Eid is the bi-annual celebration of Islamic faith that gathers the society in celebrating its diversity and gratitude. First, of them is celebrated after the month of Ramadan when fasting ends in order to thank Allah’s mercy upon us with which we start eating again. The core of Ramadan is to sacrifice the worldly appetite to put us in the shoes of those who starve. We are obligated to feed them at the same time. All Abrahamic religions have this tradition a symbol of its closeness to Allah’s creature and a reminder of this world’s ephemeral nature. Second Eid requires all Muslims to sacrifice an animal and distribute the meat to the hungry and poor. Hides are given to charities and non-profits to invest money into public welfare programs. Schools, hospitals, emergency services and humanitarian aid organizations use these funds to help remote areas hit hard by natural calamities and community development programs. Some of the famous institutes in Pakistan are Edhi Foundation, Al-Khidmet Foundation, Al-Falah Organization, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, etc. They all make huge contributions in distributing public donations to the deserving and have huge networks. Given the corruption and callousness of government institutions, these private initiatives are much needed and have existed throughout the Islamic history.
Unlike European welfare systems and US capitalistic facilities, Muslim world in general lack civil amenities and it is only through private donors and community service that many of otherwise crumbling societies still exist. Islamic injunctions of Sadqa, Zakat, Ushr, Fitrana and Qarz-e-Hasana help many otherwise modest and honorable families survive the hardships of their economic circumstances. Lack of education, jobs, proper nutrition and sanitary facilities these private inputs have taken a huge brunt of what was supposed to be Government’s work. According to numerous research reports, Pakistan is world’s largest donor nation. In addition to it, until recently, it was also world’s top immigrant hosting country. It consistently tops the ranks among most hospitable countries according to tourists visiting Pakistan. Eric Lancon and his wife Ayu are currently visiting Pakistan, an Argentinian couple who I have had the pleasure to meet in Lahore. They are on a world tour and have crossed the border from India couple of weeks ago. The couple finds the stark differences between India and Pakistan really remarkable. They have traveled to Faisalabad, Multan and Karachi until now and have enjoyed every bit of it. They celebrated Eid in Karachi with traditional Pakistani dresses. Argentina is a country with a bloody history of Spanish invasion and colonization and has issued quite similar to us. Ayu, a student of Spanish literature, recommended the famous book ‘One Hundred years of Solitude’ by Garcia Marquez. Book is a surrealistic masterpiece like Bano Qudsia’s ‘Raja Gidh’ and discusses a lot of issues of genetic influences and circle of life. Known as ‘Greatest Colombian ever alive,’ Garcia received a Noble Prize for Literature in 1982.
On this auspicious occasion filled with joys and gratitude, we must also reflect upon our state as individuals, communities and a nation. Pakistan came into being on 27th of Ramadan, considered a holy night in the Islamic world, finally throwing away its shackles of English slavery. A century later we still have an English judicial, parliamentary, educational and bureaucratic system. We failed to capitalize on the most precious asset we fought to get. Danish don’t have English as their working language. Education in Malaysia is not in English. Courts don’t follow English law in South Korea, and schools in China don’t teach children Shakespeare and Hemingway in schools. Why should we remain among a handful of countries educated by our colonizers and their mouthpieces? Vietnam fought a devastating war which left it maimed for many years to come. Paralyzed by the French before and later by American invasion today it has a literacy rate over 90% and language of instruction is Vietnamese. The country has one of the highest GDP growth rates in Asia. Thailand isn’t very different from it. Why is a country like Pakistan with years in head-start still stuck with its colonial heritage? We did it once; we can do it again. This time for once and for all. To get rid of what is left of our enslaved arrested development!
