The Pakistani Spectator

Shahid Ahmad is a Muslim Londoner who writes the Suspect Paki blog. Started in 2004, the blog now attracts a worldwide audience after his public reversion to Islam from Qadianism and his subsequent engagement with rising Islamophobia in the United Kingdom. A raw and often uncompromising read, he pulls no punches with his writing. His music continues to get hundreds of hits a month from the Far East for some reason, which he finds very surprising.

Could you tell us what made you decide to blog?
I am a closet exhibitionist. I like to think that my writing is of above average standard and I enjoy communicating with my peers on any number of topics. A blog seemed like an excellent way to achieve all of those goals. I was also going through a horrendous divorce, unemployment, illness, homelessness and crippling debt at about the same time. Documenting this in some way felt therapeutic, even if I saved the more personal stuff for my personal, password-protected blog.

What do you think sets Your blog apart from other blogs?
I am a Muslim, a Londoner, a Brit, a Pakistani, an Indian, a son-of-a-migrant and I swear a lot. That is where I am coming from, but what sets me apart I think, is that I feel I have a distinct “voice” and offer a raw and unadulterated look at how I observe life.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success, what would it be?
In my writing or my life? In my writing, what it boils down to I think, is that I’m prepared to take risks, even if that leaves me a little exposed. In my life, I think what it boils down to I think, is that I’m prepared to take risks, even if that leaves me a little exposed.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
These are incredibly personal questions. You might be able to pick up some clues from my blog. I have had plenty of both extremes. Alhamdulillah.

Urdu Blogs have got huge potential, when do you think they will really take on the online horizon in Pakistan?
I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that, since I can’t write Urdu and can barely read it.
I’ll give you a personal take on it though, which is what I usually do anyway, since there’s very little I’m actually qualified to talk about and that’s the broadband situation. My uncles and my mum in Pakistan are not on-line. Until people like them are, the Internet will not be as ubiquitous as it is elsewhere. Once you have ubiquity, you will get Urdu blogs everywhere in Pakistan. Make it easy and possible for my mum and uncle to write a blog (are there Urdu keyboards?) and they will take off, for sure.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
If I could only pick one, it would of course be Mecca for the Hajj, but if it’s for leisure purposes, then:
The Maldives
Dubai
Afghanistan

Note of course, that they are all Muslim countries.

What is your favorite book and why?
My favourite book is the Qur’an. There is no other book you can pick up time and time again and even in its translated form, have the hairs on the back of your neck rise as you realise that Allah (SWT) Himself is talking to you, albeit through a translator. Listening to a Qari recite is also a spiritual experience.

As far as fiction goes, my favourite book is probably Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Why? Oh you’d have to read it. why should I spoil your pleasure? What did I get out it? That love is transcendent and survives generations, but I cannot do the book justice. Read it. And while you’re there, read The God of Small Things, 1984 and Shame. Much as I was disappointed by Rushdie’s blasphemy in The Satanic Verses, Shame was despite its viciousness, a stunning piece of writing and much easier to read than the impenetrable Midnight’s Children, which try as I might, I could never finish.

I burnt my copy of The Information by Martin Amis after he became an Islamophobe.

And yes, I know you asked me about my favourite book, but I gave you a more interesting answer I hope!

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
The sincerity of any eye contact, the warmth of the smile and if male, the firmness of the handshake.

Do you think Pakistani politicians could benefit from the social networks and things like twitter?
Pakistani politicians could benefit from not being hanged, murdered or randomly chucked out of office. Then they would benefit from not being corrupt. They would also benefit from some experience of running a nation. They would benefit from understanding Islam, the IMF and the World Bank and finally, they would benefit from diplomacy and wisdom.

Social networks and twitter are so far down their list of priorities it’s not even funny…

Whose Future is more bright in Pakistan; English blogs or Urdu Blogs?
English is the Lingua Franca of the world, and now of the blogosphere. However, Pakistanis should preserve their language, their traditions and their culture. Urdu is part of that. Get those combined Urdu/English computers and free wireless Internet in everyone’s home, then do both. The beauty of Pakistan is that many people are bilingual.

