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The rest - starting from Hindus worship in tiny dark places while Muslims worship in big open lit spaces to Hindus connived this or that.
And a dozen other such brilliant anecdotes meant only to deride the minorities!
Nationalism,fusioned with religion and suspicion against the outside world particularly India and Israel has brought some undesirable effects to the urban middle class of this country,sadly.The sheer contradiction of what Pakistan speaks on liberal forums and what Pakistan is on ground has always been an astonishing subject of thought to me.
You see my flag, right? You know I'm in a different culture. As is said, "America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language." Can you really expect me to understand idioms I don't share?Just so you get it properly by saying CNN, Fox News etc i meant media now am i right by saying you again 'thick american mind' which i know you will again put in as insult but what i do if you cant take the proper meaning out of simple stuff ?
The author argues that in Pakistan the problem is systematic, a result of education, whereas in the U.S. it's pretty well established that mass school shootings have been the product not of education but of individual derangements with too-easy-access to guns. If you dispute that, post specific examples.I respect your difference of opinion, but do you really think that all of Pakistani institutes are doing this ? i have tried to give you examples of USA school shooting incident of innocent to picture that it can happen anywhere even in your well educated country.
Non sequitur. Even if a comparison to America is true, how would that negate the logic of the author's argument? That's right, it doesn't.hence, my point it very clear from the first post of mine that this writer is wrong in generalizing by his own thoughts -
The author argues that in Pakistan the problem is systematic, a result of education, whereas in the U.S. it's pretty well established that mass school shootings have been the product not of education but of individual derangements with too-easy-access to guns. If you dispute that, post specific examples.
So @Aamna14 @Marshmallow @Secur @HRK @S.U.R.B. - I gather that you guys, like myself, went through the same 'System' - Did they teach us something different if we never were the boys or girls who 'then, descended into a mode of celebration upon discovering that the towers were in ‘non-Pakistani’ territory and that a significant majority of the dead were non-Muslims.' on 9'11 !
So @Aamna14 @Marshmallow @Secur @HRK @S.U.R.B. - I gather that you guys, like myself, went through the same 'System' - Did they teach us something different if we never were the boys or girls who 'then, descended into a mode of celebration upon discovering that the towers were in ‘non-Pakistani’ territory and that a significant majority of the dead were non-Muslims.' on 9'11 !
I know my saying this would be picked up as being defensive though i am not in the least being that. I don't remember any extremist notion that would in any way justify an act like 9/11 or glorify the perpetrators. I'll tell you one thing i have studied in various schools across the country nowhere did i encounter that in my life. I am sorry but at least now a days we don't need education to make someone intolerant there is so much going on here in terms of injustice and hypocrisy that it would be a sheer miracle that people don't turn into monsters themselves. Education is the only factor thats gets noticed though many other important factors are involved here.
But I heard from a reliable source that you refused to shake hands with a Kashmiri Lahoriya because you thought - we - are Untouchables !
How intolerant could you be ?
You're just like @Marshmallow in this regard - She even had me gagged, tied to a car & then dragged till the flesh on my back smelled like Tikka Kebab ! Thankfully we Kashmiris of Lahore are gifted with Super-Human-Healing Powers & so I survived !
I was even going to fight @Marshmallow for that but too bad she was wearing a wig that day & so I thought she was actually a woman & we don't hit women !
Care to speculate as to how Pakistani media (English & Urdu) would headline and report such a story?ending this discussion with a joke
Once a guy saw a dog attacking innocent 5 years old girl in central park in NYC
He rushed and defend that girl .. there was this newspaper guy who was looking at this and he approached the man and said you will see a news tomorrow that BRAVE NYC saved a girls life..
He was like i am not New Yorker , Newspaper guys changed the headline to "Brave American saved girls life", but the guys said i am not American , I am Pakistani
Next day news was like "Pakistani Terrorist Brutally harmed the American Dog"...
I hope it helps
An intolerant educational system made me indifferent to the death of non-Muslims
By Bakhtawar Bilal Soofi Published: November 23, 2013
For a better future for our children we must attach monumental significance to the task of reforming our educational system. Otherwise, we will just be raising fanatical individuals who have no value for human life. PHOTO: Reuters
As the Twin Towers came crashing down in New York City on September 11, 2001 an eight-year-old boy remained unmoved some 7,000 miles away in Lahore as the horrifying images unfolded before him. The boy then, descended into a mode of celebration upon discovering that the towers were in ‘non-Pakistani’ territory and that a significant majority of the dead were non-Muslims.
