Acknowledgement and disclaimer:

I sincerely thank my brother who has been my mentor and supported me all the way in addressing crucial but controversial issues.  The reason for starting this blog in English is to address those who are very fortunate to have everything in life and history proves that if these people wake up, they become the agents of change.

Before I start, let me make it clear that all the views presented here are based upon my own understanding of my religion Islam and I have every right to express my views as a Muslim but if it hurts anyone’s feelings, I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart. Also if you disagree with any of my views and believe that I am carrying wrong understandings about my religion, please reply in comments and I will love to correct myself.

Blasphamers agaisnt Blasphemy 

I belong to a country where blasphemy is punishable by a death sentence if proved in the court of law but ironically most of the victims of this law have either been killed in tailored mob attacks and the perpetrators of those attacks have largely remained unaccountable. I know it’s a very sensitive subject to talk about so I would like to make it very clear that I am a Muslim who believes in all the fundamentals and pillars of Islam, that our Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) as the final Messenger of ALLAH has taught us by His teachings and actions.

We are a society where everyone claims to be the slave of Allah and his Messenger PBUH, and to prove it the most common name for boys in Pakistan starts with Mohammad and the most common business name starts with Madina. But do we even think twice about the required sanctity of our names when we involve ourselves in illegal activities or acts of low morals or ethics? Do we ever think before selling faulty goods or hoarding basic commodities for higher returns even if it means millions of people going to bed without food for a day? Or do we even think about the sanctity of our company’s name when we bribe the authorities or get our loans written off even if it means more debt on every child being born in our country? Is it not blasphemy to use the names of our Prophet or their family members and companions to deceive others?
If it is true, then we are a nation where majority of our population are blasphemers and should be dealt accordingly, right? Fortunately, that doesn’t come under the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. The law only concerns with person(s) accused of passing derogatory remarks against our Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) and in most of the cases that accused person(s) happens to be a non-Muslim(s).
I humbly admit that I am not a scholar of Islam but it’s an integral part of my faith that my Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) has been sent as a mercy to the whole of mankind and He has never punished anyone for being abusive or disrespectful towards Him. The reason for Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) being acknowledged as the most merciful and compassionate person of all times even by non Muslims is that He has always forgiven even the worst of His enemies and left a legacy of love and compassion that is unquestionable even today.

I always wonder why wasn’t the old woman who used to throw garbage on our Beloved Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) on a daily basis wasn’t killed? Or why our Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) refused to curse the population of Taaif when Hazrat Jibrael (Gabriel) asked him to do so? Or why Rasool Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) did not kill all those people of Makkah who always tried to harm Him and Islam, after Makkah was conquered? We can find numerous examples where our Beloved Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) and His companions have not only refrained from unnecessary executions and bloodshed, but also, prayed from Allah Almighty to guide them to straight path.
The only example which can be authenticated by the all jurors of Islamic history is that of Ibn-e-Khattal who was ordered to be killed when Makkah was conquered, and if we ponder deep into the context of that judgement we can easily verify that the man was a habitual liar, conspirator against Islam, and used Islam as a deception to kill his old enemy who migrated to Madina after embracing Islam. He not only killed that man but also reverted back to his old religion upon his return to Makkah and has plotted dangerous conspiracies against the Muslims. Hence, we don’t need to be a scholar to comprehend the nature of his crimes and the possible reasons for his execution.

Now let’s take a look at ourselves, we as Muslims, as the flag bearers of the Great Messenger of Islam (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) and His message. Are we really worthy of calling ourselves followers of the greatest human the universe has ever witnessed? Who has been declared as a mercy for every creature in this universe including us humans. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) who refused to even curse his worst enemies and continuously tried to invite them to the straight path. And remember that although we Muslims might see one another as the followers of different fiqah (schools of thoughts) but the non Muslim world views all of us as Muslims and if our actions are bad, we are painting a bad picture of Islam and pushing the world away from our religion and we will be answerable to Allah for this on the day of judgement.

