iFaqeer

Illiteracy causes Terrorism--Wishful Thinking?

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:33 PST

Every once in a while someone I know—not to mention a million others, often highly educated Pakistani expats and not a few caucasians both in Western governments and even progressive circles, but also people in Pakistan—will express the thought that what is really causing all this extremism and fanaticism is that Pakistan, for example, has an abysmal literacy rate. And all we have to do is start 3 million schools, and we "wild and wooly gentlemen" of those crazy parts will hold hands and chant Rumi, if not sing kumbaya. One do-gooder just a couple of days ago was saying on NPR that you could run a whole school for a year in the money spent on maintaining one foreign soldier in Afghanistan.

I am not sure I agree.

These are two separate problems. Illiteracy might be fueling extremism, but the ideology behind it is very much the product of literate brains. The inflexible, extreme attitudes we see in a lot of Pakistan's Youth--on Facebook, for example--is the product of the tinkering with the EDUCATIONAL system and society by Gen. Ziaul Haque and his regime, not of illiteracy. Making people literate--rather than enlightened--only gives them the means to read and absorb things like Farhat Hashmi, "disturbing" emails, and so on. [Which is not limited to Pakistan or Muslims; for every Geo TV there is a Fox News; for every Mullah Rocketi, a Franklin Graham. But I digress.] Just consider a few points:

Who was it that was most enamoured of the Sufis that brought Islam to what is today Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India? (At least one or two of them literally students and friends of Rumi.) The educated elite of the day, or the poor, illiterate working folk?
Who attends lectures by Farhat Hashmi and radical Western Muslim (like the Hizbut-Tahrir and some Americans I could mention) ? The taxi driver and the working class Muslim, or the professional at some mosques in Silicon Valley and Toronto that I could mention?

Lahore, we say, is Pakistan's Heart ...

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:04:48 PDT

...and yesterday, Mrs Clinton heard it straight from the heart.

And one has to give Hilary C credit for actually getting out and about and right into the heart of Pakistan. But winning it over will be easier said than done, never mind the hopeful noises one hears in the US media--be it corporate, public, or alternative. (See here, for example.) The US, after all, is coming right out of a complete and utter defeat on the propaganda, sorry, PR, sorry, Public Diplomacy front on the Kerry Lugar Bill. (In case, you don't follow what I mean, please ask. Or, if you understand Urdu, check out last Sunday's discussion on ABN Chicago, or the upcoming pilot podcast of Taraqqi Pasand Media.) Of course, "the other side" is helped in no small measure by the fact that any discussion between the American Establishment and the Pakistani People degenerates very fast into rapidfire mutual recriminations.

The New York Times actually has a very good round-up in their article, of her PR challenge. Readers of this blog and my other writings and radio appearances (here on general background and here on Mrs. Clinton's last foray into lecturing Pakistanis, for example) will remember me pointing out how Pakistanis feel. But all we usually get is a person in a business suit behind a podium and "the average Pakistani" screaming at their television. So, beyond the "I Told You So"s, it was heartwarming to see, as the article says, an American official go face-to-face with "an audience so uniformly suspicious and immune to her star power as the polite, but unsmiling, university students who challenged her at Government College University in Lahore". Yeh cheez! as we say in Pakistan; that's what I am talking about!

[Photo: Clinton at Badshahi Masjid, Lahore--Reuters photo with NY Times article quoted]

Word on Pakistan

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:35:04 PDT

A friend of mine wondered (on Facebook) about not getting word from me about the situation in Pakistan. Here's my response:

For the Lahoris, the operative word is ...

Duck!

For us Karachiites, it's a test of moral fiber; namely of whether, or how badly, we give in to schadenfreude now that the shoe is on the other foot.

For the rest of us; well, the message is just the same as it has been for years--except, maybe, prefaced with an "I told you so."

Over the last few years, besides my own blog and podcast, I have done half a dozen appearances on NPR stations in SF and NY and I can't find anything that wasn't covered then. And not just by me.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pity the Nation: Allah, Army, and ... Awab?

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:38:11 PDT

Dr. Awab Alvi, someone I really respect and have no qualms about referring to as Pakistan's pre-eminent blogger, and one of the best in the world just posted this on his social network statuses:

Pakistan Army kicks out Rehman Malik from GHQ > http://teeth.com.pk/3Mf4 < my comments - throw him out of the country for all I say

Really Awab?!! I am no fan of corrupt politicians or Rehman Malik. But are our memories so short that the military showing insubordination to the civilian government is now a GOOD thing? No wonder Imran Khan can get away with saying that li'il old him (old enough to remember three military dictators, if not more) was just so nice a guy that he "was conned" (his words) by Musharraf's sweet nothings when he came to power. What was all that about the rule of law and restoring ... what was it we were all agitating about just a year or two ago?

PS:

Here are some comments from Rana Faisal on Awab's original post on his blog:

This is something we shouldn’t be proud of.

By the constitution of Pakistan Military works under civilian government. And Rehman Malik is the federal minister for interior. This treatment of Army is not acceptable at all. Army clearly let down both president and prime minister by not allowing him to enter, if simply because of the fact that he was not important to them.

