I know you might think that I am hitting the panic button too soon, but every now and then things are reminding us of who we really are despite of our blue/black passports.
After 9/11, 7/7, 06/2 and now 8/10 tragedies/plots, seems like that this will not stop until the Middle East has a durable solution. The Muslims living in west must be asking a question to themselves, should I be prepared to pack my bags? Could things get as worse as Japenese concerntration camps or similar to that effect for Muslims? The question has many dimensions and factors involved, but somewhere in our mind this question is hiding after September 11. And now it is emerging in foreground more often than before. The frequency and timings of these incidents are worrisome.
Deep inside my mind, I am too planning and thinking of business oppertunities in Pakistan. In worse case scenario, we might need to just leave the country without any personal belongings etc.
Not sure if its time to go home, since no one has a crystal ball. However, as I had posted a few months ago, the situation in the west will keep getting worse for muslims. My analysis on the current situation may be unpleasant for many of us to consider, and more patriotic amongst us will outright find ways to blame someone else “because we can do no wrong”, and the more intelligent blame it all on the media, however very few are considering inherent problems in present day muslim societies.
Bear in mind that people accused in pakistan of the same type of things as some Muslims get accused of in the west can disappear quickly as well. And the system works much, much more slowly in pakistan, so it takes more time for them to reappear.
Instead of thinking of going back try to finally f'king assimilate yourself in this great country called the US of A. This is the problem with us desis, always stuck in the past. Move on buddy. Look at how the Italians, Irish, Germans and the Scotts integrated into the melting pot and made good citizens.
This country gave you a lot more than the country you were born in. Be honest to yourself. This country is better than the best country in the middle east where you have to get a Sheikha to agree to have 51% ownership for you to even start a business. Forget about owning property or voting or becoming a citizen. Sometimes I pull my hair out thinking that those are Islamic countries...where the hell does Ummah go when it comes to reaping the citizenship...ummah only for Jihad?
So, screw those countries and love the one you are living in.
Fungoo mian, intehaai bore aadmi hain aap :p I am not saying these western countries didn't give us anything (what we are here for :) ), infact I am really thankful to God and Canadian society that gave me a lot of oppertunity to grow as a good citizen, family man and a professional. What I am saying is, do you guys smell or fear that things might go out of hands in future/near future to an extend where Muslims (regardless of how liberal, Americanized or naked you are) find themselves as C class citizens who in general will be considered as a threat to the society or nation. Ofcourse there will be lots of bias and stereotypic views involved in such situations.
DO YOU think its never gonna happen, or its very much POSSIBLE in the light of these incidents? Is this possible that we see a time in future that we will find it very difficult to live in the west (due to social boycott of any kind, prejudice against us in general, harrasment, agencies spying/monitoring etc) and go back to Pakistan (or wherever)????
Fungoo, also I was not talking about moving to Middle-East as a solution but I was refering to Arab-Isreal conflict for last 60 years as the flash point of this whole miserable post 9/11 situation.
do u think they will do that wid there nationality holders:hmmm:like if u are canadian national ..will they kick them and say go back to ur country???
[quote=smooth_guy]
I know you might think that I am hitting the panic button too soon, but every now and then things are reminding us of who we really are despite of our blue/black passports.
After 9/11, 7/7, 06/2 and now 8/10 tragedies/plots, seems like that this will not stop until the Middle East has a durable solution. The Muslims living in west must be asking a question to themselves, should I be prepared to pack my bags? Could things get as worse as Japenese concerntration camps or similar to that effect for Muslims? The question has many dimensions and factors involved, but somewhere in our mind this question is hiding after September 11. And now it is emerging in foreground more often than before. The frequency and timings of these incidents are worrisome.
**Deep inside my mind, I am too planning and thinking of business oppertunities in Pakistan. In worse case scenario, we might need to just leave the country without any personal belongings etc./**quote]
This country gave you a lot more than the country you were born in. Be honest to yourself. This country is better than the best country in the middle east where you have to get a Sheikha to agree to have 51% ownership for you to even start a business. Forget about owning property or voting or becoming a citizen. Sometimes I pull my hair out thinking that those are Islamic countries...where the hell does Ummah go when it comes to reaping the citizenship...ummah only for Jihad?
So, screw those countries and love the one you are living in.
Ohioguy, since you are old enough, may be you can shed some light at the events surrounding Japanese internment camps in the US at the time of World War II.
Not trying to draw unnecessary parallals, but if your patriotism is under suspicion because of your skin color or because your parents/grand parents came from a certain land, then no matter how much ****ing assimilated you think you are, no matter how much baseball you play, you will always be considered "of ____-origin" (fill in the blank), you will always pay the price of actions by your (former) country-men (or people of faith) and may remain under suspicion till you die.
I think the US treatment of the Japanese post WWII is a bit exaggerated. It wasn't as if every Jap was put through interrogation. Anyway, the world has changed considerably in the past 50 years and it is almost impossible for any country, especially a country like USA, to specifically target one of it's minority.
Again, my advice is to get involved in the community. When was the last time you attended your homeowners association meeting? have you ever been to your city council meeting? do you even know the name of your city mayor? did you vote at the local level? Do you ever volunteer for local library, hospital, school, ?
I bet you haven't because it's not in our upbringing. We have a couple of Edhis and Burnees in a population of over 160 million.
Not trying to draw unnecessary parallals, but if your patriotism is under suspicion because of your skin color or because your parents/grand parents came from a certain land, then no matter how much ****ing assimilated you think you are, no matter how much baseball you play, you will always be considered "of ____-origin" (fill in the blank), you will always pay the price of actions by your (former) country-men (or people of faith) and may remain under suspicion till you die.
Faisal, I think the internment of Japanese-Americans is widely regarded as one of the most shameful periods in our history. I think that his is one of the few cases where the US Government actually voted in Congress later on to pay restitution to the families that were intered.
Oddly enough, the movie "Seige" actually dealt with this issue long before 9/11, and is worth renting if you can find it. In any free society we struggle with how to balance suspicion with freedom. In the case of "terrorism" and the Japanese, the threat was an unseen one. In the case of Japanese of course they were worried about spies, and there was some evidence that many members of the Japanese consulate in Hawaii actually scouted out Pearl Harbor in advance of attacks, as some terrorist groups have done prior to attacks.
My advice for citizens and visitors alike is to hold your head up high, help the authorities if you are able, engage your Gora friends and openly discuss the issue, and be patient with the paranoid. I think that you will find that if you calmly discuss your fears and your situation, that most Americans will be sympathetic, even protective. If in the next breath you rant about Israel, and shout "Kill the Jews", you may induce enough perspiration to cause trouble. There is a time to discuss your rights, and a time to express your political views. Both are appropriate, but discussing them in the same breath mixes messages. Stand firm, hold to your rights, do not run away, and do not hide. This will pass.
All three ladies, have you checked the Homeland Security mandate and the things happened after 9/11? You are talking about being born here, the third generation Muslims were disappeared for several months and were detained at unknown places without any charges.
what utterly stupid advice, no matter how bad things are I aint getting you no engagement ring OG.. i know u have seen my pic in my journal, but everyone aint pakora that a beetr would do (wine me and dine me first)
and nice hidden way of trying to sentence us all to mental assylums, dont think i cant read the real intentiond behind “being patient with the paranoid” i.e. be a patient at the same facility thatthey house the paranoid..
