Category: Thoughts

October 16, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO.

About the history and origins behind the famous saying when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Stories behind Famous Sayings

The Saying: WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO.

Who Said It: St. Ambrose

When: 387 A.D.

The Story behind It: When St. Augustine arrived in Milan, he observed that the Church did not fast on Saturday as did the Church at Rome. He consulted St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who replied: “When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are.” The comment was changed to “When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done” by Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy. Eventually it became “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

© 1975 – 1981 by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace
Reproduced with permission from “The People’s Almanac” series of books.
All rights reserved.

This is the explaination given by alot of people online for the Niqab Issue in the UK. Well lets consider some past examples,

  • Did someone tell the same to Crusaders who took over Jerusalem

  • Did some utter the same example to the Israelis when they took over Palestine

  • Did the autralians tell the same to themselves that they should act like the Aboriginals when they are in Australia
  • Did someone tell the Immigrants to the new land the same when they were slaughtering the Native Indians

  • or they were saying the same statement to Africans or the Incas when they were being traded or enslaved

Ofcourse not, then why the hypoccracy. Ofcourse anyone reading this blog might say “My friend, those are old issues, we are in the New Century and things have changed”, i dont think so, The times have changed but not the issues.

If a woman wearing a Niqab in UK is such a threat that it has to be dealt with then i say we need to deal with all kind of problems. Lets make jails for women who do that or men who wear the long Dresses(thobes) or Jewish men wearing the kippah, ofcourse these are non Western Values. Lets force the churches and mosques out of the country as they portray religion in public and we cannot let people profess their faith in open. Lets drive these people underground.

We cry about muslims isolating themselves or they have a state within a state (this statement is very much IN thesedays after it was used constantly about Hizbollah in the Israel-Hizbollah Conflict). The actions contradicting the practices of muslims will isolate them more rather than integrate them into the society. It is a matter of discussion but not a discussion to force muslims to change their practice but a discussion to educate the masses about why they do it. we have to realise that the practices based out of Faith are not easy to get rid of or even affect them at all. If UK decided to Ban this practice then it is a different scenario but on the other hand who cares right.

It is easy to make a conversation with a person on the phone or radio and you do not need a face with it then why niqab is such a problem. Niqab is not a new occurance or a practice that started in the last 5-10 years, infact it is amazing that the british after ruling over muslim lands for hundereds of year will have a problem or a sudden shock with this practice. The british have known this practice of muslim qomen of wearing niqab or veil for ages. It is nothing new.

Let the muslim Bashing finish.

October 16, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

Salman Rushdie Slams Muslim Veils For Women

I would expect this dude to be the last person to have comments on Veil, with a fatwa of death hanging over him for years why would he want to pick another fight. I dont think he s qualified at all about anything to do with Islam. so Mr Salman Rushdie please keep your comments to your self as muslim dont need anything from you.
Your understanding on the issue of veil is shadowed by your experiences which dont entail anything with islam. so if you say that it is sick to wear a veil but it is sick to hear any comment about islam from you. Go Home and get some rest Mr Rushdie and keep your sick and disgusting comments t yourself.

October 11, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

The Month of October

This month will be remmebered in Pakistan as one of the most unfortunate months in the history of Pakistan. Majority of the Military takeovers have happened in this month, either it was Ayub Khan or Musharraf, all took over Pakistan in this month. October 7th was the declaring of Martial Law that brought Ayub Khan to power, tomorrow it will be the anniversary of Pervaz Musharraf’s sucession to the post.

What have we seen during these seven turbulent years is that It has seen one of the most unpopular regimes in pakistan’s history. Alot of people agree and disagree at the handling of the War on Terror in Pakistan, the war in Waziristan, the troubles in Karachi and allaince with MQM, creation of PML Q and many more issues. Either it is Army’s taking over of the majority of the government ministries or the killing of tribal leaders.

