For all the grieving Pakistani Cricket fans, here is something to laugh about:

On a side note, you may find the following articles interesting to read:
Adolf Hitler ‘wanted to use cricket to train troops for war’, new book claims.

How Hitler tried to Nazi-fy cricket after a crushing loss to the English (perhaps he only got one bail?)

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Terror-suspects, Abid Naseer and Ahmed Faraz can not be deported for their own safety, the court ruled.

A few months back a Pakistani origin Muslim boy who was a British national as well was kidnapped from Pakistan during a family trip to the home country. One needs not to get into the details and find out how seriously the British authorities took the case. It was one life; just another immigrant Pakistani Muslim kid, but the authorities went the extra-mile and recovered the kid. This is only one of the countless examples of how democratic social welfare states care about their citizens. Religion, color, caste, creed and race does not matter; being a citizen does.

This morning; I found out about the remarkable court judgement about Abid Naseer and Ahmed Faraz; the two Pakistani students charged on terrorism. Earlier this morning, the court announced its judgement and agreed that the two Pakistani men; Abid Naseer and Ahmed Faraz are a threat to the national security but decided in favour of the two men regarding deportation. The court announced they can not be deported back to Pakistan because (i) there is a lack of conclusive evidence and (ii) the two men claim they will not be safe and will have to face ill-treatment if sent back to Pakistan.

The judge, giving his reasons for not deporting them said, they were not prepared to accept arguments that there existed a ’sufficient safeguard’ against prohibited ill-treatment of the men on return.

The judge further added, ‘Despite the restoration of a democratically-elected parliament and government, after eight years of military rule, Pakistan remains a state dominated by its military and intelligence agencies.There is a long and well-documented history of disappearances, illegal detention and of the torture and ill-treatment of those detained, usually to produce information, a confession or compliance.’

It is a remarkable judgement. The court, keeping in view the military/intelligence run political structure of the home country of the terror suspects ruled not to send them back, for their safety. All the Islamists need to appreciate this. They need to appreciate the fact that the country they would love to bomb is working hard for the safety of their terror-suspect Muslim brothers. The court has tried to save them from the wrath of their (Islamic) home country.

This is how independent and impartial Judiciaries deal with the cases irrespective of the race, religion and nationality of the people in question. The decision has led to angry news items on the media saying, “the court has declared in favour of safety of the criminals instead of the people of the UK.” Well, its actually true. Human Rights have taken over National Security, atleast this time.

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The Ahmadiyya movement often referred to as Qadianism was founded in the Muslim village of Qadian in the Punjab in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He claimed to be the mahdi, a figure expected by some Muslims at the end of the world, as well as the Christian messiah an incarnation of the Hindu god Krishnam and more. I had personally read a lot of literature relating to the movement and what strikes me is that according to the Ahmadi doctrine, Jesus feigned death and resurrection and later escaped to india, where he died at the age of 120 and was buried in Kashmir. One of Ahmad’s major differences with orthodox Islam was his belief that ‘jihad’ had become un-Islamic, that the struggle against unbelievers must be waged by peaceful methods; an idea capitalized by orthodox mullah’s to brand the movement as, “British- Sponsored”. Ahmed died in 1908, and in 1914 a schism over succession occurred among the Ahmadiyya followers and two groups emerged: one was headed by the son of funder, Ahmad which disowned the prophetic claims of Ghulam Ahmad and established itself in Lahore. The main group, called the Qadiani, after the village of Qadian moved its headquarters to Rabwah in what was then West Pakistan in 1947.

What not lot of people realized that the whole Ahmediya Movement had been very active during the whole of Pakistan Movement. Quaid-e-Azam the founder of Pakistan, accepted the Ahmadis as a Muslim sect, but many of the new country’s leaders and clerics rejected his approval. Jinnah once questioned about the sect said, “anyone who calls themselves Muslims are Muslims”.

Sardar Shaukat Hayat in his book The Nation that lost its soul (page 147) mentions the following event:
One day, I got a message from Quaid e Azam saying Shaukat, I believe you are going to Batala, which I understand is about five miles from Qadian, please go to Qadian and meet Hadhrat Sahib and request him on my behalf for his blessings and support for Pakistan`s cause. After the meeting (in Batala) I reached Qadian about midnight, I sent a word that I had brought a message from Quaid e Azam. He came down immediately and enquired what were Quaid`s wishes. I conveyed his message for prayer and for his support for Pakistan. He said: Please convey to the Quaid e Azam that we have been praying for his mission from the very beginning. Where the help of his followers is concerned, no Ahmadi will stand against any Muslim Leaguer.

It is note-worthy that Khizar Hyat Khan Tiwana who replaced Sir Sikandar and made problems for Jinnah Sahib and AIML to penetrate into Punjab was convinced by Sir Zafrullah Khan and Mirza Mohammad Ahmad to resign and join the Muslim League after he banned Muslim League Guards in January 1947. Ahmediya Movement pre-partition would provide strong financial and advisory backing to the All India Muslim League and had been instrumental in assisting Pakistani Movement.

