AUTUMN in ISLAMABAD

Mahtab Bashir

Islamabad

0333 53 63 248

O', how I love these shady lanes Where autumn colour gleams The tuft of grass so yellow and bare And not a flower seen As I walk along the lane Wind flicking through my mane Blowing away the pain and sorrow And all that was in vain The mist arising from the sky Was forming tiny shapes

So I watched the pixies play Tumble down and dance away The picture gradually grew so fine I lost the count of passing time … Falling leaves then touched my face My mind alight, I stood and gazed – Rust and gold, Red and Brown Colours falling all around The world was smoldering, I was there

I saw the autumn everywhere.

REBUILDING A LOST CAUSE

By Andleeb Abbas

The real crisis is not of floods or recession but of the deterioration in the moral fabric of society due to corrupt leadership, no law to punish criminals and no justice for the deprived and marginalised of society

Not too long ago the word Rwanda was synonymous with genocide, bloodshed, political chaos and economic ruin. It was quoted as an example of how a nation has driven itself back to the Dark Ages without any hope of recovery. The economy was in shambles, the infrastructure in ruins and law and order were words taken out of the Rwandan dictionary. It was written off as a country that would never recover from its bloody past and would never have a rosy future. However, Rwanda has proved its critics wrong and is now being quoted as a miraculous example of how even the worst of circumstances and events can be overcome and overturned by the will of a few committed people who lead the renaissance with their vision and passion, and become a force to be reckoned with as other people share belief in the resurrection of a lost cause. Today, from the think tanks to the donor agencies, it has become the darling of investors and donors.

The transformation is remarkable, considering the history of barbaric events in the country in the last 16 years. 800,000 people were hacked to death in three months, an event almost unparalleled in its scale and brutality. This was the result of years of ethnic strife between the Tutsi minority and Hutu majority. The country is not blessed with natural resources and is landlocked in the centre of Africa, thus not really enjoying any coastline geography like some of the other tourist countries of Africa. To make it worse, nothing moved in the country without payoffs and corruption.

However, the country has totally transformed in the span of a few years, presenting a complete contrast to the rest of Africa. Roads have been built that are clean and with strictly adhered to speed limits. Transparency International rates Rwanda as one of the most honest places to work in Africa. The World Bank terms it as one of the fastest improving places to do business.

All this transformation has been one man’s doing: President Paul Kagame. He changed the country from a savage nation to a disciplined example by his vision and determination. Kagame adopted the Singapore model where corruption and law breaking were severely punished regardless of rank and position. Discarded bottles and bags are banned and severely fined to maintain a uniquely clean look on its African streets and countryside. He also realised that they needed to discover how to compete in this ruthless, globalised world and concentrated on building the economy on the core competence of scant Rwandan resources. He decided to focus development in three local industries, i.e. tea, coffee and tourism. In 2001, he launched the Rwanda National Innovation and Competitiveness Initiative and developed a ‘National Coffee Strategy’, which is the main produce of Rwanda. The objective was to build a world-class brand and thus he invested millions of dollars to improve coffee washing, production, capacity and marketing. This paid off in 2006 when Starbucks gave Rwanda Blue Bourbon brand of coffee beans its Black Apron award and introduced it in its cafés.

For tourism the president discovered that Rwanda has a unique feature to market — gorillas. Rwanda is home to approximately two-thirds of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and they are a tremendous source of national pride. The Volcanoes National Park is a highlight of tourism in Africa where the gorilla population in the natural environment has been preserved to protect an endangered species; hence it has become a spectacle of interest for visitors. Most foreign visitors to the park apply more than a year in advance for a tracking permit and the visits are strictly regulated. This unique eco-tourism has played a major part in the rebirth of Rwanda as a place to visit rather than avoid.

The lesson is that if Rwanda can come back from a political funeral and become a case study in renaissance in just a decade and a half, so can Pakistan. In many ways, its critics have written off Pakistan, like Rwanda, as a failed state with the economy on the brink of bankruptcy, and ethnic conflicts and terrorism resulting in mass killing. Pakistan, with its abundance of natural resources, needs a man at the top with sincere vision and a passion to rebuild the country.

