INTRODUCTION There has been a lot of speculation after the October earthquakes in northern Pakistan and a widely given

explanation was that this was a punishment (azaab) from Allah. However several renowned Islamic scholars discarded this view and categorized the tragic event as a warning, which is conceptually different from the former view. Both theories agree that it is the deviation in our deeds from the enlightened path that has invited the fury of Allah. A third explanation given was the scientific one, which eliminates Allah completely from the picture; this earthquake was just caused by a collision of plates beneath the earths surface. People voicing this opinion are quite often either too secular to think Allah interferes in such physical phenomenon or thought that religion itself is a sign of ultra and neo conservative moulvis and wished to disassociate themselves with this group. Deism1 can be discarded because being a Muslim its a 180-degree opposite to the Islamic concepts where we believe that everything, as petty as the movement of a leave, occurs by the will of Allah. A study of punishments (which finishes that nation azaab-eistesaal) inflicted on nations mentioned in the Quran reveals a pattern in the sunnat of Allah. The message of Allah comes to the nation via the messenger and separates right from wrong, but the nation rejects the message. Only then the punishment (azaab) comes and it is for the entire nation. After the coming of the last prophet and the end of prophet hood such punishments (azaab-e-istesaal) will also not occur anymore (Bani-Israel and Hazrat Esa(as) are an exception). Still an entire nation can be afflicted with a punishment (azaab) but the nature of punishment would be different. This leaves the theory which suggests that these tremors were a sign from Allah; a warning. Also generally speaking, this world is not a place of reward/punishment (dar-ul-jaza). Sometimes we get the jaza in this world as well but this world is a place of test (dar-ulimtehan). All people, both pious and sinful, are put through tough times to see how well they perform. People are tested with varying circumstances, some tests harder then the others and thats what life is all about, a test. If we agree that the earthquake indeed was a warning, then the next question could be: does anything need to be done? Allah says in the Quran And verily We make them taste the lower punishment before the greater, that haply they may return. As-Sajda-021 It is true that man mostly gets back to Allah when in trouble and forgets about Him when happy.

DEISM: The philosophical belief that God created the universe and then stepped back from it and now does not intervene in its working. The earthquakes were just the colliding of the plates and God had nothing to do with it. The cosmos, our solar system, our planet are just following their paths with out Godly orders and so on and so forth.

When an affliction befalls a human he calls upon Us, but when We confer Our Favor on him, he says: 'I have only been given it on account of knowledge.' Rather, it is but a trial, yet most do not know. Az-Zumar-049 If this recent earthquake was a smaller punishment according to the ayat above, and a greater punishment is coming, we must analyze our deeds, our lives and our situation. As we are talking about a punishment for the entire nation, we should also analyze our situation in terms of our national machinery. This paper talks about the entire Muslim nation in general and Pakistan in particular, and asks: Is this warning from Allah warranted? ANALYSIS: This analysis can be broken down in to three different levels. Political Analysis: Politics and religion have been closely related throughout human history. The partnership of politics and religion, king and priest is such that you see it even in the most corrupt systems as one ensured the survival of the other. So there always was a God in politics in some form. Even where there was a concept of many gods and goddesses, there was always one God above all. A big God (capital G) on the top of the hierarchy of smaller gods and goddesses (small g). These smaller gods and goddesses were thought to have special say in the sight of the bigger God and were suppose to be intercessors for their worshippers so they were worshipped and revered. The God exists in Hinduism, He existed in the Greek mythology and the religion of the mushrakeen before Islam, and God even existed in the beliefs of the destroyed nations of Aad, Samood, and Noh etc. Lets look at the theme behind our current political setup, Secularism. Secularism talks of religion to be a private and personal concern of every individual. Everyone has the right to believe whatever he or she likes (which is also what Islam preaches) but his beliefs should stick inside his home or place of worship. Religion has no place in the political, financial and social setup of a country (which is where secularism and Islam are totally opposite). With secularism the sovereignty of Allah is challenged. Man takes the right of declaring haram and halal in his own hands. Contrary to what modernists may believe, this is in clear disagreement with the Islamic belief. Such a system is not acceptable in Islam regardless of whether it is a monarchy, a democracy or one where the leader calls himself or herself a caliph. Sovereignty in Islam only belongs to Allah. Allah has given us a framework in Islam and we, as Muslims do not have the right to cross the boundaries of this framework. Whatever form of government exists can only work with in the prescribed boundaries. Difference exists in the two possible translations of the English language word religion; Deen and Mazhab are two different things. Secularism will never have a problem with a

