Germans Cringe at Hitler's Popularity in Pakistan

[mgc1961]

Pakistan is the opposite of Germany. The mountains are in the north, the sea is in the south, the economic problems are in the west and the east is doing well. It's not hard for a German living in Pakistan to get used to these differences, but one contrast is hard to stomach: Most people like Hitler.

I was recently at the hairdresser, an elderly man who doesn't resort to electric clippers. All he has is a creaky pair of scissors, a comb, an aerosol with water. He did a neat job but I wasn't entirely happy.

I said: "I look like Hitler."

He looked at me in the mirror, gave a satisfied smile and said: "Yes, yes, very nice."

I decided not to challenge him, went home and tried to get rid of the strict parting he'd given me.


Read more at http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,683966,00.html

Editor note: Doh!

[ShortnFiery]

1. Oh brother. This is so wrong ... on so many levels. eom

[JackintheGreen]

2. This is not, in my experience, Aryan supremacy

Now, my experience is in India, which does not have nearly so many cultural-religious ties to Palestine as does Pakistan. Most Hindus could care less what happens there between different partisans of religions. But there is still a widespread knowledge (I hesitate to say respect, and even less reverence) of Hitler. When it comes up in conversations (and it does)- and keep in mind most of my experience is on the south of India - Hitler appreciation is rooted in his "sticking it to the British!" Indians know all about religious violence, and most seem to have no truck with it at all.

But Der Spiegel is talking about Pakistan, so take this for what it's worth.

[marmar]

3. Unbelievable....

Do these people have any concept of what Hitler would have thought of brown-skinned Pakistanis?

[JackintheGreen]

6. But don't you see?

They're "Aryans" too. A fellow in the article was quoted saying as much. A great deal of Nazi effort was expended during the war to examine folkloric concepts of the Ayran, which no doubt would have subsumed, to quote William Taft out of context, Hilter's "little brown brothers." :sarcasm:

[burning rain]

7. If they'd aligned with Hitler, I'm sure Hitler would have accepted them.

The Nazis demonstrated they were prepared to fudge their mad racial theories in the interests of pragmatism and forming alliances. Thus they embraced the Japanese as "yellow Aryans" or "honorary Aryans." The Nazis were also keen to seek allies among Muslims and indeed fielded Waffen SS units recruited from Balkan Muslims. Himmler was a known admirer of Islam, viewing it as a fighting religion in contradistinction to Christianity, which he despised as soft and weak.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. I wonder if it's more cultural than ideological

In that part of the world, a 'strongman' is a cultural archetype that persists to this day, predating 'modern' institutions like democracy, balance of powers & bicameral representation. It still manifests in western societies as well, especially in times of turmoil, although not to the extent seen in 'developing' nations. I *hope* it's due to admiration for a strong personality and not because they think 'anyone who hates Jews this much can't be all bad.'

[mgc1961]

5. Considering my previous post...

on "Christian Soldiers" too, I thought about these words of the Dalai Lama from Becoming Enlightened which echo some of what Mr. Wright had to say. (By the by, the Dalai Lama recommends that for most people, keeping the religion of their parents is probably the best path.)


The Need For Reasoning

According to an old Tibetan saying, we must value the person of a religious teacher but investigate the teaching. Even within Shakyamuni Buddha's teaching we need to distinguish between what requires interpretation and what is definitive, the distinction being made by reasoning. If a teaching of Buddha is contradicted by reasoning, it should not be taken literally, even though it is indeed his word. Similarly, when we look at the great beings who were Buddha's followers, it has to be said that certain teachings, such as those by the fourth-century Indian sage Asanga, which deny the existence of an external world that impinges on our senses, do not reflect reality. Although such teachings are to be found in certain of Buddha's scriptures, they do not necessarily represent his thinking. Again, this distinction between the thought of the scripture and the thought of the speaker can be determined by reasoning. That we have faith in Asanga does not require that we accept as literal the view of mind-only with a particular purpose in mind.

In the same way it is reasonable for Buddhists to respect the teachers of other religions. From one point of view, they could be emanations of a Buddha, and from another point of view, even if they are not emanations, their philosophies are helpful to certain people and may even be helpful to you at a certain juncture in your life.

Nevertheless, among adherents to any religion, including Buddhism, there are troublemakers. Though they might claim to be religious, they take doctrines that are intended to overcome lust, hatred, and bewilderment and instead mix them with their own afflictive emotions and misuse religion, making hard and fast distinctions between us and them, stirring up trouble. It seems to me that when adherents to a religion do this, it is not reasonable to say that this is the fault of the religion.

Faith And Respect

Since faith and respect are different, respect for other religions does not mean we must have faith in their doctrines. For example, I have met with some Christians who take interest in certain Buddhist practices, study them, and even practice them. They take particular interest in Buddhist methods for achieving one-pointed meditative concentration as well as how to increase love, compassion, and patience. Since these practices are common to Christianity and Buddhism, I express my admiration for what they are doing. To Christians, however, who have become interested in the view of emptiness, I lightheartedly respond that this is distinctively Buddhist and has little connection with Christian doctrine. Why? Probing emptiness requires looking into dependent-arising, and if its implications are understood, it becomes difficult to accept a single, permanent, unchangeable God as the creator of the world. If one tried to have faith in Christianity and in Buddhism, one would be asserting the existence of a Creator God and at the same time the nonexistence of a Creator God. That is impossible. Therefore, while respect is both feasible and beneficial, faith is another matter.

Among the many religions that assert a Creator God there are some followers who say that Buddhism is not a religion because it does not accept a God that created the world. Some of my Islamic friends, for instance, have told me that much of the advice found in Buddhism is very beneficial to people, including Muslims, but that many Muslims do not consider Buddhism to be a religion. Similarly, some strict Christians say that because Buddhists do not accept the existence of a permanent self-arisen being, they are nihilists.

pgs. 8-10

[Politicalboi]

8. Don't the mean the United States?

[tom_paine]

9. That's just damned creepy. No more creepy than Teabaggers, but in a different way.

[MadBadger]

10. Is there a poll that proves that Pakistanis like Hitler?