Year Two Thousand Eleven

What will the year two thousand eleven bring for us? Any feathers in our caps or would we grade more scarlet letters?

Let us consider the importance of the year 2011 with respect to recent history. Some numbers have special importance in Islam and Islamic history. The numbers three, seven, ten, forty and some others have been noticed to be of significance. So let us recall that it would be a complete ten years since we switched from being friends to foes to our Afghan comrades of the Afghan-Russian war. It would be seven years since we started bombarding our own people, women and children in the tribal areas, who were our faithful and voluntary defence-force prior to it. And it would be three years since Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has been located and yet not been asked for, let alone brought back.

Ungratefulness has found new dimensions in Pakistan. Had the Russian invasion not been encountered in Afghanistan, Pakistan would have been its next target in order to reach the warm shores. Pakistan did no favor to Afghanistan, but a favor to itself when it helped Afghanistan fight the Russians. Yet people today have begun to comment upon one of the greatest feats of Pakistan as a misadventure.

Then, it says in the Holy Quran about the nation of Prophet Musa AS,
“Also remember another covenant which We took from you; that you shall not shed blood among yourselves and you shall not expel your own people from your homes; you confirmed it and you are witness to it.
Yet there you are, killing your own people, expelling a group amongst you from their homes, backing each other with sin and aggression;
And if they come to you as captives, you trade them for ransoms whereas their expulsion was unlawful for you to begin with.
Do you believe in a part of your Holy Book and reject the rest? So what other punishment do such people among you, who behave like this, deserve, than disgrace in this world and to be driven to grievous punishment on the Day of Judgment? Allah is not unaware of what you do.
Such are the people who trade the life of this world at the expense of the Hereafter; so neither their punishment shall be lightened nor shall they be helped.” [The Holy Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah (2), Ayahs 84-86]

We have surpassed the nation of Prophet Musa AS in sin and aggression. We do not even bother ransoming our people back. How can we? We sold them in the first place.

Then, the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is the height of our test as a nation. It is a rare case where all possible atrocities have added up; from her and her children being missing for five, long, terribly silent years, to children being deprived of motherhood and tortured, to this Muslim sister being strip searched daily even as you read this. It is a case very, very hard to be insensitive to. If we cannot respond to even this one, we might as well receive the medical certificate of being a dead nation.

It might be an awakening reminder, that it will also be forty years in the year 2011, when we lost East Pakistan to power greed, regionalism and deviating from the objectives of achieving Pakistan in our personal lives and society.

Hence, independence that is not honored, can be confiscated.

“Closer draws unto men their reckoning, and yet they remain stubbornly heedless (of its approach). Whenever there comes unto them any new reminder from their Lord, they but listen to it with playful amusement…”

[The Holy Qur~an, Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21), Ayahs 1-2]

Wahgah Border 2004

I happened to visit Wahgah Border, Lahore, back in 2004. It is a gate on the border of Pakistan and India. It is used for travel, trade and tourism.

A parade-show by the guards is staged on both sides of the gate daily. This ceremony is open for audience. It is cheered, hooted and booed with great gusto by both sides of the audience, that is, the Pakistanis and the Indians.

The popular slogan of Pakistanis was ‘Pakistan zinda bad’, while that of the Indians was ‘Jae Hind’, among other slogans. While the Indians mostly stuck to nationalist slogans, it was the Pakistanis who also shouted slogans speaking of religious identity and pride, like ‘Pakistan ka matlab kya…La illaha illallah’.

However, I felt a little strange at their enthusiasm; for the religious zeal of the Pakistanis’ slogans did not match their appearances. For, while the Hindus did not shout any religious slogans, yet many of their girls could be seen with Sindoor in their hair, while the Muslim audience was devoid of any of their hallmarks. It is as they say in the English language that he smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes. If I could have shut out my ears for a while and looked at both sides of the border, I figured I would not have been able to tell which side are the Hindus and which side are the Muslims, for they looked the same in their outward appearance, ironically, except for the Hindu girls.

For some, this is a welcome and encouraging news. For they believe that intermingling of cultural values is a positive way of life and the road to co-existence, while adhering to one’s religious hallmarks in culture, appearance and lifestyle is equivalent to being backward, extremist, discriminatory towards other religions and anti-coexistence. For example is the wearing of the Cross by Christians, Sindoor by Hindus and the beard by Muslims. However, if a Muslim girl wears the Sindoor, or a Muslim boy wears the Cross, it will be really applauded as being broadminded.

