In Pakistan, Shahzad does have some relatives in Karachi, but his father’s family lives near Peshawar, in a suburb called Hayatabad. This story in the International News, a Pakistani newspaper, states that his father is a retired Air Vice Marshal in the Pakistan Air Force.
Air Vice Marshal (R) Baharul Haq, father of Faisal Shahzad, the accused in New York’s failed bomb plot, hurriedly vacated the family home in Hayatabad town here late Tuesday apparently to avoid attention.
Eyewitnesses said he packed some belongings in a vehicle and left the house located in Phase IV of the posh Hayatabad town along with male and female members of the family. Their destination wasn’t known.
Earlier, members of the media, in particularly TV crews had converged on the house in a bid to talk to family members and learn more about Faisal Shahzad, who was arrested Tuesday in the US on charges of plotting the vehicle bomb attack and now accused of an attempted act of terrorism. However, nobody in Air Vice Marshal (R) Baharul Haq’s household or the neighbours were ready to talk to reporters. A Geo TV reporter was shown outside the house trying to engage in conversation with neighbours. Some people in the neighbourhood expressed ignorance about Faisal Shahzad’s arrest in the US. (link)
What is there to learn from this? First, I think it reaffirms that potential terrorists could come from virtually any economic and educational background; a surprising number of major terror suspects in recent years have had advanced degrees (Shahzad has an MBA). Second, there’s hardly a long history of identification with extremist ideology here. With a big smile and a bluetooth headset in his ear, he looks like he should be selling me cell phone accessories at the AT&T store, not wiring amateur bombs. Finally, this guy is the son of a senior officer in the military, a powerful institution in Pakistan, with several other male family members apparently also in the military. They are undoubtedly deeply embarrassed by all this.
In the days and weeks to come, I’m sure we’ll learn more about Faisal Shahzad. Judging from the many mistakes he made in assembling a bomb (with the wrong kind of fertilizer! propane tanks that weren’t opened! completely useless wiring and timers!), my guess is that he had little, if any, “training.” It seems more like a version of the American dream gone horribly awry: something snapped.
The dangerous thing in the subcontinent is that my parents’ generation still felt a kinship with Pakistan. So my father, a career military man, would feel some connection, as to “wayward brother” to a Pakistani military officer. To my generation, though, speaking for the broad center of educated Indians, Pakistanis seem utterly foreign (yes, I know they watch Bollywood)–more like a cartoonish enemy than a family. (South Bombay types probably think more like ABD’s.) My brother would “push the button” with little empathy in his heart. My father would have been really hesitant to do so.
Yes, I’ve heard of it, but it will never be put into use, and has not been developed beyond the thinking out loud stage. The main value of Cold Start is to get people to talk about it, and unnerve the Pakistanis.
Hehehe, yes, you are right, KXB, “The first rule of ‘cold start’ is–talk about ‘cold start.'”!! 🙂
ummm, Amardeep – I think you forgot to say this: that there are certain cultures, especially those of pakistan and the arab nations where this tends to be more true. Often this also involves use of islamist notions of humiliating the other, memories of an imaginary golden age, muslim land must be kept free of the infidel and so on.
But anyway, I do commend you for having the cohones to publish this posting, I realize that for many in the secular brigade he is a “misguided youth” and there must be a “root cause” somewhere and it has nothing to do with the culture/family/religion/nation from which he originates.
Regarding the wingnut who crashed the plane into the IRS building, his ideology is all over the place. Not just right wing. However, it is a fact that whatever few sympathies lie in his mission, all of them were coming from the side of the right wingers. I did not see anywhere close to the same vhemence towards this guy as I saw expressed for other acts.
Yes, he is a citizen. But I do not consider him an American. That is the technicality issue for me. He emotionally never became an American. This is probably true of a lot of naturalized citizens(not all, mind you) His citizenship can be considered just an enhanced version of a green card.
How does one “emotionally” become an American? How do we test for this? How do we determine who is American by this curious, new, exciting metric?
Some of the comments by Pravin trouble me. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but there seems to be an assumption that unless you are born in America, you are not a true citizen or that you are lesser in some way. Scary because thats exactly what the ultra conservatives likes to say. Except that it wont matter to them, if you were born here or not, everyone with brown skin/foreign sounding name is the same to them.
Think about the British born Pakistanis behind the last terror attacks in London. I certainly dont think you can fit people into a profile.
