I don't think most Pakistanis know much about Jinnah. I've met people who think he was a Memon (in fact, most Pakistanis who live in Punjab don't know the difference between Memons and others who speak Gujrati). I tell such people, "All those who speak Punjabi are not Sikhs". 


I met such a one in a train when going to Lahore. He was amazed when I told him that Jinnah had been a Shia. Today I read an article which claimed that he had been a Sunni. The fact is, Jinnah was not really a practicing Muslim for most of his life. He didn't know the difference between Shia and Sunni, he said that Ahmedis are Muslims. I wish he'd given reasons for believing this, perhaps it would have had an effect on those who want to rid the planet of that beleaguered community (who are killed on a routine basis, just because they happen to be Ahmedis). Today, most fundamentalist Pakistanis think Jinnah should not be called a Muslim, as he was a Shia and drank liquor and ate pork.

Jinnah was politely told that he was no longer welcome in the Aga Khani community (even though the Aga Khan was his friend) as he had married a Parsi woman (Ruttie). He could have joined either the Khoja Sunnat or the Khoja Shia sect. He chose the latter, perhaps because it was similar to the Aga Khan community. 

He did not change his wife's name to Mariam (as falsely claimed by Pakistan's obscurantists). The name on her tombstone is "Rattan Bai Jinnah" Even her nikah nama has this name. 

He could not speak a sentence in Urdu without fumbling. Yet we have a whole generation who have heard his speeches dubbed in Urdu, and they think he was a fluent Urdu speaker. Someone once said he prayed five times daily. He couldn't have, he was a Shia (who pray thrice a day).

I could go on and on, but this should be sufficient for now. 




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