Just as the sudden
rise of certain crackpots (via TV) in Pakistan was keenly followed and supported
by a chunk of young, urban Pakistanis, various cranks are happily catering to
the already confused religious and ideological bearings of Muslim Pakistanis
living abroad. Much has been written about men in Pakistan who cleverly
represent (and glorify) the increasingly chauvinistic mindset of the current
generation of young, urban Pakistanis. The situation is equally distressing in
the West.
A recent book on Muslim scholar Farhat Hashmi’s organisation,
Al-Huda, (written by Sadaf Ahmad, a Pakistani woman), accuses her of spreading
hatred against Christians, Hindus and Jews among Pakistani women living in
Canada. Recently, in the wake of the Faisal Shahzad episode in New York, the
Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC), a group of liberal Muslims living in Canada,
accused American Islamic organisations of refusing to distance themselves from
the doctrine of armed jihad.
The MCC goes on to state that many young Pakistanis living in the US
and Canada regard Pakistan as a safe haven for their preparation and training
for waging wars against the West. Organisations like the MCC have also come down
hard on outfits such as Al-Huda, ridiculing their claim that they are on a
mission to convert Westerners to Islam.
A few weeks ago I got an email from a reader about a Pakistani in the
US who (on Facebook) accused me of being a “Zionist-backed agent of secularism”.
When someone asked the gentleman that, if he hated the US so much why was he
living there, he conveniently (and without any hint of irony) claimed that his
mission was to convert as many Christians and Jews in the US as possible.
Imagine what might have happened to a Christian in Pakistan if his/her “mission”
was to convert Muslims to Christianity...
Saying that such young people are wilfully delusional and dangerously
hypocritical would be an understatement. -- By Nadeem F. Paracha
By Nadeem F. Paracha
May 19th, 2010
The most convenient understanding of the phenomenon of Pakistani
extremists that one hears being echoed from TV studios suggests that young
Pakistanis turning into religious fanatics has something to do with illiteracy
and unemployment. Though not entirely incorrect, this notion however is a
complacent explanation. It fails to explain the emergence of young religious
extremists such as Omar Shaikh (involved in the murder of American journalist,
Daniel Pearl); Shahzad Tanveer and Hasib Hussain (7/7 UK bombers); and recently,
Faisal Shahzad (the failed Times Square bomber). Each one of these young men
came from educated middle-class families.
Saying they were products of the Western societies that they were
raised in or thrown into is a weak retort. This attitude simply refuses to
seriously address the issue of educated young Pakistanis falling for an
extremely myopic and nihilistic brand of the faith — something that was once
explained as a vocation only of the illiterate and the financially desperate.
There has been an alarming rise in the number of young, educated middle-class
Pakistanis (in Pakistan and abroad), embracing the most reactionary and anarchic
strains of the faith, believing it to be a justified and logical portrayal of
“true” Islam.
The state and the government of Pakistan will have to thoroughly
investigate and rectify this alarming trend. While actors like the 7/7 bombers
and Faisal Shahzad are an obvious embarrassment to Pakistan and the Pakistani
communities in the West, so are the growing number of rabid, tech-savvy young
people floating around various interactive websites to mouth the most obnoxious
ideas about Islam and politics. There are websites out there glorifying utter
mad men and the most twisted conspiracy theories, and many of these are owned,
run and frequented by Pakistanis who work and are comfortably settled in Western
countries.
For example, last year Pakistani columnist Fasi Zaka was being
pestered by a young man (through email) who accused him of being an American
agent. When Zaka discovered that this person (a Pakistani) lived in the US, he
wrote back, sarcastically offering him help by reporting his dislike of American
policies to the notorious US Homeland Security agency. As expected, the emails
came to a dead stop. Then there is a gentleman who lives and works in the US,
runs a website and has the audacity to call a number of journalists (including
me) “Zionist/CIA agents”. He also frequently litters his site with ridiculous
conspiracy theories involving the US.
Just as the sudden rise of certain crackpots (via TV) in Pakistan was
keenly followed and supported by a chunk of young, urban Pakistanis, various
cranks are happily catering to the already confused religious and ideological
bearings of Muslim Pakistanis living abroad. Much has been written about men in
Pakistan who cleverly represent (and glorify) the increasingly chauvinistic
mindset of the current generation of young, urban Pakistanis. The situation is
equally distressing in the West.
A recent book on Muslim scholar Farhat Hashmi’s organisation,
Al-Huda, (written by Sadaf Ahmad, a Pakistani woman), accuses her of spreading
hatred against Christians, Hindus and Jews among Pakistani women living in
Canada. Recently, in the wake of the Faisal Shahzad episode in New York, the
Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC), a group of liberal Muslims living in Canada,
accused American Islamic organisations of refusing to distance themselves from
the doctrine of armed jihad.
The MCC goes on to state that many young Pakistanis living in the US
and Canada regard Pakistan as a safe haven for their preparation and training
for waging wars against the West. Organisations like the MCC have also come down
hard on outfits such as Al-Huda, ridiculing their claim that they are on a
mission to convert Westerners to Islam.
A few weeks ago I got an email from a reader about a Pakistani in the
US who (on Facebook) accused me of being a “Zionist-backed agent of secularism”.
When someone asked the gentleman that, if he hated the US so much why was he
living there, he conveniently (and without any hint of irony) claimed that his
mission was to convert as many Christians and Jews in the US as possible.
Imagine what might have happened to a Christian in Pakistan if his/her “mission”
was to convert Muslims to Christianity.
The best was when a friend of mine told me about another such
agitated Pakistani’s Facebook page. According to my friend, the following were
the Facebook groups the restless young man was a member of: “Proud to be
Muslim”; “I Hate Zardari”; “Free Dr Afia”; “Zaid Hamid”; and, hold your breath,
“Big Boobs!”
Saying that such young people are wilfully delusional and dangerously
hypocritical would be an understatement.
Source: Dawn, Karachi
9:29 PM
Sultan Shahin
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