Where does your freedom of speech end?

In this case the downside was the dissemination of offensive ideas, notions, and actions Europe has, since the past 30 years, gradually turned into a hotspot for Islamophobes The European man, or woman for that matter, have allowed their minds to be poisoned by the constant Anti-Islamic propaganda championed by the Western media But to be fair and honest Muslims too have not lived up to the precepts of the founder of Islam and in the meanwhile, given others ample opportunities to point their fingers on us

For starters our extremely ignorant clerical lot have misinterpreted much of the Quran and Hadith and incited the young and old to see through the eyes and think with the brain of an extremist All militant organizations claim to hinge on the Quran and justify their terror through Hadith, most of which are fabricated Second, our own narrative builders have been unable to counter the rising wave of Islamophobia

There are 57 Muslim countries in the world and none have nurtured a film industry that could churn out Pro-Islam narrative to counter the ascending narrative against Islam for which Hollywood must be given full credit Third, emigrant Muslims who have settled in the West have been carrying themselves shamefully and have been often acting in the stereotypical savage fashion Given these conditions the recipe for increasing Islamophobia is rife and readily available for anyone to mix and concoct such narratives Sweden has been in the spotlight in the past few weeks for its perceived light-handedness towards Islamophobic extremists Last month, a Swedish national burnt the Quran in front of the Stockholm Central Mosque prompting swift outcry by Muslims around the world The most striking protest happened in Iraq s capital city, Baghdad, where the followers of Shia

Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr stormed the Swedish Embassy and damaged is infrastructure

Yet, such reactionary measures only provide a short-lived respite and just help the disgruntled an opportunity to vent their anger Not only is this not a good strategy to counter Islamophobia but to the contrary undermines the diplomatic image of the Muslim world; making the Western world feel more insecure and counterproductively feeds the anti-Islam narrative which the Muslim world direly needs to address What the Muslim world should rather do, through a collective and concerted effort is to lobby the governments of Europe and America and convince them of the need to introduce legislations that draw a line between freedom of speech and outright racism and bigotry The West must also be cautioned about the differing notions about religious personalities and scriptures among the Muslims and Non-Muslims For the secular world of the West Jesus Christ or Muhammad (PBUH) may be ordinary people who can be subject to the harshest criticism without expecting any reprisal but here in the Muslim world the Prophets, Messengers and the Scriptures they brought are held in utmost regard and the slightest disrespect towards them is not tolerated

Thus the Western governments should make the effort to stop such incidents from happening

The Muslims account for more than 2 billion souls or a quarter of the entire world population and every heart that beats in those chests carrie zero tolerance for blasphemy Allowing the burning of the Quran or publishing irresponsible caricatures of the Prophet (PBUH) is not as much allowing freedom of speech as it is being accomplice in provoking the Muslim World

The Writer is an Assistant Research Fellow at Balochistan Think Tank Network

Zaildar Road Ichra where he lived and died with his beliefs and conviction Hiltler s gift of a Renault car is also showcased there in a dilapidated state

It is indeed interesting that the man who bartered our freedom the first usurper titled his autobiography; “ Friends not Masters “ When he was being sidelined his thoughts changed in his own words; No one gives you freedom you have to fight for it no one fights for your freedom you have to fight for your own freedom

Yes indeed real freedom has to be won In a war one side has to lose and surrender there can be no draw

Send

Structure

Even in Test Cricket draws are a thing of the past, and most tests result in victory or loss with very few in betweens After 75 years of suffering it is time to straighten the state structure Climbing the slopes of the balconies of the Leaning Tower of Pisa left a lasting impression on me It was an unforgettable experience that made movement very difficult and scary Lombard Street is short which carries tourist interest only the same holds true for the Crooked Garden of Victoria, but dealing every day with a crooked state structure is an unbearable torture which must end Only Crooks can navigate through Crookedness like the Sharifs of Gawalmandi or the Zardaris of Nawabshah Their rise coincides with the fall of Pakistan which must be reversed to end the suffering of the masses and move the country forward like our brothers in Bangladesh who now chant Sonar Bangla (Bangla the beautiful) Words of the US national anthem say; Land of the brave and home of the free Hafeez Jullandari wrote; Quwatey Akhuwatey Awam (Power of the unity of the people), little did know he that the third usurper, Zia Jullandari wanted to remove these words After defacing the constitution he wanted a new tarana (anthem) In the words of Habib Jalib; Yai Us Ka Pakistan Jo Sadar-e-Pakistan Hai (The President owns the country) Can it get more crooked than that?

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

Peshawar cemeter y

T H E few Zoroastrian families living in Peshawar before 1947 had established their cemetery on the then North Circular Road (since renamed Sunehri Masjid Road) in the Peshawar Cantonment area That cemetery is no more in use

It was handed over to a private contractor who has turned it into a paid car parking lot There are reasons to suggest that the sprawling place should be put to better use, such as, say, a public park

First, the government is committed to respecting all faiths and their sensitivities As such turning the place into a public park would be more respectful of the choice than a commercial activity

Second, Peshawar, known as the city of flowers, is fast losing its sprawling public parks and the metropolis has turned into a concrete jungle Over the last decade, Peshawar Cantonment has been denuded of its public parks

The hockey ground on Fakhr-i-Alam Road is housing a threestorey store The Aman Chowk, with its flower-laden park, was excavated to build a bus station Nearby the playing field that was publicly used by the youngsters day and night, was first temporarily closed and has since been slapped with prison-like concrete boundary walls to keep the public away

As an institution, Pakistan Army is known for the promotion of physical activities The shrinking public facilities for physical development within the limits of Peshawar Cantonment, however, paint a different picture

Those in command would do well to intervene and turn the erstwhile cemetery into a public park It will be nice if it could be named appropriately

SAYED GB SHAH BOKHARI PESHAWAR

I don’t know

EVERY day on the way to my university I give a short ride to students who are on their way to their respective schools and colleges I often ask them what they want to be in the future, and I find it rather odd that most of them have no answer to that simple query

Recently, for a few days I started taking a count of such answers Of the six students I put the question to only one was able to answer that; he wanted to be a doctor The rest of them just said they did not know Even the students of grade IX and X are totally clueless about their dreams their goals and their future

We need to ponder what is going on What exactly are we doing wrong that has brought our youth to this unimaginative, aimless pass? We are overburdening our children with loads of books, and that is consuming all their energies, and making them dumb rote-learners who know nothing beyond the need to get good marks and grades

My sister, who is in grade VIII, carries a 10kg schoolbag to school every day Our children do not have the time or the ability to think on their own even when that thinking is about them-selves They have become accustomed to obsolete rote learning and do not like to explore or do anything on their own

Most parents just tell their children to go for a specific field without asking about their interests or providing them career counselling I do not know why we are doing all this to our children What I do know is that we are not doing the right thing