The Endangered Species Well, Samina,

I am happy to hear of your mother. I hope she is healthy and please pass this jamaati`s regards to her. As for whether I can take her opinion on board, I`m afraid to say that your interpretation skills are not exactly the best in the world. For all I know, you were reading the Chinese menu to her.

Now, I`ve answered all your questions. If you feel that there`s some hidden agenda, please feel free to consult this issue with me and we can go over the possible motivations for my so-called obsession with this character, if only to relieve you. Reminds me of the dog chasing her own tail because the only reason it seems I`m so involved is because I`m being forced to reply to your questions. I have expressed before that this matter is finished, that I only spoke to her and tried to give a her a `real` picture and that is as far as I went. There must be something in the rule books about discussing someone`s life for so long which is why I said to Ajeet and yourself that we should finish this. However, since you fail to appreciate the point of my first post and are doing 180rpm on an autopilot, I have to speak about our study…again. Hence the illusion that I`m dwelling shwelling.

Now then, you have utterly failed to reach to the core of the situation and appreciate that the study is behaving selfishly. You just don’t get it, do you? I`m surprised that a mature person like you cannot appreciate and juggle various terms such as culture, selfishness, independence, liberty, privacy, talking, suggesting, imposing etc. etc. Instead, you have to consult with a wiser person to back up your opinion. Quiet sad really. Moreover, you fail to realise different cultures and different schools of thought. You still fail to realise that for it`s a two-way thing. Why should a parent bust their a$$? Where is it written that it is an obligation for a parent to give up their life for a child but they deserve nothing in return? Does the parent not deserve the truth? Do they not deserve that fundamental right? Is selfishness not a universally acknowledged evil? Is truth not a universally acknowledged right? Name me one culture where this is not so.

It`s the height of selfishness, not to mention cowardliness, to do all these things behind someone`s back and not face those contributing towards your life...hell, giving you life! If you really believe in something, why not stand up for it. Who are we kidding? It`s called having one`s cake and eating it also. Okay, so it`s none of our business but surely it`s her parents business or does our `best of both worlds` philosophy extend only to becoming eastern when it comes to using one`s parents and western when enjoying freedom? Why do the parents not become western also and tell their children to find their own lives at the age of 18?

You also didn’t answer my `Taliban` question just like you`ve been staying away from all other questions also and answering only selectively.

What happened, Samina? Cat got your tongue?

Umer M.

Hypocrisy Big Sri,

You`ve seem to have forgotten to mention the Sikhs and Hindus who joined up with the British National Party to hurt out the Muslims.

The irony is that despite the alliance, the BNP were/are still hell bent on throwing all Desis (irrespective of their background) out.

But then you see, we all realise that those goons are a minoritty and such goons occur amongst every race/nation/religion/community etc. etc. and they are a `clank ka tikka` on their people...quite unlike the dikhead who`s hell bent on writing posts such as 141, 142 etc. etc.

Umer M.

Closet Urstruly,

Regarding your comment #75, that`s so right. I can do 100 meters in just over 12 seconds.

Tahmed,

The lions in Mozambique are very aggressive and eat humans for lunch. They also happen to be bald and tests on them show that they have very high levels of testosterone. sac is prolly just jealous `cos he`s got long hair growing out of his nostrils also :)

Umer M.

The Endangered Species Ajeet,

Sorry man. I thought I had put your name on. My point was that the principles are the same. I didn’t ask for anyone’s opinion, minus Samina’s. The only reason for an intrusion was because everyone considered their input (their actions in effect) to be harmless. I was working on the same principle. I spoke to her about this once and that was the end of it. i considered my action harmless. Coupled with the fact that I know this person, it changes things a bit. But let`s forget about this now. It`s gettin boring.

I agree 100% about packing bags. I think if people want to preserve their ideas 110%, then they’re in for a surprise.

Thanks again,
Umer M.

The Endangered Species Hamid,

Yeah mate. I was kinda outta my head yesterday. Must have got pi$$ed smelling your breath:)

Samina,

[I`m going to address your comments re: the situation you had originally described and not go into the rest because it seems tangential to me at best. ]

That could be anything, Samina. Sounds like a cop out to me:). The loooong post may have killed it but I would be interested in your opinion, nevertheless. What are your ideas on infanticides etc? If you had the power to stop them (by that I do not mean provide the females emancipation and improve poverty prospects etc. etc – but just the power to stop infanticides), would you do so and why? Do consider the points I mentioned along with the questions.

