Unimagined

Okay, I'm back (not that anyone noticed I was gone)

 

Check this out!  The Perfect Gentleman - good and bad  

 

Unimagined evolved into The Perfect Gentleman some time ago (with additional material added). 

Now The Perfect Gentleman is the global standard version. 

The sequel The Imperfect Gentleman has been written (not published yet). 

Then will come The Gentle Man.

After that?  There will probably be more books in this trilogy. 

 

 

We are ALL responsible for the Delhi rape/murder

We are ALL responsible for the Delhi rape/murder

 

 
Jyoti Singh Pandey:  Rest in Paradise

 

The Delhi rapists are not solely responsible for what they did.  ALL of society is responsible.

• Everyone who desires to have a male baby, rather than a female, is responsible.
• Everyone who demands a big dowry from the bride's family is responsible.
• Everyone who thinks that women should not be educated is responsible.
• Everyone who thinks that it's okay for a girl child to be married with only the consent of her father is responsible.
• Everyone who looks the other way when a woman is being insulted or mistreated or harassed is responsible.
• Everyone who makes lewd jokes about women is responsible.
• Everyone who enjoys pornography in which women are degraded is responsible.
• Everyone who refers to "women drivers" in general terms is responsible.
• Everyone who thinks all women are a homogenous collective entity is responsible.

 

 

In short, everyone who contributes to the ethos that women are inferior, a burden, and are the property of men, is responsible.

And everyone who does not actively and tirelessly oppose the abominable treatment and disrespect of women the world over is responsible.  Which pretty much means all of us.

The Delhi rapists needed to have the support of society in general (in their minds) in order to do what they did.  They needed to believe that it was okay.

How did they get that idea?

The Government of Qatar Banned My Book

The Government of Qatar Banned My Book

 

Okay, maybe “banned “ is too strong a word.  But they did effectively block the Arabic translation.

 

Here’s what happened.

 

I was a guest participant at the Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature in Dubai, as described in this account.

http://www.unimagined.org/eafl2010.html 

 

There, I met a representative of Bloomsbury Qatar, and we shook hands on the Arabic translation deal. 

 

I was so happy!  An Arabic translation of my book.  I had no doubt that many Arabic-speakers would read it with interest.

 

Then, a few weeks later, I was told by e-mail that the deal was off.  The Government of Qatar’s Ministry of Culture had withdrawn support, which was necessary for the translation, because of “unsuitable content.”  And that’s all I was ever told.

 

“Unsuitable content?”

 

What could that be? Well, I’m pretty sure it’s not the foul language, sex, and violence – because there isn’t any (not much, anyway).

 

So I have these thoughts.

 

Could it be the brutal honesty of my thoughts and observations?  Because that is one often-noted characteristic of this book – the compelling honesty, without any attempt to filter, justify or analyze what happens in the narrative.  Because it’s all true, and there’s no point in me trying to sanitize it.

 

Could it be because I wondered as a child how we knew that Islam was true?  How did we know that Muhammad didn’t just make it up?   Surely all children have such thoughts, whenever they are taught to believe their parents’ religion?

 

Could it be because I mentioned the wealthy Arabs coming to London and drinking, gambling, womanizing – and wondered if they knew these were against our Islamic code of conduct?

 

Could it be because I mention throughout the poor treatment of women, and of how this is utterly hypocritical?

 

Could it be because I denounce the vile veil-across-the face as a cultural artifact of utter stupidity and ignorance?

 

Could it be that I suggested that, in order to apply Islam to the modern world, we actually have to think and reason, not blindly follow rules and procedures applicable to a desert environment with no technology?

 

Never mind.  Whatever the “unsuitable content”, I have no doubt that I will get an Arabic publisher in due course.  In case certain people hadn’t noticed, there’s change afoot in the whole region. 

 

They can resist, they can delay it, but ultimately, they cannot stop it. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Economics of MORE

The Economics of MORE

 

http://www.unimagined.org/more.html

 

Leave comments here.

The embarrassment of being 'from Pakistan'

The embarrassment of being 'from Pakistan'

 

Oh Pakistan, land of my birth, what an embarrassment you are!  How I wish I could undo that part of my existence, ‘born in Pakistan’ and erase any connection with your obscene, self-destructive, arrogant stupidity. 