I live in Islamabad. I have studied from the Beaconhouse School. The City School was perhaps only half a kilometer away. There were debates, sports and art competitions which required the students of the two schools to intermingle. Yet, it did not cross the mind of any, neither students nor administration, that we should start wearing each others badges, sashes or uniform to promote peace, harmony and indiscrimination. They coexisted while wearing their identities. It is not discrimination, but distinction.

Islam promotes distinction, denounces being faceless human beings and condemns being a copycat.

The Messenger of Allah Prophet Muhammed SAW said, ‘He does not belong to us who imitates other people’.

[Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-'As, Al-Tirmidhi, N. 1207]

Is it a surprise then that the independence we fought and secured sixty-three years ago, in the name of Islam, is at a very, very high risk today?

For it is Nature’s Law that a blessing that is not honored is rolled back. If we want Pakistan to continue to exist, the answer does not lie in relying upon false friendships, nor turning traitors upon true friends, nor in selling our citizens, nor offering our tribal areas to vent out anger drones, nor begging money world-wide and nor splashing colors at Holi on our borders, for hope of acceptance. Rather, we are imprudently inviting the wrath of Allah SWT which He will met out at the hands of the very people we are trying to please, Saddam Hussain and his people being a recent example. If we had to do all this, then there was no need for a separate homeland for Muslims. We could have done all this sitting right in the middle of India. As for the concept of Pakistan being created for the political positioning of ‘Muslims’, trust me Allah SWT does not care even sixpence for it. For, people devoid of the Islamic spirit, values and color, are not even recognized by Allah SWT as Muslims.

The Good Taliban & the Bad Taliban

Much to the chagrin of some, there is now talk about the Good Taliban and the Bad Taliban.

While the rightists have always maintained that there are the good Taliban and the bad Taliban, just like there are the good Americans and the bad Americans and just like there are the good Pakistanis and the bad Pakistanis and just like there are the good Muslims and the bad Muslims and just like there are the good human beings and the bad human beings.

Well then who are the Good Taliban and who are the Bad Taliban?

For some, the Good Taliban terminology might be a fishing line for those Taliban who might bait to dialogue and deal, while the Bad Taliban would be those who remain patriot to their ideology.

While for others, the Good Taliban are those who captured Yvonne Ridley reporting on their land, kept her in an imprisonment of ten days and then let her go honorably without torture, molestation or rape. It is indeed a sharp contrast to the treatment meted out to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

While, the Bad Taliban are those who have disguised themselves as Taliban and are creating havoc in the land. They are those who grew a beard, put on a turban and joined the ranks of Taliban while they were not Taliban. They can be possibly anyone; escaped criminals from all over Pakistan, opportunists of some other political cause or non-Muslim foreign agents seeking destabilization in the country.

In between the two, there may be the reality of the ‘weak’ Taliban. They are those who do not bear the true and strong character of their forerunners and are making emotional mistakes on the battleground. They are naturally bringing a bad name to their identity.

Consider the following Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammed SAW,

Narrated AbuHurayrah, “The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: ‘Among the Muslims the most perfect, as regards his faith, is the one whose character is excellent, and the best among you are those who treat their wives well.’” [Tirmidhi : N.217]

The gist of the Hadith is not limited to wives only but to women in general, i.e. people who are living under your care and protection.

Well then consider the fate of Yvonne Ridley at the hands of the Taliban. And consider the case of Amina Masood at the hands of her own countrymen. And consider the case of Aafia Siddiqui at the hands of her captors.

Being a woman, who would you trust yourself with? Who surfaces better?

Baba

4th September, 2009: I was attending a seminar hosted by Amina Masood, chairperson Defence of Human Rights, struggling for the release of the Missing Persons phenomena that has evolved in Pakistan post 9/11, 2001. As I heard different national and international speakers speaking, my attention was caught by a little boy of about four standing on a chair in front of me. He was holding a picture.

I asked about the boy. I got to know that his father is among the missing persons; the child has never seen his father and neither has the father seen the child. The picture that he was holding up was that of his Baba.

It was a shock and a realization.

My husband and I have been living separate for about two-and-a-half years. It is not an issue of divorce, separation or even problems with each other. My husband and I have an excellent relationship. It is just that my husband’s job got transferred to Lahore and I continued my studies in Islamabad.

As the separate living began to take its toll, my son and I used to sit in front of Allah SWT and pray, pray hard to Allah SWT that Baba gets a transfer back to Islamabad, or may be a new job in Islamabad. Till that a time, we were making-do with weekend visits.

Once, his Baba mistakenly left behind his sweatshirt. My babysitter told me that he found his Baba’s sweatshirt lying on the mattress and began caressing it lovingly, saying ‘Baba…’.

