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| February 02, 2007 | Friday | Muharram 13, 1428 |
A good move
A shameful incident
The essence of Islam
Signs of AU’s maturity
YES, it is time, indeed high time, to rediscover Islam. There is need for it because what is going round under the rubric of Islam is not only something schlock, ersatz and a poor imitation, but sometimes even a disfigured copy of the original.
ARE there going to be more suicide bombings? This is the question people across the country are asking after the series of acts of terrorism that stunned the nation. The most devastating of the three blasts was in Peshawar on Jan 27, killing at least 11 people and injuring a minimum of 26. Even though all the three blasts occurred during Muharram, the one at the Islamabad hotel did not seem to have a sectarian motive, the aim being perhaps to shock the administration into realising that even the capital city was vulnerable. Now the security agencies say they have found leads that suggest the Taliban’s hand in all the three blasts. And the suspicion falls on Baitullah Mahsud who is being blamed for the criminal deeds. This is no sensational breakthrough, for the Taliban commander had vowed to spread terror in the country following the air strike on Hamzola. One wonders where the next strike will be.
The key question is whether the Sept 5 accord in North Waziristan is off. The deal had stipulated that the militants would not attack state property and government security forces, that they would help prevent crossings across the Durand Line, and that foreign militants still in the area would either leave Pakistan or live peacefully. The attacks show that the Taliban have broken the agreement. There is one issue, however, that remains to be determined. Who sanctioned the attacks? The government must now talk to those who had signed the Sept 5 deal to determine the truth. If the tribal elders were caught unawares and the Taliban acted on their own, then the perpetrators should be caught and handed over to Pakistan. What are the government’s options now? Is the government still going to insist that the Sept 5 deal is still alive or is it going to rely on a greater use of force? — which will make happy the aid-givers and those who ask Pakistan to “do more.”
The foreign pressure on Islamabad to “do more” must not be the main factor compelling Pakistan to arrest the fast deteriorating situation. It should be enlightened self-interest which should force Pakistan to decide whether such lawlessness can be permitted. The line of communication to the militants must remain open, and Islamabad must be willing to listen to their views so a political settlement is not ruled out completely. However, any negotiation now must take place from a position of strength after the government has firmly established its writ. At the same time, Pakistan must let the world know the utter failure of the powers across the Durand Line to do their duty and check infiltrators. Islamabad’s failure lies in its inability to get its views across to the world and letting it know that it is not Pakistan’s sole responsibility to guard the border and that it is also the responsibility of the Afghan authorities and the Nato-led Isaf forces to prevent two-way traffic of infiltrators.
FRESH initiatives aimed at resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict have been long overdue. In this connection, President Musharraf’s move to enlist the support of “influential and like-minded” Muslim countries is a welcome step in the right direction. He has taken his plan for conflict resolution to Indonesia and Malaysia and been assured of cooperation. Though belatedly, it seems to have been realised that non-Arab Muslim countries have a crucial role to play in Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, the creation of an independent Palestine state and, ultimately, recognition of the Jewish state. Efforts by non-Arab countries to take the lead in addressing issues that affect the Muslim world may also help revive the slumbering OIC. The Arab monarchies, concerned primarily with their own dynastic interests, have long chosen expediency over demonstrable commitment to the Palestinian cause. As such, the time is ripe for new actors with unsullied track records vis-a-vis Palestine to make their presence felt on the international stage.
Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia also have the advantage of not being a party — at least not physically — to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The baggage of wars fought, won or lost is difficult to shed and mutual distrust can linger for decades after the cessation of hostilities. In Pakistan’s case, it is believed that Islamabad and Tel Aviv have maintained backchannel contact since the Zia years, a covert relationship that culminated in the historic Istanbul meeting and public handshake between the two countries’ foreign ministers on September 1, 2005. Silvan Shalom, Israel’s foreign minister at the time, called the meeting “a huge breakthrough” with a country that carries “great weight” in the Muslim world. This informal relationship can be a bonus when it comes to future negotiations with Israel. President Musharraf’s optimism that his plan can get the backing of the West is probably not misplaced either. As pointed out in the Iraq Study Group report, peace in the Middle East is linked to the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sooner or later, this truth and the need for a viable Iraq exit strategy is bound to dawn on the White House.
