Islam, Marathons and Choice

atif2,

don`t know why you`re bent upon portraying manto as anti-Islam simply because he criticizes extremist views.....

and in that vein, what do you think of the hudood ordinance and people fighting against it?

scout #33 - ``don`t know why you`re bent upon portraying manto as anti-Islam simply because he criticizes extremist views.....``

Scout, two things: I am not really ``bent upon`` it, and secondly manto does not just critcize extremists - he IS an extremist. I am all for the eradication of extremism from this world, whether it is from christians, jews or muslims.

I am simply doing my job of exposing a bigot for what he is: a tin pot bigot. It turns out that he feeds off of the most narrowminded interpretations of Islam. He then uses those narrowest of the interpretations to build his case against Islam. In fact, he would love for the interpretations to be as narrow as possible, otherwise it does not really suit his agenda of clubbing Islam till the cows come home. When I challenged him on his interpretation of adultery laws on unplugged, he claimed ``abuse`` and ran away from the board.

pakis are all fcuked up !

........ on our recent trip to the motherland we were stopped at a traffic light in islamabad, listening to some breezy girls on fm radio discussing the pros and cons of women smoking in american accented urdlish and trying to ignore the beggar banging on the window with his arm stump ........ while we stood at the red light, as others whizzed past honking their horns and giving us dirty looks, my daughter remarked:

``abu, pakistanis are so fucked up !`` ...........

``why ? just because they can`t differentiate between green and red ?``......

``no, no... that`s fine .... actually that is good; i wish we had so much freedom in michigan ..... i`am talking about these silly girls on the radio and the way some of the girls dress and act around here ......... did you see the blouse aali was wearing at dinner last night ?...... here i am, wearing loose fitting kurtas over my jeans to show deference to the local culture and here they are, flunting their bosoms in skimpy sweaters and shaking their butts in tight fitting jeans ...... and all this while their mothers are running around in hijabs and jilbabs and lecturing people on islam - don`t you see the dichotomy ?``............

`` ding, ding !... that`s a big word !... no i don`t see the dichotomy because, as you so astutely observed, we are all fucked up !``.............

`` does that mean it is okay for me to wear my kings of leon t-shirts instead of these silly kurtas that everyone insists giving me?...... how come their own daughters don`t wear this stuff ? .......you see a lot of girls in jinnah super wearing stuff that would simply kill the aunties in michigan `` ............

``sure, if you don`t mind being ogled``...........

``on second thought, forget it - the men in pakistan are like, like so creepy ...... a bunch of perverted lechers !`` ................

just then the dj put on a song by some obscure indie rock group and my daughter`s face lit up, ``this is so cool - they don`t play this kind of music even in michigan ........ pakistan rocks !``

............. yes, but it is still fucked up !

To everyone who gave encouraging comments or constructive criticism, my sincere thanks. To those who refuse to give people with opposing viewpoints their space, you folks need to go colonize another planet because when you hold entire nations or religions hostage to your one-way or bigoted viewpoint you make us all look like idiots.

As I mentioned in my piece, my intent is not in any way to malign Islam or even your personal interpretation of what it means to you. I am just asking people to give some breathing room to another person`s alternate interpretation. I think one of the biggest problems with how Islam is disseminated to the people is this scary, fear-mongering saga of how we are all sinners and we will all be punished by God. How can a message based on the word ``peace`` and whose early proponents practiced love, kindness, honesty, and patience create so much fear in people? Why fear the Most Compassionate, the Most Forgiving, the Most Just and Almighty God?
I read the same Book and find a message of forgiveness, of no compulsion in religion and the inevitable fallibility of the human race. You follow certain principles and stay away from a certain number of things, and then pray that the rest of your actions are worthy of you entering the Promised Land. No where does it say that Maulana so and so is absolutely correct or Mr. X is the perfect translator and must be followed otherwise you are destined to hell for eternity.
So my fellow compatriots, who take a more conservative view of the word of God (which you have every right to), please allow the rest of the people the courtesy of their own interpretation. There should be no force involved in making someone agree with your interpretation as long as no physical harm is being perpetrated. Why waste so much national energy on the nuances of who can run and who cannot? Doesn`t this country have so many other pressing problems that we can help resolve? Let everyone seek their own nirvana/Promised Land/jannat.
May God show everyone the right path. May the best team win the current cricket test match :)

Re: #32

ahsan8211, the Krgyz example was exactly to prove my point that you cannot single out Islam for what some people, who call themselves Muslims, do. There are `Muslims` in Pakistan who practice, Vani, karo-kari, nikah to Quran, and other such abhorrent acts and have their own justifications for them...The point is that such actions of a few people does not mean that everyone else should follow it. We need to oppose these acts because they are physically harmful for women and/or take away their basic human right of `CHOICE` in leading their lives.

Brother Zamanov,

Choice is always curtailed in public. Society always dictates a public morality. The question is, is the morality of a few being applied above and beyond the actual norms?

Note, this works either way.

