Shooter was another kind of Asian

News of the tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday left many people shocked and confused. When it was announced that the shooter was a Korean national, the Korean government expressed its collective condolences to the victims and called for calm as Koreans feared a backlash based on prejudice. It is good for the Koreans that there are those calling for understanding, but who is standing up for the Pakistani victims of prejudice.

Before the police had made their announcement on the identity of the killer famous thought machine Debbie Schlussel already knew that the shooter was Pakistani and part of a terrorist attack. Of course, if he is a terrorist, he must be from Pakistan… except for one thing: Pakistan is not a terrorist country. Pakistani people are victims of terrorism, mostly from outside their borders. Ms. Schlussel was not content to just impugn her imaginary shooter, but by use a racial slur she impugned the whole nation.

Maybe she thinks that being nasty and bellicose is part of being a conservative. Maybe she would like to take that up with Muhammad Ali Hasan and his mother, Seeme Gull Khan Hasan founders of Muslims for America. The Hasans are visible spokespersons for the Pakistani Americans and uphold conservative values. They worked for George Bush’s re-election and promote “zero tolerance for any kind of terrorism, in following the example left by Prophet Muhammad PBUH.”

I am reminded of the scene in the BBC miniseries To Serve Them All My Days where the British boys are taunting a Jewish refugee because he is from Germany. A teacher catching the bullies pointed out that the Jewish boy was in England because of the persecution he experienced in Germany. “He must find it ironic that he now faces persecution because of where he comes from.” Some Pakistanis are in America to escape persecution, only to find persecution here. Ironic. “Do you know what that means?”

It is also ironic that the derogatory term used by Ms. Schlussel plays on the part of the name Pakistan (Land of the Pure) that stands for “pure”. A synonym for pure is innocent. The gunman was not Pakistani. The Pakistani are innocent then.

What Ms. Schlussel did just made her look vulgar and ignorant… all for cheap political points. That reminds me of another quote from the miniseries.

Christine Forster: Politics is full of people who can't cope with their own lives. I worry about that a lot.

Yeah... I know what that means. I worry a lot too.

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“Talibanistan:” A State within a State

Local tribal leader Haji Mohammad Sharif of Wana, the main town of Waziristan, recently spoke to the media and stated his tribe’s intention to expunge foreign militants from the area. Explaining his decision, he said that the militants, once their guests, had begun to kill his own people. Only one illustration of the area’s complex cultural and ideological dynamics, Waziristan has captured the world’s attention as one of the most volatile parts of the world. It is in effect, a state within a state, now commonly referred to as Talibanistan.

The near autonomous area within Pakistan has yet to be effectively infiltrated, philosophically or logistically, by any foreign power over the last two centuries. Musharraf’s government itself has been unable to wage a promising campaign in Waziristan, despite the remarkable fact that it exists within sovereign Pakistan. Indeed, Haji Mohammad’s statement lends support to the argument that greater change can only occur through a change in the hearts and minds of his people. Unfortunately, each limited gesture of change is met with a rather grave reality check. Flushed with not only foreign, but domestic militants deeply rooted in a perpetual jihadist ideology, Waziristan has become the central point of dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and increasingly, between the United States and Pakistan. While Iraq may represent a logistical threat, Waziristan represents the playground where ideological forces are battling it out. Remnants of the Taliban are coloring its cultural and ideological spectrum, banning music and movies, requiring women to veil, and forcing men to attend prayers. The Taliban is once again rearing its ugly head six years after it was flushed out of Afghanistan.

Their resurgence in Pakistan is having consequences that reach far beyond Waziristan’s immediate territory. Suicide bombers are being deployed in mainstream Pakistani cities such as Islamabad, destroying any notion of safety in the usually quiet capital and bewildering the masses. Pakistan’s recent, so-called “peace deal” only fuels their fire to cultivate and regroup. The United States, unable to fully attack the militant bases in Waziristan due to Pakistan’s lack of permission, is left frustrated in its efforts to curb the extremism that is taking root. Instead, the U.S. is limited to providing intelligence to Pakistani authorities and funding social programs. A local tribal leader may change a few attitudes, but until the Pakistani government finds a way to control its own backyard, Waziristan, or Talibanistan, will continue to provide a haven for terrorists.

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