Army should stay in its limits. It is a disciplined institution and should set an example and on the contrary they cross the line all the time and we “the naive common citizens” are always chanting slogans, long live army.

Why are we not questioning how did the terrorist manage to get in and hostage the highest military men inside the GHQ?

DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY IDEA WHO WAS MADE HOSTAGE INSIDE THE GHQ? YOU WILL BE SHOCKED IF YOU’D KNOW.

Why official notification informing GHQ by IG punjab was ignored which clearly stated that armed terrorist in army uniform will attack GHQ?

I am not defending Rehman Malik. If he is incapable, American agent or not competent enough to visit GHQ, he shouldn’t have been on the post of federal interior minister in the first place.

Why our army only reacts when it comes to their institution? and not something goes really wrong in other areas?

Musharraf sacked 3 most influential general highest in the hierarchy of army at that time in one go, on the orders or Americans and nobody made any noise, agitated, and if NS sacked Musharraf after Karamat, though by law he has the authority, toppling his government by Musharraf became justified?

Mush kept quite though he knew everything which he declared as a reason to topple NS government but he didn’t react and did military coup till the time it came to him and he was sacked

Stop treating army like a sacred cow, they are the last resort but so far they have their fare share in the mess we have around? If Rehman Malik is incompetent, Hussain Huqqani behaving like American ambassador in Pakistan Embassy of US, why they highest post men in army are silent about it and don’t they have the capacity and power to correct the government when something goes wrong?

But they only act when it comes to their institution and that is what we need to understand. It is time to question our army and stop treating them like a sacred cow. Think logically

Let me clarify neither i am a fan of Rehman M, Zardari and his cronies, Nawaz & the gang or anyone else.

And for Rehman Malik any day i can debate that he is the most incompetent man for the job so please don’t bother to ask me questions about why am i defending politician.

My sole purpose is constitution is supreme, if today we let Army abuse their powers tomorrow some individuals will abuse army and laugh at all of us and than we will not have any right to question them. So let the institutions be independent and work under constitution.

Quick further thoughts on Obama and The Nobel

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:49:28 PDT

My own first reaction was rather startled, but I actually think he HAS changed the direction of a few things. See for example this. And he also most definintely seems to be changing the direction of nuclear policy, bringing up the little matter of the long-neglected treaty commitment of nuclear powers to de-weaponize--something that a lot of Pakistanis and Indians pointed to as rank hypocrisy when they were being asked not to test their deterrent.

On the Nobel, of course, I think Ali Eteraz spoke for a lot people from the wrong side of the global tracks when he described the Nobel Peace Prize as "not a real award," adding that "It is mostly Euro-centric bloviation. Kissinger got it. Arafat got it. Now shut up and enjoy the word play."

I personally feel that the Committe does like to influence the global conversation, and they seem to be throwing their weight behind what Obama is starting to do, so as Eteraz puts it, "if we can have pre-emptive war we can have pre-emptive peace."

Memo to Nobel Committee: Larsha Pekhawr thay kamisthor ma la raora ...

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:08:37 PDT

And if you'll let me go beyond the 140-character limit:

Larsha Pekhawr thay kamisthor ma la raora;
Thaza thaza dha guluna darai salor ma la raora

It's a Pushtu song from Pakistan:

When you go to Peshawar; bring me back a nice shirt
Fresh flowers, too; bring me back three or four

Here's the original Pakistani movie version:

And here's a slightly Urdu'ized version closer to what us "Children of Zia" (Gen X and Y in Pakistan) grew up listening to--which includes an Urdu adaptation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFWMrjdWWdk

that song covers Peshawar and Bajaur; here's one that sings the same paen to Nangarhar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scf-rqsmUyI

Now you you're wondering if I have finally completely and utterly lost it; why am I taking you on a tour of the Pukhtun YouTube on a day when the Nobel Committee has thrown its weight behind the world's hopes and aspirations that my brother Barack Hussein will save the planet. Maybe you're thinking I should just belt out a lusty "Ya Qurban!" like the good pro-Western liberal Pakistani (and thus 15% Pukhtun) that I am (see this for example) and get with the program.

Thing is, it is this morning, also, that my friend Zainab Jeewanjee tells us:

After months of consideration on how to deal with our escalating engagement in the AF-Pak region, Obama’s administration has decided:

“the Taliban cannot be eliminated as a political or military movement”

See, I am just one of those people cursed with a memory and some knowledge of history beyond the last US presidential election cycle. I can't but think back to the fact that after the US was finished tangling with the last "transcendtal challenge", we Pakistanis--and, as we found out on 9/11/01, the rest of the world--were left holding the bag full of Islamic fundamentalism, violence and hate. And just a few decades before that, Obama's role model FDR took what Lawrence of Arabia had--not two decades previous--described as "a fanatical Moslem heresy" and made the deal that gave them and their neo-purst attitudes the dominant position in Muslim hearts and minds, never mind the world economy, that they hold today.

So, now, you tell me, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Committee, what DO I, an American taxpayer and a Pakistani citizen do besides grab a rabab and, like pensive Pukhtuns across the ages, pray that the poetry does its work.

