Junaid Jamshed, the renowned singer turned preacher, tragically died last week in a plane crash along with forty six other passengers. The memories of Junaid Jamshed will stick with us for a long time not only because of his pop hit songs or his Islamic tele evangelism but also for the extreme positions he took in his life that swung in opposite directions.
People who saw him perform in live concerts or grew up listening to Dil dil Pakistan never accepted his newly acquired identity as a cleric with trimmed up moustache and a long beard hanging down his chest. Similarly, people who liked him as a preacher belonging to the Tableeghi Jamat did not want to discuss his earlier career as a singer at all. They even condemned those who brought up his music endeavours. I never considered his personal transformation from an artist to a hardcore Deobandi proselytiser as an individual event. Indeed, it encompassed the transformation of the whole society under-or because of-the policies adopted by Zia’s regime, which was an era in which the country learnt to emphasise only on one aspect of existence: afterlife. Children were taught that all their activities-educational, recreational or social-would be counted and judged after death, and those actions that did not fall exactly in line with the principles of Islam would be classified as sins. So listening to music was considered a sin, watching television too was a sin, playing sports was a sin, singing was a sin, dancing a sin, laughing a sin, eating a sin, and drinking a sin.
The message was so fervently inculcated throughout those formative years that even if it was ignored during teenage, it still haunted them and eventually possessed them as soon as the energy of their youth faded away. Think of it like a noose tied around their neck that tightened its grip overtime until one day it compressed their jugular veins leaving them with no option except to follow its commands. Once that level of control has been achieved, the object’s soul was inundated with a strong sense of guilt and emptiness. The same music that once captivated them would feel vapid if not outright evil. The beats of the drum that once set their feet into motion would send their hearts into a flutter. The tunes of the piano that once lit up their brains would bog down their souls and the lilt in their voice, which once charged up the crowd, would become a handicap to be replaced only by the recitation of religious anthems. Slowly, the process expanded its influence until it captured and painted every moment of their lives — eating, drinking, chatting, traveling, shaving, sitting, standing, smiling-with a single brush: sin.
According to Maulana Tariq jamil, when he met Junaid Jamshed the first time, the singer described his symptoms in almost the same words: that he could not enjoy the world of pleasure and wealth around him anymore, that even though he lives a life under bright lights, a blackhole still sits in his chest; that his soul squirms for the true meaning of his existence, that there must be some way to instil peace, to calm down his nerves. Of course, Junaid Jamshed could not point out why he yearned for more from life, but Maulana, a shrewd and dramatic proselytiser, knew exactly how to put his finger on the raw emotions of the celebrity and how to lure him into his sect. From that day on, Junaid Jamshed embarked on the path of hyper religiosity with Maulana Tariq Jamil, never to return back to normalcy again. Aside from wearing a beard, covering his head with a cap and shaving his moustache, he also changed his dress code limiting it to traditional Shalwar Qameez whose hems always ended a couple of inches above the ankles. Quite radical in themselves, but more surprising than the outlook was his sudden acquisition of an ‘Islamic accent’ which sounded both strange and unnatural. Nevertheless, he did not refrain from appearing before the camera though he would do so as a born again Muslim and a preacher. Did he become successful in his new passion? Of course, he did. Why? Because he spoke from the heart. One could disagree with his opinion, which many of us did, yet one could not disagree with the honesty of his conviction, his friendly demeanour and non violent message.
However, Junaid Jamshed did not go through this transformation alone. Look around yourself and think of all the people who grew up in Zia’s era and ask a simple question: how many of them who went to school or college during that time have experienced similar change of heart? Despite the fact that they did not change as much as Junaid Jamshed did, still inquire: how many of them till today spend an enormous amount of time talking about religion, the Sharia, the Islamic code of ethics? You will be surprised by the numbers. Even more so, you will be surprised how much do they not know that they were brainwashed.
The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at [email protected]