Some time ago, the social media frenzy about a TV show in which Dr Pervez Hoodhbhoy, Ansar Abbasi and Orya Jan Maqbool had participated, caught my attention.
I watched the YouTube uploads of the show and happened to read many of the comments and feedback about the show on Facebook and twitter. I greatly admire and respect Dr. Hoodbhoy, hence the manner in which he was disparaged on the show was bound to sadden me. However what dismayed me beyond words was the fact that he was vilified not just by these two journalists on the show but by the public at large. Few spoke in his favour, but the majority comprised those who called him just about everything from atheist, to Qadyani, and from Yahoodi to many ,many other totally unmentionable adjectives in a civilized society. Some said “he should stick to physics”, not knowing that he is also a defence analyst, an environmentalist and a social activist and has written books and essays of international standing on these subjects.
Others said “he is ignorant of religion”, not knowing that his book “Islam and Science :Religious Orthodoxy and the battle for Rationality” where he discusses the concepts and misconceptions of Islamic orthodoxy and argues about the clergy being an impediment to the progress of science , has been translated into 8 international languages, including Arabic. Still others went on to say that “he does not have manners” while, at the same time (In a show of monumentally hypocrisy), abuse him in the worst possible way, themselves. Interestingly, almost all who vilified him for his stance on Malala’s book have neither read the book nor have they read Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, which was the topic of contention. Some called him “anti-Islam”, so it seems that talking about humanity is“anti-Islam” and preaching hate against a little girl is (apparently) Islamic? Come to think about it, this is not really about Dr.Hoodbhoy.
This is about the fact that our hearts are so full of hate, that this hate has literally consumed every particle of our being, leaving us unable to think and act like human beings. We do not realise that if we shun our scholars and educationists, we will sink lower and lower into the abyss of ignorance and bigotry. But then, what can be expected from a nation that has shunned its Nobel Laureates and degenerated their achievements. One over a matter of his personal beliefs..
The other for the simple fact that she dared live… In a nation that prefers’ its heroes dead! That Malala a mere teenage “girl” survived being shot in the head and won accolades for her country and went on to become the youngest ever Noble Peace Prize Laurate in the Prize’s chequered history seemed to be a stinging slap on the face of our patently patriarchal society.
As for the good doctor, the university students of the 80’s who threatened to break Prof Abdus Salam’s legs if he set foot on their campus have grown up into the Orya Jan Maqbool’s and the Ansar Abbasi ‘s of today. And the legacy of ignorance and bigotry will continue, it seems.
In fact, the other day I came across a website that had shared a rare photo of Allama Iqbal walking through the streets of London.Only that photo had been photoshopped to remove Sir Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister and an ahmadi, from the original photo. One can only wonder at the mindset that tries to alter history by photoshopping a rare historical photo. One shudders at what is being taught in schools and learnt by students. This is the irony of our times, we shun knowledge and embrace ignorance, we shun humanity and embrace hatred. We talk religion and practice bigotry. “Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!”
