Legendary brothers

By Faizan Hussain

Getting a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent was not an easy task. Many leaders dedicated their lives for this sacred cause. Maulana Mohamed Ali and Shaukat Ali were in those leaders who were the pioneers of this freedom movement. Although they were the ambassadors of Hindu-Muslim unity in the beginning, but the meanness of Hindu did not let it happen and the struggle moved towards the demand of a separate state. Not many people know that the mother of Ali brothers, Bi Amman, had also been the part of this struggle. She played an active role in spreading awareness among the women of the Sub Continent. Unfortunately, there has never been written any detailed book about these personalities which bred some misinformation. Khalid Ali has tried to fill this vacuum of information by writing this book in which he has been remained successful.

Maulana Mohamed Ali (1878-1931) and Shaukat Ali (1873-1938) belonged to an affluent and well known family. They were among the first generation of young men educated at Aligarh. Shaukat Ali was the first graduate from Rampur and Mohamed Ali graduated from both Aligarh and Oxford. Both could follow their own pursuit and could achieve peek in that but they opted a different way – to make the Muslim of the Sub Continent free from the slavery of the British rule. They endangered their lives, suffered troubles of prison but were determined in their cause. Their mother, Bi Amman, was not behind; she was the motivators of their sons. Their efforts culminated in form of a separate piece of land for the Muslims albeit not in their lifetimes.

Mohamed Ali was fully convinced that education is very much essential for the Muslims so after becoming free from Oxford he joined education department. Slowly, the activities of both the brothers became widened and had been becoming the part of national politics. They played their role in the formation of Muslim League. Many times Ali Brothers were sent to the jail and even awarded rigorous imprisonments where they did hard physical labours. In 1922, Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the bravery of these brothers and while telling the court he said, “I shall go to jail again most willingly and joyfully. Jail has become a heaven for us, …great hearted Shaukat Ali, bravest of brave , his gallant brother are there….” In short, they made themselves available for every sacrifice which was required for the cause of Muslim freedom and died in harness.

Khalid Ali has done a tireless effort to compile all the facts about the legendary brothers. For this gigantic task he consulted people who met those brothers or had been in contact with them. He gathered facts from the libraries of different countries. All these sources are mentioned in the book which makes it more valuable and an authentic resource material about Ali Brothers. Another aspect which adds glory and importance of this book is the collection of most rare pictures and stamps which are published in it. The detailed account of the lives of these legendary brothers has never been written and compiled in this form before. Their lives were so much interwoven with the political history of the Sub-continent that the book is not only the biographies of these brothers but also the history of this era and the story of the people and their aspirations.

Title: Ali Brothers | Author: Khalid Ali | Publisher: Royal Book Company | Genre: Biography, History | Pages: 935 | Price: Rs: 2500

http://nation.com.pk/sunday-plus/07-Oct-2012/legendary-brothers

Understanding militancy

By Faizan Hussain

Militancy has gradually increased in Pakistan over the years. Pakistan has bore the brunt of terrorism more than any other country in the world. The militant groups developed in Zia’s era and since then these groups have flourished under different names and forms. They transformed themselves rapidly after the first ban on militant groups was put in January 2002. Interestingly, there exist many different notions about these militant groups. Previously, the state institutions were of the view that the reaction of these frustrated segments of militant organizations would be temporary. They completely failed to understand the dynamics of their proxies. Some people still believe that they are not terrorists but misguided individuals. Against all such odd theories, Muhammad Amir Rana wrote the book ‘The Militant: Development of Jihadi Character in Pakistan’ which not only removes misconceptions about these groups but also reveals the hollow justifications used by these militant groups in support of their brutal activities.