religion, which is a mazhab but it will always feel threatened and stand against a religion, which is a deen (It will also feel threatened by another system). Mazhab consists of some beliefs, some modes of worship and some rituals like eid, what to do when a child is born or someone dies or how a marriage is performed etc. Deen however has all the three constituents of a mazhab but it also has its own political system, financial system and social system. Now secularism can live with a mazhab because a mazhab can be restricted to the homes and places of worships of its believers, but a deen will talk of a complete socio-politiceconomic system, which then comes in conflict with secularism. This is why the entire western world is fine with Muslims countries that have committed themselves to secularism. Thus secularism is not a lack of mazhab (la-mazhabiyat) but it is distance from deen (la-deeniyat). Here it is also important to mention that one system of society will NEVER co-exist with another. It is very simple; the systems will always be at conflict. Even more, one system will not even tolerate another system at another place as it stands as a threat to itself, which is what the Cold War was all about. So all in all, we in secular Islam have taken Allah out from the political equation. As discussed earlier, there has never been such a mutiny against Allah where people have dared to restrict Him outside the political sphere. Islam still is a complete code of conduct; a framework for developing systems which deal with all aspects of human life. It has its own political structure, which Allah did not reveal so it could become part of some seldom read books. Allah revealed it so it could be implemented and enforced. Today we are very far from that system. Financial Analysis: Today our entire financial system is based on interest (riba). We all know this but often do not understand the gravity of the issue. In plain words, we are at war with Allah because of this financial setup. To understand the intensity of the matter, the following hadeeth are presented: Hazrat Abu-Huraira quotes from the prophet (saw) that the prophet (saw) said that the sin of consumption of interest has 70 parts and the smallest and the most insignificant of these is comparable to incest with ones mother. (Ibn-e-maja) It is quoted by Hazrat Abdullah bin Hunzallah that the prophet said that one dirham of interest money which a man consumes intentionally is worse than doing adultery 36 times. (Masand Ahmed)

The misunderstanding about the issue arises because our culture and norms take a priority on our religious beliefs. Interest has only made its foundation stronger in the last few years. Credit cards, small loans on easy installments and leasing have only pulled us deeper in this quagmire to an extent that people these days do not think that the markup banks give is interest. To understand the power, history and injustice of interest, the story of currency notes and the power, which comes with the control over it, read the following article. It narrates a story to explain the evolution from barter trade to current financial setup. What were the stages? Who were responsible? Who got the benefits? And what are the consequences? http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html Let us now examine in a chronological manner how we in this country obtained in the name of Islam, have treated the issue of riba: 1969: Council for Islamic Ideology in its session in December 1969 in Dhaka declared all loans, saving certificates, prize bonds and postal life insurance scheme etc given under the implemented banking system as based on interest and hence haram. 1973: In section 37 of the 1973 constitution, it was decided that the financial system of the country would be made free of interest as soon as possible. The constitution also clearly instructed that within 9 years, all legal, financial and social structure of the country would be aligned with the Islamic concepts. 1977: President Zia-ul-Haq instructed the Council for Islamic Ideology to come up with a sequence of steps for the establishment of non-interest based banking system. 1980: The Council presented its final report to President Zia-ul-Haq in 1980 but no one acted upon it. 1981: Federal Shariat Board was formed in 1981 but all financial dealings of the country were declared outside its jurisdiction for 10 years. 1988: President Zia-ul-Haq formed an Islamic Economic Commission via the Nifaz-eShariat Ordinance. This commission worked for a year and presented its report but it was never presented in the national assembly in PPPs first tenure and this commission was finished 1991: Nawaz Sharif formed another committee so it can work on freeing the country from foreign loan and to work on self-dependency. The committee presented its report in the same year. In the same year, a commission was created to make the Pakistani economy aligned with the Islamic requirements.

