The Spirit of Islam – A personal perspective

On a number of occasions I have been asked by nonmuslim friends and associates to explain my religion and beliefs that make me the unique individual that I am, in a language that they can understand. From a thorough study of the Holy Qur'an, Hadith (Prophet Muhammad’s traditions) and lives of good Muslims spanning over many years, I have derived the following basic principles of Islam. This work is not a replacement of Fiqh, but a brief summary of the teachings of the Holy Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (sallaho alaihe wasallam) which may help the uninitiated to understand Islam. Selected references to chapter and verse have been given in brackets but there is a lot more in the Holy Qur’an and books of Hadith. The text in italics is my own interpretation of the words of the Holy Qur’an and Hadith; the ideas may seem new to those Muslims who have relied on classical interpretations but may become clear after a little reflection. Any comment, criticism, query or suggestion for improvement will be welcomed.

1. The Singularity of existence: Allah is the only God – an eternal being having all power and knowledge, born of none and having no progeny, who has no needs or weaknesses. He created the world and He protects, controls and nurtures it with utmost compassion and mercy. All changes in the world are by His command. One must not worship or call anyone but Allah for help. (2:255, 4:48, 21:30, 87:1-3, 112:1-4)

The entire Universe is a single living organism which appears to be growing and everything that exists is a part of this whole. The Kingdom of Allah gives equality and moral sovereignty to every human individual. Some philosophers define Allah or God as the mind and memory or intelligence or central nervous system of the Universe from Whom all living and nonliving objects derive their behavior patterns.

2. The authentic messenger: Allah revealed His commands for correct human conduct afresh to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was a perfect human being and a model to be followed. The collection of these revelations is called the Holy Qur'an which is a book of guidance for all times to come. The code of conduct given in the Holy Qur'an is called Islam, and a Muslim must follow the entire code without exception. (2:2, 3:144, 33-40, Chapter 47, 48-29 )

Islam, like any other religion, gives a code of duties as well as defining rights, only it is more comprehensive and understandable. In a perfect society everyone must voluntarily perform his or her duties without waiting for others to claim their rights and indulging in conflict.

3. Islam is the religion of pure reason: Nearly half of the Holy Qur'an consists of reasoning to convince its readers. Islam has no place for activities leading to psychological intimidation, induced change of mood, impairment of judgment or irrational attachment. Hence it does not allow the use of statues, pictures, music, dancing or intoxicants in religious rites and discourages them in social or personal life. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) strictly forbade the making of his picture or statue. (2:3, 17:54,89)

The Holy Qur’an contains guidance for the muttaqeen who are conscientious about their mistakes and seek the right path. Arrogant persons who are not prepared to accept their mistakes can hardly benefit from the Holy Qur’an. Taqwa is not the physical fear of Allah, as commonly translated, because one does not try to get close to what one fears while Taqwa is an act that brings one close to Allah.

4. The glory of Man: Humankind is superior to all other creatures and Allah's viceroy on earth. Human beings must complement His functions of protecting, nurturing and improving His creations. This should be the only purpose of all pursuits of knowledge and scientific research. (2:30,195, 51:49)

Acquiring knowledge and reflecting on the manifestations of nature is an essential part of human intellectual activity and the Holy Qur’an repeatedly recommends it.

5. The Day of Judgment: Everyone will have to account for all his or her actions in life and be rewarded or punished on an appointed day. On that day, the world will cease to exist as we know it and all who would have lived and died will come alive again and become immortal to experience the pleasures or pains they deserve for ever. (3:185, 18:47-49, 84:1-25)

The concept of Day of Judgment can be found in many religions and quite often the street preacher presents it as the ultimate festival with elaborate scenarios of theatrics by God and His Prophets. In reality, it is something to be viewed with a spiritual angle and taken very seriously.

6. All human beings are equal in the eyes of Allah: Men and women have equal rights, though men are a step higher on the ladder; and a red man is not superior to a black man or vice versa. Allah has made people different to promote healthy competition and accelerated development. Cleanliness and piety bring one closer to Allah. Cleanliness is half of faith. (2:228, 30:22)

A man is responsible for the protection, feeding, education and discipline of his family. He must earn himself and not use the women and children for financial gain. Yet if a woman has knowledge or skills that can be employed gainfully in the service of the community without violating the Islamic code of life, she should not be discouraged.

7. Sanctity of Human Life: One who murders a human being murders all humankind and one who saves a human life saves all humankind. (5:32)

Matters relating to murder and saving of lives are universal and transcend all religious and ethnic classifications. All members of a community should work together to condemn and punish a murderer irrespective of their or the murderer’s or the victim’s religious or racial identity. One must not hesitate in taking action to save a life in danger because the person in question belongs to a different religion or race and the person who saves a life or lives as a profession should receive universal respect without religious or other prejudice.

8. Prayer: The viceroy must always act in consultation with the Creator. Five times a day, at appointed times one must perform ablutions and stand in meditation, recite from the Holy Qur’an, go through the motions of prayer or Salat as done by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), communicate one's observations, thoughts, feelings and needs to Allah and take all decisions in attendance before Allah. (2:3, 5:6, 24:56, 35:22)

Prayer is direct communication between an individual or group and Allah and a basic requirement for obtaining guidance from the Holy Qur’an. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had instructed that apart from attending the congregations one should also say prayers by oneself. Placing an intermediary Vaseela in the process of prayer makes it ineffective. Spiritual links can be established between individual human beings that can work to their mutual benefit or detriment, but it has nothing to do with the relationship between people and Allah. Charms and amulets have psychological effect to boost one’s confidence but have no Divine significance.

