SAJAforum

PAKISTAN: The asssination of Salmaan Taseer + SAJA Webcast

- including our coverage of the 2008 Mumbai attacks; the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka and the 2008 Pakistan elections.

That's a video of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of the Pakistani province of Punjab (NOTE TO U.S. JOURNOS: there's an Indian state with the same name) that I happened to tweet about around midnight, NY time, on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. I went to bed and woke up to the news that he had been killed by his own security guard for speaking out against the blasphemy laws, particularly.

I posted the video, which was created by YouTube's CitizenTube division, because I was struck by how eloquently and passionately he talked about his troubled country. I had no idea he was already dead as I posted the video.

Below are links to various parts of the coverage, including opinion pieces. Please post your thoughts and reading suggestions in the comments section below.

SAJA is hosting a live webcast on Thursday, Jan. 7. We'll be joined by veteran Pakistan watchers in the U.S. and Pakistan (as well as those who knew him well) and we'll take your calls live.

{SAMPLE TWEET: @sajaHQ webcast on Taseer killing: Fri, 1pm ET; 11pm Pak time: http://bit.ly/sajataseer #sajataseer }

SAJA WEBCAST ABOUT THE KILLING OF SALMAAN TASEER & THE FUTURE OF PAKISTAN
Friday, Jan. 7, 2011
1-2 pm NY time
11-11:59 pm Pakistan time
see local time around the world: http://timeanddate.com/s/1xtz

==> VIA COMPUTER: Listen live or later to a recording at http://tobtr.com/s/1471340
(you can set an e-mail reminder for yourself at that link)

==> VIA PHONE: +1-347-324-5991 (you can call this U.S. number by phone or Skype to listen or ask questions)

Or send your questions in advance via e-mail: saja at columbia.edu or via Twitter - @ sajaHQ

We will be discussing the assassination of Salmaan Taheer, the governor of Punjab province and what it means for the future of Pakistan, US-Pakistan relations, the war on terror and much more. We'll be joined by veteran Pakistan watchers in the U.S. and Pakistan (as well as those who knew him well) and we'll take your calls live.

ISLAM: Anti-terrorism fatwa to be issued in London

Salman Ahmad, the lead singer of Pakistan rock band Junoon and author of "Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution," sent along this alert about a potentially big development. Please take a look.

Asked for a comment, Ahmad told SAJAforum: "The fatwa against suicide bombing, terrorism is long overdue and should be widely highlighted by both the Muslim community and the global media. It's about time the terrorists are (religiously) held accountable for their unholy deeds and made clear that Islam condemns their violence in letter and in spirit."

[His book hits some of these same themes. You can read about the book and see interviews with him at http://bit.ly/sajarrj ]

There's contact info below for Quilliam, Britain's first counter-extremism think tank and which sent out the press release. Post your thoughts and updates/news items in the comments section below.

Press Release: Anti-terrorism fatwa launch in London today

BOOKS: Ethan Casey's "Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip"

SAJA member Ethan Casey's second book about the human dimension of recent history in Pakistan will be published independently in March.

Titled "Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip," it recounts a six-week overland journey from Mumbai to Karachi via the Wagah border crossing in early 2009.

SAJA members who would like copies for review should contact Ethan directly at ethan[at]aliveandwellinpakistan.com or 206-226-0509.

Ethan has also begun working on a new book about Haiti before and since the January 12 earthquake, including responses to it by South Asian American physicians and others.

And feel free to forward this message to non-South Asian journalists who might want to review Overtaken By Events. Below are descriptions of all three books, or visit:
http://www.aliveandwellinpakistan.com/books

BOOKS: Salman Ahmad's "Rock & Roll Jihad" + webcast

Watch a recording of a live SAJA Twitcam video of Salman Ahmad's talk with Daljit Dhaliwal of PBS WorldFocus. Watch him sing by at the 58-minute mark. The event, as part of Islam Awareness Week, took place at Columbia Journalism School and was co-sponsored by ASMA & MSA on Wednesday, Feb. 17. 2010 (you can grab an embed code at the link above).