In another visit, as he saw his Baba packing up, he hurriedly brought out his shoes and began pushing his feet inside them, muttering ‘I will go with you Baba…’ (He had yet not learnt to put on his shoes).

Yet another time, as Baba explained to him that he was going to ‘office’ and that he was too young to accompany him, he measured himself from head to toe and said ‘Look Baba, I am big now. I can go with you…’.

When I used to take him to the park, I tried to play Mama and Baba both, but it was getting difficult for me to be sporty and upbeat all the time especially with another child on the way and me myself feeling the depression of the absence of my husband.

So we began to pray. I would make my son sit in front of me on the Ja’e Namaz and together we would hold our hands up to Allah SWT, praying for a reunion of the family, praying for Baba to return to us.

Yet, I would secretly implore Allah SWT…’O’ Allah, do not You see these little hands praying unto You? O’ Allah, do not You feel Mercy for this little child? O’ Allah, You are Al-Qadir, Powerful over Everything, cannot You bring back Baba to us?’

Allah SWT replied me by the standing up of that four-year-old, who stood up holding his missing Baba’s picture at the seminar of Amina Masood.

Do not we see the families of Missing Persons knocking door-to-door since several years? Do not we feel mercy for the plight of these Missing Persons and their families? Cannot we, a nation who brought back the CJ to his office, do anything, anything at all for the issue of Missing Persons?

Cannot we attend their protest calls to strengthen their cause? Cannot we write to the authorities registering our concern for their plight? Cannot we financially help the ridden families whose bread-winners have been snatched away? For details, please visit www.dhrpk.org and www.musawemeen.blogspot.com.

The dilemma of my child and I is only as much of a decision where I decide to give up my studies and shift to Lahore with my husband. What about the dilemma of the families of Missing Persons? Which flight should they book to instantly reach their loved-ones? Which flight should the four-year-old take to reach his Baba today?

The Story of Hafzah

It is not actually the story of Hafzah, but the girl, at the time this happened to her, requested absolute anonymity for fear of more harassment. However, since she came to Jamya Hafzah for help, it becomes her story as well.

‘Am I allowed to commit suicide if my life has become worse than death?’, was her legal question to the Dar-ul-Ifta of Jamya Hafzah. Of course, a tremor of horrified concern rippled around and the principal, Umme Hassaan, was called in. To cut a long story short, the girl was being black-mailed by porn-photographs for prostitution.

She had done a misadventure of her life that she was paying dearly for. A ‘friend’ of her had persuaded her to play hooky from college and come along with her to a parlor for beauty treatment. As she entered the parlor, she was pounced upon by men, sexually assaulted and photographed naked with them. The Lady of the House, Aunty Shamim, next began calling her in for prostitution calls. Some months later she informed her that she now intended to send her to the UAE for the same job. She was instructed to runaway from home with an imaginary boyfriend.

Instead, she came to Jamya Hafzah.

From there on things happened what you and I read and saw in the Media in 2007. Some of it was true and some of it hoaxed. Unrelated issues became part of the story. Objectives and events inter-mingled. And opportunity was cashed for ulterior motives.

Nonetheless, I do not think the Skies and Earth of Islamabad will ever forget the poignant moment when the Lady of the House raised her finger towards to sky and at the Jamya Hafzians, vowing ‘I shall bring down this Madrassah of yours. Certainly, I shall bring down this Madrassah of yours…’. Poignant, I say, because the defenders of the nation and the nation, knowingly or unknowingly, became party to her vengeance as they steered the artillery and the action was applauded.

And the Madrassah indeed came down, to uphold the honor of a woman.

There were certainly other issues inclusive, like the bulldozing of mosques, the epidemic of explicit vulgarity and a demand for the implementation of the Islamic Constitution, the Shariah, but certainly not a mere patch of land, i.e. the Children’s Library. One does not sacrifice a mother, a brother, a son and a whole institute for a small patch of land.

I sometimes wonder. Had Ms. Asma Jahangir rampaged the Lady’s residence, as she does to save victims of domestic violence, would she have been busted this way? Would Sir Edhi have been busted? Would Sir Ansar Burney?

“Let there arise from among you a band of people who should invite to righteousness, enjoin good and forbid evil; such are the ones who shall be successful.”
[The Holy Qur~an, 3:104]

Why the difference between Asma Jahangir's raids and that of Jamya Hafsa's? Is it because in our hearts of hearts we do not actually consider prostitution, forced or otherwise, a crime? Or is prostitution, by some far-fetched notion, a woman’s right? Or of men’s?

