You are Only as Good as your Last Act
A print of Mahomed's Baths in Brighton. Photo: Courtesy The British Library Board
I think it’s fair to say that today, being brown or of Muslim descent (whether you are religious or not) is the equivalent of being Japanese or German in the 1940s and 50s: you are seen as a threat. We have come to represent bombers, mass murderers, fanatics and evil plotters.
But there are over one billion Muslims on the planet and a few thousand crazies, so I think the strategy of ethnic profiling may not be the best way to find the needle in the haystack. However, since political analysis is not the name of my game, I won’t get in to all of that.
What I am all about is image and feeling good, so I find it extremely disturbing to be viewed as any part of the scourge of civilisation. I refuse to wear that badge because I have a different identity – an identity that no one is interested in seeing. Like George Clooney’s character says in Up in the Air when refusing to get in line behind some brown-looking guys for fear of being kept waiting while they are being questioned: “Yeah, I’m like my mother. I stereotype. It saves time.”
But how did we get here? Surely we have a rich history that has more to it than veils, beards and militancy. This led me to explore the history of Muslims, Indians and our side of the world in general, and I was relieved and proud to see that we have been pretty cool for a very long time – until quite recently. This past decade has all but erased over a thousand years of exchanges and contributions, minor and major, to the world.
If you look up lists of inventors, you will see that between the 7th and 15th centuries there are many contributions by people with names that now sound like they should be on a terror watchlist. Though it is often impossible to conclusively prove who invented what, many sources claim the following inventions belonged to the East: general anaesthesia, cosmetic dentistry, the three-course meal, the precursor to the modern cheque, carpets, pleasure gardens, tooth bleaching, hair care, hair dye, solid lipstick, hand cream and lotion, suntan lotion, roll-on deodorant, the pointed arch, nasal spray, topical cream, adhesive bandage and plaster, sutures, chess, soap, clinical trials, cancer surgery, cancer therapy, rose water, public hospitals, medical schools, automatic flute players, gas masks, pure distilled alcohol, the decimal system (zero and infinity were ancient Indian concepts and Indian mathematics was way ahead of its time), philosophical novels, bell-striking clock towers, erectile dysfunction drugs (around 900AD), lamination, the pinhole camera (qamara means a dark room in Arabic), the magnifying glass, homing pigeons and air mail, ventilators (in the 1200s), coffee . . . and the list goes on. Obviously, empires have the finances for pursuits of this nature: there is the need and incentive to experiment and improve, thus things get invented. My point here is that when half the world was ruled by those of the brown persuasion (who were seen as a subhuman threat even then) civilisation and human endeavour barrelled on just the same. I am not one of those who say that Islamic or Indian invention is the basis for all civilisation as we know it: everyone has their place. I just want to know the good bits of my history.
There were two people in my search who particularly impressed me (and had something to do with my field). A gentleman by the name of Al-Zahrawi (a name that sounds ominous now due to more recent associations) was a famous surgeon and physician who lived in Spain (936-1013AD). He wrote a 30-volume medical encyclopaedia that was used worldwide as the basis for all medicine up until the 17th century. Believe it or not, one of these 30 volumes had a section devoted to cosmetology! Other than the more obvious cosmetic topics, Al-Zahrawi had a method for taming kinky hair, strengthening gums and freshening breath; he introduced the earliest antecedents of deodorants and lipsticks; he suggested keeping incense where you store your clothes; and it is believed he even started the tradition of taking flowers when visiting the sick.
Another fascinating gentleman is Sake Dean Mahomed (Shaikh Din Muhammad), who hailed from an elite family in Bengal. He (like my grandfather) was an officer in the army of the British Raj in India. He decided to follow his superior officer to Ireland and after marrying an Irish girl there, opened Britain’s first Indian take-away, which has subsequently been commemorated with a plaque by the city of Westminster. This is all the more surprising given that the venture was a failure. His next endeavour, in Brighton, was a bath house called “Mahomed’s Baths,” where the art of champi claimed to cure arthritic and rheumatic problems. So successful was this idea that Mahomed was appointed “Shampooing Surgeon” to King George IV and William IV.
Bat for Lashes
On a more contemporary note, we have a huge music star of Pakistani origin in the UK to be proud of, Natasha Khan. The niece of Jahangir Khan, the world-famous squash champion, Natasha is known for Bat for Lashes, her stage name. She has been nominated for two BRIT awards and her video “Daniel” (below) was nominated for an MTV video music award as breakthrough video of the year. She has opened for both Coldplay and Radiohead, while Ringo Starr has called her one of his favourite new artists and even Bjork has been spotted at her gigs. Her musical style is beautiful and haunting and her rendition of the famous Springsteen “I’m on Fire” (which you might have heard playing at my salon!) is truly spectacular.
