tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72092939147982183982024-02-20T20:24:04.381-08:00AKHTAR INJEELIThere are over five million Urdu speaking Christians in the world, spread out in Pakistan, India, Iran, Middle East and other countries. Relatively little is known about this group of Christians who are mostly concentrated in Pakistan. Yes, there are Christians in Pakistan, and I am one of them!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-14066127774637147642015-09-22T11:55:00.003-07:002016-01-10T14:49:15.194-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The following article appeared in The Minorities' View August 2015. and can be accessed through their website's archives. This can be easily done by clicking on the image of the magazine displayed in the right hand column under the caption: The Minorities' View, and looking up for the required issue in the date windows.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-48439929586729305472015-09-22T11:13:00.001-07:002015-09-22T11:59:50.816-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The following article appeared in The Minorities' View, May 2015, and can be accessed through their website's archives. This can be easily done by clicking on the image of the magazine displayed in the right hand column under the caption: The Minorities' View, and looking up for the required issue in the date windows.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-34021042525483189172015-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:002015-02-08T13:49:00.218-08:00Book Review: Sermon in Blood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24gcmD-C0y6RDtrbKRut7YkFqRQYtENtRuxO3fu2KoDIEHvDa1-AT4iPW-1_WPAgypTdmiC6k8cMVlkI6BqEIzKxcN0NjBvCAkClclOZyhyAgINKr4uLEmzHHZgr6QSVWkSjVOf_hzMqO/s1600/Sermon+in+Blood+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24gcmD-C0y6RDtrbKRut7YkFqRQYtENtRuxO3fu2KoDIEHvDa1-AT4iPW-1_WPAgypTdmiC6k8cMVlkI6BqEIzKxcN0NjBvCAkClclOZyhyAgINKr4uLEmzHHZgr6QSVWkSjVOf_hzMqO/s1600/Sermon+in+Blood+001.jpg" height="400" width="247" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><em><strong>Sermon in Blood</strong>: Sacrifice and Struggle of Bishop Dr John Joseph, a symbol of Christian-Muslim Harmony</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Author: <em><strong>Prof Gulzar Wafa Chaudhry</strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><strong>Zafar and Mumtaz Publishers</strong>, Lahore, 1999</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em>pp 130</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On May 6 1998, at 9:30 pm, Dr John Joseph, the Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad, Pakistan, committed suicide in front of a Court in Faisalabad that had sentenced a <em>Pakistani Christian</em> man (Ayub Masih) for alleged blasphemy. The Bishop's last words, just as he pulled the trigger of the gun held to his own temple, were addressed to him: "Ayub I am offering my life for you".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On 5th April 1994 Manzoor Masih of Gujranwala, accused of blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam was gunned down by unknown assassins. During the incident his co-accused Salamat Masih (a minor), Rehmat Masih and a mutual friend John Joseph (of Lahore) also received critical injuries. The funeral for Manzoor Masih was held in the Catholic cathedral of Lawrence Road, Lahore, on 7th April and was attended by people representing all walks of life, and of various faiths and creeds. Bishop John Joseph at the conclusion of the ceremony had stepped forward to the coffin, kissed the feet of dead body of Manzoor Masih and addressing it said, "I wish, I had died in your place." The funeral procession then moved on to the Christian cemetery where he was returned, "dust unto dust".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In January 1995 twelve-year old Salmat Masih and his relative Rehmat Masih both co-accused of the late Manzoor Masih were sentenced to death in the session court Lahore. (<em>Death sentence to a minor is against the U.N. conventions to which Pakistan is a signatory). </em>After a dangerous and convoluted legal battle, the accused were acquitted of the charges on 23rd February 1995. The acquitted Salmat Masih and Rehmat Masih were flown to Germany on asylum to save their lives from blood thirsty extremists. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On 14th October 1996 Mohammad Akram, a Muslim, registered a case against twenty-five year old Christian, Ayub Masih of Arifwala (District Pakpatan), accusing him of having said to him and his Muslim companions to read Salman Rushdi's <em>Satanic Verses</em> as well as uttering other blasphemous remarks. The real reason was that the Christians, as well as the Muslim residents, were given residential plots by the government and this was an easy and sure-shot way of ensuring that the Christians would vacate their rightful plots so that the Muslim land grab mafia could take their possession. It was the culmination of this case which lead the Bishop to lay down his life, in a manner described in <em>Sermon In Blood</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The author details the last ten days of the Bishop, beginning from 27th April when Rana Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Sessions Judge of Sahiwal, awarded death penalty to Ayub Masih under Section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code. This unjustified verdict caused the Bishop to write a 19 page letter the next day, in which he narrated the events and wrote "I shall count myself extremely fourtunate, if...Our Lord accepts the sacrifice of my blood for the benefit of his people..." (p 13 of the said letter). The letter was faxed to Father Seige at Rome on 29th April. There were ample hints in those last ten days that the Bishop was contemplating self-sacrifice though he never stated it in direct terms. And then when he felt the time was right he asked his chauffer to drive him to the session court where Ayub Masih had been sentenced, and scarified his life in protest, in pursuance of what he earlier had termed "The Final Step against the 295-C".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In addition to providing great detail of Ayub Masih's case, the book also catalogues many other atrocities committed against the Christian's of Pakistan. For example, on 5th/6th February 1997 Shantinagar, a Christian village in the Khanewal district, was burned just after 48 hours after Pakistan Muslim League was declared the winner in the elections. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In my view the title of this relatively short treatise is as powerful as the saga it has endeavoured to preserve for posterity. Being a powerful orator and an accomplished writer, the Bishop had preached many a sermon from the pulpit. But his very last sermon, which was neither written in ink, nor orated from a pulpit, was heard the world over. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When these events were unfolding this reviewer was in Pakistan, and can recall with acute vividness, the shock waves it sent through the nation and especially the Christian community including Catholics and the Protestants. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The champion of Christian-Muslim harmony had come to the end of a blind alley in his struggle and could no longer bear the pain of seeing innocent sheep of his flock being sent to the slaughter house. Along with the author, I believe, considering all the circumstantial evidence, as well as his passion for justice, his suicide must be seen as a self-sacrifice for a cause. The author enlists eleven other prominent personages in the chapter entitled self-sacrifice for Liberation, and ends it with these words:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
And the last, thereafter, is the self-sacrifice for Bishop John Joesph. He, as hinted by him earlier "astonished" the government by offering the sacrifice of his own life, with his own gun, triggered by his own hand. With a fatal protest fire in his own head, he marked that the human rights situation was much worse, in Pakistan than it apparently looked. In his last meeting in a Catholic Church of Sahiwal (formally Montgomery) he said. "Christians in Pakistan are being held in a "death-sentence blackmail" by the Blashpemy Law, under which their small businesses are being taken over and their property is being seized and the situation is such that there womem are not safe. (p83)<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Socrates, in his own set of circumstances, before drinking the cup of poison had said <em>"perhaps then in this way it is not beyond reason that a man ought not to kill himself unless God send upon him some necessity, such as mine in my present position".</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In addition to characterising the bishop, narrating his story, communicating his passion, the book also has a compilation of tributes offered at his tragic death. To counter balance these the athor also enlists the responses from the government and her mouthpieces. The then Information Minister Mushahid Hussain Sayed, stated "The minorities are getting full protectin under law, constitution and under the Islam in Pakistan". </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Strictly speaking the book is not written in any of the traditional styles of narrating events chronologically, or pursing an argument logically. This is not to say that it is historically inaccurate or that it is illogical, but to stress that it is more of a friend's tribute of sincerity and love, and as it is a work of overwhelming emotions more than of academic discipline, it does tend to be factually repetitious. Regrettably nor is it free from typographical errors. However, coming from a close friend, a fellow Pakistani Christian, and a partner in human rights struggle, it is an excellent resource for sincere students of the plight that the Pakistani Christians find themselves in. Thus, in my view this book must be accepted in its totality in the spirit in which it is written (some might argue that 'compiled' might be a better description of this work). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Akhtar Injeeli</i></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-77395661659097336982014-10-08T23:34:00.004-07:002014-12-30T04:13:36.066-08:00Book Review: The Christian Minority in Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMeqzbk_bsGKJRt9z2y24TH3OjLWQQ2EMLpi1f2YN7E1Wa39SxlQ9C1dtfjatq007il4swSdJqNHawb_qemCQw9PAVBztRtN3P0zcUGmWZcQBTx6oy8WLBUDSwNVqmsbuZz3FxZFCtESC/s1600/CMIN+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMeqzbk_bsGKJRt9z2y24TH3OjLWQQ2EMLpi1f2YN7E1Wa39SxlQ9C1dtfjatq007il4swSdJqNHawb_qemCQw9PAVBztRtN3P0zcUGmWZcQBTx6oy8WLBUDSwNVqmsbuZz3FxZFCtESC/s1600/CMIN+001.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><em><strong>The Christian Minority in Pakistan: Problems and Prospects</strong></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Asimi, A.D.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Word Alive Press, Winnipeg, 2010</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ISBN- 13:978-177069-005-9</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<em></em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> pp 181</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian Minority in Pakistan</i> is a concise profile, as well as
a compact socio-political analysis, of the Christian Community in Pakistan. The
book can be divided into three parts (my divisions): <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Historical
context (first three chapters)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The
problems (chapters four, five and six)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Prospects
and proposed solutions (chapters six and seven) <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Asimi starts his thesis by doubting
and/or outright denying the arrival of Apostle Thomas to India within the first
Christian century. According to him, the first introduction of Christianity to
the sub-continent was by the Roman Catholic Fathers in the late sixteenth/early
seventeenth century and did not succeed well even at this later date as, for
all practical purposes, Christianity failed to take root in India.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">The (more successful) reintroduction
of Christianity, according to Asimi, is linked with the British Raj. In 1600 East
India Company (EIC), owned by private citizens, started its operations with the
sole aim of growth of trade and resolutely adopted a policy of avoiding any
kind of Christian pursuit. The company’s activities gradually expanded into
politico-military sphere. By 1857 it effectively controlled the political
landscape of vast Indian territories. The (so called) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sepoy </i>Mutiny of that year was the last concerted effort by the
