Why Religion Could Not Unite Pakistan
Raza Habib Raja Today’s Pakistan displays strange contrasting patterns with respect to religion’s influence. Apparently Pakistan looks to be a relatively moderate country particularly when compared to the likes of Iran , Afghanistan , Saudi Arabia etc. Here the hardliners have never been voted in power through the ballot box. It has an independent media and relatively loose censorship standards. Radical Islam as a mode of life is still largely absent from the overall lifestyle of the Pakistanis as the country by no stretch of imagination is following the trajectory of Iran. It does not have the charismatic cultish religious leader like Khomeini and the public mood despite being conservative is hardly appreciative of hard line version of Islam when it comes to ballot box. Anyone coming from abroad for the first … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bangladesh, Identity, India, Islam
Article of the Day: Leave it to Allah
by Muhammad Shehzad [Excerpts] A new trend was noticeable in the recent sectarian attacks in the country. Earlier, the target was primarily the Asna Ashri Shias(followers of the 12 Imams). Now, however, the scope is widening. The Asna Ashris are a powerful community in Pakistan. Like their Deobandi rivals-whose proteges include the now defunct militant Sipah Sahaba Pakistan and the Lashkar e Jhangvi-the Asna Ashri have the Sipah Mohammad. In the late ‘90s and early 2000, the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, baluchistan, Citizens, History, human rights, Identity, Iran, ISI, Islam, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, minorities, Pakistan
Death of a Nation
by Hafsa Khawaja Holding on in the midst of political, social and economic storms, the Pakistan of today is an illustration of an almighty bedlam. Unsurprisingly, death and destruction have now eased into humdrum routinely occurrences for most people; Predictably throwing a cloak of desensitization over them; giving rise to chronic apathy. A common trend that has been nurtured in this environment is the juxtaposition of tragedies for comparisons to exhibit selectivity of people’s reactions and responses. To question … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, culture, drama, History, human rights, Identity, Opinion, Pakistan, Society, violence, war
Indians and Pakistanis
Abhinav Pandya This article is written by one of my close friends at Cornell. I am grateful to him for contributing for PTH. Raza Habib Raja I remember, back home, every morning my brother would bring me the newspaper which had something on ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) as the lead organization behind everything happening in India ranging from farmer suicides, corruption scandals, black money to terrorism. The next day, same newspaper would be stuffed with the statements of hardliners trying to espouse the escapist brand of patriotism in order to run away from the real issues (as it requires a lot of introspection which any fanatic breed is scared of) eventually breeding a generation of youth who thrives on these ideas of misinformed and imagined hatred. Being in … Read entire article »
The story teller’s sacrifice
by Amal Khan Fifteen years ago, in a city fifty miles south of Lahore, a Bishop shot himself in front of the Sessions Court where a Christian had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. It was a particularly personal protest. A sixty six year old Roman Catholic priest took a pistol to his head and excluded himself from holy communion with God. An optimistic man; gentle and educated. For reasons that we might better understand today, Bishop John Joseph decided that the model of the passive Christ, one who endures and suffers with worthy but ineffectual grace, just wasn’t his cup of tea. This was his act of self awareness; important to each of us in understanding questions of powerlessness and power. Especially, How much power do I possess? This is a tricky question, … Read entire article »
Indo Pak Agreement: A Great Leap Forward
Pak Tea House welcomes the visit of Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna and the agreements regarding Trade and a relaxed Visa Regime. It was a step in the right direction, towards Making South Asia a peaceful place. Trade between the two countries and frequent contacts between ordinary folk from both sides will pave the way for a gradual end to the belligerency and Jingoistic narrative adopted by Hawks on both sides of the border. Express … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, History, Identity, India, Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, Partition, Society, south asia, Uncategorized
“Death to America?”-Our Obsession with Anti Americanism
By Talal Raza: Death to America for all the mess that is all around us! Right? How about death to all the Pakistanis who haven’t been able to decide who are they? Are we an Islamic country or a secular one? Or probably my childhood memory is right when it says:‘Sshhssshh, Text book says we got Pakistan in the name of Islam’. After ruling 1000 years over India and living with all the Hindus and Non-Muslims for centuries, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Identity
Can Video Games be Blamed for Acts Committed by Norway’s Shooter?
