Imran makes impassioned pitch for Islam
PM TRIES TO BRIDGE EAST-WEST CULTURAL DIVIDE WITH UN SPEECH
We human beings understand one thing: The pain of the heart is far, far, far more hurtful than physical pain.” Imran Khan | Pakistan Prime Minister
He spoke of Islam — his religion — but he used references like Charles Bronson’s Death Wish movie, Monty Python and Japanese kamikaze pilots during the Second World War. He built linguistic and popculture bridges as he carefully made his points.
Pakistan’s enigmatic Prime Minister, Imran Khan, effortlessly projected his Eastmeets-West brand from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, wearing a navy blazer over a traditional shalwar kameez as he attempted to explain the dangers of Islamophobia and why Muslims are sensitive to attacks on Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). “It is important to understand this. The Prophet (PBUH) lives in our hearts,” Imran said.
Dual identities
“We human beings understand one thing: The pain of the heart is far, far, far more hurtful than physical pain,” he said in his speech, which pinballed between his dual identities — sports-star celebrity and his current role as head of state of the world’s largest Islamic republic.
Even if the messenger was highly political, the message was a humanistic one. It said, in effect, that terrorism, radicalism and suicide bombings belong to no religion.
During the Second World War, Imran said, Japan deployed kamikaze pilots as suicide bombers. “No one blamed the religion.” But after 9/11, the world’s Muslims — and particularly those in Pakistan and a few other nations — found themselves blamed for the hijackers who targeted the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93.
‘Radicalism’
“Suicide attacks and Islam were equated,” he said.
He said Muslim leaders had failed after the 9/11 attacks to explain that “no religion preaches radicalism”. Instead, he said, Muslim leaders started wearing western suits, and even those who didn’t know English would speak English “because they were moderates”.
He recalled, with astonishment, the first time he went to England and heard about a movie that poked fun at Jesus Christ’s life — an apparent reference to the 1979 comedy Monty Python’s Life of Brian, beloved by many Britons and Americans.