Page 23 - Pakistan Link - March 17, 2023

CONTINUATION PAKISTAN LINK - MARCH 17, 2023 - P23

Memoirs of Lt Gen Gul Hassan Khan – creates space for others to do the same,” by whites or other races who are not become known among the true fol- by affordable house prices.
A Good Reference Point she says. “It has that ripple effect within Muslim. Movies, series, and television lowers of our beloved Prophet, peace “We have all kinds up here,” said
for Chaotic Times our community.” shows also continue to misrepresent and blessings be upon him, in our final Kline, ticking off “old-timers who have
(Continued from page 4) Other approaches to addressing Islam. Additionally, politicians and abode. Ameen. been up here 30 or 40 years”; “hippies
Zia was in serious trouble for his con- communal or personal trauma can in- evangelical fanatics have built mil- (Umm Ahmed is an early child- and our potheads”; and “newcomers
duct during a deputation to Jordan be- clude things like radical self-healing, lion-dollar organizations dedicated to hood educator and mother of three who don’t know how to drive in the
cause of which his commanding officer community-based care, or volunteer- spreading misinformation and demon- boys. Always on the quest to learn, she snow.”
(then) Brigadier Nawazish Ali Khan ing, says Zhang. “It’s important for us izing Muslims worldwide. is passionate about seeking knowledge Melissa Johnson, a bartender at
wrote in a confidential document that to honor our own particular styles of Throughout all this, Muslims have and passing it on to others. A writer the Stockade who grew up in Crestline,
Zia “is not fit to be an officer in the self-care, and to keep in mind that be- remained patient, finding solace in the in the making, she draws inspiration said of her hometown: “It’s a special,
Pakistan Army.” Yet, he was the man ing in community can be part of that.” timeless guidance of the Qur’an, in through deep conversations, laws of quaint place. You’re up in the moun-
who held the levers of power in Paki- This community-centered ap- which Allah says: nature, and her own children. She and tains, hidden away from the city.”
stan for eleven years – perhaps the lon- proach is central to the ethos of “They want to extinguish the light her family are currently living in Abu New arrivals include Foxhound
gest of anyone in that role. AMHP, which, as Zhang says, is of Allah with their mouths, but Allah Dhabi, UAE) Productions, a film company that re-
And it probably won’t come as a grounded in the idea that “we care refuses except to perfect His light, al- https://www.soundvision.com/ cently set up shop in an old theater
surprise how Zia paid back the favor to for each other.” This includes securing though the disbelievers dislike it.” article/on-minimalism-seeking-inspi- in the center of town. “Not in recent
Gul Hasan. He briefly imprisoned Gul people’s material needs, such as food (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:32) ration-from-our-beloved-prophet?eT memory have we benefited from a
Hasan based on an arrest warrant is- and housing security, and providing Although it may seem discourag- ype=EmailBlastContent&eId=201935 movie production company moving
sued by Bhutto whom Zia had already language-informed, culturally compe- ing, it is important to recognize that Is- 4e-17e3-4dea-bf41-8484f52bf43f from Malibu to the mountains,” the
overthrown. tent psychological care. lamophobia has always existed for the local newspaper, The Alpine Moun-
An important character trait in a Zhang says that this combination Muslim community – even before the Balochistan Misunderstood taineer, reported last month, before the
leader, especially a military command- of professional and communal sup- word was coined. Indeed, true believ- (Continued from page 16) storm. The snow collapsed Foxhound’s
er, is to take responsibility for out- port, plus a broader cultural shift to- ers have always been tested with rejec- for cranes, gantries, heavy vehicles roof as well.
comes, both good and bad. If a leader wards openly discussing mental health, tion and persecution, starting with the and forklifts. Later, upon googling, the After the storm, some residents
has the courage to take ownership for a can be help disrupt cycles of trauma Prophets and Messengers. Islamopho- per-piece price ranged from $30,000- were so frustrated by what they saw as
negative outcome, then he has a great- and break down lingering taboos. bia may be here to stay, but as long as $50,000. All are spanking new, still a slow response by the county to clear
er chance of earning the respect from “One of the things that we find believers remain steadfast, the help of under plastic covers. On this vast but roads and deliver supplies that they
those who are following. Both spoken very important is how we break these Allah is always near. He instructed in desolate campus there are no teachers, called the office of Gov Gavin New-
and written words become worthy of cycles of violence, and in turn cycles of the Qur’an: students, or staff — only chowkidars. som, who eventually dispatched the
believing if there is honesty. In this trauma,” Zhang says. “Say, ‘Nothing will ever befall us No one has a clue of how to get things National Guard to the area. The Guard
respect, Gul Hassan will have earned “And a lot of the answers lie in de- except what Allah has destined for us. moving. organized food drops from Blackhawk
the respect of those who chose to read stigmatizing talking about our feelings, He is our Protector.’ So in Allah let the This is development gone mad. helicopters.
