ہاں! میں باغی ہوں

If one asks the majority of Iranian youths why they want democracy, their immediate answers are surprisingly not freedom of speech, free elections or even a better economy. “Fun” is what most of them desire the most. Having fun without being told their behavior is un-Islamic or an attempt to topple the regime.
Since the Islamic Revolution, and the rise and fall of various government figures, the definition of fun in Iran has changed drastically. Often mixed with Islamic ideologies, some of the most basic social activities in Iran are defined improper for the youth and met with crackdowns, criticism and even arrests.
An event that aroused attention and hype in Iran last month was the gathering of over 800 Tehrani girls and boys in Water and Fire Park playing with water guns and bottles just laughing and wetting one another. The so called “water war,” which was originally organized via Facebook, spread to other major cities and became a cool way to pass a hot summer afternoon.
But a few days later, national TV aired its infamous confessions of those arrested with blacked out faces, speaking about the social media scheme in which young people had been seduced into toppling the regime through a water game.
How to respond to such serious allegations?  A mocking, sarcastic confession video of a young man explaining his extensive water gun training in Israel and America quickly spread via the event. Mass emails containing photos of happy faces and soaked-in-water youth in the park made the rounds through Iranian inboxes.  Further events were planned, such as a kite flying gathering in Isfahan that promised to bring the youth together for celebration of the end of summer.  On the kites, young people would scribble a dream before flying them in the air.
Yet perhaps the allegations are true.  What seems to most of us to be a joyful assembly of young men and women could at the same time very well be a protest against a system that constrains its youth’s most basic dreams.
Unfortunately, Iranians have witnessed or directly experienced the brutal clampdown of the regime not only after Presidential election, but also through the aid it’s believed to be giving to the neighboring country, Syria against protesters of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. In the wake of the Arab spring , when hope for the future of Iran could rise from the ashes of 2009 turmoil, it is news like that from Syria which creates fear and intimidation for Iranians, leaving them to come up with alternative ways to voice their opposition.  What could be better than “fun?”
And what could be better than mocking–and reapproptiating–what the government legitimizes as proper. For example, each year, the Ministry of Culture holds a Festival for Twins of all ages–a night of (government-sanctioned) celebration, with music, performance and laughter. So, young people organized a slightly less official Gathering of Curly Haired Ones in Tehran’s Melat Park and, my personal favorite, the Festival of Bad Fashion. It has been through these events that larger gatherings such as water war were born.
Not every one is happy to see the youth of a country, who make up 70 percent of the population, coming together. So, the authorities will do anything to stop them–either with intimidation beforehand or constant crackdowns, which are promoted as acts of “restoring order” and “enforcing Islamic values.”
For those who cannot attend these events for reasons varying from obligations to fear and suspicions, social media is a great way to rebel while having fun.
Last week, I received an invitation on Facebook for an event called Happy and Fun Event of Raping and Splashing Acid in Faces with more than fifteen hundred attending RSVPs. For the location, organizers say the event will be held in every villa, street, garden, home and even public space.
It’s a perfect example of how Iranian youth have used sarcasm and laughter against the pressure, disorder and insecurity surrounding their lives.
Even though I don’t believe the behaviors of these Iranian youth are entirely and purposefully acts of rebellion, I do believe when you live in a country where everything you do–from what you wear and who you are allowed to sit next to on the bus, to what music you can listen to–is controlled by a select few, every opportunity you take to have a little fun can be, consciously or unconsciously, a way to rebel.

