The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you?
I am an Electrical Engineer by profession working currently with a government institution. Even though I wanted to be a sociologist or a college teacher, life was unfolded in such a manner that I am currently pursuing my PhD in Computer Engineering as a part time student. I am a passionate bibliophile but specially interested in religion, philosophy and subcontinental studies. Non Skeptical Essays is my personal blog and I regularly contribute at Pak Tea House also. I keep moving all over Pakistan but currently stationed at Lahore.

Could you tell us what made you decide to blog?
I am an avid diary keeper since school days. I won’t claim to have a passionate desire to write as inspirational writers usually do have; however, I have always loved to write myself out in order to gain clarity and organize a particular train of thought. I had a diary in which I used to soliloquize and write points about religious and philosophical issues. It was the spring of 2005 when a friend from an internet forum drew my attention towards blogging. At first it was a private place, nothing more than a personal content management support; later, I decided to convert those randomly jotted down points and rambling one-liners into meaningful short essays.

What do you think sets Your blog apart from other blogs?
That it is not a blog in the popular sense of the word; from this I mean the trend that is prevailing and which has made blogging a hit. I am not a few-posts-a-day kind of blogger. I don’t write about family issues and home or work area experiences, neither do I cover politics, sports and news items. My blog is specific to religion, philosophy and at times, religious anthropology. I read a lot and choose to write when I fear loosing a particular trail of thought. You can say that I blog for myself.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success, what would it be?
Depends on how one understands success. The usual benchmark is number of hits which is usually proportional to frequency of posts. In that sense, I am not successful at all. I understand that people don’t read about specialized and complex religious or philosophical issues these days, especially the abstractionist and wayward kind of thoughts that I produce. However, every now and than an odd reader engages me in a discussion through e-mail and appreciates a particular musing. If I have to choose one characteristic that I desperately long for, its the quality to ask the right questions.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
The happiest, when Allah Almighty blessed me with two wonderful boys four years ago. The gloomiest was the earthquake of 8th Oct 2005.

Urdu Blogs have got huge potential, when do you think they will really take on the online horizon in Pakistan?
It is correct that Urdu blogging promises huge potential; primarily, because it connects well with our cultural framework. However, I do not foresee it taking on too soon. It is not possible before we are able to embed more technological support for Urdu language in OS as well as web based application framework, for instance browser support and common rss reader software.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
I think I would love to explore some medieval manuscripts in Turkish, Russian, Egyptian and Yemeni libraries.

What is your favorite book and why?
Its hard to pinpoint one. In my view, it varies from genre to genre; it also depends upon an individual’s reading indulgences during a particular phase of one’s life. With the exception of evergreen classics, there are literally scores of books that I love. I found ‘Awaz-e-Dost’ of Mukhtar Masood to be extremely interactional and influencing in terms of ideology of Pakistan. ‘Nuskha Hai Wafa’ of Faiz and ‘Shayad’ of Jon Elia (including its preface) never fail to enchant and mesmerize. Abdullah Hussein’s ‘Udaas Naslayn’ is my favorite fictional work on history of Sub continent. I grade Bertrand Russell as my all time favorite in terms of lucidity of philosophical expression. In the genre of popular science writing, I would like to give a similar status to Hawking, Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan. I can boast to have my personal copies of most of their works. ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ is special for me as it is one of those philosophical works that can undoubtedly preoccupy anyone for life; it is also the best dialog with modernity in its own language. In my view, first sixty nine pages of Marshall Hodgson’s first volume of ‘Venture of Islam’ is the best introductory exposition on Sociology of Islam; whereas Bennabi’s thesis in the shape of ‘Islam in History and Society’ is my favorite original thought in the same genre. I adore the clarity of Ustaz Abu Zahra’s works on great jurist Imams; these are my favorite in the genre of Comparative Fiqh. ‘On Schacht’s Origin’s of Muhammadan Jurisprudence’ by Mustapha al-Azami is the most comprehensive rebuttal to any orientalist work on Islamic law, in my opinion. Amin Ahsan Islahi’s Tadabbur-e-Quran is my favorite modernist exegesis. As they say, the list continues and I have intentionally left out many genres that I continue to explore. I think it would have been far easier to pick authors rather than books but this is what comes to my mind now.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
That he is a patient listener or not.

