The Cornered Tiger

"Nobody can achieve greatness until they crush the idols of infedelity and fear that are present inside of them." - Imran Khan

Some 22 odd years ago, during a decisive world cup match against Australia in 1992, Imran Khan came out for the toss wearing a shirt that had the picture of a tiger about to pounce. After being questioned on it he replied, “I want my team to play like a cornered tiger, when it’s at its best.” Today, almost 22 years later, Imran Khan comes out of his home away from home in a little container in the heart of Islamabad and looks around only to find his team of supporters as cornered as never before.

Tahir Ul Qadri has just announced the end of his sit-ins that lasted a record of 70 days. Mr. Qadri and Imran Khan had an undocumented allegiance, which helped both of the two parties on their mission in Islamabad. Both came hand in hand when mentioned and they helped each other when one was about to fall. One cannot forget the commitment of Mr. Qadri’s followers on the night of the dreadful shelling’s where Imran Khan’s supporters were nowhere to be seen, yet Mr. Qadri’s supporters guarded the two containers with their lives. One cannot also forgive the massacre done by the ruthless Punjab Police in Lahore to these supporters leaving 14 dead and 2 of them women. Mr. Qadri has paid his dues.

The current announcement sent shockwaves around Islamabad. Some held press conferences welcoming the end to the sit ins with sheepish smiles while others felt betrayed and downgraded. Yet Khan’s determination was not dented. He came out the next day appreciating Mr. Qadri’s efforts and thanking him for his assistance on this journey. He continued and said Mr. Qadri’s mission may have ended, but his mission is far from over. He promised to retrieve Nawaz Sharif’s resignation and so he will, even if he has to wait his whole life. He reiterated the promise he made to the masses and said that he has never bowed down from a commitment and he never will.

The question arises, why is Imran Khan so determined? The immediate answer that the cynics and the saints would give is that he’s power hungry. Right, because a person who was living a princely life would give all that up to make a career out of the least noble profession in the country. Every day since the past 2 and half months, Imran Khan comes out from atop his container and speaks to the masses. Every day, his determination grows stronger and stronger as he feeds off motivation from the crowds and the massive congregations that come to see him at his rallies. He absorbs their pain and damage, combines it with his experience, and stands taller every day.

He is determined because he is the cornered tiger. He is the lone wolf amongst hyenas and coyotes. He is the silver lining amongst dark thick clouds of destruction. And he knows it. He knows that a tiger pounces the strongest when it’s cornered, its back against the wall and no way to go except forward. With Mr. Qadri’s farewell, Khan has rejuvenated himself. He has gained the composure and the stamina needed to fight the battle he has been fighting since the inception of his party. The contraries think otherwise and so be it. In a democracy, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions and that is fine, as long as one does not be naïve about it.

Although Mr. Qadri may have parted ways for now, his efforts are commendable. His departure may have been abrupt and uncalled for, but his mission stays with the people of the sit-in as they prepare themselves for harsher times ahead in the future. As for Imran Khan, he can still be spotted on top of his container with a wide smile, standing high in front of his people with spirits even higher.

Twitter: @itsNazar

Instagram: @itsNazar96

Bill Maher's Problem

"How 'bout more than a billion people, who aren't fanatical, who dont want to punish people, who just want to go to the store buy some sandwiches and pray 5 times a day." - Ben Affleck

I usually don't take my time out to discuss things as an uproar against Islam (again). Simply, because people like Bill Maher are not worth the time and effort to be debated about as long as they give factual and logical arguments with their claims. They have no affect on my life and I will continue to practice my religion as I want to. But notice how I said 'factual and logical' and not 'biased and absurd.’ When someone comes out with a sweeping statement, or in this case a sweeping late night talk show, my mind produces a few counter arguments that I feel I should ink out.

Bill Maher is an atheist and/or an agnostic. I actually don’t care what he is. It means nothing to me as a person if he believes in religion or not. What bothers me are his radical views on religion, specifically Islam. He talked about Female Genital Mutilation and how it’s an Islamic practice and how wrong it is, making a wider generalization statement against all Muslims and referring to the religion as, “the mafia, that will f--king kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.” Now, I have a few issues with that.

As Reza Aslan has already pointed out, FGM is not an Islamic activity, rather than an African cultural practice that happens to be practiced in Islamic states in Africa. But wait, there’s more. As already stated by Aslan, Eritrea and Ethiopia are largely Christian countries with more than 70% FMG. Also, of the 29 targeted UNICEF countries that exercise FMG, 14 of them are Christian majority countries. Can we suddenly draw a sweeping statement that Christianity promotes FMG? Of course not, that would be juvenile.

This is exactly what Mr. Maher has done. I understand in a free country you’re allowed to say what you want and the whole ‘Free Will’ business is essential but is there a line that has to be drawn between free speech and nonsense talk? Can you suddenly generalize and call 1.6 billion people terrorists? Mr. Maher in the past has been ‘alarmed’ about the most used name for babies in Great Britain is Mohammad. He said in his talk show that he fears Muslims will rule the western world in some 300 years and he hopes that it doesn’t make him a racist if he thinks that way. News flash, it does.

I humbly appreciate Ben Affleck trying his best to protect Islam on Bill’s talk show while he was promoting his new thriller Gone Girl, but has Maher hit a new low by discussing Islam without having Muslims on the panel at all? It fails to seep through my hollow brain the thought of discussing a religion without its ambassadors there to defend it. It just doesn’t make sense. Islam is a religion open to debate as long as there is a defense there as well. You cannot expect a Hollywood movie star to defend a religion he barely knows anything about albeit he did a good job.

The problem with Maher is that he thinks his liberal views are the liberal views period. He has embedded in his mind that Islam is a religion of violence and that the only way to discuss it is to defame it. I understand you have issues with Islam Mr. Maher, but next time please do your homework. You only look like a kid who’s out of insults so he slanders the other kids mother. You’ve stooped too low Bill.

 

Twitter: @itsNazar

Instagram: @itsNazar96