It was only after the creation of Pakistan and death of Jinnah in 1948, the fundamentalists Islamic groups agitated against accepting the Ahmadis within the pale of Pakistani Islam. In spire of fundamentalist opposition the ahmadis who are relatively well educated as a group, have been well represented in both the pre-and post independence administrations in Pakistan have held many high government offices. Anti-Ahmedi agitation first exploded in the spring of 1953 in several urban centers in the Punjab, with destruction of Ahmadi property and mosques. The problem started with the Mullahs, most of whom had opposed the creation of Pakistan tooth and nail but now had becomes the ‘chachas’ of Pakistan, started asking the state to declare the Ahmaddiya Muslim sect Kafir. Leading amongst them was that bigoted doctor of reaction, the much admired Maulana Abu Ala Maudoodi. Their target was Ch. Zafrullah Khan, a stalwart of the Pakistan Movement and a great patriot who happened to be an Ahmadi. This was when Maudoodi wrote his famous ‘Ahmadi Problem’. In 18 days that disgusting book sold close to 60 000 copies before the book was banned by the state. This followed a court case in which Maudoodi was tried for treason and sentenced to death, a sentence that was sadly never carried out. Mumtaz Daultana, the then Chief Minister, also had his role in fanning the flames for his own Machiavellian political reasons. He was forced to resign by the Government of Pakistan and that brought his career to a close.

Justice Muhammad Munir and Justice M R Kiyani were appointed to the inquiry commission that investigated this issue. The report they issued after interviewing all sides ran to something like 350 pages. In this the two justices warned against the institution of an Islamic state in Pakistan.
They wrote,

“The result of this part of inquiry, however has been anything but satisfactory and if considerable confusion exists in the minds of our ulama on such a simple matter, one can easily imagine what the differences on more complicated matters will be…. Keeping view the several different definitions given by the ulama, need we make any comment except that no two learned divines are agreed on this fundamental. If we attempt our own definition as each learned divine has done and that definition differs from that given by all others, we unanimously go out of the fold of Islam. And if we adopt the definition given by any one of the Ulama, we remain Muslims according to the view of that alim, but kafirs according to the definitions of everyone else.” (Page 215, 218)

In 1974, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Z.A. Bhutto under pressure from religious leaders amended the constitution of Pakistan to declare Ahmadiyah a non-Islamic sect. Later in 1984, the Constitution was amended further (known as the Ordinance XX –“XX” from now on) to add two new sections to the Pakistan Penal Code to provide Prison Terms and Unlimited Fines for any member of Ahmadiyah movement who uses certain words of address to refer to his practices or place of worship (e.g., Azan, Masjid, Salam O Lakum, etc.) or posses himself to be a Muslim. According to many sources, the XX is not only in contrast with the Universal Declaration, but also with the Constitution of Pakistan that guarantees freedom of religion among other freedoms. According to many opinions, XX violates international standards because it penalizes Ahmadis for believing they are Muslim and for worshipping and assembling as they wish. It denies them saying Azan (a call to Islamic prayers). It denies them the terminology of their religion. It provides criminal penalties and fines for protected right and it clearly subjects Ahmadis to persecution because of their belief. Furthermore, the UN adopted a resolution in 1985 rejecting justifications presented by the Government of Pakistan for the limitations imposed on Ahmadis by the XX claiming that Ahmadi beliefs lead to violence. Zia-ul-Haq, the then military ruler of Pakistan, told the author of the Ordinance that “Ahmadis offend me because they consider themselves Muslims, the Ordinance my violate human rights but I don’t care”. Another contribution of Zia ul Haq to the promotion and preservation of Islam was to introduce a Religion Column on official documents, including Passport (somewhat 17th century European practice), so Muslims can easily be identified in a land where Muslims make up only 90 % of the population. So much so that the only, person who received the Nobel Award (in Physics) Dr.Abdus Salam a staunch patriot was disgraced and humiliated by the Pakistani Government.

Ahmadis continue to suffer at the hands of the authorities in Pakistan. The institutionalized discrimination against Ahmadis has now spread to other Muslim countries, most notably Bangladesh and Indonesia, both with very small Ahmadi populations. In addition to state sanctioned persecution, there is a very determined (often violent) movement led by Mullahs in the name of preserving Islam and the Finality of the Prophet Mohammad that seeks to single out and intimidate Ahmadis and accuse them of being collaborators of Jews and Christians and enemies of Islam. These Mullahs have free access to the highest echelons of the state apparatus and they go unchecked and unchallenged by the authorities. Not a single person has been brought to justice for openly violating the rights of Ahmadis, desecrating their places of worship, murdering them in cold blood, and destroying their religious books, including the holy Quran.

Interestingly no-political party even the most liberal of them except Muthida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s Altaf Hussain who voices the concern and right’s originally envisioned and promised by the founder Jinnah, “you are free to go to mosques and your temples” for the right of Ahmediya Movement as equal citizens of Pakistan.

What needs to be done is to expose the state-sanctioned and foreign-sponsored movement to persecute Ahmadis and other religious minorities in Pakistan and elsewhere. There’s one thing to disagree but that should not be used as an excuse to kill people just because he or she has a different belief – no religion or low approves that.

By Ali K. Chishti.

Originally published as a Facebook Note here.

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Is Nick Clegg a British version of Imran Khan ?

