"Thanks for not responding.."

July 8, 2006,
"Thanks for not responding.."

..probably is the remark that all the Newspaper Agencies, Advertising companies, Journalists, Photographers, Fashion designers, Catwalk models and all related to the entertainment industry probably say to themselves out of relief – after they have successfully appealed to you with their ‘less clothes and more skin showing’ theory.

The media today, has reached so far in exposing so much of nudity to us today because we choose to be nonchalant to it! So much for living in an Islamic country – where every shop in the mall tries to compete with one another to adorn a mannequin with the least amount of clothes; where every leading daily newspaper aims to have as many barely-dressed celebrities and local residents photographed to add glamour to their distribution; where every advertising agency targets to create more and more advertisements that encourage awareness of sex and lust in our adolescents; where every upcoming fashion designer is applauded and awarded for the skimpy outfits they conceptualize for our local market..the list is endless, and we can’t even begin to complain, because our silence has been interpreted as our acceptance.

It is sad that because the UAE, or Pakistan or any other so-called Muslim country wants to make way towards progress, they use the media to cultivate vulgarity– or rather, rip off our morals – by supposedly advancing themselves in media, society and tourism, to make their name stand out on the World map.

So what if we live in an Islamic country where we hear the Adhaan five times a day; where restaurants are shut all day during the month of Ramadan for the sake of respecting the Muslims and their month of fasting; where we can avail Halaal food?

It is still an Islamic country where while the Adhaan is being recited, music is playing loudly simultaneously; same restaurants that don’t serve food during the day time to respect Ramadan, serve alcohol and Haraam food and drinks after Sunset; where issues like when people who go clubbing face racism to enter these venues, make the headlines of our Daily papers; where prostitution, rapes, gay and lesbian issues, sexual harassments are on a rise, and so casually discussed and thus encouraged!

All this is further encouraged by our silence. Why aren’t we speaking up? Are we blind not to see the nudity & immodesty in attire and behavior that is coming out on the streets, in the schools and colleges, the malls, the beaches, the cinema halls, and most importantly, OUR HOMES? Are we dead souls now? Can’t we sense the ‘wrongness’ in these things anymore?
At the end of the day, it is not really about being religious in thoughts – but about having a clear outlook of life. Do we want our children to be as nonchalant and skimpy in their dressing? Do we want to rip the innocence off our youth – the same innocence we grew up with?

Indeed we need to raise ourselves according to the age and era we live in, but not at the cost of sacrificing our principles, our shame and our morals. What good are cartoons like Johny Bravo? How much of a Muslim country does UAE look like in Ahlan Masala? How easily do we read and discuss Bipasha Basu & Paris Hilton saying they would love to be known as sex symbols?

It is mere hypocrisy on the part of our governments – in Islamic states – that they choose to progress by using such means. There is more chastity and modesty in Western civilization than that which prevails in our so-called Islamic countries. If we go to any part of America, Canada, Europe & Australia, a larger proportion of the population that indulges in partying, drinking, skimpy dressing, etc – are those of supposedly ‘Eastern’ origin. Hence, we can’t blame ‘Western ideology’ and its cultural invasion for what the media has made us – or the likes of us - today. Had it been a grave concern for us, we would’ve not let it reached so far today. We could have still had censored movies on television and cinema, custom Movie trailors and posters for the Middle East audience, clean advertisements, decent editorials and newspaper event coverage, custom made apparel and accessories for the Middle eastern / Subcontinent region, etc – like it had been till the 1900’s..

‘Welcome to the 21st century!’ is all that we can say to justify that? Wake up people! These things around you might have become an ‘everyday’ norm for you, but until you don’t say anything, this will only get worse. Who is asking to eliminate the technological and economical advancements? This is all about voicing yourselves against the explicit and vulgar content surrounding us which is slowly diminishing the respect of a regular human being down to his carnal desires.

Needless to mention, the sources where you choose to voice out should be effective ones; even the letters to the editors at the local daily newspapers skip out on issues like this, because there’s one in ten letters that comes with a complain regarding the explicit nature of content and advertisements they publish – and the rest are just concerned about the rising rents and racism in night clubs and bars in Dubai (all of which get published immediately).

Islam, like all religions, encourages to enjoin the good, and forbid the evil – as mentioned continuously in the Holy Qur’an. Hence, it’s still not too late to raise our voices against the corruption we are experiencing in our Society because of letting the Media have an upper hand.
In the end, we choose to make our surroundings the way we want. If we accept the explicit and vulgar content surrounding us, we will have no morality left in the way we look at human beings around us. We still have time to stop the media corruption out here, and remind ourselves of our roots, our culture, our values and morals, our religion and most importantly, our respect for one another as humble human beings– which is all slowly dying out with our silence in acceptance of the evils around us...

Posted on www.raw.com.pk/blogs/sadaf by Sadaf Zahra at 9:47 PM Permalink Comments (0) TrackBacks (0)