==> Listen to a recording of a SAJA/SAMMA webcast with Salman Ahmad on Jan. 28, 2010, which was also simulcast on Radio Pakistan:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2010/01/28/music-salman-ahmad-muslim-rock-star-on-a-rock-roll-jihad

- - -

Every author likes to think his or her book is one of a kind, but Salman Ahmad's truly is - and not just because it is the first South Asian book to feature a foreward by Melissa Etheridge, Grammy-winning American singer.

"Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution," is by Ahmad, the lead singer of Pakistan's most famous living musician (the late, great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan used to hold that title) and has the lofty goals of affecting changing  in Pakistan, the Muslim world  and in West. From the Simon & Schuster website:

CONV: Q&A with Dr. Reza Aslan

Dr. Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions, was the keynote speaker at the SAJA 15th Anniversary Scholarship and Awards Dinner on Saturday.
The  author of "How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror," shared his views on the events unfolding in Iran, media, and President Obama in a conversation with SAJA blogger Sweta Vohra.

What is the role of South Asian and Middle Eastern voices in Western media?

In the 21st century we are going to be a multi-polar world, and what’s going to shape the Western World is going to come out of Middle East and South Asia, even Southeast Asia. We can’t have outsiders speak. The key is to have people within the diaspora bridge that divide, those who have their foot in both cultures and who can speak to their indigenous culture, customs, etc. And they can do it with the confidence that American media requires.

Can you speak briefly about the recent events in Iran and what this means for the future of the country?

Iran is at a precipice. Iran is going to look different and its either going to be more militaristic and isolationist or it could nationalistic and democratic. Whatever it is, its going to be a very long process. This is a war of attrition and it’s going to happen in the back holes of power. We should try to shy away from the media narrative that the uprising is over because its really just beginning. What we do know is we’re on a path to greater openness that can be slowed but not stopped; this is a population largely under 30 that is politically sophisticated and highly educated. This is a generation in change.

Is there a bias here in America towards the Middle East, or the muslim world in general?

I do think there is definitely a bias towards the Middle East – a narrow focus. The Middle East does not represent the muslim world. In fact, the muslim world exists outside of that and that term should not even be used. Communities of muslims around the world is the term to be used.

You have spoken about how the younger generation in America encompasses a much more globalized point of view of the world. 

I call this generation the "under 45s.” The formative experience of America up until now was WWII which for many generations defined American values and in many ways, America’s place in the world. But “under 45s”, thanks to Obama, have more of a role in defining these same values. They grew up in an Internet and globalized world where the world is a single space. Yes, they are nationalistic but have a whole different idea of patriotism.

So what is the responsibility of young journalists in the American media?

Well, they know what their responsibility is – it’s to inform people about global events. But the challenge is to do it in interesting ways and to convince people that what happens there matters here. There is still a majority of people who use “ink to paper” to get their news but for “under 45s,” the news is synonymous with opinion. The challenge to young people is to combine the reliability and responsibility of mainstream media with the immediacy and accessibility of new media technology.

You’ve already spoken a lot about the change under Obama – is this a more positive change?

Yes. It is different because he’s member of the generation that I’m talking about. And, he is the most powerful man in the world. He shares values that we have. He’s globalized, and he looks at world through the lens of decades not weeks. Obama said he is a “citizen of world” while someone like Newt Gingrich says “I’m not a citizen of the world.” You know what, Newt? That’s why you are irrelevant. That is why your thinking is irrelevant. Having Obama is having someone who gets it.

Photo by Preston Merchant

AUTHORED: Kamran Pasha on "Mother of the Believers"

This is the fourth installment of our Authored series, where writers grapple with the promotional and marketing aspects of their new books. Previously, on Authored...