Regarding our study, hurrrmm. As far as I’m concerned, the case has been closed for some time and by talking about her again and again, I feel a bit bad discussing her over and over. It gives the impression that I’m dwelling on her so this is the last time I’m going to reply to these types o posts. My intention was top prove that the study was a user. I know I’ve done that.

[1. What outcome do you hope to achieve by informing this young woman`s parents of her personal actions? Why? ]

I had suggested to her that she should inform them. I do not have any plans to inform any of them (and why should I). From my experience (and it sounds a bit wonky but it’s far beyond her years even though we’re pretty much the same age) it was my hope to give her a real picture of the coming events. She could either inform them now or she could inform them later. If she informs them now, they’ll be angry. If she informs them later, they’ll be angry and hurt because they would have felt used. In effect, I know (not feel) that both parties are going to be hurt. My suggestion, I feel, is a compromise where both parties will be hurt as minimally as possible.

[2. Can you live with the principle that an individual`s personal actions are within that person`s human rights as long as they do not physically, emotionally or spiritually control or abuse another person?]

Which person? Me? The parents. She already has passed that boundary. She has been abusing the trust of her parents for 1 year; maybe not physically but emotionally definitely and according to them, spiritually also. As far as I’m concerned, I’m a live and let live fella. My choice to live with Non-Muslims in the Uni when I was being offered to live with these other Muslim chaps is probably a testimony to that. I live with such principles all the time. I consider keeping secrets from such important personalities as parents a universally accepted breach of human rights.

[3. What do you imagine are possible scenarios for this family if you do not inform this young woman`s parents? ]

Samina, you have this very annoying habit of shoving an idea up someone’s ar$e. Are you an Arian? perhaps it is a way to get me to somehow admit that I plan to inform her parents. I do not have any intentions to inform anyone about anything. They are doing at this moment in time what every Desi parent does.
‘Yes, my daughter is the head of IBM, what does your daughter do.’
‘Oh, she’s doing Pharmacy.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes.’
‘Have you found anyone for her?’
‘Had a few lookers. But study said that she wanted some time to think’ etc. etc. etc.
This is my point. The closer and closer she gets to the end of her studies, the more ‘churchaa’ she’s going to get and the more the name of the family is going to come up in social circles and little tea parties. Now’s not the time to get enlightened and start saying that her parents are intellectual savages or start quoting from this and that. Let’s be honest, Desi parents live in big communities where everyone knows everyone. She knows what’s going on at this moment. Her parents are revving the praising engines and this scenario is going to get worse and worse until the climax is reached. God, I can see it now. Remember this, she is definitely a Hindu and she is definitely going to spend most (if not the rest) of her life with her man. She has to tell them sometime but when will that be, now, when the wedding waters are warm or when it’s boiling. My logic is that if she tell them now, it’ll save them a lot of humiliation (because that`s what they ARE going to feel – it’s not about our opinions – it’s what their state of mind will be) whereas if she tells them at the end, they’ll not only feel humiliated but hurt and used also. Let’s change the example? What if you were going to attend your child’s graduation party and you were going to invite all his friends and family round too but your child had long before become a Taliban and had left his secular education? Hmmm? Wouldn’t it be selfish for the child to have you humiliated in front of all your peers. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to discuss this before.

[4. Will you able to live with any consequences that might occur should you tell her parents as well as not? ]

Good one! Like I said, I felt that as a Muslim I owed them a certain amount of responsibility. The outcome was a combination of your human rights bit plus what I consider a responsible action. I feel that I’ve done my bit by talking to her. In my opinion, going any further, (talking to her again, speaking to her parents etc.) is a violation of her privacy. That’s her problem.

