The crazy malaise
Pakistanis have become a callous case of some glaring social and political contradictions. Its people and politicians, army and holy men can be seen affectionately engaging with the most omnipresent symbols and gadgets of so-called ‘western materialism/imperialism’, and yet many of them do not hesitate to roll out high and mighty examples of oratory about political and cultural sovereignty.
‘Fulla Muslim Doll & Abaya.’ Are we simply trying to replace what we consider to be ‘Western cultural imperialism’ with symbols of conservative Arab cultural hegemony that too are as alien to our largely sub-continental and pluralistic scheme of things?
Exactly what does a politically and culturally sovereign Pakistan really mean? This question is sure to attract a number of distinct answers. And that should be expected – especially from within the diverse ethnic and political milieu of Pakistan.
But unfortunately, even more than 60 years after the country’s emergence, this diversity is yet to be recognised and respected by the state that continues to strive rather unsuccessfully to define Pakistan through a rather synthetic ideology. An ideology that constantly drags in religion in the matters of the state and society believing it to be the glue that could hold the centre of this illusory singularity.
It hasn’t. Because Islam in Pakistan has multiple sects and sub-sects, and each of these have their own take on the spiritual and legislative traditions and rituals of the faith.
Thus to ensure that tensions between the sects and sub-sects are kept at a minimum, government and the state, as well as the media, must stop pulling religion out of peoples’ homes and mosques and putting it into the public sphere.
The more it remains inside the privacy of homes and mosques, the better. Otherwise, Pakistanis of various sects and sub-sects will not only continue judging and denouncing the validity and authenticity of one another’s faith, they will go on clashing among themselves, as well as, with the singular version of religion that the state of Pakistan has been peddling for years – a strain mostly constructed with the help of petro-dollars that come in with the condition of forwarding a particularly stern and isolationist edition of the faith.
Anti-Shia violence has risen dramatically in Pakistan. However, the country is also facing violence and tensions between Sunni sub-sects, especially between the Barelvis, Deobandis, Wahabis and Salafis. Facing violence and persecution are also minority religious groups such as the Christians, Ahmedies and the Hindus. The state and governments in country have dragged their feet in producing affective legislation against public show of religious hatred and bias.
We glorify our importance by constantly suggesting how powerful nations are so interested in us.
Conspiracy theorists, politicians, soldiers, mullahs, Islamists and the media put us at the centre of the universe; a universe that we believe is teeming with malicious superpowers and other ‘enemy religions’ that are supposedly hatching diabolic conspiracies and schemes to destabilise our wonderful Islamic republic.
This is just a mirage; a feel-good, rather paranoid, projection. It is splashed across the social and political canvas that we trade upon to obscure the many state and social failures this unfortunate republic has been suffering in the name of religion, patriotism and, of course, now sovereignty.
We are behaving like a cultish collective that molested itself and then called the act ‘ghairat (honour).’!
Many would instantly take offense if you suggest the above, and after shouting you down as a traitor, they will proudly remind you that we are a nuclear power.
But the way we are going about in trying to isolate ourselves (in the name of defending our sovereignty and faith), I think we are trying to actually prove that we are really only slightly better than the isolationist, poverty-stricken and missile-happy North Korea!
Yes we have the bomb, but where are the new, quality schools, hospitals, a welfare system, political stability, a healthy competitive economy, democratic institutions and mindset, and a life free of sectarian and religious bigotry, strife and hatred?
Cartoon courtesy: Sabir Nazar
We have become prisoners of our own delusions – delusions about ourselves and about the many countries and cultures that we believe are constantly scheming against us.
We refuse to free ourselves from these suspicious and blinding phantoms in our heads, and yet we demand sovereignty from the nefarious designs of our many (largely imagined) enemies?
I have continued to say this and I am going to say it again: The enemy is us! It is within us.
Once we manage to openly recognise and confess our own inadequacies and let go of our paranoid stubbornness to keep hanging on to ideologies that have only spelt disaster and have been resounding failures, our journey to a sovereign state based on religious tolerance, economic progress and a democratically achieved political, ethnic and sectarian plurality shall begin.
Till then all we can do is to keep cuddling our missiles and raise our bony fists in a delusional exhibition of empty triumph and hysteria. It looks even worse if exhibited on a half-empty stomach that had to be filled with the figurative grass just so the missiles are allowed to continue rolling out and test fired.
Even before they could overcome their love for Dora, these kids are being taught to hate. A group of kids are handed toy guns and asked to raise violent slogans at a rally of a religious political party. Is this what is meant by replacing ‘Western/Hindu culture’ with an ‘Islamic’ one?
Genuine achievements in the sciences, the arts and economics that help Pakistan as a country and society to become an engaging part of the international community of nations should be the thing used to construct feel-good narratives; not demagogic spiels by hateful rattlers attempting to inflate young, impressionable egos with muscular promises of going to war with ‘infidels!’
Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
You sir, are awesome
I just want to say one thing that we all see this article, which in fact is written very well…. but after reading this we will forget what it really meant and we will continue to live our lives as we always do.. very few of us will try to be some thing better…
"It looks even worse if exhibited on a half-empty stomach that had to be filled with the figurative grass just so the missiles are allowed to continue rolling out and test fired."
