Suatu pagi yang cerah. Mesej yang masuk saya teliti baik-baik. Berat juga hati saya dengan keadaan itu. Mesej-mesej yang menghilangkan senyum seorang murobbi.

Ana banyak dosa..

Ana penghalang keberkahan dakwah ..

Ana malu pada yang lain..

Maafkan ana akh..

Ana tak mampu memikul amanah ini..

Ana tak layak...

Sender: 019-xxxxxxx

Ana rasa keseorangan..Akh, nasihatkan ana..

Sender: xxxxx@gmail.com

Inferiority Complex

Inilah gejala yang sangat selalu terjadi pada murobbi yang membawa halaqah, iaitu putus asa anak halaqah dalam kehidupannya. Merasa tidak mampu, tidak layak, kerdil, inferiority complex, dan rasa tiada keyakinan dalam diri. Jika diteliti masalah ini, ia berpunca seputar masalah iman. Tiada kebersamaan dengan Allah ketika berhadapan dengan masalah akan membuatkan manusia lelah melangkah dan jiwanya terasa sempit sekalipun melata di atas bumi Allah yang sangat luas.

Akh,bersabarlah. Syaikh Muhammad bin sholeh Al-‘utsaimin mengatakan ada tiga keadaan di mana kita harus bersabar. Bersabar dalam ketaatan, menjauhi maksiat, dan bersabar menghadapi ujian. Inilah ujian kegersangan iman yang memerlukan kesabaran. Bahkan,untuk tetap taat dan tetap menjauhi kemaksiatan ketika kegersangan iman juga bukan sesuatu yang mudah. Ia sangat memerlukan azam dan tekad yang kuat, dan penyokong yang sedia menopang dan sedia menasihati dengan sabar.

Bersamalah orang beriman. Ketika bersama mereka, banyak hal yang dapat dimanfaatkan, kerana hakikatnya, mereka orang beriman. Sebuah solusi yang mudah-mudahan bermanfaat buat semua.

1. Hakikat bersendirian

Daripada Mu'az bin Jabal, Rasulullah SAW bersabda:

‘Sesungguhnya syaitan adalah laksana serigala bagi domba-domba. Dia akan menerkam domba yang keluar dari kawankawannya. Maka jagalah persatuan kamu dalam jemaah

umum dan masjid.’

Inilah hakikat yang perlu kita fahami. Ketika bisikan itu datang, bangunlah dan bersegeralah berjumpa ikhwah. Syaitan akan membisikkan segala kejahatan ketika bersendirian dan itulah peluang baginya untuk mengalahkan anak Adam.

2. Meminta nasihat orang beriman

Jangan pernah malu untuk meminta nasihat, baik daripada murobbi atau ikhwah sehalaqah. Hati kita memerlukan taujih yang mampu menyegarkan semula hati yang kesat.Kerana sesungguhnya, nasihat dengan kesabaran itulah yang disarankan oleh Allah seperti dalam Al-Quran;

kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan mengerjakan kebajikan serta saling menasihati untuk kebenaran dan saling menasihati untuk kesabaran

[Al-Asr,103:3]

3. Tadabbur ayat-ayat Allah bersama mereka

Ketika kita melazimi tilawah, apakah kita telah lupa untuk sejenak beriman dengan apa yang kita baca? Bertilawahlah sebanyaknya kerana itulah yang diperlukan untuk melembutkan hati sekeras batu. Serta, berhentilah sejenak pada ayat-ayat taujih yang menyerukan kita untuk bertaubat dan bertaqwa. Berharaplah ketika dikhabarkan nikmat syurga dan menangislah kerana sungguh tidak layak untuk kita mendapatkan syurga itu. Tidak kurang juga, perhatikanlah ayat-ayat peringatan tentang azab neraka dan gementarlah wahai jiwa!Bertadarruslah bersama ikhwah dan hayatilah!

Maka tidakkah mereka menghayati Al-Quran, ataukah hati mereka terkunci? 

[Muhammad, 47:24]

4. Lihatlah wajah mereka

Sungguh, melihat wajah orang beriman akan melunakkan hati kita. Kerana seorang yang beriman, apabila dilihat wajah mereka, akan membuat orang yang melihat turut merasa beriman. Perbuatan mereka tidak kurang akan membuatkan orang lain turut beriman. Bertilawah, bertahajjud, berdoa dengan sebenar-benar pengharapan, akan menimbulkan rasa tenang di hati kita yang gusar.

