Welcome to the Badlands

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What must never, repeat never, be done is to negotiate a treaty with these elements from a weaker position. A Pathan despises weakness as much in himself as in any one else. Such treaties are not worth the paper these are written on.

By Anwaar Hussain

oie_talibanselected4.jpgThe badlands were not always badlands.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, or FATA as these are more commonly known, are an amazing place with a fascinating history. This unique region of pine-scented vales, tall mountains, deep gorges, harsh topography and even harsher demography has traveled a tortuous path throughout its known history.

Starting from 500 BC to date, the region which includes Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of Pakistan has seen perhaps more invasions in the course of history than any other country in Asia, or indeed in the world. However, during most of this period when the plains surrounding this region had been dominated by great powers of the times, these hill tracts and the tribes that inhabited these remained fiercely independent.

The people of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and FATA as well as the adjacent eastern regions of Afghanistan are overwhelmingly Pathan, or Pashtun as they are alternatively called, with a total population of around 40 million. About 18 million of these are living on the Pakistani side. Within the NWFP province, geographically, FATA runs north to south, forming a 1,200-kilometer wedge between Afghanistan and the settled areas of the NWFP. The Durand Line supposedly divided Pathan tribes between British India and Afghanistan in 1893. Supposedly because the line has never been effectively able to divide these tribes and since then this delineation has been viewed with great contempt and bitterness by Pathans on both sides of the line.

The total population of the FATA was estimated in 2000 to be about 3,341,070 people, or roughly 2% of Pakistan’s and 20% of NWFP’s population. A whopping 97% of this population resides in villages resembling Stone Age hutments with, unbelievably, some inhabitants in the far corners of this rugged region even now living in caves. It is the most rural administrative unit in Pakistan. The 7 tribal areas lie in a north-to-south arrangement. The geographical placement of the 7 tribal areas in the same order is: Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan.

As to the number of Pathan tribes, there are approximately 60 but the figure rises to above 400 if all the sub-clans are included. The largest and most influential tribes are the Afridi, Achakzai, Bangash, Durrani, Khattak, Mehsud, Mohammadzai, Mohmand, Orakzai, Shinwari, Yusufzai and Waziri. Pukhtunwali, the Pathan tribal code dating back to pre-Islamic era, demands hospitality, generosity when someone asks for pardon or shelter and an unconditional commitment to avenge any slights.

Pathans take immense pride in their independence and the fact that they have never been conquered in their 3000 years’ history (except, briefly by Genghis Khan and Tamerlane). At various times these tribesmen spearheaded the penetration and conquest of the surrounding areas. In India especially, they appeared first as soldiers of fortune and later as powerful kings, even as sultans and emperors. Historically, they have conducted their warfare with a battle pitch that has always been a curious brew of honor, culture and a code of conduct blended thoroughly with a generally rebellious posture towards any central authority. Since the advent of Islam however, religion has remained the sole rallying cry for all invasions, expeditions, rebellions, excursions, resistances, and campaigns.

Honor and gallantry are considered the hallmarks of this convention. This deeply-rooted ethnic pride, combined with the fact that these areas have been comprehensively neglected by successive central administrations in Pakistan, has ensured that the “idea of Pakistan” proves to be a secondary factor in shaping the identity and character of this region; this despite the fact that these tribal agencies opted for Pakistan rather than India at the time of Independence from the British. The governments in Pakistan reciprocated by turning a blind eye towards these areas altogether.

Over the years, therefore, when roads, hospitals, schools, colleges, airports, railways, planned cities with proper sanitation and sewerage facilities developed in the rest of Pakistan, these areas remained stuck in a medieval time warp. Resultantly, the only skill these people learnt was that of gun slinging. They are for hire to a wealthy landowner, a smuggler, a warlord, a larger group, an organization or even a nation if the price is right and Islam is suitably mentioned somewhere along the dotted lines.

