Islam in America...who thinks what?

I don't normally find myself talking about 'real world' issues in this blog at all. There is more dreamy, abstract, poetry/prosy stuff or words that I just need to siphon from my mind to make room for more. However, there was an article showing up all over my twitter feed and email so I went ahead and read it. And got just a little upset. And angry. And confused.

To quote the article, "A Washington Post/ABC News poll taken in October 2001 found that 39 percent of Americans held unfavorable opinions of Islam. After dipping for a few years, the number rose to 46 percent in 2006 and reached 49 percent—basically half the population—in 2010, the last year the question was asked. (Other recent polls show similar results.)"

 And from another part of it:
“A mistrust of American Muslims by other Americans seems misplaced,” it concluded. This year, an analysis by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security also described the number of American Muslims involved in domestic terrorism since 2001 as “tiny.” “This study’s findings challenge Americans to be vigilant against the threat of homegrown terrorism while maintaining a responsible sense of proportion,” it said. And a 2011 Gallup survey found that American Muslims were the least likely of any major US religious group to consider attacks on civilians justified."

Yet, apparently, sizing up every man with a beard and a topi, and every woman with hijab as a potential terrorist or 'terrorist sympathizer' is quite common. To the extent that people consider Islam synonymous with violence and extremism; they consider Islam an abnormality, despite so many Muslims leading perfectly normal lives around them. Of course, the article does say that, according to a study, 62% of Americans have never met a Muslim, and this increases their hostility with Muslims in general; people who personally knew Muslims were less likely to think of them as part of a wholly 'evil' entity.

The article also talks about how, when a TV show called All-American Muslim was aired that showed 'normal' Muslim families living in the West, it was boycotted by some influential people with the notion:
“The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.”

Yes, that makes perfect sense. Because you should definitely JUDGE an entire community of people by the few troublemakers, not the 'ordinary folks', because Muslims clearly cannot live ordinary lives. They must have hidden motives that are all posed to destroying peace and freedom and whatever else the country stands for that they are living in. Do you ever blame the entire religious community when a person of that faith murders someone, and say this is because all people who follow the same religious beliefs must be potential murderers too? Which religion in the world promotes murder and terror over love and peace?! I don't know of any.


The article ends on a hopeful note, but I can't help feeling sick to my stomach. It seems like newspapers and televisions and easy streams of information like Facebook and Twitter have started limiting people's visions a lot. They consume tidbits of information non-stop throughout the day and don't even bother to go out and gain some knowledge themselves. Is it right to blindly believe what the media tells you without questioning it at all? Without considering that one could learn a bit about the issue themselves to figure out what the truth is and what isn't? I am just..surprised...how some people lap it all up without getting a dent in their conscience. Maybe try finding out even a tiny bit what Islam actually is? Or is it easier to just hop onto the hate-wagon because people are telling you that there is only hatred here, no compassion or sincerity? Easier than trying to reach out to people instead of constantly alienating them based on sheer ignorance.

I follow many bloggers who are not Muslims, many based in America. I have never felt the slightest bit uncomfortable interacting with any of them. I want to ask them, is this how it really is over there? Do they know any Muslims? Do they have any idea what Islam is actually about?


The article: Fear and Loathing of Islam

'Baita, ap nay ab agay kya karna hai?'

It amuses me to no end when I am constantly asked the same question by different people in all sorts of ways. Apparently one of the most pressing of questions one can ask another they have not met in some time is: 'So what are you doing these days?' For someone who has recently finished off a portion of their education that was a 4-year degree pulled into nearly 5 years somehow with no vacation of any sort in it (2 weeks semester break doesn't count if you are a science major giving practical exams during it), well, let's just say I didn't end this in as chuffed a state of mind as I should have. Oh of course I was pleased to be over with it, without a doubt, but not pleased with what I had earned, and not glad about the perfectly horrible final year I had to endure with the constant mantra pounding in my head: "Please just let this be over, then everything will be alright."