Although I am new to British Politics but watching the Leaders debates this month, one man sounded interesting, and familiar. It was Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats – the third largest political party in the UK.

It was the first time in the British history that the leaders of the three largest political parties were to face each other in heated live TV debates before the elections. I was familiar with the Labour party probably because of their leftist links of present and socialist outlook of the past when it grew out of trade union movements under Attlee in 1920s. I didn’t knew much about other parties.

Young, enthusiastic, witty, clever and an exceptional speaker – that is what Nick Clegg was when I heard him for the first time on TV. He outclassed Gordon Brown and David Cameron in the first Leaders debate. 67% of the public voted in his favour after the debate. All the papers next morning had this young man on their front page. I can recall a column in the Metro, a few days later said, “… the establishment is worried and they want to stop this growing fan-club of Nick Clegg.” Establishment! I thought it was just about Pakistan.

The more I heard the man, the more he sounded familiar but I didn’t take much time to find out who he resembled. Imran Khan was the man. Just like him, Nick Clegg went to the finest universities in the UK. Before jumping into politics, Nick was regular student-theater-actor and the captain of the college tennis team. The two men looked similar in outlook, speaking abilities, enthusiasm and youthfulness.

During the debates, Nick tried to pose himself as a messiah. He repeatedly used the words “these politicians” referring to the Labour and Tories. Nobody asked him what the heck he himself is and then, if its so wrong being a politician, what about himself ?

He continuosuly tried to present his party as something new, something which doesnt belong to the existing politics, conveniently neglecting the fact that they have been in business for decades. (Hint: Read history of PTI)

These truly made him sound like our cherished popular leader Imran Khan. He as well had been trying to convince the masses back home that (i) his party is a new alternative (if you ignore they have been there for well over a decade) and (ii) he is good, he is neat and he is not like “those politicians“.

Nick worked under Christopher Hitchens as in intern sometime in his past and probably for this reason he leaned towards agnosticism. Nick is a openly declared agnostic unlike Imran Khan who has been having dramatic shifts between being a playboy or a born-again-Muslim.

But if I do justice and analyse on serious political grounds, it would be very unfair of me to say that Liberal Democrats are like the PTI or that Nick Clegg is like Imran Khan. Nick Clegg is now the deputy PM of the UK just after a short career of around 15 years in politics. His party, Liberal Democrats are the third largest party in the country taking a quarter of the share in votes. The political structure and trends in the two countries are different, I know, but the comparison of the parties is out of question as well.

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Guest Post: My friend Amanullah Kariapper’s account of a day spent in PP 63 (Faisalabad) for the election campaign of the Labour Party candidate.

I thought I’d jot down quick notes on the time I spent yesterday with the election campaign of Mian Abdul Qayyum, the joint candidate of the Labour Qaumi Movement and the Labour Party Pakistan in the by-election for Punjab Assembly constituency PP 63, a semi-rural constituency in the Faisalabad area:

Background:

1. The Labour Qaumi Movement is led and staffed by workers, mainly from the power loom factories of Faisalabad. There are very few full-time activists – members generally get off from their shifts in the factories and then head out to carry out their assigned duties or attend organisational meetings.

2. The movement started with a spontaneous act of rebellion on the part of Abdul Qayyum and some two to three hundred brick kiln workers against the daily humiliations they were subjected to by their owners and management. After this event, workers would often come to seek Abdul Qayyum’s help to resolve disputes with their owners or managers. Then, in 2002, when local body elections were to be held, he was persuaded to stand as their representative. He got the most votes (>17,000), followed by the PML-N candidate (>16,000), while the rest of the candidates got a few hundred votes (all less than 400). At this point, the workers of Faislabad started treating Abdul Qayyum as their de facto councillor, Nazim, and MPA all rolled into one. So, with some like-minded friends, Abdul Qayyum held neighbourhood meetings in all the residential areas of the power loom workers in Faisalabad to talk to them about their idea of creating a movement for their rights – a movement that they themselves would run. As a result of these meetings, 137 individuals came up to them to offer their services for the creation of the movement. At this point, the group felt that they had enough strength to start an organisation. Some people in the group suggested that they should check out the people who had volunteered, to make sure that no one with a questionable reputation was included. Some people were found to have criminal records, some were engaged in dubious businesses. These were excluded and finally written invitations were sent out to the 97 volunteers who checked out. Abdul Qayyum told me that these were not especially noble people, many had never done anything political in their lives or had any kind of exposure to politics. They were neither particularly good nor bad, just workers who wanted to contribute to an effort to change their lives. A meeting was held in a ground in Faisalabad city (I forget the name) with these 97 volunteers. It started punctually at 9 AM and went on till 8 PM. No food was served by the organiser (a sympathetic friend who set up a tent and seating arrangements), only water. In the meeting, everyone who wanted to speak, spoke – even those who had very little political consciousness. Those who had more awareness, took the attendees through the whole history of the country, asking repeatedly the question, why was Pakistan created? For whom? Why were so many sacrifices made? To gain what exactly? The conclusion that attendees drew was that they had been repeatedly deceived by those in power and that it was now time to take power, to use it to benefit the working class, their fellows. So they decided to found the movement to struggle for their rights. Anyone could be a member except someone who had been unjust to workers, essentially, capitalists and investors. There would be no bar based on caste or tribe (baradri) or religious sect. The other rule they set was of exclusive allegiance: a member of the movement could not simultaneously be a member of another political party or of a trade union backed by another political party.

