The King’s Gambit: Chapter 1 (The Immigrant)
Umair Raja and Omer Rafique January 7, 2002
#1 Posted by Layman on January 8, 2002 1:43:40 am
Good story. Keep it coming.
If I can extrapolate from the first chapter, Israel is planning to attack Pakistan, probably its nuclear installations. Unlike India, Israel has no pact with Pak saying it will not attack its nuclear installations, Pak missiles are probably not long range enough to reach Israel. Also Israel being small in size, a miss could hit friendly Arab countries. Good going.
Pak cannot nuke Israel either as it would also take down its Arab neighbours.
For Israel, this would take out the threat of the Islamic Bomb. However, the big Q would be - does Israel have the capability to fly all the way and attack Pak? You can rule out any assistance from India for Israeli attacks, not just because of moral reasons, but also because India would not want to risk nuclear war with its neighbour. All the same, it would love Israel handling Pakistan... Now what will Pak do?
The story has good potential... cannot wait for the next chapter.
If I can extrapolate from the first chapter, Israel is planning to attack Pakistan, probably its nuclear installations. Unlike India, Israel has no pact with Pak saying it will not attack its nuclear installations, Pak missiles are probably not long range enough to reach Israel. Also Israel being small in size, a miss could hit friendly Arab countries. Good going.
Pak cannot nuke Israel either as it would also take down its Arab neighbours.
For Israel, this would take out the threat of the Islamic Bomb. However, the big Q would be - does Israel have the capability to fly all the way and attack Pak? You can rule out any assistance from India for Israeli attacks, not just because of moral reasons, but also because India would not want to risk nuclear war with its neighbour. All the same, it would love Israel handling Pakistan... Now what will Pak do?
The story has good potential... cannot wait for the next chapter.
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#2 Posted by Ras Siddiqui on January 8, 2002 1:22:02 pm
Interesting fiction scenario developing here.
Need to see a lot more than this ``to be continued``.. piece.
Interesting that ``New Delhi`` is missing thus far.
Ras
#5 Posted by manoj on January 8, 2002 7:39:55 pm
one thing stood out in the article
...`the madrissa education`
the boy can go out of the madrissa but the madrissa cant go out of the boy.
...`the madrissa education`
the boy can go out of the madrissa but the madrissa cant go out of the boy.
#6 Posted by saminashah on January 8, 2002 7:39:55 pm
Well done! Can`t wait for the next one...
regards
regards
#7 Posted by arjun_m on January 8, 2002 7:39:55 pm
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#8 Posted by ylh on January 8, 2002 7:39:55 pm
Nothing special about the first chapter...
I fear the attack is going to be on Mecca. There would be war... Pakistan and India would be gripped in conflict... so on and so forth.
I fear the attack is going to be on Mecca. There would be war... Pakistan and India would be gripped in conflict... so on and so forth.
#9 Posted by cutandpaste on January 8, 2002 7:39:55 pm
Pakistani militants undaunted
Musharraf`s Army quietly sympathizes with Pakistani jihadis who claim Kashmir.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0109/p1s2-wosc.html
By Elizabeth Rubin | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN - The Jamaat-I-Islami calls its quiet compound on the Grand Trunk Road in Peshawar the Center of Islam. The party is the ideological nucleus for all the jihadi groups fighting to wrest the majority-Muslim state of Kashmir from Indian control.
On the walls of the guest house is painted a scene of Muslim fighters on horseback, men with camels walking out of the mountains, over the words: ``Muslims of the subcontinent want to fulfill the ideology which says Pakistan is for the Muslims, India is for the Hindus; it will not be fulfilled without Kashmir; and thus we need an Islamic revolution.``
Despite the fact that Jamaat-I-Islami leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad has been arrested and despite Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf`s crackdown on jihadi leaders and fighters in the weeks since the Indian Parliament was attacked by unknown gunmen on Dec. 13, life goes on as usual at the Center of Islam. Fighters from all the provinces of Pakistan, as well as from the disputed region of Kashmir are coming and going, taking respites from their fight in Kashmir at the placid guest house. They are men like Abdullah, serious and purposeful, in his tweed blazer, shalwar kameez, and hiking boots.
