The Divine Magic

25^th December 1954

Karachi

Julius Fonseca went by the name of The Amazing Fonseca. His name was well known to all those who loved magic acts and went to see them performed live in the garden of Metropole Hotel. He was much sought after, but boss Cyrus forbade him to perform anywhere but Metropole.

On that night of 25^th December, he had just finished his act and was planning to get some alone time at Lido’s Bar on Queen’s Road and celebrate a lonely Christmas with an Old Fitzgerald.

He walked out of Metropole to be greeted by the crisp and cold night air of Karachi. Well to do couples walked by on the sidewalk holding hands. Corduroy Sport Coats, acetate and rayon crepe lined Box Jackets, Tafettas and pleated skirts populated this side of Metropole while kurtas and dhotis made up the opposite footpath. 

He walked on for some time towards the nearest bus stop of the route where his bus would take him to Lido’s only to see a gaggle of men, flash lights in hand, checking passing cars until they stopped a teal Frazer sedan with a seemingly well to do family sitting in it.

“Kamal Ahmed! “, barked one of the men in the mob.He was dark complexioned with a goatee. "Brothers, does he look like Kamal Ahmed?", he asked around the group. One scrawny teen in a white kurta peered into the car and recognized the driver. The driver of the car was indeed Kamal Ahmed along with his family.
Excitement rippled through the crowd as if they had sensed blood.  “Kamal Ahmed, get out now or we will burn you and your family in this car!”. The man with the goatee said in a loud cold voice.

Kamal Ahmed, a middle aged french-bearded doctor who worked at the Civil Hospital, stepped out of the car with a terrified look on his face and shivering from head to toe. His wife immediately locked the car from inside turned back to calm down her two children who had started to cry.

“Kaafir! Stop promoting your blasphemies to our sick folk, we warned you last time about the consequences but you haven’t stopped. You keep talking about your fake prophet to our family folk who visit you. We cant take this anymore!, cried the goatee'd fellow. Another piped up, " It’s time to cleanse vermin like you from Karachi like our brothers have done in Lahore." With each word being shouted at his way, Kamal shrank in size, it looked.

“But..I am not that person...I didn't… “, stuttered a positively terrified Kamal only to be punched in the face by the man in kurta pajama who seemed to have crossed boundaries of reason. Perhaps seeing his victim so terrified and not even trying to put up a fight provoked him.
"Check his car", he ordered  the scrawny teenager. The teenager tried to open the car but it was locked. " Open up",he said to the doctor's wife inside. She didn't open. He looked at the man in kurta pajama. The kurta pajama man punched the doctor again who promptly fell on the ground. His wife inside shrieked and immediately opened the door, but thought better to not come out of the safety of the car.
The teenager opened the car and looked around inside it. Opened the glove box and fumbled inside it trying to find anything- anything to justify the violence which he was promised before the group had set out on the hunt.
His hands found a pamphlet. 
He stepped out and showed the pamphlet to the kurta pajama man. The teen couldn't read.
Another fellow shined his torch on the pamphlet and the kurta pajama man read what was written in it.
It was pamphlet which had some quotes from a man named Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani.
Kamal Ahmed, it turned out, was an Ahmadi.
Others didn't need any signal or cue and promptly descended upon the poor doctor, kicking and punching him.

Julius Fonseca stood there looking at scene unfold infront of him. He thought of calling the police for help, but the police would never get in time and the other people would not risk their faith in defending an Ahmadi, so he decided to take the matters in his own hands.

He took off his coat and tie, stuffed them in his bag and placed it under a wooden pole. Without his coat and tie he looked like an office clerk.
He walked towards the site of violence.

“ Assalam u Alekum brothers”, he called out to the group, whose one member now had the doctor in a chokehold.

“For Allah’s sake, stop beating this poor man, what has he done to you?” he asked them in his most concerned voice.

“He is a Kaafir Qadiyani! That’s what he has done to us”, said the man in kurta pajama.

Fonseca walked towards the doctor who who was still in a chokehold. His head was bleeding and his tailored suit was torn and stained.
He looked at the doctor. And he stood there and just looked at the doctor.
" Release him for a moment", he quitely asked the man who had the doctor in a chokehold. The man looked at the kurta pajama guy who nodded. The chokehold was released.
" Are you a Qadiyani?", Fonseca asked the doctor.
The doctor nodded. Speech had left him it seemed.

