A good Friday?

While it is good to strive for common grounds, we should celebrate diversities as well

Friday the 21st: We have, as they say, all the facts before us. But facts are not everything, it is more important to know how to interpret them. The fiasco began when the government decided to play it out to the galleries. There was no preparation, nor any groundwork, nor any plan chalked out – they simply let the reigns loose. And yes, it was mayhem. I doubt if people did not foresee that. The Facebook activists took to work too. Most of them, nay all of them, lashed out at ‘violent protests’. Meanwhile, religion helped make millions for private channels with religious scholars sharing the slice of fame. Rarely do they get any air time after Ramadan but they carried the day this time. After the fleeting climax, the drop scene was widespread e-regret over the uncivilized mob. Curtains.

Must we blame the mob? Our manner of protest has not changed since the colonial days. In fact, a couple of months ago, Khadim-e-Aala Shehbaz Sharif not only encouraged such protests but also led them. A different context but the same psyche. An average Pakistani knows this: unless it is violent, protest will not be registered. People who took to the roads were not only angry at certain God-knows-who who posted a God-knows-what a few months ago on YouTube, but also were angry at ‘slaves of Amreeka’. To all the tweeple!

Everything we watch on TV and read in papers is true, except for that rare story of which we have the first hand knowledge. Our protests were not predominantly violent like the ones we had in the UK last year. They were violent in Karachi because of the very same elements that have disturbed the peace there for a year now. Law and order situation in urban centers of KP has not been commendable either. Our policymakers only gave the spoilers a blank cheque on that Friday. By and large, in most of the country, protests were peaceful. Then again, peaceful protests don’t make headlines.

To expect people to contain their emotions or anger, when it comes to religion, is a little farfetched. How many times have our mundane conversations on religion in our cafeterias or houses flared up. They always seem to implode. Both culturally and religiously we are an emotional breed. The stories that we read in our textbooks about the battles of the Prophet (SAW) stimulate strong emotions in us. Friday sermons are finest evidences of rhetoric in the world today. Some of the speakers would even make Cicero proud. The processions of Moharam and Sham-e-Ghareeban sit-ins are couched in expensive emotionalism. We don’t expect our leaders to carry themselves in stoic demeanor when they address the jalsas or make public appearances. We like to see them overwhelmed. We like to see them moved. These are the images that last. That makes an impression on us. Our literature, poetry, drama – all of it is high on passion. This is how we are programed.

Is it necessarily bad, to an extent, that we become apologetic? I ask why? As a nation, our self-esteem has plummeted down to a level that we apologize for everything. We are just sorry to be among homosapiens today. Without digressing on the focus of western outlets and what flared our protests up, even if it has arrived on the June flower, we have every right to protest and be angry about it. In the east of Suez Canal, we have different sensibilities. We cannot condone such acts, albeit trivial or dumb, when it comes to our sensitive issues and none more so than our reverence for the Holy Prophet (SAW).

On the street show itself. Yes, there was violence, arson, and attempts to grab free meal and even plunder. We should be cautious to generalize it however and refrain from tagging everyone yahoos. All those who took to the streets did not do so to steal burgers from KFC. There was only a small percentage of rogues out of thousands. Even for those rogues, Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment makes an interesting argument: ‘Crime is a protest against a badly organized social state of things – that’s all’. There was neither any leader from mainstream political parties nor any government officers to lead or organize the people. Perhaps what we saw on Friday was an example of badly organized state. The same fraction of protestors between age groups 18-25 who resorted to such heinous acts could justify their crimes. In their own sense of righteousness they did not commit any crime against what is perceived by them and all, as the dishonest ruling elite: slaves of Amreeka. Would you rather argue with a mob?

In today’s age of information, people also get keyed up from the world events. No wonder the scale of protests has been bigger than that of 2006 demonstrations against the cartoons. Friday protests sparked protests in Bangladesh on Sunday. It is likely that the vicious circle continues around the Islamic world. The memories of Arab Spring are still fresh. People in Pakistan have also seen that persistence could pay off as it did in the Lawyers’ Movement. Street agitation may not be sustained in the long run but in the short run, it could persist and even pickup.

The government must prepare for the next Friday. The procession should be channelized as well as organized. Just like the processions of Moharam. Mainstream political leaders need to get out of their comfort zones and lead their people. Protests can only become civilized if the leaders stand by them and lead by example. Our media outlets can also do away with sloppy emotionalism and spend more time in educating our people. Altering the psyche and attitudes of people does not happen overnight. Unfortunately, there is no plan to transform that in the foreseeable future either.

On the world stage, while it is good that we strive for common grounds of cooperation politically but culturally we should take a leaf out of Amartya Sen’s essay A World not Neatly Divided. We should not look for common denominators where they don’t exist rather we should celebrate diversities.

The writer is a Bar-at-Law from the Lincoln’s Inn.