Over 1.5 billion Muslims inhabit the globe; two thirds of them live in the 57 Muslim states while the rest live as minorities worldwide. The Muslim world, a generic term for the collectivity of Muslim states, spreads over large parts of Asia and Africa with a sprinkling of a few small countries in Europe (Albania, Bosnia, and the newly independent Kosovo) and Latin America (Surinam and Guyana) too 1 . This huge diversity, if anything, makes the politics of the Muslim world a bit complex. Islam, like other Divine religions, has given its followers a collective self-identity by declaring all the believers as brothers and sisters. The concept of ummah, that is quintessentially unique to Islam, declares Muslims to be a single nation. Ummah is not nation in the ethnic or nationalistic sense. The root of this word, Umm means mother or source, in Arabic. Thus, the believers are treated to be people of the same (ideological) flock. They have mutual rights and responsibilities, as belonging to the same fraternity. This concept of Ummah also translates and manifests itself into calls for unity right from the dawn of Islam up till the present day. Upon his Hijrah (migration) in 622 A.D, the Prophet laid foundations of the first ever Islamic State which lasted as a political unity for around one century and a half. This included the last ten last years of Prophet‟s own life until his death on 3 rd June 632, the era of the first three of (what are called) the Right- 1 The definition of „Muslim State‟ has been adopted from Kettani (1993) that every State that joins the Organization of the Islamic Cooeration (OIC) self-identifies itself as a Muslim state and hence may be counted as such. The Muslim world, under this definition, consists of all the member-states of the OIC. xivguided Caliphs (literally: the Deputy to the Prophet) to whom the political leadership of the Muslim community had descended; the Ommayyad dynasty (661-750 AD), and finally, the first ten years of the Abbasid dynasty (r. 750-1258). The exception was the rule of the fourth Caliph, Hazrat Ali (r. 656-661 A.D), when the then Governor of Syria, Amir Muawiyah raised the banner of revolt, chipping away the control of half of Islamdom under his grip. After Ali‟s death, Muawiyah was able to assert his authority over the whole known-Muslim world of that time which was retained, mainly through repression and coercion, by the (Omayyad) dynasty he founded. However, within the first ten years of the successor Abbasid dynasty, this semblance of single command was lost with the secession of Andalusia (now Spain) and political unity of the Muslim world has remained elusive ever since, till the present day. The institution of Caliphate has lasted in one form or the other upto as recently as 3 rd of March 1924, when the last Ottoman Caliph was deposed. Thus till the first quarter of the twentieth century, in the person of Caliph--- a rough equivalent of the Roman Catholic Pope--- there was a symbol of spiritual unity of the Muslim world. It is no surprise, therefore, that in the four and a half decades that followed, since 1924, the calls for unity seemed to come with renewed passions. The institution of Caliphate could not be restored but the Muslim world managed to establish an institution, called the Organization of the Islamic Conference, in 1969, that augments, reflects and articulates the interests of the Muslim world on international forums. 2 The OIC alone was deemed not sufficient for bringing “solidarity” in the Muslim world, so a whole panoply of 2 In 2010, the Charter of the Organization was amended and the name has been changed too as the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation. But since the dissertation was submitted in 2009 and research work took place in preceding years, the new name does not appear in the doctoral dissertation. xvinstitutions were created under its tutelage for the purpose. Interestingly, the word “unity” does not appear anywhere in the Charter of the OIC in its list of objectives or otherwise, unlike the founding documents of, say, European Union and the African Union where unity was the main founding objective. Be that as it may, these institutions and organizations under the OIC umbrella have had their contribution in bringing the Muslim world closer in the areas of politics, economics, and culture etc. However, the dream of a pan-Islamic Union, which has a powerful following among the Muslim masses, has remained a far cry up till now. There have been many instances in the history of the world where states have come together for a march towards