THE PRAGMATIST Ayesha Siddiqa (Monthly Herald 2009)

7/30/2019 THE PRAGMATIST Ayesha Siddiqa (Monthly Herald 2009)

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nothing in common. This is a flawed approach. No society, and especiallynot one as complex as Pakistan, can be divided so cleanly into two groupsthat do not overlap.

Although on some level this is a philosophical debate, there are manyexamples at the individual level that prove the clear-cut division betweenliberalism and conservatism that such debates assume does not exist. And

one person who is living proof of this is the well-known and, many wouldadd, controversial real-estate tycoon and philanthropist Malik Riaz Hussain.Born 61 years ago in Sialkot to a lower-middle class family, Hussain never

completed his education, having abandoned school before his matriculation.In the early 1970s, he joined the business of his father, who was a smallgovernment contractor. He has one son and four daughters.

Hussain first stepped into the limelight after he made a deal with thePakistan Navy’s Bahria Foundation in the mid-1990s to develop twohousing schemes. The contract gave the foundation 10 per cent of the profitand 25 per cent of the plots without any financial investment, but by 2000the organisation had transferred its entire shareholding to Hussain.Differences later arose and led to a legal battle; the Supreme Court ruled inHussain’s favor, saying he had the right to use the Pakistan Navy logo tillhe voluntarily changed it. By this time the businessman had also developed

a name for himself in commercial and social circles.In recent years, however, Hussain has been in the news mainly for his

As Pakistan battles withmilitancy, part of the waris also being fought in the

arena of ideas. In order to fightmilitancy, some argue, Pakistanisociety has to win hearts and

minds back from extremists. It isthe ‘fundamentalist’ thinking inour midst that prevents us fromconfronting militantswholeheartedly. On the other sideof the talking divide stand thosewho feel that ‘liberals’ are forcingthe state to declare a war on itsown people under the guise of fighting militancy.

There is, however, at least oneway in which both camps arecompletely similar. Regardless of who is right or wrong, the two

sides view each other as beingincompatible binaries with

INSIGHT

THEPRAGMATIST

By Ayesha Siddiqa

People cannot be pigeonholed as being liberal or conservative in asociety as complex as Pakistan



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charitable works and especially forhis role as the unofficial benefactorof Lal Masjid affiliates in theaftermath of the 2007 militaryoperation that was carried out todisband and dislodge the brigadethere. Since that incident, theRawalpindi-based real-estatemagnate has not only providedresidence to Umme Hassan, thewife of Lal Masjid cleric MaulanaAbdul Aziz, but has also set upquarters for the seminary’s femalestudents. The girls’ madrasah isnow located in Bahria Town,Rawalpindi. Even Aziz lived in ahouse in Bahria Town after he wasreleased from prison.

Apparently this relationship began after the end of the militaryoperation. Rendered homeless,Hassan, who still had 750undeterred female students tohouse and educate, was advised tomeet Hussain. Once he heardabout her problem the

businessman offered to house her

and give her money to continueeducating the young girls. “By thegrace of God the Lal Masjid issueis now resolved,” he tells the Herald when asked why he ishelping the seminary continue itswork. “Can you not testify to thecurrent peace there?”

Hussain also took on theresponsibility of reconstructing LalMasjid. He says he has spent 15million rupees on its repair andredecoration. The premises displaya huge board announcing this,

making it evident that he is notwary of making public his views

Malik Riaz Hussain straddles the ideological andpolitical divide, and the influence he has developed

will sustain his business empire and personal power

beyond any shifts in the country’s governments or

ideologies. One thing is clear: even if Islamabad is

taken over by the most rabid fundamentalists, they will

not put Hussain out of business.

on this rather controversial issue. He openly calls the 2007 militaryoperation “a gross injustice”. But what about the violence of the mosque’sinmates, which led to the military operation? Hussain casts this asresponse to mistreatment. “Retaliation is normal. Is it not? … when youtorture someone, you must expect a violent reaction.” He ends by sayingthe operation was carried out to “placate America”.