Sekadar perkongsian buat diri dan semoga bermanfaat buat semua.

-Mrs Umair-

~End Of Post~

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The Clergy Letter project has been collecting clergy letters in support of the teaching of evolution. About 13,000 Christian clergy and roughly 500 rabbis have signed it over the last couple of years. Now there is a letter from American Imams - launched just this past week. Here are the contents of the letter:

Literalists of various religious traditions who perceive the science of evolution to be in conflict with their personal religious beliefs are seeking to influence public school boards to authorize the teaching of creationism.  We, the Imams of the mosques, see this as a breach in the separation of church and state.  Those who believe in a literal interpretation of scriptural account of creation are free to teach their perspective in their homes, religious institutions and parochial schools.  To teach it in the public schools would be indoctrinating a particular religious point of view in an environment that is supposed to be free of such indoctrination.

We, the undersigned Imams of the mosques, assert that the Qur’an is the primary source of spiritual inspiration and of values for us, though not for everyone, in our country.  We believe that the timeless truths of the Qur’an may comfortably coexist with the discoveries of modern science.  As Imams we urge public school boards to affirm their commitment to the teaching of the science of evolution.  We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.

Sign Up Now!

• If you are an imam and would like to sign The Clergy Letter Project’s Imam Letter, please fill out the form by clicking here.

• If you are an ordained member of the clergy and would like to sign one of our other Clergy Letters, please fill out the form by clicking here.

• If you would like to be added to The Clergy Letter Project’s mailing list, please fill out the form by clicking here.

You can get to the Clergy Letter website here. Here is an excerpt form a related story from New Scientists here:

Like its predecessors, the Imam Letter explains why it's OK for believers to accept the truth of evolution. It also calls for a ban on creationist teaching in science classes. "As imams, we urge public school boards to affirm their commitment to the teaching of the science of evolution," says the letter, written by T. O. Shanavas, a doctor in Michigan and member of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg, Ohio.

"It shows that evolution and science can transcend what some people see as quite deep religious divisions, providing a unifying factor representing common ground between them," says Michael Zimmerman of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, the architect of the Clergy Letter Project. "Christians are really excited about the Muslim letter," he says. "They realise that Islam is just as fractured as Christianity, with just as many people who take their scriptures out of context to deny the truth of evolution."

Read the full article here. I think is a great effort and should have a positive impact on the Muslim community in the US. I'm unsure about its impact in UK or even the larger Muslim world. For example, the recent craziness about the London Imam had its own local dynamics, and various cultural and political factors are shaping the diverse set of responses we see in different Muslim countries. 

But this is a positive move on behalf of American imams. If you are an imam and support the teaching of evolution (and good science, in general), sign up here.

Another really delicious salad.  My Mom made this and brought it to my daughter's 4th birthday party and it was a HUGE hit.  Delicious sweet/tangy dressing with the crisp greens and veggies and the delicious nuts and crispy terra chips.  You can't go wrong, a must try!

Ingredients:

1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. red wine vinegar
1/4 C. sugar
3 T. ketchup
2 T. grated onion
1 head romaine lettuce
1 C. spinach leaves
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
1 (6 oz.) package of slivered almonds
1 (4 oz.) jar of pine nuts
1 (6 oz.) package of Terra chips, divided

Preparation:

Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and onion in a cruet or jar. Cover tightly and shake vigorously; set aside. Tear and combine lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, and avocado in a large bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and pine nuts. To serve, add dressing, tossing to coat. Crumble 3/4 package chips and sprinkle on top. Arrange chips around edge of bowl as a garnish.

"Mengapa ana rasa sukar untuk beri tazkirah ye? Dulu kalau ana nak bagi tazkirah, tak perlu bersedia banyak pun. Cakap je apa yang terlintas di fikiran."

"Kalau sekarang, macam mana pula?"

"Kalau sekarang, ana selalu tersangkut-sangkut dalam bercakap. Apa yang ana sampaikan selalu tak bertenaga, dan ana tak yakin dengan penyampaian ana."

"Ana tak dapat nak bantu banyak akh. Cuma yang ana boleh sampaikan, cuba tinjau kembali bagaimana hubungan antum dengan Allah. Mutaba'ah antum. Kualiti ibadah antum serta kuantitinya. Kuatnya kita adalah apabila kita dekat dengan-Nya. Kerana Dialah pemilik segala kekuatan."