This boy was no suicide bomber in the making. He was not the product of an extremist madrassa nor was he the son of a jihad veteran. In fact, this was a boy who was being educated at one of the finest institutions this country had to offer. Yet, the boy had failed to appreciate the value of human life.
He was insensitive to the deaths of more than 2,000 people. What is more alarming is that at the tender age of eight, this boy had justified his delight by distinguishing between the life of a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was this boy.
In retrospect, I question why I showed such insensitivity to the events around me.
On what basis had I come to believe that the value of the life of a Jew or Christian was less than that of a Muslim?
How did I develop this extremely bi-polar perception of an ‘angelic’ East leading a crusade against the ‘demonic’ West?
After some pondering, I realised that my response to the events of 9/11 points towards an educational system that is deeply flawed, particularly the content of our textbooks. The factual inaccuracies, historical inconsistencies and the inherent bias that permeates these books has been criticised on numerous occasions – the most prominent being The Murder of History by KK Aziz.
However, beneath the veil of this customary disapproval lies a subtle but grave problem that still goes unnoticed. This problem is primarily two-sided. The first side is concerned with our treatment of the two identities that any Pakistani holds dear, that is, their nationality and religion, while the second arises from the content of our textbooks.
Think about it – Islam and Pakistan have always been portrayed as products of persistent persecution. Textbooks on Islamiat repeatedly drive the point home that Islam faced significant oppression before attaining the global status that it has today. Similarly, our history schoolbooks constantly highlight the cruelty faced by the Muslims of British India before acquiring the independent state of Pakistan.
It is not difficult to understand then, why this theme of persecution and oppression adopts such a paramount status in our treatment of Islam and Pakistan. Consequently, this breeds an instinctive feeling of vengeance against all those who fall outside the boundaries of Islam and Pakistan. Hence, children are subconsciously taught to view the people of this world through a binary lens – one is either a Muslim or a non-Muslim; a Pakistani or a non-Pakistani.
The second problem is concerned with the content of our textbooks. Books in both, Urdu and English are infused with tales that shed light on the lives of our national heroes. However, the irony is that while we have packed our textbooks with the bravery of Rashid Minhas and the valour of M M Alam, we have ignored the compassion of Abdul Sattar Edhi and the accomplishments of Dr Abdus Salam. Intentionally or unintentionally, through our textbooks we have placed the traits of courage, bravery and valour on a higher pedestal than the traits of honesty, compassion and skill.
Unfortunately, this is the reflection of an educational system that contributes to the glorification of war at the expense of humanity.
In no way am I trying to suggest that Islamic and Pakistani history should be eliminated from our curriculum, and neither do I intend any disrespect towards our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the security of our homeland. I do, however, propose the adoption of a more balanced and refined approach towards teaching these subjects.
Where we celebrate a war hero, we must also celebrate a hero of science. Where we honour the bravery of an officer, we must also honour the compassion of a philanthropist. Where we recall the sacrifices of our Prophet (pbuh), we must also recall the sacrifices of Jesus.
Of course, such parity would require a shift in the very foundation of our educational system from psychological programming to a more open, pluralistic mode of critical thinking which is based on logic and reason. There is no doubt in my mind that unless we shift these foundations, we will not succeed in removing the ever-present ‘conspiracy theory’ syndrome as an explanation for all evil.
I grew up in a Pakistan where there was at least some sanctity of life and yet, I failed to recognise the intrinsic value of human life. I now fear the response of the next generation who unfortunately, have opened their eyes to a world of terror; a world where human life has been stripped of its very value and sanctity.
Thus, it is for the want of a better future for our children, that we must attach monumental significance to the task of reforming our educational system and waste no time in changing it. Otherwise, we will just be raising insensitive, fanatical and closed-minded individuals who have no value for human life.
And we will have only ourselves to blame.