Pakistan – not a coherent country.  Everyone hates each other, based on religious sect, region of origin, language, class or gender.  Being all ‘Muslim’ was not enough to bind them (must I say ‘us’?) all together in brotherly patriotism.  The great British masterplan has failed (or has it?) – our Islam was not strong enough to make us One, to share any rational self-interest that could take us forward for the common good, like any other country.  (Dammit – why am I saying ‘us’; I mean ‘them’.)

Pakistan – a land completely without Love.   Not just the forbidden and immoral ‘romantic love’ which spellbinds all in the Indian movies, but any other kind of Love – ‘Love they neighbour’; ‘Love the socially inferior’; ‘Love thy enemy’ (LOL! Not a chance!).   There’s only family love – but it’s not unconditional; there are heavy strings attached.  Only if you surrender your happiness to self-destructive bloody-minded miserable first-cousin-marrying barbarity.  Then they’ll love you.   But not her.  She must suffer for the audacity of her existence. 

Pakistan – where everything’s a lie and everyone in ‘authority’ is a liar.  Imagine being trained to lie from birth, so that it becomes normal, natural, your first response.  Addicts of lying, even when it doesn’t make sense.  Hold back the truth, don’t give too much away, surely there’s some profit to be made in the lie.

Pakistan – land without compassion.  Someone dying in the street?  Being raped?  There’s nothing we can do.  Don’t call the authorities – they’ll arrest us, for their trouble.  Why else would they come out?  Bargain for our release – the rate keeps going up.  Justice – what’s that?  Must be something to do with white people, not us. 

ISI – Inter-services Stupidity Agency – who do you work for?  Let me guess.  The country?  The people?  The government?   Oh, it’s obvious – yourselves.  What do you fear the most?  Peace with India!  After 60 years, we still haven’t managed that.  But why?  Oh, I see, if there’s peace with India, there’s no need for an ISI – it’s simple self-preservation.  I get it.  So you lie, deceive, cheat, kill, embarrass, shame, confuse, twist and lie some more – everything you can to keep India angry, enrage the world, justify the nukes and preserve your miserable existence.   India doesn’t want to hate us, you stupid bastards.  You make it so.  You make it impossible for peace, with your constant harassment, your plotting, your murder.  You are genetically defective in-bred savages.  You wish you could live in the West, have an apartment of your own and date Jennifer Aniston, but you can’t – so you’re overcome with destructive, bloody-minded jealousy.  You think your sunglasses make you look cool, but you’re an evolutionary dead-end. 

 

Dear President Obama,

I have had some rambling but deep reflection, and I have come to the following conclusion.  

The people of Pakistan, for the most part, are not your enemy. 

The ISI – heavily developed, funded (and now deeply entrenched) as a result of the critical need to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan – is the problem. 

The ISI is actually an enemy of the country, the people and even the Government (such as it is).  The ISI’s prime objective is to preserve its own existence, by blocking peace with India and maintaining a state of maximum tension with all parties.  It achieves this through terrorism, murder, lies, deceit and betrayal.  The ISI is the single most destructive element in Pakistan today, causing incalculable misery to the country, its people and, indeed, to its neighbours and even Western countries.  The ISI is a cancer which has grown and embedded itself – unchallenged. 

I deeply believe in extending peace and love from my heart to all fellow human beings -- but in this case, we must be more pragmatic, for the greatest good.

There’s no need to contemplate a full-scale invasion of Pakistan—that would just be catastrophic.  A never-ending spiral of global misery would result.

But, like a cancer surgeon, you must take decisive and courageous action. 

Since Pakistan has no functioning Government and no effective democracy, I take it upon myself to authorise you to completely and utterly destroy the ISI, its infrastructure and its operatives. 

Order the immediate destruction of all known ISI headquarters and facilities, and the elimination of every known ISI agent, worldwide.  At the same time, neutralise all Pakistani nuclear weapons.  Act swiftly and decisively, and the entire operation can be over in a matter of hours. 

This will be of enormous benefit to the people of Pakistan, the region and the world.  Peace with India can become a real possibility – it’s a natural equilibrium state which the ISI has worked ferociously and tirelessly and savagely to prevent. 

