Pakistan, Islam, and the Idea of Terrorism, according2ed

Last year 2,000 people were killed in bombings, shootings and revenge attacks in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi.

Despite the violence, one BBC journalist has decided to return to his hometown after 12 years in London, prompting his mother to ask him if he'd "lost his mind".

How is Pakistan perceived where you live? What does the future hold for the country?
- bbc news, facebook

After 12 years with the BBC World Service in London, Shahzeb Jillani has decided to return to Karachi to work as Pakistan correspondent. But, as he explains here, the turmoil in the city means his decision has not gone down very well with friends and family.
"Have you absolutely lost your mind?" That was my mother's predictable response.
"People are trying to get out of this god-forsaken city," she said, "and you are planning to come back!"
- bbc news: Hometown Karachi, Returning to Report on a Bleeding City

some comments from Facebook

Janet Shaw: A country were terrorism is ripe and Christians are persecuted. A country that trains people from other countries to become terrorists. A country where the government, corrupt though it is has no control over the country.

John Whitehead:  Full off terrorists , never trust them !!!!!

David Exley: Nuke the place.

Kristopher J T Eccles: I am just waiting on India wiping them out


ed:  Ever since the partition of Pakistan from India, the former has been in the process of self-definition to justify, or give meaning, to its supposed distinctive character.

Unfortunately, being separated from the multicultural approach that is India, it was left to identifying with the struggle against western elite hegemony in the middle east and ended up attempting to self-define itself along the lines of 'what it means to be not under the influence of the west'.

In attempting to seek out its identity in opposition to western hegemony, Pakistan and other middle-eastern countries did, as many have in history throughout the world, and looked back to history at the most distinguishing features of its civilisation that appeared to be most distinctive from the west in the present, and not necessarily those features that are the most laudable in its history and culture.  ~ ed

In attempting to seek out its identity in opposition to western hegemony, Pakistan and other middle-eastern countries did, as many have in history throughout the world, and looked back to history at the most distinguishing features of its civilisation that appeared to be most distinctive from the west in the present, and not necessarily those features that are the most laudable in its history and culture.   Pakistan and others have been attempting to get its own population to tow this line ever since.

In that, it has lost the opportunity to bring about a true and golden renaissance as opposed to just being reactionary.

All those ignoramuses who link them, or/and Muslims, or/and Islam, to 'terrorism', forget that Muslims were by and large far more tolerant of difference than were the elite who used Christianity to further its cause in the west. Let's not forget that genocidal actions against the Jews is a constant feature of western history, and not Middle Eastern history.

As for 'terrorism', it is just a term delineating non-state politically-motivated violence from state-sanctioned politically motivated violence.   You could say that the west has ‘advanced’ enough to ‘outsource’ its ‘terroristic activities’ to its military - which enables the reinforcement of the notion that the civilians are innocent - whereas the middle-east is backward enough to let it be headed by the people.  This statement is not in support of terrorism, but of objective thinking.  If more engaged in the latter, there wouldn’t really be any terrorism to talk about.



ed