Pakistan is a very vibrant and viable nation with an abundance of natural resources and the raw talent of a young population. What we need is one man whose integrity to change the destiny of the nation is unquestionable. If a genocide of almost a million people can become a passing nightmare in just a few years and decades of civil war amongst two ethnic groups can be controlled, Pakistan’s problems of terrorism and target killing are also a matter of making local and foreign policies linked to our national interests, and then a disciplined approach of ensuring implementation with ruthless persecution of all violators of these policies regardless of position and rank.

The real crisis is not of floods or recession but of the deterioration in the moral fabric of society due to corrupt leadership, no law to punish criminals and no justice for the deprived and marginalised of society. In Rwanda, to overcome the mass killing and differences between the two opposing groups, the president launched a mass drive based on two values: reconciliation and forgiveness. Based on these two values, committees and structures were created to resolve conflicts while, through laws and rules and strict adherence to these values, procedure was ensured.

You need to select and promote the people who uphold the principles you value. If as a nation we feel that the values of integrity, peace and sovereignty are the most important foundations for this country to pull it out from its multiple disasters, then we need to value and select people who adhere to these values. The typical answer to this question is that there are no more people of this character left in the country. That is not exactly true. They may be a dwindling minority but they are there and it is our responsibility to, instead, do whatever we can to promote them and facilitate them in whatever little way to abide by our own principle of integrity. Having faith in your own ability and faith in the nation’s ability to bounce back are mandatory prerequisites for rebuilding a lost cause.

The writer is a consultant and can be reached at andleeb@franklincoveysouthasia.com

Courtesy Daily Times Sep 5, 2010

CRICKET, YOUTH & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

By Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi

The state is expected to fulfil its obligations towards the citizenry by providing security, basic services, facilities and economic opportunity. On the other hand, the reciprocal obligation of citizens to the state is weak or non-existent. An individual is more committed to the notion of the Muslim ummah

Three Pakistani cricket players are under investigation in the UK on charges of ‘spot fixing’ in cricket matches during the current series. Even if these charges are not fully substantiated, the fact that such charges surfaced against leading Pakistani cricketers is a major disappointment to cricket fans in Pakistan.

This is not the first time that Pakistani cricketers stand accused of malpractice. In January this year, Shahid Afridi was caught biting a ball in the Perth One-Day International (ODI). He later claimed that he resorted to this “in the heat of the moment as the match was a close one”. Prior to this, Pakistani players have been accused of ball tampering or match fixing in collaboration with betting bookies or their agents.

An incident of unfair means relates to the game of golf. In May 2010, Pakistani golfers were found guilty of deceiving the organisers of a world amateur golf competition in Malaysia.

All cricket players know what constitutes an offence in cricket. The key question is, why do they get involved in such affairs without paying any attention to the negative fallout for Pakistan? Immediate and quick material gains may be one important consideration, but how come the ‘self’ becomes more important than society and the nation-state they represent?

Material gains are important considerations but these incidents represent a far deeper crisis in Pakistani society, caused by the failure of the Pakistani state to socialise the youth into the notion of social responsibility and the citizen’s obligations towards the nation-state. This leads them to ignore the negative implications of their behaviour for the image of Pakistan and fellow countrypersons, especially those living outside.

Take the example of Faisal Shahzad who attempted to explode a bomb in Times Square, New York. He never gave any consideration to the implications of his action for Pakistan’s image and its social consequences for the youth with Pakistani backgrounds living in the US and other western countries. These considerations were not a part of his orientation.

Such incidents can be traced partly to the shift in the Pakistani youth’s mindset over the last two decades from social responsibility and societal good to religious obligations. The Islamic orthodoxy-dominated worldview emphasises an individual’s obligation to God Almighty (Allah) as the primary concern. This requires the strengthening of ties with Allah by pursuing prayers and other basic rituals of Islam. The obligations to the community are secondary and flow completely from an individual’s obligations to Allah. The notion of humanity is replaced with the idealisation of the Muslim community (ummah) and the scope of societal responsibility is articulated with reference to Islam. All matters relating to individual and collective life, and domestic and international politics are viewed as a function of religion.

