In Search of Common Ground

YouTube and Google have been the most beautiful inventions of the last few years. It is hard to count how many times I have found artists of classical music from my childhood on YouTube — their records you can’t find in any store here or in India but passionate enthusiasts have put them on YouTube for all to enjoy. Two days ago, what started as a simple search turned out to be more meaningful than I could ever imagine. In the early 80s — I forget exactly what year it was — I was listening to an afternoon radio broadcast of Hindustani classical music. What came out of that little box on that day was pure magic. It woke my dad from his afternoon nap to sit up straight and exclaim in amazement “who was that?!” They were two artists by name Amanat Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, a vocal duo singing the raga Bhoopali. With some quick thinking I did record it on a cassette on that day and still play it — a link to memories of an afternoon with my dear dad and after more than 25 years.

Back to my YouTube and Google search to find those two artists: my search took me to this page (play the music if you like; I ‘m sure you’ll like it). Out of curiosity, I dug around that page more and the owner of the folder turned out to be a Pakistani physician. His page is a treasure trove of Hindustani classical music and I am ecstatic to have found it. What also caught my eye in his profile were two simple lines he proclaimed as his philosophy. It said “MUSIC KEEPS THE MULLAH AND OTHER EVIL ELEMENTS AWAY FROM YOU ~ A RAGA A DAY KEEPS THE MULLAH AWAY.”

It appears that this rational person can look at what is wrong with his religion and say it openly. I will go out on a limb to say that millions of such people in middle Pakistan, middle India, and everywhere exist.

In fact, some of the sanest comments come from people who are in the middle of such conflicts but don’t have a voice.

Watch this video from Al Jazeera.

What was interesting to me in that video was the young couple who spoke against extremism on both sides, extremist Islamic militants and erratic but government initiated extreme response in the name of war on terrorism (think Iraq would fit into that category?). What was frightening to me was the young son of the slain leader of that madrasa saying that Sharia law has to be implemented in Pakistan. He even quoted the basic reason for Pakistan’s existence since independence in 1947 — a Muslim state that the founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah created resulting in the partition of India. I see an identity crisis in Pakistan as we saw exemplified in that video, between the modern young couple with a cosmopolitan outlook and the religious fanaticism of the militants and a government or Army interested in its own welfare.

Middle Pakistan is hurting from inside even as its army and the feckless government hurt its neighbors, Afghanistan on the one side and India on the other. Take for instance the Mumbai attack — since the attack about a month ago, nothing much has been done to identify the real culprits even though everyone knows who they are; Pakistan flip flops in the mounting evidence of the responsibility of its terrorist groups for the attack — it wants more evidence. US back pedals from holding Pakistan fully accountable and gives its wishy-washy assurances to both countries. As M.J.Akbar in his Op-Ed summarized aptly, Taliban on the one side and Pentagon on the other, Pakistani Army marches on, terrorizing the world including its own:

It is always useful to apply the Agatha Christie principle in any mystery: who gains from murder? Who gained from terrorism in Mumbai? There is only one winner: the Pakistan Army. The disgrace into which it had been dragged by Pervez Musharraf has been erased; it is wrapped once again in the blanket of confrontation with India. Zardari’s amateur attempts at a peace deal with India are dead, a prelude perhaps to his own decline. He will no longer attempt to encroach into ISI space. Pakistan’s generals are proving to be excellent tacticians. They have maneuvered impressively through the terror-crisis to emerge with the local Taliban on one arm, and the Pentagon on the other.

What will the US do?

Meanwhile, my new found Pakistani friend and I realize that there is more that we have in common than we think and it is not just limited to good music. We want peace and stability, economic growth and educational opportunities. We want less of religion and more of the secular and the rational. We recognize that there has to be a private and public aspect to religion — the private and the individual affair with one’s religion cannot intrude on the public space where many are affected. We realize that religion as a private individual affair will prevent political leaders or terrorist elements from playing on one’s emotions for their nefarious needs using religion. Unfortunately, we also know that much of this is easier said than done, especially in developing countries where poverty and illiteracy take over one’s better judgment. The lone terrorist captured in the Mumbai attack comes from a poor family in eastern Pakistan without much prospect for a normal life. The terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba and the lure of a couple of thousands of dollars for his recruitment were enough for the misguided young man to join the group which carried out the attack on Mumbai [more here]. It is no secret that some of the tens of billions in US aid would have found its way to Lashkar via Pakistani Army and ISI.

But how did the extremists come to have so much power in the name of religion? I would say by mixing political grievances with religious indignation — tapping anger as a community organizing principle, where else have we heard that? There is nothing else as potent as telling someone that their religion is being attacked and their way of life is being rejected, rightly or wrongly. The case in point — take a look at this video of a British Mullah — he is apparently quite popular and has a following there. It is inconceivable to me that he has a platform and a voice under the guise of freedom of speech. That he does and it is democracy. But where is what should be an equally vocal opposition? At some point shouldn’t saner voices drown this guy’s hate-filled speech?

What if ordinary people registered their opposition when their religious leaders play politics or spread hate and discrimination? What can religious and other community leaders do to voice their opposition to the abuse of their religion by miscreants in their community?

Will this video below count as a healthy opposition to religious leaders run amuck or will it be dismissed as religion bashing?

Complex emotions and complex problems. While we search for the common ground, let us do so by reclaiming the power in being secular and rational. No religion is perfect.