Carnage against Ahmedis in Lahore

Ahmedis are not Muslims. That's the popular belief and the only belief I have ever come across from orthodox Muslims of Pakistan. And because they call themselves Muslims, they are not termed as Kafirs (infidels). Therefore, a stage is set for explosive confrontation between majority of Muslims versus minority sects such as these. In popular Islamic terminology, they may well be referred to as Murtids. Now, the definition:

A murtid is a person who is a Muslim but has lately done something out of the box and termed as such. In simple words, if any Muslim denies the supremacy of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (salahu alihi wasalam) or has a belief such which denies him (salahu alihi wasalam) being the last Prophet of ALLAH, then that person is a murtid. Anyone doing that sort of a thing is to be killed immediately, as the historical sources point out to us. In fact, Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (RA) ordered war against men who claimed to be prophets themselves. Much of his 2.5 years of service as the first Kalipha (caliph) was spent fighting against false prophets. Via extension, if we follow that historical perspective (and if you are a Sunni Muslim you are supposed to do just that), then it becomes binding on the present Government of Muslims to enforce a war against people who claim themselves Muslims but deny that Holy Prophet is the last Prophet of ALLAH [Ma'az Allah].

Having said that, it must be noted that Islam prohibits men from picking up arms against other men of whatever faith they may profess. It is not in their jurisdiction to kill, maim, torture or call someone kafir or murtid. In fact, that control should be with the government. It should be the government which should decide the fate of any individual or community. If everyone starts picking up arms against people of opposing faith, we will have the modern-day Pakistan in the making. And here I am pointing fingers at the carnage which was carried this past Friday, supposedly in the name of Islam but never mentioned, by the so-called Punjabi Taliban.

No wonder, there has been no comment from Sharif brothers on this tragedy, the saviours and faun-raisers of Wahabi / Deobandi sect of Islam, people who have carried out attacks across Pakistan killing everyone including Muslims without a remorse. What a slap on the government of Zardari.

The Rapist Police of Pakistan

Pakistani police is fond of raping. They don't care whether one is a boy or a girl and they damn care for the age of the person being raped. They rape boys and girls and minors. And they drink lots of alcohol. I cannot imagine a person in his right senses raping a boy. And alcohol, as we all know, takes away lots of human senses. I today searched the stretched term, 'pakistani Policemen rape' on google.com and came up with lots of links of rape by our so-called defenders of law. So many links that I am assuming that google itself may well be drunk enough to churn out so many of these beastly links. Here is a summary of few of the rapes committed.

1) ...three officers arrested a boy, beat and raped him in custody, and distributed a video of the rape. [March 14, 2009].

2) Police Rape and Torture a 3 Year Old Girl [July 6, 2009].

3) Policemen gang-rape 13-year-old girl for 21 days [May, 2010].

4) Christian burnt to death in Pakistan, policeman rapes his wife [March 14, 2009].

5) Earlier this week, a young woman alleged that she had been gang raped by four policemen in Rawalpindi [June 28, 2005].

I hope in earnest that these rapist policemen are raped in public by donkeys and dogs because our worthy Supreme Court appears helpless over them.

Panchayat Khana will be un-blocked

It all started with some illegitimate person making a page to depict the Greatest Personality of Universe, my and your Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (salahu alihi wasalam) on Facebook website. Off course, news travels fast in this modern age and someone in Pakistan got the wind of that page. All hell broke and Lahore High Court judge was forced to block the website itself. I am not sure why PTA did not bother to block something which was intended to be blocked, anyways. If not the entire website, which was eventually blocked by High Court, then atleast the single, defaming page.

But all has suddenly come to naught when yesterday our universally hated Minister (of what?), Mr. Rehman Malik, announced that soon facebook will be on and that Pakistanis will be able to connect to the world. Not sure what that means but sure enough our government has come black faced from this episode. And that's not the first time this government, or any government of Pakistan for that matter, has been through a blackened hole. We keep getting emotional time and again despite the fact that our people, of all the people on this earth, loving typing word 'sex' on google more than any other nation on this planet. And this alone is a glaring example of our methods and manners. Our judgement is perpetually weak and our decisions ad-hoc, just like our President and his cohorts. How sad that one week we announce in all our masjids that using facebook is haram and the user may well go to jahanum, and the other week our minister says that banning websites is not the way forward. How sick you can get!

Dawn media gallery published me

We are running an exhibition at Redbridge Museum, London, till 19th June, 2010. That's called 'Pakistan: Through a Lens' and is curated by Sadia Malik in collaboration with the museum. I am one of the participants and my Gadani photograph, one which appears above at Dawn Media Gallery, is part of the 3-month long exhibit. 25 other photographers are also participating, a curious selection of some wonderful photographs. It is an honour for me to be exhibited along with big names in the industry and that's not (thankfully) lost on editor at Dawn, who finally decided to showcase my image in his / her selection of 12 images among the many being presently exhibited. I am told, with much enthusiasm, by Ms. Sadia that this exhibit will be travelling places and might as well appear in Pakistan at the end of this year. I hope so.