The Islamist worldview manifests an ambiguous attitude towards the nation-state. On the one hand, the state is expected to fulfil its obligations towards the citizenry by providing security, basic services, facilities and economic opportunity. On the other hand, the reciprocal obligation of citizens to the state is weak or non-existent. An individual is more committed to the notion of the Muslim ummah (trans-national Muslim community) and the political discourse is dominated by phrases like “We, the Muslims” rather than we, the citizens of the state. The state is relevant to the extent it helps to achieve individual and collective ideals as articulated in orthodox Islamic discourse.

The loyalty ladder has two dimensions. The primary loyalty of an individual is to Allah whose closeness can be achieved by following the teachings and prayers of Islam. The other rung of the loyalty ladder is from an individual to Islamic movements and then to the trans-national Muslim community. The state does not figure except as a facilitator for achieving these goals. Further, most Islamists question the legitimacy of the rulers of Muslim states on the grounds that these rulers do not serve the cause of Islam. Rather, they function as agents of the west.

This perspective views the world as a dichotomy: the Muslims and the rest of the world, and that the Hindus, Jews and Christians continuously conspire against Islam and the Muslims. In other words, the state and its rulers are viewed as illegitimate and there is a negative disposition towards the non-Muslim world.

Such a skewed worldview of the Pakistani youth has been shaped gradually by the policies of the Pakistani state, going back to the early 1980s. It was not merely the madrassa education that socialised the youth in a uni-dimensional worldview derived from Islamic orthodoxy and conservatism. The state education system also instilled in the young people these values. For over two decades, starting in the early 1980s, the military government of General Ziaul Haq promoted Islamic orthodoxy and militancy through state education. The state apparatus, the media and patronage were also used to strengthen these perspectives. The US supported General Zia’s efforts to promote religious orthodoxy and militancy because it served the American agenda against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Any review of high school and college education between 1983-84 and 2004-2005, especially the course content of Pakistan Studies, will make it easy to understand why the notion of citizenship of Pakistan as a nation-state has been replaced with religious obligations as a Muslim, and societal good has been diluted in favour of Islamic activism.

The intellectual and emotional linkages of this generation with Pakistan are ambiguous, viewing domestic and international developments within the parameters of Islamic orthodoxy. The emphasis is on a display of religiousness and they tend to live in a self-created world of religious illusion that distorts or rejects the realities of domestic and international politics.

With such a blinkered worldview there is nothing wrong in engaging in activities that cannot be condemned from a purely religious point of view. There is nothing wrong in match fixing or ball tampering if it does not dissuade an individual from fulfilling one’s obligations to Allah. Further, a victory in sports against the non-believers is a desirable goal and, thus, the rules of the game take a back seat in their priorities.

The cricket issue is going to be resolved soon in one way or another. However, the biggest challenge is how to retrieve the Pakistani generation that has been lost to religious orthodoxy and militancy. There is a need to underline the primacy of the nation state and emphasise social responsibility and societal good as the foundation of a stable society and world order.

The writer is a political and defence analyst

Courtesy Daily TImes Sep 5, 2010

SHYNESS CAN LEAD TO MARITAL PROBLEMS

Here's a piece of information for introverts: Shyness can negatively affect the quality of your marriage.

A key question in psychology, and everyday life is the extent to which a person''s personality determines the shape and quality of his or her social relationships.

In two studies, researchers explored the specific impact of shyness on marital quality. In one of the studies, researchers Levi Baker and James K. McNulty found that shyness was linked both to more severe marital problems among newlyweds and to overall lower marital quality.

Shyer people reported more problems with issues like trust, jealousy, money, and household management.