Right under the noses of the provincial and central governments, a flourishing trade in smuggled goods steadily spiraled up in the FATA belt. In due course, other extra-legal businesses inevitably developed. It was all too common to see shops selling guns (including automatic weapons), ammunition, explosives and hand-grenades. As a matter of fact dozens of weapons manufacturing factories sprang up in Darra Adam Khel, just next to Peshawar the provincial capital, that were making from pen pistols to rocket launchers all types of firearms. The Jihad against the Soviets in the nearby Afghanistan and the resultant chaos in the region ensured a continued demand for their products over the decades. In the same markets one could also buy resinous lumps of marijuana or opium and deadly polythene packets of heroin powder. By and by, the business of stealing motor vehicles from Karachi, Lahore and other cities only to be repainted and sold back into those same cities also grew. Kidnapping people for ransom from the settled areas too started doing a thriving business.

Successive governments continued to look on with a benign neglect. Thanks to this total disregard by practically every Pakistani administration over the decades, FATA gradually became a criminals’ haven. It grew into a breeding ground for every kind of organized crime. In time, with Islam thrown in for good measures, it would also provide fodder for organizations like the Al Qaeda and Taliban.

Never being able to sit still for long, and with their Afghan counterparts having fun for the past three decades with first the Soviets and now the American led coalition, extremist elements out of these lawless tribes today threaten Peshawar, the provincial metropolis. In the pay of various warlords, today they encircle the biggest city of the province. Needless to say of course, that the anesthetic of a convoluted version of Islam has been administered in suitably large doses to dull the pain of killing innocent human beings, innate to normal mortals, or even of blowing up their own selves. Although, as of writing these lines, a half hearted, lukewarm and rather belated effort by the NWFP’s provincial administration has kicked off to counter the threat in Khyber only, the fact is that Peshawar now stands surrounded.

According to details in Dr. Farrukh Saleem’s article ‘Goodbye Peshawar?’in The News, some 20,000 sq. kms of real estate is now controlled by these extremists. Haji Mangal Bagh Afridi controls Darra Khyber, of the famous Khyber Pass, which is west of Peshawar. Dara Adam Khel, immediately next to Peshawar towards south, is controlled by Baitullah Mehsud’s loyalists. Charsadda and Shabqadar, both less than 30 kilometres north of Peshawar, are controlled by Commander Umar Khalid, leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Mohmand agency.

According to yet another report of the same daily, other areas ringing Peshawar i.e. Sheikhan, Sarband, Regi and Nasir Bagh were under Mangal Bagh’s absolute control while Mathra, Michni, Daudzai and Khazana were under Umar Khalid’s control. Overall, South Waziristan now belongs to Baitullah Mehsud. Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the Taliban supreme commander in North Waziristan. Maulvi Faqir Mohammad controls Bajaur. Mangal Bagh and Haji Namdar reign over Khyber. Commander Umar Khalid is the head man in Mohmand. Parallel courts have been set up in these areas and people are taking their disputes to these makeshift courts instead. Executions, stoning to death and limb chopping have reportedly been ordered in some remote corners after just hours of deliberation by the so called clerics. Welcome to the badlands.

For a solution one has to understand the milieu that the Pathan generations have developed in for thousands of years. They would then understand that a Pathan loves and admires three things immensely i.e. the Mullah, muscle and money but not necessarily in that order; and not in a setting with a chance of his honor being slighted. And that while money and muscle deplete and replete in his life years, the unschooled Mullah is a pervasive presence always lurking in the background. Plus, and this is to be noticed, he wants justice for his issues, and a quick one at that. This has been the single most appealing dispensation of the Taliban movement on both sides of the border; swift, ruthless and visible justice provided post haste.

The solution, therefore, should concentrate on the same factors. For the short term, the state must show these extremists its full muscle, with fangs bared, in an awesome display of firepower, all the while making sure to continue taking out the murderers and the beheaders among the miscreants relentlessly and mercilessly. They showed no mercy to their victims, none must be extended to them. No fancy intelligence is required to track the real culprits. Every local knows their genealogy backwards. Even their pictures and videos are openly available where they proudly photographed themselves in the acts of their heinous deeds. The foot soldiers however, the innocent gun fodder carried away more by the romance of the things than any thing else, may be granted a one-time pardon provided they surrender their arms. These are young fools with full lives still left to live. Chances are, they can yet unlearn what has been drilled into their young impressionable minds and get on with their lives.

