Ahsia Mir is a Kashmiri school teacher of Muzafarabad, Azad Kashmir, who lost her husband and her only daughter in the recent earthquack.

The latest pic from Pakistan with Tanvir.

A latest new picture of my family in Pakistan, on the occasion of Sara's marriage, was recieved here today. Sara is with her elder brother, Tanvir Butt, Anne. In Anne's lap is Abdullah Suleman, Tanvir's youngest son. In the back row are from L to R ,Khatija, Mariam, Rabia and Nadia.

Going to London on Jan/24, inshah-Allah

I am scheduled to fly out of Kansas City, MO, on January 24th, 2006, for London. Inshah-Allah, hope to reach London after taking my second flight from Chicago, MI, the same evening and still an other from Dublin, Ireland around 10.oo am on January 25th. I have told Touqeer to come to the airport and recieve me. I hope to enjoy Touqeer's kids' birthday as he had scheduled this event to my arrival in UK. I thank God for providing me an opportunity to be with my son's family on this occasion. Qadeer spoke to me for a minute at 6 a.m. today. I told him about my program and asked him to pray so that I reach London safe and sound.

Request to friends in India !!!

Old timer Kidar nath Sharma and .......by: zabutt45 21/01/06 09:23 ....... . I am collecting material for my book on Narowal (Pakistan) where old timer Kidar-nath Sharma, actor Rajinder Kumar and writer Krishan Chander were born. I want material from their families and I can get all this if some one helped me by giving me their contacts. I will welcome any friend's contribution in this respect.Send at zabutt45@yahoo.com Yours, Zulfiqar Ali Butt, Springfield MO. 65802 USA

Jill abducted in Iraq

Jill, a journalist working with Wall Street, is reported to have been abducted by some Iraqis demanding release of muslim women held by the US authorities in Iraq. ...... If you would look at Jill (left) she is already dressed like a muslim lady. I urge her capturers to release her immediately and respect her like a muslim would respect a woman. Listen to what her father and mother had to say on the CCN.

A master-piece of 2006.

A materpiece of 2006. An artist carved a human face in the trunk of a tree in Lahore. Pakistan, to show his skill in this regard.

Birthday cake for Bhutto !!!!

PPP cut birthday cake for Bhutto

In memory of a great leader....

A great visionaryI write this in memory to one of the worlds most visionary, principled and progressive leaders, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who gave his life to achieve global equality and peace. He was born for politics of the people and did not depend on being the bud of a feudal lord but carried himself in a manner that enabled him to emerge as a leader of the poor, naked wretches. For them he opened a gateway called 'awareness' (of basic rights, freedom and equality) thus enabling them to shape their own destiny. His mission was to unshackle, to honour and respect, create a society free of Bonapartism, free of poverty and free of inequalities. - ZULFI KHAN, BPO Director UK, Watford Herts, January 9.

Farewell to arms

I have said good bye to my job at the store today. I returned the store key to Ray but he was not ready to issue me a reciept for it. He said that he did not obtain reciept from me when he gave that key to me, so I did not insist. Now I am looking to booking of my passage for London and waiting for money from Touqeer, which he promised to send on Wednesday.

Muktharan Mai in France !!!

Muktharan Mai is in France for the publication of her book. She was in the USA a few months back where she was awarded prize for his courage to expose the culprits who gang raped her.

General Mushrraf retreats !!!!

General Musharraf retreats on Kala Bagh Dam in view of protests from NWFP and Sind people.

Senior Bush in Pakistan

While 17 Pakistanis were killed in Pakistan by the US bombing recently Senior Bush is visiting Pakistan with a smile on his face.

Did not work !!!

As my depature time for London is coming nearer Ray is not letting me work daily. I am, however, working there on daily basis now. I think I must go tomorrow to return store key to him and say him good bye. I think I am the longest working hand who has worked with him. I was lucky for this reason. Lets see what comes tomorrow.

