Siblings Age and Religious Practice

I have always wondered if there is a correlation between the age of siblings and their practice of religious rituals. This is particularly important in large families where difference of ages between the eldest and youngest sibling can be 20 years. In the normal life cycle, most people start practicing the rituals, as they grow old. The eldest son or daughter is born and raised when the parents are young and not so involved with the religion. By the time the last kid arrives in a large family, the parents are entering the middle age and usually more religious. It is well-documented fact that the home environment has a major impact on the child. Therefore, the younger sibling is more than likely to be more observant of religious rituals. I have tested my hypothesis on different families. The hypothesis seems to work.

The hypothesis can be also applied on the broader population of Pakistan. I have found that the younger persons in Pakistan generally have long beards and can be classified fundamentalist in the contemporary sense of the word. In contrast, persons who are older and were born before the Partition seem to be less religious. Even when they grow old they are still 50 percent Muslims. Like me, they practice the rituals but cheat and lie in their dealings withother human beings. The younger generation is either 100 percent Muslim or are secular Muslims. It would be interesting to know if others share my views on thesubject

Crystal Gift Packages

Our dinning room hutch cabinet is full of crystal wares that we have received as gifts from persons who visit us for dinner or come to stay with us as guests. These crystal look beautiful. However,there is a limit to the number of these crystal dishes one can use in the house. I am sure we will never use most of these gifts. The only beneficiary of this gift giving is the manufacturer of the crystals like Mikasa. Some times we pass on these gifts when we go to other people houses without even opening them. The only change being a new wrapping paper. The package keep traveling from house to house in its eternal journey without ever being used. There is always a danger of giving the gift back to the original purchaser by accident.

Another tradition which has developed over the years is of giving men dress shirts or kurta shalwar as a present. I have found that these items also stay in your dresser. Usually the shirts do not fit at the collar or at the sleeves. In addition, how many kurta shalwars you need to wear in USA. You only have two Eids in a year. I am so happy that the new wedding invitations specifically ask that no boxed gifts be brought to the wedding or some other occasion. The wedding couple collects checks or cash that they either use to buystuff or some other needs. However, they miss out on some of the memorable gifts, which become precious with time.

I still have anduse four of the six glasses that my friend gave us as wedding present 35 years ago. These glasses have traveled most of the world in our luggage. The other two broke sometime back. The glasses are not expensive but with time they have a history.I remember back in Pakistan, the relatives used to give unstitchedcloth as gifts for the wedding. The cloth material also used to be passed on from wedding to wedding. Perhaps, now we have replaced the cloth with the crystal. It would be nice to get some feedback about your experience withcrystal gifts.

Benazir Bhutto

The death of Benazir Bhutto has evoked memories of my reaction to her father's death in 1979. I was in Montreal and was in a dilemma of either going to Pakistan to work with my friend Hafeez Shaikh or to join Bechtel Corporation in California who had offered me a job. I had to leave Montreal since we had already sold our house and fed up with the daily turmoil of living there and achieve fluency in French. Montreal, Quebec is the only place in World where you had to pass conversational and written French test to become a Professional Engineer. Having spent my weekends and evenings learning French and passing the French test after a couple of attempts I was ready to live in Montreal. However, then came the ruling that Faisal would have to go to a French school because I and Tanzila were both not schooled in English in Pakistan. That is when cookie crumbled and decision to leave Montreal was made in the fall of 1978.

One of my colleauges told me about the hanging of the Zulfiqar Bhutto when I walked into my office in 1979. I felt that Pakistan will bein turmoil after his death; therefore,I immediately went to see my chief engineer and turned in my resignation. The rest is history. It is amazing how an event in Pakistan turned the course of our whole family's life. Allah has mysterious ways. I do not know how many lives will change because of Benazir's death. How many families will decide to live abroad and not go back to Pakistan. It is a shame and military dictators have to be blamed for all this. These are the people who were not able to be admitted top professional schools and universities in Pakistan and went on to Kakul Academy after high school. What do you expect from these dictators with 12th grade education.

Direction for Muslim Prayer- Qibla- Kabbah Locator

Muslims pray five times a day. During the prayers, they face the Kabbah, the holy mosque in Makkah. It is a chore to find direction of Kabbah, Makkah using different devices like compass etc., specially when you are traveling. I found the following useful website which helps you locate the direction quickly on your computer.

http://www.qiblalocator.com

Just click on it. Then put the address, city, zip code of your house or other location where you want the Qibla direction. The dirction of the Qibla alongwith an aerial photo of the property (your house) will be shown on the screen. No need to calculate or use compass etc.