Lying is strictly prohibited in Islam and our Beloved Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon Him) have condemned a liar more than any one else but if we see ourselves today, we have become the nation of liars. We lie to ourselves by comforting against the call from our inner conscience when we are about to commit a sin. We habitually lie to others even if it means deceiving them. We lie about our religion to justify our actions although it leads to a negative image for Islam in the eyes of others. We do everything that has been prohibited in Islam, yet when it comes to laws like Blasphemy, we take up our arms and go out to hunt those accused.
Islam is the most modern and complete religion of all times. It has everything a human needs to lead a successful life. Moreover, it gives society a framework to take the best form where we can lead a life on the principles of equality, empathy, accountability and justice without taking into account one’s religious beliefs or social orientations. Realistically speaking, these principles are the foundations of many western countries and it should be viewed positively as the success factor, which they have derived from our religion whereas we have abandoned it and lost the course

If India starts war???

India’s hostility towards its neighbours especially Pakistan is not a new phenomenon. We have been informed about countless incidents of cross border firing with light and heavy weapons on our border inflicting casualties of civilian and soldiers alike. But the recent streak of its oppression in Kashmir and along the boundary represents a new hysteria. After 9/11 attack, the world has taken a collective position of fighting against Terrorism and extremism has been rightly painted as the root cause of it. Since then, we have witnessed numerous campaigns to associates the extremism to Islam and Muslims were demonised around the world mainly by the western media and the world is not the same place for Muslims as it used to be. We can surely conclude that this campaign is by design as it conveniently ignores the extremist elements belonging to other religious or ethnic groups and the result is indispensable loss of tolerance and objectivity in great democracies and the election of radicals like Narendra Modi in India and Donald Trump in USA.
The world is changing but this time it’s changing for worst. After WW2 there was a general consensus of all the nations to de escalate the venom and vengeance against each other’s and exercise maximum restraint in the events that could lead to wars and the United Nations emerged as a platform to launch the grievances. Although UN has been quite effective in the past but its inability to take action against its powerful members or their pet countries has undermined its importance and it has become nothing more than a debating club.

The world is going back to its historical position and this notion represents imminent threat of a conflict that would make WW1 and WW2 look like a picnic and it might start with a Pakistan – India war.
We hear the term that “If India Starts War it will be destroyed” several times in a day from politicians and people who represents our armed forces and my question to all those living in a fool’s paradise is “are we not in war with India yet”.

The world has changed and so is the methodology of war. In the modern time of espionage and covert operations the wars are fought on perceptions and India has imposed that war on us since a very long time. It’s a full fledged war of narratives where perceptions are deemed more important than reality, the most recent example of this was “Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction”.

India has always been our enemy but recently it has been successful in building the narrative that Pakistan is a nuclear nation with rogue army and our politicians and some elements of our society which are being financed and funded heavily by the Indian lobbyists, have been instrumental in sealing the stamp on its rhetoric. Media, NGOs and politicians have been working together to frame this gloomy picture in the minds of gullible population that Pakistan can’t survive without having good relationship with India and we need their goods to survive which is absurdly destructive. Some of my friends in Pakistan would certainly not like this article but the fact is, we can’t even live without watching their films and TV soaps and we have become so insensitive that even movies like Border, Gadar, Phantom etc have not repealed our addiction.

The war has already started and those who chose to fool themselves by thinking that bilateral trade will change the situation, have every right to do so. It’s oppression against the determined Kashmiris, border skirmishes with our forces, funding and militarising our enemies within and using them to target innocent civilians are just few too many to open our eyes. We should learn our lessons sooner than later. If we think we can’t survive without India, take an example of Israel. It is one strong nation surrounded by its enemies on all sides but still is one of the strongest nations in the world today. Defiance is strength, compliance is weakness. It’s a war that everyone of us will have to fight, ideologically, socially and emotionally and leave the rest on our armed forces which are capable enough to tackle any hostility by our enemies.

Pakistan is a society that has lost its moral values. It’s a crowd of different nations that refuses to be united even against India. We are people who hate each other and thus do not need an enemy to destroy us. We are corrupt to the core but expect our rulers to be like Umar RA. Our self interests are bigger than the national interests. We are a Muslim majority country where every Muslim have a different Islam and yet we are not ready to consolidate. Our clerics and scholars have been busy in targeting each other’s sects but failed to deliver when it comes to creating a just, equal and accountable society.

It’s time for us to engage with each other and try to build a common ground where we all can put our feet on, putting out ethnic and sectarian associations behind before it’s too late.