Chanting For Pak Army To Liberate Jerusalem

Oh! the army of Pakistan. Come for the sake of the rule of Quran! Oh Nations of millions. Awaken to support your religion. Where is the caliph Omer? Where is Saladin? Where is the Caliph of the Muslims?

See Here!

Research in Pakistan

Pakistan has many state-of-the-art research facilities; just look at the numerous advertisements of cooking oils and tooth pastes.

A country going to/gone to ...

Anchor: Who discovered that the Earth revolves around the Sun?

Audience

1) Newton
2) Einstein
3) wait for it .... Abdul Qadeer
4) Galileo ... phew

Just for a change...

The maid holds the child while the couple eats their food. Why not for once the couple holds the child while the maid eats food first or like in a family gathering where women take turns ...

The hatred of people...

Reminds me of Hitler's quote which is being so shamefully forwarded these days. It goes something like this; "I left some Jews alive so the world could see why I killed the rest". What happened to not letting the hatred of some people lead us to transgression and hostility.

To Censor or Not to Censor

I have come across two interesting articles on the current row over the issue of vulgarity and obscenity in the society. First one is my Orya Maqbool Jan which can be read here and the second one by Saroop Ijaz, here. These articles were also published in the same order as they have been mentioned over here.

Of course an endless debate would wage on the definitions and you have the right to make up your own mind. I am naturally inclined to the former one but there is a dire need to chart out a comprehensive plan because unlike the latter approach, this one has boundaries to set and fears to alleviate. People especially women are afraid because they are the easy targets. Taliban's concoction of religion and culture or Zia's version of backside saving religious front, both are unacceptable. Turkey seems to have a 'pretty' model where both thoughts are able to live side by side but I feel our society is eons away before it is sufficiently evolved to accept that system. Perhaps the argument will never end but yes there is a visible degradation of our minds and souls which has to be addressed sooner or later. 

The English Effect

It was in one of the short stories back in the O-level's syllabus that a guy tells a girl (or perhaps it was the other way round) that he loves her and the girl replies that if you had said that in Urdu, it would have sound so bazaari (vulgar) ... or something similar to that ... English does have this intellectualizing, legalizing and toning down effect over here. I have seen people happily bearing abuses hurled at them in English but usually they are not so comfortable with Urdu or Punjabi. Similarly when the Pakistani stage dramas were gaining notoriety with their abundant double entendres; English sitcoms were usually let off scot-free with their sexual innuendos. 

Materialism or Comfort?

How many times we have noticed that at the time of rukhsati in our weddings the car which is embellished to take the bride and groom away (and at times a couple more close relatives squeezed in) has to be a saloon.  If the groom’s family does not own one then either the car is rented or borrowed.  Is it materialism or comfort?

Women in Media

Pakistan’s recent obsession with dual SIM cellphones is bearable but what irks me while watching those incessant advertisements is that the duality feature is usually depicted by a boy having two love interests...

Telenor TalkShawk

There is a Telenor talkshawk advertisement running on television these days. A wife tells her husband, "Suna hai college mai ap barai dil phaink thai". 

Just wondering, what if it was the other way round?

Such a thing would be unacceptable to our local morality but where does that leave us? 

The Lahore Zoo

These pictures were taken a couple of years back and I thought about sharing them. Went a little bit overboard to insert the lens inside the cages at times so as to get the clear picture. The turkey was not from the Lahore zoo rather it was taken at one of the rest areas on the Lahore Islamabad motorway.

Suo Motu?

TV Islam

Lately we have been relying too much on Qtv and Alim Online for religion. I think the search and struggle for knowledge has been left in the hands of a few and people in general are taking the easy way out. This would make us even more short sighted in our approach towards religion. We would never be able to get the big picture and will hopelessly cling and be subsequently swayed by every new 'Alim' out there.

I have nothing against these programs but yes, I do feel that religion should not be restricted to them. There is a wealth of knowledge out there for us.

Facebook Ban

When this issue started, I was also of the opinion that only that particular page should have been restricted and not the entire Facebook let alone Youtube and Wikipedia until I came across this blog post. If there is any truth in it then it is entirely a different ball game and there is need to think and ponder over this matter. I came across this audio lecture by an Islamic Scholar Mufti Kamal-ud-Din (LUMS Faculty) and found it very enlightening. Incase I’m unable to attach it here, you can send me your email id and I’ll make sure you get it.

I think that it shouldn’t matter to a Muslim with a mature mindset if some good-for-nothing islamophobic starts coming up with these ideas to infuriate us but still such a page should have been banned for the younger generation, who might be tempted towards it.

