A flurry of activities

The blue moon and the monsoon season form a strange mixture of ingredients similar to the variety of cultural activities happening in Isloo this week.
My first invitation was to the preview of the winner of six major international awards, including the IVCA Grand Prix, Badalte Rishte. The video looks at how the family reacts to the news, highlighting the fear and ignorance surrounding the subject; explains how the HIV virus works in the body and looks at the important role the Imam can play in health education.
It is the story of how a young man- who has tested positive for HIV and his newly pregnant wife-cope with the social stigma of AIDS in the Muslim community in the UK.It gives a projection to the taboo subject of HIV/AIDS.
It is a major concern for health education officers and HIV/AIDS workers that the messages about HIV/AIDS are not reaching the Asian population living abroad and in particular, the Muslim sector. The equal opportunities practice of the vast majority of health authorities seeks to ensure that all health services are accessible and acceptable to all. This video has been produced by Serendip Productions for the Asian Muslim population. It reflects the Islamic cultural and religious attitudes and values, which are embodied in the Qur'an.The story is of a man by the name of Sharif, who after an unscreened blood transfusion in his past, discovers that he is HIV positive. Najma, his wife, is expecting their first child. The literature accompanying the video explains to non-Muslims the importance of the symbolism used in this dramatization and avoids some of the conflicts between currently available health education material on HIV/AIDS, and the teachings of the Qur'an. In addition it provides health educationalists and HIV/AIDS workers with a greater understanding of the Islamic culture.Serendip is a leading production house that was established in 1997 by Huma Mustafa Beg and Dr. Farooq Beg. It had its origins in UK but later shifted to Pakistan. Its objective is to create a niche for advocacy and development based documentary films produced in Pakistan. It has already initiated work in issue based drama serials and lightly entertaining magazine programmes for television as well.
My second expose` was to a presentation on Islamic Intellectual's role in post 9/11 era given by Dr. Basit B. Koshul, a scholar of comparative religions in Concordia College, Minnesota (US) at TVO House under the auspices of Islamabad Social Sciences Forum. Dr. Khalid Masood, the chairman of Council of Islamic Ideology presided over the gathering. At the beginning he mentioned the three thinkers that have most intrigued him who were Marcs, Sigmund Freud and Frederick Lecher` .He said that the religion is the opium of the masses and it is the universal neurosis of humanity. He suggested that an intellectual is a person who has specialized technical knowledge about a given subject. Therefore, an intellectual is different from other human beings in having the specialized knowledge whereas the others have only general knowledge. People turn to intellectuals in a society when they are faced with a problem that they cannot solve or are faced with an issue that they cannot resolve on their own. He defined a Muslim intellectual as a sub category of a religious intellectual who has specialized knowledge of religion. He submitted that in all religious traditions except may be one or two, the role of a religious intellectual is that of a facilitator in the salvation of a person in the world to come. For example, in the Christian tradition there is no salvation without the sacraments and an individual can attain salvation through baptism from a priest who is a religious intellectual. Similarly, in the Hindu tradition one cannot speak of salvation without the aid of a Brahmin priestly class. In all religious traditions except one or may be two, the role of a religious intellectual is to facilitate the here after salvation of an ordinary believer. Then he turned to the role of a Muslim intellectual in an Islamic society and said that one thing is for sure that a Muslim intellectual plays no role in the attainment of salvation of a Muslim in the hereafter. There is no priest hood in Islam and there is no mediatory agency between a believer and Allah. The individual in Islam is completely responsible for his/her own salvation. Muslim intellectual doesn't have a priestly function in Islam like in other religious traditions. He said that a Muslim intellectual's role is more akin to the role of a doctor, the role of a car mechanic or the role of a lawyer. It is to identify and resolve the problems of the Muslim community in this world. That is the primary function of a Muslim intellectual. Muslim intellectuals are busy turning out theological systems, political core banks of action that the Muslim community must adopt in order to be true Muslims. Muslim intellectuals are obsessed with defining true Islam and separating true Muslims from not so true Muslims. This is basically a priestly function. And the next line is that if one is not a true Muslim that ones salvation in the hereafter is in danger.
