Bin Laden’s death and galvanizing identity
Bin Laden’s death and galvanizing identity Print
Friday, 06 May 2011 14:48
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By Mashall Khattak

 

The death of Osama bin Laden has dramatically changed the dynamics of international relations and speculation among the international community has raised global tensions. But what does this mean for Pakistani communities in the UK? A London-based student shares her views with The Samosa.

 

 

Bin Laden's death has lead to Pakistan falling under increased scrutiny. Perceptions of the country have tipped towards a negative slant in the international community. However, what does this increased attention mean for Pakistanis abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom? Much like the motherland, young Pakistanis in Britain will also fall under increased scrutiny, which will challenge their Identity and their sense of belonging. In a way, force them to wake up and solidify what they believe in.

Arguably, until very recently reports of terrorists being home grown in the UK amongst Pakistani communities and thus, paranoid claims of ‘Euarabia’ being entrenched in the minds of a fringed minority in the UK as well as the European Union was the main dark cloud that cast its shadow on the Identity of the British Pakistani.  With the death of Bin Laden in Pakistan there is the outstanding fear amongst the British Pakistani Community that the sentiment as afore mentioned would be amplified.  However, there were no mass ‘Anti-Paki’ protests being put forth across the world or the United Kingdom. Some may argue that the people’s verdict on Pakistani identity and affiliation is still out but the truth of the matter is that Pakistanis in Britain have subconsciously galvanized in a more obvious fashion towards their political leanings in British Politics.  Consequently, with out knowing it redefining their image as British rather than just Pakistani. 

I was at a Pub with a few friends the day after Osama bin Laden was declared dead and was acquainted with a young conservative Pakistani. When I asked him about the treatment he had received after the news broke, he stroked his long beard and dismissed that he had seen no difference, chatted for a little while as to why he should have been treated differently and after our tête à tête  as well as finishing his drink excused himself as he had signed up to campaign for ‘NO to AV’.

 

As puzzling as this may sound to a reader, the truth of that anecdote has resonated all across the younger generation of Pakistanis.  Pakistani’s in Britain have large voter turn outs in local as well as national elections and increasingly identify themselves as ‘Conservative’, ‘Liberal Democrat’, ‘Labor’, ‘Respect’ and so on and so forth. Thus, when asked about Osama bin Laden’s death they will consequently echo the sentiments of the party they are affiliated to and not that of their brethrens back in Pakistan or brothers of the Ummah as they would have done so previously.  Unlike other issues regarding Pakistan, where normally, the younger generations of Pakistani’s would identify as a NawazSharif or PPP or Imran Khan or maybe even Musharraf supporter. Young Pakistani’s seem to have collected around the death of Osama bin Laden with a British political perspective.

Why now? The main reason for this is immediacy of how the issue effects them as it is true that the result of bin Laden’s death’s implications for the UK effect them more than the implications for Pakistan.  Furthermore, it seems that this may have been a push for young Pakistani’s who do not want to be associated with terrorists in any way, who realized that in order to avoid the stigma of being labeled ‘a terroristsympathizer’ was to think for themselves and not indulge in family transferred politics.  It is important to note that this has been a form of silent revolution within the Young British Pakistani community that has finally taken its shape. Some may argue those years of campaigning, statements and organizations aiming for homogeneity that it is hardly something that has not been echoed before. However, despite all the effort put into it was something that was merely vacantly echoed and did not resonate. Osama bin Laden’s death infact, the final push for Pakistani’s to galvanize around the event to think deeply about what politics, society and religion means to them.

So, have young British Pakistanis given up being essentially ‘Paki’? The simple answer is no. Many Pakistanis are still very passionate about national issues in Pakistan, indulge in many local customs and attend Friday prayers at their local mosque. It is just that bin Laden’s death has allowed them to focus on the other part of what makes them who they are today and realize that British politics plays just as much as a formative role for their identity, as does politics in Pakistan. It has allowed them to acknowledge that they are part of a pronged world and do not necessarily have to be polarized - something that their parents may have been forced into feeling.

Last Updated on Friday, 06 May 2011 14:54
 
Comments (1)
Each of us decides our identity independently
1 Sunday, 08 May 2011 21:43
Mohammed Amin
Dear Mashall

My only surprise is that you are suprised by what you have learned this week. Many long-standing UK residents who were born in Pakistan decided long ago that we are British citizens whose ethnic origin is Pakistani, or in my case more precisely Punjabi, and whose religion is Muslim. See my piece: http://www.mohammedamin.com/Community_issues/Multiculturalism-v-state-multiculturalism.html

I am disappointed that you regard attending Friday prayers at a mosque as having anything to do with "Pakistani" identity. It is a part of Islamic practice, and Islam is a universal religion which belongs in the UK as much as it does in Pakistan.