Probe further and it appears that he does not subscribe to the widely-shared criticism of madrasahs in general: “They [the madrasahs] werecreated by the army. I know exactly how the army was using them, topromote their own politics of duplicity.” He tells the Herald that ananonymous caller once informed him that the benefactor of a madrasah inLahore had died; Hussain immediately instructed his manager to providehelp. He also claims to be assisting another 30 madrasahs, mainly aroundIslamabad and Rawalpindi, run by the Lal Masjid management. The baron

is good at showcasing his piety.But far more fascinating is the reaction of those at the receiving end.The Lal Masjid and Madrasah Hafsa crowd are not enthralled withtheir benefactor: for instance, Aziz is not too happy with the renovationplan for the mosque and the relocation of the madrasah to Rawalpindi.“The new facility in Rawalpindi only accommodates 750 girls while theold madrasah had 3,000 female students,” he tells the Herald. Themaulana seems caught between acknowledging Hussain’s help and

being alarmed by the fact that control now lies with his benefactor.Similarly, the caretaker of the building to which seminary studentshave been shifted complains that the girls chopped up their beds andhanded them to her, saying that she should give them to her boss toprotest his handling of the situation.

Clearly Hussain is not so driven by religiosity or ideology that he yields

to the clergy. In fact, incidents such as these lend support to speculationthat Hussain helped Lal Masjid clergy and students in order to help his



Zardari. Of his five Dastarkhwanprojects, which provide free mealsto the poor, one is established at thesite of Benazir Bhutto’s mausoleumin Naudero, Sindh, and it seemsthat, unconstrained by partyaffiliations or ideology, hemaintains all sorts of links with thegoverning class. “Why do you talkabout the Lal Masjid,” he says,when asked why he supports theLal Masjid administration.”I takecare of several MNAs and MPAsfrom the Federally AdministeredTribal Areas also.”

In other words Hussain straddlesthe ideological and political dividethat we think defines Pakistan, andthe influence he has developed willsustain his business empire andpersonal power beyond any shifts inthe country’s governments orideologies. One thing is clear: evenif Islamabad is taken over by themost rabid fundamentalists, theywill not put Hussain out of business.

Of course such an argument

could lead one to speculate thatHussain does what he does becausehe is savvy, and not because hispersonal ideology is a mix of theconservative and the liberal.Chances are, however, that hisdecisions are driven by bothpragmatism and religiosity.Regardless, the important point isthat he illustrates that Pakistanisociety cannot be analysed as beinga battleground between liberal andconservative ideologies. It is farmore complicated than that, and

requires an approach that takes thisinto consideration. I

‘friends’ in power. After all, moving the madrasah out of sight fromIslamabad to Rawalpindi is tantamount to clipping its wings. Peoplepoint out that Aziz is now dependent on someone’s munificence and willdesist from making trouble for the authorities. Regardless of whether ornot this is true, it is evident that Hussain controls the cleric and histroops, and not the other way around.

If this makes one question Hussain’s worldview, other factors drivehome the point that he is no traditionalist or fundamentalist. Take hisgeneral manager of marketing, Ayesha Kashif. Described by many asHussain’s “right hand”, she is a key part of his company. Married withchildren, Kashif has been with the company for the past seven years. Yetthis modern woman, who is often dressed in trouser suits, has been maderesponsible for dealing with Lal Masjid and Aziz. “Both my family and Iwere apprehensive when I was given this task but my boss thought mynature was suited for it,” she says. “Besides, I would, like most of the staff,go to any extent for Malik sahib.”

How, then, is one supposed to define Hussain? It can only be done by notexpecting people to either fit into a liberal, enlightened pigeonhole or aconservative, fundamentalist one.

Hussain defies such cookie-cutter binaries. In fact, he represents thenew upper class that has come of age in recent decades. With its roots inthe lower-middle class, this new elite, some argue, continues to adhere tomore traditional or conservative values. Hussain’s sense of philanthropyand charity is no different from that of small merchants and businessmen,who social scientists agree form the backbone of most conservative, right-wing movements. The bazaar in Iran supported the Ayatullahs againstthe Shah of Iran, a new elite made up of right-leaning businessmen led to

the formation of Islamist parties in Turkey that challenged the liberal,Kemalist ideology of that state, and in Pakistan the tradesmen andmerchants of Punjab form the support base of the Pakistan MuslimLeague–Nawaz (PMLN).

So despite being comfortably ensconced in the wealthiest strata of Pakistani society, Hussain has a good understanding of the values andreligiosity of the middle and lower-middle classes, which the moretraditional elite is alienated from. To think that he is defined by religiosityand traditionalism, however, would be a mistake. His employees’ profilesshow that he hires a lot of women, especially at the middle and seniormanagement levels, because he finds them “hard-working, efficient anddiligent”. It is difficult to describe Hussain as nafrrow-minded or sociallyor religiously orthodox.

With his traditional views on madrasahs, one could also presume that

politically he would be close to the conservative and right-wing PMLN.Instead, he is more inclined towards Pakistan Peoples Party’s Asif Ali

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Documents

THE PRAGMATIST Ayesha Siddiqa (Monthly Herald 2009)