| 02 January 2004 | Friday | 09 Ziqa'ad 1424 |
Need for joint naval exercises
One-fifth of humankind shares a single aspiration: to undertake, at least once in a lifetime, the spiritual journey to Makkah in Saudi Arabia and perform Haj.
The Haj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, the birth place of Islam, is one of the central obligations for a Muslim adult, male and female, to be performed, as soon as one has the financial means and health permits. Its origin dates back to Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) and it offers a most moving spiritual experience.
According to the Qur'an, it was Ibrahim who, together with Isma'il, built the Ka'bah, "the house of God,' - the focal point toward which muslims turn to worship five times each day.
In the chapter entitled "The Pilgrimage," the Qur'an speaks of the divine command to Muslims to perform Haj and prophesies the permanence of this institution.
The Qur'an says: "Undoubtedly the first house of worship ever to be built by mankind is the one which is in Makkah... In it are clear sign: there is the spot where Abraham used to worship, then it is the sanctuary, and who enters it becomes safe and secure.
Allah therefore has a right on the people that the one, who can afford to reach the house, should perform Haj there; and the one who disobeys this commandment should know that Allah is all sufficient and does not stand in need of any creature of the world."
The Ka'bah, stands in the courtyard of Makkah's sacred mosque where for the Haj the faithful gather for rituals that start and end their pilgrimage. It is a focal point of the Muslims, and highlights the unity of the believers. It is a symbol of oneness and centrality of God.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Muslims from all over the world arrive in Saudi Arabia by road, sea and air. The journey now is much shorter and in some ways less arduous than it used to be in the past. Haj's first rite is the intention and then putting on of the ihram.
For men, 'ihram' are two pieces of white seamless cloth one covers the body from waist to ankle and the other is thrown over the shoulder. Men's heads remain uncovered. Women generally wear a simple white dress and a head-cover, but not a veil.
The 'ihram' is a symbol of purity. It also indicates the equality of all people in the eyes of God. When a pilgrim wears his white apparel, he or she enters into a state of purity that prohibits quarrelling, committing violence and having conjugal relations.
With the wearing of the 'ihram' the pilgrims start reciting the primary invocation of Haj, known as the talbiyah: "Here I am, O god, at Thy Command! Here I am at Thy Command! Thou art without associate; Here I am at Thy Command! Thine are praise and grade and dominion! Thou art without associate."
On the first day of the Haj, the pilgrims leave Makkah for Mina, a small uninhabited village, east of the city. On the next day, the pilgrims leave Mina for the plain of 'Arafat for 'wuquf', the staying", which is one of the main rites of the Haj.
As they stay there till dusk, the pilgrims are reminded of the day of Judgment. The whole congregation offers two prayers, the Zohar, and the Asar and the Imam says khutba dealing with matters of the Muslim.
After Khutba, the pilgrims go to the Mount of Mercy, where Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh) had delivered his "Farewell Sermon", covering religious economic, social and political aspects of life for the Muslims.
The stay at Arafat is an emotionally charged experience during which the pilgrims are immersed in worship and supplication; tears rolling on their cheeks, as they ask God to forgive them. On this sacred place, they reach the culmination of their religious lives as they feel the presence and closeness of a merciful Allah.
Just after sunset, the pilgrims proceed to 'Muzdalifah', an open plain about half way between Arafat and Mina. There they pass the night in open, praying.Before daybreak on the third day, the pilgrims move en masse from Muzdalifah to Mina. There they cast at white pillars, symbolizing the 'Satan', pebbles they have previously collected.
According to some traditions, this practice is associated with Prophet Abraham. As pilgrims throw seven pebbles at each of these three pillars, they remember the story of Satan's attempt to persuade Abraham to disregard God's command to sacrifice his son.
Following the throwing of the pebbles, most pilgrims sacrifice a goat, sheep or camel. This rite is associated with Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son in accordance with God's wish.
It symbolizes the Muslims' willingness to part with what is precious to them, and reminds them of the spirit of Islam, in which submission to God's will plays a leading role. This act also asks the pilgrims to share worldly goods with those who are less fortunate. It also serves as an offer of thanksgiving to God.
