http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep20...00/oped/o2.htm
By Manzur Ijaz
He says
'The ease with which the Arab Muslims were interacting with their Jewish counterparts prompted me to ask an Arab activist why they can communicate with Jews so easily while Pakistani Muslims cannot. The response was very interesting: Since the Arabs have lived with the Jews for centuries, they know how to deal with each other. For Pakistanis, Jews are alien and unknown demons, he replied. Probably, this response provides a key to understanding the attitudes of Pakistanis towards other groups also.
Other than a small percentage of lower class Christians, Pakistani Punjabis belong to one religion, Islam. In contrast to other provinces where there are still minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees, Boharas and others religious groups, the new generation of Punjabis have no experience with dealing with people from other religions. As a result, they can easily demonise people of other faiths. It precipitates a narrow mindedness among Punjabis when it comes to dealing with people of other religions.
And since Punjabis constitute an overwhelming majority in Pakistan, religious belligerence expresses itself in the state ideology. In addition to nationalistic reasons, Punjabis' lack of experience of dealing with other people in their day-to-day life creates a collective phobia for followers of other religions. This explains why a majority of Pakistanis are still opposed to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation while Israeli's primary victims, Palestinians and Arabs, are establishing and deepening relations with their long term enemy.
Indian Muslims manifest a different behaviour pattern too. They may have severe grievances with Hindus but they conduct joint community activities on a regular basis. There are very few Indian organizations which do not have Muslim members along with people from other religions. Even Aligrah Association has Hindu members and office bearers.
As a matter of fact, Indian Muslims seem to be closer to Hindus of UP in comparison to Sindhi or Punjabis. The gap between Hindus and Indian Muslims has widened with the rise of Hindutva in the form of the BJP but still there are several secular minded groups (like TOUCH) that promote harmony between Indians of different religions.
On the contrary, most Muslim Punjabis make sure not to go to events where non-Muslim Indians are expected to come. A well-known Pakistani VIP has made it known that no Hindu is allowed to enter his residence. I have come across many Punjabi Muslims who do not attend cultural events because of Sikh participation. The case of Bollywood stars and Dilair Mehdi is an exception to the general trend.'
By Manzur Ijaz
He says
'The ease with which the Arab Muslims were interacting with their Jewish counterparts prompted me to ask an Arab activist why they can communicate with Jews so easily while Pakistani Muslims cannot. The response was very interesting: Since the Arabs have lived with the Jews for centuries, they know how to deal with each other. For Pakistanis, Jews are alien and unknown demons, he replied. Probably, this response provides a key to understanding the attitudes of Pakistanis towards other groups also.
Other than a small percentage of lower class Christians, Pakistani Punjabis belong to one religion, Islam. In contrast to other provinces where there are still minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees, Boharas and others religious groups, the new generation of Punjabis have no experience with dealing with people from other religions. As a result, they can easily demonise people of other faiths. It precipitates a narrow mindedness among Punjabis when it comes to dealing with people of other religions.
And since Punjabis constitute an overwhelming majority in Pakistan, religious belligerence expresses itself in the state ideology. In addition to nationalistic reasons, Punjabis' lack of experience of dealing with other people in their day-to-day life creates a collective phobia for followers of other religions. This explains why a majority of Pakistanis are still opposed to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation while Israeli's primary victims, Palestinians and Arabs, are establishing and deepening relations with their long term enemy.
Indian Muslims manifest a different behaviour pattern too. They may have severe grievances with Hindus but they conduct joint community activities on a regular basis. There are very few Indian organizations which do not have Muslim members along with people from other religions. Even Aligrah Association has Hindu members and office bearers.
As a matter of fact, Indian Muslims seem to be closer to Hindus of UP in comparison to Sindhi or Punjabis. The gap between Hindus and Indian Muslims has widened with the rise of Hindutva in the form of the BJP but still there are several secular minded groups (like TOUCH) that promote harmony between Indians of different religions.
On the contrary, most Muslim Punjabis make sure not to go to events where non-Muslim Indians are expected to come. A well-known Pakistani VIP has made it known that no Hindu is allowed to enter his residence. I have come across many Punjabi Muslims who do not attend cultural events because of Sikh participation. The case of Bollywood stars and Dilair Mehdi is an exception to the general trend.'
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