Amir Rana has worked extensively on issues related terrorism and extremism in Pakistan and has developed a deep understanding of it. Focusing on the development of the militant’s character for the past three and half decades, the book discovers the different phases and generations of these militant groups. He divides them into three generations. The first generation was of Pakistani youth who joined jihad during Russia’s invasion in Afghanistan. These jihadis were adventurous and were largely drawn from the poor and lower middle class while their parents had no inclination towards jihad. The second generation switched after 9/11 incident. This generation had clarity in their minds about their aims and objectives. They belonged to poor, middle and upper middle class and also included well educated fellows of reputed institutions. The writer interviewed some of terrorist of this generation. The militant of first generation has stronger desire of returning to normalcy as compared with those of second generation. People of second generation were more inclined to criminal activities in order to gather funds for jihad operations. The third generation of militants is organized, financed and patronized by different states. They are used as foreign policy tools. Syria is its most recent examples where rebels are used to overthrow Bashar al-Assad. The same happened in Libya and the Yemen crisis which are other such examples.

The book also gives some valuable ideas to tackle these terrorist. According to Aamir Rana the government needs to follow a comprehensive and well planned strategy to tackle these monsters of terrorism. A strategy should be devised which focuses not only on confronting terrorist physically but also works upon disengaging them from their activities can prove to be successful as this major issue of terrorism can’t be resolved with any one sided approach i.e., mere dialogue or military operations.

In short it is a worth reading book which gives a complete overview of terrorist groups operating in Pakistan and also explores their different forms with a range of ideological and political tendencies. The book was originally written in Urdu with the initial purpose of preparing a manual for a training course for police and academic institutions. It subsequently caught the interest at wider spectrum therefore has also been translated and published in English. However, the English edition is more detailed, as it has been revised and updated. Some of the details that were missing in the Urdu edition have been added in the English version.

Title: The Militant: Development of Jihadi Character in Pakistan | Author: Muhammad Amir Rana | Genre: Non-fiction | Pages: 170 |Price: Rs: 800 |Publisher: Narratives

(URDU): Pages: 128 | Price: Rs: 350

http://nation.com.pk/sunday-plus/31-May-2015/understanding-militancy

The ignored perspective

By Faizan Hussain

Maulana Samiul Haq is a personality which needs no introduction. He is the Chancellor of Jamia Haqqania, Akhora Khattak. He is known in two different ways. In Pakistan, Afghanistan and in some other parts of the Muslim world he is considered a respected personality who belongs to a noble family which founded an institution to educate people about Islam. According to these people his teachings played an important role in defining Islamic belief, law and education in the modern era. The Maulana educated many of the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His religious influence stretches to Central Asia and the Caucasus. But in the West and other European countries he is considered a controversial personality because of being the head of a seminary which is known for producing many Taliban leaders including Mullah Omar and also for its role in supporting the Taliban.

The Maulana became a more relevant person when the Taliban established their government in war torn Afghanistan in 1995 and maintained law and order. The Americans didn’t like the Taliban government because their vested interest could not be gained in their government. So the US started a campaign to defame and end that government. They launched a media war and propagated them as uneducated, uncivilized, and cruel to women and children and would take Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. They also portrayed Taliban as terrorist who want to spread Islam by force. In this campaign Darnl Uloom Haqqania was held responsible because of Talibans’ association with it and its media trail also started in 1997 with a surge of journalists from across the globe focusing on the madrassah and particularly its chancellor. This focus sustained its momentum up till 2004. During all these years the Maulana talked extensively on local and foreign media and explained the perspective which the Western media always ignored. In this book he has explained all those ignored aspects.

The book consists of seven chapters explaining different things in details. The first chapter is based on information about Darnl Uloom Haqqania, the history of the institution, curriculum, resources and status of the institution in the eye of Islamic Umma. The second chapter provides an insight on Taliban, their rule in Afghanistan, the Afghan political landscape, Mullah Muhammad Omar and Sheikh Osama bin Laden, the factors leading to the rise of Taliban and their rule in Afghanistan. The third chapter deals with the author’s understanding of the objectives of the US and the West and the allegations against Taliban and Pakistan. This also provides an overview of his understanding of Pak-US and Afghan-US relations. The fourth chapter is about Maulana’s personal life, his role as a religious and political leader, the sacrifices of his family, the services rendered as an advocate of Islam. The fifth chapter describes the events leading up to the peace talks between the government of Pakistan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and the role of Maulana as the head of the committee nominated for talks by the Pakistani Taliban. The sixth chapter deals with misconceptions about Islam, Jihad, rights of women and other topics that the West tends to twist for their vested interest. The last chapter provides information on the theoretical aspects of Islam enabling a non-Muslim to understand the religion and encourages one to learn more about Islam.