a common destiny. United States of America, which started from 13 states in 1776, has today 50 states in the Union, and is the most powerful country on earth. The erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was another example but the structure of repression associated with it could not outlive the demise of the Communist system. With the end of cold war, the USSR disintegrated and all its 14 in republics, besides Russia, regained their lost liberty and identity. And here lies the point-- - the main argument of the present dissertation--- that no Union can survive unless it has the backing of the people. The notion of a “United States of Europe” propounded by Monnet and Schumann more than half a century ago, despite all the hurdles and handicaps, continues to move towards an “ever closer Union”. There is no unanimously agreed or clear sketch or roadmap for a “United States of Islam” as yet. However, the EU template with a common visa regime, same currency, identical taxation and revenue structure, free mobility of persons and goods between the nations, etc may serve as a xvimodel for those aspiring for the unity in the Muslim world. Why have the ideas of Monnet and Schumann triumphed in Europe and why have similar notions for unity by the likes of Iqbal and Jamaluddin Afghani failed in the Muslim world, needs further investigation that the present dissertation aims at delving into. The phenomenon of a political and economic Union in Europe, unlike that in the world of Islam, is of fairly recent origin that started from a Coal and Steel Community between just six nations, in 1951, after the Second World War. It moved on to become a Union through the Treaty of Maastricht 1992, shortly after the end of cold war. The success of the European Union, 3 from the ashes of two centuries of warfare in Europe including the Cold War that divided Europe through an iron curtain for nearly half a century, makes the failures of the Muslim world/ OIC more evidently, and (at least, for the proponents of pan-Islamism) somewhat depressingly, comparable. The European Union started with humble beginnings and modest aims. It expanded on the wave of freedoms that the people enjoyed and cherished, while keeping religion at bay from Statecraft. The route to political integration came through cooperation in the field of energy, and ultimately, economics. The Schumann Declaration of 9 May 1950, clearly starts with a vision of market as an instrument of freedom which and includes everything from the movement of goods and services to the exchange of ideas. In the decades that followed, the rule of law, accountability of rulers through regular elections, a vibrant free press, equal participation of women in national affairs, all contributed to rule- 3 The doctoral dissertation has been written prior to recent economic turmoil in Ireland, Spain and Greece, and may be seen in that light xviibased pan-European governance. Freedom of expression helps governments in avoiding mistakes where throttling dissent is not in the menu of options. Public participation in integration process through frequent referendums leads people to own the pan-European scheme, which in turn garners public enthusiasm for (and sometimes against) and commitment to, the process of integration. In contrast, the integration efforts in the Muslim world, under the OIC-framework, started with grandiose aims trying to rely heavily on religious dogmas, rather than practical considerations. Religion alone has hardly ever sufficed to forge unity among co- religionists, in the recorded history, at least. Lack of public participation meant that instruments of cooperation remained under control of the rulers who rarely represented the peoples. Of course, there were individual vested interests that tried to mould and manipulate integration efforts to their ends. This has resulted in a hotch potch of institutions and policies, with little concrete output from a whole lot of input activities. It relied heavily on political rhetoric, with a vain hope of translating it into economic unity, instead of establishing an economic symbiosis first that would have made political solidarity inevitable. The focus on politics rather made the OIC an arena for competing aspirants of leadership in the Muslim world notably, between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also varyingly serving the interests of countries like Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey etc who had claims over prominence in the comity of Muslim nations. The role of the United States and --- during the Cold War