Bakhtawar Bilal Soofi
A student of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), he tweets as @bbsoofi (twitter.com/bbsoofi)
An intolerant educational system made me indifferent to the death of non-Muslims
By Bakhtawar Bilal Soofi Published: November 23, 2013
For a better future for our children we must attach monumental significance to the task of reforming our educational system. Otherwise, we will just be raising fanatical individuals who have no value for human life. PHOTO: Reuters
As the Twin Towers came crashing down in New York City on September 11, 2001 an eight-year-old boy remained unmoved some 7,000 miles away in Lahore as the horrifying images unfolded before him. The boy then, descended into a mode of celebration upon discovering that the towers were in ‘non-Pakistani’ territory and that a significant majority of the dead were non-Muslims.
This boy was no suicide bomber in the making. He was not the product of an extremist madrassa nor was he the son of a jihad veteran. In fact, this was a boy who was being educated at one of the finest institutions this country had to offer. Yet, the boy had failed to appreciate the value of human life.
He was insensitive to the deaths of more than 2,000 people. What is more alarming is that at the tender age of eight, this boy had justified his delight by distinguishing between the life of a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was this boy.
In retrospect, I question why I showed such insensitivity to the events around me.
On what basis had I come to believe that the value of the life of a Jew or Christian was less than that of a Muslim?
How did I develop this extremely bi-polar perception of an ‘angelic’ East leading a crusade against the ‘demonic’ West?
After some pondering, I realised that my response to the events of 9/11 points towards an educational system that is deeply flawed, particularly the content of our textbooks. The factual inaccuracies, historical inconsistencies and the inherent bias that permeates these books has been criticised on numerous occasions – the most prominent being The Murder of History by KK Aziz.
However, beneath the veil of this customary disapproval lies a subtle but grave problem that still goes unnoticed. This problem is primarily two-sided. The first side is concerned with our treatment of the two identities that any Pakistani holds dear, that is, their nationality and religion, while the second arises from the content of our textbooks.
Think about it – Islam and Pakistan have always been portrayed as products of persistent persecution. Textbooks on Islamiat repeatedly drive the point home that Islam faced significant oppression before attaining the global status that it has today. Similarly, our history schoolbooks constantly highlight the cruelty faced by the Muslims of British India before acquiring the independent state of Pakistan.
It is not difficult to understand then, why this theme of persecution and oppression adopts such a paramount status in our treatment of Islam and Pakistan. Consequently, this breeds an instinctive feeling of vengeance against all those who fall outside the boundaries of Islam and Pakistan. Hence, children are subconsciously taught to view the people of this world through a binary lens – one is either a Muslim or a non-Muslim; a Pakistani or a non-Pakistani.
The second problem is concerned with the content of our textbooks. Books in both, Urdu and English are infused with tales that shed light on the lives of our national heroes. However, the irony is that while we have packed our textbooks with the bravery of Rashid Minhas and the valour of M M Alam, we have ignored the compassion of Abdul Sattar Edhi and the accomplishments of Dr Abdus Salam. Intentionally or unintentionally, through our textbooks we have placed the traits of courage, bravery and valour on a higher pedestal than the traits of honesty, compassion and skill.
Unfortunately, this is the reflection of an educational system that contributes to the glorification of war at the expense of humanity.
In no way am I trying to suggest that Islamic and Pakistani history should be eliminated from our curriculum, and neither do I intend any disrespect towards our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the security of our homeland. I do, however, propose the adoption of a more balanced and refined approach towards teaching these subjects.
Where we celebrate a war hero, we must also celebrate a hero of science. Where we honour the bravery of an officer, we must also honour the compassion of a philanthropist. Where we recall the sacrifices of our Prophet (pbuh), we must also recall the sacrifices of Jesus.
Of course, such parity would require a shift in the very foundation of our educational system from psychological programming to a more open, pluralistic mode of critical thinking which is based on logic and reason. There is no doubt in my mind that unless we shift these foundations, we will not succeed in removing the ever-present ‘conspiracy theory’ syndrome as an explanation for all evil.
I grew up in a Pakistan where there was at least some sanctity of life and yet, I failed to recognise the intrinsic value of human life. I now fear the response of the next generation who unfortunately, have opened their eyes to a world of terror; a world where human life has been stripped of its very value and sanctity.
Thus, it is for the want of a better future for our children, that we must attach monumental significance to the task of reforming our educational system and waste no time in changing it. Otherwise, we will just be raising insensitive, fanatical and closed-minded individuals who have no value for human life.
And we will have only ourselves to blame.
Bakhtawar Bilal Soofi
A student of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), he tweets as @bbsoofi (twitter.com/bbsoofi)