Pakistan has an Islam-oriented culture, whose value comes from Quran’s teachings (a primary source of Islamic law), and the closely-related society.

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is located in South Asia and is bordered by India. On August 1947, Pakistan became an independent state being controlled by Britain since 1850.

The majority of Pakistani people are Muslim. The difference between Islam and Muslim is that Islam simply means “submission” to the will of God and that Muslim is a term of followers of the Islam religion.

In Islamic society, people don’t have a concept of dating, because Quran teaches people laws by which to curb their desire. In America, dating tends to be just for fun, but Pakistani people need to be married to have a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. To have a boy/girlfriend before marriage is to break a major Islamic taboo.

Usually, parents will arrange their child’s wedding. Negotiations between both a bride’s parent and a groom’s parent decides a marriage. Then what will happen if children don’t agree with their arranged marriage?

“A marriage is up to (the) fathers’ decision,” said Zarrar Rana, a senior from Pakistan majoring in CPE. “Children can’t get married without their fathers’ permission. (But) children can say no to their arranged marriage before their parents start to go on.”

It is rare, but there are love marriage cases, which still require a couple to get their parents’ permission. Usually a couple doesn’t tell their parents anything about their boy/girlfriends before they decide to get married. Until the couple gets engaged, they secretly meet with each other.

“When you ask a girl to have a date (to have a close relationship),” said Rana. “you really need to know the girl. Most of the girls, (let’s say) about 80 percent of them, say no to you.”

As religious thoughts and practices are a major part of Pakistani culture, religious events became precious in many Pakistanis’ lives. The most important feast of Islam, Eid-ul Adha, is a big event in the Islamic culture, as Christmas is for Christians. Eid-ul Adha is a time for Muslims to learn the value of self-denial by making a sacrifice of something that is alive as a gift to God. Pakistani people give a special charity for this occasion to friends, family and especially the poor.

Before two weeks of Eid –ul Adha, Pakistanis start cleaning up and decorating their houses, making their homes as clean as possible. They also prepare gifts and cook special meals. One of the traditional Pakistani foods for the day is “rainbow rice.” Like the name “rainbow” suggests, the rice is very colorful and is made up of repeating layers. It consists of one layer of rice, one layer of sugar, one of coconut and one of orange peel.

On the Eid-ul Adha day, Pakistanis dress in holiday attire, attend a special community prayer in the morning and visit friends and relatives, all in order to have a special time with loved ones.

“People like neighbors see each other and get together for interaction,” said Rana. “People are very close to each other in a community.”

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