9. Fasting: The fortunate must share the feelings of the less fortunate and be prepared for all eventualities. One must exercise complete self control and not eat or drink anything or indulge in carnal pleasures from sunrise to sunset during the lunar month of Ramadan every year. This practice is called fasting or Som in Arabic. (2:185)

Fasting is practiced in some form or other not only in all Biblical religions but also in religions that originated in other parts of the world such as Hinduism related to specific events or as a means of attaining mental peace. In Islam it is the charity of the body.

10. Poor Due: Charity is the highest virtue. Every year one must share at least a fortieth part of one's fortune with the needy without putting any obligation on them. This practice is called Zakat. The Qur’an lists the preferred causes and people on whom charity should be spent, one of which is the freeing of people from bondage. (2:43,177, 9:60)

Charity is appreciated in all civilized societies without exception as a voluntary virtue, however Islam makes it obligatory for every well to do believer.

11. Pilgrimage to the source of the truth: Those who can afford must, during their lifetime, make a pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah to pray and familiarize themselves with the environment in which the Holy Qur'an was revealed and go through the rites and motions Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) performed during the Hajj. The blood and meat of the sacrificial beast do not reach Allah but the sentiments of the pilgrim do. (2:196-203, Chapter 22)

In this way one can verify if his or her attitudes and practices are in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as they were conveyed from generation to generation and are being practiced in the places where he lived. Repentance during Hajj brings absolution from missed prayers and fasting, unpaid Zakat and other personal lapses, but the liabilities of crime and debt remain.

12. Privacy is everyone's privilege and prerogative: One must cover one's private parts and ensure that others' privacy is not compromised. Privacy can only be shared between a man and a woman through a mutually agreed and solemnized relationship. A man can be shared between women, but a woman can not be shared between men. A man can marry up to four orphan women at a time if they need to be sheltered, but since he can not give equal love to each, he should be content with one wife. Children are the gifts of Allah and must be protected. Adultery and incest are prohibited and the rules of marriage and divorce are laid down in the Holy Qur'an. (4:3, 22-25, 6-151, 17-32, 24:2)

In the Islamic culture, public displays that can cause sex related stress in normal and healthy individuals are considered environmental pollution. The Prophet’s many wives were actually volunteers who had contracted to live with him to learn a woman’s ways in Islam and teach the same to other Muslim women.

13. Honesty is the essence of Islam: One must give full measure while selling and protect and return what is given in trust. All agreements must be written down and witnessed by men or women or both. The terms of a loan agreement must be dictated by the borrower, and since consumable items can not be rented, interest can not be charged on money lent. A loan must be returned. (2:275, 282, 3:30, 4:29, 6:58,152, 11:85, 17:35, 83:1-6)

In Islamic culture honesty and faith are synonymous. Any amount or object that one receives from anyone as loan or graft or in any manner such as fraud or embezzlement that is not his or her by right becomes a debt that must be repaid before that person’s last rites, Namaze Janaza. If not, then it stands to reason that the liability would be transferred to the successors of that person and would remain so until the Day of Judgment. The only way a debt can be retired is by paying to the creditor or his or her successors. No amount of charity or good deeds can substitute debt retirement. Islam clearly defines a role for women in the economic and legal aspects of the society and allows them to consult each other when appearing as witnesses in a court of law. It also implies that all Muslim women should be educated to be able to read and sign legal documents.

14. and Punishment: No one carries the burden of another's guilt. Punishment can only be physical and the freedom of movement of an individual can not be restrained except for a short period during the investigation of a witnessed crime. One has the right of equal retribution, but forgiveness is preferable. The right of forgiveness rests with the aggrieved party. Crime must be eradicated from society by exemplary punishment to those whose crimes are proven beyond a shadow of doubt. Limits of punishment for certain specific crimes are prescribed in the Holy Qur'an. (5:38-40)

Law and morality are so closely intertwined in Islam that any attempt to separate the two strains the social fabric and produces violent reactions. Islamic logic also differs from Greek logic as it places ethical restraints on the length to which an argument can be extended.

15. Sanctity of the spoken word: One must not hide the truth and must endeavor to dispense justice without prejudice or favor. One must protect the rights of the weak and the orphans and ensure that whatever is due to them reaches them. Every word uttered by a Muslim is a word of honor that can make or break relationships and must be kept at all costs. (4:135, 5:8, 11:90)

A half truth is also a partial concealment of truth and unacceptable in Islam.

16. Purity of food: One must not consume intoxicants, CNS depressants, blood, carrion and meat of pigs or animals killed by shock or torture or dedicated to a deity. Except these, all items of food that are good to human beings and rightfully owned may be consumed. (2:173, 5-3, 90-91)

The prohibited items are not necessarily filth and those who consume them are not necessarily filthy.

17. Rewards of work: One only gets what one strives for, there being no limit to what one can achieve. One must not indulge in pursuits that promise gain without effort or with token investment. Workers and laborers should be paid their fair wages before their sweat dries. (53:39)

Some verses of the holy Qur’an are often misinterpreted to construe that everything in this world is predetermined and fait rather than people decide matters. If that were so then what would be the sense in the day of Judgment?

