U.S. professor gives Israeli prize money to Palestinian university

A US professor of Mathematics (and former Field’s Medal winner - David Mumford) has decided to donate his prize money from a prestigious Israeli award to Bir Zeit University in Palestine. I am struck by the depth of Prof. Mumford’s comments regarding his otherwise simple act of philanthropy. It was not about trying to solve a problem, nor even about trying to help build peace in the world - it was about realizing what brought success to him and then using his prize money to make those factors more available to scientists in an otherwise besieged part of the world. Brilliant.

I was just telling a friend this weekend that i want to support world class higher education in the developing parts of the world, and especially in Pakistan and Palestine. I truly believe that higher education, especially in the sciences, can enlighten, emancipate, encourage, and motivate people like no other thing. Education brings confidence and an ability to start rationalizing situations and problems so at least a solution can be imagined, if not immediately implemented. Prof. Mumford is right: Education brings hope. And that part of the world really needs hope.

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U.S. prof. gives Israeli prize money to Palestinian university
By Ofri Ilani
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/986898.html

The American mathematician David Mumford, co-winner of the 2008 Wolf Foundation Prize in Mathematics, announced upon receiving the award yesterday that he will donate the money to Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, and to Gisha, an Israeli organization that advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement.

“I decided to donate my share of the Wolf Prize to enable the academic community in occupied Palestine to survive and thrive,” Mumford told Haaretz. “I am very grateful for the prize, but I believe that Palestinian students should have an opportunity to go elsewhere to acquire an education. Students in the West Bank and Gaza today do not have an opportunity to do that.”

NY Times: Branded a radical by hate-groups, a Muslim educator loses her school

Apalling…..When something like this happens, we all suffer. Americans, Jews, Muslims, Christians…Everyone.

From The New York Times

April 28, 2008

Battle in Brooklyn | A Principal’s Rise and Fall

Critics Cost Muslim Educator Her Dream School

By ANDREA ELLIOTT

Debbie Almontaser dreamed of starting a public school like no other in New York City. Children of Arab descent would join students of other ethnicities, learning Arabic together. By graduation, they would be fluent in the language and groomed for the country’s elite colleges. They would be ready, in Ms. Almontaser’s words, to become “ambassadors of peace and hope.”

Things have not gone according to plan. Only one-fifth of the 60 students at the Khalil Gibran International Academy are Arab-American. Since the school opened in Brooklyn last fall, children have been suspended for carrying weapons, repeatedly gotten into fights and taunted an Arabic teacher by calling her a “terrorist,” staff members and students said in interviews.

The academy’s troubles reach well beyond its cramped corridors in Boerum Hill. The school’s creation provoked a controversy so incendiary that Ms. Almontaser stepped down as the founding principal just weeks before classes began last September. Ms. Almontaser, a teacher by training and an activist who had carefully built ties with Christians and Jews, said she was forced to resign by the mayor’s office following a campaign that pitted her against a chorus of critics who claimed she had a militant Islamic agenda.

In newspaper articles and Internet postings, on television and talk radio, Ms. Almontaser was branded a “radical,” a “jihadist” and a “9/11 denier.” She stood accused of harboring unpatriotic leanings and of secretly planning to proselytize her students. Despite Ms. Almontaser’s longstanding reputation as a Muslim moderate, her critics quickly succeeded in recasting her image.

The conflict tapped into a well of post-9/11 anxieties. But Ms. Almontaser’s downfall was not merely the result of a spontaneous outcry by concerned parents and neighborhood activists. It was also the work of a growing and organized movement to stop Muslim citizens who are seeking an expanded role in American public life. The fight against the school, participants in the effort say, was only an early skirmish in a broader, national struggle.

Client 9 and how to spend our tax-cut dollars in the US?

The business circles have been buzzing with jokes about (former) NY state governor Eliot Spitzer, who is now better known as Client 9, and his scandal involving a prostitute called Kristin (real name: Ashley Duprey). Hardly a day has gone by since the scandal broke out on news that I have not heard a joke related to it. I even joined a business conference call last week where one party dialed in and instead of using their real name, announced themselves as Client 9. There was a deadening silence… until we realized the joke and broke out into laughter.

All realities around Client 9, his beloved Kristin (who has a My Space website and yes, I did check it out), and his poor wife aside, I am amused by the whole issue. Why do we care so much about other peoples’ sex lives? Why are the holier-than-thou usually found with their pants down by their feet? and why are the democrats paying $5000+ for a sexual rendezvous while republicans are looking for it for free in public restrooms? (this is a Jay Leno joke!)

Anyways…I am outside the country right now and even here, the Client 9 story is following me. Or at least I can’t seem to get over it. Allow me my fun, please.