I converted within quite a short time period into the complete opposite of the knowledge-loving, career-oriented, misery-cheerful freak that I once was. 18 months have passed since I first began to strike down ideas of pursuing those 'dreams' that were once the only things that would occupy my mind when I thought of the future. When I thought of me. A year and a half. Something I decided alone, something that became the main defining factor of who I was starting to turn into.

Now, I know who I am much more than I ever did while plodding through semester after semester and exam after exam requiring mindless recall of facts dictated by a Ph.D with no sense of how to teach a course. The college experience, the gaining of knowledge, the good impact any reputed educational institute can have on a person - I am grateful for all that. Thus, it annoys me quite a bit when I am questioned about the faida of my degree. 'What is the faida of it, what is the faida if you have not applied for further studies, what is the faida if you are just staying at home?'

Excuse me a moment while I pause to scream.

Oh, such sentiments warm my very heart, the open display of ignorance and senselessness by people one may expect it from, and people one could never expect such statements from. They cannot apparently understand something that is not within the confines of 'ordinary expected behavior'. The slightest unusual sounding thing outside of their circular ways of existence, and they will puff themselves up, ruffle their feathers and come at you to attack as if you had caused them personal offense. How can you explain the faida of anything to people who can only accept what they believe in to be right? At times I feel like I can be near the bottom of some deep pit of despair, when I turn my mind to those who do not see what they should see and do not think what they should think.

Everything we do, every little action, every tiny little thought that crosses our minds, it has weight and impact. It means something. It is neatly recorded and categorized. I am no longer naive enough to believe that people do anything at all without purpose. I have become harder as a person; I've been jealously guarding every negative emotion of mine for months, withholding sadness and misery, not sharing with anyone any sort of problem that belongs to me. Prying questions unsettle me, perhaps more than they should. But I know what to do with what I have.



Glossary
baita - child, son
faida - purpose
ap nay ab agay kya karna hai? - what are you planning on further doing?

my outlook on politics

I cannot help being an optimist. One day I’m down in the dumps and the next day I’m bouncing like Tigger =P Suddenly, everything that I was worrying about has drifted away like a wispy cloud and faded away into memory. I feel as if I had only been under some delusion before and none of that is true or matters very much. It was hallucination on my part, and everything in the world is alright. =)

What's the point of thinking otherwise? You might as well be short-sighted and happy, then be scrutinizing and morbid. Haha..either you mask the delusion, or you let it empower you - I'd like to see which happens next!

With elections just around the corner, there's no telling what will happen to the situation in Pakistan. One wonders whether things will improve or only get worse after Feb. 18th. I think most of Pakistan is united on one front at least: no Q's this time. We need people who'll mind their p's and q's...(pun intended) - I beg your pardon, that was a very pathetic pun indeed =D
Anyway, as I was saying, Pakistan is sorely in need of new blood on the political front. Who wants to elect ppl who've already shown us what brilliant people they were? One of them is permanently out of the picture now, but her followers want vengeance and any one of them could prove just as bad, if not worse. Of course, her juvenile son is totally under the spotlight at the moment, with girls swooning over him left, right and center. Two days after her death, and I was already sick of the endless talk, and about hearing girls exclaim excitedly over the good-looking teenage hunk who was handed down an entire political party as part of his inheritance.
Then we've got the formidable (not!) lions of lahore on the other front - just as unsuccessful in their twice stint and possibly just as corrupt.
Add the so-called religious moulvis into the equation and you've got one big nasty unsolvable problem. Their sincerity is as unreal as the number i, and twice as annoying to deal with. (I think that's enough, my math analogies are becoming increasingly slap-on-the-forehead material =P)

The fact remains, that for us 18 and 19 year olds who would be able to vote for the first time next month, the situation is not only bleak, but highly disillusional. We wanted to vote for Imran Khan, no matter how few chances he had of winning, (we could have changed that after all), but his decision to boycott the elections means that we are now going to sit on top of our votes and not use our new-found right. Perhaps next time - if I'm still in this country by then.

social rant

Perhaps that is the beauty of mankind. The beauty of believing in what does not exist.

Typing while wearing gloves is a very tiring business indeed. But it does feel good, especially when one gets used to it. The only real problem is with the spacebar; I seem to press it at wrong intervals much more frequently.