Indians to regain self-governance <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and is
recorded by their historians as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The war
of Independence</i>, albeit a failed one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">On first September 1958 India was
placed under the direct rule of the British Crown and stayed so until 14<sup>th</sup>/15<sup>th</sup>
August 1947, when the British left it divided into an independent India and an
independent Pakistan. The political subjugation of nearly three and a half
centuries by the British left a bad taste in the mouths of most Indians. Though
India had enjoyed some benefits from the Raj, for the most part the natives
resented it. The foreigners left behind them some permanent reminders of their domination
in the form of tall-steepled churches, Christian hospitals and educational
institutions, as well as a small minority of Christians who practised, mostly a
western style, Christianity. Asimi notes: Most of the non-Christian population
looks upon all this as an alien legacy left behind by an alien power. They were
averse to this power then, and they are averse to its legacy today. (p 3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the book discusses the plight of
Christians in Pakistan through this resented image. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Asimi divides the problems of the
Christians in Pakistan – who according to him, make up 1.9% of the population
(p 113) – into the following three broad categories.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Firstly there is a serious lack
of unity and cohesion in Christians. The main divide being between the Catholics
and the Protestants, but then there are innumerable divisions within the Protestants,
and this religious factionalism spills over into secular and national life.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Secondly, there is a ‘sickening lack
of effective secular leadership’ and this ‘is the greatest weakness of
Christian Minority in Pakistan’ (p 116).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finally, there is a lack of integration of
Christians into the socio-cultural milieu of the land, which according to the
author, is the most serious part of the negative image of Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the concluding chapters of his
work, Asimi presents a set of prospects and solutions, which are a welcome
addition to the debate about the plight of Christians in Pakistan, but cannot
be swallowed wholesale by this reviewer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">My own studies and the evidence
available to me lead me to radically different conclusions about the earliest introduction
of Christianity to the Indian sub-continent as well as to the history of its Christian
Church. I also do not agree to the figure of 1.9 % as being representative of
Christian population in Pakistan (I believe the figure to be significantly higher),
but as these two issues are not the main substance of Asimi’s thesis, I will
refrain from commenting on them further.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The main point of the book is
about identifying the problems of the Christians in Pakistan and offering a set
of workable solutions, and it is this part that I would like to peruse here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">That ‘Christianity in Pakistan
must have a Pakistani face’ is a valid and in fact a laudable suggestion and no
one wants to dispute it. And I, for one, can even accept that, ‘The kind of
confrontational/evangelical Christianity that was brought to the
Indian-sub-continent by the West should become a thing of the past’ (p 148). However,
it needs to be firmly established that Christianity predates the state of Pakistan
and that its followers hold on to certain non-negotiable tenets: the
irreducible minimums of the Christian faith. These cannot, and must not, be
sacrificed in an attempt to produce a so called ‘Islam-Reconciled
Christianity’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">For example it appears that Asimi,
under the influence of modern western scholarship, is willing to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reconsider </i>the sacrificial death of Lord
Jesus Christ. On p 154 he enlists three views of Jesus’s crucifiction;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Jewish view was that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>his close companions ‘stole his dead body,
concealed it, and spread the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">false news
that He had risen from the dead’</i> (emphasis is mine). The Christian faith’s declaration
that he ‘rose from the grave on the third day; ascended into heaven, now sits
on the right hand of God and, in the fullness of time, will come again to judge
the good and the bad’ is labelled as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘The
tradition that was created and was strenuously promoted among His few diehard
followers’</i> (emphasis is mine). What is crucial here is that Asimi after
mentioning the two above versions of the crucifixion and resurrection events,
states that the ‘tradition which the Muslims follow is that, Roman soldiers
…mistakenly arrested a man who did, or had been made to, look like Hazarat
Issa… and hung on the cross<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a common man
in place of Hazrat Issa’. The disturbing part of this discussion, for me, is the
author’s assertion of this to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘The
very plausible tradition’ </i>(emphasis is mine).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As stated above, while there is no serious
harm in claimants of Christian faith in dressing in local/traditional attire,
and modifying their worship styles to adapt to more eastern traditions, we as
Christians cannot compromise the most fundamental doctrinal tenets of our faith
to produce an ‘Islam-Reconciled Christianity’. In fact, any form of so called ‘Christianity’
which denies the sacrificial mission of Christ is anything but Christianity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asimi asserts ‘The Jesus of old orthodoxy is
being replaced by a Jesus of history and humanity’ (p164) and echoes the
statement of Anglican Bishop Spong, quoting him in his book “Christianity must
change or die”(p.165). This reviewer would like to add his own sentiments here
that, in an attempt to change Christianity let us not attempt to change the
Christ of history and the Lord of our faith, as doing so will mean <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we die!(that is in every conceivable way).<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">For the purposes of this review,
having pointed out the most important of the theological concerns, I would
refrain from discussing other less weightier matters in this regard. Asimi’s
theology aside, he does have some practical suggestions about the ground
realities faced by Pakistani Christians. His advice, based on 2 Corinthians
chapter 5 to be faithful and obedient to the government of time and to practice
a ‘works orientated Christianity’ to become more relevant to the national
milieu as, ‘Islam itself is a religion of works’ is worth consideration. This
reviewer believes that over time the emphasis on salvation by faith alone has not
been misplaced; however adding a greater emphasis to pursuing practical
Christianity by committing charitable acts is a laudable goal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Asimi while discussing the Challenges
and choices facing the Christian community points out that ‘a prerequisite to
any successful communal leadership is the development of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">clearly defined and achievable communal goals’ </b>(This emphasis is
author’s and this reviewer fully agrees). On p 127, he proposes the creation of
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Christian Community Leadership Council</i>
(CCLC) ‘or something akin to it’. He also points out that competitive
leadership has proven ineffectual, and suggests that this proposed body ‘should
be the sole vice o the Christian community in all secular maters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that in his view one of the first concerns
of the leadership Council should be to seek international recognition for the
Christians of Pakistan as an “insufficiently protected minority” and set up a
Christian Legal Defence Fund. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The broad
methodology of proceeding with this framework is outlined in the rest of the
chapter under consideration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">This reviewer’s overall
impression of the book is that it fails the litmus test for orthodox
Christianity and kowtows to a theological mishmash to improve the Christians’ acceptability
among the Muslims by adopting a somewhat diluted version of their faith,
labelling it as ‘Islam Reconciled Christianity’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reviewer’s view point here would be to, instead,
create an agreement to disagree document, and then work with whatever can be
accommodated on both sides. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Asimi, does raise some very valid
points about the wordings used in Pakistan’s constitution and the way the so
called blasphemy laws are effecting the lives of Pakistani Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His overall assessment of the quantum of the
unfairness meted to his people and his socio-political insights are both
incisive and deep and I feel that the intellectuals of the Christian community
of Pakistan would do well to give his proposals a fair and comprehensive
consideration. As clear from the above review, this reviewer has serious
reservations on the author’s historicity, statistical analyses and theological
interpretations but has found that his identification of the problems and
proposed solutions do add significantly to the debate about the Pakistani
Christians’ future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Akhtar Injeeli</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-84966108126424451502014-07-06T14:45:00.000-07:002015-01-28T11:17:34.098-08:00Book Review: A People Betrayed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>A People Betrayed: The Impact of Islamization on the Christian community of Pakistan</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sookhdeo, Patrick</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Publisher: Christian Focus Publications and Isaac Publishing</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ross-shire (Scotland) and Wiltshire (England) 2002</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">PP 454</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02S6XT7Js0L-c_9tyJwzoasIHegW067huvqJMNBNxHwsu2XzTxHR6ZOdK7dpmofC2__WmO2akrdW9QPA_3I2qV7QiuRK3_aIcZ160PV1dX9r-kPhdeP6HmlDms1ir-4943y1tWTddV39D/s1600/People+Betrayed+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02S6XT7Js0L-c_9tyJwzoasIHegW067huvqJMNBNxHwsu2XzTxHR6ZOdK7dpmofC2__WmO2akrdW9QPA_3I2qV7QiuRK3_aIcZ160PV1dX9r-kPhdeP6HmlDms1ir-4943y1tWTddV39D/s1600/People+Betrayed+001.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As apparent from the title </span></span><i style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A People Betrayed</i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is a story of betrayal, broken promises and
injustices committed against one people by another. The former are the
Christians of Pakistan. The latter, the betrayers are majority Muslim sect, the
rulers, the religious elite and the law makers and the law enforcers of
Pakistan. The book is a </span><span style="line-height: 20.7px;">catalog</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of historical
injustices, social, economic </span></span><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21.46px;">mistreatment</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, expedient political U-turns as well
as premeditated </span><span style="line-height: 20.7px;">willful</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> acts of systematic marginalization committed against the
largest religious minority of Pakistan, the Christians of Pakistan, my people.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">These indigenous Pakistani Christians are the sons and
daughters of the land, and have contributed in her creation, with the (mistaken)
hope that they would be considered its equal citizens. Despite the historical
injustices these people continue to consider Pakistan as their rightful
homeland, even though they find themselves rejected in their own land and at
best tolerated as second class citizens. The perpetrators of these shameful activities
and atrocities targeting these vulnerable minority are the members of the
majority faith ruling class themselves, who when they were a minority, feared
the mistreatment they might suffer after the British Raj’s coming to an end.
