On the PTI / Imran Khan's Jalsa

I have never been an Imran Khan supporter (let's leave the reasons aside right now), but following the comments, feelings, reactions, more than ever, my prayer is that the passion and, even more so, the sincerity and of the tens of thousands of young and old Pakistanis has its dreams and hopes fulfilled.

"don't afraid"—Words to Live By

One of cutest pop culture memes out of Pakistan is the phrase often seen on transport trucks and buses that says "don't jaluss" [don't be jealous]. It has started turning up on some of the T Shirts  now we see a similar idea from our sister nation;

Words to live by in this season of discontent.

Gaddafi: a Pakistani perspective

Love the statement at the end of the article providing a Pakistani perspective on Colonel Gaddafi by Khurram Ali Shafique, on The Republic of Rumi website:

"we have had our share of military rulers and civilian dictators, and some of them may have aspired to stay in power for forty years, or to set up dynastic rule. However, hats off to the people of Pakistan, such a thing has never actually happened here. "

Though I have to say, the really daring jaan-ki-amaan-pa'oon level of article on The Colonel is yet to be written.

The direct link to Khurram's article is:

http://republicofrumi.blogspot.com/2011/10/gaddafi-pakistani-perspective.htm

Revivification of the Pakistani Left

Readers of this blog might remember me talking about the Pakistani Left starting to come out of its comatose state over the last few years and "getting the band back together".

There's an article in New Internationalist article that's been making the rounds: http://www.newint.org/features/2011/09/01/whats-left/

Here's a link to a previous post on this blog talking about the issue:

http://blog.ifaqeer.com/2006/07/pakistani-left-launch-movement-against.html

There is no such thing as a "Muslim Ummah"

That was one of the first responses I got in reply to my call to "take back Islam for the Ummah". [See my intro to "Occupy Islam" in my last post.]

Ummah, as a lot of readers will know, is an Arabic word for community. whether you like it or not Muslims are a community. a community that is in the process of being completely taken over by a fanatic fringe. And it is because those of us in the silent, moderate majority refuse to take ownership that this has happened.

I went to graduate school and studied the idea of community. A community can be any group that has communal feeling--whether it is people stranded in an elevator or people who have sworn a blood oath, or people who are bound by a thousand/fifteen hundred years of faith, culture and civilization.

So, yes, Muslims are an ummah; and I say that as a done my-time-in-the-leadership Progressive Muslim.