You know what sucks about working evening/night shift?

Social life: What is that? Technically speaking, it doesn't exist! Hanging out with family/friends, shopping and attending parties become far-fetched ideas.

Ramadan: Nothing beats ghar ki aftaari. This shift takes away ammi kay haath kay pakoray and offers an aftaari box packed with soggy pakoras and roll, watery fruit salad and not-so-chill Rooh Afza.

Biological clock: It’s pretty much messed up. The “early to bed, early to rise” quote becomes obsolete.

Friends/Cousins: They just hate you. Enough said.

School: If you are studying and working, you are doomed. Juggling work and school is an ultimate test – a test you cannot fail, a test you cannot ace. Coming back home late and then getting up for early classes leave your head spinning for days.

Day off: It is just 24hours long (minus sleep hours). Too short for the activities you have lined up. Ummm, you waste it doing nothing.

This is life!

Dolled up in a traditional Yemeni costume, Amal walks out of her apartment’s back door. The black veil which covered half of her face was embroidered with golden threads. The check and flower pattern made it alluring. The never ending red Chador with its kaleidoscopic print flowed down from her head to toe. Struggling with her costume, she walked toward the car and squeezed herself in. She was all set to hit the party, her first ever costume party. “My first and last Halloween party” Amal says.

Amal Waleed ‘24 is from Yemen, the bottom of Arab world as she herself puts it. She is in the US for a year as a visiting student. Coming from a deeply conservative society, Amal’s stay in the US has made her discover her new self. Overwhelmed by the American ideals but still clutching to her cultural values, Amal is enjoying the difference. “I will be a changed person once I go back to Yemen, I will never be the same,” Amal admitted.

Her stint in the US has brought many “firsts” in her life. She had her first Halloween party this weekend, first concert, first football match and first picnic. She got to meet gays for the first time, smoked Shisha and watched movie in a theatre.

These new experiences are changing her every day. For better or for worse, she herself doesn’t know. She has let herself free, free from her norms and beliefs. She is willing to try new things.

But she knows the reality. In the end she is a Yemeni girl. No matter how much change she undergoes, she will go back to Yemen, a society too narrow-minded to accept the new Amal. Calling her first Halloween party to be the last one reflected her fears.

Know before you hate!

After flying for a distressing number of hours from the other end of the world, I got off the small ExpressJet aircraft tired yet excited. It was late Sunday afternoon which meant little time to relax and a long week ahead at the host institution, the University of Arkansas. Luckily it was the beginning of the fall semester and so it was not a study week but a week dedicated for the international students orientation.

The orientation session was the official start of my short journey at the UofA. It was a blessing in disguise as I got to meet so many new people from all over the globe and made few friends right away on the very first day. There were people from places I never knew existed on this planet. The diversity of this world was unfolding in front of me every second and I was overwhelmed by the experience. I felt like a Pakistani carrot in the big American salad bowl, mixing with Russian iceberg lettuce and Chinese cucumber.

Since I grew up in one culture for my entire life, it was an interesting experience for me to connect to people with different backgrounds. There was always something new for me to learn from them. With so many student associations on campus and activities organized by them, I got to know about various people, places and societies every now and then.

Ironically, differences among people and their cultures have been a matter of conflict throughout history. It happens due to our inability or our unwillingness to know different people. Our arrogance stops us from learning about other nations. Our ignorance makes us judgmental. Charles Lamb, famous English writer, said “I can't hate a man whom I know,” and it is true. I, as a Pakistani, had opinions about so many people, people I have not met personally. But privileged enough to be a foreign student at the UofA, I have had plenty of opportunities to meet people from other places and that’s where I learnt how right this 19^th century writer was. It is hard for me to stick to my previous (not-so-good) opinions now once I have met them.

Just as a piece of advice: know before you hate!

A leap of Faith

Why are you still wearing a costume? Don’t you know Halloween is over!

Can I tell everyone that you have cancer and that is why you are covering your head?

Go to your country!

These are just a few of the less than friendly questions and responses Demi Cox has earned for being a Muslim and a hijabi. Converted on September 19^th 2009, few days after the 8^th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, Demi is more than a year old Muslim now. These comments, she thinks, are of no importance since they are uttered out of ignorance and not everyone she knows or come across has the same opinion.

The other day on her way back from the mosque, Demi waited for the Green bus on the razorback road. Draped in her dark brown hijab and grey long sleeves shirt, Demi was occupied by the thoughts of her literature term paper. The bus arrived in few minutes and as she walked in, the lady bus driver commented on her dull colored head covering. The bus driver, who was so used to Demi wearing bright colored sparkly hijabs, gave her a sisterly advice to avoid wearing boring colors since they don’t suit her at all.

Demi smiled and promised she will wear a bright hijab next time.

Demi’s journey to Islam is somewhat un-Islamic. At the age of 16, Demi started working for Sonic and met Sharif, a Bangladeshi Muslim. After seven months of dating (something not allowed in Islam) they felt they were made for each other. Sharif, not a practicing Muslim himself, asked Demi to look into Islam so that she can understand him and his actions more clearly.

