Moin Shakir and ‘Women in Muslim Society’

Moin Shakir’s ‘Women in Muslim Society’ as it appears in ‘Status of Women in Islam’ edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, demonstrates that very few Islamic countries have in fact progressed at the desired pace. Much of what Shakir writes in ‘Women in Muslim Society’ can still be applied today.

Published in 1987, twenty years ago, the question of the position of women in Islam remains pertinent.

Shakir comments that ‘the practice of seclusion or veil existed in the pre-Islamic times. In the same way a number of customs which are now treated as Islamic have nothing to do with Islam. These customs and practices have been the features f the social and cultural life of the people who did not abandon them after embracing Islam. The example of the Indian Muslim social structure may be instanced here. This may be described the folk aspect of religion which may go or may not go against the letter and spirit of normative aspect of religion. In other words religion, normative or popular, is not and should not be viewed as an autonomous and independent phenomenon.’

Status of Women in Islam, edited by Asghar Ali Engineer was first published in 1987 by Ajanta Publications.

 

Harappa and much more…..

Okay folks, it’s not everyday you come across a cave full of treasure. But here is one I discovered recently…. have a look at this excellent website.

 I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, particularly this comparative of Lahore Railway Station in Pakistan. 

Gulgee is no more – a tribute

The great painter, Gulgee was murdered in his home in Karachi along with his wife and the maid servant. A bizarre killing by any means, the only items that are missing is the family car. The police are currently looking for a servant and a driver.

Karachi has the highest crime figures in Pakistan and is a dangerous and ruthless place for the non-elite and elite alike.

Gulgee was a self-taught painter and rose to prominence by doing portraits of important leaders such as King Faisal  and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. 

His work changed dramatically and went into religious and spiritual realms, providing the Islamic world of some of the most mesmerising calligraphy. Vasl, an international artist’s collective based in Pakistan, considers Gulgee as one of the Master painters of Pakistan. The collective hold an impressive collection of images by Gulgee which you can see by clicking here. 

Gulgee’s art will be greatly missed.

Tariq Ali on Benazir Bhutto

It was not good to start 2008 in this way. The events in Pakistan  over the last month or so have been shocking, unsettling and ensured a rapid change for the people of Pakistan.  With Benazir’s son being sworn in as the leader of the PPP, whilst her husband controls the puppet, a feudal dynasty continues.

I was deeply affected by Tariq Ali’s article in the Independent newspaper that a good friend alerted me to where Tariq passionately and eloquently puts the argument of the state of politics in Pakistan and perhaps the Indian Sub-continent.

He starts his article by stating that his heart bleeds for Pakistan and that it deserves better than this grotesque feudal charade and draws an analogy to Mary, Queen of Scots. He writes that “Six hours before she was executed, Mary, Queen of Scots wrote to her brother-in-law, Henry III of France: “…As for my son, I commend him to you in so far as he deserves, for I cannot answer for him.” The year was 1587.

On 30 December 2007, a conclave of feudal potentates gathered in the home of the slain Benazir Bhutto to hear her last will and testament being read out and its contents subsequently announced to the world media. Where Mary was tentative, her modern-day equivalent left no room for doubt. She could certainly answer for her son.

A triumvirate consisting of her husband, Asif Zardari (one of the most venal and discredited politicians in the country and still facing corruption charges in three European courts) and two ciphers will run the party till Benazir’s 19-year-old son, Bilawal, comes of age. He will then become chairperson-for-life and, no doubt, pass it on to his children. The fact that this is now official does not make it any less grotesque. The Pakistan People’s Party is being treated as a family heirloom, a property to be disposed of at the will of its leader.

Nothing more, nothing less. Poor Pakistan. Poor People’s Party supporters. Both deserve better than this disgusting, medieval charade.

Benazir’s last decision was in the same autocratic mode as its predecessors, an approach that would cost her – tragically – her own life. Had she heeded the advice of some party leaders and not agreed to the Washington-brokered deal with Pervez Musharraf or, even later, decided to boycott his parliamentary election she might still have been alive. Her last gift to the country does not augur well for its future.

How can Western-backed politicians be taken seriously if they treat their party as a fiefdom and their supporters as serfs, while their courtiers abroad mouth sycophantic niceties concerning the young prince and his future.

That most of the PPP inner circle consists of spineless timeservers leading frustrated and melancholy lives is no excuse. All this could be transformed if inner-party democracy was implemented. There is a tiny layer of incorruptible and principled politicians inside the party, but they have been sidelined. Dynastic politics is a sign of weakness, not strength. Benazir was fond of comparing her family to the Kennedys, but chose to ignore that the Democratic Party, despite an addiction to big money, was not the instrument of any one family.

Click here for the complete article.