Karachi’s Sonehri Mosque in the Martin
Quarters area usually spills over with the faithful especially on
a Friday. Even by normal standards the crowd gathered at the mosque
was big.
A young, bearded man with a green turban was lecturing with a passion,
his voice booming through the loudspeakers of the mosque.
The crowd was in rapt attention. While most were obviously there
to listen to the young preacher, quite a few also wanted to get a
glimpse of him, the face they had only seen on the TV screen and
at stadiums.
The unglamorous preacher in a simple salwar-kameez was the once-glamorous
opening bat for the Pakistan cricket team, the man whose 194 runs
against India in Madras remains the highest score in one-day international
cricket.
Saeed Anwar is a changed man, as he himself says. The sermon was
not about cricket; it was about Islam, its fundamentals and why it
is important for all Muslims to practise their religion and seek
guidance from the word of God.
Saeed doesn’t want to talk about himself; gone are the swashbuckling
days of the cricketer who would be thronged by crowds for his autograph.
The man now is one who has effaced the ‘‘self’’:
‘‘I am not here to talk about cricket or about myself,’’
he told the crowd, ‘‘I am here to talk about our religion.’’
The 34-year-old Anwar, who bid cricket farewell on August 15, reverted
to religion two years ago after the death of his daughter, Bismah.
It all happened suddenly and fans were surprised to see Saeed’s
picture in a newspaper with a beard and a turban.
But he did not seek retirement at the time even as he took to his
new Islamic look and dress off the field. So different did he look
that at one point a groundsman refused him entry.
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‘‘People
say that becoming religious has affected my form. That’s not
true. I never come late for practice and performed better than any
Pakistani batsman in the World Cup. The transformation doesn’t
mean I am going to quit the game. I am not distracted,’’ he told reporters some months ago.
But he has ended up retiring prematurely. Although Anwar managed
to score a century and was Pakistan’s highest scorer in the
World Cup, he was one of eight players dropped from the squad. He
had read the writing on the wall.
Today, Anwar feels the time he spent off the field was a waste and
wants to make amends. ‘‘After retirement there is only
one aim in my life and that is to follow Allah’s path and to
prepare for the Day of Judgment,’’ Anwar says. He is
satisfied with his decision, ‘‘I am a different Saeed
Anwar and to me the material world is meaningless.’’
After his transformation while he was still playing cricket, Anwar,
a computer engineer from Karachi, announced he would not go to parties
and functions that were not in keeping with his religious obligations. ‘‘I see nothing unusual in Anwar’s transformation.
People sometimes change and discover God,’’ Anwar’s
first captain, Imran Khan, says.
Anwar, now a preacher, also went on a 40-day mystic seclusion (chilla)
soon after he was dropped following Pakistan’s first-round
debacle in the World Cup. His father Mohammad Anwar, also an engineer,
and wife Lubna, a doctor, are also religiously inclined.
‘‘I
have turned to Allah for solace and am committed to spread the religion
to all parts of the world,’’ Anwar says. He denies being
a jehadi or a fanatic. ‘‘Islam is a moderate religion
and I am not a fanatic or a jehadi.’’
Would the wristy sensation now only be found in mosques and religious
gatherings? Anwar disagrees: ‘‘Whenever someone calls
me for cricket I will be there. I would love to transfer my talents
to youngsters so that they can serve the country.’’ Saeed’s
passion for cricket is the same as it was when he took his inspirations
from movies and music.
‘‘It’s a good omen
to have our heroes follow Islamic teachings,’’ said Maulana
Mushtaq, prayer leader at the Sonehri Masjid. ‘‘At least,
the world would know now that we don’t only produce playboys,’’ he added, alluding to the legendary Imran Khan.
To be fair to Anwar, he is not the only one. The Pakistani team has
emerged as a side with strong religious tendencies. This is evident
from the gestures they make on the field. More often than not, they
thank God for their success even before greeting team-mates.
Ramiz Raja was on bended knees as soon as he took the catch off Imran
clinching the World Cup for Pakistan in Melbourne, 1992. Former captain
Salim Malik has also jumped onto the Raiwind bandwagon. He has formally
joined the Tableeghi Jamaat and is busy spreading Islam. Yes, this
is the same Salim Malik who was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board
on the recommendations of the Justice Qayyum Commission investigating
corruption.
In 2002, Malik spent three days at Raiwind accompanied by Anwar,
Waqar Younis and Inzamamul Haq. A close friend of Malik’s,
former test cricketer Akram Raza, arranged for him to meet with Anwar,
who introduced Malik to Maulana Tariq jamil, the spiritual leader
in Raiwind. (The Friday Times) |