18. Good manners: One must bow with those who bow and must not act in a supercilious manner. One must respect one's parents and care for them in their old age. One must ensure that no one is hurt by one's hands or tongue. (3:134, 4:36, 31:18)

“Bow with those who bow” is often construed as congregational prayer but it can equally be interpreted as humility in response to respect and adoration.

19. Legacy: One's legacy must be distributed among one's survivors proportionately as instructed in the Holy Qur'an which includes all sons and daughters, spouse, parents and siblings. The will of a deceased person must be executed. (4:7-13)

The Holy Qur’an has provided a divine solution to the greatest source of social discord.

20. Tolerance: One must respect the religious beliefs of others and not use force in matters of faith. Yet one must gently persuade others to embrace Islam, to do good deeds and renounce evil. Islam confirms Jesus (Issa, pbuh) and Moses (Moosa, pbuh) as true prophets of Allah and the Holy Qur'an recounts the stories of Biblical characters from Adam (pbuh) to Issa (pbuh) with rationalizations and proclaims belief in them as part of faith. (2-256, 7:199-200, 22:67, 109:all)

In the early Muslim converted settlements on the fringes of Europe violence and coercion was used to convert people to Islam and as a result the spread of Islam in those directions stopped.

21. Self defense: If there is no other recourse, one must wage war against injustice, repression and the domination of evil. The spirit of combat should be to eliminate injustice and evil, not to take revenge for personal offences. Aggression should be confronted with force, and preparations should be made if aggression is imminent. Those who die in the path of righteousness become immortal and blessed by Allah. (2:190-194)

A good Muslim never commits an act of aggression, as he or she can persuade others by sound reasoning based on Qur’anic injunctions.

22. Democracy: For any collective activity, a leader should be elected by consensus and should be obeyed unless he or she violates accepted norms of Islam. Everyone has the right to express disagreement with superiors and receive a convincing explanation. (2:59)

Many examples of this practice can be found in the lives of the Holy Prophet and his succeeding Caliphs.

23. Gifts of God: The Sun and the Moon follow calculated paths, the trees and plants are in a state of submission and the world is at the disposal of humankind. One must not disturb the balances created by Allah. Allah has evolved the human race by genetic encoding of the essence of the Holy Qur’an and He looks after everything in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth represented by the two Easts and the two Wests. The human race is superior to all other creatures due to its ability to give names to objects, events, feelings and ideas thus developing languages, literature and sciences. (55:1-10)

24. Laws of Nature: The laws of nature were formulated by Allah on the ‘Day of Deen’. They are inescapable and one must try to understand them. One must strive to acquire knowledge of industry and invention. Iron is a gift of Allah and must be utilized for the benefit and protection of people. (1:3, 30:30, 57:25)

The same should apply to other metals and minerals.

25. Genesis: Allah worked for six ages of a thousand years to set up the mechanism of creation and established His headquarters in heaven, then said "happen" and the world took shape. He monitors the state of affairs in the world and sends new ideas in a cycle of a thousand years. All life emerged from water. Humankind has been created in the best era of the world's existence. (10:3, 21:30, 32:4-5, 95:4,)

26. Soul: The human soul is immortal and there is a population of invisible spiritual beings in heaven and earth called angels and jinnat. The devil belongs to the genus of the jinn. (2-85, Ch 72,)

27. The devil: The devil is out to undo the goodness of human beings and they must resist evil temptations. Allah forgives those who repent their lapses or failings due to ignorance and seek His forgiveness. (16:63)

28. Perseverance: Adversity is never beyond the tolerance limit of the sufferer, and one must never lose hope. Allah goes with those who have patience. If an innocent person who is faced with deep trouble calls Allah for help, He responds favorably. (2-45,153, 156-7, 286, 3-200)

The Holy Qur’an relates many accounts of extreme adversity faced by prophets and saints to prove the point.

© Mohammad Nasim, D-1 Doulat Square, Gulshan-e-Iqbal 13/B, Karachi-75300, Pakistan.
Tel: 4992612, 03008272567. (2947 words) email: mnasim_99@yahoo.com

100 Contemporary Definitions – 2008

(The evolution of concepts to fashion a realistic world)

By Naseem Mahnavi

1. Afghan = A member of a brave Asian nation that defeated the military power of Communism, caused the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and helped to stop the Cold War whose heroes were not accepted as the heroes of the free world.

2. Alqaeda = International forum of dissidents originated by veterans of Afghan freedom struggle against USSR to free other countries of the region from covert foreign occupation, involved or implicated by North Atlantic powers in terrorist acts and turned into the most outlawed entity.

3. Angel = Massless and invisible but intelligent creatures that communicate by exchanging images, found in the Bible and the Koran.

4. Anti-Semitism = Western Christian hatred of Jews and Muslims of Arabian origin caused by the supercilious behavior of European Jews and exposure for centuries to paintings of religious wars depicting bearded turbaned men with curved swords slaying European men, women and children and carrying away naked white women commonly displayed in European Art galleries..

