In Pakistan We Have Selective Islam

attributed to **Imran Khan**

In Pakistan We Have Selective Islam

My Generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its
peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority
complex of the British. The school I went to was a similar to all
elite schools in Pakistan, despite becoming independent, they were,
and still are, producing replicas of public school boys rather than
Pakistanis. I read Shakespeare which was fine, but no Alama Iqbal.
The Islamic class was not considered to be serious, and when I left
the school I was considered amongst the elite of the country because
I could speak English and wore western clothes. Despite periodically
shouting Pakistan Zindabad at school functions, I considered my own
culture backward and Islam an outdated religion. Amongst our group if
any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was
immediately branded a Mullah. Because of the power of the Western
Media, all our heroes were western movie or pop stars. When I went to
Oxford already burdened with this hang up from my school days, things
didn't get any easier. In University not just Islam but all religions
were considered anachronism. Science had replaced religion and if
something couldn't be logically proved it did not exist. All
supernatural stuff was confined to the movies. Philosophers like
Darwin who with his half baked theory of evolution was supposed to
have disproved the creation of men and hence religion.Moreover, the
European history had an awful experience with religion, The horrors
committed by the Christian clergy in the name of God during the
Inquisition had left a powerful impact on the western mind. To
understand why the west is so keen on secularism, one should go to
places like Cordoba in Spain and see torture apparatus used during
Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics
by the clergy and convinced the Europeans that all religions are
regressive.

However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from
religion was the selective Islam practised by most of its preachers.
In other words, there was a huge difference between what they
practised and what they preached.. Also, rather than explaining the
philosophy behind the religion, there was an over emphasis on
rituals. I feel that humans are different; to animals whereas the
latter can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced.
That is why the Quran constantly appeals to reason. The worst of
course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various
individuals or groups.

Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only reason
why I did not was the powerful religious influence wielded by my
mother on me since my childhood. It was not so much out of
conviction but love for her that I stayed a Muslim. However, my Islam
was selective, i.e. I accepted only parts of the religion that
suited me. Prayers were restricted to Eid days and occasionally on
Fridays, when my father insisted on taking me with him. If there was
a God I was not sure about it and certainly felt that he did not
interfere with my life. All in all I was smoothly moving to becoming
a Pukka Brown Sahib. After all I had the right credentials in terms
of the right school, university and above all, acceptability in the
English aristocracy, something that our brown sahibs would give their
lives for. So what led me to do a lota on the Brown Sahib culture and
instead become a desi? Well it did not just happen overnight.

Firstly, the inferiority complex that my generation had inherited,
gradually went as I developed into a world class athlete. Secondly, I
had the unique position of living between two cultures. I began to
see the advantages and the disadvantages of both the societies. In
western societies, institutions were strong while they were
collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we were
and still are superior, and that is our family life. I used to notice
the loneliness of the old-age pensioners at Hove Cricket ground
(during my Sussex years). Imagine sending your parents to Old
Peoples' Homes! Even the children there never had the sort of love
and warmth that we grew up with here. They completely miss out on the
security blanket that a joint family system provides. However, I
began to realise that the biggest loss to the western society and
that in trying to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they
had removed both God and religion from their lives. While science can
answer a lot of questions, no matter how much it progresses, two
questions it will never be able to answer: One, what is the purpose
of the existence and two, what happens to us when we die? It is this
vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the hedonistic
culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay while the
sun shines-and in order to do so one needs money. Such a culture is
bound to cause psychological problems in a human being, as there is
going to be an imbalance between the body and the soul. Consequently,
in the USA, which has shown the greatest materialistic progress and
also gives its citizens the greatest human rights, almost 60 per cent
of the population consult psychiatrists. Yet, amazingly in modern
psychology, there is no study of the human soul. Sweden and
Switzerland, who provide the most welfare to their citizens, also
have the highest suicide rates; hence, man is not necessarily content
with material well being he needs something more.

Since all morality has it roots in religion, once religion was
removed, immorality has progressively escalated since the 70's. The
direct impact of it is on the family life. In UK, the divorce rate is
60 per cent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 per cent
single mothers. The crime rate is rising in almost all western
societies, but the most disturbing fact is the alarming increase in
racism. While science always tries to prove the inequality of man
(recent survey showing the American Black to be genetically less
intelligent than whites) it is only religion which preaches the
equality of man. Between '91 and '97, it was estimated that total
immigration into Europe was around 520,000, and there were racially
motivated attacks all over, especially in Britain, France and
Germany. In Pakistan during the Afghan war, we had over four million
refugees, and despite the people being so much poorer here and in the
NWFP, they suffered a considerable loss in their standard of living
as a result of the refugees yet, there was no racial tension, No
wonder, last year in Britain religious education was reintroduced in
their schools.

There was a sequence of events in the 80's that moved me towards God
as the Quran says: "There are signs for people of understanding." One
of them was cricket. As I was a student of the game, the more I
understood the game, the more I began to realise that what I
considered to be chance was, in fact, the will of Allah, the pattern
which became clearer with time. But it was not until Salman Rushdie's
Satanic Verses that my understanding of Islam began to develop.

