9/11: The day that changed our world
“The real hell of life is that everyone has his reasons.” – Jean Renoir Like many others, I remember September 11, 2001 quite vividly -the day the world changed. It was an ordinary day like any other while we were blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Flipping through the channels in the evening, I saw a woman crying on CNN in a way that made me pause and concentrate. Then I watched the unbelievable, seemingly unreal, video footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. Back then, I did not know much about the United States of America ...
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Rebuilding the Muslim Empire
An inhabitant of today’s civilized Western democratic state, while alluding to human barbarism and fanaticism, always recalls the medieval ages. For a Muslim, however, the medieval ages are among the gloriously shining eras of history, when Muslim scientists and philosophers made monumental advancements for the benefit of mankind in almost all major fields of knowledge. Today, every thinking mind wonders what made those giants fade into history without being followed by men of similar standing? What caused the severe moral and intellectual downfall of the Muslims? Leaving aside the political turmoil and dictatorships which happen to be an inevitable ...
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I am not of your sect
I have grown up, like many others, in an environment and society where no one was happy to tell me the simple fact that I am Muslim and I belong to Pakistan. It sounds strange but it is a fact, because we have a very strong sense of details we love to divide everything and go into unnecessary details. As I was saying while I was growing up I was told that I am Sunni Muslim and I am better than the others. Being a rebel I always wondered what yard stick or a chemical test decided that I ...
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Don’t put a label on it
Islamic centre or mosque? Obama, Muslim or Christian? Flood aid, Indian or not? Why exactly does it matter? In the twenty-first century, labels still define us and somehow they seem to be more important than the ‘bigger picture’. As individual groups, Muslims and Pakistanis have allowed labels to divide themselves, creating disunity which allows for instability. In the case of Pakistanis, a society that acts so quickly and effectively to help fellow citizens in a time of crisis, it doesn’t make sense that Pakistanis would let labels divide themselves to the extent that they have. Pakistanis have a multi-layered and faceted society, and ...
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Solidarity versus resentment
At a Press Conference at New Delhi, on July 14, 1947, Jinnah was grilled by a correspondent who wished to inquire as to whether Pakistan would be a secular state or a theocracy. Jinnah hinted at the absurdity of the question, adding, quite tactfully, that he did ‘not know what a theocratic state’ meant. The correspondent had then fervidly suggested that it was ‘a state where only people of a particular religion, for example, Muslims, could be full citizens and non-Muslims would not be full citizens’. Apprised with this vision of a theocracy, Jinnah aptly stated that ‘when you ...
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Guilt factor: Eid on September 11
A new debate has emerged among American Muslims. Can they actually celebrate Eid on September 11 this year? According to the moon forecast, there is a high probability that the Muslim religious event of Eid will fall on the day which changed the world. My mother is currently visiting her brother in the US. Her aunt is an active member of the nearby mosque committee. During the frequent visits to the mosque, my mother received a leaflet saying that the Muslims of that particular community will celebrate Eid this year either on September 10 or on September 12. My mother was a little shocked ...
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Do Muslims deserve what they get?
I visited Australia for a few months earlier this year to spend time with family and friends. During my stay in Melbourne, I had the opportunity to visit Vic Roads, the state authority for issuing drivers licenses and collecting fines as a friend of mine had applied for his license. While we were waiting for our turn we went to get some refreshments at the bar. The cashier at the counter got around to talking to us and asked what we were doing at Vic Roads. When he heard our answer he said “Mate, there are two Muslim men among the officials here. If ...
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Double talk, double standards
Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s recent visit to Pakistan concluded without much … okay, any … tangible progress. The Indian delegation kept insisting on discussing terrorism, that is, the Mumbai attacks. I wonder how they define what is happening in Indian Kashmir. In Mumbai, 166 people died over the course of three days. In Indian Kashmir, thousands of people have died over the course of many, many years (there are several tallies of the death toll since there is limited access to the region). Those dead in both cases did not deserve to be killed. Are the killings in ...
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For Iqbal, women’s rights are human rights
Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s philosophy is most relevant for Muslim community because of his understanding of the spirit of Islam as being essentially humanistic and reformative and for his formal arguments that satisfy the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Iqbal finds ‘Ijma’ as an inherent principle for change in formal religious interpretations. ‘Ijma’ is both a principle of movement and reform to adjust with an everchanging reality. It is also a democratic principle as it is based on the popular opinion of muslim community. Let the Muslim of today appreciate his position, reconstruct his social life in the light of ultimate principles, and evolve, out ...
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A brief tale of Pakistani hospitality
I got to see a total of six foreigners on my week-long trip to Lahore. I don’t know whether that is a good average for July, but it seemed low. Five of the individuals I caught a mere glimpse of at the Wahga border. I was in a line with one hundred men jostling for position to enter the gate for ensuing border festivities; they were in a Mercedes with tinted windows pulled down momentarily to take in the ‘local flavor’ before proceeding inside with their protocol. The sixth was a young woman, perhaps twenty five whom I ran into ...
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