By Sidrah Zaheer People who maintain prejudice and convert that negative feeling into extreme hatred for other people exist everywhere. They are not exclusive to any caste, class, creed, culture, religion, philosophy or place. The shootings that occurred in Norway last year in July killed several Muslims. This time the culprit was someone harbouring extremism against the minority in his own country and the only way he thought to somehow equalize things in his mind, was … Read entire article »
Disaster Porn and Pakistani media
by Ali Ahsan First of all, my apologies for using an ‘objectionable word’ in the title of my piece given how some 15 year old is already on a self-crusade to note down every single ‘vulgar’ website there is, and try to get the PTA to ban them all for ‘protecting our youth’. Never mind the mental masturbation, but an adult website is the last worry we should have in Pakistan when there are more vulgar and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, drama, Fiction, human rights, Identity, Islamabad, journalism, Media, Pakistan, Regulatory Affairs, Society
Murder of History (Part 2)
For Part 1, Click here. by Abdul Majeed I have written in for Posterity. In a hundred years’ time when the future historian sets out to contemplate the Pakistan of an age gone by and look for the causes that brought it low, he might find in this book of mine one small candle whose quivering flame will light his path. K.K.Aziz, in Preface to his book ‘The Murder of History’ We discussed last week about some of the prevalent … Read entire article »
Filed under: History, Identity, Islam, Literature, Pakistan, Society
The recent demise of American Physician Dr Jack Kervorkian
By the Satarist: The recent demise of American pathologist Dr Jack Kervorkian, otherwise known as ‘Dr Death’ for his strident advocacy of physician assisted suicide, has once again reignited the fiery debate about euthanasia. Surprisingly, Dr Kervorkian’s beliefs have found a peculiar ally in the form of Islamic extremist groups in Pakistan. Amidst slogans of ‘death to America by Alzheimer sufferers’ a rally was held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad yesterday by the Kastori Boti Taliban calling … Read entire article »
We Are The Cannibals!
By D. Asghar Like many I was disgusted and shocked, when cannibals among us were discovered. These were two villagers in Punjab, who indulged in this inhumane and abhorrent act. The public disdain towards this madness was very natural. The electronic and print media rightfully reported and condemned this deplorable and pathetic act. Of course mental illness can be the only rational explanation for such a demonic practice. What kind of sadistic pleasure, can one derive by killing and consuming their own? But somehow, our condemnation only stops right there. We rarely demonstrate similar objections, when it comes to our own behavior, similar to those demented individuals. For those of you, who may be confused a bit by my statement, ought to observe and examine our personal behavior on a daily basis. … Read entire article »
Nations within a Nation – The Search for a Pakistani Nation – 2
By Adnan Syed “Indeed, world is ruled by little else but ideas.” — John Maynard Keynes The Two Nation Theory and Inequality in the New State of Pakistan The two nation theory was primarily based on distinctive majority-two-nations within United India. The distinction was cultural as well as religious, where both of these characteristics freely overlapped each other. Given the dominance of religion within the edifice of the Muslim nation, it was inevitable that religion will form a large part in the new nation state that was carved due to the Muslim nation identity. And given a strong tradition of political Islam within the Muslim body, it was inevitable that the very political Islam will find its way through the vague contours of the shifting idea of an Indian Muslim nation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamism, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secular Pakistan, secularism
Nations within a Nation; The Search for a Pakistani Nation – 1
By Adnan Syed “Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous” (Voltaire) Nations within a Nation I write these lines in the year 2011. It is 63 years since my country gained independence. The idea of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims gained momentum during the momentous decade of 1940s. The idea of Pakistan proved so strong and infectious among the Muslim masses of then United India that within 7 years after a resolution was passed by Muslim League, Pakistan was born. From the very beginnings, this idea of Pakistan contained certain vagueness to it. Two Nation Theory stipulated that India primarily consisted of two major nations that were distinct from each other. The primary cause of this difference came from their religions. Nations were derived from their religious identity; even if cultural differences were distinct, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Egalitarian Pakistan, Identity, Islam, Jinnah, Pak Tea House, Religion, Rights, state
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