Afrah Jamal

Published in Global Village Space under the title : Fixing Religious Fault lines in the age of ISIS / 23rd Oct 2017 A few days before Muharram, grand proclamations advocating peace and calm that suggested people shun their religious, sectarian and ethnic biases “to promote the great characteristics of sacrifice, unity and discipline” served as a prologue to bridging the ultimate divide. Then came the promises. The clergy reconstituted the ‘National Reconciliatory Council' in a bid to propel the vision of a united front. An awakening followed. Terrorism must go. And there were reality checks. How does Pakistan overcome decades of dissension to realize its dreams of interfaith harmony? Such sentiments while admirable face roadblocks. But then there was a declaration – that religion is a matter between a person and his creator . That no one has to prove they are Muslims. It was a surprisingly candid admission – one that perhaps did not need to be spelled out yet the stat...

Published in Daily Times / 09 March 2013 under the title MISSION I(A)MPOSSIBLE Author(s) : Lorenza Raponi and Michele Zanzucchi Translated from Italian by Lorraine Buckle Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Described as an ‘ agent of change ’ and a shining example of ‘ humanitarian Islam ’ by one author and hailed as a modern day ‘St. Francis of Assisi’ by another - the simply dressed old gentleman who sits unobtrusively in the front row is merely on a stop-over before he runs off again to save some lives. Many present at the launch of ‘Half of Two Paisas - The Extraordinary Mission of Abdul Sattar Edhi And Bilquis Edhi’ - co-authored by Lorenza Raponi and Michele Zanzucchi, are already part of the ‘Edhi’ admiration society. Lorenza and Michele met ‘The Edhis' during a trip to Pakistan in 2005. The philanthropist on the frontline of poverty who founded the Edhi Foundation and charmed the visiting Italians has been playing the part of the savior for over six decades. Ms. Raponi ...

First Published in Daily Times / 22 Sep 2012 By Afrah Jamal Nothing works. Major cities have been sealed and an angry mob rules the streets. Scenes from Pakistan on September 21, 2012 have a distinctly dystopian flavour. TV cameras cut to newsrooms happily discussing the need for peaceful protests as sweet sounding hymns play in the background and then cut back to the mob going berserk. Someone picked the wrong soundtrack for the occasion. Pakistan, badly battered by terrorism and in an economic bind, doubled as a set for some war zone on the eve of the ‘Love Your Prophet Day’. The sight of rampaging protestors including representatives from banned outfits closing on Islamabad’s Red Zone on Thursday evening was surreal. The army was summoned to safeguard the diplomatic enclave. The military was placed on high alert. And as the nation braced for yet another day of officially sanctioned protests, the mobile networks were shut down. No one really knows why . A BBC anchor watchi...

Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Oct 2012: Thanks Imran Ahmad for the kind email & Mr. Asif Noorani for recommending this book. First Published in Daily Times / Saturday 1 Sep 2012 under the title: The Ballad of East & West A local singer who regularly goes on foreign tours admitted that after the Abbottabad raid, acknowledging his Pakistani origins can be a conversation ender, with the ‘gora’ (white) inevitably taking ten steps back. A local businessman confessed that certain foreign embassies now deem all Pakistani nationals as terrorists till proved otherwise. Imran Ahmad, who recently concluded his 50-State speaking tour of the mainland United States, had occasional run-ins with the representatives of this fear-driven society that love to herd his entire ilk under a single scary looking banner. A Pakistani, growing up in London of the 1960s and 1970s, he must be familiar with the scrutiny that comes with being different. This first person narrative that...

First Published in Daily Times / Saturday, August 11, 2012 Republished in AhmadiyyaTimes There was some chatter about a certain coffeehouse this Ramzan on both twitter and facebook. The random post that triggered the wrath had alleged that a posse of females were refused a place to pray en-masse inside the premises. Many agree that little cafes that serve coffee in cramped quarters are not obligated to patronise requests that will inconvenience other customers. Others gleefully scream ‘blue murder’ scrambling to retrieve the Islamic Republic part of Pakistan to bolster their case. Since religion is a contact sport, the new arena was readied for some fireworks. The social media resounded with ‘Down with aforementioned coffee house’ for a few days, offset by a ‘Chalo chalo coffee ke liye chalo’ (Let’s go for Coffee). Was the café in any real danger? Yes. No. It is hard to say. A few hundred irate consumers threatening to stage a sit-in appear harmless. But they cannot guarantee th...

