Adil Najam
The world is abuzz in anguish against Israel’s military action against the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ of aid ships carrying relief goods for embargoed Gaza. Condemnations are pouring in for this military action in international waters. The irony in the tragedy is not lost on the world – in 1947, the ship Exodus 1947 carrying Jewish immigrants wanting to get to Jerusalem had similarly been stopped by the British authorities and the dramatic struggle that resulted had been influential in changing world opinion towards the creation of the state of Israel.
The world politics implications of the incident aside, the immediate concern of many is about the safety of nationals from nearly 40 countries, including many journalists, who were in this relief goods flotilla. These include three Pakistanis – senior journalist and well known TV anchor Talat Hussain of Aaj TV, his cameraman Raza Mahmood Agha, and a Pakistani NGO activist Nadeem Ahmed.
Pakistani authorities (including the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister) have condemned the incident and are trying to find more information on the health and safety of these three Pakistanis but as yet no confirmed information is available. Given that according to various reports as many as 20 people might already have been killed and up to 26 injured in the Israeli attack on the relief goods flotilla, this lack of information is exciting further anguish amongst Pakistanis. [UPDATE: we are now hearing that the three Pakistanis aboard the flotilla are all alive and well, but now captured in Israel].
Talat Hussain is one of the most respected TV anchors in Pakistan and known for his balanced, sober and in-depth analysis of national as well as international politics. I first got to know him when he was still a student of international affairs at the Islamabad Quaid-i-Azam Univeristy and more so when he later managed the op-ed pages of The News (when Maliha Lodhi was its founding editor). Since then, I have interacted with him when he was at PTV Current Affairs and now at Aaj TV. In my view he is the least populist and most balanced of our TV anchors. A journalist of the highest integrity and one who has never strayed far from his intellectual and scholarly roots even as he has blossomed as a public communicator of excellence.
My prayers are with him and his family; as they are with the two other Pakistanis and all others on the flotilla, and indeed with all in the world, everywhere. Prayers of peace seem not to be answered to often in today’s world, but let us pray for peace and safety for all nonetheless.
Merely wishing for peace and justice in the world will not make the world a saner place. But to give up on even that wish will surely make the world even more insane than it already is.
If Muslims can present peaceful, tolerant, inspiring, rational, loving Islam to the non-Muslims in Western Europe and North American countries and win hearts and minds of tax payers of these countries, then and only then political leaders will listen to their citizens instead of lobbies of Israel and then put prssure on Israel and check her policies.
Global political and military pressure has started forcing Muslims to present Islam as peaceful, tolerant, inspiring, rational, loving religion.
If Muslims had not wasted last 100 years, all this injustice to Muslims in Palestine, and in other parts of the world could have been prevented.
Its much cheaper and easier for Muslims to present islam as peaceful, tolerant, inspiring, rational, loving than taking militant aproach.
English intellectual Barnad Shaw was expecting Islam will be dominant religion in Europe by end of 20th centuary. he said this after reading literature on islam produced in England and Europe by “former” Muslims.
good point “Pakistani”. i think one of the reasons why there’s more people out on the streets than last Saturday is that its a crime committed by a state. not just any state but Israel.
Alhamdulillah it is good to see solidarity for Muslims that are so far away. All of this fitnah and strife might just be a blessing in disguise if it finally leads to re-unification of the Muslims.
May Allah give this ummah its izzat back, ameen.
I am praying for the safety of Talat Hussain and join you in praying for everyone on the flotillas and in Gaza.
But I am amazed at how these 10 dead has caused such an outrage in pakistan and thousands protest on streets, but only a handful came out to protest the killing of 70 Pakistanis in Lahore last week. I guess we only cry for “Arab” causes since they are more “Muslim” then the rest of us Pakistanis. The killing of Muslims and Pakistanis every day by Taliban mullahs we can live with and we even defend. But this we come out in full force of. Hypocricy, thy name is mullah!
I am glad to see Najam writing on this subject. However I am disappointed to see his narrow focus on mentioning a great humanitarian issue of our time only when seen as a Pakistani issue as we have three journalists on that floatilla .. perhaps captured by the ‘only’ democracy of the region.
(I can live with this disappointment as Adil Najam has finally started feeling the pain of others like his own. Thanks Adil.)
I wish and pray for the safety of the entire crew.