Heritage: Jilani Qubay

Heritage: Jilani Qubay
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

I photographed these brilliant Jilani Qubay (tombs) at Nasarpur near Tando Allah Yar, Pakistan. This photograph, along with others, was published as a Travel feature in Friday Times on 29th Dec, 2006.

Seen in photograph (from left) Ali, my guide, and Shakir.

Just remembering our wanderings for a day with the driver named Ali. He was really a wonderful car driver. One of the best I have ever met.

Feeding 50,000 people daily

Saylani Welfare Trust, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

The photograph may look funny but for countless men and women it is a sign of relief and of some really good food, day and night. Saylani Welfare International, based in Karachi with their headquarters at Bahadurabad, is probably the largest NGO in the world in terms of the number of people it feeds daily: 50,000 with no full stop any day of any year. And this number continues to rise as people like you and me become aware of its workings.

Saylani's un-written but much understood reason for being established was that they wanted 'to feed all Muslims of the World'. But they have grown their charter and now wishes that no one, not only Muslims, go hungry any day, any night. This is a big ask but could have imagined them feeding 50,000 people daily. And meat everyday, despite it being a very expensive commodity. And no religion comes into play at their workings. Anyone can go and eat without the necessity of mentioning his / her religion. Nor it is asked.

But Saylani also does other things. They gift jahez (dowry) to poor women who cannot fund their daughters' jazez; they help people with free medicines and doctors; they fund people with disabilities; they pay for the deserving patients in Karachi's elitist hospitals; they help people set up their own push-carts free of cost; they manage monthly stipends for thousands of deserving, poverty-struck families; and they feed prisoners at City Courts. This surely is an organization worth helping.

Taliban killing their own supporters

This wonderful article by Nadeem reminds me of a 'Taliban' family amidst us when we were cricket-playing, O' Levels kids. We used to have a friend name Fahad, affectionately called Fadi. He was a Slow-medium paced bowler of our team and took wickets regularly. And personally, a very quiet, determined person. At that time we were aware of his Deobandi affiliations but were unaware of his family's support for emerging Taliban of Pakistan. Soon, we completed our O'Levels and went our ways.

Then, on the morning of November 1st, 2007, our common friend, Syed Taha, called me to tell me that a suicide bomber had struck at Air Force personnel bus at Sargodha road. He further told me, in a tone which suggested overflowing emotions, that Fadi was in that bus and in critical condition. He had survived but all his bones were gone. So was his body but he could shout and he shouted day and night for a month or so for extreme pain which he endured. He parents, who were top supporters of Taliban which claimed this attack, lost their son early December, one month after the deadly attack. I still recall the handsome face of Fadi. He is no more among us but I often think of his parents, whether they still support Taliban and their cruel activities. It is a question which I would like to put to all Taliban-supporting Pakistanis.

Saylani Welfare Trust

Machar Colony, Karachi
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Saylani Welfare Trust International feeds approx. 50,000 people daily in Karachi alone. We are not sure about the figure in Hyderabad. This alone is an incredible feet itself. Feeding daily so many people by seating them across marked 51 points across Karachi is no small feat. Much more importantly, it is an NGO with no support from government, whatsoever. People give their zakats, ushr, sadiqas and khairat to this organization for various purposes. I have noted with much interest that even non-Muslims including local Hindus, Zoroastrians and Christians also participate in this welfare's uplift.

Behind all this vision is a man of austere means of Memon-Gujerati origin, Mr. Bashir Farooqui. It is his vision to feed the poor people of the world and that no one from should go hungry. It is this purity of vision which has made Saylani a truly remarkable organization. What's more, it is growing at an incredible pace. The budget per month for the entire organization which, apart from feeding 50,000 people daily, is to provide jahez for poor women, provide money for critical operations to poor men and women, to provide top quality medicines free of cost to needy, to provide tawaizaat to those who seek (including non-Muslims), and much more.

If you wish to fund in any way, you may contact them here:

(+92-21) 34130786-90 (5 lines)
(+92-21) 34939655
(+92-21) 34120882-3

Playmobil

我的禮物
Originally uploaded by playdogil

I am a great fan of nicely made toys. And this wonderful company, Playmobil, is a good example of how toys should be made. Off course, another great company which makes wonderful toys is LEGO. And I have played with LEGO when I was only a kid.

This photograph and others from the same photostream has rekindled in me a sort of nostalgia regarding collection of these toys. And I will soon be collecting them INSHALLAH. Meanwhile, you better click this photograph and view the complete stream of this person. It is fantastic.