One early morning about 10 years ago, Abdullah was on his way to prayers at his neighborhood mosque in Kashmir when he saw the Indian Army surround the mosque and open fire. A few weeks earlier he`d seen his schoolteacher dead on the road, killed by the Indian Army. He was 14 and enraged. He joined the demonstrations outside the UN offices and was stunned by the seeming indifference of the UN. ``So I left behind my pen and took a gun, and until now, my parents don`t know whether I`m alive or dead,`` says Abdullah, a 25-year-old Kashmiri jihadi.
It`s been so long now, he can`t even remember his parents so well, he says. He has no family of his own. He sees all the women of Kashmir as his mothers, all the girls as his sisters. For the past 11 years Abdullah has fought, slept, eaten, and prayed with his brothers in the armed wing of the Jamaat-I-Islami. President Muharraf`s recent actions against them, Abdullah says, will do nothing to stop him. ``We did not start our jihad for the Musharraf government, and we are not obeying his orders,`` he says.
He`s just crossed the border from three months in the mountains of what Pakistanis call ``Indian-held Kashmir`` and Indians call ``Jammu Kashmir.`` And whenever his amir (commander) called him back, he`d go by night and cross over the border. ``Our stand is clear. There`s no compromise,`` he says. ``We demand the Indian Army to quit Kashmir and let us decide our fate according to the 1948 UN resolution, which says that Kashmiris have the right to a plebiscite.``
For Abdullah, jihad is very specific - to liberate Kashmir. He`s not interested in Afghanistan. But behind him sit the spiritual and religious fathers for whom Kashmir is the latest chapter in the struggle of the Muslim world against Western imperialism - and these days, America. ``Rulers may say anything, but listen to the Khateeb [the speaker at Friday prayers],`` says an elderly ideological leader who`s been popular among the Islamist groups since the days of the jihad against the Russians and asked not to be named. ``If all the ulema [Islamic clerics] say, `don`t use American goods,` it can be easily implemented. And ultimately it may go there.``
To the Islamic leaders here, Musharraf has become a puppet of the West. For years, it`s been an open secret that the Pakistani Army was supporting and aiding the jihadi groups. Today, the official Army line is that it will obey the president`s orders, and it is doing so. But a key unanswered question here is how long the Army will continue to do so.
``Our jihadi people are still working with the Army officers who`ve told us they are unhappy about the president`s decision on Afghanistan and our Islamic groups,`` says a professor of one Islamic party here whose leader was arrested. ``Junior officers and soldiers in the mountains are arriving in tears. They say, `We are with you, because you are the people. Now your people are under threat, and it`s painful for us.` But it`s not the right time for us to start street violence. Our enemies will only use it against us.``
Having supported and financed the Afghan jihad against the Russians, and then the Taliban regime, the Pakistani government and leaders paved the way for what many have called the Talibanization of Pakistan. One of those men is retired Gen. Anwar Sher, who unofficially represented the Afghan jihadi groups for the Pakistani Army, and was a strategic adviser to the Taliban in the early days of their emergence.
While he sees Musharraf`s moves as necessary to curb the internal extremism, he warns that no one can control the madrassahs or the jihadi groups unless the Kashmir issue is resolved, and more generally the issue of America`s ``bulldozer`` approach to diplomacy.
``The average Pakistani - in fact any Pakistani - cannot think of Pakistan as complete without Kashmir. It is an unfinished agenda of the partition. The Kashmiris and Pakistanis are so frustrated with the obduracy of India and the negligence of the major powers that they feel they have to do it alone, at any risk, at any cost,`` he says. ``No government can survive if they do not heed the general sentiments of the public, whether it is a military or civilian government.``
Musharraf`s Army quietly sympathizes with Pakistani jihadis who claim Kashmir.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0109/p1s2-wosc.html
By Elizabeth Rubin | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN - The Jamaat-I-Islami calls its quiet compound on the Grand Trunk Road in Peshawar the Center of Islam. The party is the ideological nucleus for all the jihadi groups fighting to wrest the majority-Muslim state of Kashmir from Indian control.