The role of a Muslim intellectual in post 9/11 era is no different than its role in pre 9/11 era. All that 9/11 has done is that it has added a sense of urgency to whatever the task is and it has brought a sense of clarity to what this task is or should be. It has basically shown that whatever the Muslim intellectuals had been doing in the pre 9/ 11 era has largely been a failiure.9/11 not only reflects the failure of Muslim intellectuals but it is also a failure of modern intellectuals in general because 9/11 is not a crisis that is specific to a Muslim community either in its origins or in its impact. It is as much a modern western crisis. In order to support this contention he said that the task of Muslim intellectual can be reflected in the light of who were the hijackers. The westerners say that they were fanatical Muslims, nothing to do with the modern west. Almost all Muslims have rejected any association with these hijackers. So both the modern westerners and the Muslims have disowned the hijackers and both of these are intellectually dishonest moves. Firstly, these hijackers are essentially modern individuals, getting modern education in modern western institutions . And above and beyond that they have been categorized as Muslim fundamentalists. According to Bruce Lawrence all fundamentalists-be they Jews, Christians or Muslims-are essentially modern people. And there is no religious fundamentalism without modernity.
Therefore, modernity, organization, industrialization and modernization are basic prerequisites to the emergence of religious fundamentalism. Therefore, by the virtue that these people were fundamentalists ispo facto says they were modern. These Muslims were completely westernized individuals. Therefore these hijackers were modernized westernized individuals and just as obviously Muslim individuals. Therefore whatever they did was an Islamic thing just as it was western modern thing. It was a modern western Islamic thing that they did and it can't be separated. The value judgment on his part was that it was a fanatical thing that they did. The act was classified as religious fanatiscm and fundamentalism just as it was classified as secular fanatiscm and secular fundamentalism. Fundamentalism and fanatiscm in all of its guises and manifestations has three basic claims. The first is that 'if you are not with us then you are against us', and 'if you are against those who we are against, you are against us'. 'Kafir, Kafir Shia Kafir jo na mane woh bhi Kafir'. It is the beginning and the end of all fundamentalism and fanaticsm. Therefore, it doesn't matter who makes this claim someone who is hiding in a cave or some one who is the President of a modern nation state. Secondly, all fundamentalism asserts in possibly possessing absolutely certain universally valid and objective knowledge. Thirdly, that this human being has the right to impose that knowledge by any means necessary. These three suppositions are as much a part of religious fundamentalism or fanatiscm as they are a part of a secular fundamentalism or fanatiscm.
The exposition given by Dr. Koshul was very comprehensive and rational. Every moment of the discourse was imbibed by the scribe. It is definitely very rare over here in Pakistan to hear some one speak with so much depth and knowledge.
My second sojourn was to Nomad Café where there was a preview of an upcoming young artist, Lali Khalid. Her work can best be described in her own words, "Transformations take place leaving memories unsound and flawed". I tried to capture the past in photographs but it distorted in my hands. Time is a bizarre phenomenon. I keep losing it but its repercussions remind me of all that I've accomplished. My effort is a narration of my recollections.
Between my work and my reflections I've gone through a peculiar metamorphosis and my thoughts have given me an elusive glimpse of the future. I am waiting for time to be on my side...I would say in Charles Dickens words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
She has had her formal education from NCA, Lahore.She is very focused in wanting to pursue a career as an artist.
My third calling was again to Nomad Art Gallery for the opening of the Summer Art Show where the work of twelve artists was exhibited. Nahid Raza, Masood A. Khan, Abrar Ahmed, AQ Arif, GN Qazi, Anjum Ayub Khan, Nasreen Auranzeb, Shahzad Zar, Soabia Khan, Aliya Faizi, Zubda Bilal, and Tahir Parvaiz are participating in the exhibition that will continue till August 15, 2004.
It was an extremely busy week that for myself relates to being enjoyable. The summer break is nearing its end with the schools opening and one getting caught in the ever-increasing traffic rush of Islamabad.