Or is our prejudiced, un-researched distaste for Maulanas, Abaya-clad girls and Madaris, so harsh, that we will make sure we do not conceive anything worthy about them? Perhaps it gladdens our gluttony of hatred (it has to be vented somewhere! Them have been a favorite so far…) to swallow just any rubbish retold in their name. It is also in style to hate and reject them. How many of us ordinary folks actually went to them to know their side of the story? The Islamabadites, atleast?

Yet what is more ponderous is this. Jamya Hafzah was punished for taking the law into her own hands no matter how noble the cause. Okay. What happened to the Lady of the House?

June 712, June 2010

“Sindh was ruled by an autocratic Hindu ruler, Raja Dahir, during the Ummayyad dynasty. Raja Dahir was known for his cruelty towards his Muslim population. Meanwhile, the Indians began to intercept the commercial vessels of the Arabs in the Indian ocean. In those days, Caliph Al’Malik ibn Abd’Al’Malik, was the ruler of the Ummayyad dynasty. It so happened that the king of the Island of Rubies, Ceylon, sent a few vessels carrying some Muslim women, who had been born in Ceylon. These vessels were also loaded with some precious gifts from the Governor of Iraq, Hajjaj bin Yousaf. There were some orphaned daughters and children of merchants who had died in Ceylon. The ship in which the women sailed was attacked by the pirates near Deabul, a sea port near Sindh and within the domain of Dahir. The pirates took away everything. The women and children were taken as prisoners and put in the jail.

One of the captured woman, a member of the tribe Banu Yarbu, cried out ‘O’ Hajjaj!’. When Hajjaj heard of this, he exclaimed ‘Here am I…’

Hajjaj bin Yousuf was a strict administrator. He sent his personal messenger to Raja Dahir, the ruler of Sindh, and asked him to set the women and children free. Raja Dahir bluntly refused and argued that he had no control over the sea pirates. He replied that if Hajjaj wanted the release of the women, he could do so himself. Hajjaj was extremely infuriated with this reply and decided to punish Raja Dahir for his scornful attitude.

Hajjaj sent several punitive expeditions against Raja Dahir which incidentally all failed when their commanders were killed in the battles against the Hindus. He then decided to send his young nephew and son-in-law, Muhammed bin Qasim, who was at that time in Faras, Iran, to head a campaign against Raja Dahir in Sindh. Hajjaj gave him a trained and well-equipped army and also reinforced him with soldiers from Syria and other places.

Muhammed bin Qasim marched towards Deabul via Makran which had already been incorporated into the Ummayyad dynasty. After conquering the adjoining areas Muhammed bin Qasim encamped on the bank of the river Mehran (Indus) near Deabul. He moved and laid a formidable siege around Deabul which was a strong fortification of the Hindu Raja. From there Muhammed bin Qasim challenged Raja Dahir for a decisive battle in 712 A.D.

The battle continued for several days and the Hindu army fought intensely to protect their fortification. They were no match to the Muslim soldiers. Raja Dahir was killed on the sixth day of the battle, June 712, while bravely fighting against the Muslim army. The captive women and children were set free and sent back to their homeland.”

[A couple of pages of history taken from, A Comprehensive Book of Pakistan Studies, by Muhammed Ikram Rabbani, Government College, Lahore, Pakistan]

How does this piece of history tarry with the history being written down post 9/11?

It was the cry of one imprisoned woman which brought even the infamous Muslim ruler, Hajjaj bin Yousaf, considered the Pharoah of his times, to his toes. Today, we have the cry of one Aafia Siddiqui, Aafia Siddiqui’s mother, Aafia Siddiqui’s sister and Aafia Siddiqui’s daughter; the collective cry of four women, resonating the cries of hundreds of men and women persecuted, imprisoned, raped and tortured since 9/11, yet our hearts remain stones. Do we beat Hajjaj bin Yousaf?

Let Alone Baytul Muqadas

“In short, these two elders advised their people that they should not feel nervous about the apparent power of the Amalkites. If they would place their trust in Allah, just walk up to the gate of Baytul Muqadas, victory shall be theirs. As for the decisive statement of these elders that once they reach the city gate, they will overcome and the enemy will run away defeated, it could have been based on a close assessment of the Amalkites, that they were, no doubt, unusually huge in built and strength, but were also weak at heart as a result of which, once they hear about the surprise attack, they would be unable to stay there. And it is also possible that their total faith in the Divine decree which they had heard from Syedna Musa AS as a glad tiding was the basis on which they said so.

