Mohammad Yousuf: A tribute

#36 by batman on December 6, 2006 10:12am PT

Justice Cornilouis, Cecil Chaudhry are all old hands and enjoyed the good old days. Things are different now. Name one famous young Christian person that is a big shot in these times....i.e. post Zia.... you will not find any. BTW did you folks know that A. Nayer is also a Mashi? Guess what the A stands for?

Don’t go giving me a speech on how there is no pressure to convert in Pakistan. I lived 20 + years there and had been asked over 10,000 times to convert as i am a ``good`` individual.

And then the Bas%^&*s come here (West) and ask for their rights..... Where are our rights in Pakistan?

Re: # 29
Abb kya mein pagal budhayy kayy moonh lagoon. Aaap apnayy ghar mein bhii yaqeenan apnii bahoo baytiyoon sayy issii zaban mein guftugoo farmatayy hongayy..Kheyr anyway, whether i am a mussalii or not thats not the issue. Point of Contention is your madness and jelousy for a talented cricketer. There is no cure for jelousy however for ur lunacy you should consult a doctor, but maybe its just too late, it`ll soon be over anywayy so just hang on.

Ahmer,

A dose of orthodox Islam may have cured Yousaf, but it didn`t revive the careers of Saeed Anwar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Their confidence and technical flaws aggravated after their ``conversion``.

For every Mohamamd Yousaf, there is a John McEnroe or Imran Khan who plays best when he has worked up an anger... or been dating a trophy girlfriend.

He was under lots of pressure and he admitted it many a times. In the past few years many good players have been sidelined becuase they do not wear a beard. (Sarfraz Nawaz is on record saying this).
I also agree with DOUBLEC that he is greedy for money. In one case he did not hesistate to swindle computers from and education institution for the greed of it.

Those who think he converted because of captaincy, there are a lot of Christians in Pakistan who have been high achievers. Take Justice Cornilouis for that matter. Though he never played one match but for his contributions the main entrance of PCB`s office and the Gadhafi Stadium is named after him. Yousuf himself played as Captain during the time he was a christian. Cecil Chaudhry, one of the war heros wasnt muslim. I know a lot of people in the field of commerce who have done very good and are not muslims either. I doubt in modern Pakistan, a person`s religous background matters. Pakistanis let you go if you have a different religon. The problem starts if you say when you say are a muslim but you differ from their interpatation!

the best thing yohana (is that an un-islamic name because its the name of an apostle of a great nabi yesu?) did for his career is now he will get endorsment contract fromshampoo companies. in past the shampoo selling was not easy with inapropriate (unislamic) models. now they can use yohana as a model. soon there will be billboards in karachi with his beard selling sunsilk shampoo in place of inapropriate stuff like this.

Re #30 mantolives

``Brilliant Youhanna! ``


Is he as great as Cassius Clay?

mantolives # 30 writes ``Brilliant Youhanna!``

Manto, as you very well know that Muhammad Yousuf has converted to Islam, much to your chagrin. In the process he has also changed his name from Yousuf Youhanna to Muhammad Yousuf. But your insistence at referring to him by a name he does not want to use is highly disprectful and bad manners. Muhammad Yousuf wants to be referred to by his muslim name, and we should accord him that courtsey.

It would be as if we continue to refer to you as a mirzaee, even though you have changed from mirzaee to sunni to ismaili.

Regards

Re:manto#30

[...Brilliant Youhanna! ....]

Sure, but he is not Youhanna anymore. The poor guy succumbed to the non-stop societal pressure in Pakistan to become a muslim.

It is clearly evident that people in Pakistan are totally obsessed beyond all rational limits with Islam. They wear the religion on their sleeve, shout about it from rooftops and in case you still miss it, point it out to you in your face that they are devout muslims. Take the author of this article for instance. He is an educated, average Pakistani guy living in the US and working in the IT industry. But scratch the surface, and you see the naked gloating over the conversion of one man from Christianity to Islam. The triumphant tone of his artice, his conviction that he is Allah`s chosen, is just breathtaking, as if Yousuf Yohanna personally scored a victory of Islam over Christianity. If a ordinary person thinks like this, multiply that with the vast illiterate millions living in Pakistan and you can sense the incessant, non-stop, not so subtle pressure to ``revert`` to Islam.

So much for Jinnah`s dream of a secular country!!

It`s rubbish to link religion with sports.

Though Imran was a religious man I dont rememebr him invoking the name of Bismillah.....in the presentation ceremonies. I first came across such invocation by Waqar Younis and later by Inzi (in all presentations). I find that invocation odd in sporting arenas. Imagine for a while Freddie/Rahul saying, Jesus is the saviour/Har Har Mahadev or some other slogan or sloka? Sounds ridiculous!