The pilgrims then remove their 'ihram' and put on usual clothes. Men either shave their heads or clip their hair, and women cut off a symbolic lock. This is done as a symbol of humility.
On this day Muslims around the world celebrate the completion of Haj with the pilgrims and join them by performing identical, individual sacrifices in a worldwide celebration of the Festival of Sacrifice.
In Mina, the pilgrims visit Makkah to perform another essential rite of Haj: the 'tawaf', the seven-time circling of the Ka'bah, with a prayer recited during each circuit. This demonstrates that all human activity must have God at its centre. It also symbolizes the unity of God.
While making this move the pilgrims may kiss or touch the oval Black Stone, mounted in a silver frame. It has a special place in the hearts of the Muslims as, according to some traditions, the stone came from heaven. Some say that it is the sole remnant of the original structure built by Ibrahim. But the single most important reason for kissing the stone is that Prophet Mohammad did so.
After completing the 'tawaf', the pilgrims pray, preferably at the site where Ibrahim stood while he built the Ka'bah. Then they drink "Aab-i-Zamzam." Another, and sometimes the final rite is the 'sa'y', or "the running." This is a re-enactment of a memorable episode in the life of Hazrat Hajira, who was taken into what the Qur'an calls the "uncultivable valley" of Makkah, with her infant son Ismael, to settle there.
The 'sa'y' commemorates Hajira's frantic search for water to quench Ismael's thirst. She ran back and forth seven times between two rocky hillocks, 'al-Safa' and 'al-Marwah', until she found the sacred water, known gushing out miraculously under Ismael's tiny feet. It is now enclosed in a marble chamber near the Ka'bah.
The pilgrims then return to Mina, where they stay for two days. There they throw their remaining pebbles at each of the pillars (Satan), each day. Before or after the Haj, the pilgrims visit the Prophet's Mosque at Madinah, the second holiest city in Islam. Here, the Prophet lies buried in a simple grave under the green dome of the mosque.
In this city people still feel the presence of the Prophet's spirit. Muhammad Asad, an Austrian Jew who converted to Islam in 1926 and made five pilgrimages between 1927 and 1932, comments on this aspect of the city: "Even after thirteen centuries [the Prophet's] spiritual presence is almost as alive here as it was then.
It was only because of him that the scattered group of the villages once called Yathrib became a city and has been loved by all Muslims down to this day as no city anywhere else in the world has ever been loved.
It has not even a name of its own: for more than thirteen hundred years it has been called Madinat an-Nabi, 'the City of the Prophet.' For more than thirteen hundred years, so much love has converged here that all shapes and movements have acquired a kind of family resemblance, and all differences of appearance find a tonal transition into a common harmony."
As pilgrims return to their homes, they carry with them cherished memories of Prophets Ibrahim and Muhammad (Peace be upon them). They will always remember that universal concourse, where poor and rich, black and white, young and old, meet on equal footing.
They return with a sense of humility, patience and piety. They also return with a better understanding of the conditions of the people in the world, specially their brothers and sisters in Islam.
Need for joint naval exercises
As a welcome prelude to the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit meeting beginning on Sunday in Islamabad, the tensions between India and Pakistan are already beginning to ease.
Although the Saarc charter does not provide for bilateral issues to be brought up, there is a general air of expectancy that this summit is going to be somewhat different: it will hopefully set into motion a peace process which could mark the beginning of a new, tension-free phase in India-Pakistan relations.
While the baggage of nearly 54 years of extremely strained relations cannot be expected to be swept aside in a short meeting, a sort of "crisis fatigue" appears to be setting in on both sides of the divide.
Cognizant of this reality the governments of both India and Pakistan have already taken steps designed to defuse tensions. A number of confidence-building measures (CBMs) already taken in hand by the two governments have largely restored many of the communication links which had remained suspended for two years.
The Lahore-Delhi bus service has resumed its shuttle twice a week and there is talk of the number of return journeys being enlarged. The Samjhota Express will start operating next month and the air services too would be soon resumed.
Hopefully, the coming weeks will see a substantive easing of the relations between India and Pakistan and, if bilateral talks between the leaders of the two sides materialize in any significant form during the Saarc summit, a beginning may also be made on a roadmap for peace and normalization.
