Dear Arooj !

Last week I received a surprise call from  CBC radio producer Joe Solvoy who had read an article about my book From Islam To Secular Humanism…A Philosophical Journey in a local newspaper. He wanted to talk to me as a psychiatrist. He asked me about my patients’ psychological reactions to the September 11th crisis and how I was helping them cope with such a tragedy. I shared with him that the visual images of the attack on television screen were so painful that they had triggered the memories of many past traumatic experiences in people’s minds. I met many patients who were reminded of their childhood experiences of physical and emotional abuse. Some were reminded of losing their dear ones by violent deaths. They were so overwhelmed by their emotions that they could not sleep. I suggested to them that they not watch television and if they wanted to stay in touch with the news, I asked them to read the newspaper or listen to the radio. In my opinion, the negative effect of the visual images was far stronger than listening to the radio or reading a newspaper.

A few days later, Joe Solvoy called me again and requested me to be interviewed by CBC Radio host Andy Barry. I felt honored. Andy asked me about  the reactions of my Muslim patients to the crisis. I shared with him that alongside the emotional anxiety experienced by all people living in North America, people from Asia and Middle East also experienced social anxiety. Because of their ethnic and religious background, all those men and women and children who were from Arab and Muslim countries felt vulnerable. They were nervous as they were being judged by others and perceived as terrorists.

          It has been quite disturbing to know that some  innocent Muslims and Arabs were attacked and killed in North America. The attacks were not only on individuals but also on religious institutions. It was amazing to see that alongside mosques, some Hindu temples were also attacked and burnt which clearly showed that all Asians were at risk. Obviously the attackers did not know that Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs belonged to different religious traditions.

Dear Arooj!

                    Alongside the disturbing psychological and social reactions, there have also been some positive outcomes. There has been a surge of genuine curiosity in the West about Islam and the Muslim World. People have been buying Quran and reading about Muslim History. There has also been many expressions of compassion by common citizens towards people from Muslim and Arab countries.

In the last few weeks, I have received a lot of support in my personal and professional lives. I was touched by some of my Canadian patients who expressed their concern about me, and my family members still living in Pakistan. It seemed as if after the September 11th tragedy, the roles were reversed for a while. They were on the giving end of the care, while I, as a therapist, was on the receiving end. In some mysterious way, it brought us closer and they felt connected with me as a human being at some deeper level. I was also impressed by the reactions of the local community.

One afternoon, while I was reading a book in a local park and wearing my Pakistani attire, I was approached by a young man who wanted to talk to me. I welcomed his questions and he sat down close to me on the grass. He was curious about my ethnic and religious background. He was surprised to find out that I was a psychiatrist and a writer. He introduced me to his wife and children and told me that he was from Newfoundland. He felt especially connected with me when he found out that I had studied psychiatry at Memorial University in Newfoundland. As he was leaving he said, “ I hope nobody hurts you in Canada. I hope we keep on welcoming people from the East. They enrich our lives.” I was touched by his compassionate attitude. He seemed a peace-loving person, like many of my other Canadian friends. That is one of the reasons that I, like many other Asians, chose Canada as my adopted motherland.

Dear Arooj ! As I reflect upon the personal and social changes in the last few weeks, I feel that the September 11th tragedy has made us aware of our mortality and our special relationship with our dear ones. It has changed us in some profound way. We are developing a new relationship with ourselves and with people from other religions and cultures that did not exist before. I think we have been transformed in a way that we are not fully aware of yet. I believe that sometimes it takes a long time to fully absorb and digest some profound psychological experiences in our personalities. Let us hope this crisis makes us better human beings. Let us hope we come closer to each other and choose peace over violence at a personal, social and political level. 

Affectionately,

 Sohail

Oct 3,  2001