• Shilpa Agarwal on "Haunting Bombay"
• Minal Hajratwala on "Leaving India: My Family's Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents"
• Dilara Hafiz on "The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook"

This time, Kamran Pasha--whose TV writing and producing credits include "Kings" and "Sleeper Cell"-- writes about promoting his new novel, "Mother of the Believers," told from the point of view of Aisha, the prophet Muhammad's teenage wife. In December, we ran an item on his blog entries from Mecca. For those of us who have never been on Hajj, and never will, it was a fascinating window into the journey. And as Kamran writes below, it also happened to be a highly sophisticated and topical way of getting his name out, prior to his book's release.

Mother of the Believers: Lessons in Online Buzz

By Kamran Pasha

When I decided to write Mother of the Believers, my novel on the birth of Islam, I realized that I was wading into controversial waters. The book, which tells the story of Prophet Muhammad’s young wife Aisha, was guaranteed to attract attention. A similarly themed novel, The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones, had become the center of a media storm when its initial publisher canceled release of the book out of fear of a Muslim backlash. And so I knew I was walking into a potential minefield with my own take on Aisha’s story. But instead of hiding from controversy, I decided that I would face the danger head on, by making my case on the Internet months before the book’s publication. And in the process, I created an online buzz about the novel long before anyone had a chance to even read a word.

Having watched Ms. Jones experience, and being aware of the ugly legacy of the whole Salman Rushdie affair, I decided to first establish my credentials as someone who was qualified to even approach the subject matter. Unlike most other novelists in this arena, I am a practicing Muslim. I take my faith very seriously and wrote this book both to illuminate Islam as I see it, but also to address many of the negative attacks that have been launched against my religion over the past few years.  

Islam in general has a bad rap in the West as a violent and misogynistic faith, both perceptions that are false and belie the Islam I know and live, which is a religion of love, peace and harmony.  And so I wanted to tell the story of Islam’s birth from the point of view of an empowered woman, Aisha, who was a scholar, a politician and a military commander who led armies into battle.  She was also the most beloved of Prophet Muhammad’s wives and it was in her arms that the founder of Islam passed away.  I knew that Aisha single-handedly shattered all stereotypes of the oppressed Muslim woman, and I hoped that telling her tale would begin a much-needed dialogue about the true nature of Islam.  But first I had to present myself as someone whose opinion was worth listening to on the subject.  The big question was how could I establish myself as a unique voice amid the cacophony of opinions regarding Islam in the media?

Blogging the Hajj

As fate (or Divine will) would have it, my mother last year decided to go to Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, and asked me to accompany her.  Neither she nor I had ever been to the sacred city, which is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event for Muslims, and the idea suddenly struck me that I should write a live blog from Mecca recounting our spiritual journey.  I hired a wonderful online publicity firm, FSB Associates, to spread word about my blog, and I immediately started recording my journey from the day I arrived in Saudi Arabia and visited the tomb of Prophet Muhammad, as well as the grave of Aisha, the heroine of my novel.

IMMIGRATION: WTC Visitor Center to host program on NYC's Muslim Communities

From a press release:

On Monday, April 20 at 6:30 pm, the Tribute WTC Visitor Center will present a program on Diversity in NYC’s Muslim Communities, featuring a panel of cultural and educators leaders from Arab, African American, South Asian and West African communities.  The speakers on the panel will discuss how their lives changed after 9/11 and what they have done to address bias they experienced due to their religious affiliation.

Full release:

POLITICS: The Case of Varun Gandhi and the Fake Degrees

At just 29 years old, Varun Gandhi is widely regarded as a rising star in his political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, which could sweep to power in India’s upcoming national elections when the results are announced on May 16th, is a Hindu nationalist party with a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Recently Gandhi caused uproar when he was caught on tape using such rhetoric. In the aftermath it was discovered that he had lied about academic credentials from the London School of Economics (LSE) and the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), both constituent colleges of the University of London.

The young Gandhi is an asset to the BJP because he is a high-level defector. His family is a political dynasty in the Congress Party, the secularist party currently holding on to power with a thin majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament). His aunt Sonia Gandhi is currently leader of the Congress. Additionally, his grandmother is the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Congress) and his great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of India (Congress). After a family feud, Gandhi and his mother joined the BJP in 2004. (He explains his conversion to the BJP in a 2005 interview with the BBC.)