"......"



Perbualan kelmarin kembali terlintas di fikiran. Saya baru pulang dari halaqoh. Zaujah tercinta sedang bertahajjud. Suara merdunya mengalunkan bacaan Al-Quran semakin mengisi jiwa. Sementara menunggu waktu untuk saya pula bertahajjud, saya ingin kembali mencoret di Shoutul Ikhwah yang sekian lama ditinggalkan ini.

Kelemahan Itu Muncul

Saya masih tercari-cari apakah puncanya. Sejak menikah hingga ke saat ini, kuantiti serta kualiti ibadah saya tidak lagi sebaik dahulu. Bahkan boleh dikatakan merosot dengan agak teruk. Antara yang menyedarinya adalah ikhwah sehalaqoh saya sendiri.

"Akh, ana tengok mutabaah antum ni, ana dah risau. Selalunya antum jauh lebih baik daripada ini."

Dia merujuk kepada kuantiti bacaan Al-Quran saya. Cukup-cukup makan untuk lulus sahaja. Saya hanya menjawab pendek: "Sibuk sikit urus masalah pernikahan."

Dan itulah kali terakhir dia menyuarakannya. Bukan kerana keadaan saya kembali pulih. Tetapi kerana hampir setiap minggu kemudiannya keadaan saya sama, tiada peningkatan malah sering gagal.

Pernikahan sepatutnya meningkatkan kualiti keimanan. Dan hasilnya kualiti dan kuantiti ibadah sepatutnya meningkat. Tetapi ini lain jadinya. Malah kemahiran berdakwah saya pun dirasakan tidak seperti dahulu. Saya buntu. Dan kata-kata ikhwah itu kembali terlintas di fikiran,

"Kuatnya kita adalah apabila kita dekat dengan-Nya. Kerana Dialah pemilik segala kekuatan."

Mencari Punca

Kata-kata para da'i awal dahulu,

"Futur itu terjadi disebabkan langkah mulanya tidak benar."

Saya kembali menelusuri susur galur perjalanan saya. Di manakah silapnya. Hari demi hari terus berlalu, namun saya masih belum ketemu jawapannya. Pada masa yang sama, kesibukan kuliah dan kerja dakwah yang menimbun menyebabkan tumpuan untuk memuhasabah diri tidak terlaksana dengan baik.

Sehingga suatu ketika, simpanan memori M2 K800i hampir saya penuh. Saya membuka folder music untuk memadam fail-fail lagu yang tidak diperlukan. Lalu terlihatlah saya kepada fail bertajuk 'Tazkirah Atifah'.

Kenangan malam kedua bersama isteri tercinta kembali bertamu.

"Ukhti, sebelum berhenti makan di kedai ni, boleh bagi tazkirah dulu?"

Ketika itu saya masih memanggilnya 'Ukhti'.

"Kenapa ana dulu, antum?"

"Nti kan dah selalu dengar tazkirah ana." Kata saya sambil tersenyum.

Dan suasana malam itu berlalu dengan tazkirah daripada isteri yang tercinta. Dan antara bait tazkirahnya yang kembali menyedarkan saya,

"Kita menikah di jalan dakwah. Di Jalan Dakwah Aku Menikah. Bermakna kita bernikah ini adalah untuk semakin dekat dengan Allah, semakin menunaikan hak-hakNya dan memperjuangkan agamaNya. Diharapnya bukanlah menjadi Di Jalan Nikah Aku Berdakwah. Nikah yang menjadi prioriti. Bukan dakwah. Tugas utama kita masih berdakwah. Adapun dengan bernikah, ia hanya sebagai sebuah perhentian, untuk kita saling memperkuat dan memperkukuhkan kekuatan demi mencari redha-Nya."

Redha-Nya

"...demi mencari redha-Nya."

Saya bermuhasabah. Di manakah silapnya. Dan titiknya seakan-akan mula kelihatan. Nikah itu bukan akhir perjuangan. Nikah itu hanya sebuah permulaan. Menuju ke medan perjuangan yang jauh lebih mencabar. Demi meraih redha-Nya.

Mungkin langkah saya pincang. Memang redha Allah menjadi destinasi, tetapi mungkin sedikit tersilap dalam meletakkan hanya dengan nikah, redha Allah itu telah tercapai. Sehingga usaha yang gigih demi memelihara keimanan itu tidak lagi segencar dahulu.

