis have a life………. I know that this post might be deleted …… but what difference will this make …… unfortunately I am also a Pakistani like you…. who is expert in drawing room gossip but will never stand or do some thing…… such a — we all are … are’nt we….. when the MMA(Munafiq Mullah Aliance) and those generals are busy making more and more dollars that boy is standing out side the mosque … and you will always want him to stand there because if given a chance he may be above your children on the basis of his hard work …… I think that this is what we call Islam which that Zia ul Haq had preached and the MMA(Muhafiq Mullah Alliance) are still doing to date.
Dear Professor Adil Najam
Heartiest Congratulations….Just read about The Nobel Peace prize on ATP….
Knowing well that this would be just one mile stone at the beginning of the journey to our much higher expectations from you…
Wishing you many more such and higher achievements…..
Eid Mubarak
Off topic, but did anyone read The News “top story” headline last night? Disgusting, unless the website site was hacked by the Chaudhrys of Gujrat.
A very Happy Eid to every one ,and specially to Mr Adil Najam for connecting us together and those in it.
Adil Bhai
Eid Mubarak and congrats on the due recognition of work undertaken by IPCC.
Bravo!
(eid ka maza do-baala ho gaya)