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of the work we do posted in from other blogs general utterances related to pya tv press interviews tagged activate al jazeera on pakistan counter extremism pakistan youth alliance peace activism street theater swat syed ali abbas zaidi taliban 2 comments how pakistan sees the united states february 8 2012 by saaz first published council on foreign relations website the following was written by syed ali abbas zaidi the founder of pakistan youth alliance and a member of khudi pakistan he tweets at ali_abbas_zaidi it was november 1979 anti american outrage filled the streets of pakistan several u s facilities were attacked across the country a mob in islamabad nearly burned the u s embassy to the ground the chant kill the american infidels echoed in the air in response to the siege of mecca s grand mosque islam s holiest site pakistani crowds angered by the unprecedented events unfolding in mecca concluded that such a plot could only be orchestrated by americans it turned out they were wrong the homegrown radical group in saudi arabia that led the bloody siege had no link with the united states while the u s pakistani relationship has experienced many changes in the decades since miscalculations of ground realities on both sides and anti american sentiment have remained the majority of people in pakistan admire the way americans live almost every pakistani family has a member settled in the united states but a glaring majority hates the impact of u s policies in pakistan the united states is considered by many to be the great satan every u s political move in pakistan is interpreted as an effort to destabilize pakistan or to fight a war against islam aggressive rhetoric on the pakistani side at times reflecting an unrealistic worldview and at times responding justifiably to belligerent u s action molds mass perceptions a few months ago i was in kot addu in the south of pakistan s punjab province filming recent flood damage in the area with a british filmmaker named oliver he was confronted by a local who after pushing oliver scanned the sky and shouted drone drone as if oliver s tripod and camera were the equipment that maneuvers drones bear in mind that south punjab has never had a drone attack and is very far from the area where drone attacks take place for me this incident highlights an important fact for u s pakistani relations the general public in pakistan cannot be expected to understand the complicated nature of the u s pakistan relationship when something goes wrong in pakistan the public relies on their interpretation of the events at face value in the case of drone attacks for example the united states must consider this effect and act more responsibly many of my american friends ask the same question why do they hate us by way of explanation the discourse rampant in pakistani streets is closest to what most muslim majority communities feel the invasion of iraq decades long support for oppressive governments bias in the israeli palestinian dispute the killing of thousands of innocent muslims recurring stories of torture and abuse of prisoners all have combined to generate suspicion of the united states within pakistan when pakistanis find evidence that the united states applies its values of democracy and human rights selectively depending on its interests the raymond davis episode and collateral damage from drone attacks being prime examples for many suspicion turns to hate finally solidifying this ill will is the lack of understanding between the two countries on a human level people to people civil society based contact and interaction is scarce and misconceptions are aided by a u s media that does not propagate alternative opinions from within u s society the result is the image of the united states as a monolithic society disagreement is a trait of democratic society and should be considered a strength rather than a weakness if on the ground dissent in the united states can be understood in pakistan and communication between the united states and regions that hate the united states is given importance in the international media the united states monolithic negative image will become less rampant in pakistan and other muslim majority communities this will not only benefit the image of the united states worldwide but will give conspiracy theorists reason to look within before pointing the finger at the united states posted in from other blogs politics published work tv press interviews tagged anti america ism in pakistan council on foreign relations pakistan usa relationship siege of mecca syed ali abbas zaidi 3 comments why activism still matters ceasefire magazine december 23 2011 by saaz first published ceasefire magazine uk the past decade has seen millions marching against the iraq invasion and other wars millions more helping and being helped as natural and man made disasters struck from japan to america just in 2011 alone much to the amazement of political and social scientists we witnessed the street revolutions of the arab spring a revolutionary wave of demonstrations not only toppled decades old dictatorships but have prompted a healthy culture of debate across the world these protests shared a number of common techniques of civil resistance through sustained campaigns involving strikes demonstrations marches and rallies as well as the use of social media to organise communicate and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and media internet censorship the arab spring confirmed the significance of the power a common man or woman can possess dictionaries and historical narratives have undermined the usage of the word activism it is now usually understood to be intentional efforts to bring about social political economic religious or environmental change activities that are usually understood to be activist in nature include protests walks and demonstrations this is only partially correct activism is not necessarily about change for change s sake activism also exists to maintain and protect the valuable freedoms and rights secured through the sacrifices and resistance of those before us activism is not only rebellious protests challenging authority but a broad set of activities to meet clear ends and objectives to instigate a debate in society and therefore to continuously meet evolving circumstances as such it might not necessarily involve any protesting at all let us remember that not everything that calls itself activist is inherently positive in its nature many activist groups and organisations across the world work diligently towards outcomes that others would hardly describe as positive possibly due to the confusion that surrounds the word historians have not been able to produce a history of activism and yet shouldn t we start seeing our own common history of mankind as precisely that a history of activism after all human history and progress have been built in one way or other upon various types of activism all the way back to when the first human being stepped on earth every one of us is affected by the happenings around us from bad drainage across the street to extremist organisations propagating intolerance from domestic state policies that need to be opposed to imperial oppression that should be resisted everyone is affected some feel the need to do something and try to challenge inspire and lead whilst others convinced that one voice one action or one person are helpless against the enormity of the