There is so much I want to write …
May 24, 2010 at 11:40 pm 17 comments
There is so much I want to write
But I hesitate each time
Would it be considered contempt of court?
I ask myself
Or maybe even blasphemy?
Simply because I disagree with
the government and the judiciary?
Can I not have a point of view
Without my religious beliefs being called into question?
Should anyone have the right
To define who a good Muslim is and who is not?
Aren’t we all going to be answerable
For our own actions or inactions
On the Day of Judgement?
If I question a ban on Internet Freedom
Will God consider me a lesser human being?
Will my Emaan and all the good I have done throughout my life
Have been for naught?
Simply because I asked for the right
To be able to make my own decision
regarding the ‘evil’ social networks
that allowed blasphemous content to be shown?
Didn’t God give me a brain
so I would think, analyze and make my own decisions?
Am I not better suited to do that
than the many people who are ever-ready
To relieve me of my civil rights and liberties
Simply to suit their multiple agendas?
I think I have the sense (as do most Pakistani users)
To decide what is offensive to me
And to deactivate my membership if i so wish
Or to counter the offenders with my own viewpoint.
Then why the blanket ban of so many sites?
And why the nasty & disgusting threats
Against those who condemn the offensive page
But want the right to deal with it in their own way?
When will we learn tolerance?
When will we learn that in order to make a difference
We need to be present where everyone else is
And not stick our heads in the sand
Pretending that if we don’t see it, it’s not there.
When will we wake up
And take control of our own lives?
How long will we let others tell us
What we can or cannot do
What we can or cannot read?
I want my life back
I want to be able to write with the freedom I once did
Without fear of contempt or violence.
My words have always been responsibly coined
Without a sword having to be held over my head.
Writing from the heart with honesty and truth
To guide me
I want to be able to write whatever comes to me
and flows onto the ‘cloud’. 🙂
Entry filed under: Posts. Tags: Internet Freedom, Pakistan, Social Networks.
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In the Line of Wire 
1.
JDee | May 25, 2010 at 12:15 am
This is so sad. And exactly what I think right now.
2.
zakintosh | May 25, 2010 at 12:48 am
“Aren’t we all going to be answerable
For our own actions or inactions
On the Day of Judgement?”
hmmm … and what happens to the atheists who will not be attending it?
3.
Kashif Malim | May 25, 2010 at 12:51 am
lol
Good one Jehan Ara 😀
4.
Jehan | May 25, 2010 at 12:52 am
@Zakintosh … well, I never claimed to have all the answers 🙂
5.
Shahzad Ahmad | May 25, 2010 at 12:53 am
Keep it coming JA. So heartfelt… so true…
6.
Nadeem Ahsan | May 25, 2010 at 2:50 am
Amazing poetry. Heart pour out. Will the powers that be listen to this clarion call for freedom in the land of the pure? I don’t think so. This country is firmly in the grip of the fundos. The PPP Govt wants to prove its ‘religious’ creds by doing this and curry favour with the people and win votes.
7.
Abdul Hameed Kath | May 25, 2010 at 4:12 am
So true JA and it’s heartfelt.
We are a emotional but dead nation.
Loom at the PTA which is so dumb that for doing this sites banning thing after LHC’s decision (so called baseless decision), they had no proper planning as to what to do and how to do, and they outsourced this work to someone else… who has so far blocked more than 1000 sites. Damnnnnn 😦
8.
Fariha Akhtar | May 25, 2010 at 10:06 am
Very well written! Hoping that we all try to understand that violence is not the solution, hatred is not the solution, threats are not the solution; and leave it to everyone to decide what’s good for him/her.
9.
Mars | May 25, 2010 at 10:30 am
an accurate description of the mess that we are currently wading through–the best part is that you said it with a smile!
10. Tweets that mention There is so much I want to write … « In the Line of Wire -- Topsy.com | May 25, 2010 at 12:12 pm
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by jehan_ara, jehan_ara, Sabeen Mahmud, Hina, Hina and others. Hina said: RT @jehan_ara: It is dangerous to complement me on this attempt at writing a poem http://bit.ly/aq1vjX. I might be encouraged to write more 😉 […]
11.
Ali Rashid | May 25, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Very nice piece of work.
Though I highly respect your point of view, but just consider these verses again : “To be able to make my own decision, regarding the ‘evil’ social networks, that allowed blasphemous content to be shown? Didn’t God give me a brain, so I would think, analyze and make my own decisions?”
The same argument could be used by robbers, mobile snatchers and thieves, i.e. why did the law stop us or persecute us when God had given us the mind to choose right and wrong for ourselves?
Personally, I support the government’s decision of banning blasphemous content: nevertheless, this should not include banning the whole of facebook altogether. Its just like banning the post office system if someone is sending/receiving obscene Mails.
12. There is so much I want to write … | Tea Break | May 25, 2010 at 2:32 pm
[…] This cup of tea was served by: In the Line of Wire […]
13.
Farieha Aziz | May 25, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Love it! So simple, truly from the heart. Hey, you should write poetry more often now (despite all that Ammi says!)
14.
Nadeem Ahmed | May 26, 2010 at 4:37 am
yes we should protest if someone make cartoon of our beloved PBUH.
But what about those cartoons of HIS(pbuh) “talimat and sunah” which we make everyday in our daily life in terms of corruptions, dishonesty, intolerance and torture. thousands of innocent people are killed by so called HIS followers but no “mulla’ or any so called religious activist came out for the protest. they (mulla or owner of islam) took so long to understand the difference b/w brutality and islam. our PM openly endorsed faked degree MNA, rapist and thieves are sitting in our assemblies and make laws for us. But we never protest because we cannot, but very easy to shut an internet site. Saray Gunah Dhul Gaay, we are the best muslims on this earth because we closed the internet sites of blasphemy. But everyday we stripped religious and human values and make their nude cartoons, and we are the follower of PBUH, who only only taught humanity and its values. which blasphemy is more “effective” ? commit by us or others?
15. Global Voices in English » Pakistan: Netizens Protest The Blanket Ban Of Facebook And Other Sites | May 26, 2010 at 12:59 pm
[…] Ara expresses her feelings with this poem: I think I have the sense (as do most Pakistani users) To decide what […]
16. Pakistan: Netizens Protest The Blanket Ban Of Facebook And Other Sites :: Elites TV | May 26, 2010 at 1:53 pm
[…] Ara expresses her feelings with this poem: I think I have the sense (as do most Pakistani users) To decide what […]
17.
Adil Mughal | May 27, 2010 at 10:45 pm
This is so sad, after so many worthy comments in the last post, u still want to keep on using facebook. I always believed the people who are gonna change Pakistan are the intellectuals but i was wrong. It seems Pakistan will be ashes because of extremists or another westernized country, with lust, materialism, nudity and freedom of speech(as u call it). Islam is gone, without doubt.