On the walls of the guest house is painted a scene of Muslim fighters on horseback, men with camels walking out of the mountains, over the words: ``Muslims of the subcontinent want to fulfill the ideology which says Pakistan is for the Muslims, India is for the Hindus; it will not be fulfilled without Kashmir; and thus we need an Islamic revolution.``
Despite the fact that Jamaat-I-Islami leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad has been arrested and despite Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf`s crackdown on jihadi leaders and fighters in the weeks since the Indian Parliament was attacked by unknown gunmen on Dec. 13, life goes on as usual at the Center of Islam. Fighters from all the provinces of Pakistan, as well as from the disputed region of Kashmir are coming and going, taking respites from their fight in Kashmir at the placid guest house. They are men like Abdullah, serious and purposeful, in his tweed blazer, shalwar kameez, and hiking boots.
One early morning about 10 years ago, Abdullah was on his way to prayers at his neighborhood mosque in Kashmir when he saw the Indian Army surround the mosque and open fire. A few weeks earlier he`d seen his schoolteacher dead on the road, killed by the Indian Army. He was 14 and enraged. He joined the demonstrations outside the UN offices and was stunned by the seeming indifference of the UN. ``So I left behind my pen and took a gun, and until now, my parents don`t know whether I`m alive or dead,`` says Abdullah, a 25-year-old Kashmiri jihadi.
It`s been so long now, he can`t even remember his parents so well, he says. He has no family of his own. He sees all the women of Kashmir as his mothers, all the girls as his sisters. For the past 11 years Abdullah has fought, slept, eaten, and prayed with his brothers in the armed wing of the Jamaat-I-Islami. President Muharraf`s recent actions against them, Abdullah says, will do nothing to stop him. ``We did not start our jihad for the Musharraf government, and we are not obeying his orders,`` he says.
He`s just crossed the border from three months in the mountains of what Pakistanis call ``Indian-held Kashmir`` and Indians call ``Jammu Kashmir.`` And whenever his amir (commander) called him back, he`d go by night and cross over the border. ``Our stand is clear. There`s no compromise,`` he says. ``We demand the Indian Army to quit Kashmir and let us decide our fate according to the 1948 UN resolution, which says that Kashmiris have the right to a plebiscite.``
For Abdullah, jihad is very specific - to liberate Kashmir. He`s not interested in Afghanistan. But behind him sit the spiritual and religious fathers for whom Kashmir is the latest chapter in the struggle of the Muslim world against Western imperialism - and these days, America. ``Rulers may say anything, but listen to the Khateeb [the speaker at Friday prayers],`` says an elderly ideological leader who`s been popular among the Islamist groups since the days of the jihad against the Russians and asked not to be named. ``If all the ulema [Islamic clerics] say, `don`t use American goods,` it can be easily implemented. And ultimately it may go there.``
To the Islamic leaders here, Musharraf has become a puppet of the West. For years, it`s been an open secret that the Pakistani Army was supporting and aiding the jihadi groups. Today, the official Army line is that it will obey the president`s orders, and it is doing so. But a key unanswered question here is how long the Army will continue to do so.
``Our jihadi people are still working with the Army officers who`ve told us they are unhappy about the president`s decision on Afghanistan and our Islamic groups,`` says a professor of one Islamic party here whose leader was arrested. ``Junior officers and soldiers in the mountains are arriving in tears. They say, `We are with you, because you are the people. Now your people are under threat, and it`s painful for us.` But it`s not the right time for us to start street violence. Our enemies will only use it against us.``
Having supported and financed the Afghan jihad against the Russians, and then the Taliban regime, the Pakistani government and leaders paved the way for what many have called the Talibanization of Pakistan. One of those men is retired Gen. Anwar Sher, who unofficially represented the Afghan jihadi groups for the Pakistani Army, and was a strategic adviser to the Taliban in the early days of their emergence.