eta--- that of the Soviet Union did not help the matters either. But this last xviiifactor was more pronounced in Europe where Cold War divisions denied the EU an opportunity to expand Eastwards for a long period. The research is restricted to the first three decades after the genesis of the OIC (i.e. 1970- 2000) and analyses five areas of cooperation in the Muslim world, spear-headed by the OIC. It is not out of place to mention here that as the dissertation is submitted to the Department of Pakistan Studies, Pakistan‟s role in these pan Islamic schemes has been accorded a separate mention in all five areas: In the domain of political cooperation, the OIC had no permanent institutions such as the European Commission and the European Parliament. The Muslim world‟s collective decision making emanates from the OIC‟s twin fundamental organs; the Islamic Summit Conferences that meet triennially, and the Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers meeting annually, for a few days each. The political coordination has thus been ad hoc and issue-based, although, in all fairness, it must be accepted that more often than not, such efforts did show results as in the crises of Bosnia, Afghanistan and South Philippines etc. In the realm of economic cooperation, there has been significant improvement in intra-Muslim trade in the three decades under review (1970-2000), but how far, such increase owes to pan-Islamic sentiments is unclear. The cooperation in the field of science and technology suffers from lack of scientific advancement in Muslim countries; they have hardly anything to share with each other. Another area studied in my work is cultural cooperation in the Muslim countries under xixthe umbrella of the OIC during the same period ranging from documentation of Islamic History, organization of intra Islamic sports competitions, coordination in architecture, calligraphy, and performing arts etc. And finally, military cooperation in the Muslim world whch sometimes takes the form of intelligence sharing on terrorists or even political dissidents opposing autocracies in some Muslim countries--- hardly the job of a professional army. The only real noteworthy coordination was during Bosnian civil war 1992-95 where the Militaries of leading Islamic countries like Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Pakistan coordinated their support for Bosnian army. Relying basically on secondary sources, the dissertation shows that while the efforts towards cooperation since the inception of OIC and upto 2000 have brought the Muslim States closer, than would have been the case, had there been no OIC. But that does not make the Muslim world anywhere nearer to where the EU stood in 2000, in terms of achieving goals for unity, especially after the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2000). After analyzing the five areas of cooperation in the Muslim world, the dissertation looks at the history of European integration, especially the main milestones achieved uring the period under review i.e. 1970-2000 and argues that despite its failings, the EU experience has been a much greater success with a single parliament, a common market, a common visa regime, a coordinated foreign and security policy, among many other trappings of a meaningful Union. xxMy work delves into the reasons for this disparity in the outcome of two contemporary integration efforts and concludes that the failure of the Muslim world owes to unrealistic aims, undue emphasis on theological rationale for unity (as opposed to practical gains for national interests) and because of the democratic deficit where the citizenry is not involved into the decision making. It follows that all the endeavors in like direction by the OIC may remain isolated unconnected events unless the Muslim world embraces the modern trends towards democracy 4 , rule of law, education, tolerance of free debate and respect to human rights, including gender equality, as done by the European Union. Unity in the Muslim world may follow proactive actions towards the fundamental freedoms and the supremacy of law, rather than precede it. Mere rhetoric and sloganeering is a road to nowhere! Though not in the purview of the period under study, it may be said to the OIC‟s credit that, lately, it has done some reorientation of its focus with a distinctly reformist character. The Charter has been amended substantially in 2008 to include focus on Human Rights and Good Governance. An Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) has been established --- the first ever in the Muslim world on human