24
OH NO, OH NO, OH NO. The core of the Pakistani American (and to an extent the British Paki one) issue is their confused identity. I’ve met Pakistani Americans who always speak about their ‘Arab/Persian’ roots, completely rejecting their Indian side. You combine all of that with a twisted form of Islam and you produce people like Faisal Shahzhad. Thats what I was getting at in # 24. Hence I gave the Arab vs. Persian, Aryan vs. Semitic argument and background. FYI I’m not Paki nor Persian nor Arab nor Muslim but Hindu Punjabi.
I’M NOW GOING TO DROWN MYSELF IN TIGRAY-BY-THE-TALE ICE CREAM.
anu, I didn’t read pravin’s comments in that vein. You can be an illegal immigrant and feel more American than a 2nd or 3rd generation American – I think it’s about how you embrace the country and want to contribute to a more productive society. He’s right that many people take American citizenship for convenience without caring about their role as a citizen.
Take for example, misuse of Medicare and Medicaid among immigrants who clearly don’t need it. They make decent money, have houses and cars and gold, yet they can somehow show that they qualify for public assistance and have no qualms about taking it. I know this example is tangential to the original story, but the point I’m making is that it’s possible to be a citizen without giving a damn about the country. I think that’s what Pravin was saying.
But, we don’t know what thoughts were in Shahzad’s head. Maybe he loved America until one day something snapped and he wanted revenge for something bad that happened to him. Maybe he was plotting the entire 10 years. Maybe he got brainwashed during a chance encounter. We don’t have enough facts to know if he became American for convenience or out of true allegiance. We do know for sure that his allegiance went out the door at some point!
This is worthy of a thread
Indian became dean of Harvard Business School.
Step it up Pakistani Americans
The whole thing has to do with thinking you are “owed” something for free, you have been cheated by america somehow. All this whil being the SON OF A GENERAL who owns hundreds of acres of land in Pakistan. Talk about a victim-complex the size of the himalayas…
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/fear-grips-pakistaniamericans-550
Muhammad Younas Ansari of Lahore asked his Pakistani-American friends, “why are you so unhappy here? I have never heard of Indian or Bangladeshi Muslims being involved in such activities, why?â€
One of his friends thought that some Pakistanis living in America suffered from a major cultural shock. “No matter how unhappy a Pakistani says he is in America, he does not want to go back,†said the friend.
“The Pakistanis enjoy the benefits of living in America. Love earning dollars. Love the prosperity that the dollar brings. They love showing off their dollars when they go to Pakistan. Yet, they never tire of criticising America. They think Pakistan is a paradise but all are afraid of returning home.â€
Hamza Muhammad of Falls Church, Virginia, noted that the entire Pakistani society shared the blame for allowing religious extremists and fanatics to function. “They never tire of condemning the extremists but also never take any practical step to purge them,†he observed.
Not sure what you are trying to say here. Depending on their ideology, citizenship can mean very little in cases of terrorism, spying and the like. Race & religion can take a far higher precedence than nationality. I doubt you will find non-white, non-Christian extremists in the KKK. So there is a profile depending on the kind of extremist you are looking for. Faisal Shahzad does fit a profile, albiet one that people seem uncomfortable to discuss, preferring to distract themselves in irrelevant noise rather than what commonality motivates people like the London bombers, the Mumbai terrorists, and now Faisal. I’m sure the country will be watching with great interest as how the government handles this situation .
whil being the SON OF A GENERAL who owns hundreds of acres of land in Pakistan.
Same as the alleged terrorist from Nigeria. A young boy, from the wealthiest strata, in any country and living in privileged accomodations in London. Apparently terrorism for these young privileged youth, is the benefactor of the teenage angst we all have experienced.
Clayton Bigsby notwithstanding.
· The irony here, jyotsana, especially considering Bloomie’s speculation about an anti-health care reform terrorist, is that one of Joe Stacks stated grievnces was the lack therof, as evidenced by his words which parallel those of strident pro-hcr progressives. Such thetoric enables mentally disturbed lone wolf terrorists, bill clinton has repeatedly warned (albeit in differenct contexts):
“the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple”
I also haven’t seen any evidence of him being a republican, nevermind “hardened GOPer” but if you have some, please link up. Seems unlikely considering his manifesto stated:
“recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies “
Actually, the only known party affiliation for a member of that group is democrat.
And natural born citizens don’t do the same thing?
I also have issues with deciding “Americanness.” People are allowed to have various identities and affinities with other cultures and nations.
Why else would dual citizenships be allowed? (Interestingly, India doesn’t allow dual citizenship but still has more of ingrained dual identity into the overall society since it has such a large diaspora, and thus still gives PIO and now OCI–but with exceptions.)
This is frankly troubling, why can’t people criticize what they want to criticize, why in the world is that a test of someone’s ____ness?
de-lurker – of course natural born citizens can (and do) do the same thing. i thought that was implied with my first paragraph. i cited immigrants specifically, though, because shahzad is an immigrant.