While he sees Musharraf`s moves as necessary to curb the internal extremism, he warns that no one can control the madrassahs or the jihadi groups unless the Kashmir issue is resolved, and more generally the issue of America`s ``bulldozer`` approach to diplomacy.
``The average Pakistani - in fact any Pakistani - cannot think of Pakistan as complete without Kashmir. It is an unfinished agenda of the partition. The Kashmiris and Pakistanis are so frustrated with the obduracy of India and the negligence of the major powers that they feel they have to do it alone, at any risk, at any cost,`` he says. ``No government can survive if they do not heed the general sentiments of the public, whether it is a military or civilian government.``
#10 Posted by Bhardwaj on January 9, 2002 12:17:30 am
Iam glad this fiction is written by Muslims.Otherwise most of the Israelis writers are so keen on writing fictions that many Hindians ,due to lack of comprehension ,think what Israelis write are true.(e.g. Manoj`s Post)
I have been hard pressed since college days teaching them(hindians) that Exodus,Odessa Files etc are fancy propoganda by Israelis who know english & write propoganda mixture of some fact & heavy dose of Israeli wishfull thinking.Somthing like Salman Rushdie ,inshoert time learnt later to mix fact with fiction by which most average joe like Indians can be CONFUSED!!!
I have been hard pressed since college days teaching them(hindians) that Exodus,Odessa Files etc are fancy propoganda by Israelis who know english & write propoganda mixture of some fact & heavy dose of Israeli wishfull thinking.Somthing like Salman Rushdie ,inshoert time learnt later to mix fact with fiction by which most average joe like Indians can be CONFUSED!!!
#11 Posted by hobbyty on January 9, 2002 1:22:20 am
Sigalpg, Hamidm
Let`s begin with the proposition that you are not among the ranks of the self loathers - The US is not a ``melting pot``, it has not been for more than six decades - African American, Polish, American, Italian American and we can`t forget the Jews (a host of ethnic nationalities among just that group) - ``melting pot`` is freshman textbooks.
Both of of suggest that the Muslim is a spoiler amongst the American - both of you misunderstand and misrepresent the Muslim experience in America. While Muslim civic and religious organization have worked hard to become a major organizing force, the goal of national relevance has eluded them, thus far - I am quite confident that this objective will be achieved, but not with this culture and this society (America) coming to grips with the fact that culturally, historically, it has been anything but fair or neutral with regard to Islam.
Within culture, even at the level of cartoons for children, let alone movies, televison and print, villany, neagtivity is posited in the Muslim and in Islam itself.
Many Muslims seek to hide, see their interest in not creating an awareness in this society of it`s hostility towards Islam and Muslims - but this strategy is characterized by diminshing returns. Muslims who are citizens of America do not seek to exercise a previlage in asserting themselves, but a right. Unfortunately in the present atmosphere only by agitation and and recourse to legal remedies can they ensure the protection of their rights.
Godot
I do take your point about what the stamp may represent and I remain optimistic - however; citizens must not face harassment in the exercise of their rights. Are you aware of the number of Muslim owned business firebombed, ordinary Muslims discriminated against? How many of these cases have been resolved? how many punished? I think we both know the answer - Just how mature is US leadership in dealing with the Europeans? why is it that the Europeans or is it continentals, react also with caution to American iniatives?
Muslims who are citizens of America are right in saying that the US is great country and that Muslims can certainly be free and participate - having said that, we would be remiss if we did not add that Muslim Americans must remain vigilant because there are other Americans who do not see the Muslim American, or Muslim presence in America in friendly terms.
#12 Posted by semipreciousme on January 9, 2002 4:12:33 am
``Ari Shariel entered the main compound of the Knesset through the big iron Polambo gate. His bodyguard was having difficulty keeping pace with him.``
....since the real life `shariel` is as big as a cow, i`m having a real hard time imagining this...