the book in these chaotic times to find and also providing comprehensive believers put their trust.” But who is to blame and who will Chelsia Martinez, 26, a stay-at-
inspiration while practicing healthy in- community care initiatives that will (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:51) foot the bill? Was there a PC-1 plan- home mother living in Crestline, said
trospection. address these from the root of the is- ning document, and what’s in it? Still, she called the governor’s office twice,
sue.” – Ethnic Media Services Image via End Notes Gwadar’s development will doubtless and was told they would add her name
Battle for the Soul of a Subcontinent - 3 Unsplash 1 Islamophobia. (2023, February benefit those who have always won. to the growing list of residents who had
(Continued from page 5) 23). In Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia. Vast areas have been cordoned off with phoned.
cius, that without a correct under- Islamophobia: A Historic Timeline org/wiki/Islamophobia razor wire for various official organiza- “I always wanted to live in the
standing of the past there can be no be- (Continued from page 8) 2 God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, His tions and their housing schemes. Colo- mountains,” said Martinez, who moved
nevolent paths to the future. The sub- depicting Muslims as barbaric insur- Ottoman Empire, and the Making of nization, of course, is too strong a word to town last year. “I’m getting the full
continent has only two stark choices: gents. This negatively influenced pub- the Modern World by Alan Mikhail. to use here. Let’s just say it’s the familiar experience now.”
nuclear holocaust which the buildup lic opinion and the situation worsened Liveright Publishing Corporation desire for officer colonies. She said she spent her cooped-up
of vicious propaganda and hatred may once violence found its way to the (2020). (1st ed., pp. 2, 90). An unexpected encounter be- time playing board games including
well push people towards or to pull US. Some of the attacks carried out 3 Historic Timeline: National tween Quetta and Gwadar led to a Monopoly with her children. Finding
back from the vitriol and violence and on American soil were vehicle bombs Counterterrorism Center. Retrieved three-hour conversation with a ju- food was a daily adventure: She would
begin the process of healing. If the lat- planted at Kennedy Airport, First Israel March 7, 2023, from https://www.dni. nior army officer, a Kakul graduate. walk to food distribution sites at the
ter is to succeed, the subcontinent must Bank and Trust Company, and the Is- gov/nctc/timeline.html#1969 (n.d.) Brilliant and likeable, he engaged town’s library and at a church, the Jubi-
stand with those who promote peace rael Discount Bank in New York City 4 Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the TTP in firefights in South Wa- lee Mountain Fellowship. At one point,
and understanding while preserving on March 7, 1973; a hostage situation addressing headquarters seminar Wed, ziristan. Well, how do they compare she said, the local McDonald’s was
their own integrity like Vivekananda. in Washington, DC involving a Mus- Confronting Islamophobia. United Na- against BLF/BLA? He laughed: these clearing out its supplies, giving away
As someone committed to peace in the lim Hanafi group in March 9, 1977; tions, press release, 7 December 2004. are criminals and adventurists. But milk, cheese, and powdered eggs.
subcontinent and harmony between and several attacks on US embassies in Wendy Díaz is a Puerto Rican TTP are formidable hardcore terror- Rim of the World High School,
its great faiths, I pray that the vision of Muslim countries in the late 70’s and Muslim writer, award-winning poet, ists. He then paused: he’d rather fight perched on a mountain ridge in the
peace succeeds. early 80’s.3 translator, and mother of six. She is elsewhere where he would be liked by town of Lake Arrowhead with majes-
(Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khal- In 2000, Former Secretary-Gen- the co-founder of Hablamos Islam, a people, not here. tic views of the San Bernardino Valley,
dun Chair of Islamic Studies, School eral of the United Nations, Kofi An- non-profit organization that produces Intriguing! This begged my ques- has been open as an emergency shelter,
of International Service, American nan, declared that the word Islamo- educational resources about Islam in tion — why don’t you people just go with cots set up in the gymnasium and
University, and Wilson Center Global phobia was a term that needed to be Spanish (hablamosislam.org). She has back home? Leave law-and-order to library.