3. After this, groups were set up in factories and in neighbourhoods. The principle of autonomy was strictly observed: every group was free to set up their own organisation in the manner they thought best, as long as they operated in an honest and open manner. The movement members themselves chose the name “Labour Qaumi Movement” and themselves designed its symbol (the star & crescent on three vertical stripes in red, green and white).

4. A word on Abdul Qayyum and his close associates: he has worked in the power loom industry for 25 years. Before him, his father did the same work for 35 years. He has four young sons (don’t know about daughters), all of whom, along with his wife, are active in the struggle. He used to be a Jamaat-e-Islami member but left it. He is literate and a regular follower of the political scene in the country. In personal interaction, he really opened up to me once I assured him that I understood Punjabi. Some of his close associates are from the Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam and even one from the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. But now, they reject the politics of hate-mongering of these organisations and have decided to concentrate on solving the real issues that people face in their daily lives. All of them are, like Abdul Qayyum, power loom workers. They come from all the major castes present in the area – Arain, Rajput and Jat – as well as from smaller groupings. Class consciousness is clearly on the rise here.

5. The major struggles of the movement have been against price-hikes, against layoffs (downsizing) and against load-shedding (which is, implicitly and quite blatantly, unjustly distributed amongst the populace). In these struggles, totally mis-represented in the local and national print and electronic media, many activists of the movement (including Abdul Qayyum) have been in prison several times and even now there is a whole series of FIR’s and counter-FIR’s registered with the police. But with the growth of the movement and the success of its candidates in local body elections (2 nazims and >40 union councillors), the police has had to tone down its aggression and has in fact resorted to appealing to it for help when they are unable to control social disturbances (e.g., the fracas on 12 Rabbi-ul-awwal this year).

Further information on the election and on the Labour Qaumi Movement is available here.

6. Current situation in PP 63:

– Four “serious” candidates: the PPP candidate, the PML-N candidate, the National Muslim League candidate and the LQM/LPP candidate.
– the PML-N (ex-PML-Q) candidate had to resign when it turned out that his degree was fake. That is why the seat fell vacant and the by-election is being held in the first place. Strangely enough, this person’s candidature was accepted once more by the CEC. Not sure how that works.
– both the PML-N and and PPP candidates are using the help of the state (whether provincial or federal government resources). The limit is surely the fact that the Governor Punjab has chosen Sudhar chowk, the campaign headquarters of the LQM candidate, to unveil the PPP’s supposedly labour-friendly (proposed?) legislation package.
– Abdul Qayyum is assured of good support from 8 of the 14 union councils in the constituency, but faces an uphill task in the rest.
– The campaigning is being done by workers organised in teams. There are three male teams and one female team (led by the candidate’s wife). Their aim is that each and every neighbourhood must be visited by one male team, the female team plus a third team led by the candidate himself.
– The workers collect funds amongst themselves, print stickers, have banners painted and put them up themselves without checking with the central campaign office. In this manner, they have managed to print 20,000 stickers and expect to print another 30,000. At the May Day rally organised by LQM, the donation request by the candidate led to the collection of almost Rs. 24,000 within a few hours. Almost all the donation amounts were of Rs. 10 or less.
– Taking advantage of the fact that the candidate’s brother is a painter, the campaign was able to do wall-chalking in all the localities in the constituency at a minimal cost of Rs. 180,000, something that normally costs at least five times as much.
– I found the activists of the movement to be combative, enterprising, fiercely independent and vocal people, with a clear idea of their goals and a seemingly inexhaustible endurance and patience in the face of all kinds of problems – logistical, resource-shortage, sheer obduracy of their interlocutors. They are of this soil and they have taken it upon themselves to bring about a positive change.

7. What is to be done:

– Collect funds. The campaign needs something like Rs. 200,000 for anticipated polling day (May 15, 2010) expenses. The major heads are setting up tents for the campaign’s polling agents at each polling station and the hiring of Qingqi’s and rickshas for the transport of voters to polling stations.

– Volunteer as a polling agent. There are > 130 polling booths in all with around 75 in their stronghold areas. They need people who can read and write to volunteer their time at the polling stations to ensure that no irregularities occur. Given the stakes involved (see below), it is highly probably that all of the other candidates – who are seriously annoyed with what they see as Abdul Qayyum’s impertinent violation of their traditional turf – will attempt some monkey business.
– Provide vehicles (motorcycle or a small car) to help with the campaigning activities.