task resign themselves to do nothing instead the former are called activists the latter i call slacktivists with advances in telecommunications and internet technology we are more exposed to information than ever before with a sudden burst of social networking sites we are more powerful than ever before the ease with which digital activism can be the driving force behind tangible output is awe inspiring blogging is already the new face of media we all can be journalists and activists the only ingredient that distinguishes an activist from a slacktivist is the will and the desire to do it of course it s not all about marches and campaigns volunteer work for a social cause is an equally valid way to alleviate poverty fight corruption or to ensure equal rights of education and health facilities to all complaining about contemporary state of affairs is easy trying to work towards how you envision your society country or world ought to be is the real test as we move further and faster towards a more globalised world with technology that enables us to matter beyond our mere physical borders we as global citizens need to realise that we matter and activism in whatever form is the spark that leads to the streets to the change that we the global masses aspire towards some believe an activist is born and cannot be made i don t every man and woman is born an activist whether we admit it or not it is carved in our common history and whether we like or not it will define the future of our humanity syed ali abbas zaidi is featured in activate a new series on al jazeera english following activists posted in from other blogs general utterances published work related to pya tv press interviews tagged activism cease fire magazine social activism syed ali abbas zaidi youth activism leave a comment pakistan islam radicalisation published huffington post november 20 2011 by saaz first published and cross posted from huffington post i was in kasur a small town near lahore pakistan where the celebrated mystic poet bulleh shah is buried thousands gathered for the 254th anniversary of his death slogans chanted on that occasion would be branded blasphemous by extremist organizations in pakistan neither hindu nor muslim sacrificing pride let us sit together neither sunni nor shia let us walk the road of peace bulleh shah penned these verses challenging religious extremism and orthodoxy that plagued muslim society hundreds of years ago he was exiled from his home town and history has it he was denied a burial in muslim cemetery his advice has clearly gone unheeded as my country is still yet to find peace not even the founder of pakistan muhammad ali jinnah has been spared being labelled the great infidel incidentally the same ilk of religio political parties who now manipulate public discourse were at the forefront of using religious narrative for political point scoring before pakistan came into being 4 january 2011 is a day i cannot forget salmaan taseer the governor of pakistan s biggest province punjab was gunned down by his bodyguard he was killed for supporting a christian woman accused of insulting the prophet muhammad he was shot twenty six times for the entire week after the killing i was scared i don t remember being in that state of mind since benazir bhutto was assassinated it s not a very heartening sight to see fellow educated countrymen glorifying a murderer and justifying his actions based on ignorant rhetoric scores of fan pages popped up on facebook many of my friends changed their profile pictures to one of the killer mumtaz qadri exalting a murderer as hero very few turned out to pay homage to the slain governor in days to come as liberals arranged vigils in his remembrance yet thousands poured on to the streets to defend mumtaz qadri his assassin the media which has been a primary tool in fanning conspiracy theories in public had again played a pivotal role in enticing religious emotions on this issue the killer of salman taseer had confessed proudly the brave judge who sentenced him to death has gone into hiding and will not be re appearing anytime soon 7 march 2011 the start of another week of gloom and if i m honest i was ashamed to be a pakistani we had arranged a protest to condemn the killing of shahbaz bhatti the federal minister for minorities who was brutally assassinated on 2 march he was an outspoken critic of pakistan s blasphemy laws and the only christian in the cabinet only a few youngsters turned up when it comes to numbers we can gather thousands but the cause has to be against india israel or america not many will show up if the demonstration is against radical organisations or asking for introspection within many who rallied for gaza in early 2009 were not seen in protests condemning taliban atrocities in swat at the same time many who burnt down shops in anger at the danish cartoons of the prophet muhammad never stood up for parachinar a small town near the border of afghanistan where thousands have been killed in sectarian violence between sunni s and shia s 9 october 2011 i was stuck on the islamabad highway the main road that connects islamabad with rawalpindi as it was blocked by flash mobs protesting for the release of mumtaz qadri two decades and 40 000 deaths later which includes top politicians generals and clerics not many things have changed when it comes to checking radicalism within islam many attacks on places of worship of minority sects within islam recurring violent brawls between followers of different schools of thought reaction to the murder of salman taseer and shahbaz bhatti recent acts of violence in baluchistan and the tale of parachinar are chapters in recent history which expose the extent of radicalisation in pakistani society soon we as citizens of a country founded because a minority felt discriminated against and followers of the great religion of islam need to face up to the challenge of the radical minded and their extremist ideology this is a war of ideologies and is inevitably a war that must be fought with opinions and ideas it must encourage discourse and exchange of reason it is a war that must form the basic pillar of a new and improved national paradigm for pakistan we as a society cannot ignore an emerging threat from radicalism within our ranks because if it gets too late there might be no music left to face follow syed ali abbas zaidi on twitter www twitter com ali_abbas_zaidi posted in politics published work tv press interviews tagged bulleh shah urs extremism in pakisytan mumtaz qadri pakistan pakistan and islam radicalisation in pakistan salman taseer shahbaz bhatti sufism 2 comments older posts who knows what i be an aeronautical engineer by force an activist by mind a wanderer by soul and lover by heart founder pakistan youth alliance twitter http www twitter com ali_abbas_zaidi facebook http www facebook com aliabbaszaidi world s bravest bloggers the artist activist brings a bohemian flair to his call for greater religious tolerance zaidi says hes working towards a progressive democratric future his country http bit ly de6fam hits 325 254 share this blog media appearence video of the day archives october 2015 december 2013 october 2013 july 2013 february 2013 september 2012 may 2012 february 2012 december 2011 november 2011 october 2011 july 2011 june 2011 may 2011 april 2011 march 2011 february 2011 january 2011 december 2010 november 2010 october 2010 september 2010 august 2010 july 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