I think religion became Pakistan`s only weapon but not the cricketing abilities! Though my favourite is Younis Khan in the current lot, Yousouf is indeed a class player but look at what happend in the recent past. Younis was offered captaincy but when he refused (bcoz of Shahryar Khan??) the mantle was passed on to Yosouf but Yousouf was treated like a real choorha when Younis prefered to take back captaincy when PCB placated Younis by sacking Sharyar Khan! PCB preferred to sack a cricket mandarin (a royal/Princely material) and bring-in Younis as captain than having choorha as Pakistan`s captain! (I dislike to call Yousof with this tag but that`s how Pakistan treated him in the recent episode of captaincy issue).

I agree with Mr. TE Shah`s opinion on cricket in Indian subcontinent. It was started & promoted by Indian Princes who tried to get closer to the British during Raj. Most of the Indian players in the early history of Indian cricket are Princes. They even promoted this game by becoming cricket mandarins during Raj and after Raj as well. We still have Baroda, Saurastra, Hyderabad teams i.e Princely State teams i/o state-wise teams!

Now in the commercial age it doesnt need any promotion as cricket became `the` game of our countries. The one-day game even gave India a new identity i.e sky blue colour became the symbol of India. Even our PM Dr. Singh signifies that by putting a blue turban on his head. The football crazy Bengalis now rate cricket ahead of football! It came to such a pass that even Englishmen (who gave us this game) poke fun at us for being cricket maniacs!

Only Gujaratis come closer to Pakistanis when it comes to mistaking cricket for national pride. They burst firecrackers whenever India wins against Pakistan. In 1995 or 96, there were spaonteneous Garba dances by Gujarati women in Ahmedabad when India defeated Pakistan in Bangalore (World Cup, I think). It`s a mark of celebration for them. I have not heard of such open display of street celebrations in other parts of India.

As for religious fervour in cricket, the praying women and men in Sharjah still reels.....players and Pak public are alike when it comes to cricket.

Brilliant Youhanna!

May God bless him.

Re: # 27

Aapki gaand mein mirchein kion lkag gai hein? Kia aap bhi musalli hein ya aapko bhi us musalli loot se kuchh hissah milla he? Did you ever ponder why rulers, especially the illegitimate ones, are interested so much in cricket? It is the best way to keep the people busy and to forget politics even if it is manifestly against the Mush`s cult of enlightenment and moderation - Yousaf`s unkempt extra long beard and raising his ass in the oval. In fact cricket is essentially an immoral game, engendering greed, selfishness and jealousy instead of sport and team-spirit.

MYOPIC VIEWS

Re: # 21

Shah Sahab, There is a saying in Urdu ``Nach na janayy Aangan tayrha``. Although i have no doubt that you come from a ``Dancing`` family but your furiosity at mohammad yosuf has more to do with the failures of your own kids. Look it up it`s called ``Low-Self Esteem``. Yosuf might have hailed from a por family, but he has more class and character in his lil pinky finger than your entire lineage, i gave you an advice to wise up and fear the wrath of the creator that you are about to encounter in very very near future. Buzurgoo qabarr mein paoon latkayeyy baythayy hoo orr tharakk nahii khatam horahii

gypsy_heart, this should have rightly been a great opportunity for any nation to come together to bask in cricketing glory. The author squanders that opportunity.

Instead, he leaves any outsider with only two alternative conclusions: Either Christianity is a debilitating physical and mental handicap. Or Pakistan is a very very abnormal country.

wow!! this country must have been pregnant with bigots, to allow a masih -belonging to a family of sweepers, a guy who played uptill his teenage days with his amma`s washing sticks in impoverished slums- the privilege and opportunity to climb up to the national cricket team, and consequently to the vice captaincy of the country. how could a christian get to such a high rank in pakistan nationals?? sacrilege indeed!! and how could we allow a devoted hindu to be our primary spinner?? blasphemy! blasphemy! we should send him to india to help them continue their home dominance on their dusty pitches.

im sure the whole of pakistan is bearded with sword wagging moulvis waging Allah`s holy jehad!! every single man dresses solely in shalwar kamiz -no doubt above his ankles- and all women veil their faces in dread of these raping bearded pakis!! what else could there be in pakistan, absolutely nothing else!!

And no, it is not his conversion to Islam credible for his immense form, but as anyone who has found a new belief, turned a new leaf in his prolifgate life can emphasize, that a new faith -or a reinvigorated faith- brings along with it a new found discipline, inner peace, focus, and belief in your own abilities, indeed all religions preach same virtues and discipline of soul, albeit in a variety of forms and languages!!

or it could all be put down to a new found love, a loving wife, a peaceful married life, as credited by ricky ponting for his recent amazingly prolific form, after his early binge drinking and bar brawling indisciplined days.

in the end, in any profession or passion, it needs focus, discipline, self-confidence, along with the inherent skill to scale great heights!! whatever might be the tool to achieve those qualities; a great example is two hugely talented bastmen and childhood friends of our age, sachin tendulkar and vinod kambli, one reached atop, the other ended up in minor bollywood roles!!