For the long term, the first thing that needs to be initiated is the gradual assimilation of these areas into the rest of Pakistan. That means provision of full accoutrements of a proper state at the top of which should be a judicial system that can provide speedy resolution of their disputes. Ironically though, this is easier said than done. The rest of the country too is still fighting for a corruption free dispensation of justice.

To completely eradicate the unlettered Mullah from a Pathan’s life is a near impossibility. Not only because the Mullah still abounds in the rest of Pakistan but also because a Pathan loves his religion with a fervor unmatched in the other ethnicities of Pakistan. However, the Mullah’s impact could be lessened by providing schools and colleges not only to educate the common peoples of the area but also, ultimately, the Mullah himself.

What must never, repeat never, be done is to negotiate a treaty with these elements from a weaker position. A Pathan despises weakness as much in himself as in any one else. Such treaties are not worth the paper these are written on.

One thing is sure; if Peshawar falls, the rest of the province will not be far behind. Needless to say, that the remaining Pakistan too would be that much closer to the ultimate calamity. The situation has become so grave indeed that due to the shenanigans of these radicals in the NWFP, and that of their ideological brethrens’ in the rest of Pakistan, according to The Failed State Index 2008 report of Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace, Pakistan has won the dubious distinction of graduating to number 9 position among the top ten states at most risk of failure. Afghanistan is at number seven. The rest are all African states.

Take heed, ye all!

Copyrights : Anwaar Hussain



Comments

23 Responses to “Welcome to the Badlands”

  1. Michelle on June 30th, 2008 3:02 pm

    Very well written, Anwaar….Your writing takes on a higher dimension when it is close to home for you. I have no place to comment, but look forward to your fellow countrymen’s replies.

    Michelle

  2. Nathan on June 30th, 2008 5:01 pm

    Definitely very well written Anwaar.

    In my opinion however it’s not what Pakistan can do or wishes to do that matters. It’s what the US will be doing there shortly which may result in a sea change.

  3. Anwaar on June 30th, 2008 9:25 pm

    Thank you Michelle, Nathan,

    But you do have a place to comment Michelle. Remember this is the very region that is cited by the current U.S. administration as to be the most threatening to the US. Right or not, regardless.

    Nathan, I think not. Not for the immediate future at least. With the drubbing that the coalition forces are getting in Afghanistan and the backlash that has resulted in the region, they would rather wait to see which side the cookie crumbles. They have nothing to lose in the waiting any way. Somebody else is dying.

    Anwaar

  4. Hanna on July 1st, 2008 5:19 am

    Thank you Anwaar - this is indeed an education. I doubled over in laughter thinking, that the USA is going to try to dominate and change an area and cultures like this.

    Hanna

  5. Rowan on July 1st, 2008 5:20 am

    Thank you for providing insight into the tribal issue in Pakistan.

    Very helpful!

    Rowan

  6. Anwaar on July 1st, 2008 5:27 am

    Here is the latest. And this is indeed scary.

    The government is also crowing about the fact that its measures are so popular with the local tribal population and its power so awesome for the obviously chickened-out militants that not a single bullet has been fired at the security forces. A lot is being made out of the banning of Lashkar-e-Islami (led by Mangal Bagh), Ansar-Ul-Islam (led by Qazi Mehboobul Haq who is Mangal’s sworn enemy) and Haji Namdar-led Tanzeem Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munqar. And if Islamabad’s version is to be believed then it is only a matter of time before the rest of the tribal region starts toeing their line as well.

    And now the truth: It’s all hogwash. It’s a drama being staged to placate a nervous public, please the cooperative militias by giving them sufficient advance warning, and confuse the Americans who of late have been displaying the audacity to ask for verifiable deliverables against all the money they have been pumping in for the last eight years. A desperate appeasement attempt for the visiting Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Boucher, if you may.

    But we’ll come to the causes later. First the happenings on the ground. The government can go blue in the face claiming otherwise but the fact is that the government’s real writ does not extend beyond the last settled area police picket at the Peshawar-Bara sub-division border. And in some cases where it may appear to be present in any diluted form a little farther down the road, there too it is only a negotiated concession from the local militias and not the consequence of any so-called restored the government writ.