[5. Do you often feel responsible for `correcting` the actions of others? ]

If someone stepped on a cigarette butt, you wouldn`t do anything. If their was $hit coming your friend`s way, you would push them out. (400 years later, this`ll be a classic little quote) Come on. That’s not fair. That’d probably be very long. There’s no yes or no answers and who am I to correct anyone. I practise what I do not preach and the conditions I impose upon myself are far harsher than the standard I would see others from. Selfishness, I must admit, does get my goat. Selfish people do pi$$ me off and it’s very possible that my actions may have been influenced by that. To be honest, it’s a combination of a million and one things, isn’t it, but if you have a connection with someone and you care about that individual, wouldn’t you consider it selfish yourself to not want to correct a perceived problem. What I know is that I personally have no problem with anyone talking to me about anything. Yes, sometimes I may feel offended but I think one should be tolerant enough. After all, If someone`s wasting their breath on me, the least I can do is listen to them.


[6. What are the responsibilities of parents to children? Of children to parents? Are the actions of younger South Asian Americans or Britishers any different from any other immigrant group in terms of familial expectations?]

Too long. I am a student, Samina. Be easy on me. I’m not a parent, only a son. And as a child I know that I’d rather suffer myself than impose suffering on anyone else, least of all, my parents.

[7. If your friend was a man, would your reactions be any different? Would it be more negotiable for a young man to date outside the race/religion?]

Again, Samina, you don’t listen. No offence intended but you’d do well to speak to your students once in a while and ask them if they feel you do not listen to them. I’ve told you before that this was not a woman/man issue for me. I truly do not think that this poor woman scenario exists or at least in the magnitudes that we frequently express; not in this day, age and place. It is a convenient slogan for young western Pak girls to pick that line up.

[8. IF you do divulge this woman`s personal life to her parents, will it set a precedent among other South Asians? Are you willing to live with the consequences of that?

You’ve made two mistakes. You’re bringing the feminist issue into this again. Again, I’ll inform you that I had no intentions of ever telling her parents anything. Like I said before, that’s her business. I tried to show her a real picture. That’s all. But I do believe in communities and I do believe in people being responsible for each other up to some extent. I only say this because white people as a whole who are socially more forward and have experienced what Asians and Blacks will experience in the next 10-15 years are now secretly asking for some form a community spirit to be born (my Samaritan talks) .The one thing people should do is develop tolerance to listen to criticism because something god may actually come out of it. His is what practised with her. If someone is not willing to hear an alternative view point which may burst someone’s blind love bubble, then person is at fault more than I am.

9. Have you thought of contacting a South Asian grassroots women’s org and get their feedback on this situation? Why or why not? To what extent is your reluctance to acknowledge gender dynamics limit your understanding of the different aspects of this situation?

Excellent point. I must admit, this never ever came to my mind. Bloody hell, good idea that! Forget gender dynamics, I`m not reluctant to accept them. I know that in this situation they do not exist. Maybe in third world countries but in the civilised world like UK, this is just a victim thing. One needs to understand that both girls and boys have access to various institutions and if someone’s parents are screwing around with you, then all you may do is give them the one-finger salute. I simply used my own experiences and from what I’ve compiled/understood from my voluntary social work. The point is this: majority of Muslim parents would be mighty pi$$ed off with both their daughters and their sons if they changed religion. I don’t think they would discriminate. It’s not what you or I think. It’s what I KNOW they will think.

10. What this it mean for you to be involved in this?
Sorry, Samina, I didn’t understand this last question.

Take care,
Umer M.

The Endangered Species Harpreet,

Chitra B. is crap!!! I`ve read her sister of her heart whatever and let me spoil it for you by saying that the Driver Sikh man with a burnt face is infact Anjou`s long last father whom she never knew about. How cheesy and corney can you get? Saying that, her language can get very yummy sometimes.

But I`ve just saved you 7 pounds and that`s what matters. Go treat yourself to a kebab or buy Ben Eltons`s Dead Famous. Not Magnum opus material but very funny nevertheless.

Umer M.

The Endangered Species Aw come on, guys. That’s not fair. All I did was swear and shout at her and drag the b!tch by her hair and when she didn’t beg for mercy, I dragged her into the fields where my goons continued to abuse her. You what? No!!! Of course not. All I said was that she was destined to hell and if she didn’t revert back immediately and marry the holy book, I’d 6.5mms into her.

Before you carry on any further, this post is very long but there is logic to it. You just need the stamina. Alternatively, go towards the end and you’ll know where I’m coming from but I suggest you start from the top.

