August 07, 2009
Another Riveting Book of Dr. Amjad Hussain
The latest book of Dr. Syed Amjad Hussain, “Treading a Fine Line”, carries 51 selected columns from hundreds he has contributed, over the past 15 years, to the op-ed pages of the widely read daily ‘Toledo Blade’. Dr. Hussain has also been for several years now a regular columnist of Pakistan Link too. Although I haven’t yet met him, I seem to know him intimately, as I have read most of his books and have also published reviews of four of them.
I have no hesitation in calling him a great man, a versatile genius, and above all, a noble man, a man of character. His columns in the book under review portray his integrity. A deep thinker, an erudite scholar, a man committed to total objectivity, he stands firmly by his views on an issue once he has formed them after considerable mental critique. No wonder, you wouldn’t find in his writings any conflicting views.
His courage of conviction leads him to express views that may not be palatable to some section or the other of his readers. After each column, he has reproduced the readers’ comments, most of which are scathingly critical of his stands. “Al Haqqo murrun”, says an Arabic adage, which means the truth is bitter. Dr. Hussain is no purveyor of bitterness as he is essentially a man of goodwill, but his integrity compels him to spell out the truth. On the issue of Palestine, he is as forthright as Jimmy Carter in his book ‘ Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid’. He has honestly reproduced the entire diatribe thrust upon him by pro-Israel readers.
He is no less critical of the Muslim clerics and Imams for their lack of clear and sound condemnation of the criminal acts of the Taliban. He writes: “And where are the self-appointed and self-anointed custodians of the Islamic faith who, while good at preaching to the choir and browbeating others to their restrictive religious viewpoints, are less than honest in their public discourse?” It is hard, he maintains, to rationalize with people who insist on living in the fossilized world of 7 th century Arabia.
Indeed, bad thing happen because good people do nothing.
A column of Amjad Hussain published on January 12, 2009, questioned why the US foreign policy was hostage to Israel. Why does a Congress elected by the people of this country become beholden to the interests of a foreign country? Analyzing the situation, he remarks: “It is no surprise that most Arab governments have sold their soul at the altar of the United States and Israel.”
This column has, as expected, produced the largest number of excoriating comments by pro-Israel elements of the society. The bonds between the US and Israel built in mutual interest and labeled as “unique” by President Bush, have led the US to exercise its veto in the Security Council frequently and firmly against any resolution having an adverse impact on Israeli interests. No wonder President Carter came in for much denigration for raising a voice against the repression of Palestinians in Israel.
Amjad Hussein’s column was actually a voice of protest against the carnage let loose by Israel against the Hamas in Gaza. Israeli charge of rocket attacks by Hamas sounded like the proverbial ewe being blamed for polluting the water upstream. Dr. Amjad has put it this way: “It seems most of my detractors are reading from the same script that blames the victim for the carnage.”
His column on honor killing of women has similarly stirred a lot of comments. He claims that the practice in several Middle Eastern countries is rooted in hoary tribal custom of reclaiming honor when, according to tribal code, a woman of the family has violated that code. The custom has no basis at all in religion, he emphasizes. In different countries and cultures it takes different forms but the more important point is that it must be condemned and put an end to legally or through persistent endeavors of leaders of opinion to cause shift in values. He finds fault with Muslim religious leaders in particular for their apathy in this respect.
Similarly, in his column on misconceptions on Islam, he faults the so-called custodians of Islam, the Ulema who, instead of adopting a more reasoned approach toward their faith, are content and comfortable with the centuries old commentaries and explanations which do not always measure up to logic and the dictates of modern age. This complacency strikes all the more odd when one takes into account the fact that Islam lays much emphasis on Ijtehad and application of thought to changed circumstances. “ Saudi Arabia”, he points out “is a good example where school textbooks still teach superiority of Islam over other religions and advise Muslims not to have non-Muslim friends. No wonder such intolerance was the incubator for the self-righteous and xenophobic beliefs of the 9/11 hijackers.”
His column on Turkey held a special significance for me, as I have spent over three years in that country on an assignment. I totally share his view that there has always been a disconnect between the elite in Ankara and Istanbul and the common folk in the country. People at large continue to be practicing Muslims, honest, truthful and hardworking. At the top of the elite’s agenda is the acceptance of Turkey into the European Union. Turkey’s application for membership of the EU is opposed by the Holy See on the ground that the Union is an exclusive Christian Club admitting no slot for a Muslim country.
Dr. Hussain, who has written a book “Taliban and Beyond” and who has exchanged views with several Taliban and does not fail to present their positive points, describes them as an anathema to many Muslims as they are, to non-Muslims. “I am on the side of the down-trodden and persecuted”, he writes, “I am certainly not on the side of zealots of any religious persuasion including Muslim zealots”. Further, he says: “It is time the Taliban face reality and abandon their grandiose ideas of molding the world into their own image.” He is understandably critical of the evangelists who make the war on terror look like a crusade.
Amjad Hussain is a man of two cultures, imbibing the best of both. A high achiever by any standard, a paragon of versatile talents, and a virtual monument to modesty and self-effacement, his thirst for knowledge brought him to the shores of the US, but his innate love for Peshawar, the city of his birth and breeding, has been taking him back there once or twice a year. His voluminous, wrist-breaking book on that city has won him laurels in many quarters. He is an excellent calligraphist in both English and Urdu, a good photographer, an essayist, columnist, an award-winning author, a connoisseur of music, and a linguist with proficiency in half a dozen languages. On the top of these attainments, his love of adventure took him along the entire course of river Indus, from its source in Tibet to its terminus in the Arabian Sea, by boat, raft, on the back of a horse or yak, or on foot.
What a versatile genius!
arifhussaini@hotmail.com
(The book can be ordered from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com. Price: $18)