Similarly another committee under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Sittar Khan Niazi was formed to present steps to free the economy from interest. In the same year, the restriction put on Federal Shariat Board in 1981 was over. The court after much deliberation declared the bank interest as riba. The court gave six months to the government to free the country from riba. The Nawaz Sharif government appealed against the ruling of the Federal Shariat Court in Supreme Court. No hearing was done on the appeal for 8 years so the issue was delayed. 1997: In second tenure of Nawaz Sharif, another committee with the same objective was formed under the leadership of Raja Zafar-ul-Haq. They always worked on it but never moved towards implementation. 1999: The Shariat appellate bench of the Supreme Court held a hearing on the appeal against the decision of 1991 of Federal Shariat Board. It gave its decision on 23rd December 1999 and seconded the decision of Federal Shariat Board. The government was given the deadline of 30th June 2001 to finish all interest-based transactions. Government used UBL as proxy and appealed in Supreme Court for review. 2001: At the end of the deadline, the government using UBL as proxy asked for more time to finish interest. The court gave another year. 2002: Advocate General of Pakistan announced that now they will seek the advice of those scholars who dont think that the bank transactions are interest based. Next the government fired the internationally acclaimed Mufti Taqi Usmani from his designation of justice of Supreme Court and two unknown people were made the judges of the appellate bench of the Supreme Court. The hearing of the review appeal of UBL was started on 6th June. According to the Supreme Court rules, only the bench, which gave the first decision, can preside its review hearing but this rule was ignored. During the hearing, some new issues were taken up by the government attorneys. In such circumstances, the other party is given ample time but this was not the case here and the court changed its earlier decision. It was a very dark day in the history of Pakistan. Social Analysis: The financial systems and the political systems of almost the entire world today are aligned with the structure discussed above. The social setup of some countries still adheres to good moral principles. In the west, on the other hand homosexuality has become a normal thing. The equality between man and woman has been given new meaning. Adultery is no crime as long as both parties are willing. Even if both parties are of the same gender, it is their own concern and a third person should not have any

objection. The family as a result has collapsed. The high divorce rate is also one of the consequences. While the elite of most Muslim countries also ape the west, the masses are different. The elite was under the influence of the west during the days of colonization, which is why they were rewarded with land holdings and came to be the elite. Now the west wants the rest of the world to be also molded in to that same shape. For this social reengineering, the UN formally started its campaign many years from now. Lets look at the more recent workings. Several UN sponsored conferences have been held in different parts of the world. The latest under the name of Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st century was held in June 2000 in New York. This meeting reviewed how far countries have progressed in implementing the UN's agenda of secular, feminist gender relations, population control, sexual rights (including gay rights) etc. since 1995. That was when these demands took shape in the Platform for Action, a result of the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Now what is discussed in these conferences is important:

Homosexuality should be declared a normal orientation Homosexual marriages should be registered legally. Women should say no to home chores or should demand a wage for it. Prostitution should a valid and respected profession.

Of course these points are not written or spoken as bluntly but are sugar coated. Like in the case of homosexuality the preparatory document says in clause 102 (h) Develop, review and implement laws, practices and procedures to prohibit and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. The plan for implementing it practically is defined in clause 102 (j) "Take action to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; review and repeal laws that criminalize homosexuality, since such laws contribute to creating a climate which encourages discrimination and violence against women who are, or are perceived to be, lesbians; and address violence and harassment against them." Similarly the other controversial points are also written between the lines. Please note that these conferences also talk about the more genuine issues like violence against women, poverty against women etc but the clear undertone has been laid out as above. You can read more about the conference on the net. The following link is also helpful in understanding these objectives of UN. You can also see how Muslim women are treated in such conferences.

