Discontent and its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York, and London by Mohsin Hamid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another Mohsin Hamid book in the log. I appreciated--for the most part--these insightful & enlightening essays by Hamid that were originally published in various magazines/newspapers around the world. Hamid is a multicultural Pakistani who grew up in Pakistan, was schooled in the US, worked/lived in the UK, and went back to live in Lahore, Pakistan with is family. Lots of these essays centered on or around the great pivot of 9/11 and the consequent impacts that have reverberated through Pakistan. While I appreciate Hamid's insights into the diversity of both Pakistani cultures and Islamic expressions--as well as his acknowledgment of the varieties of Islam in Pakistan, as well as its Christian & Hindu communities--I think Hamid downplays the mess that has taken place across Pakistan, as a result of its bent towards extremist expressions of Islam (intentionally pushed by former President/General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

My biggest complaints with Hamid's presentation of Pakistan concerns its connection following 9/11 and the situation with Afghanistan--which, also, reverberated back onto Pakistan and its people. Yes, there is a complex relationship here connected with Pakistan's on-going serious tussles with its hated Hindu neighbor, India. But, I don't believe Hamid mentioned the all-powerful, shady/wily intelligence agency--ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)--one time by name, though near the end he obliquely referred to it; he mostly mentions Pakistan's military forces. Pakistan's governing powers--mostly through its shadowy ISI connections--have been duplicitous & complicit in actively & intentionally interfering in the post-9/11 situation in Afghanistan, both through the sanctuaries it has offered extremist Islamic terrorists (al Qaeda, Taliban, Haqqani, etc.) and its arming, training, and planning of terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan--against both the Afghan government & coalition forces.

I think Hamid also plays down the reasons behind the strategic drone attacks targeting the terrorist sanctuaries along the Pakistan/Afghan border (which, yes, was arbitrarily imposed on Afghanistan by the British prior to Pakistan's splintering from India). It's a complicated mess, for sure, with multiple factors behind why such sanctuaries even exist, but please don't minimize the duplicitous & weak ways Pakistan's government/military have handled this situation (for 70 years now). Hardly a mention made also of ISI's clear connections to the training of terrorist attacks on India--like on the Parliament & the city of Mumbai (especially horrific as it intentionally & brutally targeted civilians).

Though Hamid does recognize the need for Pakistan's government to severe its attachments to these extremist militants, he doesn't seem to recognize the direct connections between the fiery & extremist brands of Islam that are both encouraged & supported by that very government. And the fact that it's mostly the fault of that very same Pakistani government/military complex that has stirred up this hornet's nest inside its own home, to the detriment of all the peoples/ethnicities that make up the Pakistani nation.

Overall, I like Hamid's writing (and have enjoyed his novels) and think people in the West especially need to read him in order to get a truer/bigger picture of what makes up a complex country like Pakistan. I also agree that Islam is not a monolithic religion (though it tends that way--whether one likes it or not), but has a variety of expressions and, for the most part, should not automatically be equated with terrorism/terrorists. I also agree that Pakistan, with such a rich cultural heritage, has so much potential--but that it has, unfortunately, squandered so much of its potential.


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