Talk about melodrama coming from some of you characters. Sridhar, I haven’t studied Hinduism yet and I have a dual stance on the religion. 1) From what I’ve acquired from my surroundings/people/the telly/India. And 2) from what I’ve actually read/learnt. I prefer to say that I know nothing on the religion.

Now, let me clarify a few things. The aim of the post was to demonstrate the user mentality of many of the Western Pakistani children. I’m refraining from talking about Indians. Saxena had proposed that parents are to blame. I disagree with that idea almost entirely because I think it stinks of victim mentality. This is usually espoused by sad, confused youths (not you Saxena-don’t take it personally) who become Eastern when it comes to taking cash from their parents and Western when it comes to freedom to parté. Desi parents are, in my opinion, the best parents (if not one of the best). Over the last decade at least, they have alloyed their innate generosity with White parents’ ability to demonstrate a greater degree of understanding and care. How selfish is it to say that it’s one’s parents fault when the traditional generation (the first generation) of parents were busting their a$$es trying to make a future for their enlightened children. Granted, I agree with Sameer that this does not equate the older generation parents to being gods but the basic respect and tolerance and understanding by the younger generation of Pakistanis for what their parents went through is not there.

One disagreement and ones parents become the biggest bunch of dogs. I for one have never seen this in whites or Indians. Also, do you not think that if someone’s sweating for you, then surely they deserve something in return, like the truth. Why is Sameer giving us the example of the Native Indians regarding the father and child? Why is he being selective? This individual (our study case) is using her parents and when she is in a position of absolute comfort, will she reveal the details. It’s happened a million times before. This person is thinking of herself first and her parents later.

There are two big mistakes being made by people. One: that I am delving into her spiritual business. Two: I am flexing my power dynamics. Ajeet, my housemate who I’m very close to asked me the same question, saying he would be upset if someone had defected from Sikhism. He was surprised to hear that I didn’t have any emotional expressions. Neither bad, neither good. Surprised? Yes. Bruised ego? Definitely! Being one of the people who’s got a half-decent relationship with her and knowing about the ins and outs of everyone else’s life, I was a bit offended to not be the first to know. As far as Ajeet’s comment on a girl converting to Islam is concerned (sorry Saxena – you’ll have to try again sometime later), I’d have exactly the same attitude. Hell, I’ve probably practised something along those lines before anyway. I agree with Dost that to change your religion for your amour, be it Hindu Sikh, Muslim Christianity, is sad. Hindu, Sikh and Muslim parents from Desiland are just as good/bad towards each other when it comes to conversions etc. Much like I offered our case study any possible support I could provide, I would have done exactly the same for the Hindu convertee girl. Remember, I didn’t discuss anything religious with her. In fact, if I can remember correctly, I said something along the lines of wishing her the best of luck on her new life. Yes Ghlalib, I was recently reading Chapter The Cow, and during one of the early ruku I read a few verses about Jews, Christians, Sabiens etc. not having any problems as long as they believed in one God, the judgement day and did good deeds etc. etc. For me, the snag was one of selfishness.

Samina has bought in her usual feminism flavour into it. Give up, girl. This female victim mentality is just as much rubbish as the parental victim mentality. No one’s buying it. Yes in the olden days. Not in this day and age. Girls are just as bad as the lads in this respect. In fact it’s beginning to go the opposite way because females are naturally assumed to be the more innocent of the two sexes.

As for the comment regarding her education etc. etc. what makes you think that I do not care? Did I inform her parents? Had I been the gandasa wielding Sultan Rahi that I’m being portrayed as, wouldn’t I have done just that? Have I informed anyone else, knowing that it may lead to a possible break up? No. What does it say then? Yes, I can see where someone’s coming from when someone say that it’s none of my business but surely the other party must develop some tolerance, if not for anything, then at least to hear some futile advice.

I’m surprised as to why Sameer says I want her to be disowned. Shameful parents or not, I doubt they share his enlightenment. He is failing to step outside his mental circle. Whereas it’s lovely for digital zeroes and ones to support her, I have basically tried to show a love sick girl the reality and presented an option. You must trust me when I say that I know her parents and I know her and I’ve known how and where this relationship was heading towards for a very long time. I therefore feel able to offer her an opinion. I don’t think many people realise but being used will hurt her parents but being informed will pi$$ them off. There is s difference between the two. I would think that it’s easier for one to recover from anger but not from hurt.