@69, yes now rereading it I see you were saying it applies to everyone.
The previous comments about Americanness (which I talked in the second part of my post, but was not addressed to you) colored my reading of your comment.
Sorry
Yes, you are reading too much into it. I will stand by my statement. I was responding to someone who mentioned that they found it mindblowing that the Pakistani part of the Pakistani American was getting more play in this news. So I responded “why not”.
The analogy to Pakistani-Britishers doesnt wash as we are talking about Pakistani origin youth raised in England since birth or close to it. Their identity of some of those religious extremists, while outside the mainstream, is still BRIITSH PAKISTANI and very different from the Pakistani born and raised in Pakistan no matter how religious the two segments may be.
The case of this nutcase – he was born and raised in pakistan. He came here for his graduate studies. Judging by his age, he immediately applied for citizenship as soon as he qualified for it, and couldn’t have been a citizen that long. SO I do not buy the cycle of emotional outlook where he went from Pakistani to American and then he is pakistani now in his outlook? I dont think so.
Someone like Fareed Zakaria. I do not know if he is naturalized by now. But he would be an example of where one can maintain an Indianness and still be invested emotionally in his new country. Arnold Swarzenegger is another example. There are examples you know in your own family where that could be true. But they are not the majority in our community who become citizens. My mother is a US Citizen. But if you ask her what she is , she will say Indian. Not Indian American or American.
Do I say we need a test of emotional attachment to the new country? I seriously do not think that is practical. It does not bother me on a serious level to even come up with a suggesiton. But if we are exchanging opinions, there you have it. I think a lot of the older naturalized citizens (ONCE AGAIN, THIS DOES NOT MEAN, ALL) are just getting a glorified version of an enhanced green card. It is not meant to be a judgemental statement, but just an obvservation. There is no right and wrong about it as far as the topic of naturalized americans are concerned for me. But I will be judgemental about this guy. Since he is TECHNICALLY an American, sure, he deserves all the rights that go with it. But I don’t consider him an American.
“The Pakistanis enjoy the benefits of living in America. Love earning dollars. Love the prosperity that the dollar brings. They love showing off their dollars when they go to Pakistan. Yet, they never tire of criticising America. They think Pakistan is a paradise but all are afraid of returning home.â€
The sad thing is that this is true for many people from middle east/south asian countries who live in the west.
i think the issue of americanness is related to which group of people do the introspection, as anony in #6 says: “He is an American citizen and I feel it is time for introspection.”
this sounds like a stretch, and in this sense he’s not American since the larger culture enabling his terrorism is rather international. in contrast, the most imainstream (historically) American terrorist group, the kkk, would be an example of Americans needing to introspect… whites, southerners, and democrats (in order of importance) in particular.
to the extent Americans need to introspect, thats not an issue of enabling terror, but rather providing terrorists with grievances, presumably due to american foreign policy. but thats a different calculation. its like criticizing bill clinton and janet reno for ruby ridge and waco because it resulted in OK city. but thats not the same as bill clinton scolding talk radio, presumably rush Limbaugh…and asking for introspection there.
so in this case, americans are like bubba while pakistanis and muslims are like rush.
I think Manju expresses better what was really bothering me about some of the commments which try to portray him as just another american, so we deal with that identity from that angle. MAnju’s comment deals with the different types of Americans instead of the “is he American or not” discussion which can rile up people.
@nri “university of bridgeport mba is “advanced degree” ? maybe i should send in that application for an english phd at lehigh.”
LOL.
@um “How does one “emotionally” become an American? How do we test for this? How do we determine who is American by this curious, new, exciting metric?”
I think first one should not try to bomb ones fellow Americans – that is kind of big on my list. Second, one learns to respect the law and makes a good faith attempt to fullfill ones obligations – like when ones take out huge loans one does not resolve the obligation to pay the loan back by disappearing ‘back home’ behind one’s mom’s salwar. These are just starters…
@Pravin I think you are asking a question taht I an interpreting as – “how many naturalized Americans are able to accept America in return after America has accepted them”. Naturalization is not a right, some people think that way and it is just does not work that way. Also this guy has had it easy – rich mofo army baap to fund his USA vacation, citizen wife (no OPT, no H1 renewal,no stamping issues :)) so easy green card and short cut to citizenship. This guy is an anomaly. Most of us understand that ‘getting’ American citizenship is a privilege – we have trudged the long road. 🙂 that in itself makes being American special for us.
However, it does not mean that after one takes the oath one loses the right to bitch, I tend to believe that after I became a citizen my right to bitch about America has been codified.