Yasin Mungla passes away in USA

Sheikh Yasin Mungla, 80, one of the sons of Narowal, died last month in the USA. This pleasing personality will be remembered by many in the days to come. He was the eldest son of late Sheikh Amin Mungla. He is survived by his wife, three sons and one daughter. I spoke to his son, Ather Wasim, the other day. He sent me telephone number of his mother also and I was able to speak to her too. Yasin Sheikh's sister Mariam (Bibi) was also present there and I was able to condole with her too. I told her that I am going to London in the coming days and will meet her there too.

Renee is happy with her son

Salaams. The youngin is doing great mashAllah. He's such a blessing. I am reminded of that every day. InshAllah you will have a safe trip and we'll all meet up one day. Take care. Khuda hafiz, Renee wrote: Thanks dear .... for sending Isfahan. Hows the young-man doing? I am moving to London for a while as I don't have a job here. You can still drop with us in case you decided to go to Pakistan while I am in London. My son and my sweet daughter-in-law whould be happy to welcome you there too. yours, Zulfiqar Ali Butt. ..... a grand-father like to you and your Shah-ge "I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. And what I ought to do, I shall do." - Edward Everett Hale

Visa for UK.

I got visa for UK today by post. I will now plan the way I am going to take this journey. I will try to travel with Atlantic Virgin airline like my previous journey to London in 2004. I told Rukshee, my daughter in Pakistan, today on telephone and soon will be giving her my detailed program about my coming to Pakistan after visiting London.

What is Hajj ? a history

The Hajj ..... ......................................... AS the pilgrims in Mecca complete the annual ritual of pilgrimage today, Muslims across the globe will begin the Id al-Adha, the three-day Feast of Sacrifice, in solidarity with them. For Muslims seeking to make sense of the annual pilgrimage, a question arises: is the hajj only an elaborate ritual? Hajj literally means, "to continuously strive to reach one's goal." The rite of visiting the sacred sites need be completed only once in a lifetime, but its meaning ought to be enduring. Yet, no pilgrim can claim strictly to imitate the Prophet Muhammad in this ritual. Such despotic literalness would only invest the observance with fraudulence. Is the imagination not at the heart of pilgrimage? Centuries ago, the Arabic literary figure and philosopher, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, who died in 1023, mused about what the pilgrimage might have meant for those who could not make it to Mecca. Sadly, we can now only mourn the lost text of Tawhidi, but there is more than a hint in his title: "Undertaking the Mental Pilgrimage When the Physical Pilgrimage Is Impossible." Exile, sacrifice and atonement underscore the commandment of pilgrimage in Muslim religious life. The faithful re-enact the pilgrimage rituals in imitation of their spiritual forbears. They relive exile by treading in the footsteps of Abraham. But the hajj also recalls the temporary exile of Adam and Eve, who wandered the earth after their expulsion from paradise. According to Muslim tradition, Adam and Eve reconciled with God in the desert of Arabia. The spot where they met each other again and atoned - an obligatory destination for pilgrims - is called Arafat, from the Arabic word 'arafa, "to know." The theme of knowing and imagining the divine is embroidered through the trials of Abraham and his family. After Abraham's first child, Ishmael, was born to his slave wife Hagar, he was confronted by the jealousy of his other wife, Sarah, who was then childless. God upgraded this domestic squabble into a legacy issue for the Patriarch and his admirers. But he ordered the dutiful Abraham to banish Hagar and Ishmael to Arabia. Years later, Muslim tradition holds, Abraham reconciled with Hagar and Ishmael. But more trials awaited. This time Abraham had to do the unthinkable: sacrifice his son. Mainstream Muslim tradition believes that the son in question was Ishmael, while a minority view holds that it was Isaac, Sarah's son. But after a miraculous substitution of Ishmael (or Isaac) by a ram, Abraham's reputation was sealed as the "friend of God." To express their loathing of evil, the pilgrims will participate in that ancient drama of Abraham and Ishmael. They will first stone three pillars, each symbolizing Satan's failed attempts to mislead Abraham's family. Then, in a place called Mina, meaning "desires," each pilgrim will sacrifice an animal. With this act they seek to replace their destructive desires with productive ones. Away from Mecca, non-pilgrims with means will also slaughter animals as a show of hospitality to friends, family and the indigent. Pilgrimage embodies exile by requiring seekers to suspend customary routine, enter new environments and live by new rhythms and rituals. For a limited time, pilgrims experience the transitions and dislocations exiles perpetually undergo. As a performance, the pilgrimage links people to a past shared by several Abrahamic traditions, just as, by bringing together Muslims from a great multiplicity of cultures, it celebrates the diversity of our common humanity. Pilgrims return home enriched by this cosmopolitan outlook, but with a new appreciation for their own origins. In the 1980's, the Iranian revolution inspired some attempts to use the hajj as a platform to express Muslim grievances. But such efforts ended in 1987, when Iranian pilgrims clashed with Saudi authorities, resulting in carnage and mayhem. The more subtle political significance of the hajj, however, persists in the realm of the spiritual imagination. To play on the words of the poet Federico García Lorca: the imagination hovers above ritual, the way fragrance hovers over a flower. Pilgrimage ought to fire the imagination and celebrate transitions, creativity and innovation. And imagination is a weapon, one that tyrants and autocrats fear. If we find it in short supply in the corridors of power, that does not mean that the rest of us should be deprived of its constructive possibilities as well. A prolific 13th century mystic, Ibn Arabi, wrote that pilgrims were mistaken if they believed that swarming like moths around the cube-like stone centerpiece, the Kaaba in the Holy Mosque, was the loftiest act of venerating God. Rather, noted Ibn Arabi, it was the human heart that deserved the highest sanctity. For neither the offerings made, nor the hardships endured, reaches the divine. Instead it is the compass of the heart that counts. The heart symbolizes the inviolability of human dignity. But the supreme gift, Ibn Arabi artfully explains, is the imagination radiating from the heart. The fulcrum of the pilgrimage is also the essence of life: a caring heart fired by the imagination. For instance, after paying homage to the two women Eve and Hagar in the rites of pilgrimage, how can some Muslims still violate the rights and dignity of women in the name of Islam? Is this not a contradiction? If the pilgrimage is done not by rote but with imagination, honor killings become unthinkably loathsome, a curse to be condemned like the Satan just stoned. The truth of the imagination pertains today, not just for Tawhidi and Ibn Arabi, but also for all their contemporary successors who still believe the imagination to be the healing balm for our deeply troubled world. Ebrahim Moosa, a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, is the author of "Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination."