Samina, if it burns you to hear of the sex of the study , then I’ll be more than happy to give you a few male examples. Trust me, they’re all just as bad as each other. I simply gave this example because it’s a little unusual.

I agree with Ghalib. I did act on hearsay but I would like to think that I conducted myself in a harmless manner and that I was thinking of both her interest as well as her parents.

This is what I mean by what Saxena and Semipreciousme have been saying about the parents. They have become the bad guys and religion and sexism have been added from nowhere in order to make the study look the victim whereas she is the person who is being dishonest with her parents.

At this point, I must ask you to form an answer. If you could, would you ban infanticides, knowing that just banning infanticide on its own will not solve the girls’ problems. Yes or no?

Now, to move this argument forward. About the butting out business: one of the things which I did think about was what I wrote in my first post - that I felt partially responsible towards her parents. This scares me somewhat because where exactly does this responsibility stop? And why should I be responsible for anyone? Who asked for my opinion anyway? Right? For me, this responsibility ended with me supposedly showing her reality in the next xyz years time. Where does it stop for others? And if I am being told to be butted out of her business, why have all of you - minus Samina – replied to me? Why the need to feel responsible for correcting me? Wasn’t I also trying to correct her? Remember, I specifically asked Samina to reply; Not you. Haven’t you done exactly what I did with the study?

In both your case and mine, we most probably considered our actions harmless and so we intervened. What I didn’t do was go any further much like what most of you haven’t done is turn offensive.

Now, let us tie Bina’s (I’m so sorry for this) article into this. Judging by your replies, you all detest infanticides. If you had the chance, would you stop this practise or would you respect the ideas of these people and let them be? Understand this, just like many of you realised that I know more about the situation than I have written (and so you refrained from going offensive) and just like I didn’t go any further (because there’s so much more to this whole thing) would you do the same thing with infanticides. After all, do you know the situation under which these people commit these acts. Isn’t it true that they know their state of affairs (dowry, unequal distribution of strength, patriarchal society) better than we do so what right do we have to intervene?

We all say that we respect people’s beliefs. To you, your religion. To me, mine. Religions are schools of thought and beliefs. According to some interactors, I’m not respecting my study’s beliefs. The people who commit infanticides are following a different school of thought but it has its own set of logic. Why should we not respect their set of beliefs?

Before we get any obvious answers, remember that abortions are rife in the civilised world. Most, if not all of us, agree with abortions up to some extent. Are abortions and infanticides and feticides the same? If not, why not? If they are, why is one practise palatable and the other indelible. A woman has the right to abort her child because the child is a part of her body. Not fully true. The child is 50% mother and 50% father. In feticides, the child is being ‘killed’ by people who share the child. Also, abortion is okay because a baby is not fully developed. If we extend that argument, then surely a mother has the license to kill anyone between the ages of birth to puberty because until then, no one is full developed. Surely, this should sanctify infanticides and feticides also.

What is the difference between aborting a child because you cannot give him/her a good life (and this is a line I’ve heard from hundreds of women from the civilised world during my phone conversations with them) and terminating the life of a child because you cannot give her a good life (because she is a girl in an ultra – patriarchal society? Why am I describing one as an abortion and the other as termination?

If according to you, I have no right to enter into her business, even though I consider this good advice, what gives you the right to enter into the business of these people? What makes you think that you are doing something right? And before I get one of those answers, if we feel the need to be responsible towards the dead children because we’re human, then can I not use the same argument for myself as well, i.e. her parents and I are Muslims and I felt the need to be responsible towards them.

When did these people’s life become our business? I believe we best look to our beliefs to our Higher Power and let everyone have their own beliefs to theirs?

Sridhar, Sameer, Teunkens, Saxena, Hamid, Ghalib, Snow, Harpreet, Cheese, Studbaker, even you godot…thanking you all. Since y’all butted in :), I’ll be looking forward to your answers. Samina, my post isn’t exactly a scientific piece of work but sometimes one has to travel a journey. So answer if you want to.

