Muslims
Caught Between NeoCons & Fundos
By
Ibrahim S. Malick
SAT Contributing Editor
NEW YORK: In one of his most eloquent addresses, General Pervez
Musharraf last week outlined the predicament of moderate Muslims
caught between the Islamic fundamentalists and Western neo-conservatives.
Addressing a conference, "Fighting Terrorism for Humanity",
Musharraf recapped the rise of violence in 1990s from Bosnia,
Kosovo, Palestine and Kashmir and delved deep into the discourse
around definition of terrorism.
What he left out from his message was just as important; violence
in African countries which does not necessarily emanate from the
inalienable right of self-determination.
It appeared if violence in non-Muslim territories was beyond the
scope of his discussion. His address almost sounded like the closing
statements of a defense attorney who hesitates to admit guilt,
does not want to condone crime but at the same time asks the jury
for empathy.
"Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. It predates its modern
description. It's history is as much Asian and Middle Eastern
as European and Latin American. Terrorism transcends secular and
religious barriers," Musharraf told an audience of mostly
white men.
He said: "There is a growing sense among Muslims that Islam,
as a religion, is being targeted and pilloried."
He asked the million-dollar question, which perplexes everyone:
"What motivates a suicide bomber to take his own life and
kill innocent civilians?"
He argued that most of the political disputes remain unresolved
in Muslim world creating a sense of "hopelessness" among
the youth. "Foreign occupation and the suppression of the
right of peoples to self-determination is a direct cause for suicide
bombings and terrorist acts that flow from a sense of despair,"
Musharraf said.
He seemed perplexed that even amidst an international war against
terrorism, no one seemed to have developed a good definition.
Curiously, Musharraf asked: "Is it that political expediency
dictates avoiding the truth?"
While Musharraf termed the violence in Kashmir as a struggle of
people of Kashmir for the right of self-determination, the UN
Secretary General, Kofi Annan in his opening remarks reminded
participants that "the use of terrorism to pursue any cause
- even a worthy one - can only defile that cause, and thereby
damage it."
Without naming the Bush administration, Secretary General stated,
"paradoxically, terrorist groups may actually be sustained
when, in responding to their outrages, governments cross the line
and commit outrages themselves whether it is ethnic cleansing,
indiscriminate bombardment of cities, torture of prisoners, targeted
assassinations or accepting the death of innocent civilians as
"collateral damage".
These acts are not only illegal and unjustifiable, they may also
be exploited by terrorists to gain new followers and to generate
cycles of violence in which they thrive.
President
Musharraf and Kofi Annan were aligned in their vision to formulate
a long term strategy to fight terrorism. "To fight terrorism,
we must not only fight terrorists. We have to win hearts and minds.
To do this, we should act to resolve political disputes, articulate
and work towards a vision of peace and development, and promote
human rights. And we can only do all this effectively if we work
together, through multilateral institutions -- first and foremost,
through the United Nations, Kofi Annan said.
Musharraf proposed an anti-thesis to "clash of civilizations",
which he termed as "Cohesion and understanding between civilizations."
Very boldly, Musharraf also took a stab at Mullahs who promote
"twisted representation of the Sharia" claiming these
fanatics do not represent Islam.
"The problem is that there is today a dichotomy between Islam's
principles and their actual practice. Those who abuse the faith
of Islam to propagate violence do not represent Muslims.
They are an aberration and a negation of the tenets of our faith.
We need to marginalize and exclude them in our polity and society."
