Eid Mubarak from Pakistaniat

Posted on September 30, 2008
Filed Under >A for [Pine]Apple, >Adil Najam, >Bilal Zuberi, >Darwaish, >Owais Mughal
16 Comments
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Adil Najam, Asma Mirza, Bilal Zuberi, Darwaish and Owais Mughal

Eid Id From all of us at All Things Pakistan (ATP; Pakistaniat.Com) 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.

Let us share today some thoughts that we wrote in our Eid post this time last year. They seem as pertinent today as they did then.

Eid is about community. And so is Pakistaniat.Com…

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.

As we said then, let us say once 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 (Yeh Bacha)
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
Eid Cards

16 responses to “Eid Mubarak from Pakistaniat

  1. ATP fan says:

    Brass Crescent is calling for nominations for the best blogs run by Muslims. I think ATP should be a contender.
    http://www.brasscrescent.org/

  2. rita anand says:

    Friends: Eid Mubarak.

  3. Aisha says:

    Eid Mubarak to everyone!

    Mr. Najam saab:

    With the greatest respect I have to correct you on one thing in this lovely article.

    Eid should make us think of so much more than just our commonality in spite of our differences and aspirations for Pakistan. Eid is a celebration of our commonality in spite of our differences and aspirations for the entire World and all of mankind. Ameen. =)

  4. wish u all a happy eid.

  5. Affan says:

    Eid Mubarak!

    >:D<

    btw thats a yahoo messenger emoticon for hug! :)

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