Best wishes:)
Umer M.

The Endangered Species Good people,

I shall clarify a few points, unblinker some, thank others and hope to forward the discussion tomorrow. Right now, I`ve just come one step closer to entering the Big Boys league. Way too excited right now.

To all who responded,
tomorrow.
Umer M.

Samina.
Yes, mum. And I promisr to eat all my greens.

The Endangered Species Godot,

Oh I know how to get the fire burning. Don`t forget to switch off the telly, mate. I can give it just as good as take it. Must be my writing `cos the blinker effect and extarpolations from some of these people is amazing.

Right now, I must buy some humus for the Islamic Society for the iftar. Jazakullah Khairun:)

Standby
Umer M.

The Endangered Species Saminasha,

`What kinds of actions do you think are appropriate for people who challenge traditional belief systems?`

Umm, a bit ambiguous that question. Are you asking what actions should be carried forth by those who challenge tradition etc. or are you asking what actions should be executed by those who violate tradition etc. by those who uphold them?

Personally, I break them all the time so I can`t talk, though I`m open to being influenced and tutored by anyone, anytime.

But Samina, let`s put the question to you: here`s a genuine case study for you, I`m just interested in your opinion:

A young Pakistani girl from my Pharmacy class was going out with a Hindu boy. Nothing new in that. They all do it. Recently, however, I found out from someone close to her that she had converted to Hinduism a year ago and was keeping it under wraps from everyone. After the initial 30 second shock and sheer joy at how this would be the gossip of the century (and let`s not bull$hit people - we would all be a little surprised) I approached her some time later. The first thing I did was to tell her that I wasn`t here to lecture her or to disturb her in anyway. Moreover, despite the big mouth that I am, I would not pass this information onto anyone as I was aware that there were a certain number of people who were trying to break the two of them up by informing their parents. This could screw her education up also.

My only suggestion, I said, was this. Even though any of this wasn`t my business, I still retained a connection with her parents due to the fact that they, like me, were Muslims, and I feel that there`s a small degree of responsibility every Muslim owes each other. Also, they were her parents and had given her life abd sustenance. The least they deserved was to be informed. She had made a very big decision in her life and if she was old enough to change her beliefs wholesale, then she should also have the courage to stand for it and take it on the chin. Yes, they were going to go ape $hit and would most probably disown her but she had made this decision on her own and should not live in their house, spend their money, fool them into thinking that their little girl is out their studying and then drop the news on them when it suited her.

I tried explaining to her that they, being the normal everyday Desi/Muslim parents, were probably planning her wedding as we were speaking. Her father was probably out there worrying about finding a good man for her little girl and her mother was probably thinking about buying clothes and what have you. By the time she finished her degree, they would probably have a few numbers lined up for her viewing anyway and for her to inform them at that moment in time would be the peak of selfishness.

You`re going to tell them one day anyway. Discuss this with them now, I said. They`ll most probably tell you to fcuk off out of their lives but it`ll be the honourable thing to do. And if they come at you with machetes, you may have to put an injunction on them but it was the only compromise I could think of where both parties would get least hurt. At least you can say that you didn`t use them. Don’t do it at the end because you`ll destroy them. If they accept you as you are, then that`s all hunky dory. Moreover, since you`ve done everything else, you should ideally be supported by yourself and your man. Hell, I even went as far as to say that if I could help her in anyway, I`d be there but that she should communicate or else they would be left reeling from suicidal thoughts (And I should know - I work for the Samaritans).

The next thing I know, I was being sworn at left, right and centre and left amongst a flurry of `innits` thinking I was talking to little kids. As I said before in my posts, if she`s actually done anything wrong, regardless of what I think and what she thinks, it`ll one day come to her. If her actions are correct then she`ll carry on normally with her life.

The sad thing is, she`s willing to live by her own rules (which is fine) but she`s not willing to work for it. She has, in essence, used her parents for over a year and I don’t think she plans to tell them just yet either. When her parents go mental, they will become the most evil, backward people who always abused their daughter and so on and so forth. Also, people like I, who only wanted to talk, help and understand will become 7th Century lower-class apes from Gondwanaland. She will become the victim and her parents the predators.

