Is Your Imam addressing Minority Rights Issues?

Like most of the readers of this post I was shocked, disgusted and angry at the Peshawer Church Blast incident; a terrorist attack during Sunday Mass. It is a time when a person is reaching out to God sharing his fears, his worries, his emotions and his secrets. It appears such a natural, private and fundamental right and to imagine that one cannot even have that personal time with God Almighty anymore. Nothing appears a more gruesome manner of threatening the right of life.

I thought I at least ought to hold a vigil to pay my respects to the departed. A mere 40 people joined outside the press club. We lit candles, prayed and said words of protest. Half hour later I realized I was preaching to the converted and though it was necessary to pay respect to those departed, the vigil was a so futile otherwise.

It hit me again that the solution of every problem lies in education. In a Muslim majority country where the minorities are being subjected to endless atrocities how can I get a word about what Islam teaches us to do in terms of minority rights? The answer was simple. The Mosque. The one institution where by a safe measure 90% population of this country is ‘informed’ if not ‘education’ on Islam is the mosque.

I launched a facebook campaign asking friends to visit their local mosques and request their Imams to condemn the Peshawer Blast and talk about minority rights in Islam in their Friday Sermons.  Friday prayers are the biggest weekly congregation of muslims and the best way to interact with every possible class/sector/segment of society.

I got a few positive response but most expressed concern and fear of backlash from the Imam. I could not blame them for feeling discourage. One would never know how the Imam may respond and you may very well be toying with the idea of being possible victim of blasphemy law. Wednesday evening I decided to do the test run myself. I do not offer my prayers regularly so I stayed up the whole night to ensure I make it to Fajr prayers on Thursday. I went to the neighborhood mosque and none of the familiar faces there were willing to come and talk to the Imam with me once they got to know I would ask him to condemn the Peshawar Blast Attack and seek his views on TTP. I sat with the Imam post fajr and tried hard to put the proposition to him in the most mildest manner to judge his reaction. The 30 minute conversation which followed made me try hard to control my frustration and amusement. A request for condemning an attack on a church turned into a debate on America, Taliban, Malala and the Arab Spring. Finally my patience paid be fruit. I found support from an elderly stranger who saw the wisdom in my views and who helped persuade the Imam. In the end he finally agreed to discuss minority rights in Islam in his Jumma Bayan with the condition that he will discuss the rights of the majority too.

Today, I left office my office to offer Jumma in the neighbourhood mosque. I was a little late and joined the Bayan midway. Tried to make my way through the crowd to find a spot in front of the Imam. The Imam noticed me and smiled. A few minutes later he started talking about the concept of Justice in Islam and said that as Muslims we should do justice without discrimination and even if a Non-Muslim is right he should get justice. There was no condemnation of the Peshawer Blast and there was no insight into the actual rights of minorities. I was to a certain extent heart broken and dismayed. I thought perhaps the Imam may bring it up in the Dua at the end. He didn't. The moment the Dua ended I felt the need to address the Imam across the hall and request him to pray for the Minorities and the protection of their worship places. It would definitely have had shock value but it would have also rubbed him the wrong way and I would have lost a medium of communication in him. So I waited for the crowd to clear up and spoke to him in private. He smiled and said "I did try to bring up the issue. Were you hearing?" I clearly did not look convinced to him. I told him "Imam sb what about discussing their rights? I came all the way here to listen to you talk about their rights." He said "I'll go for it next Jumma" and I replied "I will come here to offer prayers next Jumma too then." I learnt and realised that as someone preaching tolerance I need to be tolerant and patient as well. It does not matter how many Jumma it takes, our society.

Quite a few of my friends went to their local mosques to talk to their Imams for a long time. Imams of four different mosques in Defence Karachi happily agreed to discuss the issue.

Below is the relevant clip from today's sermon given by my Imam.

Poetry Meray Leader (Our Impotent Government) - Teen Talwar Dharna Day 2

A poetry on the impotence of the Government and the ignorance of all those Pakistanis not  willing to take part in the Protest actively on the streets. Recited on Day 2 of the Dharna  against Shia/Hazara Genocide.

Meray Leader: (Full Version)

Kia yeh hai tera laho? Ya yeh hai mera laho?
Galiyon main jo ajj beh raha, hai yeh kis ka laho?