Born in a Christian family, Demi has walked down the aisles of numerous Baptist, Pentecostal and Methodist churches. Confused as any teenager can be, she never understood the concept of Trinity, Jesus dying on the cross and then being resurrected and people being born with sin. The biblical words of God weren’t helping enough. And her questions were slammed by “you don’t have enough faith” rhetoric.

Early at the age of 15, Demi gave up on religion. But she couldn’t ever give up on the idea of one god. Her mind polluted by the images of 9/11, she never thought of studying Islam either.

Fate got her a job at “America’s Drive-In” and she met Sharif.

“I’m happy I converted and I’m happy I converted before I turned 21”, Demi said. She is thankful to god because she didn’t get to live the stereotypical “American life after 21”.

Two weeks after her conversion, Demi decided to wear hijab. Something radically different from her American lifestyle, she kicked off with baby steps. Walking around in her apartment with her head covered, she practiced to keep it on as long as possible. Demi started wearing hijab because she knew it was mandatory in Islam. But its logic struck her once she started reading about it. “It is not just a piece of clothing, it is more than that,” Demi shared. “Hijab is a way of protecting yourself from the lustful looks of other,” she said. “Islam asks believers to lower their gaze and guard their modesty, Hijab helps doing that.”

Demi is going through the transition phase. Christianity was just a religion for her but Islam is not, it’s rather a lifestyle. She has a long way to go but she is determined. She plans to write a journal of her journey and get it published for future converts.

Demi is concerned about her Yorkies these days. Islam forbids Muslims from keeping dogs but Demi cannot find home for her 3 year old Lex and 2 year old Junior and so she plans to keep them until they pass away. She will not have dogs after them!

This city by the beach!

Karachi - This city by the sea! The city I grew up in. The city home to millions of people with various ethnic backgrounds. The city that usually tops the national news for one reason or other. And the list goes on.

Be it recent target killing, energy crisis or fashion week, Karachi is everywhere. No matter how bad things go, Karachi is one city which rises back every time it’s struck down. Its resilience is divine. Something others have hard time understanding.

Being a Karachiite myself, I never felt anything different about the city. But my recent interaction with the species I fancy calling “non-Karachiites” revealed upon me that this city has an unusual image in their mind. I have met people who take pride in the fact that they have at least once visited this city and people who are scared to come because of what they see on TV. People who think Karachi is Pakistan’s New York and people who wonder how can anyone survive in such chaos.

Few interesting comments by such non-Karachiites are archived below.

Arsalan Sabir (Lahore): Karachi reminds me of Sea View drive, Karachi Silver Spoon Paratha rolls, Habib Bank Plaza and memons.

Nayab Fayaz (Abbottabad): The city with beaches, pollution, crowded buses, noise, terrorism, rich people and factories.

Mohammad Taher (Cairo, Egypt): It’s an important port at the Asian side of the world.

Saba Safdar (Islamabad): A different world! One that might as well be seven seas away.

Shafqat Iqbal (Lahore): Industrial backbone of Pakistan and target killing describes Karachi.

Robert Connor Latta (Fort smith AR, USA): A large crowded city with no grass or trees and with many children and many cars.

Huda Syyed (Doha, Qatar): Havoc, political instability and food.

Ayisha Bashir (Islamabad) and Noman Sajjid (Lahore): Paan!

Marium Jilani (Islamabad): Mutahida Qaumi Movement.

Funny yet interesting, these comments do reflect a bit of what Karachi is all about. But this isn’t the full picture. Karachi is larger than life. One has to be born and brought up here to appreciate its craziness! ;)

Pakistan: Created in the name of Islam or For Islam?

I know I shouldn't be wasting my words on such an overly debated topic of all times but hey I'am a patriot (read: patriot, don't you read: nationalist) and I have something to say.

Pakistan came into being decades ago and people who took part in that struggle are long lost in the soil. There is no way we can determine their intentions. People like Dr Ajeet Javed and Stanley Wolpert say Quaid was secular while on the other hand Saleena Karim calls it a myth. There are

people who say Pakistan was supposed to be a secular country but became an Islamic Republic and some who say its the other way around. But whats the point?

All India Muslim League which engineered the entire freedom struggle is all gone, not even a speck of it is left. Nobody reads Iqbal that much. The great 1940's Pakistan Resolution is forgotten. What is remembered is the fact that Mr. Jinnah wore great suits, he smoked cigar and that he was SECULAR. What is wrong with us. Its good to know your history and learn from it but I think it is really stupid to stay in it forever.

My dear brethren (trying to be a little poetic here ;) get over it. Doesn't matter if Pakistan was really made in the name of Islam or it was just Mr. Jinnah's desire to see his face on a country's bank-note (as some people comically allege). What really matters is what you want Pakistan to be like? Pakistan is all yours.

I want Pakistan to be a true Islamic republic. I have learned not to care about the notorious "in-the-name-of-Islam-or-for-Islam" debate anymore. I don't care at all but I really like the idea - "Pakistan ka matlab kiya, La illa ha illal lah" - and so I will work for it in my capacity. Not for Quaid-e-Azam, not for Iqbal, not for anyone in particular but just as an act performed out of good will, love and compassion. My Qarardad-e-Maqasid!

PS: I RESPECT AND ADMIRE QUAID-E-AZAM.

God alone knows the future, but only an historian can alter the .past. Ambrose Bierce....Signing Out