"Muslim Terrorist"

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:59:19 PDT

Just got into another argument on Facebook about the phrase "Muslim Terrorist". As always, it started with someone posting an item and then agonizing about that phrase; "Muslims are not terrorists", the refrain always is. My reaction:

"No Muslims are terrorists? That's like saying no Muslims have brown hair."

And before I get into my main point—and because I know my brothers and sisters in the Muslim world will get all defensive and act as if I am just a self-hating Muslim saying that Muslims are terrorists, you can read my position on what a terrorist is here, and on the use of phrases like "Muslim terrorist" and "Hindu terrorist" here.

But the main point, quite frankly, is that this whole "Muslims are terrorists" ... "No, Muslims are not terrorists" is a great distraction from real issues that we should be discussing. Instead of thinking about and acting about the conditions and issues that face Muslims--and other humans--like neo-imperialism, exploitation, oppression. And those are just the external dangers. Even worse for Muslims are the internal issues like social and cultural attitudes that are backwards and, quite frankly, not even very much in alignment with the spirit of Islam which teaches us to be noble, strive for knowledge, and help make the world a better place for ourselves and for everyone.

And when I talk about oppression above, I am talking about both oppression by outsiders and by people who call themselves Muslims and take advantage of that.

Good Night, Sweet Prince--Ottoman Edition

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:37:38 PDT

The news that Ertuğrul Osman, the "Last Ottoman", the last grandson of an Ottoman Emperor—or, to put it more clearly, the Head of the House of Osman, the erstwhile ruling house of the Ottoman Empire, and the last house to hold the office of "Khalifa" and "Ameerul Momineen" to all Muslims with any seriousness—had died came in the form of two contacts posting a news item on Facebook. (One posted the NY Times story, and another, the BBC one.)

My first reaction was to ask who the next Head of the House of Osman would be. (A question that is not answered by either of the above stories from the mainstream media, and for which one has to turn to the Wikipedia. Apparently it's a gentleman by the name of "Osman Bayezid Osmanoğlu", who doesn't even have an entry on that encyclopedia yet. PS, Sept. 25, 2009: An article has since appeared.)

Then someone who sounds Turkish themselves judging by her(?) name, said "[a]s a side note, many secularists in Turkey are no longer so proud/happy about Atatürk having kicked the Sultan and his family out, because obviously the Osman family would have made much more 'presentable' heads of state in their view than the current headscarf-wived PM and President!"

From where I sit, that's the point a lot of us who think of ourselves as moderate have always made; extremism breeds extremism. For all it's modernization, Attaturk's policies were a really extreme response to where Turkish--and the wider Muslim--society and nation found itself. Who knows what might have developed had critical parts of the Muslim world had evolved gradually as much of "The West" did. Instead, what happened was that a bad situation engendered a radical solution, which is now creating its own blowback...and so continues the circle of life...

Rest in peace, Son of Osman, we never knew ye—or what might have been

اِنٌا لِلٌہ واِنٌا اِلیہی راجیعون as we say; from Him to do we come, and to Him to we return.

Tariq A. Al-Maeena : An Eid message to our fellow expatriates/Guest Workers

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:46:38 PDT

As I promised over the weekend/holiday, here is Tariq Al-Maeena's piece in full:

An Eid message to our fellow expatriates
Tariq A. Al-Maeena

Now that the blessed month of Ramadan has come to an end, its passing should not signal the end of exertions of goodwill and worship that had governed us for this past month.

And as the citizens of this country prepare for the festivities of family gatherings and reunions in the days ahead, let us not forget the countless number of Muslim expatriates among us who stood with us in worship, but who will celebrate the dawn of Eid in solitude, away from family and friends.

Millions have come and gone, and millions remain among us today, some alone and distant from their families, tasked with the duties of helping oil the machinery that makes this country run. Many perform to the expectations required, mostly in silence. Their isolation and loneliness in a land different than their own cannot be simply compensated by the riyals they earn.

Leaving behind fathers and mother, brothers and sisters, wives and children, these foreign expatriates who reside amongst us ask little of us as they fulfill their duties. And yet they love and feel like the rest of us; the joys and pains that course through our emotions are not alien to them. Separated on a day meant for togetherness, many will celebrate Eid in solitude and bitter loneliness.

Let us honor them like we honor our own. Let us bestow upon them our best wishes as we do upon those near and dear to us. Let us thank them and expatriates of other faiths as well for the difficult sacrifices they are making daily in leaving their loved ones behind and coming to this country to help us forge a better life. Many move around us, barely visible or seen. Yet they continue in their toils, expecting very little thanks or gratitude from their hosts while putting in an honest day’s work.

Let us begin by ensuring that their rights are protected and dispensed with in the manner and spirit that Ramadan has roused in us. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "The merciful ones will be shown mercy by the all-Merciful (Allah). Be merciful to those on Earth, Allah will be merciful to you." This mercy extends to the proper execution of our obligations to our guest workers.

The Prophet (pbuh) also said, "The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, their mutual mercy, and their mutual affection, is like a single body. If any part of it complains of an injury, the entire body responds with sleeplessness and fever… Allah will continue to help the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother.” This narration emphasizes the fact that our mercy as servants to our faith shouldn’t be confined to our immediate circle of family members and acquaintances. Rather it should extend to the entire nation of believers.