In contrast to his usually soft demeanor when speaking to the media in English, Gandhi recently made a series of fiery Hindi speeches in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, where he is the BJP’s candidate for the Lok Sabha. In them he threatens violence against Muslims, saying for example that after the election the “Lotus Hand” (the BJP’s emblem) would cut the throats of the “circumcised.”  That is of course a derogatory reference to Muslims that has more or less the same effect as the ‘N’-word in American politics. A video is available here from IBN, and it is not pretty to watch.

MUMBAI ATTACKS: Pakistan finds additional evidence

In the last week Pakistan has conceded that the Mumbai attacks were partly planned from within its borders, and blames Lashkar-e-Taiba. Several of the group's members have been arrested. From Zahid Hussain and Matthew Rosenberg's article in the Wall St. Journal, which quotes Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik:

Mr. Malik said his investigators had tracked down safe houses and hideouts used by the conspirators, traced the boats that carried the attackers from a seaside Pakistani town to the waters outside Mumbai, and found the store in the Arabian Sea port of Karachi that sold the engines used to power the dinghies that carried the 10 gunmen ashore.

"The boats that were used by the terrorists to reach Mumbai are under our possession," he said. He added that authorities have also taken into custody the crews that sailed them.

Mr. Malik described a plot that used the global communications network to mask its origins. Some of the mobile-phone SIM cards were from Austria and India, Internet phone calls were made with an account paid for in Barcelona, and a satellite phone was purchased in the Middle East.

In response, Lashkar says, who, us?

"Pakistan has surrendered before India.... LeT was not behind the Mumbai terror attack at all," spokesman of the outfit Abdullah Gaznavi claimed.

The outfit condemned Pakistan's decision to probe its senior commander Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi and the filing of FIR against others in the Mumbai terror attack case.

Also, the house where the attackers stayed in Pakistan's Sindh province has reportedly been found. From Rediff:

MEDIA: Q&A with media critic Sevanti Ninan on the Mumbai attacks coverage

[ See SAJA's full coverage of the Mumbai attacks, including our webcasts ]

In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, we asked Sevanti Ninan, media columnist and editor of The Hoot, to give us her thoughts on the coverage. At the time, she was too busy, but the uproar over the Indian media's coverage hasn't subsided so we put some questions to her last week.

Some background: There's an ongoing debate in India over whether the government should impose greater controls on the media. Additionally, several prominent journalists are under constant attack from people who felt the media either did a poor job, or even worse, aided the terrorists during the operation by broadcasting sensitive information.

NDTV's Barkha Dutt, who seemed to report nonstop throughout the ordeal, has been taking constant heat since the attacks, from prominent pieces in The Telegraph and the Christian Science Monitor to a Facebook campaign ("Barkha Dutt for worst senior journalist on the planet" has 1,748 members now). She also has lots of fans who have come to her defense, but recently another controversy emerged over Dutt/NDTV's threats of legal action against a blogger who criticized her. As this Hoot article makes clear, the blogger retracted his original post and conceded that it had been "untrue and defamatory." Dutt and NDTV have been accused of trying to stifle free speech.

In that context, we caught up with Sevanti Ninan. We also asked her a couple questions about the state of the Indian media, which is now seeing a downturn after a period of intense growth.

SAJAforum: What do you think are the more constructive criticisms to have emerged of the media, in the wake of the Mumbai attacks?

NINAN: That it should be far more restrained in its live coverage, that it should be aware of the import of the information it is dishing out in an unfolding crisis, that its editorial bosses should be in the studio directing sensitive coverage and not out in the field reporting breaking news, because no one  in the studio is  senior enough to rein them in when they go overboard. That it is neither the place of  TV reporters and anchors  to editorialise constantly while reporting, nor to war monger or promote ridicule of politicians.And that there should restraint in labelling the news, and trying to queer the pitch with slogans like "enough is enough."