Musharraf’s tough talk

WILL President Pervez Musharraf live up to the warning he gave to foreign militants on Wednesday? It is a tough warning and the nation would want his words to be translated into action. Speaking at a public meeting near Larkana, the president had justifiably some harsh words to say about the foreign militants “in our mountains” and vowed to crush them unless they left Pakistan. The foreign militants he referred to belong to many nationalities and are a residue of the Islamic brigade consisting of foreign volunteers who had joined the Afghan resistance to Soviet occupation. They came to Pakistan with the full blessings and support of the US and the Ziaul Haq government. They were armed and funded by the CIA, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in their anti-communist ‘jihad’ and enjoyed the western media’s unqualified support. Operating in tandem with Pakistani and Afghan resistance groups, these foreign militants turned the tribal area into their base of operation with full support from elements in the Pakistan army. However, even after the Soviet withdrawal, these foreign militants not only stayed on in Pakistan, but took part in the bitter, factional war among the mujahideen in the post-Soviet era — a war that did more harm to Afghan society than did the Soviet occupation and the resistance.

What precisely are the foreign militants here for now? Do they, and their local supporters, really think they are serving the cause of Islam by destabilising Pakistan and resorting to terrorism most of whose victims are innocent people? The bitter truth is that the foreign jihadis would have left Pakistan long ago if they had not continued to enjoy the support of some sections of the tribesmen. Their presence also shows that, in spite of the claims made by the government from time to time, the foreign militants are not only there, they are in a position to fight the security forces and train and send suicide-bombers on missions to kill and destroy. In his talk with foreign journalists last month, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Aurakzai claimed that 50 foreign families had already left Fata. This was followed by reports that the government was thinking of a deal with militants in the Bajaur agency on the pattern of the agreements signed last September and in 2004 and 2005. Under the proposed accord, the foreign militants will either leave Pakistan or live peacefully. However, even if this and the previous agreements are adhered to by the two sides, there is no guarantee that there will be peace in the area, because foreign militants are not the only source of violence; there are local terrorists, too, and it is the latter breed that is even more dangerous.

The government is on the horns of a dilemma. It may talk tough, but if it actually gets tough, there may be heavy civilian casualties, which it cannot opt for. If it does not act tough, the militants, foreign or local, will continue to kill. It is regrettable that the religious parties are not playing the role expected of them. They have influence with both foreign militants and tribal elders, but their focus has been on such inanities as mixed marathons and hijab. Terrorism, which is eating into the vitals of Pakistan, seems to be of no interest to them. It is in the larger national interest that the government and the MMA move away from confrontation and make joint efforts to pacify the tribal belt.

Tackling water losses

DEBATE on an issue as contentious as water must focus on cold facts rather than be ruled by emotion. Mutual mistrust and the endless blame game, particularly between Punjab and Sindh, has consistently overshadowed analysis, with the result that precise provincial requirements are yet to be ascertained afresh. Nor has there been a concerted effort to identify the areas where water is being wasted or appropriated through unfair means. Clearly, a new focus is needed in these times of acute shortages and climate change. In this context, Irsa’s decision in this connection to seek specialist third-party help is a welcome move. Realising the need for a comprehensive study, Irsa is now seeking the assistance of the Asian Development Bank to improve the regulation of provincial shares and to determine how much water is lost in the country’s rivers and canals. Rectifying faults in the telemetry system, which has so far failed to provide error-free data on water discharge and distribution, is also on the cards. All these projects are to be funded by the ADB’s water sector development programme for Pakistan.

The ADB’s recommendations will be presented in due course and hopefully implemented on a priority basis. Local experts, however, have long stressed the need for integrated water management and the development of a holistic strategy aimed at rationalising water use throughout the country. Conservation efforts must naturally focus on agriculture, which consumes between 95 and 97 per cent of available water resources. In terms of the irrigation system, emphasis must be on lining canals and waterways, as well as land-levelling of farmland to reduce run-off and improve moisture retention. Adoption of modern farming techniques such as drip irrigation — the slow, even application of water through subsoil tubing — can not only help conserve water but also increase crop yield and quality. Also of critical importance are flood control schemes and the creation of reservoirs which can collect river and canal surpluses in the monsoon and store rainwater in arid areas. Consensus will be the key to success. The provinces must be taken on board and the draft national water policy approved and implemented.