    Click to continue reading.

  7. Shaheen on July 1st, 2008 7:33 am

    Sir,

    Enough is enough. Badlands or goodlands, time has come to take the bull by the horn. You have very rightly said that to negotiate from a position of weakness is the worst thing that you can do in this scenario. My suggestion is that we have to finish this romance with Pathans living their own lives according to their golden codes. We have to bring them into the main stream as soon as possible. Schools, colleges and roads would follow.

    FATA as it is today must be no more. It should become part of NWFP. New districts can be created or some FATA areas could be made part of existing districts. Take the decision and impliment it within 2 months. Give a date after which nobody absolutely nobody (MARD KA ZEWAR OR NOT) can own an automatic weapon. For God’s sake we are in the 21st century. USA can then help us in a big way for development of the area.

    We must remember that the wild west in USA as it existed also finished. We cannot keep living with stories of grand historical traditions and allow beheadings and burning of schools.

    Concept is there any takers.

    Take care

    Shaheen

  8. imran on July 1st, 2008 9:43 am

    An excellent article which increased my knowledge.

  9. Tahir on July 1st, 2008 10:51 am

    Thanx for providing us a detailed picture of tribal life, its woes and its customs. Thanx to all the previous regimes to have neglected these brethrens so conveniently for so long. No wonder they are what they are today. I would still like to educate myself on the role of its leaders and Khans in fostering their clique; should be quite intriguing, I suppose.

  10. Jonathan Stephenson on July 2nd, 2008 6:35 am

    I thank you my dear friend Anwaar for a history lesson on this aspect of Pakistan and Afghanistan, something that has never been really addressed here in Hollywoodland. It seems to me though, from what you said, that dealing with this issue by Pakistan will only be addressing that which Pakistan has nominal jurisdiction over, as over half of these people live in Afghanistan, and the amazingly rugged border area will allow the criminal elements to avoid prosecution or control by crossing back and forth across a border they don’t recognize. In short then, it seems to me that the situation in Afghanistan has to be addressed at the same time as that on the Pakistan side of the border, or it will not stick.

    I would like to see an Islamic peace keeping force move into Afghanistan at the same time Pakistan moves to take control of their side of the border. I don’t think this would be easy or painless, but at least the religious aspect to this situation could be diffused, and the effort placed on stopping the criminality and revenge could then be the primary goal leading to state building in Afghanistan, and state rebuilding in Pakistan.

    Now my fear is that should Afghanistan stay a failed state and lawlessness continue in the Pakistani Tribal Areas, that the US and Russia, with possible co-operation from China and India, let alone Israel will some day, after some outrageous act against one of these nations, get together and decide to take out this area once and for all, as I know for a fact this has been discussed by The USA and Russia. I do hope that this situation can be taken care of by some decent men, who wish to avoid WW-3, for as bad as Bush has been as president of the USA, if Cheney had been president, Afghanistan would have been nuked, without a doubt.

  11. Shelley on July 2nd, 2008 2:16 pm

    An interesting piece on an interesting piece of Pakistan. The notion that any nation could control such a people is not realistic. In general, any population that is universally dedicated to the proposition of rejecting control by another is almost impossible to subjugate. The Somali are another people that love to fight and hold those who defeat others in the highest regard. The Italians spent the best part of WW2 trying to build a road the length of the country. The Italians failed against an adversary that was considered stone age man. The Somali had no guns, no poison gas, they had no airplanes, they had no tanks. The Italian forces could not wander more than a few miles in any direction before an invisible adversary stole their boots while they slept, looted supplies and silently dispatched sentries night after night.

    The Somali spend much energy killing each other in tribal feuds unless some new unknown group is among them. Then they all take turns eliminating the newcomers. They know all to well that the easiest method for defeating your opponent is to remove their will to resist. When the US was making a move to destabilize the capitol Mogadishu (under the guise of feeding the hungry) the fighters killed US special forces soldiers and then video taped dragging the trophy dead bodies around town behind a truck. The tapes were sent to the US media who lacked the will to report such pictures. Several of the UN Pakistani soldiers at the same time were skinned alive before crowds of applauding onlookers of men, women & children. The African Union now can take their turn having their soldiers dispatched in unspeakable ways. Somalia is the only country in Africa that speaks only one language. Culturally they are very homogeneous. Like those in the Badlands, the Somali are unlikely to change a system that has worked well for them for a very, very long time.

