Why Red Indians were Massacred by Europeans?

Locke's conception of property is derived from his 'Labour Theory of Value'. Labour Theory of Value suggests that its the effort a labour has put in the extraction or production of a particular thing which determines who is going to be the owner of it, i.e. the labour himself. 

If a particular thing lying in nature then its not owned by anyone, however if someone puts an effort to reach and acquire then he becomes the owner of that particular thing. 

If the thing is perishable then there is no point of owning it in a quantity which one cannot consume, however things like gold and silver or capital which doesn't perish with time can be owned in quantities without limits. 

In view of Lock there are three types of properties (a) Life (b) Liberty and (c) Estate. This is essentially capitalist property (C) in Lockean view, as (a), (b) & (c) needs to be utilized to generate more capitalist property (C') by putting in ones Labour; not doing so would make it non-capitalist property and would be a waste. 

Followers of Locke used this justification to infer that if the owner of the property is not willing to participate in converting C into C' then it would be legitimate to get him out of the way and take the property from him to put into the process of continuous capital accumulation. 

This means the process of continuous accumulation is an essential part of the Locke's concept of property. The Red Indians refused it, and this gave enough reason to Europeans to massacre them directly or indirectly to make a capitalistic use of the property they occupy. 

The Difference between Scientific & Religious Approach

By Omar Javaid

The scientific approach incorporates rational and empirical analysis to reach to conclusions. Being rational scientific approach look for empirically verifiable causes of anything which happens or exists. Like the creation of the universe, world, life, and every thing else. Scientific method takes the falsification approach to disprove the claims made by previous scientists, and accepts a claim until it’s falsified with evidence. In this context any claim which isn't falsifiable like religious narrative about the nature of world, life & its purpose, the Creator & its characteristics, and the life after death or judgment day etc. is rather termed as superstitious by science.

Religion on the other hand considers revelation or wahi and its interpretation by the prophets to be the final authority. All answered given by divine scriptures and the prophets regarding the questions about life, death and this world or the next one will be considered definitive. Religion however does not restrict the use of logic and experience until and unless they remains within the prescribed boundaries and facilitates in the process of submission to the divine will. In view of Quran a person is only intelligent if he recognizes the truth as described in Quran itself and uses his observations of the world to further strengthen his belief. This however is an absurdity in the light of scientific approach.

Strategy to Doctor Islam | Building Moderate Muslim Networks

By Omar Javaid

The famous American think tank RAND (www.rang.org), which seems to have immense influence on global policy framework of the so called developed world, has published a few reports on how to restructure Muslim societies. The notable one is ‘Building Moderate MuslimNetwork’. This report outlines a comprehensive strategy on how to use the Cold War experience to discredit the traditional orthodox interpretation of Islam, and popularize an interpretation which is compatible with modern western ideological framework. 

The phrase ‘War of Ideas’ has been explicitly used for this clash in this report. As the title suggests the idea is to build network of so called ‘Moderate Muslims’ and make them role models for the rest of the public to follow. These ‘Moderate Muslims’ are the ones who believe in Islamic Liberalism or an interpretation of Islam compatible with Liberal philosophical discourse. This would mean that those intellectual, academics, thinkers, politicians, public figures, celebrities, even so called religious scholars who endorse such an interpretation of Islam would be provided with various plate forms and mediums to connect and influence the remaining population through their ideals, beliefs, world view, values, life style, etc, while rendering the traditional and orthodox Muslims as obsolete and irrelevant.

Tanks of Porus: Assumptions Vs Reality

By Muhammad Ali Azlan

King Porus (Sanskrit: Purushottama) was the ancient Hindu King of Paurava, an ancient Indian Kingdom located between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers (in Greek, the Hydaspes and the Acesines rivers) in modern day Punjab, Pakistan, and later of dominions extending to the Beas (in Greek, the Hyphasis). Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC (at the site of modern day Mong and was defeated. He then served Alexander as a client king.

The Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought by Alexander the Great (sic) in 326 BC against King Porus of the Hindu Paurava kingdom on the banks of the Hydaspes River (Jhelum River) in the Punjab near Bhera. The battle resulted in a complete Macedonian victory and the annexation of the Punjab, which lay beyond the confines of the defeated Persian empire, into the Alexandrian Empire.
Although victorious, it was also the most costly battle fought by the Macedonians. The resistance put up by King Porus and his men won the respect of Alexander who asked him to become a Macedonian satrap. Alexander's army is estimated at about 6,000. Depending on the sources, Alexander was outnumbered somewhere from 3:1 to 5:1.

The Myth of Independence (Part 2)

Pakistan got independence from British Raj on 1947, it is claimed. The British did left the subcontinent however their legacy remained. The entire socioeconomic and political fabric of society had changed as per the desires of colonial masters by virtue of their rule of around 200 years.

