Bangladesh's relations with neighboring India are strained over various issues. Since the fall of autocratic Sheikh Hasina's government and
The fate of crickter Mohammad Yousuf. By Nazir S Bhatti
On November 8, 2008, The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) served legal notice to Mohammad Yousuf to repay the 10 million rupees it had spent on him in a court battle with the unofficial Indian Cricket League who rejoined the ICL earlier this week.
Saleem Altaf, Director General says "The PCB hereby bans, forbids and stops you from playing any form of representative cricket (department, association, club) in Pakistan,"
Mohammad Yousuf issued a statement and blamed his fellow Muslim captian of Pakistan Cricket Team and PCB to force him to join ICL and not including him in Canada tour. In response his Muslim brothren in PCB have threatened to file defamation suit in a civil court.
“Pakistan,s Youhana embraces Islam” this news by BBC on september 19, 2005, was heared with sentiments of sorrow by millions of Pakistani Christian who used to pray for Yousuf Yohana in every cricket match of Pakistan. The Christian nation in Pakistan felt proud when Yousuf Youhana always performed sign of Cross on his shest after his half century or century in ground during every match.
Yousuf Youhana took new name of Mohammad Yousuf after conversion to Islam and urged his parents to embrace Islam also but they refused. According to Dailt Times newspaper mother of Yousuf Yohana said "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done," She also blamed Saeed Anwar and his brother of Pakistan cricket team for "ruining my son's life," There was curse in comments of poor mother of Yousuf Yohana who felt helpless on conversion oh his son for whom she have been praying from years.
Father of Yousuf Yohanna lived in poor slum area of Lahore and supported his family with manual labour. He never wanted Yousuf Yohana to be a labourer and put him to learn tailoring with a local tailor. Yousuf Yohana was very fond of cricket like every Pakistani youth and played street cricket till 1990.
The fate of Yousuf yohana changed when he played crafted shots in local mathes and attracted attention of crickters. Youhana, a born Catholic Christian on August 27, 1974, was selected in Pakistan National Cricket Team in 1998.
The news article published in The Sikh Times in 2005 on conversion of Yousuf Youhana, presented interesting view, as: “Mohammad Ali Jinnah's dream of a secular Pakistan has taken yet another shattering blow in an unlikely arena: cricket. Yousuf Youhana - the only Christian in the current Pakistani cricket team, its mainstay of many years, its veritable Mr. Dependable who has attained fame for his batting prowess - declared last week that he and his wife Tania had embraced Islam and adopted the Muslim names of Muhammad Yousuf and Fatima. For long a symbol for those who claimed Pakistan wasn't biased against non-Muslims. Earlier this year, Younis Khan as vice-captain for the tour of India replaced Youhana. He was sent back from the West Indies, apparently after an ugly altercation with some senior players. Publicly, though, it was claimed Youhana had returned to Pakistan to tend to his ailing father. It was another matter that Papa Youhana wasn't sick enough to be admitted to hospital. Then one fine morning, after his return, Youhana's Mercedes was pelted with stones, at his home in a posh Lahore locality”
Each of Youhana's Muslim teammates warmly welcomed his conversion to Islam and why not, most of them were born-again Muslims. The process of rediscovering Islam started when Saeed Anwar in 2002, then emotionally vulnerable owing to his toddler daughter's death, came under the influence of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary group. He started sporting a beard and found solace in spreading the Word. What better place to start than the Pakistan dressing room. Almost the entire Pakistan team was then recovering from match-fixing allegations. Call it pangs of guilt or a desire to reform, Anwar found a receptive audience in Waqar Younis, Inzamam, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed. The entire milieu around the national team witnessed a dramatic change. From indulging in carnal pleasures, they began to spread the mat in the dressing room for prayers. Interestingly, none of these born-again Muslims, some of whom had a dishonorable mention in Justice Qayyum's Judicial Report on match-fixing, publicly confessed to their dalliance with the bookies, wrote Sikh Times
Younhana's conversion has shocked the Christian community already reeling under jehadi bomb attacks. 'After all, he was a role model for the entire community, perhaps the best-known Christian here. He was an inspiration to those who wanted to strike it big,' said a Christian journalist.
I.A. Rehman, director of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission was concerned about the star batsman's conversion. 'It seems to me that Youhana was finding it difficult to keep his place in the side. Everyone is free to change one's religion but to my mind, there was apparently an element of coercion here,' Rehman told Outlook.
Youhana himself, though, demonstrated the zeal so typical of new converts. Not only had he been pictured praying with team members, he shifted his children to a school supposedly better suited for Islamic education.