Believe me, Samina, for every bad parent, I can give you 2 more examples of bad children. The above was just one example. If you need anymore, I shall be glad to oblige. Perhaps I should change the term `ba$tards` to `selfish` as most examples seem to indicate towards that.

So, Samina, what are your opinions?

Umer M.

The Endangered Species Woah woah, can someone please take those electrical leads off Jay`s body. The man`s foaming at the mouth. Oh look what he`s done now. He`s $hat all over the board.

Umer M.

The Endangered Species Dear Panjaban,

I can see where this is going:) I just tend to get a bit emotional with these topics. What can I say? I`m young and a bit hot-headed (read stupid) sometimes.

But evolution occurs on various levels and with humans it occurs on a mental as well as the physical level. People and societies that fail to change with the times die out, only to be replaced by newer species. There are wonderful few lines in The Quran (I can’t remember the exact verse but Chapter Yunus I think) which says something to the effect of The-One destroying/replacing wonky civilisations/tribes/people with newer ones to see how the new group will conduct itself. It is my observation in life that when someone does something wrong, you need not correct them. Life and Karma have a way of teaching them a lesson in due time. There are some people who just do not want to learn and only life can teach them a lesson.

Similarly, the people of such xyz regions who practise infanticides (who think that they are doing something right) will also get their just desserts in due time. Most probably, their little unit will be destroyed and replaced by newer people. Of course, many innocents would have also perished and that`s where the bigger argument comes: should one intervene or should one leave these people, respect their customs and leave them alone.

I hope this was a better explanation.

Take care and best wishes,
Umer M.

The Endangered Species Dear Bina,

Regarding feticides, I remember reading somewhere that in Rajhistan, the female:male ratio was 600:1000. Scary, stuff all this feticide!!! Let the ba$tards destroy themselves, I say. Just nature`s way of removing the trash.

Ansari,

Regarding his Jhoola scheme which he introduced many, many years ago (and which was inspired because some local mullahs had passed a fatwa to stone to death an illegitimate baby), I had posed the same question to Edhi once. He said something to the effect that the problem wasn`t mainly one of females or males but more of illegitimate children.

Saxena, regarding parents. I should be able to answer this one. All this parental stuff is pretty much codswallop (cockney rhyming slang for dogs******) nowadays. I`ve seen it all my brotha and I`d hate to say this (because I belong to that age group) but Pakistani boys and girls (those who speak against their culture, religion or parents) are usually some of the biggest ba$tards I know. And it`s not because they are challenging their beliefs. There`s nothing wrong with that. It`s because they aren`t doing anything about it. Moreover, they usually have no idea of what they are talking about which pretty much makes them look like jacka$$es and make me lose all respect for them. Am I the only one who thinks that immigrant parents who came from other countries could not work their a$$es off 24-7 and be the model parents for their children. The younger generations should learn to be just as resilient as their parents, instead of feeling sorry for themselves.

Speaking on Indians` behalf would be a little too much since the average Indian could be anyone and our moral values are different from one region and religion to another. And of course, I am not an Indian.

Umer M.

Looking For Life on Other Worlds t, #22

You know how you once said that Hydra wasn`t the only person with multi heads...;) Plink!

Umer M.

Looking For Life on Other Worlds Saxena,

he he.

Drumz,

Repeat that again, mate. You`ve lost me. Was your post aimed at Asif? Mad Arab? Necronomicon? What, what, what?

Umer M.

Looking For Life on Other Worlds Dear Salman,

Lovely little article, mate.

Dear Asif and Layman,

I can`t speak on behalf of other religions but yaum in Arabic means ages as well as days so it all depends on interpretation. But how many times have we heard Muslims quote Humans as Ashraf-ul-makhluqaat (the greatest of the creations or something to that effect) and use it to mean that there is no life anywhere else? As far as life on other terrains is concerned, it is, so far, an act of faith. Strangly enough, people who refuse to believe in God (because they can`t see him/her/it) also happen to believe in Aliens and they seem to use science to confirm their beliefs. Strange that?

But moving on, no modern day Muslim would have ever even hinted towards using the `Lord of the worlds` line to denote ET. life hadn`t it been for the media push.

Umer M.