Hamid Mir “Successfully Defends” Iqbal’s “Honor” Against Outrage By “Liberal Fascists”

A young female student from the Quaid-e-Azam University recently put the rabble-rouser-cum-tv anchor Hamid Mir in his place by telling him and his rhetoric on Kerry Lugar Bill to take a hike. That Hamid Mir is a joke is well known to everyone but it is Hamid Mir’s response that should worry every reasonable Pakistani.

Instead of tackling the gist of the student’s criticism, Hamid Mir launched into a long winded defence of Allama Iqbal’s honor concluding in the end that:

1. Whoever rejects Iqbal has no right to be called Pakistani ( remember theory of citizenship and constitutional rights suggests that any citizen of Pakistan can espouse any views and yet claim to be Pakistani)

2. Anyone who rejects Iqbal is a “Liberal Fascist”.

3. The only people who reject Iqbal are those who run NGOs.

Allama Iqbal’s idea of Islamic Ijtehad or reinterpretation is rejected by extremist and backward Mullahs and Maududians on a daily basis in Pakistan but that never bothered Hamid Mir. Suddenly Hamid Mir discovered Iqbal out of the blue and decided to defend his honor when his ridiculous logic was exposed a brilliant young student from Quaid-e-Azam University.

I don’t know what a “liberal fascist” is but perhaps Hamid Mir should spend some time withAllama’s son Dr. Javed Iqbal at Royal Palm or with Allama’s grandson Yusuf Sallahudin at his Haveli in Shahi Mohalla in Lahore or at one of the parties arranged by Allama Iqbal’s great grandson Jalal Sallahudin, Pakistan’s premier event manager. Javed Iqbal and Yusuf Sallahuddin – the patrons of art, culture and fashion in Pakistan- are exactly the kind of people who would be denounced by Hamid Mirs and Maududians as “liberal fascists”.

Disjointed? Can’t make out what Kerry Lugar Bill has to do with Allama Iqbal and his family? Well I produce here Hamid Mir’s own piece for your consumption. Your guess is as good as mine.