http://www.soundvision.com/info/women/UNthreattoIslam.asp Another very interesting read would be an account of one of the participants who went there to lobby for the family issues. One revelation is the lobby of the lesbians fighting for their rights. http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=H2A3YQ Another thing to note is that many objectionable items are present in the preparatory document and are removed from the final document. (The decisive win mentioned in the link above probably refers to this) The other very important thing is how the resolutions passed by these conferences are forced on the developing world. The answer (excerpt from above web link) is. Yes, they are enforceable if a country is in need of money from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, or any other help from the UN. The country actually has to fill out forms showing how they are in compliance with the Beijing Platform for Action. I personally visited with people in Pakistan that have been involved in filling out these forms -- and the family planning and other activities they are having to implement so that the country can apply for financial help. I am also aware of such requirements in Kenya. For a country like the United States it is not as critical; however, the Clinton Administration had established a White House Office on Women that was working to establish regulations implemented by the President that would implement the Beijing Platform for Action. So, some of it depends on the national leadership, and the financial status of the country. At the Beijing PrepCom, the delegate from Honduras was insisting on a defnition of the word "gender" -- because she had been told that the definition into Spanish was wrong, which stated that it did NOT mean "male and female." When she asked for the word "gender" to be bracketed throughout the document, until a definition had been established, great pressure was put on her and her country -- telling them that all international humanitarian aid to her country would be stopped (the United Staes at the time was behind this). That was quite serious considering that Honduras was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She called her president to see what he wanted her to do, and he said "hang in there -- don't cave in." She didn't, and we did get a definition of gender that indicated there was "no new meaning." (Essentially, that meant that it did not include homosexuality, etc.) Later a good definition was also added to the International Criminal Court document. The preparatory document is available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/as232add2p4.pdf and the final document is available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/ress233e.pdf

So there is a proper planned effort to change the social setup of our countries. You can tell a lot about the direction of a nation by its media and the recent drastic changes in our media are very appalling. The last few years have changed the scene completely. Apart from vulgarity, another noteworthy change is that now you will see more celebrities (actors/actresses, models, singers) on TV telling you about Islam than authentic scholars. The new image of Islam being portrayed is that it is not something, which should interfere in all aspects of life. There is a time and place for it and it should be followed there and that is good enough (secular perspective). The change is syllabus in schools is a related effort to change the mentality of the new generation (latest being the exclusion of the method of namaz from the textbooks). Another method of gauging a nation's values is to observe it in times of celebration. And for the last few years no matter what the event; from acknowledging the martyrs of Kargill to celebrating national independence, our media seems to have picked the "art" of dancing by a woman as the means to commemorate the occasion. What's more, these "artists" are the stars of today and role models of our youth. The wests latest efforts and strategy in this regard are given in the following report. Civil Democratic Islam The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. Its a think tank organization, which assists both public and private sector for making better decisions based on research and analysis. Their paper, Civil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources and Strategies, is an interesting paper for all of us. The problem they address in it is the current state of Muslim ummah and ways and means to get it aligned and compatible with the western culture and values. They have proposed a strategy in the paper and its shocking to realize that how much of it has already been implemented in Pakistan. You can read the entire paper at the following URL. If you cannot or do not want to read the entire paper, just read the summary and you will get the hang of the concept. http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1716/MR1716.pdf A brief overview is presented in the following. They have categorized the Muslim Ummah in 4 groups. Fundamentalist: They deem this group to be the biggest threat to them because this group talks about Islam as a deen and not just a mazhab. Theire analysis is that this group rejects democratic values and contemporary western culture. This group wants an Islamic state based on pure Islamic laws and values.

Traditionalist: Traditionalists are the ones whose emphasis is on theoretical things. They stay away from practical matters and do not like change. They want a conservative society. They are not a threat but they do not like western culture, modernity and innovation. Modernist: These are liberal people who want to mold Islam according to modern needs. They want Islam to be aligned with the global modernity. They are eager to give new interpretation to Islam. Secularist: Their belief is that religion is a private concern and should not interfere in the working of the state. After this categorization, RAND goes ahead and talks about the strategy. Briefly, they believe that fundamentalists are the biggest threat and need to be neutralized. The traditionalists, in their view, are a little moderate. They have easy access to the public as they hold the position of imams in the mosques. They believe that this group has sectarian groupings and are so entangled in these. RANDs strategy says to let them fight against each other on sectarian issues and to not let them unite with the fundamentalists. If that happens, a dangerous scenario would arise where the fundamentalists would not only get support and strength but they will also get the medium to get the masses. The modernists and secularists are closest to the West in terms of their values. However, they are generally in a weaker position than the other groups, lacking powerful backing, financial resources, an effective infrastructure, and a public platform. The secularists, besides sometimes being unacceptable as allies on the basis of their broader ideological affiliation, also have trouble addressing the traditional sector of an Islamic audience. Traditional orthodox Islam contains democratic elements that can be used to counter the repressive, authoritarian Islam of the fundamentalists, but it is not suited to be the primary vehicle of democratic Islam. That role falls to the Islamic modernists, who the West, as per RAND, needs to support in every way. The strategy suggests encouraging the modernists to reach out to the masses. Read page 4 of the summary at the web link given above and this strategy would be clear. This is their plan and its shocking to see it being implemented right now. The situation of the entire Islamic world is in front of us. A group of approximately 50 countries has no say in world affairs. A vast body such as OIC is almost insignificant. Muslim nations have control over the worlds primary energy source, petroleum, but that also seems useless. Muslim countries are located at strategically important locations geographically but that also seems worthless. Muslims form one fifth of the world population and yet practically are powerless on the world stage. More humiliating is the fact that we are not even in control of our own countries. The policies of our countries are also sanctioned in the west. Freedom it seems is just an allusion.