IN a ghastly incident last week, a teenage girl was gang-raped and forced to parade naked in Ubaro in Sindh in an act of revenge for her cousin eloping with a woman from the offenders’ family. It reminds one of the equally horrific event in 1984 where three women were paraded naked in Nawabpur on the orders of a landlord. Had the accused been brought to justice, perhaps the Ubaro incident may not have occurred for perverse men would have then learnt that rape is a heinous crime with serious consequences. According to the HRCP, a woman is raped every two hours in Pakistan and yet justice remains elusive. In the case in Ubaro, the victim’s father went to the police the same day but they seemed reluctant to act. It is only after a medical examination confirmed the rape that six men were arrested. One hopes that the law will be allowed to take its own course and that justice will be done. In another vile incident, a couple in Multan was tied to a tree and stoned to death by the woman’s family on suspicion of adultery. The police have arrested two of the woman’s brothers.
The government must ask what makes it so very easy for people to take the law into their own hands and commit such brutal acts against women? Why should a woman’s honour be considered restored by violating another’s? Only when this is addressed can crimes against women be arrested. If there is anything encouraging to note from these ugly episodes, it is society’s response to them: in Ubaro a protest was held to condemn the rape and called for the arrest of the accused. There must be voices of protest and condemnation in Multan too. But more people should speak out against these crimes as every rape is a blot on the nation’s tormented conscience.
Islam is already under wild attack from various corners and it is time to respond, arguing our case logically, persuasively, convincingly and demolishing the charges decisively. At the same time genuine questions that gnaw at the minds of Believers need to be answered satisfactorily. “Put up or shut up,” won’t do.
It is time to ask ourselves questions and seek their answer. The slogan that the Quran is a “complete code of human life” has become too worn-out a cliché that people now react to it with a frown. They seek evidence. For example, the ordinary reader is baffled when he comes across the Divine assertion “Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds.” (29:45). For, looking round he observes that many of those who indulge in unjust and wicked deeds are also the same people who offer prayers regularly five times a day and in congregation, too. Again, it is said “Allah has revealed the most beautiful Message in the form of a Book… repeating its teaching in various aspects. The skin of those who fear their Lord tremble thereat… and their hearts do soften.” (39:23). But do we experience any such feeling?
The question should be, “why?” Where does the fault lie? What has gone wrong, where, whether the situation can be salvaged and how? The answer to the first question is quite simple. Divine assertion cannot be wrong or frivolous. Only if the seven verses of the first sura, al Fatiha, are properly understood and their spirit imbibed, it would prove the veracity of the statement.
Indeed, the opening verse, “Praise be to Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds,” should revolutionize one’s thinking. The very first attribute with which Allah introduces Himself is Rubb. The word is so comprehensive that translating it as “cherisher and sustainer” fails to capture its true sense. It includes the function of creation, protection, and the entire process of evolution from conception to birth and from cradle to grave.
This realization should principally instil a feeling of self-assurance in the “creature,” that it is Allah alone who gives him food, protects him from dangers and misfortunes, cures him from ailments and otherwise cares for him so he feels a frisson of freedom from all considerations that tend to intrude between him and his Creator. At the same time it should promote love and kindness for all of His creatures and negate the concept of gong aggressiveness such as going about sword in hand asking every non-Muslim to “say kalmia or pay jizya or fight,” or to kill every “infidel.”
An anecdote about Hazrat Ali should better illustrate the point. Once in a battle an enemy arrow stuck in his heel. It was giving him acute pain but he would not permit the arrow being pulled out. Apprehending the onset of infection and to relieve his pain, friends went to the Prophet (S.A.W.) for advice. The latter told them to pull it out when Ali went into prostration (sijda). The instruction was followed. The arrow was extracted and Hazrat Ali continued in his supplication undisturbed. He discovered it only at the end of his prayers what had happened.
Of course for us, ordinary beings, such depth of concentration cannot be expected. But the truth of the statement can yet be experienced if the spirit of this sura is understood properly. For, how would one pray “Show us the straight path, -the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath and who go not astray,” (1:6-7) and then wilfully tread the path of those who have strayed and commit those very acts that would invite His wrath?
The Quran is a book of precepts, injunctions, admonitions, commands, warnings and advice. It is not for shading a bride as she departs home after wedding, nor is meant to marry virgins with. It is like material medica, where the properties of medicines are given. But the prescription will do no good if they are worn like a charm and not applied.