The education system, the judiciary, parliament, bureaucracy, military, financial system, central bank, rail road network, the municipal corporation etc. were all installed by the British and were left behind.

The public, who lived in such a system for nearly 200 years (of which last 80 years were crucial), had no choice but to cling to the same system particularly after the early years of separation. The colonial masters knew perhaps that the locals had no capacity to reinvent a new alternative system particularly in midst of economic and political turmoil... also the British intentionally left behind a few bones of contentions (Kashmir) to keep the newly formed states further distracted.

In this context one can safely assume that British only invented a new more efficient and self regulated way to manage their colonies by proxy, though in a very subtle way, or under the disguise of so called independence.

This was perhaps the birth of a new phase of colonization, where the colonial subjects would voluntarily follow their colonial masters just like the rats follow the tune of Pied Piper with an illusion of exercising their own free will.

This realization is important to shed away the ideological shackles and truly liberate ourselves from the colonial past. Deceiving ourselves with slogans of fake freedom would only keep us dragging behind...

Following video would shed some more light on the subject...
 

Recipe of Social Change: Some Lessons from History

People often ask for immediate solution with immediate results, and when they don't get it they often term your arguments as mere rhetoric. This is not a complaint but an observation of a reaction, often by young people who are sprinkling with energy. One of my mentors had the same observation, he shared an observation from hundreds of speeches which he gave to university audiences to raise funds for Muslim refugees in war struck areas, the young people use to ask him "what they can do?", and question from older people use to be "Why this happened?"... I observe the same during my interaction with the same age group, they get impatient without a clear line of action which they want to see after discussion on some problems and their root causes.

This is natural and justified. However it is necessary to understand how social changes are brought. There are primarily two ways to bring a social change, (a) to replace the entire system with a new one, and (b) make adjustments in the existing system. But both requires something which we will discuss below.

Book Review: Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary

Cover of Latest Edition

Tamim Ansary’s latest book ‘Destiny Disrupted’ outlines the 1400 years of history of Islamic world and the world surrounding Islamic civilization, as seen from the eyes of a Muslim. It is written like a story in a layman's, highly readable language.

This book is a great reminder of the fact that to understand our present condition we need to understand our past, and unless we don't do that we cannot plan for the future. It is quite unfortunate that those of us who have been studying in conventional schools, hardly knows anything about their own past.

In fact there are campaigns going on to even remove the trivial details of history or historical figures present in the curriculum. When the public institutions looks away from the natural duties, which as per the constitution of Pakistan are also their legal responsibilities,  then eventually the public at large needs books which can made us aware of our past. In urdu we have authors like Naseem Hijazi, and Mirza Altamash... the English readers, now have Tamim Ansari.

The Four Horsemen

The Architects of Soicety in Suicidal Mode

Mother, Father and the teacher are the architects of the next generation in a traditional Islamic society, but what happens to their roles after modernization?

Naturally a child when is born is supposed to spend two years particularly in the laps of her mother primarily because nature has put his food in her breasts. When he grows older, this initial bond is supposed to remain strongest with her mother, however his father would become the next source of inspiration and guidance... The family is therefore meant to transfer the morals, values, character, dialects, general knowledge about the surroundings etc... When the child grows older, he is made to interact with a teacher who further instructs about various disciplines.

After growing old with these three individuals, a person is supposed to be strong in character and morals, psychologically & intellectually mature enough to become a constructive and productive citizen of the society as a whole, and to develop the next generation on the same foot prints. This person is also supposed to be honest, having high integrity, opposed to corruption, and courageous enough to raise his voice against corrupt elements in the society.

Pakistan ka matlab Kiya?

Pakistan is 6th populous country in the world, with an overwhelming Muslim majority (96%). This is not just it, the vast majority of the public adheres to traditional Islamic values, and demands implementation of shariah law in the country (see the video embedded below), in Pakistan the largest Madrassa and Masajid network exists all operating free of cost with the support of local business community. Consumption of alcohol and the night life or prostitution industry which does exists but is a taboo, is behind the doors, unlike in other countries with Muslim majority.

Pakistan on the other hand is the only Muslim country where it is categorically declared in its constitution that any of the law will be in accordance with Quran and Sunnah (click here to see)... this is often bluntly violated; however this foundation provides a basis for many to question any of the clauses of constitutions and introducing new ones like charging interest to be declared as a criminal offence (this has already been passed in Punjab Assembly by MNA Humaira Owais Shahid).

Mixing Islam & Liberalis = Mixing Oil & Water

Some believe that Islam is a liberal religion. Those who say this have absolutely no idea what liberalism is all about. Liberalism does claime that it no threat to religion as it allows individual freedom to believe whatever they want to believe, however from a religious perspective this act of reducing the scope of religion to an individual level is like killing its very spirit.

