I think ethnic nationalism will only serve to divide us further. Case in point : Barring Punjab and to a certain extent KP, look at the rest of the Provinces ? Furthermore, I as a Punjabi-Kashmiri have very little in common with a Baloch, a Sindhi and a Pathan; I don't speak their language, my heroes may not be their heroes and my culture may not be theirs. So why should they embrace me as one of their own ? Answer : Because we're Muslims; because Islamic polity is based on a common collective consciousness (Islam in other words) instead of such finite things like ethnicity and language. I belong to the Province of Punjab, Punjab has a rich culture of her own, a beautiful language of her own and I, as a son of this soil, am proud of my Province but at the same time I am extremely conscious of what Our Father taught us : You are Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis, Pathans - they are provinces, they are units...but have you forgotten what Islam taught us 1300 years ago that whatever else you maybe you are first a Muslim and that you have carved out a territory...a vast territory. It doesn't belong to a Sindhi or a Punjabi or a Pathan, it is 'Yours'. So if you wish to galvanize yourselves into a strong nation then for God's sake give up this Provincialism.
I don't want to get rid of Islamic nationalism, in fact I support Islamic nationalism. I don't like provincialism at all. A united Pakistan is the way to go, dividing ourselves up on the basis of provinces is a foolish idea no doubt, & I never advocated that. You forget that many of those provinces share a lot of similar cultural values with each other along with religion as well. Another point I want to make is that our Aryan roots are prevalent in each province of Pakistan, & that should aid in them embracing you as their own along with Islam itself of course.
My friend, that observation of Jinnah rings more true today then ever before. So don't go down this path of invoking ethnicity or linguistic based nationalism because it truly is a can of worms which will rip the very foundations of this nation apart. However, giving each ethnicity or linguistic group the space to express themselves, their language and their culture is perfectly agreeable because indeed 'Sindhi hum, Balochi hum, Punjabi hum, Pathan hum...' but Pakistaniyat mustn't be a collection of different ethnic nationalism but Our Common Identity as Muslims. Period.
Yes Islam is a common identity for all of us, once again, I am not promoting nationalism on the basis of provinces. However there are many Muslims around the world, Pakistanis aren't the only Muslims. Thus if we consider our common identity as Islam alone, then we should consider uniting all Muslims in to one nation, don't you agree? Pakistani nationalism or "Pakistaniyat" mustn't be based on Islamic nationalism alone, but it should also include our pre-Islamic past. That's all I am saying, honor your roots & honor Islam as well. Both forms of nationalism can co-exist in my opinion, I think the Arab world has the perfect balance of Arab & Islamic nationalism. By having some form of ethnic nationalism, you benefit from not only learning about & respecting your ancestors but it aids in the continuation of your culture & heritage. Once again I am not advocating provincial nationalism, but Pakistani nationalism with an
Aryan & Islamic twist.
And my friend, there is no such thing as an Aryan Nationality....its far too back into the past and the rest of us, despite having a common ancestor, have evolved into such different directions that convergence is nearly impossible. Not to mention...how are you going to break this news to the illiterate amongst us who wouldn't be able to differentiate 'Aryan' from 'Arian' !
Exactly, Pakistanis should learn about & respect all the different cultures present in Pakistan however we must study & acknowledge our pre-Islamic ancestry as well. I agree with you that informing people about their Aryan or pre-Islamic heritage will be a hell of a job.
As for the Iqbal poetry, once again bro I don't want to get rid of religious unity, in fact I want it to be promoted. I just want Pakistanis to love their heritage as well as their religion.
If you say that not everyone in Pakistan is a Muslim then it is also true that not everyone in Pakistan has Aryan roots. There is a sizeable population in Pakistan that ascribes it's roots to Arab diaspora, hence, Semitic and Non-Aryan, there are also plenty of people who are of Dravidian ancestry. How about people of Central Asia that came with Mughals, many of the were Mongoloid. Will these people not feel left out?
Yes some people do not have Aryan roots, I realize that bro, but they have been greatly influenced by Aryan culture & I am sure almost all of them speak an Indo-Aryan language such as Urdu.
Bro, taking pride in our ancestors is what I call as 'Ancestor Worship', this is something we are not supposed to do; I will explain by 2 quick examples:
I am not talking about following our ancestors blindly lol. I love Islam & I will never ever change my religion trust me on that.
Talking about pride - this is what Satan did, pride is the cardinal sin.
Talking about roots (biological) - all mankind was born from a single being (Nafs). Our ancestors are from Africa, we have a single root.
Talking about Nationhood - demarcation of political boundaries is a man made system. Nation State is an idea that (according to Michael Woods - the historian) is bound to go to the dustbin of history. Anyhow will you prefer a man made system to a system prescribed by Allah (SWT)?
When I say pride I don't mean we should feel superior, what I mean is that we should learn about & respect our own civilizations & develop some form of unity based on it along with religion.
As for the out of Africa theory, I am not too sure about that, besides where did Prophet Adam land again? I used to have some references regarding Adam's descent too earth, but I hope some one else in the forum can comment on that. Anyway lets assume that the out of Africa theory was true, even then my latest ancestors came from the Indus, I never knew Africa, I can't possibly consider it my home.
Of course I love the system of God as in the Islamic law a lot more than any other law or system of governance. In fact I would love to see proper Sharia law implemented in Pakistan. If you are talking about the Caliphate, if it existed, I would definitely support it, but that doesn't mean I should forget about my culture & heritage.
No I think this concept of Aryan and Dravidian is BS. Do remember it first appears in India by the Hindus, and has nothing to do with us. Beside, being an Aryan doesn't make one superior in any sense.
I second that. "Pride" is the root of all destruction. It was West Pakistan's pride which caused the split between East and West, and it was the pride of Iblis we're suffering in this world. We should avoid such things
No not exactly, not shirk. Shirk is vastly different, Aryan nationalism is closer to "pride" and "tribalism"
Don't worry bro, I won't be offended by arguments lol.
I couldn't comment on your profile page to respond. I don't think being Aryan makes us superior, I think you are confusing that with Nazi Germany's view about the Aryans lol. I think pride is a good thing to an extent, but again too much of pride will be bad.
Once again I just want to state, I am not advocating provincialism or racism or getting rid of religious unity. All I am saying is that Pakistanis should learn about & respect their roots while at the same time be Islamic as well. Anyway I don't want this thread to go too of topic, I will open a thread about this later Insha Allah.
Anyway I have to sleep now I have got work tomorrow lol.