Lebih banyak santai daripada berusaha.
Lebih banyak berehat daripada berkerja.
Lebih banyak senda daripada rencana.

Kembali

Saya perlu kembali. Kembali bangkit dan kembali berprestasi. Umat sedang menunggu. Kepincangan niat itu biasa. Namun terus berada dalam kepincangan itu yang binasa. Perubahan itu perlu dibina, dan Allah tidak akan mengubah selagi kita tidak mengubahnya.

Dan itulah antara sebab mengapa blog ini seaakan-akan saya biarkan bersawang. Kerana saya tidak sanggup untuk menyampaikan dalam keadaan yang tidak stabil. Namun sampai bila ia perlu diteruskan? Lalu jemari ini kembali ditarikan. Untuk meraih secebis kekuatan.

Mohon didoakan diri ini.
Saya ingin perbaiki keadaan ini.
Dan saya pasti ia masih boleh diperbaiki.
Kerana hidup ini masih berbaki.

~End Of Post~

This is a weekly post by Nidhal Guessoum (see his earlier posts here). Nidhal is an astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at American University of Sharjah and is the author of Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science.

Professor Daniel M. Varisco recently posted an announcement about an ‘Online Qur’an Resources’ project, which is sponsored by the Social Science Research Council.

Varisco chairs the Department of Anthropology at Hofstra University and is the director of Middle Eastern and Central Asia studies. He is fluent in Arabic and has lived in the Middle East (Yemen, Egypt, Qatar) for over 5 years since 1978, according to this page on the Hofstra University website. He may also be familiar to many readers of Irtiqa, especially those who keep a good eye on intelligent blogs dealing with Islam, and indeed Salman has often referred in passing to Tabsir, the blog produced by Varisco with other contributors. Tabsir, which is Arabic for “to give clarity or insight”, aims at providing “fair, open-ended scholarly assessment” of issues dealing with Islam and the Middle East, as opposed to the “stereotypes, misinformation and propaganda [that are] spread in the media and academic forums.” And last but not least, “Tabsir provides an online resource and archive for students and teachers.”

And so in the aim of providing such resources and archives for students and teachers, Varisco has, with Bruce B. Lawrence, a professor in the Department of Religion at Duke University, launched the Online Qur’an Resources project.

 I would like to present a very brief overview and a few comments. Clearly, this is not going to be a thorough review, for it’s only been a few days since the site was announced, and a visitor will immediately realize that it is rich with dozens of links and documents, and it will take any interested person many hours to sift through it.

The first thing I want to say is that this is a welcome contribution, for the following main reason: this is one of the very few websites that tries to present a spectrum of views on various aspects of the Qur’an, ranging from the ultra-apologetic standpoint to the most critical positions. Indeed, one is immediately startled to see on the same page (Science and the Qur’an, more on this shortly), links to pages by: Harun Yahya, Maurice Bucaille, Zakir Naik, Taner Edis, and Infidels.org.

The main sections of this Qur’an Resources website are: The Qur'an; Interpreting the Qur'an; Reciting the Qur'an; Translating the Qur'an; Qur'an, Jihad and Justice; Science and the Qur'an; and Attacking the Qur'an. Let me focus on the ‘Science and the Qur’an’ webpage; others might comment on the other sections.

The page is divided into the following subsections: General Muslim Views; Anti-Muslim Views; Astronomy; Biology; History of Islamic Sciences ; Mathematics; and Medicine.

In the ‘General Muslim Views’ subsection, one is quickly surprised to find Irtiqa, the only “resource” listed there that is not directly related to the Qur’an. In fact, Irtiqa does not even devote a section to the Qur’an among the 36 subjects listed on its page (menu on the right). Of the other 12 resources listed in that subsection, 10 are directly related to the Qur’an and Science, and the other two deal with “Islamic Science”. Irtiqa is the odd one out.

The other (sad) surprise is that many of those resources deal with I`jaz, the “miraculous scientific content of the Qur’an”. I know this is not the curators’ fault, and indeed I`jaz tends to dominate the Science-Islam digital landscape, but perhaps Varisco and Lawrence could make an effort to provide more scholarly articles (check out the Journal of Islamic Studies and Zygon, for instance) on that topic, and not rely too much on the mediocre material one finds on the free web. For one must ask: what kinds of “resources” do the works produced by Zakir Naik and Tariq Al-Suwaidan constitute?

