The Madness of Muharram

Muharram is here - today is 9th Muharram in Pakistan. This means the start of that familiar cycle again, of an upsurge in Sunni extremists targeting Shias, and then Shia reprisals against Sunnis. The government has predictably called in extra police and other security personnel. (Side note: how do governments manage to round up so many "extra" police for such occasions? I'm thinking of this also because of my most recent experience in the antiwar protest.)

I know it's tempting to be nostalgic about one's childhood, but I really do believe that the Sunni-Shia problem did not exist in this fashion before the 1980s. That was when the effects of the Iranian revolution and the Saudi Wahabi-Zia nexus were starting to be felt. In fact, I think of Zia and the 1980s as the time when everything changed, when it all truly fell apart. Yes, I know there were problems, really big and awful problems, but the problems were different. I don't think the Sunni-Shia rift was as keen and meaningful, and it was certainly not as militarized. Now we're living with the legacy of the Saudi-Iranian proxy war that was fought in Pakistan - perhaps it's still being fought, although one would guess that the active battlefield is now Iraq and not Pakistan.

But we're still left with the legacy, as we are with all of Zia's evil. Everyone likes to point to the government and to various Sunni and Shia extremist outfits and place blame there - and certainly they have the lion's share of culpability. But we must also bear responsibility. I think it's become just too commonplace to now ascribe all sorts of qualities and behaviors to "Sunni-ness" and "Shia-ness" - and we need to stop doing that. So the next time you hear someone say, "Shias aren't real Muslims," or "Shias are more loyal to Iran than to Pakistan," or any of the other crap that slips into everyday conversation, call the person on it. Refuse to accept such absurd statements. Let's stop this bullshit one bullshitter at a time.

Shilpa Wins

Shilpa Shetty won the Big Brother competition. Since she's been living in the house in isolation, she has only now learned of the controversy and attention that resulted from her experiences with racism on the show. What a mind-fuck that must be.

Interestingly, another contestant on the show seems to have escaped such controversial treatment. Jermaine Jackson, older brother of Michael and Janet, was also on the show, and came in second to Shilpa. He's converted to Islam and has renamed himself Muhammad Abdul Aziz. He lives in Dubai and is married to an Afghan woman. Apparently he was a paanch-waqt namaazi on the show. I wonder why he didn't become the target of the racists instead of (or in addition to) Shilpa Shetty. I suppose we should count our blessings.

Just what the world needs: Swarovski crystal abayas

Designer abayas are the latest thing on the fashion scene, and now Swarovski has jumped into the fray. They're designing abayas which employ the use of Swarovski crystals. First launched in Dubai, these abayas have now been launched in Pakistan. Why? Because, according to the South Asia Swarovski sales manager, “We wanted to modernise the apparel of Muslim women, keeping in mind the religious parameters and sanctity of the clothing.” Apparently, stitching crystals into abayas is the way to do this. Daily Times reports that:

Swarovski is now targeting Pakistan as it’s first market outside of the Middle East as, the sales manager explained, “percentage wise, Pakistan’s turnover is much better, and we have had very good relationships with all the Pakistani designers who we have worked with up till now.”

Here's a clue, Swarovski: WE'RE NOT ARABS! WE DON'T WEAR ABAYAS!

Of course what's sad is that abayas will soon become widespread among the middle and upper class in Pakistan, just as hijabs have already done.

More on Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty continues to suffer in the Big Brother house - and now the New York Times has picked up the story too. Meanwhile, bookies are listing her as their favorite to win this season's contest - some (for example, Germaine Greer) are claiming that Shilpa is simply a good actress, and is trying to provoke her housemates to be racist and therefore get eliminated from the house. Personally, I don't think that's the case. No one wants to experience racist behavior, and it just seems too convenient for white people to "blame" their target for "provoking" them into being racist. Hey, if it's not in your head to begin with, why would it come out, even when provoked? (Michael Richards, anyone?)

You already know that the issue has come up in the British Parliament. Now it's become an international incident, with the British prime minister and chancellor weighing in on the matter. British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown is visiting India, and was grilled on the subject by reporters. Meanwhile, there have been some protests in India, complete with burning effigies. It's almost as if they were protesting something that the Pope may have said - but that sounds unreasonable, doesn't it?

