The Pakistani Spectator

I have grown up, like many others, in an environment and society where no one was happy to tell me the simple fact that I am Muslim and I belong to Pakistan. It sounds strange but it is a fact, because we have a very strong sense of details we love to divide everything and go into lame details. As I was saying while I was growing up I was told that I am Sunni Muslim and I am better than the others, since then being a rebel I always questioned such statements and such assurances. That is why I always asked a question that is there any yard stick or a chemical test or any other thing that will decide that I am good as I belong to a certain sect and the other one is not because he is not from the sect I come from.

Islam never taught us to follow such class differences, I am not a scholar but what I have learned from Islam is a simple fact that Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. taught us to hold the string of Quran and Sunnat as tight as we can and this is the ultimate quality standard. But sadly we changed that parameter as well. Today we create hue and cry that everyone is against us everyone is trying to kill us but have we realized what we are doing since many years. Yes we have been killing each other in the name of sects and “real Islam”.

In Pakistan for last three decades or more we have been fighting with each other on different fronts. Such as the length of pants, where to put hands while offering prayer, and whether to or not to offer Durood and many others. We have also battled against many around us by being divided among the sects and given names to us like Shia, Wahabi, Suni, Barelvi, Deoband and the list goes on. Each and every one of us is right and the people from other sect are totally wrong, this is a mindset that has been created so far and distributed the battle fronts to every sect to invade and fight against each other.

Sometimes I think that we do not need any outsider enemy as we ourselves are sufficient for this job. Yesterday was the Martyrdom anniversary of Hazrat Ali R.A. the processions of people from Shia Sects been attacked in Karachi and Lahore. In Karachi there was firing and in Lahore there been three blasts taken place to do the job. In Lahore there have been a great unrest after the blast as people who were angry on the sad incident put a police station on fire, prevented the fire brigade and ambulance services to do their job.

As always someone came and claimed the responsibility of the whole fuss. I believe that we are all responsible for what happen yesterday and so far in the name of Shia and Sunni Rivalry. Some people say that such incidents take place to create the atmosphere of unrest between these two sects and the factors that do this job are something like “third party”. Okay fine I accept this theory but still we or I should say that I am responsible, because I never tried to be kind like brother what I am supposed to be towards the other being a Muslim. I created this space that now being filled by the blasts and such unrests.

It’s time to wake up and open eyes so far we have done so much wrong the so called third party is taking advantage of our differences. This attitude must come to an end, otherwise kill me first because I am not from your sect, I ask questions, I consider every one equal, and I consider all of us guilty. If I am the best among all the sects on the cost of this so called revelry then I don’t want to be the best. We have been being fooled by letting people to make us “Real Muslim” I think we should now try to be Pakistan and Muslim. Some people might call me nationalist, which I am not and I do not need to prove it to anyone, but I believe that Islam might not allow the nationalism but Islam promoted the Brotherhood so have we followed it?