With reference to the original post:
Parisa Saranj

Islam is not the solution for Pakistan; infact religion is never the solution for any country’s problems. I know many of you people might have got confused reading this, but let me take you in depth of this bitter reality.
Religion is always such a thing that makes the people flare and rise up against any extent and this is natural and no one can be blamed.
Unfortunately we live in such a country where everywhere we see religious extremists and they are abundant here. There is no way to teach them ethics and morals, because they have been completely brain washed and retrained in such a way that they even think, that abstaining from Islam means going against God, whether that way solves the problem.
I have never been a good Muslim, I accept my inside faults, I accept that I am not a true Muslim, but look around you, who is true Muslim around you, literally 2-3% population. The one whom you think is Muslim, is infact not. It is not the sign, if someone is having a white beard, beads (tasbeeh) in his hands and saying God, Prophet, it does not mean he is a true Muslim, Islam is not this at all, Islam does not teach us show off to pretend what you are not. Because unfortunately we have been brought up in such an environment that thinking such is taken as blasphemy. Today if you try to find a way going a little away of Islam, the people around you start hating you, watching you with shifty eyes and behavior that they can’t tolerate you.
Now I come towards main point, if you people think that in present situation, Islam is the only solution left, and then you think absolutely wrong, Islam is not the solution to problem of Pakistan, infact Islam and its implementation in Pakistan will make the problem even more badly that it can go beyond the control of people. Such disastrous will be aftermath.
Because today, more than 90% population of Pakistan is living a pseudo-Islamic life, living in a curtain of Islam but doing every sin in its cover. If you will try to implement Islam as a system of administration in Pakistan, it will only lead to chaos and discomfort. Because working this way, will only lead to dissatisfaction to people and uneasiness in their souls because the youth of 21st century is not used to such things at all. They haven’t seen the true Islamic figure and they are ignorant of it and suddenly implementing a system, will make a huge chaos in nature and society.
Instead we must focus on a system that is truly based on administration and proper management, we must think of being secular and then bring a system to 1st solve the chaos and then come towards religion on 2nd option but putting Islam on 1st option is only to worsen the situation.
The reason behind this, is simple, people are stupid, they rise when the issue is on religion, because it is such a value that no one likes to hear against it, and if we will try to implement it as the basic situation in PRSENT PAKISTAN SITUAION, it wont solve the problem.
We have to reform the law, redefine the justice and reshape the management, then we can think of a better system.

ISLAMABAD (May 16) -- Pakistanis are becoming the world's pariahs. Since being implicated in a steady stream of violent attacks -- from the London Tube bombings in 2005 to this month's failed attempt to bomb Times Square -- it seems almost inevitable now that when the next act of terrorism happens, a Pakistani will be involved.

As a Canadian of Pakistani descent, I've watched this pattern emerge with a rising sense of trepidation. Thirty-five years ago, when my parents decided to move to Canada, things were much different. Pakistanis were different. They were much in demand -- an intelligent, hard-working people who integrated and contributed positively to society, wherever they went.

What a terrible journey we've made since then.

Today, Pakistanis are objects of fear and suspicion. Wherever we go we must contend with the "terrorist" label and endure the scrutiny that accompanies it. Like many of my compatriots, I've been "interviewed" by the Joint Terrorism Task Force at the U.S. border, questioned at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and scrutinized with extra efficiency by a German border control officer. Every time it happens, a piece of advice a Sufi in Saudi Arabia once gave me cycles through my mind: "When an obstacle is placed in front of you," he said, "be like water -- flow around it."

Pakistanis are being asked to flow a lot these days, and it will not get better any time soon. Many people in the world must be asking why it is that so many acts of terrorism in the West seem to lead back to Pakistan. Is there something in the Pakistani psyche that makes them susceptible to violence?

What those people might be surprised to hear is that Pakistanis are asking the same questions.

At the forefront is something quite basic: How did this happen? How, in 30 years -- a mere generation -- have Pakistanis gone from being desirable to becoming undesirables?

The standard narrative goes something like this: During the 1980s, the U.S. promoted violent jihad in Pakistan to create a proxy army to fight against the godless Soviets in Afghanistan. The Americans funded the growth of jihad ideology, encouraged the construction of madrasas -- religious seminaries that have now become militant birthing grounds -- and are now fighting the jihadists they helped to create, including Osama bin Laden.

But there is another side to the story. After Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan, Pakistan's military establishment decided to continue using the jihadists as proxies, both in Afghanistan and in Kashmir. That cold-hearted act of realpolitik was inspired by a neo-Cold War mentality in which India was -- and still is -- viewed as an existential threat to Pakistan.