Old Old Piece Published In The POST, May 10, 2007 Update: Imran Khan's Karachi Jalsa (2011) turned to yesteryear's idols to liven up the proceedings.... 2014: JJ puts his foot in it by declaring women should not be allowed to drive. Time to Boycott his clothing. It is the 1980s. Sounds of music emanate from a garden where some youngsters strum a guitar to the amusement of a small captive audience of neighbourhood children perched on the wall, the best seats in the house . Some years pass; destiny fashions this unlikely albeit glamorous hobby into a career; a pop icon emerges with the phenomenon of Vital Signs , one of the most recognisable and well-loved hit songs of that time and a fan base ranging from admiring youth to stern-looking aunties. As the Signs rejuvenate Pakistani pop culture, their wholesome image and evident musical genius quickly establish them as a class act. Music flourishes despite the stifling media policies and good songs with great musicians...

Published in Daily Times / 29 May 2010 By Afrah Jamal Try clicking on a news item about Pakistani students protesting the Facebook ban in Google. Try googling Muhammad for that matter. Just try it . You cannot, can you ? Not if your internet service provider (ISP) is anything like mine. Not since the crackdown on Facebook. And all because of the event planned for May 20, 2010 in the far recesses of cyberspace — an event that prompted Facebook users to start a campaign requesting other users to initiate a boycott. But a simple appeal to shun the social networking site that was hosting a page encouraging caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was apparently not enough. Making the ‘choice’ to quit did not quite satisfy. No, the users had to make a bigger statement. No one knows how the religious parties got wind of this or at what point did the Lahore High Court (LHC) decide to enforce compliance to the boycott. But they did. Give them (the religious parties) enough rope and t...

Published in THE POST May 18, 2008 What does Cadbury have to do with 12 sketches and a 17 minute film? Nothing, really. Cadbury is neither Dutch nor Danish. But by now most Pakistanis - if not all - have probably received a text message stating otherwise. And thus begins a boycott campaign of all things Dutch or Danish. The self righteous lot, in their overzealousness, would acquiesce willingly. Yet, few who have received an email or sms that proclaimed the success of this boycott and lobbied for its continuity - or witnessed the demonstrations meant to convey outrage against both Denmark and the Netherlands for their alleged laxity in safeguarding certain religions’ sanctity - will stop to reflect on the virtues of pushing a hostile policy intended to coerce but neglecting to convince . Fewer still will bother to dig deeper and corroborate details of such episodes. The cartoon controversy returned in 2008 – helped on by the aptly titled film ‘Fitna’- similarly denounced for its ...

PUBLISHED IN THE POST AS Swat deal: a hostile takeover? SEP 22, 2008 When a house came under rocket attack in Peshawar cantonment on 19th May, the incident went without serious comment because after all, these acts are commonplace enough in 2008. What made it significant for me was that the very house had once been my home. That would be the year when Soviets had all but withdrawn from Afghanistan and the only close call then had been an airspace incursion from the Afghan side of the border . But, what happened in the confrontation between the fearless Afghan pilot and military officials present that day is no where as alarming as what happened 19 years later with the fearsome pro-Taliban and the State officials elected today . A peace treaty in war torn Swat has a nice ring to it. Does a pacification strategy towards militancy mean that a country which stood up to Communism capitulated to Fascism? Not so, say government officials who hasten to draw a distinction between peace lovi...

PUBLISHED IN THE POST AUG 04, 2007 The last thing I expected on 27 July 2007 was to be blindsided with, what appeared to be a reenactment of events witnessed earlier in the month in Pakistan’s Capitol. The place was the same and so were some of the key players . The Islamabad mosque reopened for Friday prayers amid adequate security measures but its abrupt descent into chaos proved how naïve we all were to think that former anarchists had been tamed or their belligerent mood mellowed with time . The security gates could only check for fissile material and not the threat posed by the former students, ex-detainees and sympathizers associated with the Mosque and seminary. Like a rerun of a bad film, the radicals demanded that the surviving rebel Maulana conduct Friday prayers and the denial of this demand rapidly led to civil unrest once more. Labeled simply as activists, they are in reality ‘activated’, a legacy of the two brothers. The police, possibly afraid of provoking further di...

PUBLISHED IN THE POST JULY 11, 07 Is the primary threat to a sovereign state still its enemy’s military capability? Given that the world learnt the fine art of countering, deterring and neutralizing such physical threats and also became adept at threatening each another with weapons neither one can ever use, many will concede the next big challenge for national security is the emergent threat of extremism. The exact origin of extremism within a State is perhaps difficult to pinpoint and very hard to combat for it resides in the mind of the enemy and can take form anywhere, anytime with devastating consequences. Which is the reason vigilance now needs to be exercised as much inside the border as at them - vigilance and prompt action. Extremism feeds on the ignorance and frustration of the common man and instills a cold contempt for human life and property. It is a worrying sign in any circumstance. It becomes especially disturbing when its followers threaten to destabilize not j...