5. Atom = Scientific belief in the unseen.

6. Beauty = Ability to cause favorable reaction beyond vocabulary.

7. Buenocracy = Domination by good people. (It doesn't exist anywhere.)

8. Capitalism = Rights based social system that degenerated into the domination by money and riches.

9. Cell Phone = The conquest of distance.

10. Christianity = Worship of the anointed one and belief in morality based on the parables in the pre-Muhammadan Divine Books which originated in the Middle East.

11. Civilization = A society in which ethical restraints prevent people from going as low as they can.

12. Clergy = Religious performers who exploit the sense of guilt of believers.

13. Communism = Domination by the least educated and skilled members of community.

14. Computer = An inorganic appendage to human beings for sharing large amounts of knowledge, information or data and analytical power not possible by sensory or organic means.

15. Corruption = Abuse of law, ethical principles or social norms and exploitation of the less privileged.

16. Crime = Violation or abuse of law, an act whose committer deserves punishment.

17. Democracy = Universal equality of opinion and domination of majority opinion with negation of individual discretion of those in authority and legal preemption.

18. Democratic Attitude = The absence of intransigence.

19. Democratic government = Domination by a group of people who have demonstrated their ability to manipulate public opinion better than others.

20. Democratic Leader = A representative of a community loyal to his or her voters.

21. Democratic Process = Deliberations in which everyone concerned gets an opportunity to express opinion and amend a draft resolution before a decision is taken by majority vote.

22. Democratic Society = A society in which leadership emerges from the common people through the natural processes of social organization, self government and unrestricted intellectual activity.

23. Diplomat = One who can negotiate from a position of weakness.

24. Discipline = Ability to restrain oneself before being restrained by others.

25. Divorce = The failure of a man and a woman to accommodate each other and live together as per their marital commitments.

26. Duties = Basic building blocks of civilization – universal or circumstantial human obligations whose neglect is crime. (The UNO has not prepared a charter of human Duties.)

27. Engineering = Art and science of creating inorganic life.

28. Evil = Ability to harm or destroy.

29. Failure = One who ruins every thing when feeling confident.

30. Fertilization = The combining of a male and a female cell into a single unique cell with a new universal time mark.

31. Freedom = Ability to take one’s own decisions and define one’s own limits.

32. Galaxy = A cell of the gigantic living organism called the universe.

33. General = One authorized to get soldiers killed.

34. God = The Singularity discovered thousands of years ago, but never defined scientifically.

35. Gravity = Inherent interconnection among bodies of matter, measure of the potential energy of a body relative to the rest of the matter in the universe.

36. Guantanamo = Infamous and illicit outfit of US armed forces where people abducted from all over the world are subjected to unconventional psychological experiments without being compensated.

37. Half-life = Collective property of radioactive elements not applicable to each atom.

38. Happiness = Disciplined pursuit of pleasure that does not result in regret.

39. Hindu = Black-skinned pre-Aryan people of ancient India. The Vedas were their religious books.

40. History = Impartial account of past events, often reconstructed from fragments of information.

41. Human being = The most advanced organic biological (animal) species capable of conversing, calculating, planning, communicating, building and developing and enforcing ethics.

42. Infinity = The illusion of division by an extreme fraction. In reality there is no such thing as division by a fraction.

43. Irrational Behavior = Human mind’s attempt to use data as program.

44. Islam = Surrender to reason and worship of a conceptual ideal being called Allah as taught by Muhammad.

45. Israelis = A minority ethnic group of ancient Egypt originating from the mixing of the family of an Arab named Abraham and black Africans. The half breeds recognized as a unique race were treated badly by the natives and fled from Egypt under their leader Moses who was accused of wanton murder.

46. Jew = Believer in the earliest moral and religious traditions of the Middle East.

47. Judaism = Culture based on ancient Middle Eastern traditions, constituted by European money lenders to acquire the status of God’s chosen people referred in the Bible and intimidate Christians.

48. Justice = Process to ensure that offenders get proportionate punishment, grievances are redressed and an innocent person is not punished.

49. Kashmir = Historically independent mountain country and natural component of Pakistan turned into a disputed territory by North Atlantic powers to create military competition among bordering nations and prevent them from attaining their full economic potential threatening North Atlantic domination.

50. Language = Unique human ability to communicate resulting from a natural compulsion to give names to objects, events, actions and feelings.

51. Law = Collectively adopted limits of individual freedom to ensure that good people remain good and the bad ones also behave in a tolerable manner.

52. Leader = One who knows the way better than others and stays in front.

53. Life = Ability to change others' perceptions.

54. Love = Urge to protect, nourish and share pleasures with, and willingness to make sacrifices for.

55. Marriage = License to share privacy.

56. Mind = The causation of behavior patterns, the fifth dimension of existence.

57. Moon = Spherical mineral satellite of Earth orbiting and rotating with perfect synchronization to present the same face to earth at all times and having large shallow depressions that focus signals coming from distant astronomical sources on to the surface of the Earth.

58. Mullah = One who knows nothing but religious rumor and is not prepared to learn more.

59. NATO = Enigmatic North Atlantic military outfit that prevents ethnic cleansing where it chooses (e.g. Serbia) and carries out ethnic cleansing where it chooses (e.g. Afghanistan).

60. Nation = A group of people who identify themselves with each other.

61. Nazism = Reaction of German Christians to Judaic claim of being the chosen race, asserting superiority over other people on account of undiluted Aryan descent.

