The Genocide Pakistan Committed against Bangladesh (Mar.-Dec. 1971)

In commemoration of the Bangladeshi genocide that began (sort of) on March 25, 1971.

a song for Afghan refugees in Pakistan: Pekhawara Afghanan che khapa na krre by Naghma

With Pakistan evicting some 600,000 Afghan refugees by the end of this year alone, this song, sung by Naghma in 2011 (I think?), is so real and relevant it’s heartbreaking. Song is at the bottom of the lyrics. The Pashto is in Green (one of my favorite colors, yay!). Immense thanks to T. A. S. for helping with translation of a couple of lines/words I was struggling with.

Why are women so picky when it comes to marriage/relationships?

This is disturbing, so don’t read further if you will be triggered.

On the Orlando Mass Shooting – and a note to Muslims who condemn homosexuality

Source

Like everyone else, I’m thinking about the mass shooting at the Orlando club, and I can’t put any words together. There’s hurt, there’s anger, there’s confusion – I will never understand, and I hope I never understand, why and how anyone can take another person’s life, let alone the lives of over 50 people. May God grant them all eternal Peace, may God be their Companion, aameen. For their families and friends and other loved ones, I can’t … I can’t think of what consoling words to share with them. I’m heartbroken that they have lost people they loved. I wish them strength and peace as they cope with these unbearable losses. God be with them, too, aameen.

There are several major issues that are deeply connected to this massacre. I wish I had the time to go into a lot of detail about each one, but I want to at least introduce them here. Maybe I’ll discuss them each in more detail another time, inshaAllah.

Pakistani Racism against Pashtuns: what it’s like hearing that a Pashtun man killed 10 relatives

The article below was originally published over at MuslimGirl.Net, titled “Misogyny Doesn’t Come from ‘Pashtun Culture.'”

Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/man-killed-fiance-nine-relatives-5467616

As a Muslim, I find it agonizing having to write about and recognize the injustice so prevalent in so many Muslim societies—mainly because of the role of such violence in inviting more Islamophobia and assuring Islamophobes that their bigotry is well in place. It’s worse when you’re an ethnic minority almost everywhere (except in Afghanistan) because you’re Pashtun, and you’re marginalized in virtually all spheres of life, and then suddenly, so many news outlets, major and minor, are talking about the barbarity of your culture and people. I’ve written about the marginalization of Pashtuns in Pakistan on my blog before, so I won’t go into details about that here. For now, I want to reflect on a possible reaction to the most recent act of misogyny that a man who shares my ethnic identity has just committed: homeboy killed ten of his relatives because he wanted to marry a girl whose father couldn’t yet afford the marriage and asked him to wait.

How Not to Respond When You Hear an Imam is Sexually Abusing People

Just to clarify: the title of this post is referring not to survivers of sexual abuse but to those who hear about sexual abuse. The following are some things *not* to say when you learn that a Qur’an teacher, an imam, or other religious community leader is sexually abusing people.

The post below is specifically in response to the recent sexual abuse by the Chicago imam, who — let’s all thank the Creator — now has been charged with sexually abusing an employee! May those whom he harmed, in any and every way, find love and strength to cope with the repercussions of the crimes this man has committed against them. And may those because of whom this man is now being punished be rewarded for their pursuit of justice despite the consequences.  May all such criminals be brought to justice soon, aameen!

Punjabi-Pashtun and Pashtun-Punjabi Racism and Hatred in Pakistan

Pre-pre-script: The comments on this article were quite phenomenal, many of them reiterating my point. To read them, please click here (scroll a little down on the page to view them).

Pre-script: I realize I’m using “Pukhtun” and “Pashtun” interchangeably – because they are the same thing. I don’t use “Pathan” because many Pashtuns mind that name and see it as a distortion of the original “Pashtun/Pukhtun.”

This is going to be tough to read for those Pukhtuns who are in denial of the fact that the mockery, the racism, the bigotry of the Punjabis against Pashtuns goes both ways: it’s not just Punjabis alone who mock Pukhtuns; Pukhtuns mock Punjabis constantly as well – they just do it in different ways. It’ll also be a tough read for Punjabis and other non-Pashtun Pakistanis who think “Pathan” jokes are funny or who deny the reality of institutional racism against Pashtuns in Pakistan.

Responses to the Sexual Abuse Post – Part 4

Continuing the responses to a post I wrote previously on my Qur’an teacher sexually abusing girls.

The responses below came in the form of comments or short messages, not in the form of email. So I’m sharing them in one post here. Most of these were posted as comments on the old blog when I first raised this issue of sexual abuse in Muslim communities. (If you think this means only Muslims can be or are sexual abusers, you are one of the stupidest people on earth and you need to 1) go read, 2) be friends with more people from backgrounds different from your own, 3) stop wasting your time on social media and actually meet and interact with people through it who can enlighten and challenge you!)

Responses to the Sexual Abuse Post – Part 3: sexual abuse at Sunday School

3. Another blog reader who emailed me in response to my post on how my Qur’an teacher sexually abused girls in my elementary school. Pasting verbatim what she shared with me (and allowed me to post it on my blog) – a reminder from her to our communities: never, EVER blame the person who’s being or has been abused! It’s never their fault. Never. (I’m collecting stories of sexual abuse on my blog at this link; please feel free to share anything in regards to the subject if you’re comfortable doing so.)

The Millions March and Validating the “Black Lives Matter” Campaign

This post is about the claim that “our quest for social justice and equality for all is the American thing to do!” Because there’s nothing “American” about it given American history, considering the fact that America was actually built on slavery, genocide, oppression – anything but justice and equality and humanity. So, to all those people – especially black leaders leading the Black Lives Matter movement – don’t feel compelled to validate your movement and struggles by insisting that they’re American.

Today, I planned to attend the Millions March at my University campus. (For anyone unfamiliar with this, it’s basically part of the Black Lives Matter campaign. Look it up if you don’t know; you should know as a citizen of this world where injustice is the norm even in the supposedly most civilized, “first world” countries like the U.S. But here’s an article I wrote last month on police terrorism in America that may help explain why this march needed to happen.) It was scheduled for 12pm; we were to gather at a Martin Luther King, Jr. statue on campus and march a couple of miles all the way to the state capitol. Being a strong supporter of social justice and having no excuse not to attend this event, I made sure to go and encourage my friends to go as well. So we go. And then I’m disappointed because someone decided to sing the U.S. national anthem in an effort to prove that the Black Lives Matter campaign had “American” roots, that fighting for justice for black people was the American thing to do! This couldn’t be more father off from truth, reality, and America’s brutal history based in oppressions and injustices against especially black people and Native Americans.