On this Eid day, most of us will enjoy the blessings of ample food and gifts. But we should never forget those among us, and especially the less fortunate expatriates form Third World countries whose daily existence is a continuous fast. These noble men and women deserve our thanks.

Those Saudis who have fasted and stood in prayer at night during this past month with sincere faith must continue to be diligent and dutiful in our worship of Allah, and kind to our fellow residents including the silent expatriate. Such obligations must continue in good faith, even as Ramadan comes to an end this year.

And while I can personally deliver my Eid greetings to family members, friends and associates, I take it upon myself to use this column to acknowledge our fellow expatriates and thank them for being among us. Eid Mubarak.

The writer is a Saudi socio/political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and can be reached at talmaeena@gmail.com.

Annual Call to Compassion, Patience and Peace between Muslims in this Season

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:42:38 PDT

A couple of years ago, when I was on the board of the Muslims for Progressive Values, I had pushed for a campaign calling for compassion, patience and peace within the Muslim community. You can read the petition and my original blog post here. And please give it a second thought. We all have strong positions and opinions on what the right time of Eid is, what our faith means to us, and what is good about our faith and wrong about our communities--even on how "Ramadhan" itself should be spelt in the English script. But, as the petition said:

...engage with people who hold different positions ... with respect, good will, and compassion. If we can pass this test of fraternity within the community, if we can treat other Muslims with respect whether we agree or disagree, and do so without losing sight of what holds us together and makes us brothers and sisters in our faith and our humanity; if we can do that, then we can try to begin fulfilling our role as the upholders of peace and justice and truly be the best of communities.

The month of Ramadan, the Hajj season, and the days of the Eids are some of the most blessed moments of our calendar, let us try to fill them with peace, compassion, and good will towards all humanity; and let us start within our community.

[Postscript: Also in previous years, I wrote this, and then Laury Silvers followed up with this.]

In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to two pieces of writing. Firstly, there is Mike Ghouse's piece "Ramadan Politics", in which he reminds us:

In the tradition of Prophet, let every one celebrate the way their group feels, it is against the spirit of Ramadan to denigrate, diminish and devalue other practices. The essence of Ramadan is to become humble, simple and free from ill-will, anger, meanness and hate. Let’s fill our hearts with goodwill and honor Ramadan by saying “Eid Mubarak” (pronounced “eed” as in “eel” the fish) or Happy Eid to every one who celebrates on a different day in the same town. The essence of Ramadan is joy and let’s not prick any one’s bubble; God has not signed a pact with any one behind others back, let’s rejoice the differences. If you want to celebrate, go to every celebration.

In the spirit of Ramadan, I pray Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all factions of Muslims without undermining their tradition and further pray that we treat every human on the earth with dignity, respect and care.

For Ramadan to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims to common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths.

Okay, so he gets the translation of "Eid Mubarak" wrong; it is much closer to our Wiccan friends Samhain greeting of "Blessed be", than to the generic "Happy Holidays". But the point he makes is sound.

The other piece came to me via email, and to someone who's always been skeptical of the expat lifestyle in the Gulf, is one of the best gestures I have seen in a long time. It is a piece by Saudi socio/political commentator, Tariq Al Maeena and is "An Eid message to our fellow expatriates". I have sent him an email asking if I can reproduce his piece in full, but his main thrust is that:

as the citizens of this country prepare for the festivities of family gatherings and reunions in the days ahead, let us not forget the countless number of Muslim expatriates among us who stood with us in worship, but who will celebrate the dawn of Eid in solitude, away from family and friends.

Millions have come and gone, and millions remain among us today, some alone and distant from their families, tasked with the duties of helping oil the machinery that makes this country run. Many perform to the expectations required, mostly in silence. Their isolation and loneliness in a land different than their own cannot be simply compensated by the riyals they earn.

Leaving behind fathers and mother, brothers and sisters, wives and children, these foreign expatriates who reside amongst us ask little of us as they fulfill their duties. And yet they love and feel like the rest of us; the joys and pains that course through our emotions are not alien to them. Separated on a day meant for togetherness, many will celebrate Eid in solitude and bitter loneliness.

Let us honor them like we honor our own. Let us bestow upon them our best wishes as we do upon those near and dear to us. Let us thank them and expatriates of other faiths as well for the difficult sacrifices they are making daily in leaving their loved ones behind and coming to this country to help us forge a better life. Many move around us, barely visible or seen. Yet they continue in their toils, expecting very little thanks or gratitude from their hosts while putting in an honest day’s work.

Let us begin by ensuring that their rights are protected and dispensed with in the manner and spirit that Ramadan has roused in us. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "The merciful ones will be shown mercy by the all-Merciful (Allah). Be merciful to those on Earth, Allah will be merciful to you." This mercy extends to the proper execution of our obligations to our guest workers.

Some of my dearest and oldest friends now live in the Gulf, or grew up there--some have spent a couple or three generations there now. There are guest workers in a lot of countries we live in, whether in the East or the West. Let us keep them in our minds in this festival season.

As Mike Ghouse says in the piece above, "We wish a happy Ramadan, a peaceful and prosperous Rosh Hashanah, and truth triumphing Navaratri and other festivals that begin with the New Moon on September 19, this year."

