WHISK

The issues that concern today’s Pakistani (and my own opinion in some cases - don’t want to be left behind):

1. Jihad – having conveniently removed Jihad from the 5 pillars of Islam, today’s muslims try vainly to justify its existence at all, perhaps because the Western translation of Jihad sticks far more strongly than the actual meaning. Just the fact that there seems to be universal acceptance that Jihad is NOT one of the 5 pillars is testament to the inability of muslims to think for themselves. Just a couple of questions to any muslim scholars out there: 1) how do you justify the increasing power of a Muslim “Clergy”, something strictly forbidden? And 2) How can you so easily forget that there are 5 actions that uphold our basic belief in one God, and that simply articulating our belief (Shahadat or witness to the truth) is not one of the 5 Pillars that upholds our faith – all of the pillars are personal actions (prayer, fasting, giving alms to the poor, pilgrimage to Mecca and the struggle to strive for purity, and to protect our fellow muslims however we can, to be performed after one has accepted Islam), and imposing Shahadat as a replacement to Jihad, well, isn’t that a sin in itself?
2. Adultery – everyone has an opinion about the Hudood Ordinance and the corrupt system that allows men to get away with rape (which cannot be proved under the stringent and archaic interpretation of this law), while imprisoning the raped woman for adultery (which also cannot be proved under Islam, but which the law conveniently forgets about in Pakistan). Plenty to talk about here.
3. Corruption – O Lord. Where do I start??? There’s certainly no end in sight!
4. Women’s rights – a hot topic among the NGO’s of Pakistan. Many, many, NGOs run by women, for women, of the women – many middle-aged begums holding tea parties and putting together reports in their 25-acre homes in the suburbs of Karachi. But at least they do some good. Keep it up!
5. Freedom of speech – another hot topic today. Apparently there isn’t any in Pakistan. How soon we forget! I think Pakistanis do not have any short-term memories. Each time we dumped a PM over the 11 years of Democratic rule, the people would forget why the previous ruler was dethroned, and lo and behold, BB and Mian spent 11 years exchanging thechair between them. Worse, the past 5 years has meant the explosion of electronic media, something neither BB nor Mian allowed, which has resulted in more freedom of speech that we’ve had in over 22 years. 30 channels – the government cannot censor them all. Please watch a few channels in Pakistan (GEO, ARY World) and tell me if you feel the press is still muzzled.
6. Freedom to dress anyway you want – yes, there is need among the elite of Pakistan to dress like a westerner, and they object to anyone who objects. After all, anything traditional or indigenous is poison… ugh! Much to talk about here.
7. Cricket – I think this should have been higher up on the list… apologies.
8. The “Evil West” and US College Applications – often in the same breath.

Issues that don’t concern Pakistanis:

1. Honesty - a basic trait I would have expected parents to teach their children. Not happening.
2. Justice and fairness in all things, no matter how small
3. Originality – just copy India, they’re already copying the West, the influence will trickle through at some point.
4. Courtesy – a non-issue, except when Pakistanis go abroad. Then it’s a matter of national pride to be courteous and polite. No need for it in Pakistan, certainly no need to teach it to our kids. And, courtesy on the road, duh, what is that exactly?
5. Blasphemy – even though this has no reference in the Quran, Blasphemy against the Prophet is law in Pakistan. It is well-known that the Prophet himself NEVER took action against those who blasphemed against him, and there were plenty back then who did so – in fact, he was driven out of Taif by stones hurled by little children, and yet he forgave them. Apparently, we can’t.
6. Patriotism and Nationalism – either this is also a non-issue, or Nationalism is evil, and we should merge back with India. Ha! Do you think they want us?
7. Forgiveness – long memories when it comes to wrongs, imagined or real, against ourselves. No one considers this a worthwhile issue.
8. Kashmir - pretty much dead for most people, let the politicians worry about it. Not sure if the people of Pakistan actually want Kashmir anymore, if ever.
9. Cleanliness - I’ve been taught all my life that cleanliness is half my religion (a loose translation, I mean that cleanliness is next to Godliness). Has anyone seen our streets? Apparently our responsiblity towards cleanliness ends at our front stoop. The rest, well that’s someone else’s problem, isn’t it? Nothing to discuss here!
10. Small kindnesses - to humans, to animals, the Quran has a special surah just for this. Small kindnesses would mean that we do not employ 7 - 8 year-olds to take care of our own children; that we do not buy exorbitant things for our children, while the kid in our employ watches from a distance; that we stop to aid a fellow human being in trouble, even if that person is dirt poor; that we stand up to bullies and protect the weak…. apparently this is nothing we need to worry about.
11. Integrity - I hate to say it, but most of the time, you can’t trust a Pakistani!

Think I missed out on something? Add your two-bits to this list. Maybe if it grows big enough, we may start a dialogue on everything they don’t want to talk about!