Aftershocks and Afterthoughts

``... the earthquake has had the result of rehumanizing Pakistan in the eyes of the world. Before this happened, all that people believed they knew about us was that we were terrorists and camel riders and insane people...``
Gee, I wonder if the woman who lost here fve kids, buried in the rubble of their school, has entertained the idea, as you seem to, that this might be part of the Plan by the Most Merciful to rehumanize Pakistan, among other things.
``Then you look at the long term effects of the earthquake, the wiping out of a generation, the need to rebuild and reconstruct an entire nation within a nation, the need to get relief to people before the winter sets in, counseling people through the psychological trauma, adjusting as a nation to the new realities the earthquake has created. ``
``But as a Muslim I do have to believe in Allah`s plan for all of us, and I do have to accept that Allah`s plans are much wiser than anything we humans could think up.``
Or you could accept, instead, that what you`ve been taught, as Muslim/Christian/Whatever, about this entity called God really doesn`t add up. What more evidence could one ask for? If one is to deduce anything at all from this, it is that that if there is a god, he has Malignant Designs.
But what power has reason in the face of the faith drummed into our heads as kids, huh?
``A popular saying goes, ``If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans``. The reverse of that, really, could be, ``If God told us his plans, we would probably all cry``.``
ew. this has got to be the nadir of your literary contributions, Bina!
`` Not for nothing is Allah called both the Creator and the Destroyer – Al-Khaliq and Al-Mumit.``
Actually, if you consider that all `creation` (and don`t ask how it all began, coz a supposed God`s origin also fails that test) and all destruction can be explain well enough without the need to introduce a God into the explanations, the fact really is that it *is* for nothing that God is called all those meaningless names.

I would like to end with the idea that if such fantastic/fanciful ideas help you deal with the enormity of such catastrophes, then, hey, what`s the harm. But clearly, some harm is done when one indulges in such solipistic `searches` and apologetics for a benevolent, omnipotent divine, Being. (err, did someone change the meaning of benevolent, or of omnipotent, while i wasn`t looking??)
I mean, jsut look at the harm done to your thought processes, and writing style too-- not to mention that such religious goblydeegook probably encourages a certain fatalism that can lead to inaction (after all, Allah does know best!) where butt-moving is the need of the hour.
Oh well.. Bina, plz don;t take any of this criticism too personally. I`m railing against what I see as unreasonable religious convictions here, one of my pet peeves, as you know well.
Keep well, and leave the spritual ramblings (esp if they`re as contribed as those here) to the usual suspects.
And btw, yes, your education, if it does anything useful, should change you, which may well mean that you ``forget your beliefs and [change your] identity.`` You make these sounds like necessarily bad things, which makes one wonder as to the nature of the education imbibed...
By the way, as damage control goes, this was a good effort: ``Yes, the tectonic plates moved, but surely that had an effect that goes beyond the scientific?``
But really, you weren`t concerning yourself with the EFFECTS in the latter half of the article, but rather with CAUSES. Big difference there, coz, really, you really don`t need to know much beyond elementary seismology to understand the WHY`s of the earthquake -- except, of course, if you`re still trying to reconcile this apparently indifferent Nature with those ideas of a loving, just, omnipotent Being.

Re: # 10

Sorry Bina. It`s just that the ``our operations`` bit seemed a little possessive.

Don`t get mad. Last time I checked, you were the only published author here :)

Re: # 13



No! I do not follow that brand of Islam which offers good tidings to the Muslims who happen to die in Ramzan. And I am definitely not happy for those who died in this earthquake, but death (and moving of tectonic plates) has the consent of God. Believing that a huge catastrophe which takes the lives of poor people and children in particular makes a Shetan in charge, shows our understanding of God’s power. If there is only scientific understanding to this issue and no sanction from God, then are we suggesting that God through all his wisdom didnt know who would perish under the rubble. It is a natural catastrophe, NOT a terrorist attack with some evil motive behind that God (all merciful) is not capable of doing it. I don’t think any Pakistani had doubted God’s intentions when tsunami swept a million lives away. If we are showered with all His blessings, God is great. However, if we are tested differently, we like to find answers in science.

ps to #13, though I sincerely pray, of course, that they all do go to Heaven, should it exist, and I don`t wish to sound callous in any way about such a calamity. (But that isn`t the thrust of my comment to #8).

Bina, If that forty-five rupee blanket bit stung that bad, I apologize.

I have no issues with your education or religious dogma. Just that you chose to expose it this way. You have not answered my question. Where is the aid money going? It is not hard for me, I have always acknowledged Pakistanis as human beings, just like everyone else on this planet. Your article though, made it clear that you yourself were just now beginning to see any merit to where you come from. THAT was sad. I also acknowledged in my earlier post, if you would read rather than skim, that it is human tendency, esp. for those humans taught to think of God above all, to instantaneously attribute all manner of evil to God, and not so instantaneously but in any case ultimately and oftentimes with some embarrassment attribute all manner of good likewise, to God. BUT, I made it clear, that to do so, should preferably not have been the misfortune of a more enlightened mind, such as yourself, who could also have resourced information on seismology among other things, access to which the Government of Pakistan clearly lacked as shown by their negligence in funding and paying close attention to scientists, rather than terrorists, who could have helped them come up with perhaps better living solutions for people, often poor, struggling to get by in areas rocked by seismic activity for decades.