In the second study, the researchers explicitly showed that it was prior shyness that was linked to marital difficulties later—even declines in marital satisfaction—and not early marital difficulties that were linked to later shyness.

The authors suggest that shyness makes it more difficult for people to enter into social relationships and, because shy people feel more social anxiety, they are less confident in dealing with the inevitable problems that marraige entails.

"There is hope even though shyness itself might be resistant to change. People can be taught to have more efficacy in how to resolve the specific marital problems they face. As a consequence, any marital difficulties prompted by personality can be prevented by explicit training on dealing with marital problems," the authors said.

The study has been published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Courtesy ToI

SCOURGE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

The Ground Zero Mosque controversy raging in the US has to all intents and purposes exposed the myth of American secularism. The American public could be just as petty, intolerant and even fundamentalist as others around the world.

A recent poll survey indicating a majority of the New York state voters opposing the mosque is a slap in the face of their notions of free speech and the freedom to practice one’s religion. The Muslim community, which wanted to build a mosque near the site of Sep 11 attacks was just trying to express itself peacefully and quietly and by constructing a mosque they actually intended to convey to the hardline Christian public in the USA that Islam symbolised peace and love, contrary to what the average American has been misled into believing.

Islamophobic tendencies are also reflected in President Obama’s contradictory stand in which he first declared support for the Ground Zero mosque, but the very next day showed his true colours and went back on his word, greatly embarrassing all those who had thought he was different from the venom-spitting Bush. He has been rightly called by a writer as United States ‘Islamophile-in-chief’, because rather than living up to his expectations, his government has outrun even the previous regime in terms of hatred and persecution of the Muslims. Owing to a smear campaign spanning decades, the common mindset in the US unfortunately, is prone to mistaking Islam with terrorism.

The US mainstream politicians especially the Neo-Cons feel no qualms in indulging in vitriolic attacks against Islam, targeting not just th

e world of Islam but also the Muslim Diaspora living in the US. Most damaging to the credibility of the American empire is the fierce brazenness on the part of an extremist Church in Florida to indulge in blasphemous activities on September 11 and, despite the warning by the authorities not to take such a step, the Church remains adamant. This of course would create a storm of protests all over the world.

Intellectuals and politically conscious people are already pointing out that the US imperial hubris is now rocking the foundations of the American empire. Will Durant’s comment that a great civilisation is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within is an apt description of the USA today and its descent into moral and political degeneration. This time again, a golden opportunity of building bridges aimed at creating interfaith harmony has been missed solely because of the vicious anti-Islam propaganda that has literally brainwashed a considerable section of the American public.

THE NATION, Aug 28

THE DARK FACE OF JUSTICE

By Mahtab Bashir

mahtabbashir@gmail.com

Islamabad

The lynching of two brothers in Sialkot invoked the sentiments of the entire nation against its perpetrators and police personnel who allowed it to happen. No civilised society can condone such behaviour. Unfortunately, although the media played an important role in bringing this story to the attention of the public, most of the reporting lacked depth, fairness and adequate and accurate information about the incident. It is now becoming evident that most of the media analyses were based on rumour and hearsay, which is obfuscating the true picture, hence compromising our ability to draw correct inferences.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that it is quite possible that the lynched boys Hafiz Mughees and Munib were indeed involved in a roadside robbery attempt early morning on August 15 and had intercepted Bilal Javed, 22, on the Sialkot-Gujranwala Road. Incidentally, they did not get a chance to mug him because just then a pickup van loaded with several men and children and a motorcycle rode by and the brother and servant of Bilal appeared on the scene. Encouraged by the expected succour, Bilal overpowered Munib. Reports are that in panic, Hafiz Mughees started firing from a pistol, whose bullets hit Bilal, his brother, servant, and a 10-year old boy Zeeshan who was in the pick-up van. Later, people present overpowered Mughees and Munib and detained them in the office of Rescue 1122 located nearby. The news of Bilal’s death and Zeeshan’s paralysis due to bullet wounds enraged the people and what followed is known to all. Zeeshan also died later.

