Dear Ms. Najma Kausar,

You have asked Dr. Tahir Qazi some very interesting questions. I will not offer the answers to most of them as I believe Tahir is a infinitely more suitable person than I to tackle them.

I will only like to comment on the following

Your question about need for identity is a profound one and to answer it fully, I would need a lot of time and a lot of space. People have written entire books just to answer this single question. I will only say this: to me, its a mistake to see the need for identity detached from the instinct for survival and preservation (and might I add reproduction as well). In Homo Sapiens' success as a species, this urge for identity has played a pivotal role because it helps create social bonds and any trait that assists in survival and reproductive success gets propagated thru generations (before anyone accuses me of Lamarckism or reductionism, please understand that what I wrote is an an extra-condensed statement not covering all the aspects of group evolution) . I would also like to add that the existence of an urge is not enough justification to act upon it as I am sure all of us have a lot of urges that we don't act upon. That's all I would offer for now. I am open to having this discussion some other time when I have the luxury to spend some time expanding my answer.

As to who we are and why we are, I would again offer the same explanation as above as these questions are closely tied with the need for identity. What I would like to know is, does religion or mysticism have the answer to those questions? The "who" part is maybe easier to understand (as I am certain it would be easier for Dr. Tahir Qazi to answer as well) but what's religious/mystical answer to why we are? If you, or anyone else, takes it upon himself/herself to educate me on this, please be specific and unambiguous for my benefit. I am not a terribly smart person.

Regards,

Rafi Aamer