Good article portraying nuisances, conspiracies and insecurities that are now inherently part of our social DNA…driven by too much of religion doze given to this nation across the spectrum. whenever i go to pakistan, I get suffocated by one-dimensional thought process i.e. blaming west/USA/jews/indians for everything, refuse to take any blame for our utter incompetence almost in every field, and keep bringing religion into every discussion and issue and thus shutting down any opportunity to discuss freely…
i have been to over 45 countries (for my job mostly) and i have yet to find any country where people hate jews as much we do in Pakistan…as if jews have a different creator… if they are so bad blame the creator first who is producing such toxic material…
jews are closely followed by hindus and USA in terms of hate..pls note, Pakistanis do not hate Indians, they hate hindus. always surprised that sikhs are always adored by Pakistanis…Christians and Buddhists are ok as well but hindus…
The moot question here is why does this large body of opinion in Pakistan — 33 pc — tacitly accept violence and militancy without strongly reacting to it? To me who abhors violence and war, even having no opinion on the matter is amoral. But many people have learnt from personal experience to take the route of least resistance and unquestioning conformism in a system where there is no institutionalised protection for someone who sticks his neck out.
***Another key factor is the widespread use of religion to silence people and numb critical thinking. *Students have learnt that if they want to negotiate their way through school successfully they should accept unthinkingly the knowledge that is handed down to them.
**In fact, the social environment is so deeply saturated with religiosity that it is difficult for many people to escape its impact and think in a secular manner. **The pulpit, the school curricula, socio-cultural practices, work routine and even language are so closely integrated with religion that it leaves little space for rational thinking. The Taliban expediently use Islam and jihad as a shield to justify their nefarious activities
We are a nation divided against ourselves. We do not want to take risks if we can find an escape route for ourselves. and so we do not stand up for the rights of others. We fit into the pattern described by Martin Niemoller about the German intellectuals in Nazi Germany. The intellectuals did not speak out against the excesses committed against various groups in the country — the communists, the socialists, the trade unionists and the Jews. “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me