Since coming to the US, this was my second trip to Pakistan. In these 8 years, both Pakistan and I have changed a lot. That may be why I felt like a stranger there. I disliked some things and liked others, but the feelings of strangeness/foreignness were always there.

The lack of customer service even in the private sector in Pakistan was amply demonstrated on our arrival at the Islamabad airport. It took a lot of effort to rent a car from Avis despite prior reservations. On the other hand, we were treated very well at a jewelry store.

Getting out of the airport, our lungs had to suffer the pollution in the air. In addition, I realized that despite learning to drive and doing a lot of driving in Pakistan when I lived there, I wasn’t used to the Pakistani traffic any more. Others told me that the traffic in Rawalpindi/Islamabad had increased a lot, but we, being from Atlanta, saw almost empty roads there. Nobosy in pakistan follows traffic rules, but the traffic is still too slow. I think the roads there were also worse than before, but I might be mistaken.

One issue that I wasn’t used to any more was the use of Islam in every discussion in Pakistan. Anyone who’s even a little religious tries to prove himself better by making you feel worse. The globalization of Islam is also apparent in Islamabad. Instead of a dupatta, a black scarf is becoming more common. Harun Yahya’s writing are also getting popular.

The staring that’s common is Pakistan bothered me a lot. According to women, this has been the case forever, but I noticed it in this trip. I don’t know whether the reason was my long hair or the horns on my head, but people in malls/markets stared a lot.

Another change from my days in Pakistan is cable TV. When I lived there, there were only two channels on TV. Now there were a lot more which showed Pakistani, Indian and Western shows. The current affairs programs were much better than the fare on PTV in old times. Indian channels got banned and unbanned during my trip.

I was surprised to see two groups when We went to a fast food restaurant. One was a couple about our age. Based on their dress, they looked poor. The woman was using a chador as a niqab (veil). They were having fun eating and talking. A few years ago, one wouldn’t have found such a couple in that restaurant. Another was a couple of young boys. The way they were dressed and carrying their school bags, they could have been right at home in inner city USA. I guess this was influence of hip hop.

Last but not the least, the ice cream at Islamabad’s Gelato Affair is good, but has nothing to do with the Italian gelato.

Gelato is indeed good but that sentence says: Lastly, the ice cream at Islamabad’s Gelato Affair is good but it has nothing to do with the Italian gelato.

Gule: Thanks. Is my blog also blocked there?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4832072.stm

P.S. The country I live in does not allow me to see websites with certain words in it. So I use Anonymous Surfer.

Some links about Harun Yahya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_Yahya
http://www.jamiat.org.za/whatsnew/hyahya.html

فضائی آلودگی ہمارا سب سے بڑا مسئلہ بن چکا ہے اور اس کے پیدا کرنے میں سرکاری اہلکار اور عوام برابر کے شریک ہیں ۔ ٹریفک کا جو حال ہے مجھے باہر سے واپس آئے تئیس سال ہو گئے ہیں مگر میں اس کا عادی نہیں ہو سکا ۔ اللہ کا شکر ہے کہ اسلام آباد کی ٹریفک کا انتظام فروری سے موٹر وے اور ہائی وے پولیس کے حوالے کر دیا گیا ہے ۔ چند دن سے مجھے محسوس ہوا ہے کہ حالات بہتری پہ مائل ہیں ۔

اِسلام ہر بات میں لانا اب شروع نہیں ہوا ۔ یہ جنرل ضیاء الحق کے زمانہ سے ہے البتہ ہمارے عزیز و اقارب میں ڈاکٹر فرحت ہاشمی نے شروع کیا ہے ۔ اس کی ایک اور بڑی وجہ فرنگیوں کی اسلام کے خلاف یلغار ہے ۔ علّامہ اقبال نے کہا تھا ۔ اسلام کی فطرت میں قدرت نے لچک دی ہے ۔ اتنا ہی یہ اُبھرے گا جتنا کہ دبا دیں گے ۔ جہاں تک میرا تعلق ہے میں نام لئے بغیر اِسلام کی بات پچلے پچاس سال سے کر رہا ہوں ۔ اسلام آباد میں پردہ الھدیٰ انٹرنیشنل کے اسلامی تعلیم کے کورسز کی وجہ سے بڑھ رہا ہے ۔ مگر اس کی ابتداء بین الاقوامی اسلامی یونیورسٹی نے کی تھی ۔میرا نہیں خیال کہ یہاں لوگ ہارون یحیٰ کو جانتے ہیں ۔

گھُورنا ہماری قوم کی بہت پُرانی عادت ہے ۔ اس کی وجہ سے جوانی میں میری کئی لوگوں سے جھڑپ ہوئی ۔ آپ کو گھُورنے کی وجہ آپ کے لمبے بال ہی ہو سکتے ہیں ۔ فاسٹ فوڈ میں درمیانے درجے کے لوگ بھی جاتے ہیں جس کی ایک وجہ یہ ہے کے شاپنگ کے لئے گئے رات کا کھانا فاسٹ فوڈ میں کھا لیا ۔ دوسری وجہ مغرب کی اندھی تقلید ہے ۔