Contact Info:

– Labour Party contact info: Landline: +92 42 6315162 Fax: +92 42 6271149 Mobile: +92 300 8411945
– Amanullah Kariapper (me): ajkariapper AT gmail DOT com

8. Stakes involved:
– the PPP is looking to this election for a validation/approval of its current policies, a kind of popularity rating. Imagine the kind of signal it would be if, after successfully abetting the establishment in the BB murder cover-up, avoiding/messing up the prosecution case against Zardari in the Swiss case, acceding to IMF demands to increase tariffs and reduce subsidies, completely fouling up the energy policy, they find that the people still love them!
– the PML-N is likewise looking for a vote of approval for its policy of strategic alliances with the PPP (e.g. silence on drone attacks and other measures that expand the cope of Pakistan’s collaboration in the “War on Terror”, collaboration in hampering implementation of sugar price controls) combined with purely populist gestures in Punjab (e.g. “I’ll come on to the streets if the situation does not change” – NS, Shahbaz Sharif’s cloning of the PTI’s sasta tandoor initiative).
– the National Muslim League candidate is obviously looking to establish his independent presence on the political scene. This party is his own creation. I don’t have details on why he split from PML-N (or perhaps it was PML-Q?).
– for the Labour Qaumi Movement and for the Labour Party of Pakistan, this is an exciting opportunity to have, for the first time ever, a worker representing a constituency of workers in a provincial assembly. Someone who could speak truth to power, challenge the political class in its cosy, deceiving arrangements and actually propose people-friendly legislation. I leave it to the imagination of labour activists to think out all the different avenues that such a victory opens up!

9. Open questions:

– I do not know what their stance is on the question of the rights of religious minorities. I do know, however, that they have repeatedly demonstrated in solidarity with Baloch peasants killed/targeted in Army operations.
– I’m not sure about their stance on women’s rights. Women are clearly very active in the movement, and overall, they adhere to the usual codes (of behaviour, of dress) that our society demands of women.

Originally posted here.

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Its common to hear the argument that the world would be immoral; people would become completely unethical turning into animals if they start being skeptical on religion. Its believed that the source of morality is one’s religion. True, that religions are a source of inspiration but the belief that once religion fades away from the society, it becomes immoral, shatters once you look at Scandinavian states or other parts of Europe like UK. Those societies despite of a dramatic increase in people leaving religion are more moral in nature than societies which are more religious.

The common attack on the West by Muslims of it being a materialist immoral society sounds incorrect if we look at the more religious Muslim societies. Further, none of those Muslims give up the benefits they get from that “immoral materialist” society but continue bashing it. Following is a very interesting essay on this very issue by Irfan Hussain.

Religion and Morality

Consider this demographic projection for the UK, and ponder its implications for a moment: within five years, the majority of babies will be born to unmarried parents. However, before you put this down to yet another example of Western immorality, just remember that all these babies will have the same legal rights as those born to married couples.

This trend is part of the wider decline of marriage as an institution. According to a recent study, the figures for people getting married in Britain is at its lowest ever since these statistics began to be compiled nearly 150 years ago.In 2008, only 21.8 per thousand adult men of marriageable age actually took the vow. At 19.6, the figure for women was even lower. And the average age for men getting married for the first time was 32, and for women it was nearly 30.

These figures reveal not so much disillusionment with the institution of marriage, as much as they do a widespread rejection of religion. Church marriages are still favoured by the middle classes, but more for the pomp and glamour of the wedding dress worn by the bride, and the finery sported by the guests. Indeed, attendance for church services has fallen steadily, and most Brits only go to church for weddings and funerals.

A glance at the European table reveals that the belief in a god is generally quite low in all the major countries. Sweden, with only 23 per cent of the population believing in a deity, is the least observant, with the UK at 38 per cent. Germany and France are similarly atheistic or agnostic. Interestingly, Catholic countries seem to be more staunchly Christian, with Poles, Spaniards and Italians being among the most fervent of believers.

Indeed, a lack of belief in a supreme being has long been the hallmark of Western intellectual thought since the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Hence, lawmakers have tried to separate religion form politics, few more so than the Founding Fathers of the United States. Both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were fiercely agnostic in their views.

Scientists, too, have tended to question the belief system they were born into, as revealed by this quotation from Albert Einstein: “Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man’s ethical behaviour should be based on sympathy, education and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”

Many have condemned modern Western civilization for its ‘godless’ ways, pointing to widespread cohabitation between men and women, men and men, and women and women. Alcoholism, nudity and drug-abuse are also frequently cited. All these lifestyle choices are mentioned in arguments over the superiority of Eastern religions and societies. Yet the firm belief in religion and an afterlife in our part of the world do not necessarily translate into better societies.

In the Transparency International table for global perceptions of corruption for 2009, there is not a single Muslim country in the twenty most honest states. However, seven Muslim countries figure among the ten most corrupt states. Interestingly, Sweden, the most godless state in Europe, comes in at joint third with Singapore as the least corrupt country in the world.

There is an argument that corruption is a function of poverty, and once societies have acquired a measure of economic well-being, they tend to become more honest and accountable. While there is some truth to this assertion, how to explain the fact that Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world, is listed as 63rd by TI? And Kuwait comes in at 68. Clearly, then, there is little direct linkage between religion and morality.

Morality

Nevertheless, billions around the world continue to believe deeply in the faith they have grown up in. They derive comfort from following the belief system of their forefathers, and most of them have never felt the need to question it. Indeed, the poor obtain solace for their wretched condition with the promise of compensation in the afterlife. And the rich in our part of the world try and assuage their guilt by giving alms generously, thereby hoping to buy a place in heaven. If only they would pay their taxes with the same zeal, we might be able to make a better world in this life.