Most Pakistanis feel that America has brought war on them, a war no one here wanted and which is ultimately killing Pakistanis. But for me, and for a silent minority of Pakistanis as well, there is an alarming lack of recognition of the role played by Pakistan's own armed forces and intelligence agencies in sending Pakistan down the road to jihad.

There are two reasons for this. First, for decades, Pakistan's generals have diligently maintained the illusion that the army is the only reason Pakistan has not collapsed. Pakistanis are spoon-fed this false perception from childhood, indoctrinated into believing that the army is the Great Savior, the Protector, the Guardian.

Second, opposing the army can have dire consequences. The execution of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 is one salient example. The mounting evidence of an army role in the December 2008 assassination of his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, is another.

Just a few days ago my uncle expressed his concern in connection with the work I was doing tracing Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad's militant connections back to groups linked to Pakistan's dreaded spy service, the ISI. "You don't understand these people," he warned me. "They can make you disappear and you will never be found again. No one can stand up to them."

But somebody must stand up to them. Pakistan's image in the world, not to mention its future, depends on it. Is it an accident that Faisal Shahzad was the son of a senior Pakistani military officer? I don't think so. Military culture in this country is virulently anti-American. Couple it with the rampant spread of jihad ideology -- also the product of the army's failed policies -- and you end up with a deadly mix.

The failed attack on Times Square is only the tip of the iceberg. The fear among many Pakistanis is that some similar attempt is likely to succeed. With each attack, fear and suspicion of any Pakistani is bound to rise. And the irony is that as Pakistan spirals into chaos, young people here are increasingly looking to get out.

Two of my cousins are waiting for their immigration papers to be approved in Canada. They are educated, moderate Pakistani Muslims, much like Shahzad appeared to be until recently. They worry now that the environment of fear will hamper their efforts for a better life abroad. My brother, a professor of biochemistry at Trinity College in Dublin, is planning a sabbatical to Harvard, but worries about the treatment he'll receive there.

Bearded Pakistanis have been under the microscope for years. Now, clean-shaven, Ray-Ban-wearing Pakistanis may be in for the same treatment. My advice to them is to listen to the Sufis. Self-respect lies within the self; no one can take it away from you. Be like water.

Monday night's arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American accused of planting a car bomb in Times Square on Saturday, will undoubtedly stoke the usual debate about how best to keep America safe in the age of Islamic terrorism. But this should not deflect us from another, equally pressing, question. Why do Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora churn out such a high proportion of the world's terrorists?

Indonesia has more Muslims than Pakistan. Turkey is geographically closer to the troubles of the Middle East. The governments of Iran and Syria are immeasurably more hostile to America and the West. Yet it is Pakistan, or its diaspora, that produced the CIA shooter Mir Aimal Kasi; the 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef (born in Kuwait to Pakistani parents); 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnapper, Omar Saeed Sheikh; and three of the four men behind the July 2005 train and bus bombings in London.

The list of jihadists not from Pakistan themselves—but whose passage to jihadism passes through that country—is even longer. Among them are Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mohamed Atta, shoe bomber Richard Reid, and John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban. Over the past decade, Pakistani fingerprints have shown up on terrorist plots in, among other places, Germany, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands. And this partial catalogue doesn't include India, which tends to bear the brunt of its western neighbor's love affair with violence.

In attempting to explain why so many attacks—abortive and successful—can be traced back to a single country, analysts tend to dwell on the 1980s, when Pakistan acted as a staging ground for the successful American and Saudi-funded jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But while the anti-Soviet campaign undoubtedly accelerated Pakistan's emergence as a jihadist haven, to truly understand the country it's important to go back further, to its creation.

Pakistan was carved out of the Muslim-majority areas of British India in 1947, the world's first modern nation based solely on Islam. The country's name means "Land of the Pure." The capital city is Islamabad. The national flag carries the Islamic crescent and star. The cricket team wears green.