Non Muslims Allowed in Medina

I found the following information on the website. Until this time, I did not know that Non-Muslims can visit Medina with special permission. I am not sure if the average MUslim in Pakistan knows about this.

The Madinah Marriott hotel is grandly situated on King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Road opposite the new Imara House. This full-service property offers spacious accommodations and superior facilities in a central location approximately four hundred fifty meters southwest of the Alharim Mosque. The Holy (Prophet's) Mosque is one half mile from the hotel with complimentary transportation available. Madinah is one of the three holiest cities of the Muslim faith and non-Muslims are not allowed to stay overnight within the city. As the Madinah Marriott is located inside the city limits, the hotel must fully comply with all local laws and ordinances. Under certain special conditions, non-Muslims may obtain a special permit to visit Madinah during the day. For additional information regarding daytime visits, it would be best to contact appropriate city officials. There are a number of hotels within a fifteen minute drive of Madinah that can accommodate non-Muslim travelers visiting for the day.

Civilan Nuclear Power Plants in Pakistan

The average Pakistani has been hoodwinked by the media and the politicians about the contribution of Abdul Qadeer Khan to the Pakistan. He is the metallurgist who stole plans from Holland and were sucessful in getting a nuclear bomb made in Pakistan. The so called first Muslim nuclear bomb. In the process he also transmitted bomb making techniques to rogue states Nrth Korea and Libya for personal gain. He lived lavishly in Islamabad. All the material for his house onstruction was imported from overseas.

What the average person in Pakistan does not know of the price paid by Pakistanis for this bomb. Due to this bomb making aventure all civilian nuclear power plant construction in Pakistan stopped since 1979. Pakistan was left with a single civilan commercial nuclear power plant in Karachi with a meagre capacity of 150 MW. The west refused to provide nuclear technology to Pakistan. Pakistani scientists and enginees trained for nuclear power were frustated and left Pakistan.

In contrast, South Korea decided to go for civilan nuclear power and since 1979, has built 18 nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of over 20000 MW. This enabled South Korea to use the electrical energy for productive use. South Korea is considered a newly developed nation with 100 percent literacy, exporting cars, color TVs, and computers. South Korea is militarily also very strong and build a bomb any time within a matter of months since it has the infrastructure.

Pkaistan on the other hand is left with a traitor Abdul Qadeer Khan who is providing trade secrets to the media. The average man is suffereing the electrical power shortage in the form of load shedding. The industry is running under capacity due to load shedding. Inspite of a talented pool of engineers and scientists, the international companies have shied away from investing in Pakistan.

Thank you AQ Khan for making all this happen

Pakistan Energy Crisis

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Alumni Association (UET-AA) is holding a half-day long seminar on the role and prospects of private sector in mitigating power shortage in Pakistan, on October 12, 2008 at Washington DC. The seminar will have panel discussion on:

1. Alternative sources of electrical power generation in Pakistan including, but not limited to, the use of wind and solar energy.

2. Guarantees and legal framework required for the international and local enterprises to invest in the Pakistan energy sector.

The focus of the seminar is to share experience and put forward constructive ideas that can help eliminate persistent load shedding, which is seriously affecting the population and industrial production in Pakistan. Interested Alumni and their friends, who would like to participate as panelists in the discussion are requested to send e-mail to mailto:toabdulhaisheikh@yahoo.com by August 15, 2008 indicating the topic of interest.

Another Life to Live

If I had another life I would choose to become an army officer rather than studying hard to become an engineer. Then I would not have to leave Pakistan in search of employment and higer studies. I would live in the posh defense housing society with servants and orderliesinstead of cleaning my own house and cutting grass in my yard on the weekends in USA. I would not have to worry about money and real estate. Army would have provided me with free plots in the defensesociety and and Maarabas.

I could have staged a coup and become thepresident. If not the army dictator would have appointed me head ofa large institution or even vice chancelor of a university where Icould abuse the poor elite Ph.D professors with an iron hand.

I would have taken care of my brothers and sisters by awarding themhuge defense contracts. I would have sent my sons and daughters tostudy at Harvard and Stanford. The universities would have admittedthem even if they were not good students for political correctness.Every few months I would go to Saudi Arabia to cleanse my sins byperforming Umra as a VIP on government expense. Then I will come backand do party in the defense and gymkhana clubs.