Habib owns a bookstore in one of the older bazaars in Karachi. As we spoke, mullahs wandered in and out in search of Islamic texts in Persian, Urdu, Arabic and English. Most of these holy men were from villages near the Afghan frontier or the Himalayan region in the north.
FASOTE: Hello Habib - thanks for speaking with us. What are your thoughts on the United States today?
H: Well, I think if you are talking in particular about the events that
happened on the 11th of September, then, well - the Afghanis have got
nothing to do with that - this is what I personally feel. It was America,
actually, that wanted to acquire everything, since Afghanistan is a place
full of resources - oil fields and these such things. They want to take
over the future economy of the world, and they needed an excuse to carry
on with that.
FASOTE: So, do you feel that the events of September 11th were in some way engineered by the United States?
H: Yes - I do not think there is any denying this fact.
FASOTE: And the fact that the Taliban were harboring Osama Bin Laden?
H: I mean, look - first of all, these people were living in the stone ages - what does America have to do with that? America is far, far away from Afghanistan, and the Afghanis weren't asking America for any help or assistance to come and rule their country - in fact, they didn't want this. They said they were living happily in their environment, whether it was the stone ages or not.
FASOTE: The American public has been told that the reason the U.S. went after Afghanistan was the fact that the Taliban was harboring those that were responsible for the September 11th attacks.
H: Yes, but look at the works of the American Professor Noam Chomsky - you must have read his stuff. He has visited both Pakistan and India since the attacks, and he agrees mostly with this viewpoint. America had the most to gain from the attacks.
FASOTE: OK - let's move on. What do you feel is the state of the Muslim world today?
H: We are on a threshold right now. The entire Muslim Ummah (FASOTE note: the word Ummah means the entire Muslim world, which currently spans many different countries, ethnicities and cultures and is estimated at over 1 billion people) needs a re-awakening - we are disturbed right now. Let's all get on one platform - re-organize, unite and redraw ourselves. Unless we do that, we can't be one nation. The sad part is that the Muslim Ummah is in a state of disarray. We need leadership that can put all the nations of the Muslim world onto one platform - one Ummah, one leader to carry on for generations to come. Unless we do that, I don't think we can achieve our task in life.
FASOTE: And what is that task?
H: The Koran teaches a code of ethics - it is such that if you follow it, the entire world will be at your doorstep. If we don't follow it, we are hypocrites.
FASOTE: So, are you saying that the Ummah's task is to unite and become a balancing power to the West?
H: Yes.
FASOTE: OK - what does the word freedom mean to you?
H: I remember Mel Gibson's film, Braveheart. He wrote and starred in it, you know. The last seen was so great it almost shocked me. When he was about to die he was put on the table and the man who was about to assassinate him asked if he had any final wishes, but of course it was difficult for him to speak. He was thirsty, he was helpless. But, with his full voice he screamed 'Freedom!' - that is what I like, that is freedom. Freedom is your Azadi, your independance. The Koran says, categorically, that there is no coercion in religion. And another thing - why did all the prophets come to this world? They came to give independance and freedom to men, freedom from the slavery of their masters. That doesn't mean that if I work for you I shouldn't obey you, but I have freedom of thought. The Koran says so.
FASOTE: From your perspective, do you think the differences between Islam and the West are irreconcilable?
H: Why not? If there is a will there is a way, and if there is a will there is always a hill (laughs). But, Why not? Unless the Muslim Ummah proves themselves and come up to the ethics, the rationality, the morality of which Islam speaks... Islam speaks of individual correctdness, which eventually converts into a nation. Unless we do that, no one will be impressed by us - no nations of the world. We have to prove ourselves.
FASOTE: So, you don't think the two sides can co-exist unless the Muslim world unites and becomes a world power?
H: Yes. Until then, they will walk all over us.
FASOTE: OK - here is another question. Do you believe that, spiritually, morally or politically, that there is one right answer for mankind?
H: The Koran addresses the entire mankind, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sex. The Koran always says 'Oh, you Believers!' or 'Oh, you Mankind!', it never says 'Oh, you Muslims!'. When it says 'Oh, you Believers!' it is addressing those who believe in one God and the afterlife - the people who converted themselves and became Muslims are the privelaged ones, of course, but the Koran speaks for all mankind. So God spoke to mankind through the Koran, and it is for everyone.
FASOTE: So, to sum up, you believe that there is one answer, and it is Islam, but since Islam includes all monotheistic religions, the one answer for mankind is the belief in one true God?
H: Yes - that's it.
FASOTE: OK - here is our last question. Who is your hero?
H: In which capacity? As an entire human being?
FASOTE: Good enough.
H: Well, I am human, and I am a Muslim, and my greates hero is Hazrat Ali (FASOTE note: Hazrat Ali was both the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed). When he was dying, and no man has ever claimed this, the last words he said were in Arabic, and they said something like 'I have lived a successful life, as I have lived completely by the Koranic standard'. No man has been able to claim this. He was saying it by the will of God, and it was true.
FASOTE: OK Habib, thanks for your time.