    Shelley in Vermont

  12. Masroor ul Hassan on July 2nd, 2008 8:07 pm

    Anwaar, thank you for reducing to writing what many of us believe. “the state must show these extremists its full muscle, with fangs bared.” I agree!!

    Shaheen’s comments, “Give a date after which nobody absolutely nobody (MARD KA ZEWAR OR NOT) can own an automatic weapon.” I agree!!

    He then goes on to say, “USA can then help us in a big way for development of the area.” I disagree!! Where are $6 billion received from USA specifically for the war on terror which is basically being waged in FATA? What positive affect do we see in those rugged lands? NOT the Bad Lands in any sense of imagination!!

    We have to wash our dirty linen ourselves since we dirtied it. The external forces can be blamed to an extent but main responsibility squarely levels on us. We have necessary wherewithal for arresting the downslide and reversing its course. The reverse course, however, is going to be uphill albeit traversable; subject to a resolute and firm stance.

    Vigorous and extremely honour conscious Pashtoons cannot be subdued by force. They can, however, be tamed to even trade their life for a conviction. Suicide bombers are ample proof. I personally know that “zara nam ho to yeh matti bohat zarkheiz hay saqi”.

    So, while “bared fangs” are being put on display, there must be a strategy to educate these innocent people. Education which doesn’t instill hate, education that frees such a productive lot of human beings from the shackles of Mullah’s religion to be brought back to the folds of Allah’s religion and the education which aims at developing the human resource from this unruly area.

    Thanks to the electronic and technological revolution, the history is taking a fast course forward. What was possible in decades can now be achieved in years if not in months. A suitable mix of “bared fangs”, economic development and education can bring about miraculous change in our dear rugged Good Lands. N

    Negative fury of those bodily among the most handsome Homo sapiens pacing planet earth can be channelized to put untapped, hitherto, human resource of that area to good effect. Their intellect and honour can be exploited for amazing returns.

    It seems too late but a Carrot and stick strategy in a right mix and appropriate timings seems to be the only solution now. A lot of water, in wrong direction, is flowing under the bridges. We have to wake up or we will reach the fast approaching point of no return and history will never forgive us for geographical catastrophe.

    But Anwaar, do our present leaders have the courage and vision to fulfill our dream?

  13. Anwaar on July 3rd, 2008 10:25 am

    Thank you all for commenting. Seems like almost every one agrees that some thing needs to be done. I have only two reservations.

    First Re-Shaheen. Agreed with most of what you wrote Shaheen, barring this. If automatic weapons could be abolished through executive diktats it would have happened long time ago. Unfortunately that is not the case. I remember the central government tried to do that in the 90s once and only one man in the whole of NWFP surrendered his gun. He was so heckled by journalists and people that he had to change his telephone number. It looked so comic to them.

    Second Re-Masroor : Sir, what do you mean by ‘Allah’s religion’? Where is it practiced and how do you propose to bring back these extremists to that fold? The fundos think they are already doing that. They want you to follow their’s. What makes you think, sir, that theirs’ is not ‘Allah’s religion’ and yours is?

  14. Pervaiz on July 3rd, 2008 9:49 pm

    Dear Anwaar,

    An incisive, thoughtful and soulful article.

    Perhaps we all vie for power, money and religion. Most of us cherish power and money covertly because of the policeman in us, instilled by the society. We crave for religion as it promises ascendance and a permanent life hereafter. We all despise weakness as it mirrors our own inherent helplessness. Therefore, the difference between the Pathans and the rest of the world is only of degrees rather than the psychological makeup.

    The average modern day urban Pashtun is a normal, moderately educated, generally simple, and socially, racially and religiously tolerant individual. The rural Pashtuns are temperamentally somewhat harsh, proud, and reticent due to harsh physical environment. They dislike the unlike because of long social isolation and a justifiable mistrust of the main land Pakistan. They make guns and grow poppy for a living as government never tried to ameliorate their economic problems.

