I went to a wedding this weekend where the girl was Pakistani and the guy was a gora.
I have a lot of neices and nephews and even my own son who will be exposed the the American culture.
I know there is always a constant struggle to keep everything the ‘paki’ way but eventually if not this generation - the next - if not that one - the next .. it will all blend into Amreeka.
I have nothing against any other race or culture. I believe being a Muslim should be priority one but I also believe by staying within our own kind, it helps to preserve our culture, whereas with a gora, you could never have that.
There are many good things about America but at the same time, I guess you can call it self (culture) preservation.
I know many others, like myself, who have grown up here feel the same way. We wonder what will become of our culture when we see other cousins and friends who no longer speak Urdu, get involved in gangs, become gay/lesbian, divorce, or even deal with pregnancies.
Not to say all this stuff can’t happen back home, it’s just a little less obvious.
I was just wondering if there are others who share my point of view. We have to take the good with the bad but let’s focus on the good.
The Cultural Differnce is not only between East and West.. .
If we consider Only East… Only Our country.. still you will see a person from a villgae when comes to a big city at start feel ALIEN and later on He adobts the culture and after some years He is mould into the culture of a big city…And.. if someone who have been living in Big city for more tha 20 years get back to his Village, he will be mis-fit there…
What I mean by saying above is…
Its natural that Humans adopt things from their environment…
BUT…
I am a very strong beliver of Traditions and customs, but we can sometime compromise on those BUT… Being a Muslim we should not forget our Islamic Culture whereever we are.
hmm..i dunno..i used to think culture was important, but i don't anymore, i think islam covers everything we need in life, why allow something that in reality divides human beings, to grow and flourish? my mom's really into culture and how our "indian culture" is something we shouldnt forget, because it gives us the proper morals in life, and how we just go about life, and how its so much better then these gora people. i think muslims, regardless if they're gora or desi or whatever, don't need culture, but rather a good amount of religion, then things might flow even better. just my thoughts.
but culture as in clothes, food, jewelery, ya know, i love wearing salwar kameez and eating some good pani puri, whatever, thats all great. just not totally identifyin urself with it...just not making a big deal about it..ya know..
Diluted ! is more appropriate a word. b'cause a mixture will have a characteristic of another diluted culture. nothing fades but is reformed into a new shape and interests, scats and branches.
New facial features will be commen and seen, designs, food, and even languages or at least new lingos will be formed.
no one can purely keep the original culture if they move to completely different cultures, it happened in the past, when cultures merges it create another blend of local culture. and its natural. well in any culture relegion or faith also plays a role, only this can still stay the same in any culture though less oppertunities to practise this.
my eyes ARE open alisha...:-| yeah mixing and exchange of ideas is happening.. i'm just saying..that it will happen so much..that some parts of our culture will not just be our own at one point, but will spread and become a part of others too..an extreme spread of it..like for example..i grew up in a very rich jewish neighborhood..saying something like "oi vai" when frustrated was clearly (yiddish by the way) a jewish thing, but its spread around so much, that now everyone in my hometown says it, and there's nothing weird about someone non jewish saying, as a matter of fact, i say it all the time to my mother's dismay. or now, people are doing henna all the time, regardless of whether they are gora or desi, and noone thinks its weird, because that part of our culture has simply become popular. our culture isn't going to fade, i agree with you, just kinda also blend into other cultures, and turn into a whole other culture..and so on and so forth. it's all very exciting in my viewpoint, because it's almost like a slow moving phenomenon.
I see everyone's point but you guys are focusing on inevitability and how great it's going be when everythings all mixed up. I don't think it's great. Yeah, there is a lot of variety but what's wrong with sticking to your own kind is the question at hand?
Just as humans have an instinct for self preservation - isn't it fair for us to have a right of Paki Preservation.
I grew up in Southern California, where I think there is as ethnically diverse population than most places in the world but I can't imagine being outside of my own culture. Where's the variety in that?
well..in my opinion..so no one starts bashing me, i don’t think the concept of self preservation is a very good one in today’s fast moving world. i think if we preserve perserve and preserve only for ourselves, it’s like we’re walking around with a sticker on our forehead, saying stay out! it’s like closing our minds and thoughts to other people and their own thoughts, and at the same time, not allowing them in. i believe, and people might think im a little weird, i believe that self preservation is dangerous to the human race. i dunno..if you like sticking to your own..then that’s ur thing (some of my desi friends are like that), i pesonally never believed in that because my parents always told me to make other friends besides desis, and to learn from them. Desis have always approached me in hanging out with them in large groups and outings, and sometimes i go, but i never actually made good friends with anyone of them, because mostly they were interested in sticking to their own, and sticking to their own language, customs,while i had no problem with that as a kid, my dad would always tell me that that kinda of behavior was wrong, and would only lead to misunderstandings with other people. He’s like always good to expose urself to other people, and learn from them, as they learn from you, because we’re all out there looking for a better approach to life anywayz. and im not anti desi people or anything by the way, my best friend is afghani, but she considers herself desi (so that qualifies as desi), but she’s the same too i guess, always looking to expand her horizons. Just my thoughts.
**And why can't the goras, and all other
non-Pakistanis be taught the 'Pakistani' culture if its that
important? I've seen tons of Pakistani folks who've married 'goras'
(as you put it) and other non-Pakistanis and have been kept
very happy by those 'gora' non-Pakistani spouses. Definitely
much happier than they would have been with a Pakistani husband
or wife. And not only those non Pakistanis have adapted to the culture and religion but better than many of your own 'desis' do only because their Pakistani spouses and in laws have led them by example instead of
shoving their traditions down the person's throat and making them
feel isolated.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) never discouraged marrying into
a non-Arab race because someone wasn't Arab. That's how Islam
expands by our example and superior behavior of equality towards
species of all races and kind. If culture is that important than it should start with people changing their own mentality first and foremost.
When something like culture is prisoner to petty factors such as clothes, foods, music, language and lacks humanity of any sort then it becomes
much less important than anything else in this world. In the bigger
scheme of things today to be a great Muslim is much more significant
because if you're a good Muslim then you're an awesome human being
because those two go hand in hand and one can not be without
the other. That's what childern and generations to come
should be taught.**
I totally agree with you Aalhan, i never said culture comes before Islam or the Prophet's pbuh teachings. I totally agree with you. I just fail to see where we disagree. Maybe I missed it.
