The lesson of Karbala: Hussain salvaged the New, Revolutionary Social Contract that Islam gave to Arabia in the 7th century, Islamic History

Islamic History

The lesson of Karbala: Hussain salvaged the New, Revolutionary Social Contract that Islam gave to Arabia in the 7th century

By Murtaza Razvi

Friday, 25 Dec, 2009

So what has changed since Hussain’s heroic refusal to endorse Yazid’s tyranny in 680 AD? Very little, indeed, if truth be told uncoated. Yet more than any other event in Muslim history, the spirit inherent in the tragedy of Karbala is one that defies injustice and coercion — unto death if that’s what it must take.

Repression and cruelty could not get Hussain, or indeed his survivors, to endorse the authoritarian order Yazid set out to impose. The assassination of Hussain and his companions at Karbala 61 years after the proclamation of Islam, which set a people enslaved by superstition and tribal tyranny free to bow only before one God, caused repulsion all around. It prompted a revolt in Hejaz led by Abdullah Ibn Zubair.

Yazid’s army responded by sacking Madina and laying siege to Makkah. But the flame of human dignity and independence of action, as guaranteed by the new social contract that Islam had brought to Arabia, was rekindled by the martyrs at Karbala. It consumed Yazid within three years of the atrocity, and confined his reign of terror to oblivion.

What survived in the hearts and minds of the people was Hussain’s refusal to endorse rule by terror. And that indeed is divine justice in action. Hypocrites and tyrants (kufi-o-shami) will come and go, as Iqbal says, but the perpetual reality (haqiqat-i-abadi), the spirit of defiance in the face of coercion that is Hussain, shall remain. The vanquished of yore is the hero of history and the historical victor has become synonymous with tyranny.

http://newageislam.com/the-lesson-of-karbala--hussain-salvaged-the-new,-revolutionary-social-contract-that-islam-gave-to-arabia-in-the-7th-century/islamic-history/d/2276

The Baloch perspective, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam,com

Current affairs

The Baloch perspective

By Murtaza Razvi

10 Sep, 2009

It was almost pitiful to watch the Baloch leader being repeatedly grilled by anchors on the conduct of Baloch sardars, that too in response to his overtures when he emphasised that he sought a solution to the Balochistan predicament within the ambit of the 1973 constitution. The sardars’ anti-people policies, tyranny and support for terrorist attacks on vital installations in the province kept coming up. The construction of the coastal highway and the Gwadar port were also cited as development projects which have been opposed tooth and nail by Baloch nationalists.

There may be some merit in such counterpoints raised by self-righteous journalists. But what one fails to understand is why are the Baloch singled out for this harsh treatment. The Pakhtuns, too, have a tribal system which is taken as basic law by many communities. Clans in Sindh and biradaris in Punjab also practise tribal customs, some of them truly despicable.

Likewise, cult politics continues to be the norm within the country’s so-called democratic parties, whose ‘representative’ leaders often bury their heads in the sand when even a gross violation of the law takes place. In a country full of historical injustices and abuse such as that of Mukhtaran Mai, the burning of Christian homes in Gojra, Karachi’s May 12, 2007 street violence, to name a few, how can any objective observer single out Baloch sardars for censure?

http://newageislam.com/the-baloch-perspective/current-affairs/d/1755

Pakistan People’s Peril: Zardari might be the next Pakistan president, At what cost?, Islam and Politics, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Politics

Pakistan People’s Peril: Zardari might be the next Pakistan president, At what cost?

Murtaza Razvi

August 29, 2008

The Maulana will prove a tougher nut to crack than the relatively straightforward Sharif; dealing with him, shrewd Zardari may well be on the way of getting the taste of his own medicine: doublespeak, that is. The Maulana may extend a guarded support to Zardari after extracting concessions to halt the military action against the Taliban, even if temporarily. This will allow the militants the much needed breathing space and the time to regroup later, while the Maulana, enjoying a near monopoly over the sale of diesel in the Frontier and Balochistan since the allotment of quotas to him by the last Benazir government in the ’90s, sets his eyes on more lucrative deals after Zardari becomes president.

Pakistan’s presidency comes with practically all powers concentrated in the hands of the head of the state, thanks to Musharraf’s tinkering with the constitution. However, the lesson that even the general could not survive waves of public discontent, however, will be lost on the man set to step into the presidency. To say that Zardari’s People’s Party and Sharif’s Muslim League (together with other coalition parties) alone brought Musharraf to his heels is not the whole truth; the movement waged by civil society for the restoration of the judges sent packing by Musharraf last November was also a significant factor in the dictator’s ouster, because it resonated with large and influential sections of the public. The country had not seen the kind of political activism civil society’s movement for the rule of law generated since Benazir Bhutto’s first homecoming to challenge Zia in 1986.

http://newageislam.com/pakistan-people%E2%80%99s-peril--zardari-might-be-the-next-pakistan-president,-at-what-cost?/islam-and-politics/d/658