The alternative is more of the same misery and ineffectiveness, forever. 

I realise that this probably rules out my taking a vacation in Pakistan for a very long time.

But one day I look forward to being able to travel freely between Pakistan and India, visiting my brothers and sisters on each side, as if there was no border.

Sincerely,

Imran

 

 

 

Citibank - UBUD Writers & Readers Festival 2010: 'Actually, this year I'm here as a R ... R ... (choke) ... Reader.'

Citibank - UBUD Writers & Readers Festival 2010:

'Actually, this year I'm here as a R ... R ... (choke) ... Reader.'

 

 

This is much too ambitious for TypePad, so it's on its own web page, here:

www.unimagined.org/uwrf2010.html

 

Please post your comments here on Typepad.

Kill your baby, dump your baby ... or make sure s/he is safe and has a future

Kill your baby, dump your baby ... or make sure s/he is safe and has a future

"When the girl-child that was buried alive,

Is asked for what crime she was slain?'

 

Al-Quran  81: 8-9

 

 

The baby Moses was placed in a reed basket and set adrift on the Nile -- to be found and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter.  That was very lucky!

 

 

 

In Islamic countries -- with their strict sexual morality and enforced segregation of unmarried men and women -- there is obviously no sex outside marriage, and therefore no problem of unwanted babies.  Theoretically. 

 

So why is it that, in Malaysia alone, there are scores of babies abandoned every year?  Left in secluded public places, like toilets and rubbish dumps, presumably in the hope and expectation that a kind stranger will find the child and ensure its well-being. 

 

Sadly, many abandoned babies in Malaysia are not so lucky, dying of dehydration or even being eaten by wild dogs.

 

The problem is, of course, the shame of being an unmarried mother.  Many young women hide their pregnancies from their families, perhaps get no support from the baby's father, and for them the only option seems to be to give birth in secret and then dump the child somewhere -- trusting that s/he will be found and looked after. 

 

There is now, at least in Kuala Lumpur, a much better option. 

 

 

Operating out of an innocuous detached house in a leafy cul-de-sac in the suburb of Petaling Jaya, OrphanCARE's mission is to get abandoned and orphaned children into suitable, permanent families as quickly as possible.  It is thus not an orphanage per se, but more of a temporary safe home and adoption centre.  

 

  

 

OrphanCARE works closely with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to expedite the adoption process whereby abandoned and orphaned babies and children are quickly matched up and placed with suitable parents. 

  

OrphanCARE undertakes awareness programmes to make society recognize that orphans should not be left permanently in orphanages or shelter homes.

  

There is a database of interested adoptive parents with complete background profiles and OrphanCARE is working with orphanages, single mother shelter homes, hospitals and clinics to provide suitable families for orphans and unwanted or abandoned babies. 

  

But most innovative is OrphanCARE's solution to secret 'baby-dumping', often conducted at night. 

A state-of-the-art 'baby hatch' has been installed at the facility, allowing anonymous mothers to safely leave their babies, and enabling them to be swiftly and legally processed for adoption. 

The mother leaves the baby inside the air-conditioned baby hatch.  If she signs and leaves the consent form, it means that there is no need for a police report -- the baby can proceed immediately into the adoption process.  (Not signing the form slows the adoption process down a lot, because a police investigation is triggered.) 

 

 

 

Once the hatch is closed, it becomes locked (so that no-one else can steal the baby), an alarm sounds inside and the baby is visible on the television monitor.  If the mother should change her mind, an intercom is available for her to talk to the centre staff. 

 

 

 

The neighbours have all been surprisingly supportive of the OrphanCARE facility, and in the wider community there have been only a few opponents coming from a miserable religious perspective, asserting that this facility will encourage illicit sex. 

 

The OrphanCARE baby hatch does not address the problem of inappropriate and careless sexual relationships, but it surely provides a better option than new-born babies being eaten by wild dogs.  Who could argue against that?

  

    

 

www.orphancare.org.my

 

Pakistan's nukes are safe and secure -- but quite unnecessary

 

Pakistan's nukes are safe and secure -- but quite unnecessary

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are quite safe and very difficult for terrorists to get hold of. 