But the Bani Israel, who had not listened to their own prophet Syedna Musa AS would have hardly listened to these elders. They gave them the same response, even in a manner which was more uncouth and grotesque. They said ‘So go, you and your Lord, and fight. As for us, we are sitting right here (meaning, we cannot participate because we are not up to it).’” [1]

This is the story of Bani Israel when they were told to recapture the Holy Land of Syria after Allah Subhan’o wa Ta’ala had manifested His great power and bounty for them; split the sea for their escape, delivered them from the slavery of Fir’awn and made them masters of Egypt where they were once themselves slaves.

And here is the story of us. Allah Subhan’o wa Ta’ala delivered us from the slavery of the 19th century. He gave us a land within the same subcontinent, ranging from the seas to the mountains. He gave us agriculture till industry. He made us a nuclear power.

Yet, we allow our land to be bombarded. We imprison our own citizens for others. We even hand them over to them. We put the blame of it all on the past dictatorship. Well, that dictatorship is gone. Why does it continue?

In fact, it has gone worse now. We have allowed foreign agents to precipitate into our cities. Many of our citizens are now scared to step out of their homes into their own city. Many of us consider not taking our children to the park anymore. Many of us now call one another in concerned tones ‘There was a foreign car with black windows in our neighborhood. What is it up to? What to do?’ While there are others who surround them and holler at them. Hmmm…seems like there is still some spark alive in the Ummah. The Ummah should go ahead of Bani Israel and tackle this problem, seriously, at least by the Pen. Write to relevant institutes (Find addresses at www.mailandemail.blogspot.com), make a point that this situation is not acceptable, however much sugar-coated it may be told and urge them to cleanse Pakistan of this problem.

Then, is there any Musa out there to lead us out of the approaching slavery?

We, ourselves, have invited Amalkites into our own land. What could be a sorrier situation? We are unable to defend ourselves in our own homeland, let alone recapturing Baytul Muqadas.


[1] Excerpt of Tafseer of Surah Al-Maidah, Verse 20-26, taken from Ma’ariful Quran by Maulana Mufti Muhammed Shafi RHA

A Playground of Iraq

I take my children to the park everyday. The air is fresh, with the soft light of the winters playing on the little children’s happy cheeks as they swing, slide and see-saw. The dust is kicking up a haze as the bigger children play football. And the women are eagerly having a chat on the benches after a day’s work.

It comes to my mind the documentary of Michael Moore he made on Iraq. It begins filming a similar scene in Iraq, before it was invaded in 2003, with the following somewhat words running in the commentary, “This is the country that was posing a danger to the world…”

The blast of war follows. Missiles are demolishing buildings, turning homes into ruins and making people homeless and screaming “Allah’o Akbar, Allah’o Akbar…what are they doing to us?”

Now lately, an international magazine has also had a shift of mind. It stated that the most dangerous country in the world is not Iraq, but Pakistan…

What does it mean? Has the war become bored of Afghanistan and then Iraq? Is the war-of-terror coming home now? Well, why shouldn’t it? It was the prediction of one fore-sighted analyst when Afghanistan was invaded back in 2001 in the first place. But it was also the prediction of our Prophet SAW by the following Hadith,

Narrated Thawban,
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The people will soon summon one another to attack you as people invite one another to share food”. Someone asked: “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied: “No, you will be numerous at that time, but you will be scum and rubbish like that carried down by a torrent, and Allah will take fear of you from the breasts of your enemy and last enervation into your hearts”. Someone asked: “What is Wahn (Enervation), Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death”.
[Sunan Abu Dawood, No. 2015]

It is this fear of losing our worldly comforts that we are used to and avoiding death that we do not have the courage to stop the drone attacks that are simply and brutally killing our citizens in our very land not to mention the violation of our sovereignty.

The Chief-of-Air-Staff said so a few months back in an speech on TV,

“We have the power to shoot down the drones that are crossing our borders. However, is the nation ready to bear the consequences if we do so?”

Allah SWT knows better what the consequences would be. Perhaps, our courage will be rewarded by Allah SWT and we will remain safe as Iran stands safe today despite its refusal to foreign dictation, or we may be invaded like Iraq in reaction.

The answer to the Chief-of-Air-Staff is, ‘No sir, we are not ready if the consequence is the second option…’

However, we will have no choice, whether ready or not, when the drones reach our safe homes in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. For then, it will not be a trial inflicted by foreign invaders but Allah SWT’s punishment at the hands of foreign invaders for us being selfish and saving our skin while our nationals were droned and we said ‘What can we do? We are helpless…’, while in truth, we were not so helpless.

You can do something, see www.mailandemail.blogspot.com.