This past Seven years has been constant trouble in pakistan, from Bomb Blasts to balouch uprising. from Book Launches to freedom of press. Alot has changed in pakistan now, some for good and some for maybe not that good. The poor has become more poor while the rich go out to get crores worth of real estate, where the Gas price has gone 2 fold to open leasing of Automobiles clogging up the nations roads. the devastating earth quake in kashmir whose aftermath has been marred with corruption to the Pakistani Cricket team making some progress. It has been interesting days and look even more interesting while watching it from a distance.

October will always have a special place in the heart of the motherland known as Pakistan.

October 11, 2006 Thoughts 1 Comment

My life behind the niqab

Excellent Post written

My life behind the niqab

Rahmanara Chowdhury
Saturday October 7, 2006
The Guardian

I began wearing the face veil when I was 20 and in my final year at university. I took the step after contemplating it for a year, and during this time I considered the impact it would have on my studies and my interactions with other people. I was most concerned about how other students would relate with me and how I would continue with presentations and group exercises on my course.

Article continues
Finally, my decision was confirmed when I understood that it was a religious act and therefore should not be dictated to by my concerns about other people, but rather be based on my conviction in God. Wearing the face veil was a very spiritual journey for me as it represented something physical to remind me that I was Muslim and therefore should try to uphold religious values, have a good character and conduct myself well with other people.

After adopting the veil, I found that a lot of my worries about social issues were unfounded. Although I was studying on a course with colleagues who were mainly non-Muslim, I found that people’s responses were curious as opposed to negative and it was an opportunity to discuss this issue with them.

I graduated with a degree in ergonomics in 2002 and went on to teach at a local college. I taught students from an array of backgrounds, including young people who were hard to engage and from socially deprived areas. I managed to interact with these students perfectly successfully even with the face veil.

My journey to the veil was a personal one, not coerced by any other factor. None of my sisters or my mother wore the veil at that time. It was certainly not something my father advocated and I think my brothers were a little concerned about the hardships I may face as a result. Despite these initial concerns, it is a decision that I have never regretted.

Statements that are clearly discriminatory now seem to be common. I am concerned that this could pave the way for religious persecution in the future and Mr Straw’s comments may be the precipitator to greater discrimination against women in veils. As long as religion is not being forced on anyone, we should have freedom to practise our different faiths and most importantly, respect each other’s right to do so to improve community cohesion.

Rahmanara Chowdhury is a sports and education development worker at Loughborough University
Link to the Post

October 10, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

Kiran Desai claims Booker title

You gotta give it to the Indian Immigrants who have acheieved these high standards. It is soo hard to find an Ex Pakistani who gets ahead in any field except Terror related. The last guy who actually did something and pakistan got some recognition was Dr Abdus Salam. Although Pakistanis did take some credit but later he was discredited as he was an Ahmadi.

So when can we have a major recognition of personnel based on acheievements in Arts and Sciences, well it wont be any time new. The number of accredited universities in pakistan amount to 49 Public and 36 Private universities. Well this statistic is very sad for a country of

165 Million, look at India with a 1006 with 1 Billion. This is very bad for the nation as a whole as we cannot advance in any field due to lack of institution producing scientists and experts in every field. We cannot compete with India in the fields of Aeronautical, Nuclear or Social Sciences unless there is a sincere effort to get more and more institutions established.

I can tell u from personal experience that after finishing my FSc (not in flying Colors) i was not able to get admission into any university. I successfully failed entrance into NUST, FAST, GIKI and Airforce but was accepted into Islamic University. A 1000 students showed up for the entrance exam at Islamic University and they only have 95 Seats. What happens to the rest of the 900 students, who on not getting admission into a good school are deprived of a future.

This lack of education institutions give rise to unemployemnt and lack of a future for all the individuals who come out of high school hopeing for a better tomorrow. I hope we can see some solid steps towards a better future for all these individuals as education is the only way to make pakistan a better place.