Blessed be.

Pause for thought

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:50:49 PDT

I just ran into this quote from a Dawn editorial on Pakistaniat.com. It is written by a Pakistani in relevance to Pakistan; but it applies equally to Nigeria, Zimbabwe, inner cities in the US...pick your place.

Yes, those working on anti-imperialism, and against neo-liberalism and so on will tell you that it is what they are struggling against that causes the conditions mentioned below. But even then--and especially if you think that way--it's something to keep in mind, even if it is just to be able to remind onself and explain to others the relevance of our own work:

"Does a man who can’t feed his children really care whether or not Pervez Musharraf is tried for treason? Is a mother whose child has died of gastroenteritis likely to give much thought to America’s military presence in the region? Will a jobless person be impressed by the president’s much-touted ‘achievements’ during his first year in office?"

Pakistaniat: http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/18/blasphemy-law/
Dawn: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-the-real-issues-ha-03

Obama passes the real test--or does he?

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:33:22 PDT

Ever since his inaugration, I have been saying that the real test on human rights for the Obama administration will not be what he does in Guantanamo Bay--which he had committed to close down as a campaign promise. The real test will be what he and the administration do in Bagram, which is much bigger, and from the Pakistani point of view, much closer to home.

I have been meaning to write something about this. And my point really isn't to just take a "Marg bar Amrika" point of view; to imply that America is always evil or that no American President can do any good. I really do feel that Obama has a chance to change the actual policies and procedures of the American presence around the world in all its forms, and to set a new tone.

But, as I have said repeatedly since before the last presidential elections (in the US), what Pakistanis remember from the 2008 presidential election cycle is Obama making his foreign policy chops by saying, in effect, that "we will bomb Pakistan, and its sovereignty be darned". And in the last month or two, the influx, or rumoured influx, of a thousand or two each of marines and mercenaries (oh, okay, Xe/Blackwater "consultants") in Pakistan, that image has been reinforced many fold. (See this story in the News Observer.) And in the mean time, the other story being followed and, very frankly, used to whip up anti-American fury in Pakistan is that of Dr. Afia Ahmed, "Prisoner Number 650". (Just google her name for a taste--or search Bloggers.pk, the main Pakistani blog aggregator.)

And just a night or two ago, I heard the Obama Administration's General Counsel of the Department of Defense tell the American Bar Association (on the eve of the anniversary of 9/11, no less) that Bagram was completely different from Guantanamo, and that what was happening there was okay, and so on. (The event is on CSPAN.)

But, suddenly, now I see the following story, which actually reverses, or substantially changes what the General Counsel said. Is Obama actually doing better than even his own team expected--and keeps thinking it should be doing? Or am I missing something? I would love to hear from our legal friends--and anyone else who has a real thought on this:

U.S. Gives New Rights To Afghan Prisoners

Challenging Detention to Be Allowed

These detainees were released from Bagram in June 2006. About 600 people remain in the prison. (By Musadeq Sadeq -- Associated Press)

By Karen DeYoung and Peter Finn

Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 13, 2009

Hundreds of prisoners held by the U.S. military in Afghanistan will for the first time have the right to challenge their indefinite detention and call witnesses in their defense under a new review system being put in place this week, according to administration officials.

The new system will be applied to the more than 600 Afghans held at the Bagram military base, and will mark the first substantive change in the overseas detention policies that President Obama inherited from the Bush administration.

(Full Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/12/AR2009091202798.html)

India and Muslim Rennassaince

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:46:04 PDT

Jaswant Singh has said some very interesting things, of late. Of course, the funny thing is, as an elder recently put it, there's nothing there that Maulana Azad hasn't already said--or even MJ Akbar, Mr. Indian Patriot himself. But, as I have had occasion to say recenlty, that's not what I wanted to talk about.

The following line is from an interview carred by Al-Jazeera (there's a video, too)

The real renaissance of Islam would have taken place in undivided India if there had not been a partition.

Recently, in a rather heated back-and-forth with an Indian Muslim on Facebook, I had the following to say:

Funny thing is, Indian Muslims are one of the largest and, if you ask me, one of the most important communities in the world in this regard. You have it in you to help find a solution for this issue and make the world a better place for ALL of us: after all, it is Muslim India that gave us Iqbal and Azad and Jauhar--and, yes, Jinnah.

My point, as in a lot of this, being that we now have multiple countries in South Asia--and that's not an exception in history, that region always had multiple geo-political entities in that space, even as there was always a loosely-defined identity to Hind, Hindustan, India, whatever you want to call it. Why should how we're structured politically today get in the way of cultural, I dare say civilizational evolution?

What do y'all think?

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Benazir - Pakistan - Ijma

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:56:21 PDT

| News on Website: EFF’s BayFF on Social Media in Activism http://bit.ly/C3je7

Voting Rights for Overseas Pakistanis (NRPs) and Other Thoughts on a Muslim Democracy

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:26:23 PDT

My Facebook status said: "Call it franchise, call it suffrage; now I haz it. I can vote!! I iz an enfranchised citizen of a Muslim democracy! Take THAT, W and OBL!!. And quite a discussion ensued.