The history of our people, sub-continental or Muslim, recent or ancient, elite or humble, is far from nefarious or no more nefarious than any other history of a people. I, for one, need to flesh out my identity as a Pakistani with histories and views that are very different from those that are being constantly highlighted. And I hope that in my own small way I am representing an equally real and present version of my city, my country and my part of the world that is pretty, witty, creative and joyous. It’s as real and as close as the bombs and the tears are.
Bat for Lashes
“Daniel”
The opinions expressed in this article and the views shared by readers in the comment forum below do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance or policies of Newsline.
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i love how youve woven in what you do so subtly into such a different article.
very interesting b.
Can you think of more people to be proud of? Just as this article was published, I came accross a story on fox news about Dr. Shaheen Mallick, who every karachi pet owner knows and loves. He continues to impress in his new home of pasadena:
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/Generous_Clinic_Saves_Family_Dog_20090727
Many main and highly publicized singers in the UK on the main charts are actually of Pakistani decent: ‘sef’ ‘(original name saif naqvi) and ‘Mr Shabz’ (originally Shabbi Naqvi):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTnuZ8rKWSg&feature=related
both of them have been members of the famous boy band : ‘so solid crew’ but do their own solo’s now:
Amir khan, is the pakistani who represents UK in world boxing, and also won silver medals for Britain during olympics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Khan_(boxer)
Well Done, Bina. I completely agree with SJ on how this article sounds so right coming from you, and its such a light read, a very different perspective and yet so much depth. compared to the usual ‘feel-good’ attempts we come across regularly:):)
looking fwd to more from you……am going to share this on FB so all our non-Paki friends can learn something new about us today, just like I did:)
N.N
“I, for one, need to flesh out my identity as a Pakistani with histories and views that are very different from those that are being constantly highlighted. And I hope that in my own small way I am representing an equally real and present version of my city, my country and my part of the world that is pretty, witty, creative and joyous. It’s as real and as close as the bombs and the tears are.”
I think your conclusion speaks for all of us who choose to stay back and make something of ourselves here.
Its this streak of stubbornness in all of us, that refuses to be taken down by all the negatives around us. It’s also a resolve to prove to ourselves and the outside world that there really is much more to us than what BBC and CNN show.
just when i think i’ve read your best work, Bina, you further crank it up a notch. i don’t know what has wowed me more: the fact that this could be a thesis topic and still not cover the issue but you have packed the punch in just a few paragraphs; or the easy and light-hearted way in which you have tackled head-on the sensitive (and often explosive..uhm pun intended….) issues of racial and ethnic profiling; or the sense of pride this article has left me with. as you said, not all Muslims are “bombers, mass murderers, fanatics and evil plotters,” and you have shown that not all people who speak out against the prejudice do it with bombs. thank you for this, it was so needed!
that last line just killed me.
Brilliant Bina,not just a pretty face are you!
I want to print this out and leave it on all my colleagues desks at work…with a covering note saying ‘In your face,suckers!’ hahaha
I loved this article bina.
it was spot on.
I will definitely be quoting numerous things from this to people i meet randomly here who ask me annoying questions about Pakistan.
Best
its just beautifull …its just not the colours n brush u use correctly ,its words too very nice article n specially the last few words..awesome ..beautifull..keep up the good work
Awesome article.. i wish it shrieks out loud to the whole world
…your article played the last nail in the coffin for so called friendly banter between me and my friends (: And if I may so – was probably the most equisite shut up call that I have ever come across (:
Article starts off interestingly enough, but quickly veers off into a paranoid reminiscing of Muslim contributions to the world… as if those are going to get despondent Muslims to come running back to the faith or to Pakistan. Please !
Aw, and here I was hoping that this article would cause a rise in pakis running back home and to the mosque! You mean it won’t work? Shucks! I did hope that hearing about a singer and two early contributors to the world of cosmetology would help recruit more people back to the faith and to the nation. Oh well, back to the drawing board!
As a make-up artist, that is of course my secret and ultimate purpose: mass conversion and luring immigrants back here through skin care tips! Glad you cracked that code, Cornell!
On another note, not one of the people mentioned in the article lived in Pakistan, and only one is of Pakistani descent. This is an article about a search for identity (whether you live here or not, are religous or not, you are still seen as muslim and brown) and trying to throw off the one that is imposed on us: that of a nefarious, paranoid people who are super religous and don’t want any exchanges with the rest of the world.
You know, like I am here with you!
Such a brilliant read! I really enjoyed going over the “good bits of my history”. I loved that it wasn’t just about being Muslim or Eastern – it is more about our identity by association. Not sure what Cornell missed but this didn’t sound like a call to religion or the nation to me…
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