The systematic narration of the grievances and a scholarly analysis thereof is
the subject matter of the book.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The author’s aims include creating awareness about the Christians
and their plight in a country which in the international consciousness is almost
exclusively associated with Islam. Very
methodically the author first establishes the historical context of
Christianity’s presence in India (and present day Pakistan). He begins with the
arrival of Thomas (one of the twelve disciples of Lord Jesus) who reached India
around 50/60 AD and made earliest converts to Christianity, the spiritual
progeny of whom, the “Thomasite Christians” are still thriving in South India. Using
various historical, traditional (based on oral traditions), and non-canonical
sources i.e., The Acts of Thomas, the author attempts to establish the possible
presence of Christians in Northwest of the present Pakistan (present Taxila)
during the mid-first century. The discovery of The Taxila Cross (1935) and its
adoption as the symbol of the Church of Pakistan in 1971 is discussed in this
context.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The fast moving events based on very complex phenomena and
the amount of detail might make the work difficult to follow by those not acquainted
with the complexities of the subject matter.
This however is deliberate as the author adheres very closely to the
academically accepted style of referencing almost everything he states. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Second major area of discussion is Pakistan’s political
landscape starting from its creation in 1947. The vision and promises of
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam, of and about a secular nation have to successfully
all but buried in the tides of time. The final all the way down to the time of
General Zia ul Haqq who attempted, many times quiet successfully and Islamised
everything and created a very difficult situation for the minorities. Jinnah’s
vision was for a secular state in which everybody would be treated equal, as
evidenced by his speech of 11 August 1947. The ideological development of the
state of Pakistan is well argued by referring to various intellectuals who have
contributed to the process. The laws, conditions that need to govern
non-Muslims living in a Muslim state (the concept of <i>dhimmitude</i>) is also expounded. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the sections entitled ‘De facto discrimination
against Christians’ and the one about blasphemy
and apostasy, the social, economics well as legal and political pressures exerted on the Christians are
exposed and explained. The legal and social bias used against Christians is
clearly demonstrated by the various so called ‘blasphemy cases’ which are
listed and discussed. The more prominent of these are those of Denial Scot (the
first Christian against whom a case was filed under 295 C), Gul Pervaiz Masih
(First Christian to be convicted under the Blasphemy law), Tahir Iqbal (a
Muslim convert to Christianity who was the first to be allegedly killed because
of a Blasphemy charge), Niamat Ahmar and many others. In protest, against the pronouncement of
death sentence against Ayub Masih, Roman Catholic Bishop John Joseph committed suicide
on 6<sup>th</sup> May 1998 in front of the court. There are far too many cases detailed in the book
to be listed, let alone be commented upon, in this short review. Laws of
apostasy regarding Muslims changing their religion are also discussed at some length.
Apostasy in Islam is punishable by death. The abuse and misuse of these laws to
stir communal violence against Christians was seen in the shameful incident of
burning (on 6<sup>th</sup> February 1997) of the twin Christian villages,
Shanti Nagar and Tibba colony. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The book is more than just a compilation of facts, events and
cases. It is also an incisive and analytical critique of the root causes of the
problems faced by the Pakistani Christians. In the ongoing mistreatment and
marginalization of these people, the deeply entrenched and therefore lingering
presence of Hindu caste system cannot be overlooked. The role of the missionaries
too has had many facets, and Sookhdeo uses very calculated and precise language
to describe, (quite accurately in my view), their positive contributions as
well as negative influences to the cause of Christians in Pakistan. The term “Mission Compound” Christians is an
example. This phenomenon highlights how some missionaries inadvertently were created
a subset of Christians who did not (have to) engage even with the general
Pakistani society let alone with its politics. And of course, all along the
political forces were gradually, systematically and irrevocably closing in on
the freedoms, properties, legal status and economic well being of the community.
The Christian political leaders have either suffered from the system’s flaws
(like separate electorate system), have been too short sighted or have lacked
the political insights and will to prevent the tides that have carried their
people further down the socio-economic status. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the section entitled Christian Responses, the author takes
a panoramic and critical look at how the Christians in general and their
religious leaders in particular have used the situations wisely or otherwise
and the ensuing mess these have created. He identifies apathy born of self-pity, and
missionary influence as well as disunity as the main self-imposed handicaps in
dealing with the problems.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A People betrayed</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> is an in-depth root cause analysis and
a historical proofs exhibition of the
injustices suffered by the Christians in Pakistan from the time of its creation
to the 2002. It is ruthless apportioning of the blames and credits where they
are due. This no holds barred approach
in stating facts and drawing unpleasant yet accurate conclusions makes this
work worthy of high regard. It also has sections on the way forward like
inter-faith dialogue, and raising international awareness of these issues. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The author has painstakingly established the presence of a
significant number of Christians in Pakistan; their not-to-be-ignored role in
its history, and their significant contributions to the creation and
development of Pakistan. They, however, have been betrayed by the state and its
various institutions and governments. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This volume is a welcome addition to a handful of serious
studies on the subject of Christians in Pakistan. Even though it is well
researched, amply referenced (448 references), logically laid out and
academically sound, it does betray a polemical passion. And, at least I, as a Christian
from Pakistan, cannot fault such a passionate approach, as nearly all other
studies on this topic, by Muslims, and a few Christians too, are nothing but a
series of rosy myths propagated about the supposedly equal and wonderfully fair
treatment that the minorities get in Pakistan. It is to Dr Sookhdeo’s enduring
credit that he has very systematically and successfully exploded this myth, and
earned a PhD, as well as, a place of </span></span><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21.46px;">honor</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> in the hearts of people like
this reviewer.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Akhtar Injeeli</span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-10317095926944476442014-02-18T13:32:00.002-08:002014-08-27T23:22:11.216-07:00Book Review: Faith Under Fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Faith Under Fire: A report on the second-class citizenship and intimidation of Christians in Pakistan</span></i></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Nasir Saeed</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright 2002 CLASS-UK</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Southall: CLASS UK, 2002</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">PP 54</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrbxIkdut2jeAJ29CNppqvIwHE_XdqnGdI4i95Jo-fWmknz5zmyQqaZ0w5QAfe7eTvjSeU4DW_4TM3JOUZlRmzBq1jStCZIGtYvwRFu01enW6rYzPKh9WMukQEFfu6azwavDqHhmAETGr/s1600/FUF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrbxIkdut2jeAJ29CNppqvIwHE_XdqnGdI4i95Jo-fWmknz5zmyQqaZ0w5QAfe7eTvjSeU4DW_4TM3JOUZlRmzBq1jStCZIGtYvwRFu01enW6rYzPKh9WMukQEFfu6azwavDqHhmAETGr/s1600/FUF.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><i>Faith
under Fire</i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> is a fifty-four page report presented as a desperate attempt
to draw the world’s attention to the plight of Pakistani Christians. It
consists of a short Glossary, a Forward, five chapters and three Appendices.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Having read and
reflected on the report many times over, I felt compelled to share my critique
and appreciation of this worthy service rendered to a hard-pressed people.
