Pakistanis miss the good old 'Khuda Hafiz'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis are signing up for an online campaign that is pleading Muslims to stick to the good old "Khuda Hafiz" of Persian origin instead of the new Arabised version "Allah Hafiz" that became popular during the regime of former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq.
"Khuda Hafiz," traditionally used by Muslims in the subcontinent to bid goodbye, is being taken over by "Allah Hafiz". Most people in Pakistan have switched to "Allah Hafiz," which they think is more religiously correct.
Britain-based Amina Gillani has launched a campaign on social networking site Facebook to bring back the use of "Khuda Hafiz" in common parlance.
"Support Pakistan's innocent, historical goodbye - khuda hafiz. Stand against the essentialist ideology working to remove it from our colloquial discourse.
"All discussions on how either new words and phrases, or (excessive) use and absences of existing words and phrases, impact social realities and experiences are welcome," Gillani posted on her page.
The going has not been easy for the group, which has managed about 1,168 members, including Indians, in the past few months.
"I have been saying Khuda Hafiz all my life and still do but when people stare at you and try to correct you, its then that I flare at them and tell them to mind their own business," wrote Nighat Navaid, a Pakistani national.
"Fi Amanillah is the best if you really want to say it in Arabic. Otherwise there is no harm in saying Khuda hafiz... Allah's name in Farsi (Persian)... is Khuda!" wrote Samiya Mohsin, who signed up for "Bring back Khuda Hafiz".
On the other hand, Abida Nudrat joined in to make a case for "Allah Hafiz".
She wrote: "Allah is the Ism-e-Azam meaning great name... The word Khuda means God which can also be used while referring to the deities".
Sajid Hussain challenged her with: "If it were like this, then why wasn't this word used from 1400 years (ago)".
"Why only in the subcontinent now?" Salman Khan, another member, went a step further and wrote, "Allah ho ya Khuda ho, Ishwar ho, ya God, if it's one God then you are a Muslim".
To counter Gillani's group, "Say only Allah Hafiz" has been floated on Facebook.
Some Pakistani columnists have been writing about the shift from Khuda Hafiz to Allah Hafiz. Khaled Ahmed wrote about "The rise of the Allah Hafizites" a few years ago.
Another leading columnist, Ejaz Haider, wrote that when he was growing up, he never heard anyone say Allah Hafiz: "But the reality is that Khuda Hafiz now has very few takers... It is amazing how we have Arabised ourselves despite our much stronger and direct Persian connection," he wrote.
Pakistanis miss the good old 'Khuda Hafiz' - The Times of India
I don't think that majority of Pakistani wants "Khuda Hafiz" it must be imagination of few people in Pakistan. The petro dollar influence is all over the world.