    However, the intolerant, wickedly dogmatic and neck slashing behavior of the present day militants is quite different and inexplicable when compared with an average urban or rural Pashtun. Indeed, it may be alien.

    The story began with the Russian invasion of Afghanistan wherein the United States raised a faction of Mujahideen with its own brand of Islam. After Russia’s defeat, this force boomeranged when ignored and hit America real hard. The consequent United States’ occupation of Afghanistan forced some Taliban to flee to the Northern Areas of Pakistan and endeavored to erode government writ, terrorize moderate locals, obliterate local culture and establish its own rule. When retaliated, they unleashed a reign of terror all over country. In fact, Pakistan had to reap the harvest sowed by, mainly, the US.

    The foreign Taliban are spreading their brand of Islam, making it palatable through money, material, ethnic affinity, local illiteracy and brain washing.

    If we are to believe history, the recent action undertaken by the Government of Pakistan against the Taliban will be a long and hard one. Let’s keep our fingers cross.

    Regards,

    Pervaiz Alam

  15. Jawad Ashraf on July 4th, 2008 3:15 am

    Dear Sir,

    Great article with super research. I sincerely hope that some one in the power of authority takes appropriate and swift action. Any more delay in suitable remedial action will further deteriorate the local and global situation. Some thing has to be done.

  16. Masroor ul Hassan on July 4th, 2008 8:47 am

    ALLAH’ RELIGION VERSUS MULLAH’S

    Anwaar I was almost certain to have faced this reaction from you. Actually, in my opinion, we cannot escape the reality of religion as it plays vital role in formulating human behavior. 80% of world’s population devoutly follows some “Divine” religion. The other 20% also have some similar dispensation to govern their life.

    Pevez Alam wrote, “We crave for religion as it promises ascendance and a permanent life hereafter.” Life hereafter cannot be seen and may not be used as an argument for those who do not believe in it.

    All living and lifeless organisms exist or perish under some divine rules. Behaviour of planets/ stars follows similar rules as would be required by any entity to protect and perpetuate its existence. Violation of some fundamental rule may flush the violator to oblivion. For example, the force that is keeping universe in its present shape cannot be changed even at the 30th place of decimal of π. A super computer simulation saw the universe collapsing when such an effort was made.

    Religion, unlike any other discipline such as Law, Engineering etc, affects all of us. Going into what and why of religion will give this discussion theological colour. I will concentrate on practical applicability of religion on our life.

    Allah is tolerant and no hell breaks loose when someone denies the very existence of Allah. Similarly those following His religion are supposed to posses that divine attribute albeit to a lesser extent. Allah’s Religion is the one which will create an environment of tolerance and justice by giving certain rules to human beings for meaningful existence or co-existence.

    These Mullah’s are following their own brand of religion which is far from the one required by humanity. They are intolerant bigots. They do not have the courage to face logic. Blind following is main postulate of their religion whereas Allah commands us to use wisdom given by Him for our daily conduct and human dealing. Only Allah’s existence has to be accepted blindly for that cannot be proven by human knowledge, at least at present.

    Taking even one life unjustly amounts to killing entire humanity. Mullah’s religion permits slaughter of 28 humans only because they dared differing with them.

    Mullah’s religion forces men to wear an unruly beard or face detention till it grows to the defined level of Mullah. Barber shops are to be attacked and destroyed if they helped men shaving.

    One can see the practical manifestation of Mullah’s religion in dealing with opposite gender. Girl schools are to be demolished as they are not required to be educated. Females are perceived as subjects used for male recreation and a tool to be used for procreation.

    I ask you Anwaar, which religion teaches such abhorring definition of female treatment? When I say Allah’s religion, I mean the one which preaches tolerance and reason. Qura’n promised good rewards for those who believe in Allah and engage in good deeds. Is publicly slaughtering human being a good deed by any definition?

    Mullah’s verdict is final in those “Badlands” since rest of the population is completely uneducated in religion or even general education. What do you expect from the hoards of men who consider Mullah’s verdict Allah’s.