CNG-based public transport

MUCH can be achieved with the right political will and the commitment to see a project through from the planning to the implementation stage. The Central Development Working Party, an inter-provincial ministerial forum, approved 40 development schemes on Tuesday, among them a much-needed programme to convert public transport to CNG in five years. The project covers all major cities and includes government support to offset infrastructure and bank loan costs incurred by companies investing in large CNG-based fleets. Land for parking and other requirements will also be leased out by the government to reduce start-up costs. These are healthy incentives as CNG buses are more expensive than their diesel counterparts and the higher costs involved can be a deterrent even for major transporters. If successful, the scheme can have a positive impact on air pollution — the example of New Delhi is there for all to see — and also help reduce the country’s oil import bill.

The key, though, will be implementation. Last year, the Sindh government set a June 2007 deadline beyond which two-stroke rickshaws would not be allowed on the roads anywhere in the province. With the cut-off point just four months away, little progress has been made in terms of the switch over to four-stroke engines and it is too much to expect that rickshaws will simply disappear from July 1. The same is true of Lahore, where two-stroke rickshaws are to be phased out by the end of the year. There is a danger that the CNG scheme too may fizzle out and, as such, periodic review and follow-up are a must. In the meantime, the authorities need to tackle the air pollution problem through tighter fuel standards and emission controls, scrupulous fitness certification regimes, and a crackdown on poor quality smuggled petrol and diesel.

Friday feature: Stress on reason in Islam

PIETY of soul, purity of heart and intention and the sincerity of comprehension are recognised as the essentials of truth. Rationalism is the philosophical view that reason is the source of all knowledge, derived form experience. If reason is the source of all knowledge then every thing that can be known, including God and natural world, must be intelligible and rationally explicable.

Islam is concerned with the broad aim of life and the programme of action by which that aim can be attained. It is meant for a free, independent and intelligent person who has the courage to think, judge and act for himself. It encompasses rationality and experience and rejects blind faith. “Those who, when the revelations of their Rabb (nourisher) are presented to them, do not face threat deaf and blind” (25:73).

The search for rational foundations in Islam may be regarded to have begun with the Prophet himself. His constant prayer was; ‘God! Grant me knowledge of the ultimate nature of things’. According to Iqbal, “the main purpose of the Quran is to awaken in man the higher consciousness of his manifold manifestations with God and the universe. Islam is neither dogma, nor priesthood, nor ritual! It is the vivid sense of God’s directive force and unflinching working of laws. It relates to a hearty participation in this upward progressive trend and movement of life.”

Islam views the world as an expression of God’s creative force. It gives broad principles as guidance to man in all works of life which enable him to attain the goal of self realisation and social welfare. These principles are for all times and adjusted through mutual consultation according to the needs of time. A few basic laws remain unchanged. The principles are not to be followed blindly, but applied with intelligence and forethought. The Quran says: “Those who do not use their faculties of thinking, reasoning and deliberating are not human beings, they are living their lives on the animal level, even worse than that. These are the cursed people “(7:179).

Currently, we are witnessing violent reactions against reason. The Quran sets forth a sustaining practical programme in which human reason, acting in the light of Divine Revelation, leads to the right path. The process of thinking, reasoning and action, with the passage of time, is responsible for the evolution of man to a higher level of existence. This makes him superior to all other creations of God. Any person or species that shuns struggle (Jihad) for a better future remains at that stage and does not evolve any further. The Quran calls this state ‘Jaheem’ (Hell’ in common terms).

The capability to rationalise is a human trait. Animals do not have this capacity, they use their instincts. The cave-dwellers of the past and the moon-conquering humans of today belong to the same species but different in their intelligence and wisdoms. The Quran repeatedly exhorts man to think and think hard. Those who use their reason are held in admiration. “The blind and deaf, ignorant and the seeing (knowledgeable) are not equal. Will you not then reflect on this? (6:50, 11:24) “Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.”(39:9)

In the early period of Muslim history the Mutazilites, the rationalists, upheld man’s freedom of thought and action and hence his responsibility for whatever he does. They rejected the fatalism of the later Ashaarities. Due to the peculiar circumstances of that time, they lost their case to the orthodox Ashaarites in the 4th and 5th centuries. However the ratiaonalists trend continued through philosophers, thinkers and reformers in all Muslim countries.