 

 

 You see, they are mobile nuclear missiles, kept on the backs of trucks and disguised as giant beverage bottles. 

  

  

 They are constantly kept on the move, so the terrorists have no idea where they are. 

  

 

 Each nuke can only be operated by use of the special key, which is kept on a chain around the driver’s neck. 

  

  

 

But, in addition to the key, you need the Command Codes.  These are impossible to locate, being hidden behind the sun visor.

 

 

 

 

The instruction books are in English, which most terrorists can’t read, and these are safely locked in the glove-box. 

  

  

  

  

For complete protection, each driver keeps a rifle on the passenger seat. 

  

  

  

For absolute security, the driver has STRICT instructions to LOCK the cab when going to the rest room at freeway service areas. 

  

 

   

So, Pakistan’s nukes are absolutely secure.  But, more importantly, they are completely unnecessary. 

  

 

Pakistan is in a unique position amongst the nuclear powers, in that it doesn’t really need nuclear weapons, and could be a shining example to the whole world by leading the way in unilateral nuclear disarmament. 

  

Here’s the 3-step plan.

   

1.  Pakistan needs to acknowledge that India has nukes because of China, not because of Pakistan. India does not perceive Pakistan as a strategic threat, but only as a persistent and sometimes annoying pain-in-the-butt.  India has moved into the 21^st century, whereas Pakistan is still stuck in a 1947 mentality -- defining itself only by its separateness from India.  It’s a hard pill for macho boys to swallow, that one isn’t perceived as a significant threat, but nothing to be ashamed of. 

  

2.  Pakistan needs to agree with India a no-nuclear-first-strike commitment.  This should take ten minutes; fifteen minutes if they get Obama to witness it. 

  

3.  Pakistan should swiftly dismantle its nuclear weapons, secure in the knowledge that India would never risk global condemnation by launching a nuclear attack against it. 

  

  

In the new world, global prestige comes from demonstrating integrity, trust and a commitment to peace -- not from showing off your destructive capabilities.  The latter was all done in the late nineties, when Pakistan felt it had to prove it could explode nuclear weapons after India successfully tested its own, both countries attracting global condemnation.  

  

Since nuclear weapons do not distinguish between warriors and non-combatants, as well as wreaking hideous destruction on our beloved Earth, they are completely immoral and cannot be used in warfare within Islamic parameters.  So, no genuinely Muslim country should have them in the first place, as a matter of principle.

  

Now, the race should be towards nuclear disarmament -- a race Pakistan could win if it would just grow up.  It has plenty of other priorities to focus on, such as universal education, healthcare and a decent standard of living for all of its citizens. 

  

 

 

Based on the track record of the kinds of men who attain power in Pakistan, I won’t hold my breath. 

 

 But what an opportunity. 

 

 

 

 

  

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2010 (Dubai): 'How stupid do you think I am?

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2010 (Dubai):
'How stupid do you think I am?'



This one had too much rich content and too many photographs for me to struggle to do it in Typepad, so I did a webpage for it:

http://www.unimagined.org/eafl2010.html

Please post Comments here on TypePad.

Virtual Book Tour: 'Resolution 786' by Mohamed Mughal

Greetings if you are here for the virtual book tour
of Mohamed Mughals'novel, 'Resolution 786'.

Mohamed will answer three questions posted here,
and the first reader to post a question gets a free copy of the
book!

I finished reading 'Resolution 786' on an overnight
flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur. Whatever the rules are for writing a
novel, they are all thrown out the window.

This is a strange, rich, complex tapestry which
ultimately all comes together in a supreme One-ness.

I'm not going to say anymore. Read it! 
You will either love it or you won't 'get' it.

About Mohamed Mughal:

Mohamed Mughal is an American of Indian heritage,
born in Africa and raised in Maryland. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, a
M.S. in Engineering Management and a PhD in Public Policy and is a former U.S.
Army Commissioned Officer. Mohamed published his debut novel, 'Resolution 786',
in January 2008. Learn more on Mohamed's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mohamed-Mughal/133019190089 .

The author maintains a web-site and blog at www.mohamedmughal.com