“He is a Qadiyani, and he must renounce his faith, otherwise he must be killed as the Shariah demands”, Fonseca looked around and spoke to the men.The crowd chanted Yes in unision.They seemed more interested in the killing than conversion.

“Yes, if he renounces his blasphemies then he will be spared”, said the man with the goatee and the mob only murmured its agreement. Most of the men just wanted a killing. The thrill. Killing a kaafir was a thrill, but it seemed that the goatee'd fellow commanded a measure of respect.

“Very well” said Fonseca. He looked straight and hard into the eyes of Kamal. “Brothers, I sense something”, Fonseca called out to the mob still looking at Kamal.

The group now looked at Fonseca excitedly.

“Help me Allah”, said Fonseca.

He grabbed the doctor’s head in his hands and shouted, “Kaafir! From this day henceforth you will renounce your faith in your filthy ideology and lead the life of a good Muslim. Do you wish to do so?”

Fonseca did the smallest of nods which the doctor, who was now looking at Fonseca with dazed eyes, copied.

The mob shivered with excitement.

“Do you renounce your faith infidel?” Fonseca shouted at the doctor. “Say, I renounce my faith”.

The doctor, still dazed, said in a robotic manner, “I renounce my faith”.

The mob erupted into shouts of Allah u Akbar.

The doctor looked around with dazed eyes.

The man in kurta pajama came up to Fonseca and asked in a reverent tone,” Mashallah brother, you seem to have Allah’s blessing in your hands, what is your name?"

“Syed Umer Ahmed”, lied Fonseca without any hesitation.

“Mashallah, that explains the whole thing, of course. Allah performs his wonders through the hands of Syeds. Subhanallah”, somebody in the crowd said. The rest chirped in agreement.
" It seems that our task is done", said the goatee'd fellow. " But if you ever convert back to your vile ideology, we will kill you without warning", he said to the doctor in a menacing voice.
The doctor nodded. Still in a daze.

The mob then started to disperse and when the last person (the man in kurta pajama) had left, Fonseca looked at the doctor and snapped his fingers. The doctor jerked and seemed to have come out of the daze.

“Who…what…who are you...what happened...he blurted out. “ Who were those men?” he asked Fonseca.

“Bhai, those were just some Ahraris who had come out to attack you. But Allah finally intervened and put his fear in their hearts so they walked away”.

“Uh?”

“Yes, see, they have gone now. So dont worry. Allah always looks after those who believe in the promised Messiah”, said Fonseca in his most pious voice.

“Let me help you to the car”.

The wife who was seeing the two men walk towards the car, threw open the door and helped the doctor in, thanking Fonseca profusely. The doctor also thanked Fonseca while wincing from the pain of bruises.

“What is your name brother?” asked the tearful wife.

Fonseca replied, "My name is Ghulam Ahmed”, lying easily, again.
" Are you...umm...Are you Ahmadi sir?", the doctor asked, somewhat hesitantly.
" Yes I am with the grace of Allah", the magician replied with a smile.

“Mashallah, such a blessed name, it’s the Jamaat members like you who strengthen my faith everyday”, said the Doctor.

After many thanks and requests to drop him home (which Fonseca declined), the family finally drove away leaving Fonseca alone on the street.

“The Amazing Fonseca”, he said, with a smile playing along his face as he went on his way to Lido’s Bar for a good night’s Christmas drink.

Book Review: Go Set A Watchman

There have been a few books written which have captured the minds and imaginations of people all over the world through gripping storytelling and gone on to become classics. One such book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which was written in 1960 and is still popular all over the world. A classic in a true sense, To Kill A Mockingbird shows the racism and lack of a just system prevalent back in 1930s when the author was only 10 years old. Such was the success of the book that it went on to become a motion picture and won 3 Oscars in the process.

