Holidays

This week marks two holidays that will be celebrated in Pakistan, The Prophet's Birthday and Pakistan Day.  The former is of course celebrating the birth of the prophet Muhammad, and the latter I have yet to really understand.  Hopefully that will become clearer as the week proceeds.  The interesting thing about these two holidays falling so close together is the reminder it presents that Pakistan is truly an Islamic Republic.  Indeed, the word "Pakistan" itself means the land of the pure.  It was founded by Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim league with the understanding that it would be an Islamic state, set apart for the Muslims of South Asia.  Today Pakistan is the second (or third) largest Muslim nation in the world, and though it is a nation of amazing diversity, Islam is a common thread uniting 97% of all the 160 million people that call this land their home.  Islam permeates every area of life, from the flight attendants greeting on domestic flights to the official constitution and laws of the land.

We are thankful to be guests and strangers in this land.  Though it is a Islamic nation the overwhelming majority of people we meet are more than happy to have us as guests in their land.  It is refreshing in a strange way to be in country where people are not ashamed of their faith and it permeates every level of society.  In the West religion is something you keep to yourself, but here faith is openly expressed.  This of course makes it easier for us to also be open about our own faith and convictions in ways that are considered awkward or offensive back home.