62. Patriot = One willing to make sacrifices to defend the freedom of his or her homeland.

63. Peace = Absence of irritation.

64. Politics = Exploitation of the community's weaknesses.

65. Poverty = Absence of affluence.

66. Power = Ability to cause beneficial action.

67. Prayer = The expression of true desires with passion.

68. Quality = Comparison with an established standard. There can not be quality without an example or reference.

69. Race = A group of people or nations situated within natural geographical boundaries and having similar physical features, pigmentation, temperament, language, script, eating habits, immunities and some carriers of unique diseases or some combination of these. With the development of world-wide travel, trade, communication and vaccines, the racial differences have become insignificant.

70. Racialism = The exploitation of the hazards of interracial mixing.

71. Realist = One who can differentiate between a virtual reality and the actual reality.

72. Red-shift = Aging and dilation of electromagnetic radiation during propagation through space, a measure of the time it has been traveling.

73. Relative Space = Location based on three linear coordinates with reference to an arbitrary point and a fourth age coordinate relative to an arbitrary event (date and time) in a universe where everything is constantly moving.

74. Religion = Duty based social systems that degenerated into fixed belief in the imperceptible and the unknown based on fears of what happens after death.

75. Rights = Rewards of fulfilling duties or obligations whose denial or violation is crime.

76. Science = Study of the nature and working of things and events; and belief in proven and verified facts.

77. Secularism = Absence of religious prejudice and inequality.

78. Self-immolation = Act of public suicide resulting from Dying Values Syndrome.

79. Shia = Descendants of Hussain ibn Ali and his own and step brothers, who did not accompany him to the battle of Karbala and regretted it – and many others who joined the sect for their own reasons.

80. Sin = Violation of divine stipulation.

81. Soldier = One trained to obey orders without questioning and to live constantly in peril.

82. Soul = Genetic software, also called spirit or psyche.

83. Space = Occupied part of the void.

84. Spiritualism = Interaction of central nervous and autonomic systems.

85. Successful Person = One who learns his or her lessons early.

86. Sun = Nucleus of the solar system containing the Earth, wherein primordial matter is still decomposing and generating extreme heat and radiation.

87. Taliban = Extremely bigoted ethnic minority of Afghanistan who fancy the lifestyle of 7th century Arabs and aspire to establish the Kingdom of God.

88. Terror = Exaggerated state of fear in a person lacking moral courage, sometimes resulting in a sadistic response to the apparent or assumed cause of fear.

89. Terrorism = Tendency to achieve by violent intimidation rather than by asking, bargaining, creating, developing or earning.

90. Theory of Relativity = Mathematical expression of the illusory nature of observation.

91. Time = Differential element of age.

92. Total Eclipse = Situation when a portion of the earth is completely shielded from either direct or indirect exposure to radiation from the Sun.

93. Trade Union = Organization of industrial, agricultural, intellectual, governmental or professional workers to standardize their practices, protect their rights and ensure fair remuneration and dignity of its members. It is the basic first step towards democracy. Countries where trade unions have not developed still have tyrannical governments and widespread poverty.

94. Truth = Accurate statement, exact description and effective cause or reason.

95. Traitor = A citizen who acts against the interests of his or her country or sacrifices national interest for personal gain, and a soldier who points a weapon at an innocent, peaceful, unarmed citizen of his or her own country.

96. War = Legitimized crime or violent response to it, often a contest of terror.

97. War on Terror = A sadistic vendetta between Christian and Muslim extremists resulting from the incompetence of intellectuals, politicians and generals.

98. Weapon = A potentially lethal implement used for persuasion by the mentally weak, for protection by the physically weak, and for committing crimes by the ethically or morally weak.

99. World War II = Occasion of choice for Western Europe between German and American domination, Americans coming out on top.

100. Zero = Difference between equals.


©Mohammad Nasim

Vox Populi

During the past few days I have overheard the following conversation between people at public places in Karachi:

1. How can an order issued by the Chief of Army Staff be applicable to anyone other than army personnel? Why do the Civil Administration and Judiciary take notice of such orders?
2. How can a civil servant of grade 17 issue a document titled “Statutory Regulatory Order” on Government of Pakistan letter head in defiance of the acts of parliament, budgetary allocations and constitutional provisions?
3. How can the army that holds the people and institutions of Pakistan in such contempt be expected to give its blood to defend them?
4. All of Pakistan’s problems can be solved by getting rid of about 600 top civil servants, an equal number of politicians and about 200 top military officers.
5. Pervez Musharraf has not been able to find a general in the Pak army suitable to be appointed as COAS in the last five years, will he import one now?
6. Pervez Musharraf is needed to maintain political stability in Pakistan.
7. Benazir Bhutto in spite of being a democratic icon has no political program or economic policy; she will only fuel further corruption if brought to power.
8. Nawaz Shrif initiated the economic policies in his first term which are still being followed, but he has a dictatorial streak and may again annoy his colleagues who may again conspire with the army to overthrow him.
9. Is Nawaz Sharif the Saudi candidate for premiership or USA’s possible alternative to Benazir?
10. What is the formula to empower the poor who are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer?

God help us.

The Black Night of 10/18

The Black Night of 10/18
By Naseem Mahnavi (mnasim_99@yahoo.com)

The ghastly carnage in Karachi on the night of 18th October, 2007 was perhaps the worst thing that ever happened in Pakistan after independence. No amount of condemnation and consolation can give solace to the bereaved families in particular and the nation in general. It was a heinous crime whose facilitators must be demobilized and punished in an exemplary manner. For now one can only pray for the peace of the deceased and the safety of those who live in this country.