The author of one of the greatest books ever written is back with her recent book, Go Set A Watchman. Released in July 2015, the story is sort of a prequel to Kill A Mockingbird. It was written before the classic novel but was never released. The book shows several characters of To Kill A Mockingbird at an earlier time. While marketed as a sequel to the book, Go Set A Watchman is set at least 20 years back in time than the original work.

Set in the backdrop of the civil war, the story explores the events in the life of a young woman, Jean Louis-Finch, who return home to her ailing father. Her father has raised her well but at times of moral crisis, like racism in those days, even the rational minds lose their focus. When she debates with her father about issues bothering her, especially women’s rights and racism, she is surprised to find her father supporting the other side. She also discovers some shocking things about her family and community. 

For anyone looking to get a deeper look into the classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, this book is a great way to understand the dynamics of the society at that time. Go Set A Watchman gives you a deeper understandings of the issues faced by the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird and the role society plays in determining the decisions of individuals.

For all the fans of To Kill A Mockingbird as well as followers of great American literature, Go Set A Watchman is a must read book. It is a book you must have in your library. Just a few months into its launch and it has become a best seller in USA. It is also the most preordered book on Amazon. In Pakistan, you can buy the latest work of Harper Lee from all leading bookstores as well as online marketplaces like Kaymu.

Paper is Permanent, Digital is Temporary

You are sitting at a café and having a nice cup of coffee. You have your kindle

on your lap trying to finish the first chapter of a book by your favorite author that you waited six months for. You look at the screen trying to read the last bit but something keeps you from getting into your reading zone. Exasperated, you lift your face and look to your side and see a book shelf with a number of books of on it. They catch your attention, you get up to see what is there. You spot a book by the same author and take it to your table and open the first page. The next thing you know two hours have passed and you have read half of the book and you don’t want to put it down. It is late so you leave the book and go to the nearest bookstore and get the paperback version of it. Then you realize that the paperback took you to your reading zone. That is the beauty of a physical book!

There has been a huge ongoing debate since the invention of the E-reader about the difference between the paperback and the digital book. Many people have chosen their sides but many are confused. A study from Scholastic revealed that the percentage of children who have read an e-book has almost doubled since 2010 to almost half of all kids aged 9 to 17, while the number who want to continue to read books in print instead of electronically declined from 66% to 58%. This points to the decline of the paperback but that is not always the case.(http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/kfrr) Although the digital book is in fashion but it is just temporary as nothing can beat the traditional feel of holding and reading a book in your hand. Many different online portals such as Kaymu have a wide range of books available that avid book readers can choose from and enjoy!

Why the physical book is better than the online one?

1. They give the experience!

Paperbacks give you the real feel of reading a book. You can hold it in your hand and flip the pages with your own will. You can even earmark the pages the way you want and feel them with your own hands which enhances the tactile feeling. When you read a paperback you can get really engrossed in it and get the sense of the characters and the situations in it. You can keep the classical value that it provides and gain a wholesome experience.

  

2. You can collect them!

Printed books are collectible and they last with you through the ages. Every copy that a person owns has its own level of uniqueness. Some of the books in people’s collections are so rare that there are no other copies. Another additional factor is that you can loan your book to a friend but you would never lend your e-reader, it is an obvious fact.

3. You can save and spend elsewhere!

Printed books always cost a fraction of what the e-books cost; and paperbacks are even cheaper than the hardcovers. Also you don’t have to charge a printed book as compared to an e-reader. You can take it anywhere you want and use it anyway you want to. 

Nothing can beat the physical beauty that is present in a book or the feeling that it gives the reader. That will always remain eternal. It might seem old fashioned to read a paperback but it gives the overall satisfaction of actually reading something worthwhile. 

2+2=5 ?

When the protagonist of the classic Orwell novel 1984 is asked during torture whether 2+2 equals 5, he wonders if the state makes it true and everybody is made to believe it, does that make 2+2=5 true?

Used in a novel published in 1949, Orwell’s allegory for totalitarianism, revisionism and the sheep like behavior of gullible citizens still rings true. 

Pakistan too suffers from this 2+2=5 syndrome. Does our educational system produce a crop of students who are able to think out of the box, challenge existing notions and have the courage to bring change? Is creativity encouraged or discouraged. Sadly the answer to these questions is no. Our educational system does not produce such a crop of students and yes, creativity is discouraged. Barring the institutions that are located in our apparently progressive and elite urban bubbles, curiosity and questioning is discouraged, though putting the blame solely on the educational system would be unfair. 