....since the real life `shariel` is as big as a cow, i`m having a real hard time imagining this...
#13 Posted by rsaxena on January 9, 2002 11:44:08 am
re: hobbyty
{{Within culture, even at the level of cartoons for children, let alone movies, televison and print, villany, neagtivity is posited in the Muslim and in Islam itself.}}
....are you talking about the `where is osama` segment jay leno does?...you didn`t like him riding that camel dressed in a yankee doodle uniform?...or letterman`s crack about that shoe bomber`s new Air Jehad sneakers?....
...a community doesn`t move forward b.c. of cartoon characters?...there`s some indian dunce on the Simpsons and indians have the highest per average income of any ethnic group in america...
...dude, you are a joke...
{{Within culture, even at the level of cartoons for children, let alone movies, televison and print, villany, neagtivity is posited in the Muslim and in Islam itself.}}
....are you talking about the `where is osama` segment jay leno does?...you didn`t like him riding that camel dressed in a yankee doodle uniform?...or letterman`s crack about that shoe bomber`s new Air Jehad sneakers?....
...a community doesn`t move forward b.c. of cartoon characters?...there`s some indian dunce on the Simpsons and indians have the highest per average income of any ethnic group in america...
...dude, you are a joke...
#14 Posted by Rafique on January 9, 2002 11:44:08 am
I would like to thank the Chowk staff for publishing this article. I would also like to thank the interactors, for their replies and suggestions, to the article. Please keep them coming. You may find them added to future chapters. I also want to thank Umair (Romair, as he seems to be known here) for introducing me to this wonderful site. I have been visiting here quite often, but have not interacted much.
The current story is part of an abstract I wrote a few years ago. I passed it on to Umair who filled in parts, based on some of his experiences. We submitted it to Chowk, during his last visit to Canada.
Following are the answers to some of the queries:
Layman 1; ``If I can extrapolate from the first chapter, Israel is planning to attack Pakistan, probably its nuclear installations. Unlike India, Israel has no pact with Pak saying it will not attack its nuclear installations, Pak missiles are probably not long range enough to reach Israel.``
I cannot comment on the first line. You will have to wait to find out as the story develops. The second and third lines are correct.
Ras 2; ``Interesting that ``New Delhi`` is missing thus far.``
This is just the first chapter.
Mona, Anny, Samina; I appreciate the kind words. I will attempt to fill in the abstracts of the second and third chapters soon, and send them into Chowk. After that you will have to convince the Chowk Staff to get them printed.
manoj 5; ``the boy can go out of the madrissa but the madrissa cant go out of the boy.``
This is true, in many cases, according to psychiatrists. Childhood educations, traumas and experiences seem to have a far longer lasting effect on humans, than adult experiences. In the case of the character Rafi Qureshi, there is a death of a father involved, also. The death could have occurred under a circumstance of conflict, which would furthur influence this character.
arjun_m 7; Thank you for the information about the submarines. I was unaware of this. Could you please provide some additional information on this? I am interested in exploring it furthur.
ylh 8; This is first chapter, First chapters are usuaully quite boring. They usually deal with introductions to characters. Just wait for a little while.
``I fear the attack is going to be on Mecca.``
The Prime Minister has already moved past UAE, towards Iran, so Mecca has been passed. Unless, of course, it is attacked at a later stage, or if the Prime Minister makes a U-turn with the mouse.
Bhardwaj 10; I spent a lot of time reading Ludlum, Forsyth, and now Clancy. However, my favortie authors are Domique Lapierre and Larry Collins. They write historical stories with fiction added to them, in French and English. Their book on India and Pakistan, titled, ``Freedom at Midnight`` is very good. Another book, ``O` Jerusalem`` is very interesting. It is definitely not written from an Israeli points of view. You may enjoy reading it.
semipreciousme 12; ``since the real life `shariel` is as big as a cow, i`m having a real hard time imagining this...``
You maybe refering to Sharon. Shariel is a fictional character. Shariel is still trim, lean, athletic, and regularly runs three miles every morning with his aides and bodyguards.