There’s gas load shedding this year too. Like our government has been advertising on TV how they’ve set up this many new electricity and gas connections in rural areas; they’ve apparently exceeded they’re capacity, and now we’re forever short of it. The real thing is, I’m sure many villages were happier without electricity. Now the govt. first got them used to having it, and when we realize there isn’t enough to go around, you proceed with daily load shedding, with different intervals for different localities. And in summer, too. And the rurals are hit the worst. They’ve been going without electricity for 8-10 hours daily. Wasn’t it better to not give it to them in the first place if you’re just going to as good as take it back? I’m sure they deserve it just as much, but when you don’t have enough butter, spreading it thinner on more bread just doesn’t suffice. Gas, though, is something they really should be provided with. It’s a better alternative to coal (which causes pollution) and firewood (which leads to unchecked deforestation), and coz it’s really cold in winter! I don’t mind gas load shedding as much (as long as mom has cooked already) because that way I know poorer ppl might be getting the benefit of it. And there’s nobody who can feel the cold more than I can! (It’s this winter, actually, that’s killing me!).

I just shut off the heater.
It’s because I know that I’ve got so much that they haven’t. I’ve got fleece, and gloves. I’m in a strong, enclosed house with not a whisper of a draught from anywhere. I sit in my warm car, travel the 45 minutes to college in complete luxury and get off right in front of the gate. I don’t work all day or engage in hard labor of any sort. I’ve got enough food to eat. And I’m young and full of life…but whoever said ppl of the villages are tired of their life and existence? I think I kinda got confused in the middle. I started at one point and then went off tangent. Regardless! Im sure I can live through the cold…at home at least – it’s freezing in college and I’ve got reason to complain there!
But then, on to another point. A lot of poor ppl don’t have enough sense as well. Another fact. You’d think that with luxuries hard to come by, they’d be a bit more frugal, a bit more careful of resources and needs. But no! My own cleaning woman’s family tells of how they leave their water running and it doesn’t matter a bit. In fact, she went as far as to say that ‘jinne pani naal tusi kapre dhonde ho, onne de naal saada aik bacha mun dhunda hai’ *hmph* what can you do with people like that? There’s no knocking some sense into them. They don’t WANT to get educated. Some organizations have gone as far as paying kids for coming to school, and yet their parents still think it’s a waste; ‘what will they do with this education, how will it help them become better ppl or better earners, when they could be spending this time helping us out and contributing to the daily earnings for our 10-12-person-family’s bread?’
Yes, that is what they say. That is what they think.
The best invention, according to my cleaning woman’s family, is cable TV. They work in the morning, getting everything done as quickly as possible, so they can get home and watch movies. And then back to work the next day, cleaning up somebody else’s mess in somebody else’s house. Not just one house, though. They’ve all got to work at 2 or 3 to make ends meet. And their only occupation on getting home is to do their own chores around the house, or, the blissful television. For them, life is perfect. They do not want to increase their level of existence, their ‘quality of life’. That does not just mean to be rich and successful and equipped with the latest gadgets and a junkyard’s worth of possessions. It’s about being educated. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s education that makes all the difference.
The wb says that all the money they gave was spent on advertisement instead of the real work it was intended for. Daddy said so from the start. How pathetic is that? You think they’re all going straight, they’re the ones who seem to be making a difference, and then they goof up, and the entire façade crumbles and the stark interior is revealed. All the same. All corrupt to the core. All seduced by Man’s greatest desire: power. I know we can all sit comfortably in our homes and criticize leaders and rulers for getting greedy once they get the taste of power. But the real question is, if every one of us were in a similar situation, with temptation tantalizingly hanging before our very eyes, how many of us would be able to resist the greed and the lust for power? How many will actually be able to turn away from all that wealth and power and do what’s right, selflessly, for the people? That is a question every person must ask himself.



P.S. – I refuse to use the word maid as some people insist. ‘Cleaning woman’ may sound weird; perhaps rough and uncouth even, but that’s what I’ve always said and there’s nothing I can do about it.