These are the people Nasir Saeed belongs to and these are the people I belong
to: the Christians of Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The section entitled
Glossary is a list of abbreviations and various other technical terms used in
connection with the subject matter. It is a useful resource, as most of the
abbreviations and non-English terms used in the report would be unfamiliar to
his Western readers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Forward John
Hayward, who himself has first-hand experience of Pakistan, after
commenting on the panoramic landscape of
constitutional law-enforcement and socio-cultural issues impinging on the
Christian community of Pakistan sums up his view as, ‘This is a thorough report
that provides a good basis for understanding the human rights situation and
attendant problems in Pakistan’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Preface, the
author outlines two reasons for Christian persecution in Pakistan. Firstly, the
laws enacted following the amendments made to the Constitution of 1973 have
dealt a serious blow to the minorities in Pakistan. ‘Most of these laws are
based on sectarian interpretations and distinguish between Muslims and
non-Muslims’. Secondly, is that of
Christians in Pakistan being considered as ‘foreigners’ by the fundamentalists. This mind-set leads to retaliatory
persecution of the Pakistani Christians if/when any Western country takes a
strong action against any Muslim country or individual. Saeed decries such
‘revenge’ for presumed responsibility based on mere commonality of religion, ‘<i>It seems that people and governments in the
West do not know the price Pakistani Christians are paying for Western
policies’.</i> (emphasis supplied). </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Chapter 1, entitled
‘Introduction’, comprises only of three short paragraphs commenting on one of
the most quoted passages of a speech by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding
father of Pakistan. On 11<sup>th</sup> August 1947, just three days before
Pakistan officially appeared on the world-map, the <i>Quid-e-Azam</i> (the Great Leader) stated:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">You are free to go to your temples,
you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this
state of Pakistan; you may belong to any religion or cast or creed. That has
nothing to do with the business of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The positioning of
chapter 2, Recommendations, is anomalous in my view. It would have been better
placed at the end of the discussion just before the appendices. I will postpone
my comments on its contents till that point in this review. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Having noted, right at
the beginning, the assurance and guarantees of religious freedom for all
citizens of Pakistan articulated by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Chapter 3: Legal
Context, logically follows discussing the issues of constitution, legal
systems, and penal codes based on the fair and far-sighted vision of the
founding father.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Chapter 4:
Findings/Issues, is the main body of Saeed’s work. In here the author exposes
the true nature of the Blasphemy law which is part of the Pakistan Penal
Code. It includes a brief chronology of
Blasphemy Laws:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">1860 –The original law
(Section 295) was introduced by the British Government and was aimed at
providing protection to places of worship of <i>all</i> classes of religions living in the subcontinent. It did not contain any discriminatory clause
against followers of any religion or of none.
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">1927 – The Section 295
was amended to include 295-A, which extended the law to include deliberate and
malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting
its religion or religious beliefs. These acts included malice expressed by
word, either spoken or written or by visible representations insulting or </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24.53px;">attempting</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of any class. The
law also stipulated punishment with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to ten years or with fine or with both.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">1982 – A further
amendment to the law (Section 295-B) was enacted under the Presidential
Ordinance 1. It read: defiling the copy of Holy Qur’an. Whoever </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24.53px;"><i>willfully</i></span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> defiles, damages or desecrates
a copy of the Holy Qur’an or of an extract therefrom or uses it in any
derogatory manner for any unlawful purpose shall be punishable with
imprisonment for life. (</span></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike the laws
of 1860, and 1927 which were inclusive of all religions this amendment related
to the holy book of only one religion, that of Muslim – reviewers note</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">).</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">1986 –A further
amendment was made to this law by the judgment of the Federal <i>Shariat </i>Court, through Criminal Law
(amended) Act III, making the death penalty mandatory on conviction for the
offence for desecrating the name of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). <i>Here for the first time religious
qualification was added to the Pakistan Penal Code, so that only a Muslim judge
may hear the case under this section (Section 295-C).</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Saeed rightly notes
that both amendments B and C seem to protect the </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24.53px;">embodiment</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> of faith of only
one community, the one in clear majority and constituting the ruling class, in
a multi-faith society. As these laws do not provide any protection to members
of other religions, they </span><i style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">are</i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">
discriminatory. According to the majority sect, Sunnis, in Pakistan, in
addition to Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, Ahmedis, Shias, Bahais,
Zakirs, Ismailies etc. are also non-Muslims. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Included in this
chapter are short discussions on other discriminatory laws like the <i>Hadood</i> Ordinance: Rape and Adultery, <i>Qanoon-e-shahadat:</i> Laws of witness and <i>Qasis-o-diyat</i>: blood money. The Section on Abuses against Minorities
highlights the dire situation regarding issues of religious freedom,
proselytization and forcible conversions.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Any interfaith marriage
is also a weighted issue, as from a Muslim perspective a Muslim man may marry a
Christian woman but not vice-a versa. This is an area ripe for all sorts of
social and legal problems.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Chapter
5 Responses to Human Rights Abuses,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a discussion of
‘responses’ by the Government of Pakistan, by fundamentalist groups, Pakistan’s
Human Rights NGOs and International Agencies and Governments. In short: the
Government of Pakistan has failed to react effectively to the issues, the
fundamentalist groups like <i>Jamat-e-Islami</i>,
<i>Sipah-e-Sihaba</i>, <i>Lashkar-e Taiba</i> etc., have provided confused responses stating on
the one hand that Islam provides full and equal rights to the followers of
other religions and simultaneously on the other clamouring for total
Islamization of the country in which only Islam should survive as the sole
religion. The local churches and church organizations have put up a brave front
of resistance both at grass roots level as well as national and international
level. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">In the chapter entitled
<i>Recommendations</i> (placed as chapter
no. 2) Saeed divides his recommendations into three categories, namely: those
pertaining to Legal Issues, those pertaining to Capacity building /
Institutional Strengthening, and the need for Further Research. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Regarding Legal issues,
the recommendations include at the very least an appropriate definition of
blasphemy and a proper procedural guideline for registration (of any cases)
under this law. Laws like <i>Hadood</i>
Ordinance against women, and death sentence against children should be abolished.
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The following, I feel
is one of the golden nuggets Saeed has put his finger upon: adequate training
is needed for the organizations trying to better the lot of the Christians;
priests need to be given awareness on such laws, incidents and situations and
support for work to be able to protect their communities from abuses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Appendix
1: Sources of information & Bibliography</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> is
self-explanatory. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Appendix
2: Case Examples,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a listing of actual, name-by-name, cases of people (who have either suffered greatly or died as a result of
misapplication of the laws under discussion) divided into thirteen different
categories.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">This tragic list
includes the following cases: police torture, cases desecration of churches,
false accusations, land disputes, forced labour, violence against domestic
servants, blasphemy, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Hadood</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">,
religious freedom, proselytization, abduction and forced conversions, abuses
against women and children and those relating to inter-faith marriages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The author presents
each case providing basic, essential information and reading each case has
caused me to stop many times and think of our/my unfortunate brothers and
sisters who have been targeted because of their faith and their low
socio-economic status.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Appendix
3</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">
is a compilation of reactions to the protest suicide of Dr John Joseph, the
Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad, on 5<sup>th</sup> May 1998. On this day the Bishop took his own life
using a revolver. Even though, through this act, he succeeded in drawing the
world’s attention to the ever deteriorating plight of Pakistani Christians, the
Pakistan authorities and some of her so-called intellectual elite refused to
acknowledge the fact let alone try to understand his frustration or offer a
sympathetic ear to his mourners. Some,
like Mr Kunwar Intizar Muhammad Khan, a senior lawyer, shamelessly went on to
claim that Dr Joseph had been assassinated by the Christians to intensify their
old driver (sic) against the blasphemy laws.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading through these
absolutely ludicrous reactions left me in a strange position where one has
neither the strength to cry nor the will to laugh. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Regrettably, the report
is not totally free of typographical errors and one case; 2.11.10 (p 48) Robina
James, has been mistakenly duplicated as 2.11.11 (p 49). I sincerely hope that
these minor details will be appropriately attended to in subsequent editions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Nasir
Saeed, a freelance journalist, a passionate human rights lobbyist, an ethnic
Pakistani and a Christian by religion, is fully qualified to write the above
reviewed report. To add authenticity and ensure the accurate portrayal of
ground realities the author in keeping with the true journalistic traditions,
made a special trip to Pakistan to double check and verify his facts and
figures before committing them to the public domain. I, as a member of the same community, deem it
a privilege to offer a critique of the work for my readers. I further hope that
it will be read by many more and sincerely hope that those in echelons of power
and domains of influence will take some notice of the facts presented in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted black 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Addendum</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">It is worth noting that
in Pakistan prior to 1986 only 14 cases pertaining to blasphemy were reported;
however between 1986 and 2010 an estimated number of 1, 274 people have been
charged under these laws. (Source Dawn.com). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">(URL:
<a href="http://dawn.com/news/750512/timeline-accused-under-the-blasphemy-law">http://dawn.com/news/750512/timeline-accused-under-the-blasphemy-law</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-12638259231521594082013-11-02T05:04:00.000-07:002014-09-07T13:50:18.926-07:00Book Review: The Little Hero<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i>The Little Hero</i><i> -</i><i> One Boy's Fight for Freedom </i></b><b>(Iqbal Masih's Story 1983 - 1995)</b><br />
<b>Andrew Crofts</b><br />
<b>Vision Paperbacks, London, 2006</b><br />
<b>ISBN: 13:978-1-904132-84-4</b><br />
<b>ISBN: 10:904132-84-7</b><br />
<b>PP 246</b><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>The following review has also appeared in </strong><strong><em>The Saawan International</em> m</strong><strong>agazine</strong><br />
<strong>(Sept. 2014 Vol. 26, No. 09, published from Lahore, Pakistan)</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioibyXpRlSqqD-cOWB3IsVy6Fbo6BcXiD2EHiNTM1-DryETgUM3SdM1uj7xybaaXi2RG7ndYwmeZpWVqgiFfoY2CzgTFcqZdus8dvu4kHgC8tdOtlQk-vqOvmyjbdUEUzc5pGMnhxLutS5/s1600/iqbal+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioibyXpRlSqqD-cOWB3IsVy6Fbo6BcXiD2EHiNTM1-DryETgUM3SdM1uj7xybaaXi2RG7ndYwmeZpWVqgiFfoY2CzgTFcqZdus8dvu4kHgC8tdOtlQk-vqOvmyjbdUEUzc5pGMnhxLutS5/s400/iqbal+001.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Few children in the
world have affected their nation’s conscience in the way Iqbal Masih, a little
Christian boy of Muridke ( a village near Gujranwala, the Punjab) was able to do
for Pakistan. His humble beginnings, undaunting courage and his extra-ordinary
oratorical skills provided him the opportunity to represent millions of
Pakistani Children in Europe and America. These very qualities also made him a
marked boy. To Europe and America he became a symbol of Pakistan’s poor
children who never have, let alone enjoy, their childhood. His steep rise from
abject poverty to the spotlight of western media and the centre stage of human
rights organizations made many highly successful ‘business men’ very nervous.
