LUMS Review

Misquoting a Book in the Name of Fiction

Posted on April 18, 2009 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Khuban Omer Khan

Nadeem Aslam's latest book The Wasted Vigil is set in Afghanistan where people of different ideologies and religion cross paths, while searching for something or someone .When I read Aslam's book I was taken aback by numerous misquotes attributed to the Quran. To find out more about Aslam, his book and why he chose to defame the Quran, especially in the current climate, I attended a reading of his novel at LUMS. I asked him, "Mr. Aslam, your fictional book is based in reality, it's not make believe right? And in it you have described the mindset of a jihadi. Now, an American journalist who has written a review of your book in the New York Times has said that 'those unfamiliar with Islam may misconstrue your characters' thoughts as being consistent with the faith'. How would you respond to this statement? Also, do you have any obligation to your reader to present an informed fictional account or can you write anything at all without any obligation to the audience of the message's veracity?"

Discomfort was writ large on the faces of much of the uber-liberal audience. It was as if I had attacked the man simply by asking him why he chose to misquote the Holy Book. While Aslam struggled to answer, he was politely interrupted by the moderator, who did not want a discussion on religion (even though she had earlier commented on how the book revolves around religion) and an audience member who said, "well this is how jihadis think, it's time we accepted that." After that I was silenced.

Continue reading Misquoting a Book in the Name of Fiction.

The Taliban Cancer

Posted on April 17, 2009 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Muneeb Ali

The recent girl flogging video, public beheadings in Swat, regular suicide attacks, and scary NY Times articles have one thing in common. They all scream out one clear message; the Taliban movement is alive again. This time in Pakistan. The war against the Taliban will not, and cannot, be won on the battlefield alone.

If the Taliban gain strength and mobilize millions instead of thousands of followers, this clash can turn into a genocide. The Taliban will use any such genocide to further shake the status quo. The 1971 Bangladesh atrocities teach us that you cannot use bullets and bombs to stop the will of a people. It only fuels their anger and strengthens their cause.

Continue reading The Taliban Cancer .

Towards Theocracy?

Posted on April 9, 2009 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Pervez Hoodbhoy

For 20 years or more, a few of us in Pakistan have been desperately sending out SOS messages, warning of terrible times to come. Nevertheless, none anticipated how quickly and accurately our dire predictions would come true. It is a small matter that the flames of terrorism set Mumbai on fire and, more recently, destroyed Pakistan's cricketing future. A much more important and brutal fight lies ahead as Pakistan, a nation of 175 million, struggles for its very survival. The implications for the future of South Asia are enormous.

Today a full-scale war is being fought in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Swat and other "wild" areas of Pakistan, with thousands dying and hundreds of thousands of IDPs (internally displaced people) streaming into cities and towns. In February 2009, with the writ of the Pakistani state in tatters, the government gave in to the demand of the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani Taliban Movement) to implement the Islamic Sharia in Malakand, a region of FATA. It also announced the suspension of a military offensive in Swat, which has been almost totally taken over by the TTP. But the respite that it brought was short-lived and started breaking down only hours later.

Continue reading Towards Theocracy? .

Inching Closer to a Failed State

Posted on March 3, 2009 2:34 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Muneeb Ali

The cricket team of Sri Lanka was attacked in Lahore, Pakistan today. They received a Taliban-style welcome with AK-47 bullets, rockets, and grenades. While terrorists are carrying out attacks in broad daylight in the heart of Pakistan - literally, those responsible for running this country are fighting over scraps of political power.

The threats to Pakistan are many. The newly elected democratic government is engaged in an internal power struggle and is perceived as doing an awful job at running the country. Al-Qaida and Taliban are strengthening their roots in the north and northwest. They recently forced the Pakistani government into accepting fundamental Islamic law in the once-beautiful-tourist-attraction of Swat. After the Mumbai attacks, there is a looming threat of yet-another-war with India. US drones bomb Pakistani soil on a regular basis, fueling anti-US and pro-Taliban sentiments. To top this all off, Pakistan's strongest institution, the army, is at record unpopularity levels - thanks both to Musharraf and to the US-lead war on terror that the Pakistani army is carrying out.

Continue reading Inching Closer to a Failed State .

World Bank Help For Pakistan's Education - A Poisoned Chalice?