In religiously inclined societies like Pakistan, we are fond of criticising Western materialism, while holding up our supposed spirituality as being superior. Even the millions of Muslims who have chosen to migrate to the West make the same assertion. However, I have not noticed any of these people denying themselves the conveniences and the advantages of these same ‘materialistic’ societies. And frankly, I do not see too much evidence of our vaunted ‘spirituality’ in our behaviour or attitudes.

These differences have been sharpened after 9/11, with more and more people in the West now seeing Islam and Muslims as being behind the rise in extremist violence in much of the world. Muslims, for their part, see themselves as victims of a rising Islamophobia.  Interestingly, the trend towards atheism and agnosticism is far less marked in the United States than in Europe. Well below five per cent of Americans assert they do not believe in any god.

Indeed, some Evangelical Christians in America think they have more in common with Muslims than the ‘godless Europeans’.

One reason it is so difficult for many Muslims to become assimilated into the societies they have chosen to live in is the huge cultural differences they encounter. Generally coming from deeply conservative backgrounds, they are shocked with the free and easy lifestyle they encounter. Rather than encouraging their children to integrate, they seek to insulate them from Western values, thus causing a state of mild schizophrenia in second- generation immigrants. Some of these young people become quickly radicalised, and seek clarity in the black-and-white world of religious extremism.

Unfortunately, too many of them lack the education to realise that ultimately, no set of beliefs or values is inherently inferior or superior to another. Morality, as we have seen, is not the monopoly of any faith: an atheist can be more ethical than a religious person. At the end of the day, what matters is that humans behave with consideration and decency, and avoid imposing their beliefs on others.

This essay was originally published in DAWN on 17th February, 2009.

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Liberal and Progressive Muslims have been advocating the reinterpretation of Islam and its message. They claim to be different from traditional Muslims for they believe in reformation of religion using Ijtehad; with an emphasis on use of reason and intellect. They believe in interpreting the sources of religion on a metaphoric basis and not literal. The core difference is on the interpretation of application of core Islamic values and laws. 

There is no consensus between liberal, progressive and reformist Muslims on their views but they all agree on reinterpretation of the message.  They believe in individual autonomy/freedom and encourage free thought process and dialogue. They also stress on forming a society that is just and humane and is not discriminatory to anyone on the basis of religion, color, caste, creed, gender or whatsoever. 

What does it really take to be a Liberal Muslim ? I’ll list the views and beliefs of various reformist movements in Islam or those of famous liberal/progressive Muslim figures. 

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im is one of the Muslim academics/scholars who advocates a secular state for Muslim societies. (Book Title: Islam and the Secular State - Negotiating the future of Shari'a)

Separation of religion and politics:Liberal Muslims reject theocracy. They believe in separating the authorities of religion from the authorities of politics. Every individual should have freedom of belief and to practice his faith but religion should be a private domain. They believe that religions are a sources of inspiration but public administration and legislation should be achieved by consensual process. In other words, the state should not have a religion of itself but should allow all citizens to believe in and practice whatever they want. 

Support and encourage free thought and critical thinking: Liberal Muslims believe in free thought process and encourage critical thinking. They believe that questioning, thinking and exploration will leads Muslims find out better solutions for modern day problems from within Islam. They believe that Islam does not put bounds on questioning and thought process and it must be encouraged otherwise these restrictions and bans will pose a serious threat to Islam. This is one of the reasons they encourage and rely on Ijtehad with the use of reason and intellect to re-interpret the message of Islam. 

Relative Truth: They believe that truth is relative, in interpretation of religion. They suggest that since interpretations come from humans; they are made in specific circumstances and times or contexts. They suggest and encourage the need of interpreters in every age to achieve a pluralistic society. 

Emphasis on religio-ethics: Liberal Muslims believe that religions are a source of inspiration and can give us some guiding principle to achieve a better society. Thus, they suggest that religion should be studied, researched, understood, and interpreted with an emphasis on religio-ethics and not literal interpretation of the sources. They believe that this way Muslims can contribute a lot taking inspiration from ethics of Islam to achieve a more human and just society. 

Equality of rights and preveliges for minorities: Liberal Muslims believe that minorities; whether they be based on a different religion, sect, caste, creed, race, tribe, nationality, gender or whatsoever should have equal rights as enjoyed by the majority. There should be no discrimination in any aspect of affairs of life in public sphere. They suggest that one should side with the marginalized and oppressed as a token of solidarity and to demand equality for them. 

Freedom of belief, non-belief or change of belief: They believe that religion is one’s personal matter and it should be one’s own choice to believe or not to believe in a religion. They suggest that one should be completely free to choose for himself a religion or belief system of his choice or not to believe in any.  One should also have the freedom to quit a belief system or to choose another one. They further add that one should have the freedom of practice or non-practice of the religion one chooses; this being his/her personal matter. 

All humans are equal: They believe in the notion of absolute equality of all human beings. They believe that all human beings are born free and equal and must be treated likewise. 

Liberal Muslims reject burqa for it being against the teaching of Islam and an attack on personality of the women.