Yousuf Youhana's father said on his conversion, “Yousuf has sinned by converting. God will punish him for that.” Have punishment started now?
Saleem Altaf, Director General says "The PCB hereby bans, forbids and stops you from playing any form of representative cricket (department, association, club) in Pakistan,"
Mohammad Yousuf issued a statement and blamed his fellow Muslim captian of Pakistan Cricket Team and PCB to force him to join ICL and not including him in Canada tour. In response his Muslim brothren in PCB have threatened to file defamation suit in a civil court.
“Pakistan,s Youhana embraces Islam” this news by BBC on september 19, 2005, was heared with sentiments of sorrow by millions of Pakistani Christian who used to pray for Yousuf Yohana in every cricket match of Pakistan. The Christian nation in Pakistan felt proud when Yousuf Youhana always performed sign of Cross on his shest after his half century or century in ground during every match.
Yousuf Youhana took new name of Mohammad Yousuf after conversion to Islam and urged his parents to embrace Islam also but they refused. According to Dailt Times newspaper mother of Yousuf Yohana said "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done," She also blamed Saeed Anwar and his brother of Pakistan cricket team for "ruining my son's life," There was curse in comments of poor mother of Yousuf Yohana who felt helpless on conversion oh his son for whom she have been praying from years.
Father of Yousuf Yohanna lived in poor slum area of Lahore and supported his family with manual labour. He never wanted Yousuf Yohana to be a labourer and put him to learn tailoring with a local tailor. Yousuf Yohana was very fond of cricket like every Pakistani youth and played street cricket till 1990.
The fate of Yousuf yohana changed when he played crafted shots in local mathes and attracted attention of crickters. Youhana, a born Catholic Christian on August 27, 1974, was selected in Pakistan National Cricket Team in 1998.
The news article published in The Sikh Times in 2005 on conversion of Yousuf Youhana, presented interesting view, as: “Mohammad Ali Jinnah's dream of a secular Pakistan has taken yet another shattering blow in an unlikely arena: cricket. Yousuf Youhana - the only Christian in the current Pakistani cricket team, its mainstay of many years, its veritable Mr. Dependable who has attained fame for his batting prowess - declared last week that he and his wife Tania had embraced Islam and adopted the Muslim names of Muhammad Yousuf and Fatima. For long a symbol for those who claimed Pakistan wasn't biased against non-Muslims. Earlier this year, Younis Khan as vice-captain for the tour of India replaced Youhana. He was sent back from the West Indies, apparently after an ugly altercation with some senior players. Publicly, though, it was claimed Youhana had returned to Pakistan to tend to his ailing father. It was another matter that Papa Youhana wasn't sick enough to be admitted to hospital. Then one fine morning, after his return, Youhana's Mercedes was pelted with stones, at his home in a posh Lahore locality”
Each of Youhana's Muslim teammates warmly welcomed his conversion to Islam and why not, most of them were born-again Muslims. The process of rediscovering Islam started when Saeed Anwar in 2002, then emotionally vulnerable owing to his toddler daughter's death, came under the influence of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary group. He started sporting a beard and found solace in spreading the Word. What better place to start than the Pakistan dressing room. Almost the entire Pakistan team was then recovering from match-fixing allegations. Call it pangs of guilt or a desire to reform, Anwar found a receptive audience in Waqar Younis, Inzamam, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed. The entire milieu around the national team witnessed a dramatic change. From indulging in carnal pleasures, they began to spread the mat in the dressing room for prayers. Interestingly, none of these born-again Muslims, some of whom had a dishonorable mention in Justice Qayyum's Judicial Report on match-fixing, publicly confessed to their dalliance with the bookies, wrote Sikh Times
Younhana's conversion has shocked the Christian community already reeling under jehadi bomb attacks. 'After all, he was a role model for the entire community, perhaps the best-known Christian here. He was an inspiration to those who wanted to strike it big,' said a Christian journalist.
I.A. Rehman, director of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission was concerned about the star batsman's conversion. 'It seems to me that Youhana was finding it difficult to keep his place in the side. Everyone is free to change one's religion but to my mind, there was apparently an element of coercion here,' Rehman told Outlook.
Youhana himself, though, demonstrated the zeal so typical of new converts. Not only had he been pictured praying with team members, he shifted his children to a school supposedly better suited for Islamic education.
Yousuf Youhana's father said on his conversion, “Yousuf has sinned by converting. God will punish him for that.” Have punishment started now?
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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti
On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.