What is most disturbing in this entire episode is that the police encouraged the crowd to go ahead with this frenzy. It is well known that the chief minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, supported extra-judicial killings of perceived criminals by the police in his previous tenure. It seems that the current Punjab set-up is perpetuating the same policy, since all the police officers involved in the Sialkot case are closely linked to the PML-N. However, the repetition of this policy this time round is not going to do any good to the chief minister or his party. If this government does not set an example of adherence to the rule of law, then anarchy is just round the corner.

Regrettably, this is not an exclusively Punjab phenomenon. It is a culture and attitude that is creeping incrementally into the entire Pakistani society. Such incidents have been reported from Karachi in the recent past. Just yesterday, a news channel reported another such incident of public torture and killing of a man in Karachi. Underlying this phenomenon is the loss of faith in the judicial system. However, that in no way justifies taking the law into one’s own hands and law enforcement agencies becoming a party to it. Impartial investigations and justice must follow.

WHEN EGOS COLLIDE .......

By Mahtab Bashir

Islamabad

mahtabbashir@gmail.com

We cannot be successful in either the external world or the internal world while we are tossed about by a powerful ego. What is required is a strong will.

The difference between ego and will is that the ego is blind but the will has vision. Will has its source in the pure Self. Ego springs from a false sense of identification with the external world, and is usually concerned with preserving self-image and self-identity. Ego is characterised by stubbornness, selfishness, and unwillingness to compromise.

The ego is like a little pool. An egotistical person is like a frog crouching in that little pool – his world is small, his borders insecure. He has only a vague awareness of the trees encircling his pool, and he cannot begin to imagine the frog-filled marshes just beyond. From his perspective, only his own feelings and his own voice are meaningful.

Wo Ana Parast Sahi Us Ki Baaton Main Iqraar Bhi Tha
Us Kay Chubtay Howay Lehjey Mein Laikin Pyaar Bhi Tha
Wo Likhta Hai Keh Muntazir Na Raho Lakin
Us Ki Tehreer Mein Sadyon Ka Intazar Bhi Tha

The power of will, by contrast, is like a spring whose source is the Pure Being. It infuses mind and body with enthusiasm, courage, curiosity, and energy to act. In spiritual literature this force – the intrinsic power of the soul – is called ichcha shakti, and it is from this force that all aspects of our personality, including the ego, derive energy to carry out their activities.

Becoming successful in the world requires a strong will, and that strong will needs to be properly guided so we develop a strong personality. A strong personality exhibits tolerance and endurance. It has the power to vanquish and punish an opponent, but chooses to forgive and forget instead. When we are egotistical, on the other hand, we demonstrate our weakness by answering a pebble with cannon. We lose our composure the moment our feelings are even slightly bruised. We have a hard time forgetting the injuries we have received from others, but an even harder time remembering how much we have injured others.

All problems – at home, work, in politics, everywhere – are caused by colliding egos. These problems are not overcome by one ego dominating others, but by a person of strong will and clear vision coming forward and overshadowing the trivial egos of those who are quarrelling.

A strong ego is as much of an obstacle in spiritual practice as it is in worldly matters. The stronger the ego, the bigger the hurdle it will create. However, the solution is not to kill or weaken the ego but to do our best to purify, transform, and guide it properly. We can do this by employing both our intelligence and power of discrimination. When we meditate, practise contemplation, pray, study the scriptures, serve others, and seek the company of the wise we make our ego pure and less confined, and this in turn inspires us to move one step forward. As we do, the purified ego, accompanied by a sharpened intellect, gets a glimpse of the next level of awareness, and naturally aspires to reach it. Thus the ego becomes the tool for purifying and expanding itself, and in this way the petty ego is gradually transformed into an expanded, more purified ego.

This transformation must end with the ego dissolving and becoming one with the pure Self and experiencing its union with Universal Consciousness. As the ego of a dedicated seeker merges with the Infinite, all confusion disappears, the veil of duality lifts, and the purified ego sees the whole universe in itself and itself in the whole universe.