Feminism: Women rights is one of the most important aspect of the clash between liberal and conservative Muslims. Liberal Muslims believe in complete equality of genders and suggest that a woman, being equal to a man in intellect and abilities can be a head of the state. They reject segregation of genders. Liberal Muslims have also been critical of traditional dress-codes prescribed for women in relatively conservatives societies. They have called the burqa; which covers a woman from head to toe, as against the individual liberty and personality of the woman and is against the teachings of Islam as well which according to them only asks for modest dressing. 

Appreciation for Science: Liberal Muslims believe that science has done wonders for the mankind. They reject the notion of mixing science with religion or superstitions. They suggest that science as a study of natural phenomenas can help humans know the world around them better which will in turn help for achieving a better society. They believe that science and religion are completely different domains and should not be mixed. They are likely to accept the idea of evolution over creationism. 

Ayotullah Montazeri; a Shia cleric from Iran had been advocating a constitutional social democratic state.

Democracy and Social Welfare: Liberal Muslims advocate a constitutional democracy under the guiding principle of social welfare as a political system for Muslim socities. They suggest that democracy is one of the tenants of early Islam and should be encouraged in Muslim socities. They reject monarchy or dictatorships. There have been a few religious scholars who have been defending a democratic state for Muslim socities. Ayotullah Montazeri; a Shia cleric from Iran had been advocating a constitutional social democratic state for Iran. 

Although there have been a few reformist movements in Islam and a few by liberal/progressive Muslims in different parts of the world; but none of these has been popular at mass level. In times of crisis like the one we are going through; there is vacuum which needs to be filled by liberal and progressive Muslim scholars and academics.  

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The following video has been making rounds on internet: social networking websites, blogs and twitter. I also received it through a couple of forwarded emails.

The video asks you to Stand up for the Champions. No. Not any football league, not the T20 champions. This time it seeks applause for Mujahideen, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Usama Bin Laden and others. The video shows clips and images of Usama and others glorifying them as Muslim heroes fighting America or maghrib.

Reality Check: Champions and Music

1. Taliban banned Music in Pakistan for being haraam in Islam. ( Details )
2. Afghan Mujahideen only allowed religious songs and Taliban chants. ( Details )
3. Jamia Hafsa and Islamabad Music/CD shops. ( Details )
4. “Taliban burned down cinema houses, shot video shop owners, smashed satellite dishes and drove women off the streets“. (Ref: Rashid 2000, p. 194.)

Reality Check: Who wants us to stand up ?

The Mujahideen-fans who have been so in love with this video might also like to know who is the person behind this music track.

1. Stand Up for the Champions is a track by a British band named Right Said Fred.
2. The track has been extensively used by National football leagues in USA.

Its an irony that people don’t even realize that they are glorifying Taliban for fighting US and its allies (UK etc) but are using popular maghribi/Western music – the same West they hate so much; the same West fighthing against which Taliban are being glorified.

Even more surprising is the fact they are glorifying Taliban who banned music and all forms of cultural activities/arts but are making, sharing and ‘liking’ music videos like these. Lest I miss to mention, Taliban even put a ban on videos, TV, satellite dishes as well.

Glorification for such anti-technology, anti-modernization, anti-culture, anti-arts morons using technology and arts – and that too maghribi. Shame. Imperialism whether American or Arab should be rejected but for heaven’s sake use the coconut when doing so.

I leave you with an excellent essay by Eqbal Ahmed on Taliban and music/culture:

In a Land Without Music

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I have been reading Asghar Khan’s “We’ve learnt nothing from History“. For those who don’t know, Asghar Khan was a fighter pilot and served as the head of PAF and later PIA. He was President of a political party named Pakistan Tehreek-e-Istaqlal which played a vital role in opposition to Bhutto. The passage that follows is an excerpt from this book which discusses Pakistan’s nuclear capability and provides a security and threat analysis in light of our nukes. This analysis, from an ex-head of PAF should be a must read for everyone interested in an analysis of the nukes,  national security and defense concerns.

The Nuclear Option by Asghar Khan

When India exploded its nuclear bomb, Nawaz Sharif, sent one of his ministers to seek my advice whether we should also explode a nuclear device, I advised him not to do so. However the widespread frenzy and a false sense of pride got the better of him and he took the step that was acclaimed in the country as an act of statesmanship.

If Pakistan was a non-nuclear power it would not be necessary for India to attack Pakistan with nuclear weapons even if Pakistan was the aggressor. It makes no sense that India should launch a nuclear attack against Pakistan when it already has three times Pakistan’s strength in conventional weapons. It is Pakistan, a smaller military power that may, in desperation, want to use nuclear weapons in its defence.

India Pakistan War: The nuclear option.

However if it ever did so, India could retaliate and within minutes destroy three or four of Pakistan’s cities and also Pakistan’s main command and control capacity.Anything comparable that Pakistan could do may damage India in many ways but it would be nothing compared to the damage that would have been done to Pakistan. Pakistan would, as a result, be mortally damaged whereas India would be damaged to a much lesser extent and would still survive as a nation. It is also possible that in a state of heightened tension, India could itself explode a bomb or two in one of its lesser populated or vital areas and then within minutes obliterate Pakistan’s main strategic centres. India could claim that Pakistan had bombed it first. There would not be many of us left to deny this.

