Written by: Momina Mindeel
Posted on: February 27, 2018 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Gaith Abdul Ahad and Robert Worth in the session 'Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle between Faith and Reason'
The 6th edition of the Lahore Literary Festival kicked off at Alhamra Arts Council on February 24th. Reza Aslan, the renowned Iranian-American writer and Riz Ahmed, the Pakistani-British rapper and actor, were the highlights of day one. The keynote address by Dr. Azra Raza marked the end of day one, followed by a brilliantly witty session on Dastangoii (13th century story-telling).
Dr. Azra Raza is a Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine and Director of Myelodysplastic Syndrome Center at Columbia University. She has also coauthored ‘Ghalib: Epistemologies of Elegance,’ with author and Yale professor Sara Suleri. Her keynote address revolved around the power of being woke, a term which essentially means to be socially and politically aware.
For Dr. Azra woke means, “To discard the status quo and actively challenge the world we live in, to question dogma and to make an effort to understand the experience of others.” The 30-minute address was laced with powerful historical anecdotes, and remarks urging young men and women to be woke. Dr. Azra Raza insisted that the younger generation can and should utilize their phones and the power of social media to raise their voice and disseminate their opinions to the world.
Dr. Raza’s address was punctuated with relevant verses from Iqbal such as, “Jis ne suraj ki shuaon ko giraftar kiya, zindagi ki shab-e-tareek sehar kar na saka.” Here, Iqbal reminds us that our one great achievement doesn’t ensure that we can overcome the challenges of life! The real difficulty, as Dr. Raza pointed out, is how to actually be woke. A verse she quoted towards the end, from Kaifi Azmi’s ‘Aurat,’ especially struck a chord with the audience since it encapsulated the spirit of woke. According to this, in order to be woke you must break the chains that hold you back; be those of tradition, pleasure, weakness, power or even love.
The second day began with the book launch of ‘Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle between Faith and Reason’ by Christopher de Bellaigue. The session was moderated by Gaith Abdul Ahad, an Iraqi journalist. The sessions including Gaith Abdul-Ahad, stood out throughout the day, on account of their exceptionally engaging content. The panel was supposed to comprise of the writer, and an American journalist Robert Worth, who has lived in and reported from the Middle East since 2003. However, the writer, Mr. Bellaigue, did not show up as scheduled, thereby turning the book launch into an interactive session.
Gaith generally discussed the recent developments that have been taking place in the broader Muslim world, and how this has set in motion a paradigm shift in the same. Responding to a question from the audience about the significance of Arab Spring, Gaith explained that contrary to popular belief, positive things have also emerged out of the Arab Spring. For instance, a colossal number of Arab women reclaimed digital as well as public spaces to raise their voices against the injustices inflicted on them and their countries.
Robert Worth further explained that the reason Muslims are stereotyped in the West is, because Saudi Arabia has distorted the idea of diversity amongst Muslims. It predominantly portrays Muslims in a narrowly defined way, which is then used as a template to describe Muslims from other parts of the world. While Gaith started the session on a witty note by asking Worth as to why his government invaded his country, it later turned into a rather serious discussion. A large number of people in the audience argued that this was no longer debatable since what the United States did was plainly wrong.
Moreover, someone from the audience pointed out that just like the whole world is evolving, Muslims are evolving too. Gaith, however, disagreed and explained that while Muslim history features a number of progressive leaders, such figures can no longer be found. Unfortunately, we don’t know who to blame for this decline. The session, all in all, was more of a discussion than a book launch, but it kept the audience thoroughly engaged.
Amidst the plethora of English sessions and panel discussions, an Urdu session titled ‘Khaab Saraab: Lucknow ki Tareekh’ was accorded an hour of the festival too. The session was moderated by Nasir Abbas Nayyar, while the guests included the Lucknow based critic and writer Anis Ashfaq and Masood Asher. The session revolved around Anis Ashfaq’s book ‘Khaab Saraab’ that narrates a fictional story of Umrao Jan Ada, her daughter Shamila Khan and her grand-daughter Sabeela Khan. Through these three generations, Anis Ashfaq has tactfully narrated the history of Lucknow. Even though the characters of Umrao Jan’s daughter and granddaughter are figments of Mr. Ashfaq’s imagination, his powerful narration confounds the readers, who almost mistake them for real historical figures.
Masood Asher explained that in choosing a prostitute as the main character, the writer has clearly made a statement. It is said that in the past, the princes and nawabs used to visit ‘Kothas’ to understand their tehzeeb (civilization and culture). Therefore, it is apt that a story about the life of a prostitute and her subsequent generations is being employed to narrate the cultural history of a great city like Lucknow.
The second day ended with a session by the ever green Zia Mohyeddin on ‘Why Shakespeare is Shakespeare?’ The hall was packed, with even the hall stairs teeming with people hoping to catch a glimpse of him. The event, all in all, despite the controversies it was mired in for the past few weeks, turned out to be successful. Here is to hoping that the coming editions of LLF will be attended by more and more Pakistanis.
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