The discussion was fun. Of course, a couple of friends assumed this was about me becoming an American citizen. Which is interesting, given what I said, but I digress. Another friend asked which Muslim Democracy gave me the vote and why. Interesting way to put it.

The news, of course, was this:

Overseas Pakistanis to get right of vote

Wed. April 01, 2009; Posted: 01:58 AM

Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Deputy Convenor MQM, Dr Farooq Sattar, has said that President Asif Ali Zardari has accepted a proposal from his department to give the right of vote to the Pakistani people living aboard. He was addressing the launching ceremony of Marhaba Musafar of Western Union at a local hotel here on Monday.
The Minister said that his ministry had also proposed to reserve seats in the National Assembly for overseas Pakistanis. He hoped that other political parties would support the bill moved by the overseas Pakistanis ministry in this regard. Referring to the current political situation in the country, Dr Sattar said that time had come for the masses to decide whether they want a liberal, enlightened and welfare state of Pakistan as dreamt by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah or the extremist one of Hameed Gul and Ziaul Haq. He added that silent majority of the country wanted the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He urged the people to play their role to develop Pakistan as per dream of Quaid-e-Azam.

MQM has been playing its leading role to make Pakistan an enlightened, liberal and welfare state, he said. Commenting on his party support to the privatisation of KESC, Federal Minister said that MQM was not against the privatisation process in the country and added we have witnessed successful results of the privatisation of PTCL.

We believe in the privatisation process in country and underlined the need of government role to support and promote the private sector in the country, he added. Dr Sattar alleged that the company had wilfully ignored its responsibility to provide electricity to Karachiites, adding that KESC administration did not fulfil the privatisation agreement. He pointed out that the KESC administration has not invested even a single penny in the country to enhance production of electricity.

The company is only concerning about recovery of dues through over-billing and hike in power tariff. He alleged that to extort money from the citizens, the KESC administration had installed faulty metres. He urged NEPRA to take the notice of the miserable condition of the citizens due the apathetic attitude of KESC administration. He warned that people have the right to protest against unannounced power outages in the metropolis.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2251016/

And this just a few months after I raised this question with my own MNA (Khushbakht Shujaat, represents Clifton, where the parental homestead still is) during her visit to a Chicago-based radio show I contribute to.

The MQM is, of course, taking full credit. One friend on Facebook who's active with the MQM said that this was "democracy MQM-style", working for all parties to benefit. And I say it's a good thing if Pakistan has evolved as a polity to the point where a party that spent its early years fighting--often literally--for the right to put the ethnic identity of their original vote base on the table as a legitimate part of the Pakistani landscape now is working on issues that concern the common man and might not even result in a net gain in votes for them. (One activist friend online specifically pointed out that the diaspora often leans towards supporting what they see as benevolent dictators that are "good for the economy" and "stability" and so on.)

The first question a friend asked was actually rather interesting: was I "celebrating or lamenting"? A reality check right off the bat! I guess I was looking at it as a responsibility. I left Pakistan at the age of 24, before I really had the chance to vote in any elections (the voting age was 21), and this is the first time I really feel enfranchised as a citizen of any part of the world--citizen of the world, if you will.

Another, pan-South Asian-minded friend with a base across the border went on to say that we should now work towards a real democracy--which, she said, would be possible if we root out corruption. An interesting point, but the logic of which I really don't buy. What we have is not corruption that can be rooted out the way it was rooted out in New York or Chicago; it is a systemic problem, if you ask me, rooted in the way the Raj structured the systems we still use) and needs systemic solutions. Honest law enforcement that people can believe in and not think of as less desirable than Taliban rule can not be achieved unless we pay a living wage for the street cop police and middle-level judges, for example...

But onward and upward, I am hoping this will help the diaspora feel like they have some real skin in the game back home; feel ownership and a stake in the politics of Pakistan. Maybe I am being Pollyanna'ish. But as I have said often, I have a 24-hour personal moratorium on raining on parades and generally throwing cold water on folks being happy about something--be it the Obama Inaugration or whatnot. And besides, this now gives us a stick to hit Overseas Pakistanis (our original, native term for what are now sometimes called NRPs in imitation of the Indian designation) with; if they don't vote, if they don't actually support a party--or help start one--if they don't like their choices, they should really shut up about Pakistan.

If you're on Facebook, you can read the whole discussion here.

Indian Muslims and Arabic

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:35:17 PDT

I am in the habit of pointing out to Indian Muslims that the difference in how pervasive neo-purist fanaticism is in Pakistan verus India is only one of degree. Especially when they bring out their "We told you so; it was a bad idea to begin with! See all the fanaticism you have in your country!" line. And don't get me wrong; I think learning Arabic is a wonderful thing for anyone, especially Muslims or anyone who wants their grasp on Urdu literature. (And Persian/Farsi helps, too.) But why is the National Council for the Promotion of the Urdu Language (http://www.urducouncil.nic.in/) in India advertising an Two Year Diploma in Functional Arabic on their website, but only a One Year Diploma in Urdu?!

Pakistani Reply to Obama Strategy Announcement

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:38:01 PDT

I have not seen this stated so clearly:

"We do not want any more VOA-TV type propaganda that, in its condescending way creates more enemies than friends. We want a proper dialogue with the US and the West over what its goals are and whether these are our goals as well. Whether we like it or not, the battle for a safer America cannot be won if the people of Pakistan are not convinced. This is the stark reality, no matter how many drone attacks are carried out on the one hand and assistance is given to our government on the other.