Posted on March 1, 2009 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Rumor has it that the World Bank is on its way back to Pakistan with a bagful of loans, together with plans for how we must spend the money. A major focus of the Bank's efforts will be higher education reform. No one doubts the desperate need for reform of Pakistan's education sector, or the need for assistance, especially since we have shown little capacity to fund or plan our education ourselves. But recent experience suggests the Bank's help may be a poisoned chalice. If it is to be otherwise, the Bank will have to avoid local snake charmers and be more skeptical of what bureaucrats and ministers claim.

Continue reading World Bank Help For Pakistan's Education - A Poisoned Chalice? .

DreamFly: Crawl Before You Can Walk

Posted on February 24, 2009 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

DreamFly is giving poor kids in Pakistan, living on less than 50 cents a day, a chance of going to school. These children have no access to education and yet they dare to dream of becoming doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

Recently, DreamFly organized a successful fund raiser at the Harvard Business School. And also met their goal of raising $100,000 for the first DreamFly school. Help this venture in any way you can. More information about DreamFly is here. This initiative has LUMS roots.

How Greed Ruins Academia

Posted on February 20, 2009 12:47 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Aquatint of a Doctor of Divinity at the Univer...

Image via Wikipedia

Pakistan's university system is breaking down, perhaps irreparably so. Thanks to the Higher Education Commission's grand plans for a massive change, a tidal wave of money hit our public universities during the Musharraf years. Although difficult financial times finally stemmed the flood, this enormous cash infusion served to amplify problems rather than improve teaching and research quality.

Naked greed is now destroying the moral fibre of academia. Professors across the country are clamoring to lift even minimal requirements that could assure quality education. This is happening in two critical ways. First, to benefit from 3-fold increases in salaries for tenure-track positions, professors are speedily removing all barriers for their promotions. Second, they want to be able to take on more PhD students, whether these students have the requisite academic capacity or not. Having more students translates into proportionately more money in each professor's pocket.

Continue reading How Greed Ruins Academia.

Alumni Magazine 2008

Posted on February 13, 2009 1:34 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

LUMS published their Alumni Magazine for 2008 in December. This year the central theme was the alumni perspective of the workplace. The magazine is embedded at the end of this post. Alternatively, a PDF version is also available:

LUMS Alumni Magazine 2008

With the growing size of the alumni body, the class notes are fast becoming a big dead tree on paper. Maybe they need to re-invent that section.

Continue reading Alumni Magazine 2008 .

LUMS Gradute Studies Talk

Posted on January 27, 2009 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Last January, LUMS Career Development Office hosted a session on graduate studies. They invited a few alumni to share their experience with current students. The session covered topics like admissions, funding, and PhD vs. Masters debate. Below are the slides used at the LUMS graduate session:

Graduate Studies Talk

There is also a similar talk given at UC Berkeley by Jacob Scott. A copy of Jacob's slides are here.

Students may find these two talks useful.

Continue reading LUMS Gradute Studies Talk .

New Dawn for America

Posted on January 21, 2009 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Hassan Baig

Around 155 B.C., the Greek post-classical philosopher Carneades of Cyrene came to Rome as one of the three Athenian ambassadors who had come to beg the Roman Senate for a political favor. A fine had been levied against the citizens of their city, and they wanted to convince Rome that it was unfair. Carneades represented the Academy - the same argumentative open-air institution where three centuries before, Socrates drove his interlocutors to murder him just to get some respite from his arguments. It was now called the New Academy, was no less argumentative, and had the reputation of being the hotbed of skepticism in the ancient world.

On the much anticipated day of his oration, Carneades stood up and delivered a brilliantly argued harangue in praise of justice and how administering it should be at the top of our motives. The Roman audience was spellbound. It was not just his charisma; the audience was swayed by the strength of the arguments, the eloquence of the thought, the purity of the language, and the energy of the speaker. But that was not the point he wanted to drill. The next day, Carneades came back, stood up, and orated the diametrically opposite of his speech from yesterday. He proceeded to contradict and refute with no less swaying arguments what he had established so convincingly the day before. He managed to persuade the very same audience in the very same spot that justice should be way down on the list of motivations for human undertakings.

Continue reading New Dawn for America .

LUMS Review

Home | About

Misquoting a Book in the Name of Fiction

The Taliban Cancer

Towards Theocracy?

Inching Closer to a Failed State

World Bank Help For Pakistan's Education - A Poisoned Chalice?

DreamFly: Crawl Before You Can Walk

How Greed Ruins Academia

Alumni Magazine 2008

LUMS Gradute Studies Talk

New Dawn for America

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