The question was not<i> if,</i> but <i>when</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> would these slave traders, money changers and thugs, masquerading as business
elite of Pakistan, get him.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">When they
finally did, he was only twelve years old. The deafening bang of assassin’s
shot-gun that ended our little hero’s life on April 16 1995 in the open fields
of the Punjab has not been able to end the mission for which he paid with his
blood.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Iqbal Masih, like
hundreds of thousands of other poor Pakistani Children started his working
life, as a slave (though no one in his community or country uses this term in
such contexts), at the tender age of four, weaving carpets which kept families
like his at bare survival level while making the likes of his masters richer
with each successful sale of craftsmanship highly sought after in the effluent
western countries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Through the story of
Iqbal Masih the world learned how costly in reality these <i>cheap </i>Pakistani (often sold in the west as Iranian) carpets were.
Unfortunately his legacy seems to be fading away fast in the glitter and glamour
of headline grabbing, politically expedient, fast moving media events. The
vacuum created by the role-model image of innocence and courage will
undoubtedly be filled by others. His
own people have neither had the courage, nor the conviction, to give this
modern day David the due which he rightfully deserves for challenging the
Goliaths of this age. And I, being one of his own people feel that pain, and
shame for the lack of decency exhibited by our leaders and intellectual elite
to secure a rightful place for this fallen hero in the pages of history. The
author of his story, Andrew Crofts (a ghost-writer), has thus rendered an
invaluable service to Pakistan, as a whole, in general and to the Pakistan’s
children, in particular by piecing together in a skilful narrative the story of
Iqbal Masih. His labour of love, I hope, will help the readers’ focus their
attention on the value of each of the millions of children employed in the
carpet making industry in countries like Pakistan. He has also preserved for
future generations a story which should not be forgotten, but instead should be
narrated over and over again to instil pride and courage in a people who have a
habit of forgetting their past giants in short-sighted attempts of chasing the looming shadows of their present dwarfs;
often claiming to be their leaders. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Iqbal came from a
typical village family, son of illiterate parents, Inayat Bibi and Saif Masih,
a manual farm-hand who, due to lack of livelihood, had started using
drugs.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Iqbal’s little sister, Sobya,
appears several times in the narrative and adds a dimension to his caring
nature. Whenever, Iqbal saw younger girls being mistreated he always thought of
Sobya. There are thousands of such Iqbals, with thousands of Sobya’s in
Pakistan working in unspeakable situations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Iqbal, on his
second attempt, successfully escaped from the clutches of his masters and
wanted to do something for the children in similar circumstances around
Pakistan. Someone in Lahore had been thinking on similar lines but in a much
more organized and pragmatic manner. Ehsan Khan, had during his studies at a
local university envisioned an organization for this purpose and had founded
Bonded Labour Liberation Federation (BLLF) in Lahore. It had its office and a
Freedom campus where children were kept safe, looked after and educated.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">While on the streets and scrounging for food
Iqbal had serendipitously encountered Ehsan Khan, who was addressing a rally
promoting freedom from bonded labour based on a bill the government had
recently passed; this meeting was to change the destinies of both. Iqbal found
shelter under the mentorship of Ehsan Khan and went to live, be educated by,
and work for BLLF in Lahore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">During his stay in
Lahore Iqbal learned to read and write, and to speak to people with radiance
and confidence that marked him out for greater things in the future. He also
picked up courage to articulate his convictions and participate in raids on
several illegal factories, carpet houses and brick kilns. He became instrumental
in encouraging hundreds of children to break free from the life of bonded
labour. It was little surprise then that his mentor Ehsan Khan took him to
Stockholm, Sweden, to represent and speak for these slaves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The invitation to
represent BLLF at the Stockholm meeting had its roots in an earlier event which
Ehsan Khan had attended in Vienna. It was here that while promoting the work of
BLLF, he had caught the eye of Doug Cahn form the Reebok Human Rights
Foundation based in America. This short encounter, followed by a along-drawn
correspondence between the two men eventuated in Iqbal Masih not only
attending, but also addressing the conference in Stockholm.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">This conference was organized by various
interested parties to raise awareness in Europe that slavery still exists.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Our Iqbal addressed the audience of several
thousands holding up the beating comb and the pen. He eloquently and
persuasively impressed the audience about where he believed the future of his
nation’s children lay.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">He thus did not
only win the Reebok Human Rights Award, which is awarded to young people who
have made substantial contributions to human rights in non-violent ways, but
also a scholarship to study at the Boston University. But above and beyond all
this he won the hearts of many who would always admire and love him. These
well-wishers arranged for him to visit America and address several school
assemblies to raise awareness of slavery which still exits in many parts of the
world under various guises and pseudonyms.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">He had also been promised in form of a scholarship a future to help
change all that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">That was the bright
future for which Iqbal now lived, a future which he did not live to experience.
While in Sweden he was examined by the doctors who, judging from his x-rays,
concluded that he was only eleven or twelve years old. This fact became a
crucial matter, when after his tragic assassination; the carpet mafia claimed
baselessly that he was a midget of nearly twenty years, whom Ehsan Khan had
cleverly used to his own ends.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Our little hero, Iqbal
Masih, was sent back-breaking labour in exchange for the money his half-brother
needed to get married. Unfortunately, loans acquired through such arrangements
and intended to be paid off by children’s labour, can never really be paid off.
Poverty, illiteracy, incompetency of law enforcing agencies i.e. the local
police, and fear of hired thugs to settle scores on every conceivable physical
level, create a socio-economic environment in which the carpet mafia and the
brick-kiln owners thrive by intimidation and use of brute force, denying even the most basic of human rights
to their workers, thus systematically robbing children of their childhood,
women of their honour, men of their dignity and successive generations of their chances of ever breaking free from
the shekels of slavery. Like the bricks they make, these slaves are treated as
nothing more than lumps of clay to be baked and used to pave the roads and be
trodden upon like the foot paths they make or like the carpets they weave.