And essentially the same remark can be made about the other subsections of the Science and the Qur’an page, namely the surprising juxtaposition of nonsensical works with other, much more scholarly and rich ones. For example, in the Astronomy section, one finds the famous article by Owen Gingerich on “Islamic Astronomy” (published in Scientific American in 1986) a few lines above the (in)famous determination of the speed of light from Qur’anic verses (by the late Dr. Hassab Elnaby – see a detailed critique of that work and that whole line of discourse in my book, “Islam’s Quantum Question”). Likewise, in the Biology subsection, Harun Yahya is put alongside Jalees Rehman.

So, in summary, this is a welcome contribution, and a potentially very useful resource repository. And though I must remind myself and everyone that I have only looked briefly at the website, and it’s clearly a work in progress, I think that one advice that can be given to Varisco and Lawrence is to distinguish or differentially label the various kinds of “resources” given, for students in particular will not immediately know that there’s a world between Gingerich and Elnaby, and to beef up this repository with articles and references of much greater substance and academic weight.

UPDATE!

This is literally one of my favorite places in my classroom. I love my Math Wall. I love it so much that I just keep adding to it. Since the new addition of Number Corner, I have had a hard time fitting it all on the math wall. I am trying to figure out how to get the other parts of Number Corner on the wall and what I have to give up in order to make it all fit. Once I figure that all out, I can concentrate on the real fun stuff...the decorations! Wonder what it will be this year? What color of paper? What theme?

I wish I had taken the picture before some of the Math Wall components had been taken down but I was a little too late. Just trust me, this was so adorable and jam packed with math stuff! It gives you a better idea of how big a space is used and how you can integrate a theme. This was a Math Wall before the implementation of Number Corner but like I said, stuff was removed before I was able to ask this fabulous teacher for a picture!

DON'T FORGET to join the Math Wall/Calendar Linky Party listed above!

I am trying to narrow down my summer reading list. As I prepare to go to Barnes and Noble tomorrow, I have a few books on my mind... Yep, you read that right, I actually prepare to go to Barnes and Noble because all those choices get my head spinning and I have to contain myself! I am thinking about reading across subject areas Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. I would love a good suggestion about process art with children too!

Happy Memorial Day! Just thinking how thankful I am for my freedom!

 

 

 fasting is protection     ... PDF

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الغلاف من تصميمي ..و جزى الله من علمني الفوتوشوب خير الجزاء و كتب له الخير حيثما حل و ارتحل ..

من مؤلفات اللواء الركن محمود شيت خطاب ( رحمه الله )


قام بتنسيقه

مثنى النعيمي
( وفقه الله )


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Thank you FIESTA for helping us celebrate Kindergarten Graduation! It would not have been possible without you! And a special thanks to Mr. Gonzalez! I have to tell you I am loving your blog and I am using some of your inspiration to pick out my recipes for my next summer celebration.



Well the summer will officially kick off in about a week. I am really amazed at how time has passed so quickly! As I get closer to summer, I have started thinking about my Summer To Do List!

1. Fix knee...nope, not a typo. I have to fix the knee I twisted while filming the kids during our Cinco de Mayo celebration.

2. Rewrite Math Curriculum with math friends, which is always fun and the best part is that you walk away with the most amazing ideas and inspiration because this group is the best!

3. Start a Brunch Bunch! I guess I better get moving on this because I am sure everyone has busy calendars!

4. Make TONS and TONS of breakfast brunch at my house for my family! I LOVE brunch because it sure is not breakfast in the car at a 6:45am commute across the city!

5. One of my teacher friends and I are going to MASTER a famous Coconut Cream Pie recipe and i am wondering if she will consider mastering Key Lime Pie too?

6. I have not narrowed down my own personal book study book for the summer so on my next trip to Barnes & Noble I am going to sift through books and decide. Wonder what it will be?

7. Work on adding my listings to my Teachers pay Teachers store! I really can't wait to devote time to this because it truly is my passion to write Kindergarten curriculum. OM~gosh, where do I start?

8. Reorganize my Word Work plan for next year and reorganize my Writer's Workshop.  I am trying to decide what procedures I will keep the same and what I would like to change or try for next year.