People like me who were living in the western world bore the brunt of
anti-Islam prejudice that followed the Muslim reaction to the book.
We were left with two choices: fight or flight. Since I felt strongly
that the attacks on Islam were unfair, I decided to fight. It was
then I realised that I was not equipped to do so as my knowledge of
Islam was inadequate,.Hence I started my research and for me a period
of my greatest enlightenment. I read scholars like Ali Shariati,
Mohammad Asad, Iqbal, Gai Eaton, plus of course, a study of the Holy
Quran.

I will try to explain as concisely as is possible, what "discovering
the truth" meant for me. When the believers are addressed in the
Quran, it always says, "Those who believe and do good deeds." In
other words, a Muslim has dual function, one towards God and the
other towards fellow human beings.

The greatest impact of believing in God for me, meant that I lost all
fear of human beings. The Quran liberates man from man when it says
that life and death and respect and humiliation are God's
jurisdiction, so we do not have to bow before other human beings. As
Iqbal puts it, Wo aik Sajda jisay tu giran samajhta hai, hazaar
sajdon say deta hai sadmi ko nijaat.

Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we prepare for the
eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons, such as growing
old (such a curse in the western world, as a result of which, plastic
surgeons are having a field day), materialism, ego, what people say
and so on. It is important to note that one does not eliminate the
earthly desires, simply that instead of being controlled by them,
one controls them.

By following the second part of believing in Islam, I have become a
better human being. Rather than being self-centred and living for the
self, I feel that because the Almighty gave so much to me, in turn I
must use that blessing to help the less privileged. By following
the fundamentals of Islam rather than becoming a
Kalashnikov-wielding fanatic. I have become a tolerant and a giving
human being who feels compassion the under privileged. Instead of
attributing success to myself, I know it is because of God's will,
hence humility instead of arrogance. Also, instead of the snobbish
Brown Sahib attitude towards our masses, I believe in egalitarianism
and strongly feel against the injustice done to the weak in our
society according to the Quran, "Oppression is worse than killing."
In fact only now do I understand the true meaning of Islam, if you
submit to the will of Allah, you have inner peace.

Through my faith, I have discovered strength within me that I never
knew existed and that has released my potential in life. My education
programme that I intend to announce in March is far more
ambitious than the cancer hospital project. I feel that in Pakistan
we have selective Islam. Just believing in God and going through the
rituals is not enough one also has to be a good human being. I feel
there are certain western countries with far more Islamic traits than
us, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens,
or for that matter their justice system. In fact some of the finest
individuals I know live there. What I dislike about them is their
double-standards in the way they protect the rights of their citizens
and yet consider citizens of other countries as being somehow
inferior to them as human being, e.g. dumping toxic waste in the
Third World, advertising cigarettes that are not allowed in the west
and selling drugs that are banned in the west.

One of the problems facing Pakistan is the polarisation of two
reactionary groups. On the one side is the westernised group that
looks upon Islam through western eyes and has inadequate knowledge
about the subject. It reacts to any one trying to impose Islam in
the society and wants only a selective part of the religion. On the
other extreme is the group that reacts to this westernised elite and
in trying to become a defender of the faith, takes up such intolerant
and self-righteous attitudes that are repugnant to the spirit of
Islam.

What needs to be done is to somehow start a dialogue between the two
extreme. In order for this to happen, the group on whom the greatest
proportion of our educational resources are spent in this country
must study Islam properly. Whether they become practising Muslims or
believe in God is entirely a ;personal choice; as the Quran tells us
that there is "no compulsion in religion." However, they must arm
themselves with knowledge as a weapon to fight extremism. By turning
up their noses at extremism is not going to solve the problem. The
Quran calls Muslims "the middle nation", i.e. not of extremes. The
Holy Prophet (PBUH) was told to simply give the message and not worry
whether people converted or not, therefore, there is no question in
Islam of forcing your opinions on any one else.

Moreover, we are told to respect other religions, their places of
worship and their prophets. It should be noted that no Muslim
missionaries or armies never went to Malaysia or Indonesia. The
people converted to Islam due to the high principles and impeccable
character of the Muslim traders. At the moment, the worst
advertisement for Islam are the Muslim countries with their selective
Islam, especially where the religion is used to deprive people of
their rights. In fact, a society that obeys fundamentals of Islam has
to be a liberal one.

If our westernised class started to study Islam, not only will it be
able to help our society fight sectarianism and extremism, but it
will also make them realise what a progressive religion Islam is.
They will also be able to help the western world by articulating
Islamic concepts. Last year, Prince Charles accepted that the western
world can learn from Islam during his speech at the Oxford Union. But
how can this happen if the group that is in to best position to
project Islam gets its attitudes from the west and considers Islam
backward? Islam is a universal religion and that is why our Prophet
(PBUH) was called a mercy for all mankind.

The Death of Lady Diana was very touching and was felt by all races
and religions. As far I would like to comment on the subject goes
that she had a great interest and admiration for the religion of
Islam. She would always be inqusitive about it. After my marriage to
Jemima she saw the wonders of Islam and how it had reformed Haiqa. As
I hope, it has made the world realise that marriage to Dodi was not
to be by the Grace of Allah. Maybe it would have been a great threat
to the West of Lady Diana reverting to Islam, or even carrying an
Islamic name, as she would have still been a mother of a future King.
Only Allah knows the Truth, but all I can say is that she like Prince
Charles had a great Interest in the religion. And the probability of
Lady Diana reverting were excellent