The purpose of Divine Revelation is to activate and regenerate the human intellect and develop its field of activity positively. The Quran constantly appeals to reason and experience. It says, ‘These people do not ponder and reflect on the Quran. It seems as if their minds have locked themselves up from the inside so that nothing can get into them (47:24). It also does not accept as Momineen (Believers) who readily believe without questioning or thinking over it. True believers are those who do not accept without scrutiny and deliberation (25:73). ‘Allah brings forward the clues and hints in such a fashion thereby enabling you to reflect on this life and the hereafter’ (2:219).

The true concept and practice of Islam has been long forgotten, rather lulled to sleep by the clerics and religious obscurantists who consider the intellectual development and achievements of a particular period in history as the benchmark and have ruled out any further thinking, re-evaluation and the progress of the thought process. Following in the footsteps of one’s forefathers as the purpose of life and allowing no change is called conformity or blind following (Taqleed). The word ‘Taqleed’ is derived from ‘Qaladah’ meaning the collar which keeps animals under control to lead them as desired. Even criticism of this stagnation of knowledge and thinking is not allowed and may amount to heresy.

The worst thing that can happen is when ignorance enters the fold of social life and politics and takes the law into its hands. There is no need to despair. The Quran points out that such a phase is always temporary. With the passage of time they are bound to whither away and “Neither heaven nor earth will shed a tear over their demise” (44:29) Nations using their intelligence and knowledge keep gaining strength while the so called Muslim states have become weak to the point where they cannot even defend themselves.

Islam stresses the importance of this world as well as the hereafter. “The heavenly bodies and earth have been brought under control for you (human beings) by Allah. There are signs in them for those who think and reflect” (45:13). The entire universe works in accordance with the Divine Laws of Nature. These can be discovered through intelligence, knowledge and hard work for the benefit of mankind. Similarly, the hidden forces and energies can be brought under control. When the Malaika bowed to Adam, it was precisely in recognition of Adam’s hidden capacities of knowledge and intelligence which are far superior to all other creations of Allah including the Malaika (usually translated as ‘Angels’).

The great philosopher and scholar of medicine and social sciences Al-Kindi believed that the highest existence was Reason and Intellect which proceeds from God by way of emanation and that our soul is an uncompounded, imperishable essence which was in the world of reason before its descent to the sensuous world. Thus it can have both sensible and rational knowledge. Al-Farabi also stressed the acquisition of knowledge of all things in the universe; its main aim being to realise God. Ibn-e-Sina contended that intellect enables man to know God. It is incumbent upon man to polish his intellect, acquire knowledge and develop his reasoning abilities so that he may ennoble his soul and make it perfect and may become a rational scientist and get the capacity of eternal bliss in the hereafter.

Even the Ulema in Islam are not those who have only religions knowledge and lead prayers in mosques. In the light of the following verse the word Ulema can only be translated as scientist: “The Book of nature is for everyone, but only those who submit to the awe–inspiring grandeur of its laws, who think and reflect upon these in the light of knowledge and discernment are the people entitled to be called Ulema” (37:27,28). Ibn-e-Tufail, a great rationalist of the 12th century, came to emphasise that man should always observe God through His creations and not to be negligent of Him even for the twinkling of an eye, for only in this way can man hope to feel happy and satisfied.

Inactivity in exploring and studying the world around us and taking advantage of the bounties of nature has led the present day Muslims to a life which is miserable’ poor and meaningless. This will ultimately make them losers in the hereafter. It has to be realised that the laws of nature are not man-made, they are made by Allah; these can be discovered through hard work, thought and experiment. The Divine values are permanent and have been provided to the human beings through Messengers.

The method through which the code of Religious law (Sharia) has to operate in different times and societies is called the Ijtihad in which changes are made through intellectual, mutual consent (3:158, 42:38) by the use of thought and reflection. Allama Iqbal says, “Turning now to the groundwork of legal principles in the Quran, it is perfectly clear that far from leaving no scope for human thought and legislative activity, the breadth of these principles virtually acts as an awakener of human thought… The teaching of the Quran that life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each generation guided but unhampered by the word of its predecessors, should be permitted to solve its own problems.”