9. Make new Math folders!

10. Create another blog...om~gosh I must be crazy...crazy can be GOOD sometimes!

11. Take time for myself and my family and spend time outdoors cooking and gardening with family and friends!

I was just asked by a parent the other day to provide information on how she could go to the library to get books for her child so he could practice reading on his level over the summer. As I was thinking of how I was going to compile this list and explain it to the parent, I saw this post! Scholastic has a program that enables a parent or teacher to put in the reading level of a child and then it suggests library books on that level. I am in LOVE with this idea because for some people the library might be the only access a family has to books over the summer! I was going to repost this information but I think Little Miss Glamour Goes To Kindergarten has done such a WONDERFUL job with this post, I just have to send you there! You have to check this out! This information is a must!

An excellent piece in today's Express Tribune:

Anniversary: What if Pakistan did not have the bomb?

by Pervez Hoodbhoy 

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has spent the last few years confined by the Pakistan Army to one of his palatial Islamabad residences where he whiles away his days writing weekly columns in newspapers. This venerable metallurgist, who claims paternity rights over Pakistan’s bomb, says it alone saves Pakistan. In a recent article, he wistfully wrote: “If we had had nuclear capability before 1971, we would not have lost half of our country – present-day Bangladesh – after disgraceful defeat.”

Given that 30,000 nuclear weapons failed to save the Soviet Union from decay, defeat and collapse, could the Bomb really have saved Pakistan in 1971? Can it do so now?

Let’s revisit 1971. Those of us who grew up in those times know in our hearts that East and West Pakistan were one country but never one nation. Young people today cannot imagine the rampant anti-Bengali racism among West Pakistanis then. With great shame, I must admit that as a thoughtless young boy I too felt embarrassed about small and dark people being among our compatriots. Victims of a delusion, we thought that good Muslims and Pakistanis were tall, fair, and spoke chaste Urdu. Some schoolmates would laugh at the strange sounding Bengali news broadcasts from Radio Pakistan.

The Bengali people suffered under West Pakistani rule. They believed their historical destiny was to be a Bengali-speaking nation, not the Urdu-speaking East Pakistan which Jinnah wanted. The East was rightfully bitter on other grounds too. It had 54% of Pakistan’s population and was the biggest earner of foreign exchange. But West Pakistani generals, bureaucrats, and politicians such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, feared a democratic system would transfer power and national resources to the East.

Denied democracy and justice, the people of East Pakistan helplessly watched the cash flow from East to fund government, industry, schools and dams in the West. When the Bhola cyclone killed half a million people in 1970, President Yahya Khan and his fellow generals in Rawalpindi’s GHQ could not have cared less.

The decisive break came with the elections. The Awami League won a majority in Pakistan’s parliament. Bhutto and the generals would not accept the peoples’ verdict. The Bengalis finally rose up for independence. When the West Pakistan army was sent in, massacre followed massacre. Political activists, intellectuals, trade unionists, and students were slaughtered. Blood ran in street gutters, and millions fled across the border. After India intervened to support the East, the army surrendered. Bangladesh was born.

That Pakistan did not have the bomb in 1971 must surely be among the greatest of blessings. It is hard for me to see what Dr AQ Khan has in mind when he suggests that it could have saved Pakistan.

Would the good doctor have dropped the bomb on the raging pro-independence mobs in Dhaka? Or used it to incinerate Calcutta and Delhi, and have the favour duly returned to Lahore and Karachi? Or should we have threatened India with nuclear attack to keep it out of the war so that we could endlessly kill East Pakistanis? Even without the bomb, estimated civilian deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands if not a million. How many more East Pakistanis would he have liked to see killed for keeping Pakistan together?

Some might argue that regardless of the death and destruction, using the bomb to keep Pakistan together would have been a good thing for the people of East Pakistan in the long term. A look at developmental statistics can help decide.

Bangladesh is ranked 96th out of 110 countries in a 2010 prosperity index compiled by an independent London-based think-tank, the Legatum Institute, using governance, education, health, security, personal freedom, and social capital as criteria. Pakistan is at the 109th position, just one notch above Zimbabwe. By this measure the people of the East have benefited from independence. The UN Human Development Index puts Bangladesh at 146/182 and Pakistan at 141/182, making Pakistan only marginally superior. This implies that Bengalis would have gained little, if anything, by remaining with West Pakistan.

But numerical data does not tell the whole story. Bangladesh is poorer but more hopeful and happier. Culture is thriving, education is improving, and efforts to control population growth are more fruitful than in Pakistan. It is not ravaged by suicide bombings, or by daily attacks upon its state institutions and military forces.