One of the reasons given by Quran for this humiliation is that we pick and choose bits from the message of Allah at our own convenience. This is what the Quran has to say about people who select among Allahs commands: Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other? What then is the re ward of such among you as do this but disgrace in the life of this world, and on the day of resurrection they shall be sent back to the most grievous chastisement, and Allah is not at all heedless of what you do. Al-Baqara-085 At another point in the Quran, Allah addresses the people of the book (Jews and Christians). Just replace followers of the book by Muslims and Taurat and Injeel by Quran and the same ruling is valid for us today. Say: O followers of the Book! you follow no good till you keep up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord; and surely that which has been revealed to you from your Lord shall make many of them increase in inordinacy and unbelief; grieve not therefore for the unbelieving people. Al-Maida068 Case study of Pakistan Pakistan like almost all other Muslims countries is under the influence of the West. Her political system is already irreligious and is moving her towards being a complete secular state. The financial system is based on interest and we are so strangled in loans that the IMF and World Bank can influence our policies. It is as if our leaders do not have the power to do anything. The social setup and family values still exist but are moving on the line of the West faster than the political system and the financial system. Media has had an enormous impact lately. This entire situation is similar to most Muslim countries yet Pakistan is different. The difference lies in the very reason of our existence. Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, the only country other than Israel to be created in the name of religion. Most of the countries were created on regional nationalism. We know about the Two Nation Theory and that ideology of Iqbal. Muslims wanted a separate homeland because of two reasons. One was that in post-British India, Hindus would exploit the Muslims due to their number, a negative motive. The second was that they wanted to implement the true Islamic Law, its culture, customs and values and eradicate the blot, which the Muslims of earlier generations had put on Islam. This was the real reason, which gave the Pakistan movement the momentum and the drive to achieve the mammoth task in the shortest of times. The creation of Pakistan was very miraculous under the circumstances. Muslims League was standing against the might of Congress, a very stable and popular party. Although the slogan was Islam, a very big and influential majority of the Muslim ulema was against Pakistan. The Pathans of NWFP supported the Congress. Despite all these hurdles, peoples prayers were answered similar to the case of Bani-Israel. (Allah answered the prayers of Bani-Israel about freedom.) Their complains and Hazrat Musas(as) reply in the words of Quran:

