Rabbani is an Exception to Womenfolk of Khar Family' By Omer Farooq Khan Jul 29, 2011 The visit of most Pakistani

leaders to shrines has customary significance which continues unabated despite Saudi Arabia's investment in propagating their strict version of Wahhabi Islam across the country. The construction of mosques and recruiting their preachers as "Imams" in these m osques on handsome salaries, the Saudis have so far not succeeded to overpower t he traditional followers of Sufism which emerged in the seventh century as a rea ctionary force against the worldliness of the early Ummayad Caliphs. In the sub-continent, according to historians, Sufis (Islamic mystics) played an important role in the spread of Islam. Hence, the Sufi saints have special reve rence among its followers. Several Pakistani leaders, including former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto, had strong inclination towards the saints and shrines but fo r others visiting shrines could be merely symbolic. At Makkah, observers say, th ey will follow the Saudi line of Islam rather than what they practice at the shr ines in Delhi, Ajmer or Lahore. Pakistan's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who visited and offered prayers a t Nizamuddin Auliya's shrine in Delhi and Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's at Ajmer, di d not come from a family having any spiritual connection with the saints and shr ines. A thorough account of her family has been narrated by her aunt Tehmina Durrani i n her book "My Feudal Lord". Durrani who was married to Hina's uncle Ghulam Must afa Khar and now happens to be the wife of Punjab's chief minister Shahbaz Shari f explained at length the politics of the family, its values, mentalities and vi ews on women and religion. She wrote that Khar ruled the house like a tyrant and his fists did the talking. "Khar was the breed of the feudal system where women are no more than mere mater ial objects. There are many reasons for that school of thought. The important on es are lack of education, the cultural values, and finally, one's family upbring ing and personality." "Khar was a man obsessed with power; that power had to be practiced to confirm i ts existence. The 'safest' domain was his own home, where no one dared to questi on his authority. He would beat up the servants if the food was not hot enough, me (Tehmina Durrani) if I was late after his first call and his children if they threw a tantrum," she wrote. Luckily, Hina Rabbani Khar is exceptional to the ordeal of the womenfolk of Khar family as narrated by her aunt. To link her association or leaning towards sain ts and shrines, unlike PM Yusuf Raza Gilani or former FM Shah Mehmud Qureshi, wo uld be an exaggerated narrative. Gilani and Qureshi claim to be the direct desce ndants and heirs of saints. Source: The Times of India, New Delhi URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicSociety_1.aspx?ArticleID=5141

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COMMENTS 7/30/2011 8:50:10 AM Ronnie Patel Ghulam Khar, despicable as he is described by Tehmina Durrani, is by no means an exception but the general rule of families round the world with a lack of educa tion and cultural values, by way of upbringing and personality. Some communities breed more of this type than others because of unquestioning adherence to tradi tion and misplaced conservatism, but decreasingly so despite the several cases t hat still suggest the general stance. -- Ronnie Patel