LIVING IN PAKISTAN FROM APRIL 1985
TO SEPTEMBER 1990
I lived in Pakistan from April 1985 to September 1990 under the name of Yahya
Abdullah. Initially I flew from Melbourne to Karachi and then changed flights
to go to Lahore. (I had changed my name by Deed Poll from Ian
Charles Calderwood to Yahya Abdullah in Melbourne in 1984 following my
reversion to Isam in 1983.)
Later, following my return to Melbourne, for personal reasons I changed my name back to Ian Charles Calderwood on the 12th of March 1992 and registered the change with Births, Deaths and Marriages in Melbourne. A copy of the change of name form can be seen at Change of Name Registration.
I had met two Pakistani brothers from Lahore in Melbourne and they had offered
me accommodation with their family. I was fortunate enough to able to stay in
the old part of Lahore, just near the famous 17th century Mughal mosque, Wazir
Khan Masjid.
I had been working as a journalist in Melbourne, so I applied for work as
either a reporter or sub-editor in Lahore but was unsuccessful.
Somebody suggested I try to find work in Islamabad, so I travelled there and Alhamdulillah worked for one of the government newspapers, The
Pakistan Times, and also an independent newspaper called The Muslim.
THE CHISTI TARIQA
While living in Aabpara, Islamabad, I was blessed by Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta’ala - Glory be to Him, the Most High) and sat with murids
(disciples) from the Chisti Tariqa, a leading Sufi order. One of them taught me
to recite the Holy Qur'an and perform dhikr.
(Dhikr is the Remembrance of Allah through verbal or mental repetition of His Divine Attributes or various religious formulas such as Subhân-Allâh (Glorified is Allah), Al-Hamdu Lillâh (praise is due to Allah), Allâhu Akbar (Allah is the Most Great), or the recitation of special invocations.)
See the Glossary attached to this website for an explanation of Islamic terms.
I also sat with murids from the Chisti-Qadiriyya Tariqa and they later proved
to be a great blessing when I travelled from Islamabad to Karachi in 1989 and
stayed in a madrasa recommended by them at Hub, on the outskirts of
Karachi.
Please note that the Qadiriyya Tariqa - a leading Sunni Sufi order - is not to
be confused with the Qadariyah movement, which was an early philosophical
school that among other things rejected the concept of predestination in Islam.
To be a Muslim you must believe in predestination.
See the Wikipedia articles on both the Qadiriyya
Tariqa and Qadariyah movement.
However, in extolling the blessings from Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala -
Glory be to Him, the Most High) of sitting with murids from the Chisti
and Chisti-Qadiriyya Tariqas I must add a word of caution. I do not
recommend that reverts to Islam should travel to Pakistan seeking religious
knowledge unless they are willing to be guided by the teachings of respected
scholars such as Mufti Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Usmani, who is the leader of the
Chisti Tariqa in Pakistan and also one of the leaders of Darul Uloom Karachi.
Darul Uloom is a madrasa (college, school) in Karachi that was founded by Mufti
Shaykh Muhammad Shafi, the father of Mufti Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Usmani, after
the family migrated from Deoband in India to Karachi in 1948.
Mufti Shaykh Muhammad Shafi was one of the leading lights at the Darul Uloom in
Deoband – the seat of learning for the Chisti Tariqa. As I have noted above,
the latter is one of the main schools of tasawwuff (sufism) in Sunni Islam.
If a revert strongly feels in need of travelling to Pakistan for religious
guidance, then I would urge them to make contact with the Darul Uloom in
Karachi on their arrival and be guided by their advice about where to go and
stay.
Rasoolullah (sall-Allahu alayhi wa-sallam - may the blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) warned believers to keep good company and it is essential for
reverts to heed that advice if they are visiting Pakistan.
While living in Pakistan, I concluded that even though the vast majority of the
people believed in Islam there were some who, though professing Islam, were
secretly fighting the religion. If you go there, you do not under any
circumstances want to fall into the hands of such people. They can do untold
damage to your Iman (faith).
If you do decide to travel to Pakistan to seek religious knowledge, remember it is most important to be able to provide for yourself. Don't expect the Pakistanis to do so.
Many of them will feel obliged to help you because that is what is expected in Islam, but the reality is Pakistan is a poor country and many people simply can't afford to offer food and accommodation to travellers.
All I can say is that if you have reverted to Islam and you are hoping to find
a Shaykh who will guide you rightly, I would try to find one in Australia.
There are many pious Muslims in Sydney and Melbourne who can set you on the
straight path in Islam – there is no need to go overseas to learn the religion.
I should explain that I had gone to Pakistan with the intention of migrating
there. I believed it was a Muslim country and that I would be safe.
