What American People think of a Modern Pakistani

What American People think of a Modern Pakistani

Pakistan is a developing country, with young people making up most of its population. Muslims are known to have been one of the most progressive people in terms of culture, economy, and science. A contemporary Pakistani Muslim, however, appears to have lost that sense of determination and willpower to work towards being the best in the world. Here's a story of how a Pakistani got to see its nation from the perspective of an American:

As soon as the plane leveled off, the woman sitting next to me extended her hand toward me.  I closed the book in my hands and gave her a very enthusiastic handshake. The woman was aged, looked somewhere between 60 to 70 years old, and appeared to be a sophisticated and educated woman. Pointing toward the book, she asked, “Is it in Arabic?” I smiled and replied, “No, it’s in Urdu language.” Smilingly, she extended her hands again and shook my hand firmly and said, “Are you Pakistani?” When I eagerly replied, “Yes”, a tinge of happiness spread on her face.

Since the flight was quite long, we kept talking for hours. Jeena was American and she was a history teacher who taught the World Wars to her students. Hence, she was well aware of the Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India, and was a fan of both Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi. She asked me if I had read Gandhi to which I replied, “Absolutely! I have studied Gandhi’s autobiography as well as his seven social sins.” Jeena, then, asked me to elaborate on Gandhi’s social sins. I uttered, “In 590 A.D., Pope Gregory I pinned down the seven deadliest sins that can completely wreck a man’s life. These include lust, extravagance, avarice, lethargy, extreme anger, jealousy, and arrogance. He also believed that if a person learns to control these seven destructive habits, he can lead a wonderful, fulfilling, and a content life. Inspired by the Pope’s list, Mahatma Gandhi published a list of seven social sins in 1925. He was of the view that only if a society learns to protect itself from these seven sins can it acquire the status of a ‘society’. In Gandhi’s eyes, wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; commerce without morality; science without humanity; religion without sacrifice; and politics without principle are all sins. For Gandhi, these seven rules laid the basis for India’s social agenda.”

Jeena beamed, patted me on the shoulder, and then asked if I could also shed some light on the seven principles of Jinnah. I answered by saying, “Jinnah was a man of action. He believed in setting examples by performing good deeds rather than using words. Consequently, he had not presented the nation with a written agenda.”

Jeena’s eyes were fixated on me. I continued,” Gandhi and Jinnah were two different people. Gandhi was a philosopher whereas Jinnah was a practical man who believed in actions instead of words. This is why today our nation has more examples than dogmas from Jinnah’s life.”

I became silent but she insisted me to further describe the examples from Jinnah’s life which I did. “For instance, throughout his entire life, Jinnah remained punctual and never committed a felony. Never got involved with any kind of bribery, never publicized his religious inclinations. He always kept his promises and his commitments, never demanded protocol, never did any kind of nepotism, never shied away from paying taxes, never compromised on the rules, never hid his income, never trampled on anyone’s rights, and never offended someone.”

Jeena said, smilingly, “Well done! You are totally correct about him. Jinnah was truly an amazing man. And he inspires me a lot.” She stopped and after a while, she said in a low voice, “Would you mind my asking you one more question?” I responded, “Not at all, please go ahead!” She asked, “Do you love Mohammad Ali Jinnah?” “From the bottom of my heart” I responded abruptly and eagerly. She then said,” If so, how many of Jinnah’s qualities do you think are present within you?” I was taken aback by the question and started panicking. She became embarrassed and whispered to me,” Forget it! Just tell me what qualities of your leader has your nation adopted?” I became further embarrassed, to the point that I started sweating.

Jeena said in a smiling way,” I have studied history and I am inspired by the religion Islam. I have experienced half of the Islamic world. I believe that you Muslims have fallen victim to hypocrisy. You people take pride in calling Prophet Muhammad your hero. Besides, you even idealize the Khalifas and the companions of the Prophet. However, when it comes to actually putting their teachings into action, you hesitate to adopt even a single attribute of these reverent people. Today, very few Muslims can be seen following the teachings of their ideals. Similarly, you people have also failed to act on the mottos and examples of your leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah. You can write a whole note on the qualities of Jinnah, you also respect him in every shape and form, you do not even hesitate to lay down your life for him, and yet you are incapable of following their way of life and you start panicking when you are called out for it. Therefore, my advice to you is that if you wish for Islam to prosper, you should adopt the ways of your Prophet. And if you want to see your country progress faster, you need to start acting on the principles of your leaders like Jinnah. You will see that your country will surpass Europe in a few years.”

She stopped and said to me gently,” In the first class of every batch, I question students about their ideals and some of their qualities. I then ask them to list all the good qualities that they picked up from their ideals. Most students respond in the same manner that you did. What I tell them then is that I would not accept the fact that they have an ideal until and unless I see their reflections in their lives. If they whole-heartedly believe in ideals, they should definitely instill some of the good habits of their ideals into their own lives. Otherwise, they’d be one of the hypocrites and in my whole life, I have never seen a hypocrite lead a satisfied and prosperous life.”