It was true of the Musharraf government and is becoming increasingly true of the Zardari government too. The people of Pakistan are not seen as stakeholders in the battle against militants and extremism. It is too often said that while the West talks to our leaders, Al Qaeda and the Taliban talk to the people. Sadly, this is an issue President Obama has not addressed."

[Full article at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=169835. The author is "Editor Reporting" in Karachi for Pakistan's largest English-language daily]

Obama's Afghanistan Strategy Breaks Old Ground

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:29:07 PDT

The heading above, taken directly from the article at:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1888257,00.html

brought a smile to my face for its cuteness. But the point it makes is serious.

Nigeria's Opposition Parties to Unite, Pakistani Parties agree to

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:06:57 PDT

I like both the news linked to below, and the one about PML-N and PPP in Pakistan agreeing (again) to implement the Charter of Democracy. These are both major countries on their respective continents, and stability in them is good for the whole world. It is by these evolutionary steps, this push and pull, check and balance that body politics mature.

http://ping.fm/XheGO

To Non-Pakistani Muslims--and Others--Commenting on Pakistan

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:06:48 PDT

There's an Urdu couplet that Madeline Albright reputedly quoted in her congratulatory message to IK Gujral when he became Prime Minister:

Eh mauj-e-saba, un ko bhi zara, dho chaar thhapaiRay halkay say
Kuch log abhi saahil pay khaRay, toofaan ka nazaaray kar thay hain

Oh, morning breeze, to them, too, a few pats, but gently;
For some folks, yet, stand on the shore, being entertained by the storm

There's been several non-Pakistani Muslims expressing academic opinions of the type: "We see Pakistan is melting down; now why would that be?" or "Look what Swat and other mistakes have wrought!"

Any "We told you so"s or "Look, they be f****ed" reactions within the Muslim community (in any direction) are ... I can't use the word I am looking for, so let's just say "ill-adviced" and "naive". Whether it is Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, or minority communities like those in India or the West; we're all in this together. Too long we've pointed to each other and said either that the "other" is medieval-minded and stuck in the past, unfit for the modern world (either because a) we're too bidah-ridden and need to get pure again or b) that Islam is not fit for the modern world)--or that this or that country is failing or so on. To paraphrase someone I don't quite agree with, either politically or tactically, right now, we are stuck between the twin jaws of neo-colonial domination via a comprador class on the one hand, and neo-purist fanatics on the other. The difference between Santa Clara California and Swat Pakistan; between Hyderabad India and Brighton in the UK is one of degree--or generational. Nothing more, nothing less.

And I speak of Muslims because they are part of communities that overlap--overlap, I say, mind you--with Pakistan. But the rest of the world is no less inter-linked. The West--the US and the British in particular--has been involved in how that region of the world has taken shape over the last century or two generally, and the last few decades specifically. Britain played off groups against each other; the US too often has sided with "our SOB"s (a choice list of Pakistani fundamentalists from the House of Saud to Ziaul Haq to Gubuddin Hekmatyar, but not limited to them, come to mind). And just like us Pakistanis, India--both the Indian establishment and Indian Muslims--have, for too long, been happy to play with fire (Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, anyone?), or ignore the fire (till very recently Indian Muslims have pooh-poohed my saying that the difference in influence by neo-purist fanatics in India and Pakistan is one of degree). I am on the record,too, on British Muslim--and "mainstream"--leadership. [Addition, PM, Tuesday March 3, 2009: And the same goes for American Muslims--including, quite frankly, a lot of Pakistani-Americans and other diaspora Pakistanis.] I could go on.

I will return you to your regularly-scheduled programming in a minute. But for now, just think about this. Then let's talk if you really care to.

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Pakistan

More updates on Situation in Lahore

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:51:57 PST

Graphic from the Sydney Morning Herald. Read the AAP report on their site here.

Oddly enough, the Metroblog for Lahore doesn't seem to have anything to say about the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers. But one can find some updates from local folks at the following URL (the #lahore hashtag for Twitter, which consolidates posts about that city):

http://hashtags.org/tag/lahore

PS: As an update, a better way to follow twitter updates about and from Lahore is to follow the twitter search:

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=lahore

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Pakistan

Live Reports: Attack on Sri Lankan Team in Lahore

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:20:31 PST

For updates on the attack on Sri Lankan team in Pakistan; as usual the Teeth Maestro is on it, twittering live from Pakistan:

http://twitter.com/DrAwab

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Pakistan

Anyone paying attention to this? (Somalia...and Bangladesh?)

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:58:54 PST

You know, we all need to be paying more attention to Somalia (and, while I am at it, Bangladesh, but I will come to that another time). For example y'all saw the headlines about the recent news about a new President taking over in Somalia. And then of his coming to an agreement with "Islamist" "rebels". (Okay, so, yes, there's much to be said about how "real" the "presidency" is and all that.)

But there's talk about ministers handing over to other ministers (okay, so the VOA might not be the best place for objective news)--something that I don't think Somalia's had since a Somali classmate of mine in Freshman year at college in Karachi told me "A civil war started today in my country."