The book provides a fresh perspective on the events that happened between 1997 and 2004 and also touches upon the recent failed attempt of talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It is an interesting study which is part biography, part 9/11 history of Taliban in Afghanistan and part explanation of some Islamic principles. In this book the Maulana has tried to remove misunderstandings, misconceptions and doubts created through Western propaganda against Islam and the Muslims.

Title: Afghan Taliban War of Ideology Struggle for Peace | Author: Samiul Haq | Genre: Non-fiction | Pages: 236 | Price: US$: 20 | Publisher: Emel Publication

http://nation.com.pk/lahore/24-May-2015/the-ignored-perspective

Understanding Radicalization

By Faizan Hussain

Pakistan is passing the most difficult period since its existence. It is facing challenges like religious extremism, radicalization and terrorism. Even though a lot has been written on these topics yet people still lack awareness about the real threats. Educated people believe that radicalization is a political phenomenon, clerics and religious scholars trace its roots in Talibanization and the failure to enforce Shariah in the country. In reality, radicalization in the country is driven by multiple factors and occurs on different levels.

Muhammad Amir Rana and Safdar Sial’s book ‘Radicalization in Pakistan’ explains in details all the factors which are contributing in the escalation of radicalization. Over the decades there is continuous rise in the pro-radical tendencies in our society. This change in society is mix of different conflicts: between culture and ideology; between subcultures and national cultural; between economic development and cultural preservation; and between Islamization and moderation. There are religious and ideological factors which contribute in radicalization. People take pride in being Muslims but do not understand the characteristic of a real Muslim. They recite the Holy Quran but do not understand its meanings. Then there are different sects of Muslims and most of them preach particular aspect of the religion which suits their purpose. To make the matter worse, religion is also used for political interests, which is a major reason of radicalization. In political factors, when people face disillusionment from political leadership, non state factors become active to operate a parallel system against the state. Radicals take advantage in this situation and exploit people’s unfulfilled desires to hire them for their network. Then there are economic factors which cannot be ignored. In a society where people are categorised in term of their financial conditions, poor and lower-middle class suffer from a sense of deprivation. This deprivation intensifies further for those who are unemployed and underemployed. Similarly, in external factors the communicative world has made the Muslims think that they are the victims everywhere in the world. The unresolved issues of Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo etc work as catalyst in this context. The role of media, trends and level of radicalization among women and the educated youth are also discussed.

The book is based upon the core findings and outcomes of Pak Institute for Peace Studies’ (PIPS) four-year long largely empirical research work on radicalization in Pakistan. The authors have also suggested some strategies for de-radicalization and the effective measures of counter-radicalization in Pakistan. All these elements make this book an important and comprehensive contribution in the literature written about radicalization in Pakistan.

Title: Radicalization in Pakistan | Authors: Muhammad Amir Rana, Safdar Sial | Pages: 173 | Price: 1000 | Publisher: Narratives

(The book was reviewed in September 2012)

Introduction to sub-continental music

By Faizan Hussain

Expert writers about music are very scant like any other form of art. Those who write are not necessarily expert. In recent years, there is no satisfactory work done in the field of music and its reasons may vary. Either we have limited number of experts who could write something authentic or the circumstances of our country are not conducive for that. However, Dr. Muhammad Athar Masood took an initiative to publish a book in which he has compiled his well researched articles. Some of these articles have already been published in different journals in the past. Dr. Masood has not only good knowledge about music and its history but he also knows well about the art of music because he had spent a lot time with music maestros.

Maqalat-e-Masood comprises of twelve researched articles on different aspects of sub continental music. Some of these articles are translated from Persian or English language. But every article imparts a good knowledge to the reader. What makes this book unique is that the readers get to know about those music books which are either in Persian language or not accessible to everyone. The author completed this task most efficiently because he had good command over Persian and English languages. Persian language helped him to consult the ancient books about music and at the same time English language assisted him to read and understand all the modern researches about Indian music done in the West or in other European countries.

