Echoes from the heart

My moments of silence your moments of passion

living it in your name..

My darkness my solitude your presence my fortitude

after all, love is but a game..

The endless fervor the heart so desires

makes you go insane..

I feel my heart but feel your pain

if only, loving you was the same!

Justice

                                   (Photo courtesy of People's Weekly World)

History was made ten years ago when thousands of innocent people including Muslims, were killed due to terrorist attacks. And then came the statement of Al-Qaeda, headed by Bin Laden, claiming to be Muslims (but definitely not Muslims) and taking full responsibility for such a cruelty. And then the entire world forgot that the people who were killed during those attacks also included Muslims! Since then Muslims have suffered harrassment on daily basis and crimes of hate all over the world. And that one statement reverberates today and continues to haunt Muslims every single day.

Today Bin Laden was finally killed and a statement was made,

"we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims! Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own..." (President Obama)

 And now the question is, will this statement be remembered for years?

To date Muslims all over the world are suffering, in other countries being labelled as terrorists and in their own countries by militants. Now, will the Muslims finally be respected? Or will they continue to be harrassed and tortured as more Fundamentalists and fanatics will try to avenge this killing of Laden and thus the viscious cycle continues.

Can we as Muslims ever hope for peace and justice? So I ask, have we made history or is this history in making?            

Ban the Veil and What's Next..Ban Free Will?

France ban on religious symbols and apparel in schools took effect September 2nd '2004 and in continuum on burqa/veil on April 11th '2011. "The veils imprison women and contradict this secular nation's values of dignity and equality."  (President Sarkozy)

Is veil in regards to covering of face, Islamic? There is no mention of 'covering of face' in the Quran, it is not a religious requirement rather more of a cultural evolution.

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to.." (Quran: Surah An Nur 24:30-31)

Head covering however is not only Islamic but also a part of Christianity and Judaism.

"And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head." (New Testament: St Paul; I Corinthians 11:3-10)

In the Jewish culture, veil is also considered part of the woman’s modesty. It has been written many times that it was a custom of Jewish women to cover their head in public, sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free.  

"It is not like the daughters of Israel to walk out with heads uncovered" and "Cursed be the man who lets the hair of his wife be seen....a woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment brings poverty." (The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature: Rabbi Dr. Menachem Brayer)

"Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's hair is considered nudity". (Swidler, cit.121-123)

And nowadays in the Jewish culture, the traditional veil is replaced with a wig as another form of hair covering.

Up until the 1960ies head covering veil was considered normal in the west as well. To date the catholic nuns cover their heads and not look any different from a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Veil is supposed to give modesty and hence protection, which few of us continue to endorse despite the external pressures of the current society.

However the issue is not whether veil is Islamic as being currently debated in the media, rather whether the ban on veil is just?  It is a ban on human rights and violation of equality in the name of secularism. Quoting President Sarkozy 'secular nation's values', what are these values may I ask? How is wearing a burqa/veil not dignified? Is baring a woman the new definition of dignity? And how is forcing someone not to wear veil any different than forcing someone to wear it? Is that equality or justice or secularism as the French so claims?! Or simply suppression!

In this day and age, one would think that it is the innate right of a human being in a civilized nation to practice religion or culture in the way they desire without fear of being persecuted. To cover your face or not is a personal preference and it should not make a country insecure. The French ban is a perfect example of pure fundamentalist extreme. What happened to free will? The French ban proves there is no freedom in France. What happened to standing against tyranny? Are we to sit still and continue to watch the prelude to the twenty first century holocaust? After all history does repeat itself!

   Photo courtesy of 'Real Freedom means being able to wear a veil' by Daniel Finkelstein

Speak

If they snatch my ink and pen,

I should not complain,

For I have dipped my fingers

In the blood of my heart.

I should not complain

Even if they seal my tongue,

For every ring of my chain

Is a tongue ready to speak.

Faiz Ahamd Faiz

translated by Azfar Hussain

Indeed it is a time of great sorrow for Pakistan, not because Salman Taseer was gunned down... but more so because insane people are killing in the name of religion... Islam.. the most peacful religion there is to be.. has been turned into the most feared of all. One word out of your mouth 'Muslim' or 'Islam' and there is only one word that comes to mind of any being nowadays.. 'terrorists'.. And believe it or not we are all letting this happen to us because we are getting scared to raise our voice... the voice of reason, justice, and of sanity. I ask one question, hasn't Pakistan seen enough wars and atrocities to merge into one nation to fight the wrong?!

Since 1947, Pakistan has been going through a turmoil but time and again we have proven that we can still make a difference in this country. Salman Taseer, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Benazir Bhutto and many others gave up their life in exile or in person fighting for a cause.. they were not afraid! Salman Taseer's last tweeted words "My resolve is so strong that I do not fear the flames from without, I fear only the radiance of the flowers, that it might burn my garden down" (Shakeel Badayuni).

The brutal murder of Salman Taseer is an act of cowardness and treachery. It shows that for certain group of people there is no reason rather just pure fanatisim, they are living in lie, dishonesty and misery.. how else can you justify killing another being?! We should pity such individuals and groups yet not give up to their aberration. Lets not be bogged down by this incident.. let this be an awakening call for all of us or atleast for the edcuated people or those with a heart and soul. Its time to raise your voice against tyranny as that is the right thing to do and lets do it when we have time, for it is time NOW!!!

Speak

(Faiz Ahmad Faiz)

Translated by Azfar Hussain

Speak, your lips are free.

Speak, it is your own tongue.

Speak, it is your own body.

Speak, your life is still yours.

See how in the blacksmith's shop

The flame burns wild, the iron glows red;

The locks open their jaws,

And every chain begins to break.

Speak, this brief hour is long enough

Before the death of body and tongue:

Speak, 'cause the truth is not dead yet,

Speak, speak, whatever you must speak.

Love, Trust, Life

Girl before a Mirror (Pablo Picasso 1932) at MOMA, NY

Love.. an unspoken trust.. you can't live without

a feeling so surreal.. you will lose your own being in it

an overwhelming temptation..  you will fight the world for it

and a pain so strong.. you wish it will kill you yet never end..

Trust.. a belief that gives you the purpose for life

a crime wave of epic proportions
Oblivious of the masochism.. you submit to it
but only to relinquish your soul.. forever..

Life.. an ever lasting voyage of hopes and despair
of mesmerizing dreams which enliven your soul
of love and trust which keeps you afloat..
close your eyes as only so much this soul can endure!