    Let us educate them and we will have Anwaars coming out from the same land. Anwaar doesn’t accept an illogical explanation. He likes to think and strive to educate himself further to discover what escapes his understanding with present knowledge.

    After all Anwaar comes from the same rugged badlands! What makes him different from his ethnic brethren? Education!

    The very first revealed word asked the profit to “Read”. Why don’t we follow Allah’s command? That is Allah’s religion Anwaar Hussein!!

    Best regards, Masroor

  17. Anwaar on July 4th, 2008 10:24 am

    Thank you for a very lucid response sir. Please bear in mind that I almost violated my own rule of never allowing discussions on TS that involve the factor of ‘my God is better than your God’. My one time allowance to you involves that risk factor. Since you skirted around that, I guess we can continue for the time being.

    Now, even though you did not reply most of my questions and remained focused only on one i.e. Allah’s religion Viz Mullah’s religion as you perceive it, I would endeavor to explain what I meant by my questions and where, in my opinion (which is not final), your explanation falls short.

    Sir, very respectfully you have not hit the nail on the head in your entire discourse. My argument is very simple. It revolves around two very basic and uncomplicated facts;

    Firstly, we are all born into a certain religion which is, at best, an accident of birth. Yet when we reach maturity we start to defend this accident aggressively and at times violently as if that is the only truth. What if you or I were born Hindus would we not then be showing the world the miracles contained in the glorious Ramaina and the Bhagvat Gita? All the points that you put forward can be as clearly explained from a Hindu’s stand point. Where goes then the fact of your and my religion being the only truth? Please answer me honestly.

    Secondly, faith simply means blind belief in the unexplainable. That in turn means a degree of brainwashing. For some this point in faith is arrived at earlier than the others. Thus a suicide bomber who bombs innocent human beings and a beheader who slaughters people in the name of God are all brainwashed into believing something that in your and my opinion is not true. But aren’t we also brainwashed into a faith system albeit to a lesser degree than them? Don’t we believe in the Lailatul Mairaj for example? Doesn’t it all boil down to this, “we wish the extremists were only as brainwashed as Masroor and Anwaar are”? Please tell me.

    The extremist thinks he is true, you and I are wrong. He believes literally in the Quran, the Seerat and the Sunnah as recorded by various Muslim scholars. What would you say if I were to give you a sampling of these recordings which the fundos have memorized backwards? What other behavior would you expect from them? They are only following in letter and spirit what you and I don’t. He is, in a skewed sense, more educated on the matter of religion than you and I are. Please consider the following, most are from Saha Sitta i.e. Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukharee, Tirmizi, Daud, Ibn-e-Maja and Nasai along with quotes from Tabari, Ibn-e-Ishaq, and Baladhuri etc.

    On second thoughts I will email these to you as I do not want my site shut down yet again.

    Your call.

    Anwaar

  18. Masroor ul Hassan on July 4th, 2008 11:14 am

    Anwaar Hussein, thank you for granting me the allowance of violating your blog’s rule. Your statement, “All the points that you put forward can be as clearly explained from a Hindu’s stand point. Where goes then the fact of your and my religion being the only truth?” drive the nail where I wanted it to go.

    I believe no religion teaches what some Mullahs, Pundits, Rabbi and Priests (you call them Fundos) are trying to promote.

    Yes, that was not of my choosing when I was born in a particular belief system. But, through educating myself I believe that religion cannot be done with for some psychological reasons. We are weak and need some supernatural force to fall back on when the chips are down. Therefore, the spirit of entire mankind being equal thus having equal privileges and rights must form the basis of any religion.

    All religions basically promote the same theme. But thanks to the interpretations of so called flag holders (the fundoes)of religions, all beliefs appear teaching hate instead of love. That is not my religion. You can give it any name.

    All that produced by you in your elaborate e mail went through my reading as early as 1991. I detest all that for obvious reasons. We can continue discussing privately since it can take rather explosive dimension if discussed in an open forum like your blog.

    Your observation, “Thus a suicide bomber who bombs innocent human beings and a beheader who slaughters people in the name of God are all brainwashed into believing something that in your and my opinion is not true.” again points towards what I was trying to insinuate. Brain washing! This phenomenon is evil. It must be shunned and fought against. The fighting tool must be a pen not a gun.

