e(lectric)-[scape]

Migration Update

2011-08-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

So it should be noted by all interested and uninterested parties alike that this blog is in the process of migrating or conducting hijrah away from Blogspot to a convenient location at Wordpress... ... so for now posts will be updated more frequently at: ** FLOGISTAN **!!! stoned to death !!! Thank you for reading.. and remember to always Turn Off, Tune Out, and Drop In...

Aalim Offline: The Blog Pakistan's Liberal Media Refused to Publish

2011-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This blog was originally commissioned and written for the Dawn Media Group to be published on their website's The Dawn Blog, however a few hours before going online the blog was pulled out by Dawn's editorial board. A few days later the Express Tribune similarly refused to run this whimsical piece on one of Pakistan's most infamous pop religious idols. It seems Pakistan's liberal

Symptoms & Disorders: A Crude Diagnosis of Pakistan

2011-08-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

What appears to be the case on the outside does not necessarily have to be the case on the inside.. in fact sometimes observers of both outside and inside might be shocked to find that the cases are exactly the opposite when both sides are compared to each other. This last scenario might not be the case all the time, but it can be and certainly has been some of the time. Pakistan, for one

What Happens in A-Bot-A-Bad Stays in A-Bot-A-Bad

2011-06-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Alright so this is a supplemental reprise to the post on the Dawn Blog for all you people reading it till the end and going like.. 'Hmm I wonder what this Asif Akhtar blogs about at e-scape-artist.blogspot.com'. So here's the whole deal with this capitalizing on load-shedding business proposition for all you

Two Poems

2010-04-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

The By-Election Hear-ye! Hear-ye! Extra! Extra! The news is out there for all to wear like a sweaty revelation an almost sudden realization like a seething ejaculation: La-dies and Gen-ital-men! ..Satan has won.. the by-election! a land slide ride to cease all authority with an absolute majority in a silent auction.. all the blue votes lay ratteling in a red box. Prophets and pundits complain

How to Convert to Islam.. and become a Muslim

2010-03-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Lo and Behold.. look what I found in the Google Ads under a webpage: "How to Convert to Islam and Become a Muslim" it read.. So I just had to click on it and see what this was all about. The link took me to a website called www.islamreligion.com and the description of the post reads: "The steps a person needs to take to accept Islam as his/her religion, enter its fold, and become a Muslim."Wow

Muslims Having Sex? Ridiculous!!

2010-03-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

This just in: a dutch website reports with some fascination that a Muslim entrepreneur in Amsterdam has decided to open an online store for halal sex toys for Muslims. What!? I didn't know Muslims had sex. That's absurd, who allowed them to have sex.. and that too with sex toys.

Pakistan to reach out to Afghan Taliban at "all levels"

2010-01-23T04:52:00.000-08:00

Slowly, the trend of diplomacy seems to be setting in on this "War on Terror", moving away from the greusome Bush Doctrine that said so clearly "we don't negotiate with terrorists" which hurled echoes of British appeasment of Nazi Germany. Not only has the Obama administration changed it's course and the original mission of eradicating all talibanized elements, it seems to have instructed their

The New List of Badass Terror States

2010-01-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

The United States’ Transport Service Authority (TSA) has drafted a list of 14 “countries of interest” in the aftermath of the dreaded but failed “underwear bomber” attempt to blow up a flight landing in Detroit on Christmas day. It seems the airport security personnel around the world are on the look-out for weapons of mass-destruction in people’s underwear (which may have its own implications of

Thus Churns the Revolving Door Soap Opera of Politics

2009-11-20T03:19:00.000-08:00

Over the recent past I've noticed an interesting trend in this newly freed media of ours, where the media as a conjoined entity seems to float new issues every now and then which are suspiciously reflective of the mood in the parliament, the military establishment, and other high echelons of power. If we just go back a few weeks we find that the media had been railing and ranting about how the