There are other scenarios that are frightening. India and Pakistan are today the only two hostile nuclear powers with a common border. The warning time is less than one minute and in this situation, a misreading of a warning of a nuclear attack could initiate a reaction and the launching of a retaliatory strike. This could initiate a nuclear conflict by miscalculation.

After the second world war there were a number of occasions when the two nuclear powers, the US and the USSR, misread the warning of a possible nuclear strike and ordered their interceptor aircraft to meet the ‘hostile’ aircraft, assumed to be carrying nuclear weapons. After some time and before the interceptor aircraft had made contact, it was discovered that the warning was false and the interceptor aircraft were called back

In our situation, we do not have the distance or the time to correct our mistake. The few seconds that we have, will not be enough and it is likely that we will destroy ourselves before the error is recognized. There is also the danger that some madman on either side, might press the button in the belief that it was his national or religious duty to do so. The possibilities are frightening and only fools can disregard this real danger. It has been true throughout history that an enemy has been created to infuse unity in a country and indeed sometimes desirable for it to make progress. The dissolution of the Soviet Union posed a problem for the United States and it had been faced for over a decade with the need to invent threats for its progress and stability.

Pakistan's nuclear weapons : Compromising health-care and public-welfare budget.

The attack on the twin towers on September 1, 2001, tragic as it was, has given the United States the enemy that it had begun to miss. Iraq and other countries that may follow are required to mobilize the American public to strengthen the government of the time. This has been true throughout history but the nuclear bomb has changed the world in the last half century. It is now necessary that the public should exert its power and influence to ensure that it is not exploited by its government for its narrow political purposes. What is true of the United States or other powerful states applies equally to Pakistan – a country placed in a critical strategic position. Misleading the public, in matters of survival, could have disastrous consequences.

I believe that with the present unsatisfactory international situation with India, Pakistan would be more secure without nuclear weapons. If Pakistan has no nuclear weapons and opened itself to inspection to satisfy world opinion that it could no longer use nuclear weapons, it would have only a conventional threat to its security. India could not use its nuclear power against Pakistan and would have to rely on its conventional weapons alone. Because of its heavy investment in maintaining a large nuclear capability, India’s capacity to maintain a large conventional force at the same time would be limited. That itself would give greater security to Pakistan which should review its concept of defence.

In this situation, with the knowledge that India could not launch a nuclear strike against Pakistan, it should prepare only for a conventional war. Pakistan should maintain an effective air force with reasonable armored strength and should cut down drastically, the defence expenditure on its regular land forces. With a large reserve of trained manpower it should have a large territorial reserve force organized in geographical sectors called up for periodical refresher training and capable of deployment at 24 hours’ notice. Their weapons should be kept at suitable locations for rapid issue.

In the name of national security; the Governments of India and Pakistan are denying fundamental human rights to the masses. Education, Poverty, Health-care are all common problems of the two nuke-armed neighbors.

Not only would Pakistan’s defence thus be strengthened but what is equally important, the defence budget could be cut down drastically. If other wasteful and totally unnecessary expenditures are cut down and the fat reduced, our defence would be greatly strengthened at far lesser cost.

It is however sad but true that few in power or those aspiring to get into power, will have the courage to face facts and accept reality. It is more likely that they will continue to misguide the people and lead the country towards greater misery and possible destruction.

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The parable that follows was originally composed by the greatest of all Sufi poets, Jalal ad-Din Rumi (d. 1273) and recounted by Idris Shah, the Grand Shaykh of Sadarna.

A Persian, a Turk, and Arab and a Greek were traveling to a distant land when they began arguing over how to spend the single coin they posessed among themselves. All four craved food, but the Persian wanted to spend the coin on angur; the Turk, on uzum; the Arab, on inab; and the Greek, on stafil. The argument became heated as each man insisted on having what he desired.

A linguist passing by overheard their quarrel. “Give the coin to me,” he said. “I undertake to satisfy the desires of all of you.”

Taking the coin, the linguist went to a nearby shop and bought four small bunches of grapes. He then returned to the men and gave them each a bunch.

“This is my angur!” cried the Persian.
“But this is what I call uzum,” replied the Turk.
“You have bought me my inab,” the Arab said.
“No! This in my language is stafil.”

All of a sudden, the men realized that what each of them had desired was in fact the same thing, only they did not know how to express themselves to each other.

Rumi and Whirling Dervesh : The costume and dance as seen in this picture are associated with Sufism/Rumi and can be pre-dominantly seen in Turkey and Central Asian states.

The four travelers represent humanity in its search for an inner spiritual need it cannot define and which it expresses in different ways. The linguist is the Sufi, who enlightens humanity to the fact that what it seeks (its religions), though called by different names, are in reality one identical thing. However — and this is the most important aspect of the parable — the linguist can offer the travelers only the grapes and nothing more. He cannot offer them wine, which is “the essence of the fruit.” In other words, human beings cannot be given the secret of ultimate reality, for such knowledge cannot be shared, but must be experienced through an arduous inner journey toward self-annihilation. As the transcendent Iranian poet, Saadi of Shiraz, wrote,

I am a dreamer who is mute,
And the people are deaf.
I am unable to say,
And they are unable to hear.

Excerpt from the chapter ‘Stain your Prayer Rug with Wine‘ from Reza Aslan’s No God But God.

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