Eid celebrations

Happy girls from Pakistan enjoying Eid-ul-Azha with the other family members. I enjoyed and celebrated this Eid in New Jercy in 2004. Then I had this Eid in Pakistan the next year and again I am having this Eid at Springfield in 2006. I spoke to everybody in Pakistan yesterday except Tanvir and his family. Then was unable to establish link to Touqeer in London. However, I left a message at their residencial telephone.

Friend replies .....Birds and Lillies toll not

> My phone number is ....................... and, yes I can pick u up in Chillicothe at the bus station which happens to be a service station. The birds and the Lillies toll not nor do they worry but God takes care of them....worry not! Come on down it is nice here. P

There I go .......Part of my lettter to a dear friend

, it is just another day. Sometimes one suffers not only physicially but emotionally (not mentelly) too. You can imagine my plight when I am in the USA, facing my illness alone. My health condition forces me not to work so I move very carefully out of my abode. Its very very cold and I come from a warm area. I always have a fear that I might get cold. So is it. I am waiting for a nice time ..... which appears to be at hand but I can't face some of the adversities here. Approach of some unkind people, I mean. I am not used to it. People respected me in Pakistan in an other way. Here you a 'man' only even if you look like a grand-pa. I tried to get into a newspaper job but fail. What to do? My doctors don't want me to do any kind of job but how to survive ? Is the question on my mind presently. I hope God is with me and He is helping me out. With one mistake I lost your phone this time too. I deleted your email which contained your phone while I was clearing my files on this public computer. Can you write again ? We hope to have snow this afternoon for the second time. Hows it with you. Can you come to the Bus Station (Where?) if I come to you ? ZAB

A voice in USA from Narowal, Pakistan: Eid ul Azha ...

A voice in USA from Narowal, Pakistan: Eid ul Azha ... I spoke to Sohail's wife today. She says that Eid is on Wednesday. I requested her to ask Sohail to speak to me on the phone before I go back to Pakistan.