Once again, thank you for your comments and suggestions.
The current story is part of an abstract I wrote a few years ago. I passed it on to Umair who filled in parts, based on some of his experiences. We submitted it to Chowk, during his last visit to Canada.
Following are the answers to some of the queries:
Layman 1; ``If I can extrapolate from the first chapter, Israel is planning to attack Pakistan, probably its nuclear installations. Unlike India, Israel has no pact with Pak saying it will not attack its nuclear installations, Pak missiles are probably not long range enough to reach Israel.``
I cannot comment on the first line. You will have to wait to find out as the story develops. The second and third lines are correct.
Ras 2; ``Interesting that ``New Delhi`` is missing thus far.``
This is just the first chapter.
Mona, Anny, Samina; I appreciate the kind words. I will attempt to fill in the abstracts of the second and third chapters soon, and send them into Chowk. After that you will have to convince the Chowk Staff to get them printed.
manoj 5; ``the boy can go out of the madrissa but the madrissa cant go out of the boy.``
This is true, in many cases, according to psychiatrists. Childhood educations, traumas and experiences seem to have a far longer lasting effect on humans, than adult experiences. In the case of the character Rafi Qureshi, there is a death of a father involved, also. The death could have occurred under a circumstance of conflict, which would furthur influence this character.
arjun_m 7; Thank you for the information about the submarines. I was unaware of this. Could you please provide some additional information on this? I am interested in exploring it furthur.
ylh 8; This is first chapter, First chapters are usuaully quite boring. They usually deal with introductions to characters. Just wait for a little while.
``I fear the attack is going to be on Mecca.``
The Prime Minister has already moved past UAE, towards Iran, so Mecca has been passed. Unless, of course, it is attacked at a later stage, or if the Prime Minister makes a U-turn with the mouse.
Bhardwaj 10; I spent a lot of time reading Ludlum, Forsyth, and now Clancy. However, my favortie authors are Domique Lapierre and Larry Collins. They write historical stories with fiction added to them, in French and English. Their book on India and Pakistan, titled, ``Freedom at Midnight`` is very good. Another book, ``O` Jerusalem`` is very interesting. It is definitely not written from an Israeli points of view. You may enjoy reading it.
semipreciousme 12; ``since the real life `shariel` is as big as a cow, i`m having a real hard time imagining this...``
You maybe refering to Sharon. Shariel is a fictional character. Shariel is still trim, lean, athletic, and regularly runs three miles every morning with his aides and bodyguards.
Once again, thank you for your comments and suggestions.
#16 Posted by Prem on January 9, 2002 1:31:55 pm
Something off the topic (good storyline evolving here, btw)
``Childhood educations, traumas and experiences seem to have a far longer lasting effect on humans, than adult experiences.``
As a corollary, communication (and concomitant learning) occurs according to the Principle of Primacy - information that is received first gets a far greater weightage than information that comes later. For an overwhelming majority of people, this cycle of ``biased learning, selective response, reinforced biased learning`` is almost impossible to break.
That is why, (1) (at the individual level) no matter how many books some people may read, they are unable to break out of the broad world-view they develop as children, and (2) (at the collective level) clear differences exist in child-rearing and educational practices in societies that can change and societies that can`t.
``Childhood educations, traumas and experiences seem to have a far longer lasting effect on humans, than adult experiences.``
As a corollary, communication (and concomitant learning) occurs according to the Principle of Primacy - information that is received first gets a far greater weightage than information that comes later. For an overwhelming majority of people, this cycle of ``biased learning, selective response, reinforced biased learning`` is almost impossible to break.
That is why, (1) (at the individual level) no matter how many books some people may read, they are unable to break out of the broad world-view they develop as children, and (2) (at the collective level) clear differences exist in child-rearing and educational practices in societies that can change and societies that can`t.
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