Karachi islands update

A previous post on this blog noted the proposed development of Bundal and Buddo islands off the Karachi coast as luxury resorts and living communities. More recently, the Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) has condemned the development deal, and has urged the federal government to respect Sindh's autonomy and cancel the agreement with Dubai-based Emaar. This deal has already come under attack by environmentalists, indigenous communities, fisherfolk, and others.

Here's the real question: what exactly gives the federal government the authority to "sell" the islands? The islands belong to the people. They shouldn't be sold for corporate profit.

This is what the president of SANA had to say:

“We urge the management of the Emmar group to call off its plans as it has obviously entered into an agreement with a party that has no legal rights over the land. If they go ahead with their plans, they may have to face litigation in national and international courts for years to come,” Narejo cautioned.

Shilpa Shetty Gets Rough Treatment on "Big Brother"

I'm a reality-tv junkie, but I've never liked one of the pioneers of the genre, Big Brother (UK). Maybe this is why. The show finally has its first desi cast member, in the person of Shilpa Shetty, Bollywood starlet. And almost immediately upon entering the Big Brother house, Shilpa was subjected to hostile, offensive, and racist behavior from other cast members. Her housemates have been mocking her accent (a REAL sore spot for us FOBs), complaining about her touching their food with her hands, and referring to her as "the Indian" instead of calling her by name - but as one account noted rather thankfully, earlier reports that Shilpa had been called "Paki" were wrong (I mean, that would be just awful!).

The regulatory body that oversees British television has received over 10,000 complaints of racism (the most complained-about series ever), and the issue has even reached Parliament. Stay tuned...

Another Grim Anniversary: Guantanamo Bay Prison

The prison at Guantanamo Bay turned 5 today. The plurality of those held in this prison are Pakistanis. As far as we know, the Pakistani government hasn't done much to secure their release or trial. So we can expect these prisoners to be detained indefinitely. And last year, Halliburton was granted a contract to build a much larger prison complex here, to house perhaps triple the number being held today.

Bush's Lies

Keith Olbermann has a brilliant recap of Bush's lies on Iraq. This is a must-see.

The Problem With The Iraq Debate

Tonight, as I was trying my best to avoid Bush on TV giving his "surge" speech, and while browsing various progressive blogs, I realized once more why I get so frustrated with the debate on the Iraq war. It's sort of gratifying to see a majority of people (slowly) come around to opposing the war, and that includes centrists, conservatives, and progressives (although it's gratifying only in a soulless and nausea-inducing way). And the reasons for opposing the war are many, mostly focused on the loss of US lives to the incompetence of the Bush people. But I think mostly it comes down to this: the war is going badly. The US is losing. The media is full of awful images of bombs going off and gruesome violence, all of which convey to Americans that things are going horribly wrong in Iraq. So they want to end the whole thing and bring the US troops home. But in all of this, no one - not even the best of progressives - gets the central fact about this war: that this thing going on in Iraq is colonialism redux.

It frustrates me no end that no one says publicly why the US can never "win" in Iraq - because this is a colonial effort, and because no one will ever remain content to be colonized. Yes, the British were successful for a very long time, but even then we brown people kicked out their sorry ass (and if we did it, anyone can do it). The Americans will never succeed in Iraq because the Iraqis know an occupation when they see (and suffer one), and they'll never brook it. That's why we have an "insurgency," folks - because imperialism will always generate resistance.

And now the US is sending in 21,500 more troops to "calm" Iraq (yes, that is actually what they are calling it). So here's how this will work. The American troops become even more amped up on adrenaline and fear and paranoia, go into the Iraqi population without any training in culture or language or anything else, and attempt to identify "insurgents" in their midst in order to "clean" (read: kill) them up. And what will they do? They'll read every Iraqi man, and many Iraqi women, as threats and potential "insurgents." It will be like identifying "terrorists": if you're brown and Muslim (or "seem" Muslim), and... well, that's about it, really. So "insurgent"=Iraqi. I don't think it will be - or can be - much more precise than that.

So of course this latest effort will fail to achieve a US "victory," but still no one will say what needs to be said - that this is a massacre by a colonial power and can never be successful.