May I suggest taking all Is he or Isnt He American discussions to Melvin’s blog item below this one? We are kind of diverging from the main topic over here. I am partly to blame because I was late to notice the other blog entry.
When V.S. Naipaul was asked to explain the title “India – A Million Mutinies Now”, he said that the term Indian was far too general for such a polyglot country, where people in one part often seem at odds with people in another part. Indians needed to use terms that they felt they had a stake in, or represented them better, so they sought comfort in their religion, caste, language, religion, region, etc.
Probably the same can be applied to Americans now. We vary by ethnicity, religion, region – etc. After all, would a resident in Chicago prefer to live in downstate Illinois, because he would be living among people of the same state? Or, would that Chicagoan prefer to live in another city like NY or LA? My guess, barring issues such as job or family obligations, is the latter.
Shahzad was an America citizen. But, of all the elements of background, this was probably the least important to him.
America is one of the most diverse, integrated societies ever. A Chicagoan could live in New York and could blend in within a year. Literally nobody would know the difference unless they were told. A Londoner, on the other hand, could travel for 20 minutes and they’d be able to spot him by his accent.
i read somewhere that a possible target of the failed suv bomb could have been Viacom headquarters 2blocks from where he was parked. Viacom owns Comedy Central…South Park
If there is one part of Islam that needs immediate reform, it is the notion of disrespect to the prophet. The moderates take umbrage but the crazies wanna blow shit up. And i think it is sanctioned, required even, by the religion.
Can anyone recommend something good to read on US immigration policy–that is, what are its goals? I have been searching but not found anything good yet. It seems really unusal that this guy got in without elite education when Indian MBBS and PhD have to wait so long. I guess this is related to countrywide caps, mostly affecting India and China? OK, but what is US seeking by letting in people like this, who is knocking around with low-level education and jobs? I know Canada uses more of a “points” system. What is the politics of why US has what it does?
I read these comments and I must say that I am dismayed. Why does everyone assume that Shahzad sahib is guilty? Why don’t we give a brown brother the benefit of the doubt? Isn’t that what reconstructing South Asian identity is all about? I think some of the posters are unreconstructed communalists.
This picture of Faisal and his wife has floating around:
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAAI_9iQ-iSpSSTuP7pJE29EfnJTn7BRWCPRuKtsJc8Ig9E5s6IFo-2Ziz0y-QTl8ReKOfHVkWYN47Ldx4vwYVU1wAm1T1ULUusM3Cajr60_bBqAlylIchF9JY.jpg
Look like a normal couple?
Sulabh,
Oath of Allegiance upon naturalization
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.“
Same I wonder if he has any connection to revolution muslim in NYC
Is that a trick question? Yes. They don’t look like Islamists, either, given dress and taking pic in front of a church.
I don’t understand this theory that’s being floated that he only received “poor” training b/c they were afraid he was a spy? If a suspected spy shows up, why train him at all? And how is giving low-level training frustrating his mission? If he’s a CIA spy, he’s probably already trained, no? Also, why isn’t US bombing the training camps? India says they know where the Kashmir-oriented camps are, US must know where Taliban camps are, right? Given satellite imagery, etc. I don’t buy the theory that Pakistan is “too fragile”–US is already bombing there, but going after leaders. You need to clean out the footsoldiers too! Obama is going to look weak for not having bombed the camps when these camp-trained guys get lucky, right?
@nyx
“Oath of Allegiance upon naturalization” […]
Sure – if that’s what it takes for you feel “emotionally” American.
As a Pakistani-American, let me first say how absolutely appalled I am at what this guy has done. Although his actions are those of an individual, they are going to reflect on an entire community, 99% of which are completely innocent and just want to go about their business. Also, I don’t think Indians should be gloating that the suspect was a Pakistani, because at first sight, the average American won’t really be able to tell the difference between us. If you look “brown” or “Middle Eastern” you’re going to come under suspicion.
Anyway, to me, the more interesting question is why a man who seems to have pretty well for himself: a degree in CS and an MBA, a job as a financial analyst, a house in the suburbs, a wife and two children– in other words, pretty much the desi dream– would suddenly snap and decide to undergo terrorist training. I would guess that he must be mentally ill. Perhaps he was feeling lost and vulnerable and turned to religion for solace. Maybe he was easily radicalized by the drone attacks in NWFP– we can never really know.
I think that’s what this NBC reporter wanted to call this guy, since he wasn’t playing her game… Funny when people don’t fit into the stereotypes the media and government want you believe.
There is a conflict and a compromise involved, amidst a level of confusion — an identity issue. The Pakistani and his Arab/Persian roots.
