Before we discuss the first interview I would like to share with you the list of Creative People I have interviewed. From Pakistan I interviewed
From India I interviewed
From Canada I interviewed
From Europe I interviewed
LETTER NUMBER ONE…WHO ARE SECULAR MUSLIMS? Dear Naeem ! When I mentioned my interview with Pervez Hoodbhoy I was pleased to find out that you know him and his family very well and have also met his mentor Eqbal Ahmed a few times. While I was reading Pervez Hoodbhoy’s interview, I realized that he was quite open and honest about his criticisms of Agha Khan and his Ismaili sect. He thinks that Agha Khan is a ‘fraud’ and his sect ‘exploits’ vulnerable, simple and gullible people to collect money so that he can spend on his ‘race horses’. That is why Pervez left the Ismaili sect as a teenager and joined main stream of Islam. Later on we find out in the interview that Pervez Hoodbhoy was quite influenced by left wing ideology as a young adult and became a Marxist. As far as I understand Marxism is an atheistic ideology. But later on Pervez Hoodbhoy shares that he and his dear mentor Eqbal Ahmed call themselves Secular Muslims. I am always confused by this term. The question I ask you, the way I have asked other intellectuals from Pakistan, is why our left wing intellectuals call themselves Secular Muslims? We know that ideologically these people do not believe in God, Prophets, Scriptures and Day Of Judgment. They are basically non-believers and do not believe in the institution of religion. Then why do they not call themselves agnostics and atheists. I have met many Pakistani socialists and communists who, in their private conversations with friends will accept that they do not believe in a Creator and Divine Revelations and Life After Death but they will not acknowledge that in front of their relatives, neighbors and colleagues. I ask myself, “What stops these intellectuals to be fully honest?” The answers that I come up are as follows:
Islam is our religion Socialism is our economics Democracy is our politics With such confusing slogans it is no wonder that Socialism and Democracy went into the background and Islam came into such a fore-front that Bhutto himself became instrumental in declaring Ahmedis as non-Muslims and then millions of people suffered. Pervez Hoodbhoy in his interview himself acknowledges the tragedy of Professor Abdus Salam who loved Pakistan but Pakistan and Pakistanis rejected him because he was a dedicated Ahmedi. My father Abdul Basit who was a contemporary of Abdus Salam shared with me that there was a time in Pakistan when there were students who went to his room in the hostel to assassinate him but luckily he was not in his room and was saved. I feel that because of such fear and intimidation many intellectuals and free thinkers in Pakistan cannot openly say we are agnostics or atheists or non-believers. They are afraid to be declared murtad and then arrested and tried in religious courts of Pakistan. When we read about intellectuals and scientists and philosophers and free thinkers in history from other parts of the world whether it was Marx in Russia, Russell in England or Freud in Austria they did not tip-toe around those issues of ideology. They were open and honest and frank in sharing what they believed because they thought that we cannot have an open and honest dialogue until we are free to share what we believe in. We do not need to impose our values on others and we can be respectful of other people’s philosophies, ideologies and lifestyles but how can we have a dialogue and resolve our conflicts if we are not fully honest. Galelio and Darwin shared their truths openly and faced the reactions of traditional institutions especially churches. So my impression is that many intellectuals from Pakistan are either afraid to speak the whole truth or confused about their ideology as they have not done their intellectual homework. There are also some who find ideological debate irrelevant to their cause, goal and dream. For me the term Secular Muslim has been confusing because …some use the term Secular meaning freedom of religion while others use it for freedom from religion …some use the term Muslim from ideological and religious point of view while others use it from a cultural point of view (rather than calling themselves Punjabi, Pukhtoon or Arab reflecting their linguistic and ethnic heritage they call themselves Cultural Muslims). Dear Naeem ! What are your views about the term and the people who call themselves Secular Muslims? Do you find them as confusing as I do? Are you one of them? Do you know some Secular Muslims? I believe that to create Humanistic Societies we need an open and honest dialogue in our communities. I think that is a prerequisite before we can have secular laws and traditions. I was shocked to find out that in some universities of Pakistan, before entering a Ph.D program the students are asked to give in writing that their research results will not be in conflict with Islam and Ideology of Pakistan. It is a sad state of affairs and in the last few decades it has become worse rather than getting better. I think that it is the responsibility of writers, artists and intellectuals of the community to create such an environment in the academic, political, religious and social institutions so that people can speak their minds without fear of persecution. One of my couplets of a ghazal is Hamaray bachon kay zehnon pay kab say pehray hain Kahan say aay ga aazaad naujawan koi And another one Is darja rewaayaat ki deewarain uthain
Naslon say kisi shakhs nain bahar naheen dekha Looking forward to your response. Sincerely Sohail Ps. I will send this letter to some of my friends to see if they would like to respond to this letter. If I get some interesting responses I would ask Pervez Salahuddin to connect those responses to Pervez Hoodbhoy’s interview that can be read in the INTERVIEWS section of my website http://www.drsohail.com/Articals/Pervezhoodbhoy.htm sincerely sohail |