October 9, 2006 Thoughts 1 Comment

Niqab and the tradition of tribals

In an interesting blog in urdu recently on BBC URDU I was amazed to read this analysis calling the niqab a practice of tribals and called this kind of clothing tribal clothing. His understanding on this issue is equal to my understanding of workings of Black Holes.

He should read about the religion of Islam rather than make a comment that there is nothing in the religion about it.

Here is some info from this link

The general understanding in Islam regarding Sunnah, is that if the Prophet or any of his wives (RA) or companions (RA) are recorded in authentic hadith to have engaged in an act that is not haram (prohibited) as defined by Qur’an or Sunnah, then the act is declared halal (permissible). If the companions engaged in an act that the Prophet was aware of and did not speak out against, it is halal.

It is well-known that the wives of the Prophet covered their faces any time non-mahram men were near. A woman named Asma, who was not a wife of the Prophet , was also recorded as covering her face. Easily, one can conclude that wearing veil is halal (permissible).

However, Muslims and Muslimahs across the world have been in “hot debate” for centuries, over the issue of whether or not covering the face is obligatory upon a Muslimah. Those who argue that it is not required, point to the use of the word khimar in the Qur’an, and explain that today’s modern khimar does not cover the face, and argue that khimar has never referred to the covering of the face, but only to that of the hair, neck, and bosoms. While one cannot deny the support of Hadith that indicate that the Prophet’s wives wore khimar, one must realize that they also covered their faces at all times in the presence of non-mahram men.

The group of scholars agree that it is a highly recommended act to cover the face. The scholars also agree that a woman must cover her adornment, yet some scholars argue that this does not include the face.

October 8, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

Return of the Taliban

One of my favorite programs “Frontline” just had a report of Taliban insurgence in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is very interesting and thought provoking documentary. Although it does put a lot of blame on Pakistan but I personally think it is not balanced reporting rather biased against Pakistan.

Pakistan has been working hard to counter Al Qaida and Taliban recently. Although Americans sitting in the comfort of their homes might think there is nothing being done. The ground reality in Pakistan is very different, Pakistan has to deal with the home grown issues and then tend to the Afghan problems which the Afghan Govt has failed to deal with. When Everyone fails, they start pointing fingers at Pakistan and the ISI for the current issues in that part of the world.

But it is to be seen that the current apparatus of the Military which has been handling these issues, has been very effective against Al Qaida and Taliban. I never support Musharraf for his handling of the country but to blame Pakistan for failures from the lack of leadership in Afghanistan, the refusal to handle warlords and social problems will lead to problems in the Afghan Areas. Pakistan has nothing to do with these issues but they can get away with blaming Pakistan for it.

The tribal Areas in question always have been Semi Autonomous and they will be for the foreseeable future. Pakistan owes a great debt to the tribes in the tribal areas, as they fought for Kashmir right after independence and offered their services when our own Cheif of Army Lord MountBatten refused to do so.

It is funny to criticize Pakistan when similar issues like Northern Ireland are dealt politically rather than by force. But I think in the coming days we will see what the actual policy of the US Govt is, even thought they support Musharraf for the time being in the issues of Taliban and Tribal Areas.

October 8, 2006 Thoughts Post a Comment

Saudis Liberated

I came across an article after reading another Article about A book entitled “Banat Al-Riyadh” (The Girls of Riyadh) by Rajaa Al-Sanea. It is said to be very controversial and inciting alot of people.

Then i read the article on BBC about how Blogs and Internet has liberated the youth in Saudi Arabia from the Mullahs and Religious Autorities. It is interesting that one never sees this kind of activities in the open. Every thing about saudi arabia is very secretive and blurred. I know that the Western Media will only convey the news of the oppression of women and the youth. What i dont understand is “Is there nothing Good Happening in that country”. I am big supporter of saudi (I Think) but these kind of news make me think twice about my standing in these matter. Do the saudis really just do bad things or they do some good also. I hope the latter is true.

Well if any Saudi out there who is very neutral, drop me a line as i just want to hear the truth.

Arab news article is here