Do you think Pakistani politicians could benefit from the social networks and things like twitter?
I am not exactly aware of twitter, but social networking is a good way to access people and thoughts. I am not sure whether majority of Pakistani politicians are equipped to manage this kind of specialized interaction.

Whose Future is more bright in Pakistan; English blogs or Urdu Blogs?
I am not sure; again, it depends on the benchmark. I think multilingual blogs have better potential to access community.

How Pakistani bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
It is too hard for me to comment on this as I have very less knowledge of financial dynamics of blogosphere.

Do you think Pakistani bloggers tend to remain somewhat self-centered and really don’t go out of their shells? Is it the oriental style of blogging, or they are still unsure about it?
I don’t think it can be labeled as ‘oriental style’; on the contrary, I believe that some of the Pakistanis who are living abroad are running the most successful blogs. I think Pakistani blogosphere needs more ezines with multiple contributors so as to present a better collage of thoughts, presenting variety of issues.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
I agree that it is true; but yet again, its the benchmark of success that matters. The time I spent on one post can be equal to a week’s posting on some other blog. In the end, it depends what you blog about.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?
I think corporate blogs are good places for discussing issues and reaching user community. The biggest advantage, in my opinion, is that even the most distant users can access the top most managerial position; that is obviously in corporations where CEOs blog. I don’t see a disadvantage as yet.

Does it pain you or proud you that we have made a history by electing a uniform general as our president?
It surely pains me a lot, but from my standpoint it is greater than merely a lost sense of pride. Its about history, culture and civilization. We have consistently betrayed an Idea and the Idea in return has failed us and started transforming itself into a plethora of deadly ideas.

Do you think this whole emphasis on blogs and whatever online is a significant indicator to show that the web, the social web, is becoming a very important social force?
I certainly think so. This is an altogether new post modern dynamics that is quickly reshaping our lives and in the process creating a fresh set of contextual literacies through unorthodox mediums. History shows that societies do react to such kind of process and sometimes the whole process folds onto itself. We, as a community, have to be cautious and responsible enough to develop self regularity mechanisms for the written word that is ultimately thrown into the world wide web.

What do you think where the Pakistani blogosphere is right now?
It is reaching the end of its infancy and entering into the post-formative phase.

Who are your top five favorite bloggers in Pakisan?
Its not easy to pick just five. I read all those who raise serious and interesting issues. I never miss Raza Rumi and Adil Najam’s posts on their respective blogs and elsewhere. Dr Awab Alvi and Owais Mughal are always a pleasure to read. Hassan Abbas is doing great for Pakistan on his Watan Dost blog. Then there are expatriate Pakistanis like Ali Eteraz and Dr Shabana Mir who rarely miss a political or social thread related to Pakistan. As I said, there are so many good writers with variety of flavors.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger in Pakistani blogosphere?
I think Raza Rumi is unique in a way that he blogs about an extraordinary breadth of subjects.

What is the future of blogging in Pakistan?
Obviously bright. Its a phase that will continue for at least another decade or so; probably a little more.

In political respect, can we say blogging a ‘democracy of message’?
I am not sure whether we can contend anything at this juncture of the history of information. At this point of time, there are no rules that govern the medium and there are no ways to authenticate, process or vindicate the information. I think all of this has to evolve too soon.

Can Pakistani blogosphere play any notable role in the forthcoming elections, if they happen at all?
Probably we should have more city focused blogging (metroblogging) from other major cities of the country. As far as I know, only Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi have those blogs at the moment. Citizens, through these metblogs, can play their part in observing and monitoring elections going on in various constituencies. Politicians can also have their own blogs where respective manifestos can be subjected to scrutiny. That, however, is an extremely premature call in my opinion.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
It effects in more than one way but like all the other passionate indulgences, one should ultimately learn to prioritize commitments. But I am such a failure and I always think that the time spent in composing a post can otherwise be spent in studying more about the same topic. The good side, however, is the feedback that brings more food of thought.

What are your future plans?
God willing, if everything goes well, I plan to complete my PhD in next five years and switch permanently to teaching.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Learn to ask the right questions if you want the right answers.