How Pakistani bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
Write well. Write regularly. Build a following. Then think of monetizing it. I used to use AdSense, but despite the reasonable rate of traffic I get, I stopped doing it, I didn’t like it because it was too intrusive for a tiny return.

Do you think Pakistani bloggers tend to remain somewhat self-centered and really don’t go out of their shells? Is it the oriental style of blogging, or they are still unsure about it?
I am not qualified to answer, but Pakistani bloggers are no worse than any other blogger. Why would they be?

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Not necessarily, but I think one needs to be committed to posting regularly. It’s hard to do that with less than an hour a day and to do it justice, you probably need two hours a day.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?
I don’t read any corporate blogs, but I’m all for them if they’re open and honest. Most cannot afford to be.

Does it pain you or proud you that we have made a history by electing a uniform general as our president?
Look, this isn’t going to be a popular answer, but do you remember my answer to the earlier question? Musharraf actually qualifies on a lot of those counts.

Pakistan is between a rock (Waziristan) and a hard place (negotiating with the West, including Bush, the IMF etc.). It wouldn’t be easy for anyone to run such a country and maintain some kind of order. The last type of person who should run a country is someone who is corrupt, or not too far from corruption. Catch my drift?

Do you think this whole emphasis on blogs and whatever online is a significant indicator to show that the web, the social web, is becoming a very important social force?
Yes, i believe blogs are a very important social force. Blogs shape opinion almost as much as the mainstream media, which is corrupt and disgraced in the eyes of a significant minority.

What do you think where the Pakistani blogosphere is right now?
I only know of ex-pat bloggers who include Anwar Hussein, Omer Alive and Awab Alvie (not related) who are awesome, but I’m not sure that’s the same thing. Hang on - I don’t think Awab is ex-pat, I think he still lives in Pakistan and has a successful dental practice. He is also a wizard at WordPress! As for Omer, well, the guy’s a hero! I love him like a brother.

Pakistanis are very clever people and enormously shrewd. That will be reflected in the quality of their blogs. If you can point me to some good blogs by resident Pakistanis, written in English, I will read them. If they’re excellent, I will add them to my blogroll!

Who are your top five favourite bloggers in Pakistan?
See the above list for ex-pats…. add Osama Saeed (Rolled Up Trousers) and that’s about it. Omer’s my favourite. (The Olive Ream)

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger in Pakistani blogosphere?
Not stunned, no, but I have often been laughing out loud at Omer’s dry comic genius in The Olive Ream.

What is the future of blogging in Pakistan?
Rosy, as long as you can get Internet to my mum and uncles and aunts. Reliably and cheaply.

In political respect, can we say blogging a ‘democracy of message’?
Yes. Definitely.

Can Pakistani blogosphere play any notable role in the forthcoming elections, if they happen at all?
See my above complaints. If the blogosphere is to be effective, the infrastructure that supports it needs to be effective, reliable, cheap and ubiquitous.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
I have made a lot of friends through my blog and they have massively improved the quality of my life. I feel more connected to lovely people locally and globally. It’s a great feeling to know that you can reach out through this cold medium and connect to warm human beings. AlHamdulillah. Professionally, blogging has not really featured.

What are your future plans?
I am beginning to write on Suspect Paki more regularly. After having left Qadianism in October 2004, I am also continuing with my exposure of this cult that pretends to be nice, but in reality, despises and fears Muslims. I want its members to know that Muslims are decent people too and that they should be with us and not contributing to a personality cult that adds nothing to their lives. So apart from my work on youtube about this, I will also be finishing my website TheCult.info at some point this year to get the message out and invite these people to Islam so that they can work with us, not against us.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Send me the links and emails of the best bloggers out there and write to me! I would like to know more about the land of my forefathers and I want to tell you more about the land of my children. Read my blog and leave comments. Agree, disagree, but join in! Let me know what else you’d like me to write about. And most importantly, As-Salaamu `alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu!

Trackback URL