What about Sri Lankans and Tamils?
I don’t like this comment. Religions are mostly about the individual’s response to personal difficulties.
This business of looking at history, building up the sense that our community/caste/religion is a victim, building the sense that other communities/castes/religions are oppressors is the business of op-ed writers, and their close cousins, historians.
Faisal would not have done this if he had gone to a proper maulvi.
Shilpa,
You don’t need a marriage license to become ’emotionally’ invested in a relationship but it helps. Regardless, the fool has violated his oath in the most direct way it can be violated. Personally, I think there might be desis who feel ’emotionally American’ within a year or two in the States but I haven’t encountered any of them yet (though I am open to). Most desis who are emotionally invested in the US tend to live for ten years or more in the US or have formative experiences in the States. This guy went to grad school here but I would not call it a formative experience. If his children grow up in the States where he lived, I could see the point of calling him an American citizen. Regardless, the fool has tried to blow up Times Square.
Kabir,
Trust me, most desis regardless of ethnic origin hate this fool for what he has done. Most are not gloating. I doubt the drones have caused him to snap. Maybe his personal failures. Maybe.
@ 90:
What I meant by “turned to religion for solace” is that Faisal may have been lost and confused, and turned to religion for help. However, whoever he turned to then radicalized him or he turned to a fundamentalist version of the religion. I did not mean to imply that all people who turn to religion for solace end up become terrorists–that is obviously a falsehood. The vast majority of them do not.
@Kabir on May 5, 2010 5:03 PM “I would guess that he must be mentally ill. Perhaps he was feeling lost and vulnerable and turned to religion for solace. “
Or perhaps his religion had him feeling lost and vulnerable and mentally ill?
Anyway, to me, the more interesting question is why a man who seems to have pretty well for himself: a degree in CS and an MBA, a job as a financial analyst, a house in the suburbs, a wife and two children– in other words, pretty much the desi dream– would suddenly snap and decide to undergo terrorist training. I would guess that he must be mentally ill.
Why is it everytime an attack is done by a muslim, some here look for excuses for what he done, instead of dealing with the issues in Islam that cause people to carry attacks out like this. How many have you seen stories about new western converts to Islam. Who have joined the cause to fight against the west when they are new to religon. I’ve lost count. You don’t see western converts to sikhism care about khalistan or western converts to Hinduism fight what ever cause they are for.
Now image if some neo-nazi or kkk member had left a car in the parking lot of some mosque in the United States. I just don’t see the same type of comments being left by the people here they have done about Faisal Shahzad. The people at CAIR would be ranting and raving about racist America is for the action of one.
I would think that there are hundreds of thousands of “lost and confused” people around the world. Few become cross-border terrorists. So maybe “lost and confused” is necessary, but not sufficient. At this point in history, I think we know what the other requirement seems to be!
This made me lol. Whatever the hell are we for?
Then again, Western converts (including “born agains”) to Evangelical Christianity do tend to be a touch militant as well though. It’s not hard to imagine that ideological/universalist religions (Islam, Christianity), rather than tribal/cultural ones (Judaism, Hinduism), would be more prone to militancy. I guess Sikhism is technically a universalist religion but the way it is practiced is mostly restricted within the tribe.
Then again, some sects of Buddhism tend to be pretty universalist and they haven’t tended to stoke much militancy.
There is probably a worthwhile dissertation topic in here somewhere. Anybody pursuing a PhD in Poli. Sci/Intl. Relations studying the intersection of religion and statecraft?
They sure have in Sri Lanka. All religions have militant wings. RSS for Hindus, Settlers for Jews. But some are worse than others at least at this period in history!
He was 19 when he moved to states and I think has been here for 11
Its going to be an Indian born American attorney Vs a Pakistani born American Terrorist (or should I say accused terrorist). Interesting, almost poetic 🙂
http://www.examiner.com/x-22234-South-Asian-Culture-Examiner~y2010m5d5-Indian-origin-prosecutor-to-prosecute-accused-Times-Square-terrorist-Pakistaniborn-Faisal-Shahzad
First, I think it reaffirms that potential terrorists could come from virtually any economic and educational background; a surprising number of major terror suspects in recent years have had advanced degrees (Shahzad has an MBA).
amardeep, it shouldn’t surprise you. when judged against the repulsive levels of poverty in many of these nations radical terrorists have a tendency to be well off or upper class. we don’t worry about terrorism from extremely poor countries, we worry about terrorism from middle income countries, or elites from poor countries (this guy, the nigerian shoe bomber, etc.). marc sagemen has done some work on the salafist international, and its demographics are way overloaded on advanced science degrees in relation to their countries of origin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Sageman