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| Muslims' Moment of Truth Moonis Ahmar Tuesday October 23, 2001-- Shaban 05,1422 A.H The News International: Internet Edition http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2001-daily/23-10-2001/oped/o4.htm Now the Taliban will pay a price.... Our
military action is designed to clear the way for sustained, comprehensive
and relentless operations to drive them (terrorists) out and bring them to
justice. At the same time, the oppressed people of Afghanistan will know
the generosity of America and our Allies." US President, George W
Bush. "America was hit by God in one of its softest spots. America is
full of fear from its north to its south, from its west to its east. Thank
God for that." Osama Bin Laden. Following the US-led attacks on Afghanistan
and the subsequent backlash, particularly in the Muslim world against the
excessive use of force and casualties of civilian population in that
country, the most critical phase in human history has begun. Without
linking Samuel Huntington's famous theory of clash of civilisations to the
prevailing anger among majority of the Muslims against unjust and unfair
paradigms of the West dominated global order, it has become clear that the
Islamic world is clearly divided between moderates and hard liners. While
extremists are calling shots in the Muslim World because of injustices
committed by the West and Israel in areas ranging from Palestine to
Chechnya, Afghanistan and Kashmir, there exists enough rational in the
Muslim community to unleash a thought process which could provide logical
solution to their problems and emancipate themselves from those leaders
who have high jacked the Islamic World and have shattered its image.
Having suffered because of the discriminatory policies of the Western
world for centuries and governed by imprudent leaders, the Muslim moment
of truth has arrived. Should the Muslims continue to live under
the shadow of ignorance, bigotry and so-called paradigms of medieval era
or should they rise above rhetoric and seek excellence in the world of
knowledge? Merely feeling proud of the golden era of Islam during the
medieval time cannot help the Muslims of today because neither they are at
par with the West in technology or in economic fields nor they have a
significant role in global security. The Muslim moment of truth has
arrived because if they continue to be high jacked by the vested interests
of fanatic, terrorist and extremist elements then their future is bleak
and doomed. Emancipating from false notions and
rhetoric is the key to warrant the Muslim moment of truth. Four important
realities tend to justify why Muslims of today are so powerless and
incapable of meeting challenges faced by them from different sides and how
can they play an important role in global power paradigms. First, unlike the Christian clergy, which
to a large extent has been at par with modern trends, the Muslim clergy is
backward and retrogressive in its approach and acts. It has failed to
reform itself and seek excellence in the world of knowledge and ideas.
Because of the backward nature of Muslim clergy, its inability to follow a
rational approach vis-a-vis various issues and keep pace with modern
trends, one can see retrogression in the Islamic world. Madarassas and
mosques, which should have been the bastion of knowledge, now propagate
hate against fellow Muslims instead of peace and tolerance or follow an
unwise approach on issues, which are critical to the survival of Muslims
in different parts of the world. As a result, one can see more rhetoric
than rationality in Muslim clergy. Second, it is unfortunate that the
resources in Islamic countries, particularly in the Persian Gulf have not
been adequately used for building educational and tech#nological
infrastructure. Trillions of dollars from oil and other raw material
resources in some Muslim countries couldn't help better the socio-economic
conditions of the Islamic world. On the contrary, the oil wealth was
either wasted in personnel needs, military expenditures or invested in the
financial institutions of the Western world. To a large extent, the
so-called affluence witnessed as a result of oil boom of early 1970s was
limited to some families and couldn't trickle down to the majority of
Muslims who remain uneducated and poor. Third, a major reality contributing to the
powerlessness of the Muslims vis-a-vis the Western World has been
suppression of basic human rights and the lack of democratic process.
Ironically, out of 60 Muslim countries, only ten can claim to be
democracies; the rest are either run by monarchs, dictators or various
types of authoritarian rulers. When democracy per se is not the practice
in the vast majority of Muslim World, how can one expect Muslims to be
tolerant, free, enlightened and progressive in their approach or way of
life? The suppression of fundamental rights in many Muslim countries is
enough to justify their backwardness and powerlessness in key areas of
human development. Finally, the exclusion of women from playing a
fundamental role in society in majority of the Muslim countries tend to
reinforce the feeling that male domination is responsible for sustaining
illiteracy, poverty and under-development in the Islamic world. Women
liberation or gender equality, which is fundamental to the progress and
prosperity of any society in the world today, tends to be missing in
majority of the Islamic countries. Either women are discouraged to play a
productive role in society or they are totally put under the male
domination. The exclusion of almost 50 percent population from important
fields has only perpetuated the powerlessness of the Muslim World. How should Muslims of today meet the
challenges of the 21st century? Should they only react to the policies of
the West or follow a proactive approach on important issues? The
faultlines in Muslim World today primarily centre on an imprudent,
reactionary, conservative and oppressive policies followed not only by the
clergy but also those at the helm of affairs. It seems that if the process
of reforms and rethinking is not unleashed among the Muslims of today,
they will further be marginalized and will face a great loss. The way out is total restructuring of
approach and policy followed by the Islamic clergy, various governmental
and non-governmental actors on vital issues concerning religion, politics,
economy, rights of women and minorities. With rhetoric and sentiments,
Muslims cannot even think of competing, if not combating with their
Western counterparts. If the West has developed and progressed, it is
primarily the outcome of four centuries of process of renaissance,
geographical discoveries, reformation, industrial revolution and other
events, which contributed to their emergence as a dominant player in world
politics. Whereas, Muslims deviated from the path of truth, honesty,
knowledge and plunged themselves in the sea of dishonesty, opportunism and
ignorance. The events unfolding after September 11
this year provide a unique opportunity to the Muslims from different
background to shun all such acts, which promote ignorance, rhetoric and
extremism. They should unleash a learning process in key areas of human
development so that the gap, which one can see between them and the
Western World, is narrowed. Most important, the role of clergy should be
reformed and rationalized so that Muslims are not labelled as fanatics,
terrorists, reactionary and backward. Hence the Muslim moment of truth. America's war in Afghanistan or Taliban/Osama
Bin Laden's rhetoric about war between Islam and infidels should not be at
the expense of the Muslims. What has happened as a result of unwise
approach and policies of Taliban and other Muslim extremist groups that
the West has got an opportunity to defame Islam? The only way wise Muslims
can deal with such a situation is by liberating the Muslim world from
those so-called custodians of Islam who are uneducated, fanatics and
devoid of basic decency. The writer is Associate Professor,
Department of International Relations, University of Karachi. |