YM Alumni in the South of Asia

This is a shout out to my brothers in YM. We had some good times together selling t-shirts at conventions, hanging out at six flags and who can forget Villanova! I lived in New York, the guys from Jamaica NN know me very well, some of them have visited me in Pakistan. I am often asked how I am managing in the wild and wacky city of Karachi, alhumdullilah (All praise belongs to God) my family and I have adjusted nicely. One of the things that I find most amusing are the preconceptions that people have about this place. I remember uncles telling me that the exhaust fumes from buses and rickshaws are so thick you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. Not True! Although there is considerable amount of pollution it ain’t that bad and nowadays most people use natural gas to fuel their cars because it’s cheaper and cleaner then gasoline.

Also, the people of Pakistan are working hard to make this country a better place to live. They are getting plenty of help from expatriates who have been investing in real estate and businesses since September 11. Statistics say that about 50,000 Pakistanis left America post 9/11. Those figures seem to be true. My undergrad college in Pakistan had students from Ohio, New Jersey, and Canada. So thankfully I had plenty of company.

The government of Pakistan is a totally different matter. As usual they are more interested in lining their pockets then helping the nation. Only an organized movement can sack such leaders. Religious parties have been campaigning against the current government for some time now but the movement launched by Pakistani Lawyers has been much more effective. As you know politics in Pakistan is pretty brutal they play for keeps over here. I can cite numerous examples foremost on my mind is Bhutto’s assassination. So that’s why I didn’t involve myself in any political activities.

But that’s not say that I am sitting idly by. I remember my roots and the importance of doing dawah (Inviting others to the way of Islam). I decided to use my writing skills to this end. One of the projects that I started is this blog and a website dedicated to the very first Islamic themed Science Fiction novel written by none other than yours truly (click on the “Activate Project Neo” button to learn more). I pray it becomes a tool for dawah amongst the youth in western nations. Ameen.

To learn more about my experiences in Pakistan read all the America V. Pakistan (AVP) articles. Finally I hope you drop by often Inshallah I’ll be posting daily. Take care and Allah hafiz!