Am I a Pakistani first and Muslim second OR am I a Muslim first and Pakistani second

Who am I? Am I a Pakistani first and Muslim second OR am I a Muslim first and Pakistani second. This question irritates my mind more than those drunken teenagers on the 9:30 Frankston metro. I mean if ever I was supposed to choose out of the two in a critical situation, should I choose my faith-which nobody can steal since it resides in my heart- OR my freedom and my land which has every possible chance of being taken away from me.

In today's world, if I am a Muslim then automatically the Kashmir, Chechnya, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan's issues are MY issues. Isn’t it in Sahih Muslim, Book 032, Number 6258 that

"Nu'man b. Bashir reported Allah's Messenger (May peace be upon him) as saying: The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever."

Shouldn’t I be helping the cause of all those who are being oppressed? Shouldn't I be supporting them with weapons, finance, and personnel? After all, it’s my Muslim brothers that are being oppressed out there at the hands of a super power and its cronies. Is it wrong for us to demonstrate on the streets and roads to protest against all that violence? Yeah, but the only problem is that our protest normally threatens the stability of our peace and calm since in a typical anti USA protest, all the foreign restaurant chains are closed down and a few are attacked by angry mobs. Sad but true.

Another sad thing that I have noticed (and which I know you all have noticed) is that generally all those anti war, anti USA dominance rallies are led by the Mullah? Very very ---------very few "educated" and "respected people" actually come out on the streets to protest and it is this very lack of educated people on the street that's allowing the conservatives to hold sway on such issues. It’s kind of embarrassing that the role, which the student, the businessperson, the academic, the artist, the teacher, the doctor and the engineer should be playing, is being hijacked by the conservative religious parties. I am not saying that all the educated sector hasn't come out to protest against USA- Israeli polices but since their numbers are so few as compared to the number of people brought out by the religious parties, that the educated sector’s effect seems entirely negligible, that is why when being told about Pakistan, the first image in the western mind is of a bearded, turban sporting, AK 47 totting rendition of a Hollywood villain. Hardly anyone outside Pakistan (or even in Pakistan) knows about the exploits of our bright computer geniuses. Very few hardly know about Professor Abdul Salam (bless him), few know about the fantastic salt mines in Khewra or the enchanting Gilgit and Murree Valleys. Well don’t blame the Mullah. Blame yourself. Infact the Mullah has now succeeded in doing, what the literati of Pakistan completely failed in doing- bringing Pakistan to world attention. Isn't that acutely disgusting??

Let us now consider another point. Is Pakistan strong enough to support its Muslim brethren? Is Pakistan strong enough to take up the cause of Muslim plight? What should Pakistan's foreign policy be in this regard? Historically, Pakistan has always sought to be an ally of USA, no matter what. From, SEATO, CENTO, to the Afghan War to the Bush Coalition, Pakistan has proved time and again that no matter what it would always protect America's interest in the region. And here lies a disconnect between the elite of Pakistani politics and the common person. This amazing servant-hood to to America has resulted in the degeneration of Pakistani politics and foreign policy. Why not explore new and enhanced relationships with the Asia Pacific region. What about the Central Americas? What about South America? What about Africa? But No! Our Mecca has always been Washington. The example of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez can be given to show the Pakistanis that progress is possible without USA’s intervention.

But returning again to that original statement that whether I should be a Muslim first or Pakistani first. As I was discussing a few lines ago, Pakistan is really too weak to take up the Muslim cause. So what should we do? What if America attacks Iran, then what should our response be? Just shut up and do nothing? Or voice our protest against such actions? The best course of action that seems to me to be very practical is to always voice our protests on the world forums in a peaceful and dignified way, with logical arguments and passionate speeches. But at the back end, we should continue building up our nation, so that in the future we can more authoritatively protest against such acts. If the European Union can act as a cohesive unit then why can’t the Muslim world do it? Oh wait I know why? Because almost 90 % of our rulers are puppets and those who are not are either terrorists, conservatives, exiles or outlaws. The situation is bad. The solution. Revolution. Peace and Prosperity can only be achieved by Pakistan if it has buddies to watch its back if its in trouble. Unfortunately it this time we have none.

Byee

PS: on an unrelated note, how many of you like the drama serial Mera Saeen on ARY. Seriously, Noman Ejaz is BRILLIANTT!!

Plus my new favorite movie these days is Mark Wahlberg's The Fighter. Christian Bale's acting is just way out of this world.