Har simt ek cheekho pukaar hai, har gali main bo-qaate ka shor
Kay qaatilon kay haath lag gayi apni zindagi ki dor

Woh jo raat gaye se tak rahi hai raasta apnay chiragh ka
Dar kay bethi hai kay kuch pata nahi halaat ka
Himmat hai toh meray Leader ja kay us maa ko bata
Booriyon say tapak raha hai us kay laal ka laho

Khabie tasveer dekh ker woh hasti hai khabie roti hai
Maa! Baba kab ayen gey subah tak poochti rehti hai
Toh Us kam sin ko yeh kaisay samjhaye ga meray leader
Kay toh Khamosh tha jab zaya hoa us kay baap ka laho

Us Bhuray kay Kaandhay ajj, janaza utha utha kar thak gaye
Jo reh gaye hain zindagi kay chand saal, woh matam kay liye bach gaye
Woh pagal teri galiyon main mara mara phir raha hai meray Leader
Kahin dhoondh na le teri aasteen pay woh apni ulaad ka laho

Abhi kuch hi dino ki baat hai, hum ek general ko bhaga rahay thay
tumharay waadon par takia kar, jhamoriat kay geet ga rahay thay
Hum kam zarfon ko kahan tha itna hosh itni khaber
kay jhamoriat main mehenga hota hai sirf sahib-e-iqtedaar ka laho


Tum bus Committeeyan bana rahay thay, woh lashain gira rahay thay
Tum mushawrat aur mufahmat kay naam pay bahanay bana rahay thay
yeh sirf ghaflat hai teri ya asal majra kuch aur hai
yahan fironiyat bhi jhamori hai, yeh bara jadeed dur hai


Woh Karachi, Quetta, Gilgit main intezaar kertay reh gaye
Socha kay meray Leader kay tum bus ab madad ko aa rahay ho
Muaf kerna woh badnaseeb bawaquf bhool gaye
kay tum vote lay ker 5 saal kay liye araam farma rahay ho

Tum toh Leader bannay kay liye ajab tamashay bhi lagatay ho
ek dojay kay firqon ko gali de ker nafrat ki aag bharkatay ho
Ajeeb tassub main jee raha hai mera Awami Numainda
Awam ko awam say lar waha raha hai khud mera Awami Numainda

Taliban, Sippa-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi aur Taiba
Haye, meray Leader tum kis kis say laro gey?
Tum toh aam say admi ho, hum tumhay yun hi dalair samajh bethay
Yeh awaam kon si sagi hai jo is kay liye maro gey

Yahan fauj bhi majboor hai, kay abhi upar say order nahi ayen hain

Toh phir General tu hi bata kia sach yeh afwaayain hain

Kay in Saapoloon ko tunay  toh hi nahi paal rakha

Shayad isi liye pila raha hai tu inhay awaam ka laho

zulm-o-jabr aur haiwaniyat ka ajeeb mahool bana dia
tum bhi kam yazeed nahi, roshni kay shehar ko qarbala bana dia
jab inhay mehangai, berozgari aur bemari na maar saki
tum nay un kay ghar main ghus kay khud unhay maar dia

Tumhay sadarat mubarak ho, tumhay wazarat mubarak ho
Hakumti mehloon main rehnay walon, tumhay tamgha-e-jisarat mubarak ho
Bus ab hum per itna reham karo, hum per itna karam karo
In janazon per apnay jhanday na lehrao, bus ab thori toh sharam karo

Hum awam khud bhi kuch kar saktay thay, magar andar say bahut dartay hain
shayad isi liye haq ki larai, sirf facebook aur twitter pay lartay hain
jesay humnay bhi apnay zameer ko ek lambi neend sula dia hai
Muharram ajj bhi hai mutabbir, mager Ahl-e-Bayt ka sabak bhula dia hai

Kia Ibn-e-Ali, Ibn-e-Hussain ki shahadat ka yeh nahi mafhoom
Kay jo haq ki rah main na beh sakay to beqaar hai laho

Tu ajj meray Leader hum bhi kuch kuch tum say ho gaye hain
Matlabi, nasal parast, firqon main bat gaye hain
yun hi khama khua nahi khulatay apna yeh laho
Poochtay hain pehlay kay baha Shia, Sunni ya Ahmadi ka laho

Hamaray liye yahi ghum kaafi kion nahi raha
Kay qaatilon nay giraya akhir meri maa, Pakistan, tera lahoo
kia yeh hai tera laho, ya yeh hai mera laho?
galiyon main jo ajj beh raha, hai yeh kis ka laho?

