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A Plea for Enlightened Moderation- President Pervez Musharraf op-ed
in Washington Post
A Plea for Enlightened Moderation
Muslims must raise themselves up through individual achievement and socioeconomic
emancipation.
By Pervez Musharraf
Tuesday, June 1, 2004; Page A23
The world has been going through a tumultuous period since the dawn of
the 1990s, with no sign of relief in sight. The suffering of the innocents,
particularly my brethren in faith -- the Muslims -- at the hands of militants,
extremists and terrorists has made it all the more urgent to bring order
to this troubled scene. In this spirit, I would like to set forth a strategy
I call Enlightened Moderation.
The world has become an extremely dangerous place. The devastating power
of plastic explosives, combined with high-tech remote-controlled devices,
as well as a proliferation of suicide bombers, has created a lethal force
that is all but impossible to counter. The unfortunate reality is that
both the perpetrators of these crimes and most of the people who suffer
from them are Muslims. This has caused many non-Muslims to believe wrongly
that Islam is a religion of intolerance, militancy and terrorism. It has
led increasing numbers of people to link Islam to fundamentalism; fundamentalism
to extremism, and extremism to terrorism. Muslims can protest however
vigorously they like against this kind of labeling, but the reality is
that such arguments are not likely to prevail in the battle for minds.
To make things even more difficult, Muslims are probably the poorest,
most uneducated, most powerless and most disunited people in the world.
The stark challenge that faces anyone with compassion for the common heritage
of mankind is determining what legacy we will leave for future generations.
The special challenge that confronts Muslims is to drag ourselves out
of the pit we find ourselves in, to raise ourselves up by individual achievement
and collective socioeconomic emancipation. Something has to be done quickly
to stop the carnage in the world and to stem the downward slide of Muslims.
My idea for untangling this knot is Enlightened Moderation, which I think
is a win for all -- for both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. It is a
two-pronged strategy. The first part is for the Muslim world to shun militancy
and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift. The second is
for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve
all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment
of the deprived Muslim world.
We need to understand that the root cause of extremism
and militancy lies in political injustice, denial and deprivation. Political
injustice to a nation or a people, when combined with stark poverty and
illiteracy, makes for an explosive mix. It produces an acute sense of
hopelessness and powerlessness. A nation suffering from these lethal ills
is easily available for the propagation of militancy and the perpetration
of extremist, terrorist acts. It is cannon fodder in a war of terrorism.
I would be remiss if, in defense of the people of my faith, I did not
trace the genesis of the Muslims' being labeled as extremists or terrorists.
Before the anti-Soviet Afghan war, the sole cause of unrest and concern
in the Muslim world was the Palestine dispute. It was this issue that
led to a unity of Muslims -- in favor of Palestinians and against Israel.
The Afghan war of the 1980s, supported and facilitated by the West as
a proxy war against the Soviet Union, saw the emergence and nurturing
of pan-Islamic militancy. Islam as a religion was used to harness worldwide
Muslim support. Subsequently the atrocities and ethnic cleansing against
Muslims in Bosnia, the Chechen uprising, the Kashmir freedom struggle
and the invigorated Palestinian intifada all erupted in the '90s after
the Soviet disintegration. To make matters worse, the militancy that was
sparked in Afghanistan -- which should have been defused after the Cold
War -- was instead allowed to fester for a decade.
During this time, hostility among fighters from the Muslim world turned
multidirectional, seeking new conflict zones in places where Muslims were
suffering. Enter the birth of al Qaeda. Meanwhile, the Palestinian intifada
kept gathering momentum, uniting and angering Muslims across the globe.
And then came the bombshell of Sept. 11, 2001, and the angry reaction
of the United States against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
All subsequent reactions of the United States -- its domestic responses
against Muslims, its attitude toward Palestine and the operation in Iraq
-- led to total polarization of the Muslim masses against the United States.
It is not Islam as a religion that has created militancy and extremism
but rather political disputes that have led to antagonism among the Muslim
masses.
This is all history now. What has been done cannot be undone. But this
situation cannot be allowed to fester; a remedy must be found. I call
on the West to help resolve these political disputes with justice, as
part of a commitment to a strategy of Enlightened Moderation.
When I think of the role of Muslims in today's world,
my heart weeps. What we need is introspection. Who are we, what do we
as Muslims stand for, where are we going, where should we be headed and
how can we reach it? The answers to these questions are the Muslim part
of Enlightened Moderation.
We have a glorious past. Islam exploded on the world scene as the flag
bearer of a just, lawful, tolerant and value-oriented society. We had
faith in human exaltation through knowledge and enlightenment. We exemplified
tolerance within ourselves and toward people of other faiths. The armies
of Islam did not march forward to convert people by the sword, despite
what the perceptions may be, but to deliver them from the darkness through
the visible example of their virtues. What better projection can be found
of these deeper values of Islam than the personal example of our Holy
Prophet (P.B.U.H.), who personified justice, compassion, tolerance of
others, generosity of spirit, austerity with a spirit of sacrifice, and
a burning desire to make a better world.
Today's Muslim world is distant from all these values. We have been left
far behind in social, moral and economic development. We have remained
in our own shell and refused to learn or acquire from others. We have
reached the depths of despair and despondency. We need to face stark reality.
Is the way ahead one of confrontation and militancy? Could this path really
lead us back to our past glory while also showing the light of progress
and development to the world?
I say to my brother Muslims: The time for renaissance has come. The way
forward is through enlightenment. We must concentrate on human resource
development through the alleviation of poverty and through education,
health care and social justice. If this is our direction, it cannot be
achieved through confrontation. We must adopt a path of moderation and
a conciliatory approach to fight the common belief that Islam is a religion
of militancy in conflict with modernization, democracy and secularism.
All this must be done with a realization that, in the world we live in,
fairness does not always rule.
The Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) is our collective body.
We need to infuse new life into it; it is now in a state of near impotence.
The OIC must be restructured to meet the challenges of the 21st century,
to fulfill the aspirations of the Muslim world and to take us toward emancipation.
Forming a committee of luminaries to recommend a restructuring of the
OIC is a big step in the right direction. We have to show resolve and
rise above self-interest for our common good -- in the very spirit that
Islam teaches us.
The world at large and the powers that be must realize that confrontation
and force will never bring peace. Justice must be done and be seen to
be done. Let it not be said by future generations that we, the leaders
of today, took humanity toward the apocalypse.
Gen. Musharraf is president of Pakistan.
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