    Thank you again for triggering my thought process after a long time.

    Best regards, Masroor

  19. Pervaiz Alam on July 4th, 2008 11:17 am

    We play this game,’mine is better than yours’through out our lives, be it a toy, father,religion or God. Its time we grow up.

    ‘Aiye hath uthaaen hum sub,
    hum jinhain rasm-e-dua yad nahin,
    hum jinhain soz-e-muhabat kay siva,
    koi bu’t, koi khuda yad nahin.’
    Faiz

  20. Anwaar on July 4th, 2008 12:19 pm

    Sir,

    You humble me by your last sentence;

    “Thank you again for triggering my thought process after a long time.”

    Many thanks for that. Millions don’t have this courage. They just keep thinking inside the box. The flaw of a skewed building can only be shown if someone is willing to step outside, even if for a brief while. You may discuss it all you want, till the building collapses on the inmates, but it simply cannot be done from inside.

    Although, despite abhorring brainwashing, you did avoid answering my ultimate question, “Doesn’t it all boil down to this, “we wish the extremists were only as brainwashed as Masroor and Anwaar are”?”, I still admire you for your honesty.

    I leave our exchange for our readers to judge.

    Anwaar

  21. Pervaiz Alam on July 4th, 2008 4:13 pm

    I agree with Masroor when he says, ‘We are weak and need some supernatural force to fall back on when the chips are down’. But allow me to say that the religion does lot more than that. It is our ancient ego defense mechanism. We human beings are practicing one religion or the other for the last 40 to 50 thousand years.

    Thus it exists naught for nothing. We needed a basic foundation for psychological existence. We needed religion, as Masroor said, because we were weak and at the mercy of natural elements, our existence was transitory, we needed someone Almighty to be on our side who would have made us in His image, we wanted someone Powerful to borrow this might from him, and of course we wanted permanence in our lives that only He could grant in the form of life hereafter. We moved on to our worldly way after this spiritual strength and in due course of time started using this strength pragmatically and moved on from shamans, mythologies, gods of different hues and colours. We even agreed to disagree on the existence of one God, thereby creating reasons for bloodshed on spiritual grounds. And that is the world that we are living in today.

    Coming on to the present imbroglio of North Western Province, it is my humble opinion that the whole issue is pragmatic rather than religious or spiritual. Its persona is religious.

    Regards,

    Pervaiz

  22. Shaheen on July 7th, 2008 8:16 am

    Pervaiz,

    Your last sentence (Its persona is religious)
    says it all

    Shaheen

  23. Anwaar on July 7th, 2008 8:35 am

    This is what I meant when I said of quick justice as being the most attractive dispensation of the Taliban movement.

    Taliban set up Sharia courts in Bajaur Agency

    KHAR, July 6: The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has established Sharia courts in the Bajaur Agency and a large number of people are using them to get disputes resolved, instead of waiting for action by the tribal administration.The courts have been functioning in the Sewai area, about 20kms northwest of the agency headquarters of Khar, for a couple of weeks. About two dozen ulema have been designated as ‘Qazis’.

    “We have set up the courts in accordance with people’s wishes,” said Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar, adding that people were fed up with the previous legal system. He said that the Qazis were “competent scholars well versed in Islamic jurisprudence”.

    During a visit to the area, the correspondent saw people going to courts with issues relating to monetary matters and land and family disputes, and women bringing complaints about maltreatment by husbands.

    Some people visiting the court told this correspondent that the judicial system under the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) was oppressive and the courts run by the tribal administration were not able to provide them justice. “The Sharia courts are delivering speedy and cheap justice.”

    One man interviewed by this correspondent said that his dispute, which had been lingering for several years in a tribal administration court, had been decided by the Sharia court in a few days.

    Maulvi Umar told journalists that people were approaching these courts voluntarily to get their long-standing disputes settled and the Taliban had not forced any litigant to go to the courts.

    He said that inordinate delays in resolving disputes resulted in blood feuds which continued for decades. “The Sharia courts resolve these disputes speedily and in accordance with Islamic jurisprudence.”

    Source : Dawn News

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Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


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