Poetry on Hussainyat - Teen Talwar Dharna Day 1

A poetry I wrote about Hussainyat and the menace of Sectarianism and recited on Day 1 of the Teen Talwar Dharna against Shia/Hazara Genocide.

The Dharna is not Shia!

Yesterday I spent 12 hours at the Dharna at Teen Talwar, Clifton, against the Shia genocide. At the time of writing, the Dharna is still underway and it has been over 24 hours since its start now.

When I joined the Dharna at Bilawal House last month, I had arrived 10 hours after the proceedings had started. The place was already packed with thousands of Shia protesters and being a Sunni I was intimidated. The repeated chants of “Labaik Ya Hussian” and “Ya Ali” were deafening and frightening. I was confused whether I should join in as I actually pondered if these chants were blasphemous.

I felt alienated listening to various references to the Imams who aren’t discussed in our mainstream curriculum.  Speaker after speaker made references to how the Shia population was a target, how they were the oppressed, how they were the victims. I felt frustrated thinking that the Quetta bombing was first and foremost a human tragedy, a national tragedy so why wasn’t it being treated as one.

I looked around and found the answer. If the protest was not a national protest, then why should I expect the victims to be identified as Pakistanis. If the organizers were Shia and the vast majority of protesters were Shia then why shouldn’t they have the right to highlight their victimization at a sectarian level.

Belonging to the majority sect of Pakistan, it was embarrassing to find myself in the minority in this protest.

At that time I realized that I was not intimidated because the Shias were hostile or unfriendly upon learning about my sect. In fact every Shia who learnt about my identity, came forward, shook my hand and thanked me for coming. The fear crept from inside from my deep rooted bias which is instilled in most Sunni children as how Shias secretly hate Sunnis. Sadly, the opposite appeared to be true.

Hence, this time I had made a point to be at the Dharna from the very start and encouraged all my Sunni friends to do the same. When I arrived along with my friends, there were just three people standing on Teen Talwar looking in all directions trying to spot co-protesters. We walked up and joined in. People drove by paying no attention. 10 more people joined in, but the bystanders appeared unbothered. Suddenly, I heard someone scream at the top of their voice “Naray-e-Haideri!”. The cars slowed down, the traffic Police took notice. I turned around to find that the voice was not of a Shia protestor, but of my friend, Nadir, a Sunni. I couldn’t hold back the smile on my face. What started with 3, reached the strength of close to 3000 in a few hours.

This lot of protestors appeared more mature and well aware than that at Bilawal House. This time slogans were not chanted against America but against Taliban. Western Powers were not blamed for sectarian violence, but Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba were bluntly blamed. This Dharna was not in denial. They were willing to accept that terrorism is a home grown problem.

Protesters stopped chanting “tum kitnay shia maro gey?” and asked “tum kitnay insaan maro gey?”

The goods things from the Bilawal House Dharna were also carried forward here and one had to be there to note those finer details. Teenage boys who were risking their lives by volunteering as security guards (unarmed), then there were volunteers who had made a makeshift kitchen and were serving tea, then there were those who were distributing juices, biscuits and biryanis, then there volunteers as young as 5 and as old as 70 carrying out trash bags collecting used paper cups and wrappers. No public or private property was allowed to be damaged. In all of those volunteers there were lessons to be learnt; the lesson of selflessness, the lesson of civic responsibility, the lesson of unconditional patriotism and the lesson of community.

Unfortunately, one sad fact also remained common between both Dharnas. Sunnis were again a minority. And now I want to ask the Sunni readers why? Why is Hazara killings not our concern? Why is Shia genocide not our concern? If it is then where were the Sunni Protesters? Why did we let this Dharna be reduced to a Shia protest too? Does only the death of a Sunni boy or girl has the exclusive privilege of being reported as a Pakistani death?