Somehow we have instilled in our minds that reacting violently against such mischiefs would prove us as great Muslims but I think what we do in our daily lives is way more insulting to the entire Muslim ummah. Someone very rightly pointed out that where are these Muslims when the government is sitting idle and doing nothing about scores of pornographic material on the internet. We have every right to protest and we should protest against such hypocrisy of Facebook but at the same time we should not forget what it really means to be the ummah of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW).

Punctual or Shoday?

Being exactly on time for a dinner party and finding nobody there..

H: Does this make us punctual or shoday(greedy)?

Basant Ban

My post "Basant Ban" on Lahore Metblog.

What Crime? What Punishment?

Four school children shot dead and six wounded.

Crime: Dared to get an education and belonged to a different sect

***

Woman's nose, ear chopped off

Crime: Suspected of having an affair

***

12 year old girl and an 11 year old boy found dead. Boy had received a bullet in his belly while the girl had received a bullet in her head form the rear. Girl's head was also found smashed with a blunt weapon after being shot to conceal her identity.

Crime: Unknown

***

Dogs let loose on a fisherman. His face was mutilated and injuries due to dog bites could prove fatal if not treated properly.

Crime: Refused to give fish free of cost to a feudal lord

***

We need to reconsider our claim on being called humans.

Compassionate Capitalism

My nana abu once told me that there are only two ways that a person is going to listen to you; if you can benefit him or you can harm him. I remember my father and I looked at each other and shifted disagreeably in our seats.

The points of view are understandable though. Nana abu has lived his life dealing and negotiating in the business world and definitely the Hippocratic Oath which my father took, couldn’t have given much insight into the ruthless minds of businessmen. My dad thinks that if any member of our family starts selling hats; children without heads will be born (such is the extent to which we could suck in business).

Different fields require different attitudes but do businesses have to be completely deprived of compassion? I guess they need to be. When profit is the goal, leniency and mercy take the back-seat and in our part of the world even honesty goes and sits beside them.

Where running businesses could be a cold-blooded affair, it is nice to see that many companies in Pakistan are realizing their social responsibilities and fulfilling them in a remarkable way. Some of the examples I have seen and heard are

* Depilex - Smile Again Foundation
* Bahria Town – Muft Dastarkhwan
* KFC – At some branches all the employees are physically challenged
* Gourmet – At the end of the day bakery items are sent to Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

These and many more examples of compassionate capitalism are certainly praiseworthy and can make a huge difference if all the money making giants start to chip in.

Ya Khuda - Qudrut-ullah-Shahaab

While reviewing this book, a young journalist, Azhar Sohail wrote in 1985

“It was perhaps 1959. I saw my father bring home a small book. While he read the book, he wept incessantly. When he was finished I grabbed the book from his cupboard, completed it within an hour but didn’t cry.

Four years back I read the book again and there were tears in my eyes. Then like a bolt of flash I understood that this book makes you cry when your conscience has matured”

I have just read the book. It didn’t make me cry but yes, I felt this unexplainable anger. I still don’t know at what I was angry. Was it the shallowness of mankind, moral degradation of self-proclaimed religious scholars, depravity of political leaders or was I angry because even after 60 years we are standing exactly where we started. We are still being led by those scholars and leaders. We haven’t learnt a thing.

The book tells the tale of the atrocities faced by a girl at the hands of her own countrymen when she migrated from India in 1947. How she died again and again before her last death. How her colorful and fancy dreams about the new nation were battered and bruised after coming to Pakistan.

It is a far greater tragedy being betrayed by one’s own people. Reading this book is like getting resounding slaps on your face because the story is true and all the characters are real. All those characters are still very much part of our society. They still roam around; prowling and hunting for more. Their thirst is insatiable. This book only tells about one of the thousands such stories. Qudrut was right in saying,

“While I waited at the Wahga Border for my relatives, I witnessed scenes which even after thousand attempts my pen is unable to write down completely”.

Such was the horror of that calamity and such is the sorry situation of today’s Pakistan.

Interview by The Pakistani Spectator

The Pakistani Spectator (TPS) is an independent blog rendering views, news and opinions on Pakistani politics in specific and world politics in general with respect to Pakistan. They have been conducting a series of interviews with notable Pakistani bloggers, writers and web masters.

My interview was published today and you can see it here.
http://www.pakspectator.com/interview-with-blogger-hamza-ahmad-qureshi/

I would like to thank Ms. Ghazala Khan and her team at TPS for this opportunity.