The journey from extremism to tolerance,
Muhammad Rabnawaz Awan
Had I not transformed,
I would have termed Dr A.Q. Khan, arguably the biggest Pakistani patriot on the
face of the earth, as a traitor for using the word ‘massacre’ for Operation
Searchlight victims
I
began life quite religiously. Raised in an ultra-Muslim home, I attended a
religious school at an early age. My father, a die-hard fan of Muhammad
Ziaul-Haq, the former military dictator of Pakistan, had a great influence on
my thinking. Haq is often epitomised as religious extremism in Pakistan. The
unbounded admiration of the authoritarian leader had made my father one of the
most ardent haters of democracy on the planet. Perhaps predictably, I shared
his ideological hatred toward democracy.
In
my youth, I had a highly simplified view of the world. I was an implacable
enemy of India, as it was considered a prerequisite for all Pakistani patriots
to hate India day in day out. In those days, I would approvingly quote the
lofty thought of Ghulam Ahmad Parwez, a “liberal” Islamic scholar, who had
demonised Hindus by calling them bloodthirsty beasts, dreadful crocodiles, and
cunning foxes.
Nawa-i-Waqt,
the ultimate guardian of the ideology of Pakistan, was heaped praised by me
because it had reproduced this demonisation of Hindus on February 22, 2004. Now
I imagine what would have the reaction in Pakistan if any Indian newspaper had
published such a piece against Muslims.
Besides
his credentials as a journalist, Majeed Nizami, the late media baron, was also
my hero due to his fondest wish of “be(ing) tied to a nuclear bomb and
get(ting) dropped on India.” I also felt highly obliged to his most patriotic
newspaper in the country, which had informed us that the 9/11 attack was
carried out by the Americans themselves and that “there were 4,000 Jews who
were absent from work that day.”
I
also regarded Zaid Zaman Hamid, a controversial political commentator, as my
hero due to his anti-India rhetoric. At that time, I had little ability to get
past the rhetoric and critically analyse what was motivating the speaker. Orya
Maqbool Jan’s diatribe against democracy and secularism highly appealed me
without knowing that secularism and tolerance were virtually synonymous with
each other. Jan had also made me believe that democracy is against the Quran.
Before
evolution, likewise most of the religious young people, my premature
politicised mind was ripe to receive any ideology that would have sought the
solution to the ummah’s problems in a black-and-white manner. This was why I
was attracted to Islamism; a political ideology that sought to overthrow
democracy in order to implement a narrowly-interpreted Sharia law.
In
those days, my fondest desire was to see an Islamic revolution. The rhetoric of
peaceful revolution from a Barelvi school of thought revolution-seeker party
was so appealing to me. So, in order to bring the peaceful Islamic revolution,
I formally joined it in 2002. But I was deeply disappointed when this ingrate
nation did not recognise my leader as its messiah despite him wanting to serve
in the humble position of prime minister under Pervez Musharraf, the former
military dictator. Now, when I analyse the past events dispassionately, it
reveals on me that it was his delusion of grandeur that had led him on to his
unfortunate fate.
East
Pakistan had occupied a special place in my narrative of victimhood. To me,
losing a half of my country in 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh was the
ultimate proof of Jewish and Hindu sinister conspiracies against Muslims. I
loved to live in denial. My approach remained, “If there are any problems in
this country, it is all outsiders fault. Let alone blame, we don’t deserve any
criticism.” Regarding
East Pakistan, I used to believe that it were Hindu teachers who had preached
hate against West Pakistan. Consequently, the Bengalis were misguided. In fact,
I was a staunch supporter of brutal military action, which had parted them
from us as far as the East is from the West.
I
used to call the voters and supporters of the Awami League traitors, and any
criticism, no matter how reasoned, of the military establishment role in the
breaking of Pakistan would disturb me immeasurably. The most important fact
regarding the creation of Bangladesh was missing in my discourse those days;
the holocaust of Bengalis. Had I not transformed, I would have termed Dr
A.Q. Khan, arguably the biggest Pakistani patriot on the face of the earth, as
a traitor for using the word ‘massacre’ for Operation Searchlight victims.
It
was not until my late twenties that I met a mentor who altered the course of
not only my life but also my thinking. My desire to question my own assumptions
was greatly encouraged by him. I can distinctly remember the struggle to leave
years-old prejudices behind. I used to think as if I was on trial. My
half-baked ideas were under scrutiny. Later, due to the courtesy of the
constant thought- therapy by a father-figure guide, it slowly dawned on me that
I needed to get away from simplistic ideas of good and evil.
I
was urged to believe in research before forming my opinions. By improving my
critical thinking skills, I ceased to be a blind follower as well as
defender of any ideology. Consequently, I am now at peace with myself and
others. I have also realised that substantial reliance on hearsay is an
impediment to success.
In
addition, I have realised that unsubstantiated assertions should be debated and
challenged. And it is imperative that educated people amongst us develop a
counter-narrative against the victim mentality and self-touted righteousness
upon the rest of the world. Based on my own experiences, my message to the
youth — subject to brainwashing in Pakistan—would be to develop their own
capacities to tolerate the dissenting opinion. Further, they should work on
developing their critical thinking skills. Unfortunately, our education
system has no place for critical thinking skills. In fact, the term remains
alien to most of our teachers. And herein lies the problem. By contrast,
critical thinking has long been regarded as the essential skill for success in
Western educational systems. The need is thus that our educated people
should excel in critical thinking because it challenges the black-and-white
views of the society by undermining their simplification and certitude.
The
writer is an Islamabad-based media and public relations professional. He can be
reached at rabnawazminhaj@gmail.com. He tweets at @rabnawazminhaj
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