For those Sunni readers who really aren’t bothered about a Shia death, they should know that not all Hazaras who died in the bomb blasts were Shia.  

Every single time such a tragedy takes place the ignorance of the Sunnis results in only more ridicule for Pakistan at the international level as we expose to the world how polarized and inhumane we are that we cannot even condemn terrorism and loss of innocent lives as one united nation. But at home, the damage is worse. We make our Shia countrymen realize that they are alone. We tell them that we will celebrate 14^th August together, that we will dance on the streets upon our cricketing victories together, that in the good times we will be there, but that’s where the brotherhood stops. In the time of mourning and against threat you are alone. At most, we will extend our sympathies on social networking websites.

Attending the protest as a Sunni did not make me a better Pakistani, but what did sitting at home and just updating your facebook status against the genocide made you?

There were thousands of Pakistani students who took part in the “Occupy University” Campaign in England in 2008 in protest against Israeli occupation of Gaza. Sadly, most of them choose to sit at home now because apparently Palestinians are more Pakistani than Hazaras.

Step up and step out. Be a part of something. Make the protest Pakistani. Make this tragedy Pakistani. Make the demands Pakistani. Make yourself Pakistani.

I end with the poetry I recited at the Dharna highlighting not just the impotence of the Government against these atrocities but also the ignorance of the majority of Pakistanis not willing to come out on the streets for active protests.

Dr. Abdus Salam: Give back our History its Hero!

Yesterday was the 37^th Birth Anniversary of Preity Zinta. I was never concerned with her age or her work but almost every ‘notable’ Pakistani News Channel made it a point that along with all other cable tv viewing Pakistanis I am made aware of this important development in Ms. Zinta’s life. This week also marked the 87^th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Abdus Salam. However, unlike Ms. Zinta ‘s special day I was not informed of the news by the tv media as perhaps they did not see any point celebrating it. I learnt about Dr. Salam’s birthday on my own initiative and out of my own curiosity about Dr. Salam and because unlike 82% population of Pakistan, I have access to the internet.

My curiosity was sparked by one of the most beautiful yet tragic videos I saw on Facebook. It was a teaser of a docufilm on the science and life of Dr. Salam produced by two young Pakistanis. It was beautiful to me because it was a Film about Pakistan’s first and only Noble Laureate. It was tragic because the filmmakers had made the teaser to interest the viewers in funding the post production phase of the Documentary Film. They are seeking monetary support to celebrate the life of a man, a Pakistani, who literally changed the way mankind conceptualized the universe. As it was just a teaser it left so many questions unanswered and as I didn’t really know anything about Dr. Salam besides his Nobel Prize I took to the internet.

The more I read about the many achievements of this brilliant mind the more ashamed I was of my ignorance and the more frustrated I felt that I am a product of the Pakistani education system. How come this man was never presented as a role model in any of my physics and chemistry lectures in school? How come this illustrious name was omitted in our glorified history books which I studied while taking Pakistan Studies? Why was I made to rote learn the name of every single Soldier who was decorated with the highest medals in our wars with India but never educated on the life of a man who earned Pakistan the greatest medal in Science, the world had to offer.

Almost every Pakistani knows that Imran Khan used his World Cup victory to generate support for a cancer hospital. But how many know that Dr. Salam used his Nobel Prize to gain support for his dream project, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy which is at the forefront of serving scientists for developing countries by providing them continuing educations and skills. Or that Dr. Salam was instrumental in getting over 500 physicists, mathematicians and scientists placed for doctorates in prestigious universities in the UK and USA.

And I am baffled by the irony that we celebrate Dr. A. Q. Khan, the father of the Atomic Bomb of ‘Pakistan’ and the world condemns him whereas the world celebrates Dr. Salam and we condemn him. Why don’t we remember Dr. Salam like we cherish Dr. A. Q. Khan despite that he fact the Dr. Salam was dubbed the ‘Scientific Father’ of the Pakistani Nuclear Programme for having established the Theoretical Physic Group within the Pakistan Atomic Commission. I am not the only one. The whole world is as baffled on how Dr. Salam’s motherland shunned him while this son continued to serve her. How many times had it been that foreign countries specially Western countries have advocated the appointment of a Pakistani to an international office. While the world endorsed  Dr. Salam’s candidacy for the post of Director General of UNESCO, the Zia regime refused to put his name forward.