The first article ‘Hind – The Books about Classical Music Written in Persian Literature’ is translated from English. This article presents a complete overview about the books printed in the sub-continent. There is also a comparison between the Indian music and Iranian music and some technical aspects of music are also discussed. The second article ‘Classical Books about Music in the Subcontinent’ gives details about the books which are written and printed in the sub-continent from 1947 to onward. The third article ‘Jahangir’s Aesthetics for Music in the light of Jahangiri Gatherings’ is short but has special importance. This article is derived from a book ‘Majalis-i Jahangiri’ written by Abdul Sattar bin Qasim in Persian. Abdul Sattar was a courtier of King Jahangir and in his book he wrote about Jahangir’s love for art and music. The fourth article is about the introduction of ‘Risala Ragmala Hindi az Thakar Dass’ which is a book written in 1188 Hijri. This magazine has probably only one handwritten manuscript which is saved in Office Library, London. The fifth article is ‘Mafar-ul-Qaloob’ which is the name of a book and this article is a compact introduction of this book. It was written by Hassan Ali Izaat in 1199 Hijri for Tipu Sultan. The next four articles are also about books and magazine which have special importance in Indian music. The tenth article is about ‘Naghma Quddusi’ which is a book about the famous poet Amir Meenai and the eleventh article is the translation of an interview of an Indian artiste Sattar Nawaz Wilayat Hussain Khan. This interview is important because it reflects all the aspects of his life.

The book is the reflection of Dr. Athar Masood’s love and interest for music. In recent times when essence of music is almost losing its way, the book serves as an honest effort. The prominent aspect of this book is that it removes many ambiguities about the Indian music. It propels reader to explore more about the rich music history of India. The book is really an asset and can be used as a reference book because it covers a long history of music in the Indian sub-continent.

Title: Maqalat-e-Masood: Introductory and Researched articles about sub-continental music |

Author: Dr. Muhammad Athar Masood | Genre: Music | Pages: 283 | Price: Rs. 600 | Publisher: Oriental Publications

http://nation.com.pk/sunday-plus/10-May-2015/introduction-to-sub-continental-music

Lessons of My Life

By Faizan Hussain

Lessons of My Life is collection of articles in a series which tell the readers about the hidden facts of our past. These articles have divided the book into four parts which are interlinked to each other and carry the reader towards a single conclusion to revolt against oppression and tyranny. The writer has wonderfully described the great freedom fighter of the past who stood against injustice and oppression, sometimes winning and sometimes sacrificing their lives to arouse the people from their long slumber.

Lessons are drawn from the wide spectrum of life including our history, politics, art, religion and the lives of great revolutionaries of the world to inspire the readers against tyranny, aggression and oppression. The message of the writer is struggle for better future without oppression and exploitation. Each of us must struggle to change the oppressive system that condemns the working people of our country to life-long oppression.”

The sayings and speeches of the Quaid and Allama Iqbal tell readers about the real purpose of Pakistan. They envisioned a welfare state where the rights of the poor and minorities are protected. The Quaid wes against any sort exploitation. “There are millions and millions of our people who had hardly get one meal a day. Is this civilization? Is this the aim of Pakistan? If that is the idea of Pakistan, I would not have it.”

It is a worth reading book which tells us that how we can get back the prosperous Pakistan of our great Quaid and how the change can come from bottom up. The book also reveals the multi-dimensional personality of Khawaja Masud and his vast knowledge about history, philosophy and deep insight in the political affairs of the country. He has wonderfully saved a treasure of our glorious past with a lesson in it for the coming generations.

Written By: Khwaja Masud | Published By: Ilqa Publications | Pages: 134 | Price: 245

(The book was reviewed in August 2012)

Secret guardians of freedom and frontiers

By Faizan Hussain

‘Agency Rules – Never an Easy Day at the Office’ is a spy thriller which describes how our intelligence agencies and armed forces are protecting the country and the nation. Most of the time they operate secretly and for such service they don’t even get a pat on their back and unlike politicians they are never published on the front page of newspapers giving them fame and appreciation. Their job is selfless. Khalid Muhammad in this novel glorifies their role and service which they perform for their homeland. He takes his readers in danger zones and lets them see how our forces work and conduct secret operations.

