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THE "PAN ISLAMISM" PROBLEM FOR PAKISTAN.
The lay-muslim's desires for political Islam beyond borders has transformed into a geopolitical & societal problem for Pakistan.
Flawed understanding of Pan Islamism is bad for Muslims.
A THREAD.
The lay-muslim's desires for political Islam beyond borders has transformed into a geopolitical & societal problem for Pakistan.
Flawed understanding of Pan Islamism is bad for Muslims.
A THREAD.
I don't like talking about religion/spiritual things as when it comes to politics, I speak secularly. But Pan Islamism is a huge issue for Pakistanis & their flawed understanding of it is causing so many issues that I felt it was important to get the ball rolling on it.
Islam goes beyond borders- it is a unifying force of an incredible magnitude. People from all over the world sympathise with each other over shared values, morals & traditions. Due to this spiritual connection, there is no need to sabotage existing borders for "Ummah" concepts.
The contiguous Ummah west to east goes from Morocco to Pakistan/IoJK. I am Pakistani & my dearest friend is Moroccan- we have a deep spiritual & moral connection. Yet, we see the vast difference in mentality, development & understand fully we are from two separate countries.
Values may have overlaps, but our identity aside from Islam is separate & this is acceptable & beautiful. We value each other as human beings. Is that not what Islam mandates? Is that not a spiritual connection? We are part of the same Ummah.
"...We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other)..."
49:13, The Holy Qur'an
49:13, The Holy Qur'an
Difference between people from Morocco/Malaysia is obvious. Same for Mauritania & Saudi Arabia, as far as wealth, culture & other things go. Take into consideration different people & their differing needs & security situation. Forget even that, look at Shia/Sunni & even madhabs!
You look at Iran, who uses the same Ummah/Pan Islam rhetoric to get support from gullible Pakistanis & see they send our people to their deaths. Why don't they use their own Iranians? Not to mention, look how they treat their Muslims. A "Muslim" country but enemy to Pak.
There is the argument that Muslims would be more secure as one bloc or nation, but even within existing countries you have widespread violence & discrimination against minorities: see Afghanistan & how minority races are treated in Afghanistan. Ummah concept falls flat.
Afghanistan is one country out of many, that has a widespread racism problem against fellow Muslims. Yet, there are Pakistanis that chase unification with Afghanistan on the basis of Islam, or skewed pro Ummah security considerations. Nobody in Afghanistan wants that.
Pakistanis can't even get IoJK to want to join them, despite fighting tooth & nail for them. Bangladesh dumped them. They can't get fellow Pashtuns in Afghanistan onside & only recently got back balance in their own Waziristan & Balochistan. Muslims barely keep together.
You can talk about pro Ummah, but if you can barely (& they thankfully have turned a corner) keep your own Muslims together, what makes you think people in Bosnia & Malaysia want to unite with you? Why should Saudi Arabia share its oil weath with Turkey or Bangladesh?
All these spiritual ambitions overlook the tangible reality of people's needs. Punjab with its many rivers & flat land is lush & secure, but barren & mountainous Balochistan has severe water issues. Even in the same country, Pakistan, people have massive difference in needs.
Many people are worrying about Pan Islamism when they can't even look after their own people & give them the basic resources. These same resources/geopolitical needs are the reasons why countries in Muslim world are at odds. Yes, Muslims can make confessions for each other, but:
You are asking to share resources like river water, wealth one province has made etc & you then have to worry about the economic implications of those for that province & how that will affect & disrupt those people. Nothing is as simple as "sharing", because of human nature.
Even within one country, people's survival instinct & desire for safety, resources goes (rightfully) far above their desire for unification with a people of a different land & language. It is absolute basic human nature & there are ways to avoid this.
Pakistan should focus on its own progression & people should drop these ideas of Pan Islam & grow their country's economy & focus only on Pakistan's security situation, not those of Bosnia & Algeria except how they may affect Pakistan.
Ask yourself, would anyone from Bosnia or Kosovo even want to unify with you? Let's even get shared passports & see poor Pakistanis in Tharparkar fly over to Bosnia & then see how they would get treated.
With economic development & integration, Pakistan can help those in frontier regions & will be doing a great thing for the Muslims (& non) in its country. If you want Ummah, why don't you start by focusing on the people in your administration that you actually can help?
A strong Pakistan is good for all Muslims, as Pakistan has greater military potential than other Muslim countries & is a pivot state with great geopolitical value. A strong Pakistan can help Muslims diplomatically & maybe even militarily- but in this moment is unable.
So in the mean time, why don't you focus on making Pakistan as powerful as it possibly can be? There are issues in Pakistani society so atrocious such as abuse of minorities, litter & filth & poverty and people are talking about uniting with irrelevant countries.
You can't look after your own people, let alone others. In fact, forget your own people, Pakistanis have severe issues in their own lives that make them largely unproductive. Why don't you fix your own lives & be useful for your country in line with religious values?
There are those 16-25 trying to wake up the Ummah, instead they should worry about waking up for school/work so they can be productive & ambitious & help grow their country & bring wealth & prosperity to their fellow Muslims. "Ummah" talk is a distraction from their own lives.
You can't even be loyal to your own friends, you have family feuds & you think you can happily marry other countries that have nothing in common with you other than religion? Think about your own inadequacy & try to replicate that on a country level.
I am telling Pakistanis, focus on your country, which can be a great platform to help Muslims, but currently is barely alive & in poverty. Focus on making Pakistan clean, green, prosperous & with good values for ALL its people before you worry about fixing the entire planet.
We have to stop allowing Iran & others drag Pakistan through the emotional blackmail of "Ummah" & focus on what is good for our people. Islam should not be used to sabotage Pakistan or any other country & the best way to avoid that is to focus on your national interests
On top of this... Dear Pakistanis, we can't even treat our own Hindus & Christians with respect who yearn for the same opportunity to prosper Pakistan as any Muslim. We have so many bigger problems. Please, let's fight the extremism that comes from flawed Pan Islamist ideas.