Religion gives a perspective to understand the world; it provides a value system to prioritize; and defines purpose of man (and women) and his (and her) way toward salvation. It claims to provide orientation to not just an individual but also a family unit and society as a whole. From a religious perspective if someone doesn't follow it, then he is doing harm to himself by distancing away from salvation and forgiveness of Allah s.w.t on the judgment day.

Don't get Married, says Media

Indian movies, TV commercials, TV dramas (Indian, Pakistani and Turkish) etc. are all giving a very clear message to young blood of the nation, that if you don't have a girl friend, your life sucks... it’s interesting to compare the theme of dramas coming on various TV channels during prime time and the ads which comes in between... the story in dramas shows horrifying, painful situation, full of miseries post marriage scenario; on the contrary the TV commercials mostly presents a very colorful and enchanting relationship of a boy & girl who are of course not married... they play, dance, giggle, and do all kind of fun whereas the characters in dramas are shown to be in real trouble, crying most of the time with a intensely depressing background music... the subliminal message received is clear... "Don't get married as life before it is full of fun, enjoyment and joyful pleasures, not after that"...

The Confusion in the name: Islamic Democratic Pakistan?

Islamic democratic Pakistan!!!...??? Check every Pakistani currency note, you will find this printed somewhere on it... this clearly asserts that Islam and democracy are indeed compatible; but are they in real? In this post I would try to explain to what extent the normative premise (please check the dictionary before inferring anything) of the two are compatible with each other...

The problem with democracy is that it doesn't have a standard definition (check ‘Democracy: A very short introduction’ by Bernard Crick), which makes it easy for different groups, even the dictatorial ones, also may call themselves democratic. For e.g. Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were elected through an electoral process; socialist nations also used to call themselves as socialist democracy... etc., but the mainstream usage clearly states democracy to be liberal in nature.

Since the beginning of this century Capitalism and Communism were in conflict with each other, the ideals of free-market, liberalism or neo-liberalism etc., were hallmarks of capitalist societies. After the political defeat of communist system and down fall of Russian federation, Capitalism and its derivatives, including liberal democracy, subsequently triumphed over other political orders across the globe. Therefore when someone refers to democracy today, it is pressumed to be liberal in nature as this is how it is in this context it is referred in the mainstream discourse. 

The Illusion of Connectivity in a Digitally Connected World

By Omar Javaid

Technology is not value neutral; it has a taseer (urdu) and influences the user independent of how user uses it. Consider the example of any famous sport car versus a Suzuki pickup, if you sit in the former, then the machine will tempt you to drive it fast, how? Is it alive? No, but it has been constructed for that purpose and subsequently will influence the psyche of the user in a unique way. Take smart phone for example, it is designed to connect you on the go, i.e. its designer has assumed or imagined a distinct kind of a lifestyle in which that phone is supposed to fit and service. Now assume your life style isn't like that, and you are not a frequent user of a smart phone, however once you have got it in your hand, that phone will force you to transform your lifestyle to make it compatible with the phone or get rid of the phone itself. But you won’t get rid of it as you have spent a substantial amount of money to buy it (in Pakistan a low end smart phone is around Rs. 15,000), or someone has gifted it to you… over and above it is beautifully designed, responsive, and helpful in many ways also. Now imagine that phone was initially designed for a person who didn't had time to spend with his family, friends and he wanted to be connected with all his professional contacts for commercial reasons... The cell phone will therefore stays with you and will influence you to transform your life in a way in which its most efficient utilization is made possible, i.e. in a life style where most of your friends and family members are rather connected online, the time saved would be spent elsewhere.

The Murder of Motherhood

Baba meree mama kahan hain? (Dad, where is my mother)

Beta mam apne kam se gae'n hain abhi ati hain... (son she is gone for some work, she will be back soon)...

My 3yr old son often asks this question when her mother, who is a house wife, goes outside for a couple of hours to attend a language class once in a week. The emotions in the question are unexplainable. If I put myself into his place, i would ask in such a way when i would feel that a part of me has gone missing. Parents, specially mothers, make their children feel complete, particularly when they are young, whereas in their absence children feel a terrible sense of insecurity and void within and around themselve (see Stephan R. Covey's 7 Habits of highly effective families and M. Scott Peck's a Road Less Travelled). This I witnessed as well in a young girl, classmate of my son, who had begun to behave aggressively to an abnormal level, to express her frustration which she feel in the absence of her mother, who goes to her job from 9am-5pm, particularly after the maternity leave which she took due to the birth of her 2nd child. This young girl had developed a violent behavior toward her new born son as well.