#16, Veeresh, {``Some top clerics of Pakistan are overjoyed to see the increasing numbers of veiled women spectators during the current Pakistan India cricket series and have called on all the female cricket fans to wear hijabs (veil covering the face except eyes) while watching next fixtures in the series. ``}

Veeresh,
If the Paki team ever plays as poorly as the Indian team, we Paki men will also wear hijabs at cricket matches. Until then, would you like to borrow some paper bags for your side?

#14 atif2, {``Please admit yourself ASAP in some Reasoning 101 followed by Tolerance 101 class. Perhaps you can have some qadiyanis join that Tolerance class with you as well. Islam and the people of Pakistan can wait. We will be right here waiting for our ``reformer`` to come liberate us, once he has liberated himself of the hatred fed to him all through his life.``}

Atif2,
You are confirming your status as the Mad Sunni Mullah of Chowk. Also, with the above nonsense singling out Qadianis and a personal attack on Yasser`s esteemed father, you have demonstrated that you flunked BOTH Reasoning 101 and Tolerance 101. If only we could excommunicate the damned Wahabbis like you. :)

Hamzad #1 {``Yes, we had a Qadyaani agent-scientist named Abdus Salaam who won the Olympic medal in Physics. We told him either its Pakistan or Qaadiyaan? He said Qaadiyaan. We told him to take a hike and take his Olympic medal with him. He died and lives in Jehannum now.``}

Kaka,
Some of these Pakis are hilarious - ``Heads we win, tails you lose.`` Gurdaspur should have been part of Pakistan because the Qadianis were Muslims until 1974. :) Abdus Salaam was a Muslim when the discussion is about Nobel Prizes, but not a Muslim when it comes to his faith. I wonder if Pakistan would have returned Gurdaspur to India in 1974, after declaring the Ahmedis to be non-Muslims. LOL

Zamanov,
Wonderful article. I think that the fanatics would say that there is nothing wrong with females running a marathon as long as they are appropriately dressed and covered up. To them, the appropriate dress would be a ``shuttle cock`` burqa with vents for effective air-cooling. The more moderate extremists (LOL) may accede to a hijab-clad female with loose sweat pants and heavy shirt that can trap enough air to launch the poor athelete into the air. If Muslim women have to overcome such hurdles, they are bound to become the toughest competitors in every sport. It`s similar to the batter in baseball practicing with two bats in the circle and then using only one while in the batter`s box. I think the more important task is to remove the cotton hijabs from the Mullah`s ears first and pump some grey matter into the empty space.

...those who are making a big deal out of women running a marathon, i have only one thing to say, Get a Life people!!

Zamanov:
Great article.

I just wish people in this country stop playing the roles of the custodians of everyones faith and do bear in mind that eventually, one is responsible for his/her own actions.

The other day i ran into a rickshaw driver who who was apparently reciting verses on a rosary, but behind his rickshaw, he had the traffic held up.

lost in his worship, the gentleman picked a fight with an individual asked him to move his rickshaw.

Whither patience, whiter understanding people troubles, whither the spirit of helping people.

All in the name of Islam, these and many more continue to forget that the ones around us, have been declared as beings of ``greater importance`` in the eyes of Allah Himself, in the Holy Qur`an.

What good is prayer when you keep people in pain while observing it?
What good is preaching (tabligh) when your only justifications are to denigrate the members of other religions and / or sects?

There is so much more to say...

yeah, zamanov, you russian, you!
LOL
Nice to see you up here. Hope your daughter is an Olympian athlete one day!

``Some of these Pakis are hilarious - ``Heads we win, tails you lose.`` Gurdaspur should have been part of Pakistan because the Qadianis were Muslims until 1974. :) Abdus Salaam was a Muslim when the discussion is about Nobel Prizes, but not a Muslim when it comes to his faith. I wonder if Pakistan would have returned Gurdaspur to India in 1974, after declaring the Ahmedis to be non-Muslims. LOL``

Excellent point... a point I have made several times.

Yasser, Salim,

That’s a fine point regarding the Gurdaspur issue …

If I recall correctly, according to Munir Report population of Gurdaspur was split between Muslims and non-Muslims by a margin of 1%. This suggests that Muslims were 50.5% and non-Muslims were 49.5%. I was left with the impression that Ahamdis were counted as Muslims here.

Furthermore, Qadian was one of the 3 bigger towns in Gurdaspur. If Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims, Gurdaspur population-split very likely tilts in favor of non-Muslims.

Mullahs declare Ahmadis non-Muslims, but also claim that Gurdaspur should have been a part of Pakistan. Yes … heads - we win, tails - you lose.

Ironically, last time Urstruly weighed in on this debate, he claimed that population of Gurdaspur was 80% Muslim ... and that Zafrullah Khan conspired with the British to give Gurdaspur to India. When asked to validate his claim, he admitted to cooking up the 80% statistic.

Such is the sad state of mullahs of our times …

Manto, Sattar2,
Yes, the logic that the Mullahs have used with the Ahmedis is quite comical, only if the reality wasn`t so tragic. Thank you for validating the point. The reason I get so upset with the treatment given to Ahmedis is that one day, these Mullahs will do the same thing to others - Shias, Ismailis, yes even Hanafis. Finally, there will be two mullahs left and the one with the longer beard will win. :)