Fellow, Washington DC, and was the used to “take account of increasingly written, illustrated, and published over the local police and Baloch Levies? He Rafaela Rendon, 79, has been stay-
former Pakistan High Commissioner widespread bigotry.”4 Orientalism had a dozen children’s books and currently sighed. Yes, this should happen sooner ing there since being displaced from
to the UK and Ireland.) already set the stage for negative per- lives with her family in Maryland.) rather than later. But both are under- her home by the storm. Her 6-year-
ceptions of adherents to Islam. Further https://www.soundvision.com/ equipped, under-trained and, being old dog, a cream-colored mutt named
Recent Mass Shootings Deepen Stigma anti-Muslim sentiment spread quickly article/islamophobia-a-historic-ti locals, have families that terrorists can Cookie, stayed close to her, cowering
around Mental Health for Asian after terrorist attacks occurred in New meline?eType=EmailBlastConten target. This young officer doesn’t want at her feet under her walker. “She’s so
Americans York on February 26, 1993, and Sep- t&eId=f66f6bc7-bbdb-4d1e-9de6- to be seen as part of an occupation traumatized,” Rendon said of the dog.
(Continued from page 6) tember 11, 2001. Although both at- 0032e0472027 force. Though troubled, he still loves “She’s afraid of people. She’s afraid of
first step toward providing support. tacks were purportedly committed by the army. everything. She wasn’t like that before.”
Those signs include disruptions to daily Muslim extremists, the latter was the Prophet Muhammad on Minimalism: Those at the center of power Dr Troy Pennington, who works
functioning: unusual sleeping and eat- deadliest – with nearly 3,000 people Seeking Inspiration from imagine Balochistan as some faraway, with the county fire and sheriff’s de-
ing patterns, being unable to get out of losing their lives – leaving the nation Our Beloved Prophet barren land of tribals. Far too rich to partment and specializes in emergency
bed, social isolation, or mood swings. shaken with fear and anger. “Never (Continued from page 17) be left alone, they think it must be gov- medicine, has been treating patients in
Signs that these symptoms have esca- forget” became the slogan for Ameri- but also detested miserliness. He would erned from afar. Stunted development an office at the school.
lated into a crisis, however, include a can patriotism and an endless vendetta urge people to share their wealth and springing from this regressive mindset “In the first few days, we had some
preoccupation with ideas of dying, or against Islam. blessings with others, for greater re- is driving Pakistan back onto the rocks. pretty sick people,” he said. There were
speaking as if there’s no future. Since then, Muslims have been ward. As mentioned in the Qur’an, Balochistan — and for that matter the homeless people who had been living
Wang stresses, however, that pres- publicly demonized by politicians, re- “And do not let those who ‘greed- concept of Pakistan — will have to be in tents in the woods, schizophrenics
suring people to find professional help ligious fanatics, and the mainstream ily’ withhold Allah’s bounties think it re-understood in very new ways. Else in need of medication, burn victims
can sometimes be counterproductive. media. The entire Muslim world was is good for them—in fact, it is bad for history will exact its awful toll as it did whose houses had burned down be-
She suggests that as an alternative first put on trial for the actions of a few. them! They will be leashed ‘by their once. But next time around, the price cause of gas leaks.
step community members can help to Falsehoods about Islam and Muslims necks’ on the Day of Judgment with could be still steeper. Asked about the frustrations of
undo prevailing mental health stigmas continue to be perpetuated by the me- whatever ‘wealth’ they used to with- The writer is an Islamabad-based residents who believed the county
by being more “vulnerable with the dia; in daily news, imbalanced cover- hold. And Allah is the ‘sole’ inheritor of physicist and writer/ Dawn). could have been better prepared for the
more human aspects of who we are.” age of criminal acts labeled as terror- the heavens and the earth. And Allah is storm, he paused.
She continues, “When we do that, ism by individuals who happen to have All-Aware of what you do.” Coping with Mountains of Snow in the “I don’t know,” he said. “The re-
I believe that we give other people what been born into Muslim families or who (Surah Ali- Imran, 3:180) San Bernardino Mountains, ality is, it’s so overwhelming. It’s a
I like to call the gift of going second. are Muslim by name, and the dearth May Allah help us all attain that (Continued from page 18) hundred-year storm.” - The New York
When I go first and share my story… it of coverage of similar acts committed level of spiritualism so that we may the Inland Empire and were attracted Times Company
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