Adultery not a Crime, UN

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-138344-
Adultery-is-not-a-crime-UN

For all those who attempts to find similarity in modern conception of human rights, and that of Islam. Also for all those who expects a this modern conception to respect their rights defined by their religion. What we need to understand is, the foundation of this modern conception of human rights is grounded in human rationality which rejects anything unless it is rationally and empirically verified to have a worldly benefit. This approach toward knowledge is limited as not everything, particularly in the domain of social sciences cannot be explained completely through rational and empirical analysis. Religious doctrines focus on the same social domains of life and provides a methodology with rewards in hereafter for those who comply. This doesn't make any sense from the rational perspective, and the claims about hereafter cannot be tested empirically. Therefore it is senseless to accept this modern way of thinking to understand the standards of religion. Those who will do so, will only get furstrated.

Domination of Social Scientific Discourse as a Threat to the Survival of Islam

This is a snapshot of a 3-day workshop conducted by Dr. Wahab Suri which he delivered in Sahiwal, Pakistan. This workshop was about the Domination of Social Scientific Discourse over Muslim world and its implication on the Survival of Islam. Dr. Suri explained how knowledge base of western world is making it irrelevant for Muslim societies, who have adopted a westernised system of governance of society and market, to look into religion for solution of the problems which are specific to the adopted system. If the social scientific discourse matures at any point in future, it will make it irrelevant for the the public to ask from religion the important questions of life. 

Syria’s Struggle

By Sayyed Bilal Imam

Recap of massacre in Bosnia, genocide of more than 20,000 people, innocent civilians forced to death, starvation and regular torture; Syrian revolution is the most prolonged uprising in Arab World. The responsible of inhumanity “Ba’ath Party” has been loyal to U.S interests in the region, for instance it supported America in strangling Iraq and established torture cells for Afghan combatants.

Contrary to other Arab countries where pre-revolution regimes are still intact with a mere change of faces, Syria has stood firm for its demand since March 2011. Noticing that Bashar Al Assad has failed to crush the protestors by force, U.S is buying more time for replacing old horses with new one through various summits and pseudo ultimatums. Geneva conference and Kofi Annan’s six points entailing the formation of “transition government” with Syrian National Council (seated in Turkey) and others are traps for maintaining the status quo in Syria. However, SNC has no leadership among masses and so the possible option is Yemeni model as an alternate.

On the other hand the uprising in Syria is purely a “people’s revolution”. Several videos of public protests have displayed that masses have rejected solutions from UN or USA. Persistence for more than a year in calling for Caliphate as alternate shows the deep rooted vision of nation.

Similarly, this steadfastness appreciated man in the ranks of army to join the revolution “afterwards” leading to formation of Free Syrian Army. Passing final verdict about FSA is pre-mature. It may fall prey and shake hands with imperialist or not. By shaking hands FSA will loose its acceptance and detach itself from the body of revolution, which is still not the case. The shrinkage of Assad’s inner circle in blast on 18th July and then America considering it that “Syria is getting out of control” shows that it was stable with Assad’s loyalists alive and the blast wasn’t backed by CIA but was a blow to America’s interest.

As par analysis of defected Prime Minister, Assad now holds only 30% of Syria. The pillars of Syrian regime are falling and US is trying to infiltrate the FSA’s ranks, following the proverb “if you can’t fight then join them”. At this juncture a furor for revival of Caliphate is simmering in Syria’s streets. Its geo-political influence has a natural impact on Arab World specially Israel and Lebanon. If an alternate system rises in Syria. Can West stop its expansion? A new ideological challenge is waiting. 

Aafia Siddiqui, a Threat to a Multi Billion Dollar Industry

Amazed with the ease through which she is blasting away the very foundation of a multi billion dollar industry of fashion and other segments which objectifies women as to sell its products. What a threat she would have been to capitalism if she would have been roaming freely in western world, they saw it coming didn't they ...

The Tragedy of Intellectuals

It is indeed a valid observation that pseudo intellectuals in our society are no more then copy cats of their western counter parts with little or no sense of direction what so ever. Bulac has indeed made this observation while quoting “A Sense of Siege: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West,” written by Graham E. Fuller and Ian O. Lesser, who suggests:

This is a real tragedy. These intellectuals are unable to question their positions and their assumed mission because they have no intellectual, academic or informative resource other than the West to rely on. Western sources are their only assets; and once their link to these sources is lost, they will be abandoned in the middle of a desert. Sadly, these intellectuals are unable to find the spiritual energy and intellectual courage necessary to save themselves and their countries, to preserve their roots, because that would mean denial of what has become their identity. In this case, “the decisive hour,” as defined by Marx -- a concept that evolved into “class suicide” -- takes place, when a part of the ruling class separates itself and joins the revolutionary class. These intellectuals ultimately expect the support of military coups and dicta regimes. The Middle East has the most unfortunate examples of intellectual class suicide. The obstacle to democracy in this region is not Islam, or Muslim people; it is the intellectuals.

Read more at http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-287435-tragedy-of--intellectuals.html