Dear Countrymen,
‘There has been enough pain. It is time for reconciliation.’ wrote the former Prime Minister and further, ‘the real clash within and outside Islam is the battle between the past and the future. It is the resolution of this battle that will determine the direction not only of the relationship between Islam and the West but of international relations in this century. Without further delay, to break the chains and cycle of poverty, extremism, dictatorship and terrorism, we need to move on the path to true reconciliation.’
‘It is not by insulation but by interaction that the world will become safer. By increasing economic, social and political development within the Islamic world, the West and East can protect common and universal values true to the Abrahamaic heritage.’ Well, it is her opinion.
In my opinion it would be a mistake to invest in R&D after what happened to Avicenna. Avicenna was the pioneer of neuropsychiatry, but GlaxoSmithKline introduced Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant, after ‘improving’ upon Avicenna’s inventions without regard to intellectual property rights of Avicenna. It is reported that GSK will develop a ‘novel’ analgesic for neuropathic pain and restless leg syndrome in collaboration with a Japanese company. Had Mr. Bin Laden been the head of the Japanese company, he would think twice before allowing that to happen. Edward Said wrote, ‘the west drew on the humanism, science, philosophy, sociology and historiography of Islam’. Yes, but what did Avicenna get?
The view that Mr. Bin Laden loves western technology selectively is preposterous. I shall illustrate my point with an example. Late one night as the batteries of his dialysis machine started faltering and his blood urea levels shot up, he started to feel delirious. He, immediately, signaled his disciples to send fresh batteries from the capital. This is as far as he goes in his affinity for technology. To misinterpret a need as love is missing the entire point of his struggle to abdicate the future of our nation for the sake of the magnificent past. Obviously, it is not love but doctrine of necessity, as exemplified by Justice Munir (Maulvi Tamizzuddin Khan vs. the State) and followed by others after him. I think this is a more creative instance of the West (dialysis machine) meeting the East (Bin Laden) than GSK meeting Avicenna.
One further development is that PML (Q) has fallen without transition. ‘We are ready to sit in opposition as it is quality not quantity that matters most.’ pointed out Ch. Shujaat correctly. By this standard Mulana Fazl-ur-Rehman should be the happiest man with his 5 seats of the utmost quality. Meanwhile it was amazing to see Pakistanis express jubilation over a hung parliament simply because it is going to be non-extremist. Some say their feelings are understandable in light of the fact that many of them are still recovering from the Amir-ul-Momineen concussion and others from SGS Cotecna trauma. Moreover, Justice (r) Tariq Mehmud has admonished Imran Khan for trying to explain what the people’s mandate means when only a few days earlier he was saying that it would be an act of treason to vote.
On my favorite radio program ‘Alive with Nirma’, when asked to reveal the secret of her fresh skin, Nirma said, ‘It is the purity of my soul that reflects on my face’ Answering a question on culture, she said, ‘We do not have culture in Pakistan. All our ideas on culture are either inspired by India or the West. We are not making enough efforts to preserve our culture’. I was deeply touched; tears welled up in my eyes as I listened spellbound to Nirma holding forth on culture. We need profound and spiritual style icons like Nirma (compare her with Rafia Zakria who wrote, ‘In the debate over multiculturalism….the challenge must be restated from “preserving” cultures, which in their inherently ever-changing quality can never be preserved without seriously disadvantaging them, to allowing cultures the room to grow and change.’) Of course I am going to nominate Nirma whenever the next cultural contest for ‘Charon Subon Ki Znajeer’ comes up.
For further reading please see my thesis ‘We Stand for Stagnation’ in my recently published book ‘A Dynamic Social Contract’.
From CEO, OSDC (Organization for Sustainable Development of Culture)
42d1fedd-75a5-403d-bb7d-15bc1f2cec9d|6|3.8|96d5b379-7e1d-4dac-a6ba-1e50db561b04
Tags:
Politics