They replied: 'We were hurt before you came to us, and after you came to us.' He said: 'Your Lord may destroy your enemies and make you inheritors in the land. Then He will see how you conduct yourselves.' Al-Araf-129 Similarly our prayers were answered and we were granted a separate homeland on the promise that we will uphold the Law of the Book; that we will maintain the sovereignty of Allah and create a true Islamic state. And this promise was reiterated in the Objective Resolution, which is the foundation of all constitutions of the country. Then He (Allah) will see how you conduct yourselves and Allah has seen our conduct and our action in the last 58 years. Allah talks of some people in the Quran who promised something to Allah and did not fulfill the pledge. Some of them have made a covenant with Allah, 'If Allah gives to us of His bounty, we will give charity and be of the righteous.' But when Allah had bestowed His bounty on them they became greedy and turned away, swerving aside. He has caused hypocrisy to be in their hearts till the Day they meet Him, because they have changed what they promised Allah and because they were liars. Al-Tawba:075-077 Allah caused hypocrisy to be in their hearts. Look at our nation. The one thing that stands out is hypocrisy. From king\president\leader to the fruit vendor on the street, everyone is out to deceive whoever he can to make himself an extra penny. Read the famous saying of the prophet (saw); do we not fit the criteria perfectly? The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he gives an agreement, he does not fulfill his commitment; and when he is entrusted, he betrays the trust. (Addition in Saheeh Muslim) -> Even though he fasts, says his prayers and thinks of himself as a muslim. Similarly Allah talks of a person in Al-Araf (175-177) who was blessed by Him but he turned away. We, the Muslims of India, were also blessed in many ways as discussed in the history and background of Pakistan. The following ayats are highly relevant here: Recite to them the news of he to whom We gave Our verses and who turned away from them; how Satan overtook him so he was led astray. Had it been Our will We would have raised with it, but he clung to this earthly life and succumbed to his fancies. His likeness was that of a dog, whether you chase it away or let it alone it pants. Such is the example of a nation who belie Our signs. Recount to them these narratives, in order that they reflect. Evil is the example of those who belied Our verses; they wronged themselves. Al-Araf: 175-177

So all in all, our 58 years history has been a total failure. Do you feel that the elite of this country is the main cause of the troubles and are the most corrupt? When We desire to annihilate a village, We command those who live in ease, but they commit evil therein, then the Word is realized against it and it is utterly annihilated. Al-Israel: 016 We started by talking about smaller warnings leading to bigger punishments. So what can be a bigger punishment for the people of Pakistan? We have seen a smaller punishment in the disintegration of Pakistan in 1971. We have seen other things happening including the corruption and exploitation of the country by the rich and elite. We have received another warning in the recent earthquakes. So what might be the bigger punishment? Further disintegration (God forbid) of the country? It does not seem very far-fetched looking at the current situation of Pakistan. Consider Kashmir; half of it is under Indian occupation. A popular slogan of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front is a separate state. It has long been speculated that USA wants an Israel like presence in the center of Asia right under the nose of Russia and China. The presence of Israel in the Middle East has done wonders for them, why not also in Central Asia. Sindh has had a never-ending dispute on resources especially water with Punjab. The dispute has taken a new dimension after the new talk of Kalabagh dam (which in itself seems a political stunt for diverting attention from something else, Kashmirs future? Wana Operation? Baluchistan Bombings?). In fact Punjab was always blamed for eating up all the resources of the country. Balouchistan has also now come in the thick of the action. They too believe that they have been treated unjustly and probably they are right. There is a Balochistan Liberation Army on the scene and recent bomb blasts in Karachi have been associated with this group. Right now Pakistan Army is bombing some parts of Balauchistan and I do not know any stable country bombing its own people. NWFPs name itself is the story of our country still stuck in colonization. It was the northwestern frontier province for the entire sub-continent. For Pakistan, all four provinces are frontier. The Wana saga will add to the hatred of Pathans against the Punjabis. The four provinces we inherited at independence are still maintained as four although our population has at least doubled during the time. Add to it, the centralized structure of power, which does not give the provinces the sufficient space and freedom they need for their working. It certainly seems like a recipe for disaster. The talk of disintegration of Pakistan is not new. Some people have even gone to the extent of defining the new boundaries and the number of states, which would come out of it. The time horizon in these predictions varies from 2010 to 2030. It has been deemed a failed state, which will collapse sooner or later (God forbid). Its also interesting to note the attitude of India in the last few years. Suddenly the extreme animosity has turned in to the best of relations. In fact we listen to this statement of our two peoples being the same so much that earlier periods of tension seem like an illusion. Some incompetent politicians on this side of the border have even suggested that the Two-Nation Theory is obsolete. It is such a pity that these people do not realize how this growing similarity signals our failure as a nation. We all want peace and it is the best