Their skill and craftsmanship definitely brings wealth to their masters and
grace and comfort to the homes where their handicrafts finally end, but nothing
but misery, heartache, and even sudden death to them, the craftsmen; such are
the ground realities. Reading <i>The Little Hero </i>makes these ground
realities come to life and administer a ‘reality slap’ to the reader. A reality
slap that I hope will bring Iqbal Masih’s message to thousands more through
this masterly narrated saga of an extra-ordinary, not-to-be-forgotten boy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I am aware of the
baseless arguments and unsubstantiated claims that have been put forward to
discredit Iqbal Masih for his astounding accomplishments. Of course, the carpet
industry, the brick kilns owners and the manufacturers of cheaply produced high
quality sporting goods have had their businesses effected. These groups, with
vested interests have proved historically not only to be bad masters, but also
bad looser.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Instead of licking their
wounds and reflecting upon and being ashamed of their antics, after his tragic
death they have taken to every means at their disposal to rob him of his
legacy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">For me as a Pakistani,
I would always remember of two Iqbals in connection with Pakistan:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Firstly Dr Mohammad
Iqbal, the</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">revolutionary
poet-philosopher, who dreamed of a</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">free
homeland but did not live to breath in its freedom, and secondly Iqbal Masih
who dreamed of a brighter and fairer Pakistan with equal opportunities to all
its citizens, who unfortunately also like his name-sake did not live to see the
day.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-31362294292508951832013-05-06T02:00:00.000-07:002014-03-17T09:12:22.717-07:00Book Review: Blashphemy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The following book review has also appeared in<i> The Minorities' View (Humsookhan) </i>June 2013. </b><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">To read the on-line version of the publication click: <a href="http://www.theminoritiesview.org/">The Minorities' View</a></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirms7lFNTlzixso4HbJBFaokDTtbMjxvaz-5Lz5_pxe8m6tY3pt4APFEX9rp_h6_2kECVWGJxwvN67WLfahUlSmuIDovXdg1yMv1LwXBdQAFpmkulg26yIagi2IlbWElOf56CQV7sSsIq-/s1600/Blasphemy+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirms7lFNTlzixso4HbJBFaokDTtbMjxvaz-5Lz5_pxe8m6tY3pt4APFEX9rp_h6_2kECVWGJxwvN67WLfahUlSmuIDovXdg1yMv1LwXBdQAFpmkulg26yIagi2IlbWElOf56CQV7sSsIq-/s320/Blasphemy+-+Copy.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Voice"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Blasphemy</i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The true, heart breaking story of the woman sentenced to death over a cup of water</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Author: Asia Bibi </span>(with Anne-Isabelle Tollet)</b></div>
<b>London: </b><b>Virgo Press, </b><b>2012</b><br />
<b>ISBN 978-1-84408-888-1</b><br />
<b>Pages 137</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxyTdAlrbFxCsyw1vB-7egjz_ctT1d2uX9uhIz3I8OtfI2Jh3IRUcUJIQMQ6GNd5bH3-g6EZgzAJsLBv9rkmEPcVDWZJtFZmVH8gkxAFgqH66YqWUBWxRbmOY5LZK50bMVWYgX4vKzoyB/s1600/Tollet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxyTdAlrbFxCsyw1vB-7egjz_ctT1d2uX9uhIz3I8OtfI2Jh3IRUcUJIQMQ6GNd5bH3-g6EZgzAJsLBv9rkmEPcVDWZJtFZmVH8gkxAFgqH66YqWUBWxRbmOY5LZK50bMVWYgX4vKzoyB/s200/Tollet.jpg" height="163" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The pen"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="text-align: justify;"><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 27px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Blasphemy</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">is a twenty-first century tragedy containing all
the elements of a timeless classic. This powerful narrative is “the
voice” of an illiterate Pakistani Christian woman, Asia
Bibi, recorded (in the first person) by Anne-Isabelle Tollet, a French woman journalist,
who is “the pen”. The latter spent three
years, 2008 – 2011, in Pakistan listening bit-by-bit to Asia’s story through an
intermediary, without ever having the chance to meet the brave and innocent
heroine of this on-going saga. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The chain of events which sealed the fate of this mother of
five, and sent ripples of anger, disbelief and sympathy across the religious,
diplomatic and humanitarian world, started with a simple argument: <i>should a Christian woman be allowed to drink
water from a “Muslim” well</i>. The geographical context was a small village,
Ittan Wali, in Sheikhupura District of the Punjab (Pakistan) where Asia Bibi,
along with other village women, had been hand-picking falsa-berries in the
scorching heat of 45 degrees Centigrade. The date was 14 June 2009. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Aroused by the claims of a Muslim woman, that Asia Bibi had
insulted Prophet Muhammad while defending her right to drink water from the
source from which all other women were drinking, the local imam had gathered a
mob of enthusiasts the next day, who first physically beat Asia and then turned
her over to the police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">On 19 June 2009 Asia Bibi was thrown in a windowless prison-cell
to await her trial. “The trial” took
place on 8 November 2010 and the following verdict was pronounced by Judge
Naveed Iqbal <i>after full five minutes</i>
of deliberation:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><b>‘Asia Noreen Bibi, in
accordance with article 295c of the Pakistan penal code, the court sentences
you to death by hanging and a fine of three hundred thousand rupees.’ </b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Since then no appeal for the revision of the case, no plea for
mercy, neither any political intervention nor any prayer, even of the Pope
Benedict XVI himself has been able to change the fate of Asia Bibi. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">However, two of the most prominent politicians, both
belonging to the then ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have been
assassinated </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">publicly</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> for having shown their sympathies for her. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Salman Taseer, the governor of the Punjab,
the largest and the richest province of Pakistan, visited Asia and helped her
address a press conference, as a result </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">of which he was assassinated on 4 January</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">2011 by his very own body guard. Salman
Taseer knew only too well about being imprisoned as he himself had experienced
the prison treatment under the rule of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The second high profile figure to pay for his life was Shahbaz
Bhatti, the Minister for minorities and the only Christian Minister in the
federal government. He visited Asia in the prision and gave her hope by
promising to try his best to acquire presidential pardon, from Asif Ali
Zardari. The pardon could not be granted as the legal complexities of the
system dictate that the case first has to go all the way to the supreme court
of Pakistan, and a verdict handed, before the president can intervene. This
long winded process could take years but, for his intentions and the actions of
siding with Asia Bibi, Shahbaz Bhatti did not have to wait that long. On 2<sup>nd</sup> March 2011 he was
brutally gunned down in the capital city, Islamabad, on his was way to his
office. His funeral mass was held in the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, in
Islamabad. Asia Bibi’s husband, Ashiq Masih attended the funeral disguised as a
choir member.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This is the chronicle of
madness that prowls the land in
the guise of sacred law and religious devotion, two of the highest institutions
in civilized human society. The mockery and ridicule in addition to absolute
disgust such </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">behavior</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> brings to the nation is absolutely lost on stick
wielding, slogan shouting enthusiasts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The story, though tragic in every aspect has all the elements
of a classic; religion, utter human deprivation, courage, love, mob insanity
and above all hope; living hope against all conceivable odds. Hope that is the
greatest hallmark of all true followers of Jesus. The story even has the modern day equivalents
of royalty; powerful figures like Hillary Clinton, the secretary of State (USA),
Monsignor Anthony Rufin, Archbishop of Islamabad, Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir
Azad, the imam of <i>Badshahi</i> mosque, governors,
ministers and even the Pope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Blasphemy</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> highlights the plight of vulnerable
citizens of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
As a model of vulnerability, Asia Bibi fits the bill perfectly: she is vulnerable thrice over, she is an
illiterate woman, she is poor, and she is a Christian in a land where even many
Muslims cannot agree on who is a true Muslim. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The top government officials of Pakistan, including the
President and the prime minister, have always resorted to the rhetorical stance
that the misuse of blasphemy laws shall not be allowed and that the </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">government shall ensure</i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> that no one
takes the law into their own hand… Reading </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Blasphemy
</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">leaves one wondering which country they live in or think they govern. It
surely cannot be the Pakistan of the likes of Asia Bibi.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18px;">Asia Bibi’s story has appeared in the newspapers and magazines of Pakistan in bits and pieces and has been superseded by other events since. The publicity it has received through the social media, electronic media and television screens has highlighted the plight of the human rights situation in Pakistan, especially in the context of its religious minorities. However, surpassing all these information sharing channels the book captures the timeline, the human drama, and the enduring threat that exists to the religious minorities of this nuclearly-armed nation. It is fast moving in pace, heart moving in content and absolutely a brilliant piece of writing. </span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-85560242761900600632012-12-16T13:44:00.002-08:002013-03-17T13:36:21.152-07:00Book Review: A Concise History of Pakistani Christians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>The following book review has also appeared in<i> The Minorities' View (Humsookhan) </i>February 2013. </b><b>To read the on-line version of the publication click: <a href="http://www.theminoritiesview.org/TheMinoritiesView.aspx#">The Minorities' View</a> .</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.theminoritiesview.org/images/book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.theminoritiesview.org/images/book.jpg" width="186" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>A Concise History of Pakistani Christians</i></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="text-align: left;">Emmanuel Zafar</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Lahore: Humsookhan Publications, 2007</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>pp. 400</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Six decades and a bit,