Do tell me Bina, how much a blanket costs in Karachi. People`s applaudable relief efforts notwithstanding, the cost of goods needed to resuscitate earthquake survivors into a semblance of life will never equal the amount of money accumulating in Mr Musharraf`s Relief Fund, or 101 other funds. So in order that something does reach the victims expeditely and directly, people locally will give what they can, from whatever is readily on hand inside their homes or within their means, which is, and I repeat, forty five rupee blankets, four paisa tea biscuits...

btw, #5 must have gotten the idea that you support ``jihad`` activities from such badly phrased comments as ``And now that the area is crawling with foreign rescue teams and helicopters from everywhere, there is no way Pakistan can conduct its operations in secret`` .. as if you were quite peeved that medical rescue efforts were being made, rather than regular terrorist runs... surely we all realize that isn`t the case....

(btw, I`m thrilled to bits that you even so much as noticed my amateurish pot-boiler. Jazak Allah).

#8, I take it you are one of the faithful who believe that the earthquake victims, because they died during the fasting hence holier than the rest of the months month, are martyrs, and thus guaranteed Heaven? Please correct me if I am wrong, because if that were the case, rather than mourning for them, logic tells me one ought to be quite happy.

Re: # 10
Bina, give us a break. You are so confused, so typically Pakistani liberal when it comes to relegion. You guys have turned everything into a hilarious circus. But it`s not funny anymore. Get that hijab and no more sleevless for you young woman. Otherwise the earth will shake again.

MISS Bina i have serious reservation about some of the issues discussed in this article.I am sorry to say that u have limited knowledge about Freedom movement in Kashmir.We people are fighting Kashmir movement on political front.Some of us are indulging in gurrila warfare.But in the past 2,3 years we have engaged our enemy in a political battle.Insallah we will succed with the help of almighty.But people like u are main hurdle in this battle of freedom.Why u talk about the training camps.when u know that no body supports this form of agitation.Please be sensible,our enemy is also reading these articles.Donot encourage them

I am quite astonished at some of the opinions expressed here, especially the ones saying that my ``expensive education`` was a waste because I have ``regressed into dogma``. Just because I went abroad and had an expensive education doesn`t mean that I forgot about my beliefs and identity. And just because I tried to look at the earthquake from a spiritual angle doesn`t mean that I have failed to understand the science behind the earthquake.

Yes, the tectonic plates moved, but surely that had an effect that goes beyond the scientific? Or are you, Fuzair and HP, the type of people that look at everything so literally that the earthquake was only a matter of some tectonic plates moving, and the deaths of 73,000 people had no possible spiritual, philosophical, or allegorical meaning to you? If so, then feel free to remain in that mindset. This article was not for you.

Zia, I`m not sure where you got the idea that I supported the Kashmir operations in the first place.

As for you, Kidbeegorilla (are you the one that wrote that masterpiece on boiling oil and gappy teeth?) I suggest you come on over to Pakistan and take a look at the very real work being done for earthquake relief before you go shooting your mouth off like that. Perhaps it`s hard for you to see Pakistanis being acknowledged as human beings like everyone else, but you really must try to see that there are things bigger than media plots and propaganda out there.

A very disappointing article, Bina. What happened to all that expensive education and rationality if, in the end, it boils down to: ``Allah knows best.`` You could have saved yourself a great deal of time and money if you had confined your studies to memorizing the Koran and whatever medieval gibberish written about it that you could pick up cheap.

If there is a God/Allah, he is a sadistic bastard who gets off on torturing the innocent, the weak and the helpless. I don`t he sent his angels to comfort them. I think he tormented them as they lay dying and screaming for help. The more I think about it, the more sense Devil worship makes. Just think about it: Satan is evil personified; the weak and the helpless are tortured unmercifully; bad things happen to good people; evil humans prosper, and the list is endless.

If there is a good, kind, loving, merciful God, nothing makes any sense. BUT, if Shaitan is in charge, it all works!