From the start, the new country was touched by the messianic zeal of pan-Islamism. The Quranic scholar Muhammad Asad—an Austrian Jew born Leopold Weiss—became an early Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. The Egyptian Said Ramadan, son-in-law of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, made Pakistan a second home of sorts and collaborated with Pakistan's leading Islamist ideologue, the Jamaat-e-Islami's Abul Ala Maududi. In 1949, Pakistan established the world's first transnational Islamic organization, the World Muslim Congress. Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the virulently anti-Semitic grand mufti of Jerusalem, was appointed president.

Through alternating periods of civilian and military rule, one thing about Pakistan has remained constant—the central place of Islam in national life. In the 1960s, Pakistan launched a war against India in an attempt to seize control of Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority province, one that most Pakistanis believe ought to be theirs by right.

In the 1970s the Pakistani army carried out what Bangladeshis call a genocide in Bangladesh; non-Muslims suffered disproportionately. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto boasted about creating an "Islamic bomb." (The father of Pakistan's nuclear program, A.Q. Khan, would later export nuclear technology to the revolutionary regime in Iran.) In the 1980s Pakistan welcomed Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Palestinian theorist of global jihad Abdullah Azzam.

In the 1990s, armed with expertise and confidence gained fighting the Soviets, the army's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spawned the Taliban to take over Afghanistan, and a plethora of terrorist groups to challenge India in Kashmir. Even after 9/11, and despite about $18 billion of American aid, Pakistan has found it hard to reform its instincts.

Pakistan's history of pan-Islamism does not mean that all Pakistanis, much less everyone of Pakistani origin, hold extremist views. But it does explain why a larger percentage of Pakistanis than, say, Indonesians or Tunisians, are likely to see the world through the narrow prism of their faith. The ISI's reluctance to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism—training camps, a web of ultra-orthodox madrassas that preach violence, and terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba—ensure that Pakistan remains a magnet for any Muslim with a grudge against the world and the urge to do something violent about it.

If Pakistan is to be reformed, then the goal must be to replace its political and cultural DNA. Pan-Islamism has to give way to old-fashioned nationalism. An expansionist foreign policy needs to be canned in favor of development for the impoverished masses. The grip of the army, and by extension the ISI, over national life will have to be weakened. The encouragement of local languages and cultures such as Punjabi and Sindhi can help create a broader identity, one not in conflict with the West. School curricula ought to be overhauled to inculcate a respect for non-Muslims.

Needless to say, this will be a long haul. But it's the only way to ensure that the next time someone is accused of trying to blow up a car in a crowded place far away from home, the odds aren't that he'll somehow have a Pakistan connection.

I saw some video on “facebook” regarding Zaid Hamid and his some teachings which I found pretty impressive despite of the fact what the reality of zaid hamid is? and what he does, I don’t care and I don’t want to go in those details. While I was searching on something, I came across something and then I thought to write on it.
Everyone knows, our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had said, there would come 72 firqa and we must get ashamed that among those 72 firqa which would come, around 7-8 are in Pakistan. We are the home land of so much religious activities, so much deep mind controlling facts that we are being controlled by people who feel they are superior than us and they can do it.
Can you name at least those firqa who are arising from your mother land – Pakistan?
1.    Qadiani
for more information you can visit, the website, which shows the teachings of this firqa

Qadiani
2.    Ismaili
for more information you can visit their website, which shows their teachings.

Ismaili
3.    Brailvi
for more information visit this website where they show what is in this.

Some more on Barelvi
4.    Deobandi
for more information visit this site to know about them in details.

