Thread by @BheriaMS

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🇵🇰

As #ImranKhanArrested is trending, let’s read the chapter 10 of his autobiographical 📕 "Pakistan: A Personal History".

Chapter 10 is titled : "Rediscovering Iqbal: Pakistan's Symbol & a Template for Our Future"

Beyond Iqbal he talks Islam, colonialism & more.

🧵 👇

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Khan defines Iqbal’s philosophy and importance :

"The place that Iqbal occupies in the hearts and minds of Pakistanis is unparalleled, as is his poetry, even though few people appreciate the range and depth of his knowledge and creativity, or his philosophical system."

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Khan on why Iqbal has been purposely neglected, mainly because of the country’s feudal elite :

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Khan gives 3 reasons for the "decline of Islamic civilization" :

1️⃣ closing the doors of ijtihad

2️⃣ ascetic Sufism

3️⃣ 1258 Mongol invasion

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Contextualizing Iqbal in 18th/19th centuries thought :

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"The main difference Islamic sharia has from Western secular society is in the realm of public morality […] Islamic culture is rooted in spirituality, while capitalist culture is rooted in materialism."

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"There is no confusion about the role of Islam in Pakistan among ordinary people who are comfortable with their Islamic heritage and live by their faith. Only in the minds of the westernized English-speaking elite, the inheritors of British colonial rule […]"

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"Our economy is filled with injustices too. First, our ruling elite has been totally inhuman and immoral in colluding with the IMF, crushing the poor to service our debts."

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"The political elite have no interest in providing education for the masses or changing the status quo."

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Goes without saying this is just a contextualization for those unaware, considering the current situation, not an endorsement of Khan’s politics or the ideas mentioned here, in fact I criticized at least one point, the idea of "decline/Golden Age" : muslimskeptic.com/2022/11/09/myt…