However, it would be extremely imprudent if one does not look back and ponder impartially the events and circumstances that made such a thing possible. The following points come to my mind that should make those who deserve to blame themselves do so.

Pakistani generals who need clearance from the Pentagon for their promotions would do anything to please their mentors.
Perhaps this arrangement was agreed when the USA supplied sophisticated hardware to Pakistani military including Star fighters which were clumsily bugged and crashed at regular intervals. How reliable is the rest of American military hardware?

Generals promoted recently to key posts seem to have emotional personalities that can be manipulated easily.

The US administration would like to have Benazir at the head of government in Pakistan when they attack Iran so that she may control the violent reaction of Pakistani Shias. Insecure as she has proven to be, she would literally be on American strings.

The responsibility of the 10/18 carnage lies heavily on the shoulders of those who had persuaded her to return to Pakistan and played a part in facilitating it.

Pakistani politicians are wishful thinkers and get over-excited at the slightest hint of glory. Nawaz Shrif got swollen headed when the Supreme Court gave verdict that he could not be prevented from returning to his home country and Benazir thought that she was returning as the joint viceroy of the US president and British queen.

Benazir was to be accompanied by a number of British MPs and US Senators and security arrangements were being made accordingly to befit the foreign dignitaries. When she boarded the plane with mere Pakistanis the security arrangements were scaled down to those demanded by other not so popular ex-prime ministers such as Jamali and Shujaat. Why Benazir's foreign friends ditched her at the last moment can only be explained by them.

Benazir was aware of an impending attack and yet she chose the insane option of traveling in an open truck at one mile per hour in the darkness of night through terrorist infested roads. Martyrdom is not for a family woman.

Only days before the Swiss investigating magistrate completed his enquiries and sent the case to the prosecutor general, Benazir gave up all her objections to the military dictatorship and tacitly supported Musharraf in his re-election in uniform in exchange for the withdrawal of criminal cases against her. Was Benazir really afraid or did she give in to blackmail?

Hundreds of thousands of destitute and desperate people were brought to Karachi from interior Sindh and other provinces to the welcome rally on 18/10, but tens of thousands did not return. In the coming months there is going to be a proliferation of street beggars, thefts and robberies in this city.

Pakistanis are fighting a war against extremism, but in doing so one should be careful not to introduce a new kinds of extremism, such as democratic extremism or judicial extremism.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan is examining the eligibility of Pervez Musharraf for the third part-time presidential term and the jurisdiction of the existing Electoral College to elect a new president. He has already submitted an undertaking that if he is declared elected, he would give up his part-time job as army chief. He is already past the maximum age for army service, so perhaps he can get around some of the difficulties by submitting a backdated resignation.

This is with due apologies to anyone who feels hurt or embarrassed by the stark, undiluted truth which is necessary to ensure sanity and purpose in a confused nation.

A Tale of Two Deals

Back in 1970 the pathetic general did a deal with Daddy to get him elected prime minister if he would let him remain president for as long as he liked. Free, fair and transparent elections were held in which Daddy’s brand new political party which had never contested elections before won 60% of the seats in this wing. Daddy was expecting better. In the other wing, the old party threw a spanner in the works by hijacking the rigging plan and winning 99% of seats in that wing and claiming the right to form government. Daddy insisted that he should be made prime minister as per the deal. The motherland was thrown into complete chaos. The jealous neighbor took advantage of this opportunity and moved its forces into that wing. The pathetic general surrendered that wing and left the office of president in disgrace.

Back in 2002 the smart general who had staged a military coup while flying in the air was having difficulty getting himself recognized as president by anybody but the super power. So, on behalf of the super power, the neighbor massed its troops on the borders of the motherland to pressurize the politicians and the courts into cooperating with the smart general. The smart general got a five year term in the presidency.

By the end of the 5 years, like all bad politicians, the smart general had lost his popularity and there seemed no way he could remain president and also general as before. So he decided to make a deal with Baby, whereby he would make her prime minister while she would help her remain president and also general. Nothing wrong with that; but the deal must include the following two points:

1. If the rigging plan fails, Baby would not insist on her pound of flesh at the expense of motherland.

2. Reforms will be carried out in the military recruitment policy and training content to make it more focused on its professional obligations.

Power of the Pen

“The pen is mightier than the sword” is an old saying whose origin can not be traced, although it exists in many languages in all parts of the world. Normally it is interpreted as meaning that a scholar wields greater power than a soldier or military general. However, the study of the history of colonialism yields a different and interesting angle to the adage.

The indigenous populations of the American and Australian continents were almost completely wiped out by the invading colonizers from Europe. One thing common among those nations was the fact that in spite of being reasonably civilized and organized they lacked a written language or script.

The disadvantages of being illiterate are manifold. For one thing, they could not send written messages or make written agreements. It is a simple fact that the spoken word can only be heard by those present within a limited distance and repetitions by the listeners are often inaccurate to say the least. On the other hand, the written message can be read for ever and transmitted in original or in exact copies to any part of the world. That is why we do not have an account of what happened from the view point of the obliterated nations.