Isn't this what Bhutto said with regard to the attainment of the nuclear weapons?
We know what we are in and we know what we need. But how to get it? Will we even be able to get all that given current conditions?
If I have ever come across a writer who can put across a message in the most concise and direct manner, it is NFP …. hats off ….. only that all his writings, though boiling with rational and logic, and in spirit very much wanting for a magnanimous, progressive, all-inclusive Pakistan, are always critical of the current state in Pakistan …. though I am nowhere close to his thought and prose, I will have to muster much courage to request him some writings that give the Pakistanis a thought for being part of something good ….. he is a magician, lets see he shows us (especially Indians) some good scenery …. many thanks NFP … keep the good work .. and of course .. Take care of yourself …
Not just Pakistan – In India too Islamic fanaticism is on the rise while the Government is looking the other way. Recently muslim groups have threatened the Government over almost every piece of legislation – be it RTE (Right to Education), Compulsory registration of marriages or giving inheritance rights to daughters – the muslims have asked themselves to be excluded – and the government has willingly bent backwards to accommodate them.
Creating controversies to enjoy good readership i.e. tamaash beeni which we are fond of..The governments and electoral systems have been producing this leadership which the country is enjoying now so blame yourself for not trying and working for better system in Pakistan.. where does corruption in characters come from and who advocates the linguistic and regional division i dont know to where you are leading the young generation through your columns.
I SALUTE HIM.
I appreciate that anybody is in this word who wants to escalate this issue.
I will request the top of word Power full authorities to come and save these kids
@Siddiqui: Gen Zia and JI are two most significant factors which have played their part in Pakistan's decadence. Perhaps, Zia too is an offshoot of JI. Hence, we are left with JI as the prime architect of present day unenviable Pakistan. But one thing has to be kept in mind: JI presents a particular brand of Islam, interpreted by Maududi.
The article is quite close to reality. But only highlighting the problems is no solution. I shall also like to see, from NFP, a concrete guideline that can elucidate the possible route to progress and emancipation from "hate culture" for the wretched masses of Pakistan.
Please, just a view from the USA.
We follow Pakistan people's developments in our hearts. In our street have several friends who are immigrants to the USA. We talk, laugh, and share stories about our children and families. They go to mosque freely and hear about peace and kindness. We are just people, sharing our life together. We are so saddened by news about so-called religious fanatics who corrupt innocent children. They are not human. One can only wonder about what kind of "religion" they had. Together, each of us, we grieve in our hearts when we hear of 10 people being killed by some idiot suicide bomber in Karachi. It hurts all of us. But please, -please-, don't forget that we here (USA) lost over 2,800 innocent men, women and children in an attack on just one day. Please think about what that kind of atrocity would mean to you. Every time we read about a new crime committed by some jihadist in Pakistan, we are all together in one humanity.
NFP i want to see you write a similar work on feudalism. Especially in Sind and Panjab.
Yes, Nadeem we do have the bombs, and please remember that the quality schools, hospitals, political stability and a life free of sectarian and religious bigotry, strife and hatred is the responsibility of the Civilian government you elected to run the country. That is their duty, not ours. The nation needed bombs, and we made them.
Yours is an astute distinction between needs, priorities, allocation of resources, responsibilities and duties. Your sincere effort to point out the lacunae in his muddied-up thinking is much appreciated. There are other problems with his logic and thought process…but that would require another type of professional. One mess at a time. Thank you.
What are the yardsticks for real progress is the question.
We have almost similar issues on ourside.
The population nuclear bomb is ready to explode
Are we ready to feed educate housing and provide quality life to the masses?
Buddha once said”Hate never yet dispelled hate,only Love dispells hate” Preach love it is the answer.
"…shouting you down as a traitor". Sir, you hardly qualify as a traitor.
As usual, NFP is brilliant. Assuming people in Pakistan read and understand what NFP Is saying, does anyone listens to him? I don't think so.
Can somebody please tell which organization organized this rally and put guns in kids' hands? There is a strong and urgent need to post this picture to a Pakistani forum, directed to that organization letting them know that they have fallen way too low. They need to be questioned about their grand future plans regarding this action.
The whole Indian sub-continent has a very rich and varied heritage of culture, music, art, literature and science. This civilisation is very ancient. We have the spirituality and wisdom of the sufi saints as our precious legacy. Yet we seem to hanker to the Arabic view of Islam, an Islam devoid of any joy and stripped of the richness of life. We need to wake up and seek our own heritage rather than become slaves of a foreign and inferior Arabic philosophy.
I see their are many who pray for NFP’s safety. A few years back when I started reading his articles and when finished reading the first one, the first voice in my head was, God Please Keep Him Safe. Thank God most of the extremists can’t read English. If Dawn was an Urdu paper called fajar NFP would have been looking for a job long time ago. But we do need him to communicate with the masses in Urdu and Dawn news channel is the perfect platform. He used to appear on a show a few years back I believe but the program was in English and the audience was a particular sector of our society. NFP there are many so-called anchors acting like intellectuals. We need someone like you. Of course you do not have to be do blunt but you will pick the right topics. We don’t care you shavethat beard or not. There was Wasatullah Khan now he is nowhere to be found. Think sbout it comrade.