As a Book of Etiquette, it starts from the injunction to “speak fair to the people,… (2:83) to conduct and manners, deportment and demeanour, relations with spouse and family, parents, friends and other people both Muslims and non-Muslims, treatment of the poor and the indigent, orphans, widows and slaves, commercial transactions, lending and borrowing, even the tone and tenor of speech -- the catalogue is practically limitless, cover as it does the whole gamut of human life.
The last named injunction is illustrated beautifully as, “Lower thy voice (while speaking) for the harshest of sounds is the braying of the ass.” (31:19) and as for the gait; “Walk not on the earth with insolence: for thou canst not rend the earth asunder nor reach the mountain in height.” (17:37). Elsewhere: “Swell not thy check atmen, nor walk in insolence through the earth.” (31.18) So, for a Muslim, no swagger, no panache and no yelling. These are only random pickings. The Book contains much more even on the subject of etiquette.
But, of vital importance are the exhortations to reflect and ponder. For example, in the creation of night and day, of land with gardens of vines and fields sown with corn and palm trees, mountains, rivers, and fruit of every kind -– date palm, olives, grapes are signs for those who “listen, give thought, understand.” (10:67, 12:3-4, 16:11). Even the night and the day have been made subject to mankind, and the sun and the moon and the stars are in subjection by His Command, in which are signs “for those who are wise.” (16:12). These are a few samples. The same injunction is repeated a number of times in the Book.
But do we ponder? Do we think how to put our “subjects” to use? The West is already acting on these admonitions though the “Code of Life” and the Divine Light is with us. They have harnessed solar energy for instance. If we gave the issue any serious thought the answer would be as plain as day, namely, that we have to have knowledge so as to harness the elements and the spheres.
The importance of knowledge can be judged from the fact that this was the basic factor that raised a “handful of clay” to a station above fire and even light. For direct evidence reference to the glorious feats of Muslim scientists in the past: Al Kindi (Alkindus), Abu Sina (Avicenna), Ibn-e-Rushd (Averroes), Farabi (Alpharabus), Al-Khwarazmi (Algorithm), Al-Razi (Rhazes) et al would suffice. They literally searched for knowledge from everywhere, including Greek and Sanskrit. When Muslims gave up practical Islam, and turned into a set of rituals, decadence and degeneration became their lot. Therefore, Muslims today watch on helplessly as Islam is equated with terrorism. That is why prayer appears unable to prevent us from unjust and wicked deeds.
THE decision of African leaders meeting in Ethiopia on Monday to block Sudan from assuming the leadership of the African Union was good news for the credibility of an organisation dedicated to promoting democratic governance on the continent. To have chosen the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to head an organisation tasked with stopping the crisis in Darfur, which his own troops have fomented, would have been self-defeating, to put it mildly.
A further sign of the AU's maturity was its decision to give the chairmanship to Ghana. This was not just for sentimental reasons, such as the 50th anniversary celebrations this year of Ghana's independence, or the return home of its most celebrated son, Kofi Annan. Ghana has emerged well from the process known as peer review, a scheme in which African states voluntarily assess each other's political and economic management, and pass, in the process, a sort of Africa exam.
One of the founding principles of the AU when it was launched five years ago by South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, its first president, was to show the world that Africa could look after itself. It has travelled a long way since the days of the Organisation of African Unity, which earned the reputation of being a dictators' club, concerned only with policing borders and not what went on inside them.
But good intentions are a far cry from effective peacekeeping, and having performed well in their first military deployment in Burundi, the AU's 7,000 peacekeepers have not covered themselves in glory in Darfur, where 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes. If they have been following any example, it is that provided by Dutch troops at Srebrenica. Darfur has been slipping backwards, not forwards, since a peace agreement was signed last year with one section of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minnawi. What is needed now is a ceasefire. Tens of thousands of people are at risk of dying because the aid agencies cannot get through.
Somalia is another source of the AU's peacekeeping migraine, although the performance of American troops with the warlords in Mogadishu hardly provides a role model. On Tuesday the AU scrambled to find 4,000 more troops for a force, as only half of the 8,000 peacekeeping troops pledged have materialised.
Time is not on the AU's side, since Ethiopia, whose army crushed the forces of the Islamic Courts, wants to pull out.
— The Guardian, London