for both sides, but one wonders if the recent change in attitude is not in line with a plan for gobbling up satellite bits of a weakening federation rather than friendship! IN THE END: Allah repeats His message to us through out the Quran that He destroyed earlier nations because of their deeds so that we may not repeat them. Yet we fail to comply. If Allah should hasten evil to people as they would hasten good, their term would already have been decided. But We leave those who do not expect to meet Us to wander blindly in their insolence. When affliction befalls a man, he supplicates to Us (lying) on his side, sitting or standing. But as soon as We relieve him from his affliction, he continues (in the same way), as though he never supplicated to Us when harm touched him. So it is, that which the sinners were doing seem fairly decorated to them. We destroyed generations before you when they did evil. (When) their Messengers came to them with clear verses they would not believe; so We recompense the sinning nation. After them We made you their successors in the earth, so that We might see how you would do. Younas:011-014 We are the men of our desires and our desires are our gods (Al-Furqan:043-044, AlJasiya:023). We deceive ourselves by saying otherwise. The inherited belief is so weak that we fail to fulfill the minimum requirements by a large distance. We run after the world yet we are never satisfied. We do everything we are not supposed to do; yet we complain to Allah. Most of us are living on the edge of Islam and feel very content about it. We have no idea about our bigger responsibilities. The moment we face difficulty in our religion and are faced with a test, we turn around and run. There are among the people such who worship Allah and (yet stand) on the very edge. When goodness comes to him, he is content, but if a trial befalls him he falls upon his face, he loses this world and the Everlasting Life; that is indeed a clear loss. Al-Hajj: 011 Despite all this we are so optimistic and hopeful that all bad and evil will vanish just like that because after all we are Muslims. All the sufferings and all the humiliation of the Muslims around the world will end because Allah will bless us without us doing a thing. After all we are the ummat of Muhammad (saw). We will reign supreme in the end because we are the chosen ones (so were the children of Israe Sura Maida- 018). Majority of our population is living with the false hope that they will walk in to heaven because of the kalma, whether they understood it or not. Let there be no doubt; we are living in a fools paradise. Allah does not need us. If we do not realize our responsibility, He will destroy us and bring forth another nation and it is not hard for Me (Quran). We need to realize our position and its responsibilities. We must undo our ill practices both at individual level and at social level. Only then can we hope for some change.

Allah does not change what is in a nation unless they change what is in themselves. Whenever Allah wants evil for a nation, none can ward it off. Other than Him, they have no guardian. Ar-Rad: 011 We must all repent at what we have been doing and take a fresh start. And even if there were a Quran with which the mountains were made to pass away, or the earth were travelled over with it, or the dead were made to speak thereby; nay! the commandment is wholly Allah's, Have not yet those who believe known that if Allah please He would certainly guide all the people? And (as for) those who disbelieve, there will not cease to afflict them because of what they do a repelling calamity, or it will alight close by their abodes, until the promise of Allah comes about; surely Allah will not fail in (His) promise. Ar-Rad: 031 Read the following Quranic test and apply it on yourself. It clearly tells what Islam expects of a Muslim in terms of ones priorities. Say: 'If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribes, the property you have acquired, the merchandise you fear will not be sold, and the homes you love, are dearer to you than Allah, His Messenger and the struggling for His Way, then wait until Allah shall bring His command. Allah does not guide the evildoers.' Al-Tawba: 024 We know by Quran/Hadeeth that Allah will eventually give victory to the Muslims and Islam in this world. The point to note here is that its a promise to Muslims and not necessarily us. Allah tells us that He does not need us and if we dont act in a proper way, He will replace us with some other people and it is not difficult for him. He has done it earlier when the Mongols conquered Baghdad and later embraced Islam. We need to make sure that we are among the Muslims when Allah fulfills His promise. In all the above hopeless talk, there still is some hope. The society is breaking the status quo and moving to poles. Sometime back the structure of our society was that 5-10% of the people were purely secularist and 5-10% completely Islamic while the rest were in the middle. Now the people are taking sides. The majority of the people on the poles, foretells a change. We need to work at every level so that the change is positive. Note: The paper is just a summary of some reading and thoughts. It touches a few issues on the surface but a lot more remains untouched. Some of the untouched and relevant topics are

The solution to the current state of Pakistan and Muslim World. Was Pakistan created for Islam or was Islam just a political slogan to get the masses behind?

The Talmudic Law, which allows Jews to exploit the gentiles (non-jews) for their benefits: History and implications. The Money Trail. The history of currency and banking. The economic grip of bankers on the entire world.

Please cross check the references mentioned to ensure that they are not quoted out of context.