Apple's Sexy iPhone

What a phone. I'm in love all over again. This is Apple's new iPhone which has been only a rumor for the last 3 years or so. It was announced yesterday, and will be in stores by June (exclusively on Cingular). It combines an iPod, phone, and PDA. And, I mean, look at it. It's BEAUTIFUL! I absolutely need one. Problem is, it will cost $500 (4 GB). Time to start saving...

"Breakfast in Amritsar, Lunch in Lahore, and Dinner in Kabul"

In a speech on Monday, Manmohan Singh said that he hoped that India and Pakistan could sign a long-term peace treaty, so that one day it would be possible to have "breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul" on the same day. Sounds fabulous, no? Except I'm not sure how he thinks peace between India and Pakistan will also deliver Afghanistan - and he ignores the Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and Nepalis (ok, let's admit it, we've been guilty of that too). But the principle is an excellent one, only I think I'd like to have breakfast in Colombo somewhere on the beach, lunch in Bombay, and dinner in Karachi because no one knows how to party late into the night like Karachiites do.

Lahore, Virginia

There's a town called Lahore in Virginia, which was named after the actual Lahore sometime between 1850-1870. The video is from a Voice of America (Urdu) piece. Despite the guy's desire to recreate Basant in Virginia, I must say that Lahore, Virginia looks nothing like the beautiful Lahore, Pakistan. I guess something always gets "lost in translation." Anyway, check out the video, if only to hear the white southern dude say "Lahore."

Finally: It IS All About Oil

The Independent is reporting that the US is pushing through a law in Iraq that will allow Western oil companies exclusive rights to extract Iraqi oil for 30-year periods. This will be the most massive exploitation of Iraqi oil since before Iraq nationalized its oil industry in 1972. Of course we've always known that this war was all about oil, but the new law makes that crystal-clear. As the antiwar protest signs say (satirically), "How did OUR oil get under THEIR sand?" How, indeed. And now, they are all set to put their greedy and murderous hands on this oil for a long, long time.

Indian Coffee Saves The Day?

An Indian chain of coffee cafes, Cafe Coffee Day, has opened its first cafe in Karachi (in Clifton). The joint Pakistani-Indian business venture is led by the Hashwanis from the Pakistani side. The Indian firm plans to open 29 other cafes throughout the country.

Whether the cafes will be successful is an open question. Pakistanis of course prefer chai to coffee. Except me - I never developed a fondness for chai, and I only have it now for social reasons. But the businessfolks must be betting that coffee has a hip image and makes you look much cooler. It's not a coincidence that the first cafe has opened in Clifton.

What this will do for Pakistan-India friendship, of course, is another matter entirely. Normally, I'm as anti-capitalist as the next activist, but when it comes to trade between these two countries, I wonder if having Indian corporate giants take over the Pakistani economy is worth attaining some kind of peace between the two countries? Yes, yes, I know - it doesn't work that way. Capitalism will only bring more violence and oppression. But let me dream for a few seconds. After all, it's kind of inevitable that Indian industry is going to kick Pakistani ass - why not get normal relations out of it?

Who Says New York Is Cold?

No, that's not a quip about the record warm temperatures that the eastern US is currently experiencing (much to my delight!). I am referring instead to the reputation of NYC as a cold and mean place where you might get pushed into oncoming traffic if it would benefit someone. But ever since I started visiting the city (about 10 years ago), my experience always led me to believe that New Yorkers are generally friendly and helpful.

And now there's proof of how helpful New Yorkers can be. Wesley Autrey, a 50-year old construction worker, was waiting for a subway train when one of his fellow passengers had what appeared to be a seizure and fell off the platform and on to the tracks - just as a train was approaching. Autrey jumped on to the tracks, covered the other man's body with his to push it in even further into the ground, and lay there while the train screeched over them. The two survived almost untouched, although Autrey's daughters who were waiting on the platform were very shaken up. All are doing fine now. So who says New Yorkers don't have a heart?

And as a reward, Autrey has been offered - what else - a trip to Disney World.

Heterosexual Marriage Not So Great

A new survey reveals that half of married women in the US would probably not marry their husbands if they could do it over again. The survey, conducted by Woman's Day magazine, also found that half of married women have either caught their husbands cheating or strongly suspect them of doing so.

There's not a lot of sex going on either. Apparently, a third said they don't want to have sex, and another third said they don't have time for sex.