Is it because he was an Ahmadi? Is our country’s prejudice against this minority sect so deep, so preposterous and so insulting of the teachings of Mainstream Islam that we chose to condemn a man for his personal beliefs over celebrating him for his contributions to science and humanity? Were our leaders and people of this Islamic Republic so insecure about their religion that they could not afford the question of how someone so genius and informed on the subject of the evolution of the Universe prescribed to a different interpretation of Islam? They did not even need to answer this last question as Dr. Salam was not awarded honorary Doctorate of Science by 36 universities in 23 countries for the way he offered his prayers perhaps because the way Dr. Salam approached God affected only him, but the way Dr. Salam approached his work affected the world.

Dr. Salam lived as a Muslim for the first 48 years of his life during which Pakistan loved him and decorated him. He was declared a Non-Muslim for the remaining 22 years during which he was shunned by liberals and conservatives alike. His faith did not change for the entire duration of 70 years nor did his services to the Nation stop. What changed was the power dynamics in Pakistani politics; what changed was the ideology of Pakistan and what changed was Jinnah’s vision that religion was not the business of the state. 

The filmmakers of the docufilm are Pakistanis so how come were they bothering themselves with this tribute to the legacy of Dr. Salam? How come they did not hate and condemn him? My instant reaction was they must be Ahmadis living somewhere in self-exile and trying to highlight the persecution of their sect and politicizing Dr. Salam’s memory. What I learnt when I made the effort of actually finding answers out myself, an act which Pakistani’s (including myself) rarely indulge in, was quite the contrary. Both Zakir Thaver and Omar Vandal are non-Ahmadis and both of them as young Pakistani science majors in college felt betrayed by their country’s history books. They met at the College of Wooster in the U.S., the year Dr. Salam passed away and it was there outside of Pakistan where they discovered how well respected by the rest of the world, well received and influential was Dr. Salam.

These two individuals with their limited resources started work on the docufilm in 2002. The Documentary which took them to various countries to capture Dr. Salam’s life on camera. Thu far it has not been funded by any Ahmadi Institution but by individuals belonging to various sects and religions. They have dedicated the past 10 years in trying to research and develop the story, locate archives and film interviews pay a sincere homage to a man who to them was first and foremost a scientist, a teacher, a philanthropist an innovator, a patriot and a first-rate mind who challenged the limits of what was defined ‘humanly possible’; he challenged the status-quo.

If this initiative had been taken by our Government, this docufilm could have been completed in months if not weeks. In an era where Pakistan is globally perceived as a savage country and Pakistanis as regressive people what has our Government and our civil society at large done to celebrate those who thought and achieved things deemed beyond their times. Dr. Salam was a man who championed the cause of technological and scientific advances in third world countries; a man who was not schooled at Aitchison or Karachi Grammar but received education at a government school in Jhang; a man who belonged to a lower middle class family and had to fight economical and social pressures of taking conventional jobs such as the civil service to stick to his love, Mathematics and Physics. Dr. Salam’s journey is a beautiful romance between a student and education and given his socio economic background it is a journey with which every poor but eager student of this country can empathize with and get motivation from. It is a story every young Pakistani should be made to study and realize the power of the words of Dr. Salam’s spiritual mentor, Allam Iqbal:

“Jo Ho Shauq-e-Yaqeen Paida, toh badal jaateen hai taqdeerain”

The Government did not adopt any such initiative to pay him tribute but the Government did not forget him either. On the orders of a local magistrate Dr. Salam’s grave stone was effectively desecrated by removing the word ‘Muslim’ removed from his epitaph.

But what to say of the religious persecution of this tragic son when Pakistan is a country where the Superior Court occupied themselves for more than 30 years after the death of Quaid-e-Azam debating whether the Father of the Nation was a Sunni or a Shia.

Hoping that one day even though the Government may not be able to offer free education it can offer children the freedom to choose their role models. Dr. Salam, thank you and rest in peace Sir!

Abdus Salam Docufilm - Fundraising Teaser (abdussalamdocufilm.com/donate) from Kailoola Productions LLC on Vimeo.