However, the CBMs so far taken in hand in the military sphere have largely been confined to land-bound problems: the violence in the occupied Kashmir, disquiet on the LoC, India's accusation of Pakistan's involvement in perceived cross-border infiltration of the terrorists.
The armed forces have been directly involved: the directors-general of military operations in the headquarters on the two sides have had an exchange of views, the commanders of army/rangers units at the Wagah checkpoint have met and discussed the modalities of border crossing with the resumption of traffic between the two countries.
Parallel patrolling along the LoC has commenced. However, in the military sphere it has been noted that all this basically means the involvement of the land forces. Naval CBMs have been conspicuous by their absence.
There is no hot-line link between the navies of Pakistan and India even though the risk of an incident at sea is no less than what it is on land. As much as 95 per cent of Pakistan's foreign trade is sea-borne and this includes oil imports which constitute 90 per cent of the country's world trade.
Even more alarmingly, navies are known to have blocked sea lanes of communication of adversary nations without the formality of a declaration of war.
As a result of the pioneering efforts of a retired rear- admiral of the Pakistan Navy, Hasan Ansari, in collaboration with a retired rear-admiral of the Indian Navy, Ravi Vohra, a set of naval/maritime CBMs have now been outlined.
The two were engaged in a four-month joint study earlier this year under the auspices of the cooperative monitoring centre (CMC) of the US Sandia National Laboratories.
Both committed to the objective of peace between India and Pakistan have jointly conducted the research along the lines of some of the most advanced systems. Rear-Adm Ansari made a most incisive and educative presentation recently at Admiral H.M.S. Choudri's Pakistan Institute of Maritime Affairs in Karachi.
Adm Ansari headed the Logistics Cell of the Pakistan Navy before retirement while Adm Vohra who served with the technical branch of the Indian Navy before retirement was connected with the development of missile technology in India.
At his presentation Adm Ansari pointed out that there are some substantive issues in the maritime sphere that "have the potential to flare up and raise the political temperature at a future date." He maintained that these issues had remained "simmering in the background" despite bilateral discussions over a period of time.
Three notable "simmering issues" identified in the joint study concern the Sir Creek dispute, maritime boundary and trade, and fishing in the respective economic zones of the two countries and the open sea as well as the plight of the fishermen of the two countries.
The joint India-Pakistan research into maritime CBMs has revealed that the Sir Creek first became a point of dispute around 1908 between various princely states of Sindh (on the west coast) and Kutch (now merged with the Indian state of Gujarat). It was raised by the newly established states of Pakistan and India in 1965 but became the focus of an armed conflict between the two countries in March-April 1965.
In their joint study the Pakistani and Indian rear-admirals propose that the two countries should aim at placing Sir Creek under their joint management. While ways and means to demarcate the maritime boundary in the area are being worked out, both countries should try to increase political awareness of a boundary through joint professional meetings.
However, before a precise boundary is demarcated a complete hydrographic survey should be conducted and ecological co- operation be initiated to identify the mangroves and fish resources. There should also be joint workshops to exchange information and identify other areas of cooperation.
In regard to fishing and the problems of the fishermen, the joint study has made six specific recommendations. These include a meeting of hydrographers from both countries to delineate a 'zone of disengagement' (ZOD) and the use of modern technology for locating the fishing vessels of the two countries. Jointly agreed steps would also need to be taken for purposes of licensing, catch limits, surveillance and for determining fishing restrictions in the ZOD.
The joint study spells out the need to minimize hardships of fishermen and particularly stresses an 'arrest avoidance' policy to be adopted by the authorities in both countries. In any case, whenever inevitable, penalties should be imposed on vessel owners rather than on the impoverished fishermen.
In the interest of maritime peace and a greater understanding between India and Pakistan the joint study points out that the present lack of navy-to-navy contact tends to breed mistrust and a sense of estrangement.
While there have never been any exchange of goodwill visits between the two navies or their senior officers, in the early 'fifties the naval ships belonging to the two countries used to get together regularly for joint exercises under the Commonwealth's arrangements.
Even this came to an end some time ago. It is also important to create an understanding on the avoidance of incidents at sea. It is even more critical to jointly revise and update the outdated law of naval warfare.