is not a long time in the history of any nation but it certainly is a very long
time for a community that has suffered gradual and systematic marginalization
out of its rightful place of the socio-political arena of her own nation. The
roots of Christianity in the land that comprises Pakistan are older than both
the state of Pakistan and the ideology that underpins its existence. It is no
wonder then that the Pakistani Christians consider themselves and their history
as an integral part of the state of Pakistan and her history. It is unfortunate, however, that the
commitments, contributions, and the sacrifices of the Pakistani Christians to
their beloved homeland have been constantly ignored or downplayed at best, or
blatantly and/or ashamedly denied at worst by some so-called national leaders
and half-baked intellectuals. To put the record straight and preserve it for
posterity, Emmanuel Zafar’s present book, <i>A
Concise History of Pakistani Christians, </i>is a need fulfilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The gradual but
continual marginalization of the Christian community has bred problems which
have inadvertently become part and parcel of the never-ending crises in which
the nation finds itself. The process,
once started, has progressively engulfed the whole nation. Though this is not
the underlying theme of the book in consideration, I believe it serves as an
appropriate background to the national scene which has made its writing and
publication extremely essential. Unfortunately, it is <i>not</i> a timely book: it is a book that is overdue not by years but by
decades. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The author, Emmanuel
Zafar, a Christian lawyer, an internationally recognized journalist and a
veteran politician, has charted the drifting tides which have led Pakistan to
her present state of turmoil and intolerance. He has lived through the history of Pakistan and
this fact is well recognized in the blurb, that (the book) “also can be called
the autobiography or ‘memoirs of the author as well’ ”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;">One of the several
meritorious aspects of the book is that it is a fairly comprehensive collection
of significant Christians and their contributions in the various fields of
national life i.e. literature, politics, industry, military, judiciary,
education, medicine, nursing, music and arts among others. A few notable
omissions or near-omissions are regrettable. This is a matter of this
reviewer’s point of view and does not in any way mitigate the academic and
scholastic usefulness of the volume. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Starting from c. AD 40 when
St. Thomas is believed to have arrived in the subcontinent, the author has taken
into account many notable Christians bringing the reader to the present. This, in
itself, is a daunting task by any standard and is a remarkable accomplishment
among a people who seem to suffer from the intellectual malady of forgetting
their past heroes and showering praise on contemporary tyrants for acquiring
short-term favours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In my humble view, this
volume should be read and carried by every senior Pakistani politician as a quick
factual reference to the multi-faceted achievements and contributions to the
country by her largest religious minority. Had these facts been known to some high
profile political figures of yesteryears, they would have been spared the </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">embarrassment</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of statements which showed their ignorance and more than irritated
the Christian community. I believe that our leaders and national
representatives will do well to keep this book on their desks and refer to it
as needed or risk making statements which will expose their anti-Christian bias
and lack of historical knowledge. Silly statements have fast feet and long
lives and the modern media has an insatiable appetite for exposing the
ignorance of leaders. Hence this volume can save many from becoming the media’s
laughing stock.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I would also like to
submit that this information and research should be made part and parcel of the
education material available for the Pakistani masses so that the bigotry and
bias against the Christian community, by some of the uninformed members of the
Muslim majority communities, may be diminished and hopefully an enlightened
acceptance of indigenous Christians may instead prevail. The dark clouds of suspicion and mistrust can
only be cleared by the light of information and knowledge such as the one Zafar
has provided in this volume.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Generally speaking
Pakistani historians, including the few notable Christians, have covered the
same ground over and over again. Zafar’s
work is unique in that he has recorded many unknown or very little-known
personalities and has thus filled some significant gaps in a community’s profile.
This makes the present work both a historical record as well as an almanac. It
goes beyond merely recording history: it documents the lives of those who would
generally have been bypassed by the usual historians and lost in the boundless
ocean of national amnesia. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The indigenous Christians
of Pakistan proudly identify with their homeland and, over the decades, have
defended it along with their Muslim countrymen. Jinnah’s Pakistan was to be
“The Republic of Pakistan”, a secular state based on the lofty values of
equality and justice, where people of <i>all
</i>religions would be able to freely practise their religion. This does not
seem to be a picture of the present day Pakistan. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The book, though
well-researched, unfortunately has some typographical and editorial errors, as
acknowledged in the preface. They do not necessarily dampen the scholastic value
of the work but do impact considerably on the pleasure of reading. With the
author, I hope that in the future editions these issues will be resolved. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Christian institutions
of learning have helped educate the leadership elite of Pakistan, and Christian
military heroes have defended her borders with exemplary courage and blood. The
record of all this and more is the content of the pages of <i>A Concise History of Pakistani Christians. </i>Overall, I am pleased to
recommend this book to anyone who cares to know, not what Pakistan has done for
her Christian community <i>but what her Christian
community has done for Pakistan</i>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Akhtar Injeeli</i></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-25282364476812890252012-06-16T15:42:00.003-07:002013-03-22T08:45:50.189-07:00Book Review: The Spiders of Allah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>The following book review was first published in CSIOF (Centre for the study of Islam and other faiths) Bulletin No. 4. (2011), Melbourne School of Theology Press, Australia. ISBN: 978-0-9870793-1-2. To read more about CSIOF please click: </b><a href="http://www.mst.edu.au/faqs/csiof#28"><b><span style="color: #990000;">CSIOF</span></b></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMRJCO490XDnU_r2Lfns2guZ5TisIXnGmHN9DQbR_kAkZfO0saJA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMRJCO490XDnU_r2Lfns2guZ5TisIXnGmHN9DQbR_kAkZfO0saJA" /></a><b style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The Spiders of Allah - Travels
of an unbeliever on the frontline of holy war</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>James Hider</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>London: </b><b>Transworld Publishers, </b><o:p></o:p></span><b style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">2009</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>ISBN: 13: 978-0312-56585-5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>ISBN: 10:0-56585-2 </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>pp. 396</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Spiders of
Allah</b></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is a journalist’s overview of firsthand experience of war in Iraq,
officially known (to Americans) as Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, it is not just traditional news
reporting but an intricate mix of experiencing, analysing, theorizing,
reporting, futurrizing, and philosophising on the complex situation that exists
in the region in general and in Iraq in particular. The author’s view of god
(sic) and greed as important factors in this situation runs thread-like linking
the chapters. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The book opens with a psychological analysis of the immense power gained
by terrorists using Hollywood’s marketing strategies. The former have done so much better than the
latter. Both need and use limitless
human imagination and a story in their productions. And it seems both are going to stay in
business too for long. The terrorist block buster was 9/11, and since then many
other low budget sequels have followed, e.g. <i><b>See
Infidel Die a Horrible Death Parts I, II, and III</b></i> posted on the Internet.
In true journalistic tradition, he reports in graphic detail the blood and
gore, the fear, intrigues, madness (based both on divine scriptures, and human
despair of some, and on delusions of grandiosity of others). Leading up to the
war were scriptural beliefs of the literalists, and myths surrounding people like
Saddam Hussein believed by many to be immortal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Iraq is the birthplace of civilizations, myths and religions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Analyzing the events of the invasion by the West, the author argues that
by the disintegration of Saddam’s rule, the people were given too much freedom
too soon, resulting in serious socio-politico-religious problems. Liberty and democracy were not issues to be
fired about, in areas where scurvy and dysentery were the principal concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">On the other side, George Bush believed God was instructing him to
attack. Hider subscribes to the theory that the reason for the Iraq invasion
was oil to lubricate the global economy. But he also believes that the American
planners hugely underestimated the task of conquering Iraq. They thought it
would be like tying a Gordian knot, but it was more like performing brain
surgery. America ignored the lessons from <i>Histories
</i>of Herodotus and had forgotten her own history; and had not shown enough
appreciation of the long and rich history, culture and religion(s) of the
region. Hence the mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The title of the book comes from the myths that evolved during the war. Pictures
on the walls of the mosques of Fallujah declared, “Miracle of God in Fallujah”.
Many Iraqis believed that Allah was on their side and somehow miraculously
would bring the infidels to defeat and shame. Hence the stories circulated that
the bodies of the dead Muslims did not putrefy but gave out a sweet musk smell.