Take a look at our culture, after all every institution that exists in this country is derived from our culture. Does our culture promote values of free speech, encourage curiosity and applaud change?

Years ago when studying biology in my 9^th class, our teacher skipped the chapter on evolution because it was un-Islamic.  In my 2^nd year, my physics teacher spent two class sessions explaining to us in no less detail about the physical and mathematical proofs of Shab e Mairaj. No questions were asked, nor were we expected to ask. Who would have dared to ask? 

Including religious content in school textbooks and especially scientific textbooks discourages the student’s ability to think and reason with an open mind. Recently, Maulana Sherani, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology called for ‘introducing a uniform system of education throughout the country, integrating religious teachings with the contemporary, mainstream education’. In other words, he envisions a madrassafied educational system of Pakistan while remaining completely oblivious to the rising sectarian tensions, religious extremism and economic strife. But Maulana sahib is a product of this system, what else he could have said?

Putting aside educational institutions, would questioning our values be allowed in our culture? The images of Salman Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti and Sabeen Mehmud pop up as a warning. Question and you will share the same fate. Many pens stop. Many cerebral cogs cease to work. The murderer of Sabeen Mehmud was an IBA graduate, but more so he was the product of this culturally constrained educational machinery. When confronted with facts which threaten to bring down everything you have been taught to believe is true, turning to violence is only but natural. What sort of educated aalim was Aamir Liaquat Husain when he spewed vicious comments on the Ahmadi minority on live television? Weren’t those who introduced Blasphemy law and laying foundations of hatred towards no Muslims, products of this system?

Extremism is a product of this system and it exists on both ends of our country’s religious spectrum. Moderation is but a wispy figment of our imagination. 

Look at the scenario unfolding on Pakistani social media. The people either out rightly accept a news or out rightly reject it. Everything is seen in a George Bush-esque black and white perspective. The amount of vitriol that is spewed out, the amount of hate that is generated, the number of unfounded accusations passionately advocated, give us an insight into the mind of an educated and tech savvy Pakistani- the so called future. The exploits of Imran Khan’s social media supporters have been discussed by every respected journalist. Say anything about PTI and you would be harassed by trolls who will insist on you to take your words back. Scratch that, you will find many extremist organizations like ASWJ running their social media accounts with ease and spreading their toxic ideology to the gullible and mostly young social media users. Don’t forget the Rawalpindi sponsored ghairat brigade as well. Criticize the ‘boys’ and you will face an onslaught of jingoist zombies who will make you cringe with their indoctrinated wisdom.

 Moderation has become but a wispy figment of our imagination. The age old machinery continues to churn out more obsolete products.

The practice of revisionism and adding religious hues to textbooks that started in Bhutto’s time, intensified in Zia’s era and given an added momentum in Musharraf’s years has put Pakistan on a path which only leads to religious fascism. 

No matter how much funds are reserved for educational growth, it still won’t matter if the children are taught to believe in the superiority of their own faith, suspect minorities and present faith inspired counter arguments. Our textbooks glorify the battles between Muslims and Hindus. The Hindus are introduced as uncultured folk who are shown the light of culture by the Muslim invaders. And they always end up deceiving Muslims. Imagine being a Hindu child in a Pakistani classroom. In our secondary level social studies textbooks, Muslims of Pakistan are always told to be related to Arabs, Turks and Persians. No link to South Asia is ever mentioned. One religion is taught to be made up of a Master Race and other minority religions are taught to consist of second class citizens. What sort of adults will our children become after being fed with such drivel? Outside of academic institutions, people around these children continue to inculcate them with ideas of segregation, intolerance and being subservient to the existing moth eaten culture which has brought Pakistan to this state where governance without patronage of criminal activities is impossible and where vote is still given on caste, creed and connections not on the manifesto and resume.

For these moth eaten societal structures to change we have to ask ourselves the ultimate questions

If your religion says that 2+2=5, would you accept it?
If your culture says that 2+2=5, would you accept it?