Category Archives: Random Thoughts

I thought she was looking for a reason to have a fight. It was definitely what I was looking for – a reason to fight. That was what it turned out to be. Full of stress. Trying not to be negative. In the end, it was a lie. It was a horrible day. Yet, we agreed and pretended that it was a beautiful one.

We had fought. We did fight. But now it is too much. We would rather not. So it is now a waste of time to even give it a try. The beauty of putting a fight is not there anymore. Because the love has withered and the kindness has waned.

There is now no reason to believe. That the moments of high tension will be cherished. As they were. So the moment of truth is now. As we try to pretend that nothing has changed. When everything has.

Life goes on. Without the passion and joy that used to make it so beautiful.

Why I am the subject of so much hatred? How can I change that?

This is a thought that occured to my mind some time during the day today. It occured to me to write about it because it passed my mind a few times today. It was something that was said to me, something that happened during the day, something that brought about a feeling that there was mistrust, suspicion and discomfort by my existence.

I was told by a dear friend, a long time back when I was going to start my job as a headmaster, that I should refrain from entertaining people who brought me stories of what was said in the staff room. He said that it was mostly someone trying to make a mark, or wanting a favor in return; that the staff room was a place where people expressed their emotions and that it was not always meant to be said to the person who it was referred to. I believed him, and I practised it all my life as a headmaster, as a schools administrator and later in my life as a servant to many.

I love to speak my mind and have done so with friends and those who find my thoughts provocative or challenging. However, I live in a society where it is a near-sin to speak one’s mind. The group think is the norm unless you have the affluence to be arrogant and distasteful.

I am shocked at the number of people who are announcing how shocked they are at the killing of Dr. Afraasheem Ali, on social media and mainstream media and in various forums. I would say, those of us who are shocked must have been in a deep sleep.

This country has been on the road less traveled to anarchy and a virtual killing field for the past six years.

The singular responsibility for the state of the nation and the fear driven into the people has to be borne by the country’s legislative authority or the parliament which is also the circus for the political leadership of the nation. It is not only the fear that is driven into the general public, but the freedom, convenience and space created for those who are used as instruments to drive fear into the general public, that has been so evident during the past six years.

It isn’t shocking to know that an MP and a leading scholar is slain to death. It wouldn’t be shocking to be told that the Speaker of parliament, the Chief Justice, or a former president or the sitting president is slain to death. We have had calls for their death and we seem to be fine with it. That is democracy to us. A life has no value as long as it is not of your own. That is the reality of the nation that we live in today. So why do we say we are shocked?

The very people responsible for the state of our nation today, will take this opportunity to create more space for them in the limelight that this incident has created for their populist advantage. Most of those people are in the parliament of the nation, or control the comedian-like characters who act for them in parliament. They show that the way forward is one without respect to any other, without humility and without values. They also insist and have the show and their acrobatics televised live, so that they may dignify the new order in the minds of children and young people.

I am NOT shocked.

Dr. Afraasheem will be laid to rest, just five years from the day he returned to the country as a scholar. At the time, he said he had three things that he wished for – to continue to lead prayers, to spend time in preaching and to spend time in gaining more knowledge.

And the interesting thing is that today, the parliament found a good excuse in the incident to stay home and take rest.

Past post:
Afraasheem: what a fantastic story 

This has been an awesome day. Not because it has been too good to be true. But because it has been so complicated. It is one of those days you’d rather never was; but feel good that it happened.

I had planned the day well in advance. In fact, last Thursday. I had planned it all. What to coordinate, what to follow up and with whom. Whom to call and what to say and what to ask. As well as who to meet, who to see and the agenda and the outcomes. All so well planned and ready to be executed. On top of all that, I made it a point to go over the schedule on Saturday and make the necessary adjustments and additional notes to make it perfect.

On top of it, I also ran through my schedule for the whole week with my closest working colleagues, on Saturday.

Now, come Sunday and everything started smoothly as planned. And then, one appointment had to rescheduled. Then, another very important engagement had to be cancelled. In addition, a very important but sudden school engagement had to be squeezed in.

It seemed that nothing was going to be right. Negative vibes set in. A friend came, just to talk about the unfairness and the unreasonableness that was a part of our everyday. It became so complicated. The negative energy that was building up manifested itself through my attitude, words and the things that I did.

But at the end of the day, I learnt so much through the challenges of the day. It will help me become a better person tomorrow. Thank God. Hamdhuli-Allah.