Culture Survives in Nooks and Crannies

2009-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

Cultural expression seems to be the ultimate quagmire-- even when its very existence is threatened it seems to craft itself anew. While cultural activity has been at a down low in Lahore of late, it seems artistic expression is managing to adapt to this new climate, and evolve. Last week I attended an art exhibit of some of Lahore's younger and upcoming artists, marketed as a presentation on

New Idea: Let's Open Pakistan's Borders for 48 Hours

2009-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Floating a new idea out there, since nothing else seems to be working for Pakistan these days I don't think it'll hurt to try. Since apparently these days Pakistan has become a hornet's nest infested with terrorists, goons, and baddies of all sorts, and now that even Iran wants to

What Does Televized Terror Accomplish?

2009-10-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a string of terrorist attacks ripped through Lahore, the attacks were all aimed at security infrastructure and personnel. Lahoris woke up to the news of the attacks, which started as early as 9 AM, blaring all over the airwaves. While five civilians, and twelve security

Islam Lite in your mailbox twice a week.. Every week!

2009-09-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today I was accosted, while checking my inbox, by a message with the curious subject: Google Groups: You've been added to Your Deen Implying that I've somehow "been added" to my faith by some anonymous third party. Upon opening the message which began: naj najdain.shahab@gmail.com has added you to the Your Deen group it became clear that some Najdain Shahab had "added me" to my faith

The Mass Media Billboard Frenzy and the Urban Scape

2009-09-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

It is true that all cities have a unique character; in Lahore that character has almost become synonymous with expansive billboards jutting out of the infrastructure in all different directions: calligraphy running down the walls, English written in Urdu, and Urdu transliterated in English, together with huge spelling faux pas proudly held up to unimaginable heights, and, of course, images

raMADan MADness

2009-09-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

The holy month of fasting is seen by the somewhat-faithful as a chance to recharge their religious batteries. The country edges a notch up the piety-scale whenever the lunar month comes around. The somewhat pious become more pious, the more pious become ultra pious, and the ultra pious lock themselves in a room for the entire month, leaving the not-so-pious lumped together in the heretic category

A Strange Institution for a Stranger Place

2009-08-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Like any sprawling urban metropolis, Lahore has a rich historical tradition driven by the raids, conquests, and repossessions of many a power-broker reigning supreme over the region. Through the ebb and flow of history, the heart of Punjab has swapped several hands, and has been the jewel of many empires. My cousin who is an architect says, as a city Lahore encompasses layers and layers of

(a quick jot) On Social Responsibility

2009-06-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

While society is responsible for civilizing the individual by engendering such moral values, behavioral norms, culture, and mannerisms, it is in turn the individual's responsibility towards society to uphold and enforce these values. Values, whether presented through cultural tradition, religious dictum, or legal jurisprudence would be irrelevant if they fail to bind individuals in a mutual

Security (in) Security

2009-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

The number of suicide bombers supposedly loose in the city at a given time are broadcast on news-ticker marquees at traffic lights, fueling a further angst in the hearts of people waiting for the light to turn green. I have often heard people questioning why the security agencies fail to apprehend these

No God But God -- a critique

2009-05-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Reza Aslan's book 'No God But God' can, at most, be seen as a feeble attempt to redeem the religion's tattered image in the eyes of the liberal West. Aslan takes the battle for the interpretive cohesion of Islam under a grand unification back to the familiar battle ground of progressivism versus traditionalism. Indeed, the public image of the religion has been dismembered in this post 9/11

Survival of the Purest

2009-04-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Most often the easiest solution to social incongruence surfaces as the most obvious, i.e. social-political segregation. "If these extremists are so hell-bent on building their ideal society dating back to the 6th century, then let them have their own piece of land where they can freely do so without causing any botheration to those who would rather indulge in the many tempting fruits of modernity

Is India's Hindu-right ready for 'The Taliban Hall of Fame' yet?

2009-02-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

According to recent media reports, a new front of Talibanization appears to have opened up. The latest host is none other than emerging superpower India. Several women were attacked in a college pub in the southern city of Mangalore, leading to comments by the Indian Women's minister describing the event as "an