The setting of the novel is modern Pakistan which is suffering from the plague of terrorism and extremism but the events happening in the novel take our memories back to the Soviet Union War in Afghanistan, in which Pakistan played a pivotal role. We come to know that Talibanization led by the collapse of Soviet Union has become a national threat for today’s Pakistan. The government appears helpless before these, gangs and criminals. The Karachi unrest is also described where innocent citizens are losing their lives in different criminal activities.

The novel starts with a high level meeting where politician and officials from army and state’s secret service agency are present. They are together to find solution to end unrest in Karachi and to respond the target killers and other criminals. The politicians are busy in shifting responsibilities but then Khalid’s main character Kamal Khan is seen in action to end violence in Karachi. He is introduced as a brave worrier and expert sniper besides a wonderful interrogator. He is the most powerful character of the novel, possessing all the characteristics of a spy hero. In six months, he accomplishes all his targets. Afterwards he joins ISI Academy to further hone his abilities and becomes an intelligence officer. His outstanding wit and intelligence make him unique among all other trainees in the academy. The secrete agency selects him for a greater mission and sends him undercover in order to penetrate in terrorist organizations which have posed great threat to the country. He goes to Peshawar and penetrates in terrorist groups who have disguised themselves as religious scholars and pretend to be the custodians of Islam. Kamal’s mission is to break the backbone of the network of these extremist groups and make the country free from threats of fundamentalists. Kamal fights with them for the survival of a nation.

It is a picturesque novel which enlightens its readers with impeccable details of operations taking places either in densely populated city of Karachi, in mountains or in caves. The exact details of Presidency, ISI Headquarters, the training camps of Talibans or the hi-fi security of Mullahs make the reader realize that he is present with Kamal at every place and visualizing everything with his own eyes. The readers, who are unfamiliar with the culture and traditions of Peshawar, get a full picture of it. . Describing Imam’s emotional behavior Muhammad writes: “The Imam’s heavy hand slammed down on the table. The juice glasses rattled and rocked, and Imam’s voice rose by several decibels.”

The best aspect of this novel is that it is a fiction but reveals many truths about the working relationship of our military official and political leadership. The often tense relation between the two can be judged from the meeting which is described in the beginning of the book where top political and military leadership is present. The exchange of harsh words and expressions between the leaderships says it all. The author has also revealed the prejudice which they possess for each other. When Kamal joins ISI Academy there he notices a group of people which are treated differently. He comes to know that they’re political appointees, or federal service commission candidates.

“They’re untested undisciplined and unprepared, lacking the essential skils that every soldier here has.”

“And unfit.” The group’s contempt for the civilian population in the room was obvious.

“Our only serving grace is that they’ll never get to field or covert service.” And the conversation goes on…

Khalid Muhammad is very good with art of characterization and can easily develop characters of his story. He uses different methods to portray his characters, e.g. Minto is a gang leader who operates a criminal network in Karachi. The reader comes to know about him indirectly about his nefarious plans and criminal activities but his name also suggests a lot about his personality. Similarly, the name of the hero, Kamal Khan, also suits his personality and character. Sometimes he portrays his character through actions. For example the loathsome character of Imam starts revealing when he is taking his lunch with Kamal and Kaleem: “The Imam took a couple more bites before shoving the entire chicken leg into his mouth and sucking all the meat from the bone. Dropping the bone on the plate, he slid it away and leaned back, rubbing his stomach. Al-humdo-lillah.”

Khalid Muhammad knows the art of gluing his readers to the book. From the very first chapter to the last one the reader remains curious to know about next event and it makes this novel a page turner. The novel has an amazing story which is a mix of action and suspense and highlights the fact that how important the role of ISI is for the survival of our country. In this novel the author has revealed those facts which an investigative journalist generally avoids to write in his stories.

Title: Agency Rules – Never an Easy Day at the Office | Author: Khalid Muhammad | Genre: Novel | Publisher: Dead Drop Books