At least this article has shown some acceptance for God’s intervention. Initially this earthquake reminded us of the warnings (Allah’s wrath) cited in Quran. The whole attitude towards the natural disaster was such that it drew people closer to God and also sparked the feeling of patriotism. The holy month contributed a great deal in reviving ones’ faith in God, but such an attitude towards the tragedy did not last for long. Either the liberal segment of our society wasn’t too happy with the interpretation of the catastrophe or they thought there are some better answers for the death of young children (the most emphasized aspect). Or perhaps they thought scientific explanation of earthquake would be more satisfactory to appease the masses. And of course, it is quite relieving to think that we as a people are not corrupt and therefore God has not punished us for anything. However, one should be reminded of the fact that death, be it from cardiac arrest, kidney failure or from the catastrophe of a huge magnitude; has the consent of God. If the community of believers has changed its opinion on this issue, then it is another debate. Any scientific phenomenon whether it is the rising of the sun from the East, vapours colliding to pour on parched lands, a baby’s birth, or any death; are bound to happen only with the consent of God and believing in it does not in any way undermine the strength of scientific explanations.

And whether we have settled our scores on Kashmir or not is yet to be seen.

Bina Shah:

Contrary to what others believe, I would say this is an article written on the matter from an entirely different perspective. You have made your religious beliefs come out in a very positive way in the sense that you have not blamed earthquake on Allah`s wrath against our sins. I respect your views.

To me, Allah is all about love. How could he inflict children with such a cruel event to teach Pakistanis that they are sinful - a belief held amongst illiterate Pakistani Mullas. Allah is Musabbul Asbab. However, I would have found my own belief difficult to hold on to if this catastrphe had befallen me.

Bina said: The first is that it has effectively put an end to the Pakistani campaign in Kashmir.
Good.... those people need to have their own country.. they have perished a lot because of Pakistan and India.
As for those that ridicule Bina for talking about God/Allah/Bagwhan....... we human beings are not strong enough and we need to believe in the above.... some do so to solace their misery.... while others who are stronger don`t believe in His existence.......
All i say is that one should respect one`s belief or opinion...... true your opinion may not be the same but what right do you have to point at someone`s else.

we won`t even be able to afford - in financial or strategic terms - to continue our operations in Kashmir anymore.

Speak for yourself. A lot of us weren`t supporting the ``operations`` (what a sweet word for terrorism!) to begin with.

Not only is there a donor’s fatigue, there appears to be writers’ fatigue as well. Everyone is jumping on Earthquake wagon, as if there is nothing else left to write about. It is quite simple really. People will die if they are not taken care of. World supply of tents has run out. Thousands more tents are urgently needed. Turkey has taken a lead over manufacturing tents, followed by some other countries. In the meanwhile, Pakistan should auction off all it’s F-16 and Tanks and other killer stuff on eBay to raise money to look after these poor people. MukhtaraN Mai is in New York. Ami Nimaz PaRh rahi Hey, Kawa Chaath par betha hey.

“At least, this is what I hope. I can`t claim to know, but if I believe in a God who is both just and merciful, then it makes sense to hope for the best. But of course, Allah knows best.”

This is such a disappointing article from Bina.

One assumes that with education and knowledge people would move towards realism and live in a reality based world but I see here that Bina is actually regressing in to dogma. Religion is dying out as science is providing the answers to many riddles. Tsumani or Earthquakes are not the works of god or Allah. They are natural disasters that happened due to some geological changes in the planet earth. This phenomenon is going on for the last billion of years.

In fact, I think Allah is now buried some where in the mountains of Kashmir. So if Bina thinks Allah knows best then this bad news about Allah‘s death and burial in the mountains must make her commit suicide right now.

It is offensive to me personally to see the author equate a human catastrophe to divine retribution. I know it`s only human to think that the earthquake may be God`s way of saying ``Don`t fight or else``, but it`s far from humanity to publicize such petty thoughts. Be a hypocrite if you have to, but please don`t belittle someone`s very real suffering in this way.

As for the world thinking Pakistan is no longer a nation of camel riding bandits and whatnot. That is only in your head. People have only thought what Pakistan and Pakistanis want them to think, and even then there have always been scores of intelligent people who know not to think what they`ve been asked to think. The media is not the world and never has been, no matter how hard it tries.

The gibbersih on infants dying instantly while angels sang lullabys to them was beyond me. Allah knows best, but humans should know better.

The fact remains that those people have been living in those areas for decades, and geology/meterology/etc are no new sciences. This nightmare, though it could not be avoided, could have been planned for ahead of time, contingency planning no matter when or where it occured, the governments of India and Pakistan could have foreseen that in this sort of area tremors and quakes can bring about all size of disasters and they could have budgeted/planned/trained etc for it rather than spending so much on useless defence budgets that cannot even deter kidnappers from hauling off citizen orphans for prostitution purposes. As for the billions in aid money pouring in, now that the world ``recognizes that a real Pakistan, and a really good Pakistan exists`` (just rephrasing author`s words), where is all that aid money going? President`s Relief Fund for relief of the president, as the name so truthfully states? These people lived on 2 dollars a day, give just that back to them and they can rebuild their lives themselves - they are poor, not retarded. Will they ever see all that aid money? Ha. Forty five rupee blankets, four paisa tea biscuits, recycled baby bottle nipples, torn shalwar kameez with missing zarbons. This is what they are getting and will get. And oh yes, Allah knows best.