What can the bomb do for Pakistan now? Without it, will India swallow up Pakistan and undo partition? Such thought is pure fantasy. First, India has a rapidly growing economy and is struggling to control its population of 1.2 billion, of which almost half are desperately poor. It has no reason to want an additional 180 million people to feed and educate. Second, even if an aggressive and expansionist India wanted, asymmetrical warfare would make territorial conquest and occupation impossible. The difficulties faced by America in Iraq and Afghanistan, or of India in Kashmir, make this clear.

The bomb did deter India from launching punitive attacks at least thrice since the 1998 tests. There were angry demands within India for attacking the camps of Pakistan-based militant groups after Pakistan’s incursion in Kargil during 1999, the December 13 attack on the Indian parliament the same year (initially claimed by Jaish-e-Muhammad), and the Mumbai attack in 2008 by Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, this problem only exists because the bomb has been used to protect these militant groups. The nuclear umbrella explains why Pakistan is such a powerful magnet for all on this planet who wage war in the name of Islam: Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks, Uighurs, and various westerners. It was, as we now know, the last lair of Osama bin Laden as well.

Pakistan is learning the same painful lesson as the Soviet Union and white-South Africa learned. The bomb offers no protection to a people. Rather, it has helped bring Pakistan to its current grievously troubled situation and offers no way out.

On this May 28, the day when Pakistan tested its nuclear weapons, let us resolve to eliminate this curse rather than celebrate. Instead of building more bombs, we need to protect ourselves by building a sustainable and active democracy, an economy for peace rather than war, a federation in which provincial grievances can be effectively resolved, elimination of the feudal order and creating a tolerant society that respects the rule of law.

The author is a professor of nuclear physics and teaches in Islamabad and Lahore

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.

by Salman Hameed

Today (May 28th) is the anniversary of Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998. In the wake of attacks by the militants on GHQ in Rawalpindi, and just this past week on Pakistan's Naval base in Karachi, I think it is justifiable to raise the question of the safety of the nuclear bomb. The whole point of having the bomb was to have a deterrent. The point was to protect Pakistan. But what if the Pakistani bomb becomes dangerous for Pakistan itself? Now I know some people will immediately start huffing and puffing after reading the last sentence. After all, this bomb (I'm using a singular - but the number is now estimated to be close to a hundred) has now attained the status of a sacred object. But at this time, the danger to Pakistanis (my family and friends included) comes from the use of this bomb within Pakistan. Yes, we have heard of the arguments about how safe the bomb is. But then we have also seen breaches of security at some of the most secure military sites. Emotions aside, this is unchartered territory: A nation with multiple nuclear weapons facing a serious threat from militants who use suicide bombings as part of their tactics.

On this anniversary of Pakistan's nuclear tests, the question to ponder is this: What if militants are able to penetrate the defenses of Kahuta or some other nuclear plant that we are not really aware of? I know, the general belief is that even if the militants get the bomb, they won't have the know-how to put together all the components of the bomb. But what if there is some inside help? Or what if they get a handle on the fissile material and use it as a dirty bomb? Obviously, these militants have shown little compunction against killing Pakistanis. Just look at the daily reports of attacks inside Pakistan. Will they hold back in using a dirty bomb?

If the goal is to create chaos in the country, then this would be the perfect way to do it. Some of these facilities are not too far from major Pakistani cities (Khan Research Laboratories in Kahuta are located about 15 miles from Islamabad). Jingoism aside, isn't this a threat to Pakistan's own population? This not about rights or the hypocrisy of other nuclear states. I think one can easily point to the double-standards of US, and Iran has constantly done just that. In addition, the US holds the shameful distinction of being the only country to have actually used nuclear bombs in a war.

But this is not about the US. It is about Pakistan. What if having this bomb is like having shaking hands syndrome and keeping a loaded gun in the bedroom? Most of the times it would be okay - but one moment of neglect can prove to be costly.

I know that there is no way that Pakistan will give up nuclear weapons. At least we can stop increasing the stockpile (how many do we really need??). I hope - and I really hope - we do not end up serving as an example.

For our own safety, lets be vocal about the threat of nuclear weapons - both in Pakistan and abroad. 

Since we celebrated the 300th birthday of David Hume earlier this month, here is a 3-minute version of his philosophy:



Also check out Paul Russell on Hume on Philosophy Bites podcast.

Sooo, you have lots and lots of used crayons left over? I have just the idea for you! Have you ever heard of crayon muffins? I found some great directions at Handprints On The Wall!

I have not done this in years but when I did, it was fun!