At the same time the people of the lands where literacy or a written language existed managed to survive the onslaught of the equally cruel and blood-thirsty invaders starting from the Aryans in India to Europeans in most parts of the world. Most countries of Asia are examples of this survivability of literacy. In fact most of the once colonized literate nations were able to eventually oust the colonizers and some are now taking a leading role in the community of nations.

My antagonists must be wondering, “What about Africa?” The answer is quite simple. Most nations in the coastal areas of Africa had already had contacts with Arabic language and literature. Although the literacy rate there may not have been enviable, there must have been at least a few literate persons in each community. As for the semi-civilized and illiterate people in the hinterlands, they were lucky that Christian missionaries had reached them before the Christian soldiers and given them the divine shield of literacy.

If there are any ambitious generals or politicians in the world who think that the history of the American and Australian continents can be repeated, they will be disappointed. Literate peoples can not be obliterated.

The Nuclear Explosions

Nostradamus -- Century VI, Quatrain 97

Cinq & quarante degrez ciel bruslera,
Feu approcher de la grand cité neuue,
Instant grand flamme esparse sautera,
Quand on voudra des Normans faire preuue,

At forty-five degrees the sky will burn,
Fire to approach the great new city:
In an instant a great scattered flame will leap up,
When one will want to demand proof of the Normans.

Usually such quatrains of Nostradamus start with a year and month indicating the time of the event. The second and third lines of this quatrain evidently describe an above-ground nuclear explosion. The first three nuclear explosions on earth took place in 1945. The first was the atomic bomb Trinity exploded in New Mexico in July, 1945. The second and third were Little Boy and Fat Man dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan with an interval of three days in August, 1945. It is possible that Nostradamus had multiple visions and confused the dates and locations writing down only forty five which was part of 1945. None of the three places at which the atomic bombs exploded was known to Europeans at the time Nostradamus wrote the quatrain.

It would, therefore, be fair to infer that the prediction refers to the atomic bombing of the new cities of Hiroshima or Ngasaki or both in the year 1945. The explanation by some nightmare merchants that the new city refers to New York does not seem to hold water, although anxiety created in that rich city may benefit some people in some ways.

As for the fourth line of the quatrain, the meaning is not hard to understand. One asks for proof from someone whom one does not trust. It means that as a result of the barbaric atomic attacks, the world would stop trusting the men from the north, perhaps meaning North Americans and North Europeans. The cold war following the Second World War is a testimony to that.

It should be understood here that no one can see what has not happened. The visions of Nostradamus consisted of pictures of what had happened in the past at some place in the Universe. He was only trying to correlate them with likely places and times when some thing similar would be repeated on earth. It seems that a specie similar to human beings has existed somewhere in the past and gone through all the developments and experiences that we are now going through. Whether we shall have a better end than them is up to us.

The War of Terror Must Stop

The recently declared American intentions of making armed incursions into Pakistan to kill assumed terrorists are unbecoming of a civilized nation. The proposition is reminiscent of the old imperial technique of turning people into nobodies, then killing them in cold blood and claiming that “nobody was killed.”

Today, world civilization has reached a state in which there is no such thing as an “outlaw”. Every human being has or should have a legal identity and should be made to follow the law.

I would suggest that the Pakistani government should enforce Pakistani laws in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas by making it a province of Pakistan with a governor, provincial assembly, divisions and districts, police stations, courts and local government; the army should establish cantonments there.

As for the foreign nationals there, they should be treated as refugees and given political asylum if they apply for it. Once a list of refugees and asylum seekers is prepared, the world would know whether or not Osama bin Laden and Mulla Omar actually exist. And if they do, they should be brought to justice according to international law. They shouldn’t be killed in sleep because their trial would expose embarrassing truths about their accusers.

If the Americans really want to get rid of the terror that haunts them, they should, among other things, help Pakistan in integrating FATA into the State.

Definitions - 3

Alqaeda = International forum of dissidents originated by veterans of Afghan freedom struggle against USSR to free other countries of the region from covert foreign occupation, involved or implicated by North Atlantic powers in terrorist acts and turned into the most outlawed entity.

Atom = Scientific belief in the unseen.

Beauty = Ability to cause favorable reaction beyond vocabulary.

Buenocracy = Domination by good people. (It doesn't exist anywhere.)

Capitalism = Domination by money and riches.

Cell Phone = The conquest of distance.

Christianity = Worship of the anointed one and belief in morality based on the parables in the pre-Muhammadan Divine Books which originated in the Middle East.

Civilization = A society in which ethical restraints prevent people from going as low as they can.

Communism = Domination by the least educated and skilled members of community.

Computer = An inorganic appendage to human beings for sharing large amounts of knowledge,
information or data and analytical power not possible by sensory or organic means.

Crime = An act whose committer deserves punishment.

Democracy = Universal equality of opinion and domination of majority opinion.

Democratic government = Domination by a group of people who have demonstrated their ability to manipulate public opinion better than others.

Democratic Society = A society in which leadership emerges from the common people through the natural processes of social organization, self government and unrestricted intellectual activity.

Discipline = Ability to restrain oneself before being restrained by others.

Duties = Basic building blocks of civilization – universal or circumstantial human obligations whose neglect is crime. (The UNO has not prepared a charter of human Duties.)

Engineering = Art and science of creating inorganic life.

Evil = Ability to harm or destroy.

Failure = One who ruins every thing when feeling confident.