Here is a short letter to the editor I read today in the International Herald Tribune:

George W. Bush said each American would get a $600 check as a part of a stimulus package. If we spend the money at Wal-Mart, it will all go to China. If we spend it on computers, it will go mostly to Korea or India. If we spend it on gasoline, it will go to the Arab countries. None of these scenarios will help the US economy.

We need to keep the money in America. Currently, it seems that the only way to do that is to drink beer, gamble, or spend it on prostitution, the only businesses still left in the United States.

- Ted Rudow Menlo Park, California

Elections in Pakistan: What do the results mean for democracy and for Pakistan?

This won’t be a long post. There is too much being written by too many people on the elections in Pakistan- and frankly there is not much fresh stuff to be shared with people who are frequent followers of the newspaper op-ed sections, political pundits on NPR and cable talk shows, and Pakistani newspapers. Their analyses, which sometimes turn into repetitious rants esp if they write weekly columns, have focused on a few matters which I list below.

This is not an exhaustive list, and while it may appear that I am unhappy with the analysis that I have read so far, that is not the case. I just feel there is not much new stuff coming out when there should be…come one, our country is re-entering democracy after a long break and we really can do better than look back and pontificate on the past. Where is the guidance on the future, and how to make democracy work this time?…Anyways…here’s what is being discussed:

1. This is the beginning of the end for Musharraf. His party has badly lost in these elections.
2. Pakistani people braved fears of violence and still came out to vote for their candidates
3. Despite accusations of rigging, somehow Musharraf managed to allow his opposition parties to score large victories
4. Seeming victory of PPP, PML (N) and ANP signify that people want change from the status quo
5. Public has rejected the religious parties, esp in the northern provinces
6. PPP and PML (N) will form a coalition government of sort
7. What will happen to Karachi where majority of seats were again won by MQM which has been a strong supporter of Musharraf
8. Will the fired Chief Justice get re-instated?

I have surprised myself by not writing or speaking much about these elections. It was actually emails from friends who have asked for my thoughts on the elections that has triggered this note. For the past few months, in all honesty, I have been pre-occupied with work and worries about my family’s safety in Pakistan. You know your country is in deep trouble when find yourself on the phone with your brother, telling him to not grow his shave too much lest he be taken for religious worker in the election mayhem. Or telling your father that he should carry the cell phone in case he has to abandon the car and take refuge somewhere. At least he will be able to call home and give his whereabouts to the family.

Yes, there was intense fear surrounding these elections - esp in the aftermath of the murder of Benazir Bhutto and the series of suicide bombs that rocked most major cities in the country. Fortunately for Pakistan, those fears did not ring true and the elections event has passed without much serious trouble. Now that I am less worried about the security issues in Pakistan, here are some quick thoughts on what I feel is going on…

I think the political pundits should shut up for a week or so and spend the time reading through the party manifestos of those who have won. The media needs to now focus on the promises that parties and individual winners have made to their constituencies so a process of ‘real’ and meaningful accountability of the elected representatives starts from their first day at the new job. We have heard enough about the need for democracy. Thank you very much for promoting it. Now lets get down to the dirty business of making democracy work.

Obama: Yes we can!

Two very interesting music videos supporting Obama. I so like his speech delivery! Uplifting.

Benazir Bhutto’s death mourned by the Boston community

Benazir Bhutto had visited the Boston Pakistani and Pakistani-American community several times over the past several decades. Over time she had developed friendships, and strong political support from some of her friends here. I was not a big fan of her politics, but I also got a chance to meet her on some such occasions in Boston. She walked with grace and had a band of followers who stood close by wherever she went. She spoke fluently (at least in English) and said pretty much what she thought her typical US based audiences would like to hear: democracy, women’s rights, poverty, progressiveness. When politely confronted for her shortcomings, she would equally politely refute them, and carry on with her speeches on injustices meted out to her and her family.

But now she is no more. The Boston Pakistani community came together yesterday to grieve and pray for her soul at a gathering held at the Islamic Center of Boston-Wayland (see Boston Globe write up).

Benazir Bhutto killed: last days of a bloody year for Pakistan (updated with videos and images)

This year has been a bloody one for Pakistan (link, link, link, link, link, link) . The society has received one shock after another. But this one perhaps hurts the most, and will probably hurt for a long while to come. Today, at an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi, in the same park where the first prime minister of Pakistan was assassinated, Benazir Bhutto was killed with gunshot wounds and a bomb blast. Several other people were also killed.

This is the 4th tragedy to hit the Bhutto family. Zulfiqar Bhutto, an extremely popular prime minister was first hanged by a military government, then her brother Shahnawaz Bhutto was poisoned, her brother Murtaza Bhutto was killed in a police gunfire, and now Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated.