Also, that there were ferocious camel spiders that attacked the invading
infidels and killed them. Gross
exaggerations about these creatures were popularized. However, the truth about them
was much less exciting. While obviously dismissing such claims as untrue, Hider
also raises questions about the truth of the biblical account of Gaderene swine
jumping en masse into the Sea of Galilee, dismissing these and other biblical accounts
as myths as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Hider also makes some interesting observations of the ridiculous extremes
to which some Muslim fanatics went in this very chaotic time. In some areas the tomatoes and cucumbers
could not be displayed together for sale, as the former could remind the buyer
of female breasts and later of male organ. And the bananas could only be sold
in plastic bags to avoid offence. According to another reports goats were to
wear underpants, to avoid being a source of sexual arousal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Hider is no friend of any religion. To him mainstream religion is the
mild opiate while the fanatical fundamentalism is the distilled crack cocaine
of the same stuff. “The message on the tablets was valium.” Neither is he a respecter
of lands. He makes sweeping observations of the human landscapes and notes
that. “The craziness of Middle Eastern crackpots often seems to resonate with
our own homegrown variety.” (p. 324). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">After masterfully leading the reader through the time-</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">space-being
tapestry of Iraq, he then looks at other important issues of the region: the
Israel/Palestinian issue. Who are the Palestinians? The 1.4 million people whose homeland bears
several rag tag descriptions have on one of their hill this notice, “World’s
largest prison camp”. Hider subscribes to the theory that they are actually the </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">descendants</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of the Jews that were left in Palestine at Diaspora, and over the
hundreds of years have lost their Jewish identity. He cites some interesting studies based on
DNA analyses to support this theory.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The book is a clever mix of history, event-analysis, and news reporting
propagating secular atheism. If the reader can stomach this hard peddling of
atheism, the book is an interesting and a fair account of Iraq’s war.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 27px;"><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27px;"><i>Akhtar Injeeli</i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-15439029989180541882012-04-15T15:49:00.001-07:002014-04-07T10:50:31.438-07:00Book Review: The Duel: Pakistan on the flight path of American power<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The following Review was first published in <i>CIS, The Messenger</i>, Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, London School of Theology (UK), </b></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Summer 2010. To read more about CIS, please click:</b><span style="color: #990000;"><b> </b><a href="http://www.lst.ac.uk/cis/centre-for-islamic-studies"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>CIS, London School of Theology</b></span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq68xT6PQchMESiphhoVAN0ZfVBj9SLlpNlv-i-w6L1HJqq6aZmTMGKjuE-c_MfLDRoBbYiJRCfbAd9Vvb_eV4PO39GWZC6vJIOc3mubm84ZJ_iga9rLafGq0WmGh7A8ODEFLqtKRFWg6/s1600/The+Duel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq68xT6PQchMESiphhoVAN0ZfVBj9SLlpNlv-i-w6L1HJqq6aZmTMGKjuE-c_MfLDRoBbYiJRCfbAd9Vvb_eV4PO39GWZC6vJIOc3mubm84ZJ_iga9rLafGq0WmGh7A8ODEFLqtKRFWg6/s1600/The+Duel.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Duel: Pakistan on the flight path of American power</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tariq Ali</b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">London: </b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Simon & Schuster, 2008</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">ISBN 987-1-84739-374-6, </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> pp 315 </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The Duel is an overview of Pakistan's history and socio-economic landscape with special emphasis on her relation to, and dependence on, the USA. Ali gradually leads the reader through the complexities of Pakistan's recent history (a country which has been spiraling into chaos), signposting these with thoughts which most writers of Pakistani origin do not acknowledge in writing (e.g. '...and one often hears a surprising collection of people who now feel the state should never have been founded' and that, 'Jinnah founded a state but nation building has never taken place'). He does not shy away from pointing out that 'Corruption envelops Pakistan as a sheet of water' and passionately articulates the atrocities of her military rulers and the unbridled greed of her political elite. His candid and ruthlessly honest analysis of Pakistan's situation is a breath of fresh air for those of us who have always been given a rosy view of the history of Pakistan by the writers of Pakistani origin. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">His own role in the events of East Pakistan's break from her Western twin explains his deep insights into the history and historicity of Pakistan and gives the book a flavor of an activist insider's view, as opposed to that of a research scholar's reliance on secondhand accounts. The gross injustices suffered by the Bengalis at the hands of the West Pakistanis, put into perspective, are enough to shame any personality or institution of Pakistan, including her army.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Z.A. Bhutto, then the Minister of Commerce, had advised General Ayub Khan, the military ruler of Pakistan, to engage in the unwinnable war of 1971 to weaken the army's morale and hence her power to interfere in the governance of the country. Benazir Bhutto harbored similar thoughts. This ties in with Ali's theory that the USA and the Pakistan army are majority shareholders in what he calls Pakistan plc. The stronger the support one enjoys from the USA and the weaker one can keep the army, the better the chances of him ruling the country. It is the thinking along these lines that leads Ali to label Benazir Bhutto 'Daughter of the West', groomed by America to enter into a political wedlock of power sharing with General Musharraf. The assassination of Benazir meant the failure of this plan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">However, Ali's main thesis is that the present situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the sum total of (mis)handling of Pakistan by Washington. He points out that Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had tried to rent out his Karachi residence to the American Embassy and failed, but since then the successive rulers of Pakistan have succeeded in renting out the entire country to the USA. The Drone attacks, killing hundreds of civilians in Pakistan's northern territories, are launched from bases given to the American army within Pakistan. Generals Ayub Khan, Yahiya Khan, Zia Ul Haqq and Pervez Musharraf, all military dictators, maintained their grip on power because they served the American imperialist interests. The founders of Al Qaeda were nurtured by the USA in the Middle East before being sent to Afghanistan to fight the 'godless communists'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">After the defeat and retreat of the Russians, Afghanistan was left flooded with directionless hardcore Islamic militants who found their own direction. In response, the think-tanks in America somersaulted themselves into new positions to fall into line with America's own imperial needs. However, due to the ground realities this was an act that could not easily be followed by her allies who, like Pakistan, were geographically, and in many other ways, very close to Afghanistan. Hence the present mess. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Ali concludes that Pakistan (and its nuclear weapons) being overtaken by the Islamic fundamentalist Jihadists is not an imminent threat, but he argues that if American and British interference in the country continues, it might become a self fulfilling prediction. He proposes that the problems of Pakistan and Afghanistan should be solved by finding a regional solution. However, what that solution could possibly be is not detailed. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Akhtar Injeeli</i></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209293914798218398.post-34846324606637196012010-06-04T15:11:00.000-07:002013-01-22T13:29:39.860-08:00Book Review: The God Delusion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The following Review was first published in <i>Centre for Islamic Studies Newsletter</i>, London School of Theology (UK), No 16. Autumn 2006. </b><b>It was re-published in <i>CSIOF Bulletin 2008, </i>Issue NO.1. November 2008<i>,</i> Bible College of Victoria (Australia), ISSN 1836-3490. </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzRvc0fm33OHbcPzTF2Qutihq1NwIQuyvFZK-yeFrTk32nXce8ua6UzmxgQu5N3S4O42mIToLNMV6Yta1jmY4xyDgQLZdSvRVbny4_yElhj5f_nl02A5jfmoD4BT-k4E-eZ2rIXQnMBnl/s1600/God+Delusion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzRvc0fm33OHbcPzTF2Qutihq1NwIQuyvFZK-yeFrTk32nXce8ua6UzmxgQu5N3S4O42mIToLNMV6Yta1jmY4xyDgQLZdSvRVbny4_yElhj5f_nl02A5jfmoD4BT-k4E-eZ2rIXQnMBnl/s320/God+Delusion.jpg" width="204" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The God Delusion </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Richard Dawkins</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bantam Press, 2006</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ISBN:0593055489, pp </b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;">406</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The God Delusion</i> is a thought-provoking and passionate book. It challenges the GOD-concept polemically, labeling it a delusion. It is propaganda of an idealistic brand of atheism based on Darwin's theory of evolution. The force and certitude with which Dawkins holds on to his arguments fits the definitions of a delusion: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>a false belief that is firmly maintained in spite of incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary and in spite of the fact that other members of the culture do not share the belief</i>.*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Darwinian theory of evolution, published in the latter part of the nineteenth century, challenged the divine creation, presenting an alternative explanation of the diversity of living things. However, it did not offer any explanation of the origin of matter, life or consciousness. It only proposed a possible route of diversification of living thing once life had come into existence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dawkins' argument about the non-existence of God is a statement of his own dissatisfaction with the way the followers of religion have behaved through the centuries. His basic assumption is as follows: many people claiming faith in the existence of a good God over the centuries have behaved badly; therefore, there can be no such God. This line of thinking is logically flawed. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He invites his readers to a higher level of consciousness (denying any being higher than human beings) which will eventually solve all the problems of the world. He wants his readers to imagine, along with John Lennon, a world without religion, a would in which people would have no possessions, yet, but would be "sharing all the way". </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dawkins carefully chooses the weak and easily refutable "Proofs of God's existence", and then pulls them apart. He uses illustrations from a website which are not only illogical but down right laughable. He rightly admits that God's existence can not be conclusively disproved. But her hen immediately appeals to probability, and concludes, that God's existence is highly improbable... hence he does not exist...hence even the concept of his existence is a delusion. this is not scientific, reasoning. (The origin of life from totally inorganic matter is highly improbable... hence life could not have originated...hence life does not exist...The concept of life's existence is a delusion. The parallel is clear).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Regrettably, Dawkins' work is not based on logical reasoning; neither does he make an honest attempt at distinguishing the dross</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">of degenerate religious thought and practice, from the gold of serious philosophical religious thinking. His cry that the atheists are mistrusted and hated by the people brainwashed by religion, like in America, is a separate diagnosis: it is a phobia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Short of accepting the existence of an intelligent creator GOD, we are left with only one alternative: the divinity of nothingness. Essentially, that in the beginning there was <i>Nothing</i> in a void of <i>Nothingness</i>, then this <i>Nothing</i> exploded giving rise to matter/energy, then with the intervention of still <i>Nothing</i> this matter gave rise to life ... and finally consciousness...If anyone can believe that, then who can hold a candle to him? The blind don't need light, but sight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Akhtar Injeeli</i></span></div>
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* W.B. Saunders, <i>Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary</i> (28th Edition), Philadelphia 1988, 438.</div>
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