Eid ul Azha ...

We will be celebrating Eid ul Azha tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Islamic Center, Springfield. I spoke to Rukshee and she told me that Eid will also be celebrated on Wednesday in Pakistan. I will speak to Sarah, Asif sahib, Mussadeq, Qadeer, Tanvir and all there tomorrow. However, it will be our Tuesday when morning will dawn in Pakistan. I have not been able to get hold of Touqeer in London so far and don not know when they are going to celebrate Eid there.

Emjoying Sunday !!!

I spoke to Rukshee first in Lahore, who told me that Sarah in Narowal has been trying to talk to me but my Cell phone was not picking her up. So I spoke to her. Hassan was also at hand. Then I told her that some how I had hit a wrong key with the result that my Cell Phone got fixed at data transfer only with the result that I could not talk to any body for over 20 hours. Ray, my friend at the store, tried to get to me twice but my Cell phone would not respond. However, I was able to know as to who was on the phone and later talked to him from the other phone. He wanted me to come over to the store and stay there up to the closing time but I did not have the car to transport me to the store. Helen had gone to Penny's as Lorie had come there with her kids for the weekend. I slept upto 7 a.m. the next moring being Sunday. It on on my breakfast that I talked to Rukshee in Lahore, Pakistan. Lahore is more colder than Springfield where I am living at the moment.

Kashmiri women at a mass marriage function.

Looking for help after the quack in Kashmir

A Kashmiri boy is seeking help after the quack in Pakistani held Kashmir. Hundred of thousands have died while a large number of people have been rendered homeless. Many are still looking for help.

Jamei buried amid tears.

Jamei who died suddenly was buried amid tears from family, her two daughters, friends. Earlier last prayers were held at Walnut Funeral House. Beside Helen, Karin, Sharon, Lorie, Penny and myself were present during these prayers. Jim could not join as he said that he can not see Jamei laying dead there.Her ashes are to be buried at Stockton lake grave-yard. Helen told me that Jamei was a close friend of our Karen and Lorie. She was 41 years old when she died.

Hajj Mubarik to a dear going today on 2006 Hajj from Canada

Dear, ..... aoa,

.                     May Allah make your Hajj easy for you and accept

your presence in the Holy city. Its a big experience and when you

will come back you will feel Allah very close to your heart and mind. Thats

what happened to me in 1974 when I went to Makkah with my mother.

I don't have that loving person (my mother) with me now but when ever

the Hajj comes all that what happened there comes to my mind and I enjoy

the way Allah bless us both. He saved both of us from the big fire which

engulfed the Mina at that time.

I would tell you to travel light during all this time because it will save you

from the big hardship which others face who try to carry every thing of need

during the 5 Hajj days. Sure, it will save you from a lot of trouble.

I again say that Allah protect you and be with you all the time (s).

Happy Hajj and the blessings of Allah. Remember us during your prayers

there.

Yours,

ZULFIQAR ALI BUTT,

Springfield. MO.  USA

 

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The last 30 minutes of 2005/ Jemei passes away.

I started for home at 10:30 pm, which was 11:30 in New York where the function to welcome 2006 year, was at its height, when Helen told me that Jemei had died in some where in Ozarks, an area about 15 miles away from Springfield, while Jim was in Stockton. She was reported to have taken over dose of some pills. No details are available at the moment but it all happened when the year 2005 was passing for us peacefully and only a few minutes were left to say good-bye to 2005. Death of Jemei will be remembered as the last sad event of 2005 in the family here. Every body was up set in the family but we know nothing can stop the death train when it starts its journey. I share Jim's grief personally. Despite all odds Jemei was a great comfort to Jim, Helen's only son here. Jim stands shattered now after her un-timely death. Now Andy is the only one living with his father. We tried our best and pursued James to come back but he would not agree. I still believe James can come back if fear of his father's anger is removed from his mind. Jim needs councilling on this issue. A time comes in every father's life when he has to change his face from a father to his son's friend but this is what Jim does not understand at this moment. He should now become his two sons friend so that he can have a peaceful part of his remaining part of life. I wish he changes his attitude towards his sons soon and be happy.