Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
**I don’t want them to learn customs. I want them to learn Islamic etiquette. Respect. Compassion for their fellow human beings. Customs are useless to me. They are fun…so are BBQs and making kites. I don’t think I’ll be too upset if they don’t know about joota churai or doodh pilai. Again, I am not against these things…I just don’t see myself emphasizing them.
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But why is it necessary I teach them this?
Why don’t you explain yourself? Why don’t you tell me why you equate religion with culture? Why do people like you believe that being Pakistani is the equivalent to being a Muslim? As if the gates of heaven are automatically going to open up once you wave the green and white flag. Speaking Urdu seems to be your passport into the pearly gates…you might want to check with someone about that.
To the posters here:
Some posters really need to understand the ties a lot of you have with Pakistan are MUCH stronger than myself. Its unfathomable for many…to read what I am saying. Sounds almost blasphemous doesn’t it? Who is she to say Urdu is not important? Its important to someone who has strong memories, ties, relatives living there, a real solid bond, etc. But for someone like me…Pakistan is like a distant dream…somewhere I visited once or twice as a child during summer vacation and that was it. Many of us don’t have that “home” like connection with it and that is okay.
I have learned so much from this forum about our culture and for that I am really grateful. Yes, I value it. My parents were born there and raised in Pak. I speak Urdu. I can cook Pakistani food. But I cannot deny that my kids might not even have those vague memories that I have. So what will I teach them? One of my jobs will be give them a sense of identity right? And that will come from their faith.