rights. And what is more important to note is that references to Sharia have been abandoned altogether in its founding Statutes unlike the Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (Cairo; 1990), quarter of a century earlier, which referred to Sharia, and not the universally accepted valued enunciated in the international human rights instruments and protocols, as the “sole source of reference”. The direction is right but proof of pudding is in its eating. The IPHRC remained conspicuously inactive during the 4 The research work was done before the present Arab uprising of 2011-12 that has so far swept dictators from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and the fate of ruling juntas Syria and Bahrain appear doomed. xxiglaring trample of human rights during the Arab spring in many countries. To be able to do something for the Muslim peoples, the OIC will have to make itself relevant to them first! Saad S. Khan Doctoral Candidate 18 March 2012" xml:lang="en_US
مارنہیں پیار زندگی میں انسان کو کئی حوالوں سے زندگی کا احساس دِلانا ہوتا ہے اور ثابت کرتا ہے کہ وہ شاہراہ حیات پر رواں دواں ہے خواہ وہ راستے خار دار جھاڑیوں سے پر ہو یا اس پر از ہارواثمار سے لدے درخت کی ٹہنیاں سر جھکائے محوِ حمدوثناء ہوں۔ زندگی مسائل سے بھری ہوئی ہو یا اس کی رنگینیاں ، رعنائیاں اظہر من الشمس ہوں۔ انسان کو کسی نہ کسی صورت میں ان سے واسطہ رہتا ہے۔ انسان کبھی خوش وخرم ہوتا ہے اورکبھی ناراضگی کے باعث اس کی پیشانی پرشکن واضح ہوتی ہے۔ زندگی میں انسان سے کوئی اچھاعمل سرزد ہوتا ہے تو اسے انعام و کرام سے نوازا جا تا ہے اور اگر اس سے کوئی خطا سرزد ہوتی ہے تو اس کو اس کی سزا بھگتنا پڑتی ہے، اچھے کام کی انجام دہی پراچھے صلے کا سزاوار ٹھہرتا ہے اور سہواً یا عمداً کوئی غلطی ہو جائے تو وہ سزا کا مستحق ٹھہرتاہے۔ دین اسلام میں بھی جزاء وسزاء کا تصور موجود ہے، عابد اور صالح مسلمان کے لیے وعدہ ٔحورو قصورموجود ہے۔ خاطی اور گنہگار کے لیے وعید جہنم کا تصور موجود ہے۔ اگر یہ تصور ختم ہو جائے تو حصول راحت کے لیے کی جانے والی مساعی جمیلہ کی چمک ماند پڑ جائے گی اور سزا کی طرف مائل ہونے والی حرکتیں اور اعمال سیٔہ کی کثرت ہو جائے گی’ ’مار‘‘ کا تصور موجود ہے اور ’’ پیار ‘‘ کا تصور بدرجہ اتم موجود ہے۔ یہ ہماری عظمت ہوگی ’’مارنہیں پیار‘‘ کو اپنے معاملات میں جب داخل کریں گے، اور محبت و شفقت کا وتیرہ اپنائیں گے تو اس خصلت حمیدہ کی آفاقیت سے کسی طور بھی صرف نظر نہیں کر سکتے۔ یہ اسلوب ایک طالب علم کے لیے فرحت بخش ثابت ہوگا۔ اگر چہ مار کے تصور سے تاریخ...
Spirituality is usually understood as a way of being that flows from a certain profound experience of reality, which is known as ‘mystical’, ‘religious’, or ‘spiritual’ experience. There are numerous descriptions of this experience in the literature of the world’s religions, which tend to agree that it is a direct, non-intellectual experience of reality with some fundamental characteristics that are independent of cultural and historical contexts. Spiritual and scientific quests are two complementary inquiries into reality. Any feeling of antagonism between them is a product of a narrow vision. Science deals with what is measurable; religion is the quest for discovering and understanding the immeasurable. A scientist is not intelligent if he denies the existence of the immeasurable. There is nothing that is anti-science but there is a lot that is beyond science. The two quests have to go hand in hand. We not only need to have an understanding of the laws that govern the phenomena occurring in the external world around us but also we need to discover order and harmony in our consciousness. Human understanding is incomplete unless it covers both aspects of reality: matter as well as consciousness. Indeed the division between the scientific and spiritual quests is itself the creation of the human mind. Reality is one undivided whole which includes both matter and consciousness. Our thoughts, being limited by our experience, divide the external world from the inner world of our consciousness, in much the same way as our mind divides time from space though they are both two aspects of a single continuum۔