Deobani
And some more which I might get info later.
People think for a while, your ears are poisoned with something that you never dreamed of, you never thought of, but you are being forced to walk that way which you didn’t chose, you didn’t wish to go on it but it is being done by ourselves, how and why? Let me explain you this a little more:
Islam does not teach us barbarism and force; instead Islam teaches us love and affection. Even for making someone embrace Islam, it is his or her will to do it, Islam never taught to put a gun on his head and say to embrace Islam otherwise he will be will be slaughtered.
Today we have a horribly wrong picture of Islam, really horribly wrong picture. The reason behind is very simple, extremely illiterate people thinking that that they have the right to do things which others didn’t do. They are taking the preaching of Islam as their innate duty, and without knowing the real meaning of Islam, they are down to it with head and heals. What is this going on, what is this atmosphere of pain, hypertension, depression, and your minds being controlled by someone else? Is this your fate?
Yes this is our fate, because we never learnt to resist some change, we always adopted something that is happening, without knowing that the thing is right or wrong. Anyone stand from mob and start barking, we accept his words like he is the biggest truth. Those people who know how manipulate the mob, they are doing it well.
Islam, in the time of prophet Muhammad (PBUH), once voice one command and one azan voice and see today around you, hundreds of voices emerging from different mosques around you, with the gap of 1-2 minutes, isn’t this humiliating that you are living in a country whose name WAS Islamic republic of Pakistan and among prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s announced 72 firqa, few of them are arising from your mother land.
Sit for a while and think, are you the blessed ones of God or the cursed ones.
Today only in Lahore you go around city and take a deep look, you come around different group of people, different sectors of Lahore having different scholars sitting and preaching Islam.
1.    Dr. Israr ahmed
2.    Farhat hashmi
3.    Maulana azam tariq
4.    Maulana talib jouhri
5.    Dr. Muhammad tahir-ul-qadri

And so many more and if you see more deeply, some people are religiously extremists, some are accepting data ganj baksh as their spiritual leader, some sitting on baba shah jamal’s shrine and so more to go, but for a moment we never think, that this much huge diversification we have in religion, what Islam was and is, and what we have made it today, just because of our narrow minded mentality and illiteracy.
If you go towards Jhang side, you will find huge power of jamiyat, jamat islami and lashkar-e-tayiba. Nowhere is the place safe, everywhere is Islamic extremist, everyone is befooling your minds with his teachings.
With all this, my basic purpose of telling you is, that open your eyes and learn that Islam is very simple and great religion to follow but today we have made it so complex and so difficult to understand that even if one wishes to find true picture, he needs to go very deep to find true people who are right on Islam not just fake followers.

I know after reading above line, it might have sounded very absurd, what he is talking, is he out of mind, this world is going global, this world is going on and on in 21st century and he is saying, woman must not be educated.
Ok let me explain you this thing, this is also another problem among our society today, it is also one of reason that today we are 3rd world.
If you turn your eyes around and see things, you will come to know that there are several things which are questionable. One of them is education.
The population of Pakistan according to survey in 176,242,949 (July 2009 EST.) and among this almost 57% are women, most of which are in rural areas and only 45% of this 57% live in big cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Now among this 45% population, there are still 80% families of these bigger cities who are traditional and conservative who prefer not to let their girls do job in market as the society is corrupt and everywhere is frustration.
Now I take you with some more facts and figures, taking in view a normal educational sector. Let’s take masters section, suppose MBA.
Almost 450 girls get admission in MBA every institute by a rough estimate and among which it is very common to see in every class that it is 2:1 or sometimes 3:1, which means sometimes twice is the number of girls and sometimes thrice is the number of girls than boys. This tells you that people are more introvert than extrovert. The whole selection criteria is wrong, the whole policy of selection of candidates is bases on biasness. No doubt the girls study more, they work harder in studies than boys but this method of selection is all ruining this situation of Pakistan.
Among the 450 girls of every institute, who get passed out every year, around 60% get married and are bound to sit at home or manage homes than going in market and work or even office works. This ultimately is loss of her education and also loss of a working human. This is loss of her own self that she is human and she has human rights too to live as human and have a life as other ladies have.
But if we see this condition in some broader aspect and see it on mass scale, let me show you how horrible this is becoming to our society.
From those 450 girls, when 60% are made to sit at home and rest 40% are doing work as normal. It means that the seats occupied by those 60% girls went waste. Instead if those same seats were given to some boys, they may have made a future and in future they may have managed a family of his own and be better towards society and broadly speaking, by doing this the unemployment rate will fall abruptly. This is truth if we realize it deeply.
Today crime rate is increasing, thefts rates are increasing, robbery rates are increasing, suicide attackers are increasing, and somewhere if you go to see the reason, point comes to one thing, those are all males. They are all un-educated males and due to unemployment this problem is increasing.
Ok this was all the discussion on what the problem is, now let me take you a little bit deeper in its reasoning.
1.    One of the big reason is, ethnocentrism which is making a huge gap of people and their values, today they are following the west but in mind and hearts and by values and deeds they are same conservative people. This is one of the biggest reasons indeed that people are following an unseen cloud just because of the hype of the west. Their culture and values are set on different basis and system and we are trying to implement those values on Islam, in short we are trying to merge 2 systems together which are totally opposite to each other.
2.    The second biggest reason is, frustration of people in Pakistan. They are wishing dance clubs, nudity, drinking freedom and such things which are again not possible here but is being done under-cover but this is spreading frustration in society to this level that they cannot bear it and therefore ultimately they are trying to create this situation here, which comes in different ways.