But what really struck me was why was it ONLY the CNN article that carried this paragraph:

However, Ahmed told a news conference he won't agree to a strict interpretation of the law,which forbids girls from attending school, requires veils for women and beards for men, and bans music and television.

I mean, with all that angst about deals with Islamism (yes, I use that word; take me up on it) isn't that what it's about? Shouldn't we be paying attention to this? Being supportive of this kidn of thing if that really plays out as the quote promises rather than groping at "moderate Islamists"? [Something I need to pick on, too.]

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Somalia - Islamists

What's with the PPP?

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:37:31 PST

In all the angst that is turning up in the chattering and protesting classes in Pakistan, one question is coming up pretty often: whatever happened to the PPP? Others express a complete disdain for it. And I don't want to sound naive; the PPP and its founders and others since have done much to deserve all the reactions they get: both positive and negative.

But too often today, too many people talk only of Zardari. Or, if they want to discuss politics just a wee bit more, of the group that was close to BB herself as the counterpoint. But the PPP today remains the largest grouping in the country and, as such, consists of, and has always consisted of, a coalition of groups. It was set up as a left-of-center vehicle that, if you believe some of the very first die-hards, very rapidly was dominated (taken over, if you believe some folks) by the personality of the charismatic (evil genius, if you believe others) of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. There were the left-of-center (and some outright "Left") activists. There were the urbane, well-read, (and, in some cases, most nobtably and visibly nowadays Aitzaz Ahsan) Leftist lawyers and intellectuals. There were the gritty, "awami" activits, not least those from Karachi's Lyari section and it's Afro-Pakistani/Baloch community, but others as well. There are the Sindhi nationalists, both inside and, on-and-off, supporting from the outside. And, of course, there were those who were just taken by the charisma of the man--either because he convinced them that he would carry their causes to victory or because of the sheer electric power of his personality. And there were other such components--not least the professional politicians, the feudal lords, the industry-walas, and the military folks that hitched their stars with a rising star. The opportunists, if you will.

The amazing thing is how long the coalition that Zulfi built has lasted. I often tell the story of a colleague of my father's (they were both college professors) who, in the late 80's still had a larger-than-life picture of the man in his "drawing room", even as he shook his head with disappointment written all over his face and said "He had such a dynamic start; but power went to his head. For a man who had risen on street power to get to where he said 'I can crush street power with state power'..."

The morning after Benazir was assasinated, I was on KQED San Francisco's Public Radio Station and halfway into the discussion, after everyone had discussed the personality of the heir not-quite-apparent, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and the modalities of how a successor will be picked, I had to pull everyone back and say, "Wait a minute; y'all are forgetting one person. The husband. He's paid his dues; spent a decade in jail (whatever the conditions of his incarceration)--and he has always been a smarter person--and speaks much better English--than caricatures of his have given him credit for."

Of course, we all know what happened next. To cut a long story short, Zardari took over the party at the head of the opportunist wing, and that wing is now dominant.

Personally, in terms of discussing the internal dynamics of the PPP, I think what is interesting to follow is whether the Uncles (Mirani and that generation that worked directly with ZAB), or the Young Turks (the above-mentioned Amin F & Co., which, as in the case of Amin Faheem himself quite literally, are either children of that first generation, or younger people who joined later) or the Leftist Lawyers (the aforesaid Aitzaz, et al), or anyone else can throw up a leader that can bring together and hold a coalition...

Otherwise, as I also often say, it might be time to build a new political movement, a new coalition in Pakistan; something that has only been done twice since indepence--once by Mr. Bhutto himself, and once, on a regional level, by Altaf Hussain and the MQM...but more on that another time.

Muslims and Democracy...c.1950

iFaqeer@gmail.com (iFaqeer/Sabahat Ashraf) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:39:56 PST

This is for all those--both Islamists and Islamophobes--who ... remember this is from -- before those who would totemize Islam (Islamists, if you will) started to dominate the discourse and the News:

"... we have proved it to the world more than once. We established Pakistan because of our passion for what we call the Islamic way of life. This is no narrow sectarian, or medieval, or theocratic or intolerant conception. It means no more and no less than this: that we believe in God and atheistic doctrines cannot flourish amongst us. That we believe in the equality of men and the equality of civic rights and opportunities for all, irrespective of their religious belief. That we believe in social justice, ... that we believe in democracy, not as a political creed; but as a part of our religious faith ... the way of life that we have chosen for ourselves, [is] not a new concoction, but one that is based on a body of belief and tradition that have been handed down to us by our forefathers"

full speech audio at: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/50/50-05khan-audio.html

Liaquat Ali Khan, First Prime Minister of Pakistan, at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 16, 1950.

March 23rd is "Pakistan Day", the anniversary both of the day in 1940 when the All India Muslim League adopted as its official position the "Lahore Resolution" (a.k.a. the Pakistan Resolution). and of the day in 1956 when Pakistan adopted its first constitution and becoming a democracy--thus finally ending almost a hundred years of a British sovereign reigning in large parts of South Asia.

I'd like to propose that we declare March 23rd "International Democracy in the Muslim World Day". Any takers?