Seize the Day
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
The overreaction to the Balochistan hearings on Capitol Hill exemplifies the drought of wisdom and valor amongst sectors of Pakistani media, diplomacy, and establishment circles. Instead of the usual wailing about interference in internal affairs, pressure also could have been exerted on the US Congress to hold similar hearings on the humanitarian sufferings in Palestine and Kashmir. Having already opened the doors on this issue, the duality would have caused public discomfort. One could well have imagined how the ‘champions’ of democracy and human rights would have been unveiled. Here, too, the millions of American Muslims could have been prodded to direct their collective energies to rebut moves that undermine them.
To date, no effective counter-measures are in sight. And vested elements continue to profit from the disjointed global Muslim community as well as Western Muslims. In the US, Muslims still are transitioning from low-aimed economic priorities to full-fledged dignity values of citizenry.
Financially well-off elements are prone to be impressed very quickly and also to get depressed very quickly. One stumbling block is a timid mind-set. There is no collective action plan to curb rampant prejudice about Muslims that runs through mainstream Western circles. If unchecked, it may have a spillover inter-generational impact on future prospects of Muslims in the West.
One of the biggest drawbacks on the path of developing a dynamic thinking culture in the Muslim world is a defeatist mindset that, in effect, has consigned many at the elite level to passive resignation and victimhood. This mentality magnifies the prowess of imaginary foes and makes the mind paranoid about conspiracy theories.
No human force is capable of being omnipotent, infallible, and devising impregnable master plans. That is the domain of the Almighty.
The West itself is short of confidence and its self-image of unipolarity has been dented by setbacks in the aftermath of 9/11. The seemingly invincible have been unveiled as vulnerable.
The soil of Pakistan is not short of inspirational role models. The other day, I was asked to preside over an event commemorating the great Muslim media figure, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, at his home base of Sialkot. When the Maulana wielded his pen to uplift the Muslim masses, the British Raj was at its peak, decolonization was not yet on the horizon, and there was no social media like Twitter, Facebook or even the Internet or television. Yet, this doyen of Muslim journalism stood his ground and did not let the odds quench his volcanic fervor. Coincidentally, at his gravesite at nearby Karmabad, I discovered that I shared his birth date. Even if a few in the Muslim media are able to share some of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan’s zeal for Muslim renaissance, the story of the 21 st century would be one of grit, never-say-die spirit and accomplishment.
Today, despite tall talk, many at the top are sandwiched between timidity and temptation. To expect them, then, to provide strategic direction is futile. It is imperative that the spark is lit within the conscientious civil society to seize the day (carpe diem).
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