APPLICATION FOR PAKISTANI CITIZENSHIP REJECTED
My application for Pakistani citizenship was rejected, probably because I
didn’t have enough money. The Pakistan Government wanted a surety – or deposit
if you wish – of 500,000 Rupees and I could not afford to pay it.
In my final year of living in Pakistan I worked in Karachi. Among other things,
I interviewed a renowned filmmaker by the name of Mushtaq Gazdar for
both Dawn – Pakistan’s most successful independent English newspaper - and MAG,
a popular English-language weekly.
Gazdar was a well-known documentary filmmaker and had won various awards. The
story I wrote for Dawn was about a documentary called The Killer. It
highlighted the social effects of heroin addiction, focusing on the poor in
Pakistan.
It was published in Dawn’s Friday Magazine on December the 08th. 1989. To see a
copy of the story click Dawn interview Mushtaq Gazdar.
One of the stories I wrote for MAG was about another documentary Gazdar had
made about the lack of educational opportunity for girls. It was published in
MAG on the 14th of June 1990.
What is not included in either story are off-the-record remarks Gazdar made
that he had been accused of being a Communist – a slur he said on his
reputation which had arisen only because he was trying to highlight social
injustices in Pakistan.
At the time I said I would not publish his remarks because he feared
retaliation, but it does not matter now because he is dead. He died on the 15th
of November 2000. There is an article about Mushtaq Gazdar in Wikipedia. The link is Mushtaq Gazdar - Wikipedia.
The interview with the mayor was published in two parts. The first, on the 12th of April dealt with the city's water supply, while the second, transport in Karachi, was published on the 19th of April.
When I first arrived in Karachi from Islamabad, I contacted Dawn and was
offered work as a freelance journalist. I wrote several stories for them. The
first was 'Antiquarian books at risk KMC needs funds urgently'. It was published in DAWN’s
Friday Magazine on the 17th of November 1989.
Since DAWN was a broadsheet and I don’t have an A3 scanner I have scanned
the story in two files.
The links to the story are:
DAWN Antiquarian books - 1
DAWN Antiquarian books – 2
I also wrote a story for Dawn headed ‘So, you don’t like Pakistan, eh?’ It was
in two parts. The first was published on the 05th of January 1990 and the second on the 12th
So, you don’t like Pakistan 05 Jan 1990 - 1
So, you don't like Pakistan 05 Jan 1990 - 2
Other stories I wrote for Dawn were:
‘Command performance at auction rooms’: 24 November 1989.
To read the story
click:
‘Drugs – a dirty word, a dirty war’.
It was published in the paper’s Live
Issues column on the 15th of December 1989.
To read the story click DAWN
Drugs – a dirty word, a dirty war.
‘If you want to get steamed up – travel PR’. It was published as the lead story
for Dawn’s Friday Magazine on the 30th March 1990. To read the story
click:
DAWN travel PR 30 Mar 1990 - 2
Even though I had held clerical positions and did casual work as a taxi driver
to supplement my income, most of my working life in Melbourne had been spent as
a journalist.
I had my first story published as a freelance in The Age in Melbourne on the
19th of October 1968. It was headed ‘An actor’s dream’.
Click on the
link ‘The Age An actor’s dream’ to read a copy.
Another story headed ‘A LONG WAY FROM 3 QUID A WEEK’ was published in The Age
on the 18th of January 1969. To read a copy click ‘The Age A long way from 3
quid’.
The publication of the stories launched my career as a journalist.
Because of my age I was too old for a cadetship and started my career in the
media as a freelance. I was a sub-editor for much of the time but also worked
as a reporter.
Ian C. Calderwood:
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Formerly published on quran-e-hakim.com at
Newcastle, NSW on 05 May 2022.
Restored at Lakemba, NSW, on quran-e-hakim.net on 02 March 23.
Rewritten and reposted at Lakemba, NSW, on quran-e-hakim.net on
30 March 23.
Amended and reposted at Lakemba, NSW, on quran-e-hakim.net on
01 April 23.
Published at Lakemba, NSW, on quran-e-hakim.com on 01 April 23 BUT DELETED PENDING A
REWRITE.
RESTORED TO QURAN-E-HAKIM.COM ON
10 August 23 BUT IT NEEDED TO BE REWRITTEN. HOWEVER, I WAS TOO ILL TO DO
SO AT THE TIME.
EDITED AT LAKEMBA 23 Aug 23
WEBCOPY 09 NOV 25 RESTORED TO QURAN-E-HAKIM.NET
WEBCOPY 10 NOV 25 EDITED TEXT
WEBCOPY 12 JAN 26 DELETED
WEBCOPY 20 JAN 26 RESTORED
WEBCOPY 20 JAN 26 1ST REWRITE
WEBCOPY 20 JAN 26 2ND REWRITE
WEBCOPY 26 APR 26 EDITED