These two are very big reasons which are somehow controlling the society indirectly and the selection process of different educational institutes is affected highly by it.
Now if I come little bit towards its solution, there are 2 possible ways.
1.    The people of Pakistan must be educated that a girl who has studied and has got good marks, she must do her work for society and work for betterment of country, and she must be brought to work as it is demand of country and use of her degree.
2.    The other way is to, change the educational system that there must be a fixed quota for boys and it must be more and there must be a fixed quota for girls. No more boys will be taken than quota and no more girls will be taken from quota limit.

If you see these points critically, you will come to know that it is somehow difficult to educate people, it might take years and even after years it may not give fruitful results, as it is not necessary that every person, every family change their view of thinking. But it is rather possible to change the educational system.

I know in my previous posts I have said that Pakistan cannot have revolution, but exceptions do happen, and I thought to share more, if we ever had revolution (which I pray we don’t, because from my part-1 you might not have even calculated but revolution really creates such a devastating effects that generations cannot forget it, whole lives ruin) but still if we ever had revolution, it can be in following ways…
There are times when it is necessary to fight against things that have become so wrong that they should no longer be. Things that were once small that has become big, but are no less wrong, must be made small again; a revolution, or a complete circle, is needed. Whether you want freedom from another country, or you want to overthrow an oppressive government, every fight is the same. A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround") is a significant change that usually occurs in a short period of time. Revolutions have happened throughout human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, motivating ideology, and the number of participating revolutionaries. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.
There has to be steps in which we can raise revolution:

1.    Educate yourself and others about every aspect of the idea of the revolution; what and why this fight must happen and how it can be won. Identify the goals and the most efficient means of achieving them without compromise. Appreciate and respect a diversity of tactics. The revolution must be directed towards making things better. This is what is called a "positive vector".
2.    Understand that one of the most important aspects of a revolution is that the people are angry. However, the cause for anger ought to be of true convictions, and in their anger there must also be discipline to their cause.
3.    Put together intentions which must be very popular among the population. It must aim towards the improvement of certain aspects of society, economics, culture, or any other aspects of a social group. Appreciate and respect a diversity of tactics.
4.    Find like-minded people who are ready for action. Set up a field of communication. You must be led by a charismatic leader in a non-hierarchical group in which all voices are equally heard
5.    Work for collective liberation, because everyone's liberation is tied to each other's. If we are going to be free, we all need to be free.
6.    Demonstrate the popularity of the movement to the people of power, legislature, and military. The greater the popularity among the society reduces the likelihood of violence.
7.    Realize that a drastic political or social revolution is almost always about freedom. In general, revolutions are about major changes in some aspect of society. A peaceful revolution requires solidarity and agreement.

For Part-1
Part-1: Revolution in Pakistan.......Impossible
For Part-2
Part-2: Why Pakistan cannot have Revolution?........