Professor Akbar Ahmed said this in an exclusive interview with AAJ News team. Dr Ahmed was of the view that one of the events that might have led to his rather early demise was the bloody ethnic violence that occurred during the partition for which he held himself personally responsible at least to the extent of the Pakistan side of the divide.
Moreover, today's Pakistan, characterised as it is, with its worst sectarian polarisation and the resultant violence compounded by the on-going terrorism, lack of enforcement of constitutional rights of the minorities and women, would have left the Great Quaid "heartbroken" and wondering was it the creation he gave his life for. When asked if anything in today's Pakistan would make the Quaid happy, Dr Ahmed suggested that the mere existence of Pakistan would have to done it.
AAJ team also spoke to Dr Ahmed about the state of the Pakistan lobby in Washington and why unlike the Indian lobby it exerted little influence over US South Asia policy. He acknowledged that despite the fact that Indian and Pakistani immigration began basically around the same time, the Indian immigrants had integrated into American society much quicker than their Pakistani counterparts.
Furthermore, he said Pakistani-Americans are less organised politically and more prone to infighting and dragging each other down. Dr Ahmed suggested that perhaps the current generation of Pakistani-Americans, who are much less originally connected with Pakistan, would be able to integrate successfully into the American fabric.
Dr Ahmed also spoke to AAJ about his most recent project 'Journey Into America' in which he, along with 4 of his American graduate students, travelled the length and breadth of America to visit and interact with as many as 75 Muslim communities there to explore what it means to be a Muslim American in the context of the American identity.
As part of the project, the film, made on a shoe string budget, presents a most insightful vision into Muslim life in America and, whilst asking the difficult questions, illustrates quite clearly the relative freedom people enjoyed in practicing the dictates of their own religion in the United States.
AAJ also spoke to Dr Ahmed about his efforts in Washington to further the inter-faith dialogue in the US, among the multi-faceted efforts Dr Ahmed has undertaken to promote religious understanding and goodwill. Dr Ahmed and Professor Judea Pearl, father of late Daniel Pearl, have been through a series of personal yet public conversations furthering inter-faith dialogue especially among Muslim and Jewish communities across the United States. Dr Ahmed's interview will be telecast by AAJ News on Saturday (today) at 10pm.