"Aziz Calls For Rain Prayer"
Daily Times
Friday, May 12, 2006
EDITORIAL: ‘Aziz calls for rain prayers’
This is the headline of a front page story in a daily paper (not this one!). To an infidel Western mind, this must conjure up images of a “witch-doctor” chanting prayers to ward off evil spirits or a “red-Indian” medicine doctor sending up smoke signals to finger a downpour. But, of course, the “Aziz” in the headline is none of these things. He is our venerated prime minister, Mr Shaukat Aziz, who is not normally given to aping the mullahs in matters of scientific knowledge, moon sightings or weather forecasts. After all, he is the immaculate, urbane and sophisticated face of Pakistan that we are so keen to project to the outside world. But what on earth is he saying?
“He has urged the nation to hold country-wide ‘namaz-i-istisqa’ and pray to the Almighty for rains... He said that the country was in the grip of a severe heat wave and was facing the threat of a serious water crisis due to receding level of reservoirs, rivers, streams, nullahs and wells. He said the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) used to offer special prayers seeking mercy and blessings of Allah in situations of drought. He made an impassioned appeal to the nation to offer special prayers for rain. The prime minister requested ulema and mashaikh to arrange ‘namaz-i-istisqa’ in their areas. The prayers should continue till the Almighty blessed the country with rains, the prime minister added”.
Well, well. As far as we can recall, while mullahs are generally given to expressing religious belief in such a manner, no prime minister of Pakistan has ever descended to such pious exhortations in the face of national calamity, not even Nawaz Sharif who was inclined to outdo the mullahs at their own game of piety whenever the need arose. Indeed, we cannot recall President Pervez Musharraf ever feigning piety, despite the heavy heart with which he has faced up to many difficulties, including natural predicaments like the earthquake last year.
If the prime minister wants the nation to pray for rain, what is stopping him from asking the nation to bend every day in special collective prayers for the alleviation of poverty and provision of potable water, electricity, education and health? Is he worried that a drought may erode agricultural growth, increase hardship, take the sheen off the GDP during his tenure, and fuel popular economic resentment against the government? Or is he, perchance, trying to win over the mullahs by playing on their wicket? If so, they are more likely to poke fun at him and accuse him of hypocrisy. Whatever his mundane motivation, we are sad to say that it is likely to be perceived as cruel cynicism. It is unbecoming of Mr Aziz to flog religion as “opiate of the masses” and be fatalistic when he should be rolling up his sleeves and taking concrete measures to alleviate the expected suffering of the people in the drought-forecast zones. *
Friday, May 12, 2006
EDITORIAL: ‘Aziz calls for rain prayers’
This is the headline of a front page story in a daily paper (not this one!). To an infidel Western mind, this must conjure up images of a “witch-doctor” chanting prayers to ward off evil spirits or a “red-Indian” medicine doctor sending up smoke signals to finger a downpour. But, of course, the “Aziz” in the headline is none of these things. He is our venerated prime minister, Mr Shaukat Aziz, who is not normally given to aping the mullahs in matters of scientific knowledge, moon sightings or weather forecasts. After all, he is the immaculate, urbane and sophisticated face of Pakistan that we are so keen to project to the outside world. But what on earth is he saying?
“He has urged the nation to hold country-wide ‘namaz-i-istisqa’ and pray to the Almighty for rains... He said that the country was in the grip of a severe heat wave and was facing the threat of a serious water crisis due to receding level of reservoirs, rivers, streams, nullahs and wells. He said the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) used to offer special prayers seeking mercy and blessings of Allah in situations of drought. He made an impassioned appeal to the nation to offer special prayers for rain. The prime minister requested ulema and mashaikh to arrange ‘namaz-i-istisqa’ in their areas. The prayers should continue till the Almighty blessed the country with rains, the prime minister added”.
Well, well. As far as we can recall, while mullahs are generally given to expressing religious belief in such a manner, no prime minister of Pakistan has ever descended to such pious exhortations in the face of national calamity, not even Nawaz Sharif who was inclined to outdo the mullahs at their own game of piety whenever the need arose. Indeed, we cannot recall President Pervez Musharraf ever feigning piety, despite the heavy heart with which he has faced up to many difficulties, including natural predicaments like the earthquake last year.
If the prime minister wants the nation to pray for rain, what is stopping him from asking the nation to bend every day in special collective prayers for the alleviation of poverty and provision of potable water, electricity, education and health? Is he worried that a drought may erode agricultural growth, increase hardship, take the sheen off the GDP during his tenure, and fuel popular economic resentment against the government? Or is he, perchance, trying to win over the mullahs by playing on their wicket? If so, they are more likely to poke fun at him and accuse him of hypocrisy. Whatever his mundane motivation, we are sad to say that it is likely to be perceived as cruel cynicism. It is unbecoming of Mr Aziz to flog religion as “opiate of the masses” and be fatalistic when he should be rolling up his sleeves and taking concrete measures to alleviate the expected suffering of the people in the drought-forecast zones. *
posted by Unknown | 9:49 AM
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