Freedom = Ability to take one’s own decisions and define one’s own limits.

General = One authorized to get soldiers killed.

God = The Singularity discovered thousands of years ago, but never defined scientifically.

Gravity = Inherent interconnection among bodies of matter.

Guantanamo = Infamous and illicit outfit of US armed forces where people abducted from all over the world are subjected to unconventional psychological experiments without being compensated.

Happiness = Disciplined pursuit of pleasure that does not result in regret.

Hindu = Black-skinned pre-Aryan people of ancient India. The Vedas were their religious books.

Human being = The most advanced organic biological (animal) species capable of conversing, calculating, planning, communicating, building and developing and enforcing ethics.

Islam = Surrender to reason and worship of a conceptual ideal being called Allah as taught by Muhammad.

Israelis = A minority ethnic group of ancient Egypt originating from the Union of an Arab named Abraham and his black African partner. The half breeds were treated badly by the natives and fled from Egypt under their leader Moses who was accused of wanton murder.

Jew = Believer in the earliest moral and religious traditions of the Middle East.

Judaism = Culture based on ancient Middle Eastern traditions, constituted by European money lenders to acquire the status of God’s chosen people.

Kashmir = Historically independent mountain country turned into a disputed territory by North Atlantic powers to create military competition among bordering nations and prevent them from attaining their full economic potential threatening North Atlantic domination.

Law = Collectively adopted limits of individual freedom.

Leader = One who knows the way better than others and stays in front.

Life = Ability to change others' perceptions.

Love = Urge to protect, nourish and share pleasures with, and willingness to make sacrifices for.

Marriage = License to share privacy.

Mulla = One who knows nothing but religious rumor and is not prepared to learn more.

NATO = Enigmatic North Atlantic military outfit that prevents ethnic cleansing where it chooses and carries out ethnic cleansing where it chooses.

Nation = A group of people who identify themselves with each other.

Nazism = Reaction of German Christians to Judaic claim of being the chosen race, asserting superiority over other people on account of undiluted Aryan descent.

Patriot = One willing to make sacrifices to defend the freedom of his or her homeland.

Peace = Absence of irritation.

Politics = Exploitation of the community's weaknesses.

Poverty = Absence of affluence.

Power = Ability to cause beneficial action.

Quality = Comparison with an established standard.

Realist = One who can differentiate between a virtual reality and the actual reality.

Relative Space = Location based on three linear coordinates with reference to an arbitrary point and a fourth age coordinate relative to an arbitrary event (date and time).

Religion = Fixed belief in the imperceptible and the unknown.

Rights = Reward of fulfilling duties or obligations whose denial or violation is crime.

Science = Study of the nature and working of things and events; and belief in proven and verified facts.

Shia = Descendants of Hussain ibn Ali and his own and step brothers, who did not accompany him to the battle of Karbala and regretted it – and many others who joined the sect for their own reasons.

Soldier = One trained to obey orders without questioning and to live constantly in peril.

Space = Occupied part of the void.

Spiritualism = Interaction of central nervous and autonomic systems.

Successful Person = One who learns his or her lessons early.

Taliban = Highly bigoted ethnic minority of Afghanistan who fancy the lifestyle of 7th century Arabs and aspire to establish the Kingdom of God.

Terrorism = Tendency to achieve by violent intimidation rather than by asking, bargaining, creating, developing or earning.

Time = Differential element of age.

Traitor = A citizen who acts against the interests of his or her country or sacrifices national interest for personal gain, and a soldier who points a weapon at an innocent, peaceful, unarmed citizen of his or her own country.

War = Legitimized crime or violent response to it, often a contest of terror.

Weapon = A potentially lethal implement used for persuasion by the mentally weak, for protection by the physically weak, and for committing crimes by the ethically or morally weak.

Zero = Difference between equals.


©Mohammad Nasim

The Second Comedy of Errors

Once upon a time there was an inactive chief justice of a supreme court.
The guy who was actually very smart an aggressive had become inactive
because a stupid television jester had written him a letter but in his
stupidity had put a wrong address on the envelope. The letter somehow
reached the once dismissed general and somehow elected president (the
same person) and the hired temporarily from a bank and charitably elected
prime minister (a single entity). Neither of these men had the slightest
inkling of law or good manners. They had read the constitution and not
found the term contempt of court in it. So they had the chief justice
brought into their office and demanded his resignation because they
thought that someone else could be more useful to them in their pursuit
of greater power. Whether they had committed contempt of court or not is
a matter for the courts to decide, but they had certainly brought the
country into disrepute. The prime minister also ran out of the field not
having the courage to face the situation. If the matter was referred to
the ICC they would definitely get at least a three match ban or its
equivlent in politics, may be even a life ban if the rush of blood could
be related to a contraband substance. The lawyers came out in the streets
and stopped going to the courts. Some people saw history repeating
itself. When the army chief was dismissed and suspended in mid air, his
henchmen revolted and took control of the government, so the lawyers had the right to do the same in their turn. The turn of businessmen, doctors,
engineers, plumbers, coblers etc. would come in due course. Each could
work for period of ten years or so for the benefit of his own community.
But that did not happen. The president and the prime minister withdrew
the reference and tendered public and unconditional opology from the
chief justice who forgave them and everyone went back to his own
business.
Moral: Some stories can be quite boring.