The current study aimed at investigating resource partitioning among sympatric carnivore species inhabiting Pir Lasura National Park (PLNP), AJ&K during 2014-2017. The main objectives included documenting the diversity and distribution of carnivores, investigation of the diet composition of carnivores, prey species availability, niche breadth and niche overlap among sympatric carnivores and the human- carnivore conflict at PLNP. We used direct (direct sightings, road killing) and indirect signs (scats) to document diversity and distribution of carnivore species. Scat analysis was used for diet composition study. Prey species abundance was estimated utilizing standardize method for different taxa. Niche breadth and niche overlap was computed using Levins and Pianka’s index while, human carnivore interaction was studied using questionnaire survey. The study recorded seven different species of carnivores in the Park including; common leopard (Panthera pardus), Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus), Kashmir hill fox (Vulpes vulpes griffithi), Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii), and the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus). Direct and indirect signs of common leopard, Asiatic jackal, Kashmir hill fox, Asian palm civet and small Indian mongoose were recorded in all 30 sampling sites having different elevational range. Indian grey mongoose was found at 15 different sampling sites while signs of small Indian civet were recorded at 7 sites. The collected scats tested using molecular identification technique to confirm for the carnivore species. Accuracy for common leopard scats was found to be 95.8%, Kashmir hill fox 88.9%, Asiatic jackal 90.3%, Asian palm civet 74.3%, and small Indian civet 92.4%. Morphological characteristics of scats showed that they overlap greatly among different species based on their diameter and length. Diet of common leopard comprised of 17 prey species (10 wild and 7 domestic). Frequency of occurrence of wild prey was 34.85 % of total leopard diet whereas domestic prey contributed 59.1%. Sixteen species of mammals, birds, insects and plants were identified from diet of Asiatic jackal. Among these species 10 were wild, 5 were domestic and 1 species of plant. Frequency of wild prey in diet of jackal was 18.48% and domestic was 59.78%. We recorded 21 species of mammals, birds, plants and insects in diet of fox. Among these 21 species 10 were wild, 5 domestic and 6 plant species. Frequency of occurrence of wild prey was 17.96%, domestic prey 50.9%, plants 27.54%. Analysis of 108 scats samples of Asian palm civet showed that 27 species of mammals, birds, invertebrates and plants were consumed. Among all recorded species 9 were wild, 3 domestic, and 15 plant species. Consumption of wild prey was 33.68% compared to 10.88% domestic prey species and 53.37% plants. Analysis of 44 scats showed that 17 prey species occurred in diet of small Indian civet. Among them 8 were wild, 1 domestic, and 8 were plant species. Frequency of occurrence of wild prey in diet of small Indian civet was 30.65%, domestic prey 14.52%, and plants 51.61%. Analysis of 57 scat samples showed that 22 prey species occurred in diet of small Indian mongoose. Among them 15 were wild, 1 domestic, and 6 plant species. Diet of Indian grey mongoose consisted of (60%) wild species, (19%) domestic prey species, and (14%) plant species. Analysis of 69 scat samples of small Indian mongoose showed that 17 prey species occurred in diet. Among them 10 were wild prey species, only 1 domestic prey species and 6 plant species. Frequency of occurrence of wild prey was (59.68%), domestic prey (16.94%) and plant matter (11.29%). The abundance of different vertebrate and invertebrate prey species was also estimated in the study area to confirm the availability of wild prey. Among seven sympatric carnivores. Niche breadth niche breadth of Indian grey mongoose was widest 18 (0.72) followed by Asiatic jackal 14.2 (0.78), common leopard 13.88 (0.72), small Indian mongoose 12 (0.64), small Indian civet 10(0.52), Asian palm civet 9.69 (0.31), and Kashmir hill fox 7.89(0.31). High niche overlap was found between Asian palm civet and small Indian civet (0.9), Indian grey mongoose and small Indian mongoose (0.89), Asiatic jackal and Kashmir hill fox (0.81), while lowest niche overlap was recorded common leopard and small Indian civet (0.04). Data on livestock depredation by carnivores showed that 170 people lost 306 livestock, poultry, dogs, and pets to four different carnivore species; common leopard being the major predator killing (88.5%) livestock, with minor contributions from Asiatic jackal (5.2%), small Indian civet (3.2%) and Indian grey mongoose (2.9%). The depredated livestock by leopard mainly included goats (82.2%) and dogs (9.2%). Common leopard was responsible for majority of the financial loss estimated approximately at US$ 80,000 and it negatively affected local people tolerance towards this top predator. The study concludes, niche of seven sympatric carnivore species overlaps in the study area with high overlap recorded for Asian palm civet and small Indian civet (0.9) and lowest was recorded for the leopard and small Indian civet (0.04).