Protest against ‘Emergency’ in Boston

Pakistani students and community gathered today in the Boston Commons to protest the imposition of a pseudo-martial law, aka Emergency, by President Musharraf in Pakistan. Here are a few images and a short video from the protest.

Kudos to the students who quickly came together and helped spread the word about the demonstration. There was media present there, including GEO TV and a few other TV channels. Let’s hope all these demonstrations strike some sense in our current government’s head. They seem to be on a self-destruct mode.

Who chose the red color for the occasion, by the way? Fauzia, the main organizer, also had a lovely red coat on.

Questions for Pakistanis - especially those against the emergency rule!

Over the past few days, I have received a lot of drafts of petitions and statements against the emergency rule in Pakistan…I am trying to make sense of where does the Pakistani nation stand on the current crisis. And frankly - I can’t make head or tail of it. Maybe my own knowledge is limited so I am hoping some friends here can help me understand:

1. Do we want the emergency rule to go away, or Musharraf to step down from his military post?

2. Do we want Musharraf to leave his uniform, or altogether disappear from the scene?

3. Who or what are we proposing as alternatives? Politicians who spent time in self-imposed exiles or those who are sitting in the parliament now (and have been there for the past 10-15 years now)?

4. How do we make sure that the different branches of the government operate without (a) stepping over each others’ toes while maintaining checks and balances, and (b) without indulging in activism for the sake of it? What does the nation think of Musharraf’s indictment against the judiciary and the media?

5. How does the nation want to deal with the threat of extremism and terrorism? Do we even see it as a grave threat - or just another fact of life you just learn to live with?

Emergency in Pakistan: A Political Meltdown

As a Pakistani, whose nation exists today in a state of emergency (and the constitution stands suspended), I am indeed upset, worried, and afraid of what is next. General Musharraf is, as a friend puts it, in a kar lo jo kar na hai (do what ever you want but I am here to stay) mode where he seems to be going about the country’s business like a mad bull in a china shop. As an outsider it appears that he and the government under him are breaking all rules, thinking that once all bones of this democratic society are broken they will somehow miraculously heal themselves right.

Is that true? I cannot tell, but it is a pity that while one can say good or bad things about General Musharraf’s control of the government, we still do not seem to have any clear alternatives that can warrant support. The official reason for the imposition of the emergency rule (i.e. mini martial law) is the increase in terrorist activity within Pakistan and the political pandemonium, but I doubt even he believes he can sell this to the nation. The real reason, I think, is that General Musharraf feels nobody else can fix this country - certainly not the corrupt, mostly illiterate and opportunist, politicians. So he feels he has to take control in one form or another if there is any hope to set the country on the right path. I question though if this high handed approach is a big part of the problem, and not the solution.

I strong resent the imposition of the emergency in Pakistan - whether one likes Musharraf’s policies or not. Panic has set in and it will take a long time for the nation to recover from this. For now, it is not more than just another tactic to stay in power, oppress the freedom of speech, and to heavy handedly silence the opposing voices in the society. Musharraf has laid out a good set of arguments for doing so - but it is not resonating with the times and the society he lives in.

But as I oppose the emergency rule now, I also openly admit that when Musharraf took control in Oct 1999 I did support him and wrote in his favor. At that time I was the President of the MIT’s Pakistani Students Society and wrote the following in the university newspaper The Tech. I am amazed how familiar the charges back then against Nawaz Sharif (then prime-minister) now sound similar to what is being practiced by General Musharraf himself.

The Pakistan Coup’s Other Side
Guest Column
Bilal Zuberi

Recently, a lot has been published in the Western press about the military coup in Pakistan. Most of the press coverage tends to give the impression that the country has been taken over by a ruthless band of military commanders, and the lives and liberties of ordinary civilians are threatened. On the contrary, it seems that a large majority of Pakistanis, in Pakistan and abroad, have welcomed the coup. There have been no large public protests or demonstrations in support of the ousted government.

Pakistani intellectuals and journalists belonging to many disparate camps are writing in favor of the military coup. The people of Pakistan are viewing the new leadership as a refreshing alternative to the elected but inept and corrupt governments of the recent past. The new military government has provided a beacon of hope to the people.

The Western media, in its sensational stereotyping of the coup, has largely ignored what the Pakistani people feel about the military takeover. Nawaz Sharif, the ousted prime minister, was elected in 1996. His party enjoyed an overall majority in the parliament. He had the golden opportunity to bring prosperity to the nation. Instead, Nawaz Sharif used the parliamentary majority to increase his power and his wealth, and in the process destroyed all institutions of checks and balances that are indispensible to any democracy. He introduced amendments in the constitution which made it illegal for any party member to express an opinion different from his or her party’s official policy.