Iran’s ‘moderate’ factor

ALTHOUGH run-off polls next month will decide the fate of a number of parliamentary candidates, Iran’s conservatives are expected to dominate the 290-member Majlis. According to the interior ministry they have won 71 per cent of the seats. This has understandably alarmed the West that is averse to seeing the reins of power in the hands of those it perceives as extremists. With the reformists apparently taking only 40 seats or so, Washington and the European Union have questioned the credibility of the polls, which they say were neither free nor fair. One would still have to wait for the official announcement of all results to obtain a more accurate picture. But, on the face of it, the current poll trend indicates that, in electing the conservatives, the voters have demonstrated their anger against the West’s anti-Iran policies.

However, the matter is more complicated than that and it is unclear whether the conservatives would have managed to do as well if hundreds of reformist candidates had not been disqualified prior to the polls. Beginning with the 1997 presidential election of Mohammad Khatami, the Iranians had increasingly shown a preference for reformists who steered a moderate course and promised democratic changes such as greater freedom for women. In the 2000 polls, too, the reformists won about 70 per cent of the vote. This alarmed the hard-line establishment that disqualified hundreds of reformist candidates from contesting the 2004 and 2008 polls. Against this backdrop, the reformists have not done badly, even though disqualifications in their ranks eased the competition for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose frequent rhetoric against Israel and the US shows an extremist bent of mind.

More troubling for the president is a split among the conservatives. Those supporting former nuclear spokesman Ali Larijani and Tehran’s mayor Muhammad Qalibaf are opposed to Mr Ahmadinejad’s economic policies and his rigid handling of the nuclear crisis. No doubt, their numbers so far in parliament are small — although much depends on the run-off polls and the political alignment of independents — in comparison to Mr Ahmadinejad’s supporters. But the pressure will be on the president to refrain from adopting a populist approach and issuing provocative statements against the US and Israel, and to act with greater restraint in national policies. With presidential elections due in 2009, Mr Ahmadinejad may be forced to moderate his tone, especially if fiscal matters, including the spiralling inflation, are not rectified. The West should welcome this reality and make a distinction between the more flexible conservatives and the ultra hard-line politicians.

Female vulnerability

THE human price tag on a cheap carpet or fabric is seldom a consideration. This is especially true for a woman labourer as, despite being a signatory to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention, Pakistan’s female work force remains particularly vulnerable to multiple forms of exploitation. According to a report published in this newspaper, some 8,000 women employees of textile and jute mills in Muzaffargarh district have approached human rights organisations to seek redressal of their rights. Most among them have spent many years as daily wagers as mill owners refuse to grant permanent employment to them and do not extend either health benefits or security cards. They are paid a measly Rs95 per day for over eight hours of work. Needless to say, women constitute over 20 per cent of the country’s labour strength with more than 10 per cent of the female population participating in its civilian labour force. In the period 1955-2000, five labour policies have been introduced with over 100 laws that address and protect the welfare of workers, but these have hardly had any impact on the lives of our labourers in general and women in particular.

Figures of injustices continue to climb despite repeated protests by labour leaders against constant negation of the rights of workers as enshrined in the ILO conventions and the Constitution. Last year, ILO’s annual Global Employment Trends (GET) also threw up some surprising figures: “vulnerability decreased by 5.0 per cent for males and increased by 6.5 per cent for females”. The organisation has also urged states to implement measures that protect the health of workers and to discard ‘overtime’ — a common tool of exploitation. As for our women, nearly every statistic has its own story that makes the prescribed monthly wage of Rs4000 seem meagre. For example, scores of these women bear the burden of supporting their families as their husbands are either drug addicts, wastrels or just absconding.

The authorities must begin with tackling the issue of ghost labour that eats into a large portion of other people’s dues. Also, the weakened state of labour unions has destabilised the bargaining position of the work force, exposing it to rampant manipulation. Perhaps empowered trade unions supported by labour courts — a distant dream given the present grim scenario — are the only mechanisms that can guarantee checks on exploitation, corruption and other violations of labour laws.

A forgotten inquiry?

MORE than six months after the collapse of the Shershah Bridge in Karachi that claimed several lives, the nation still does not know what caused, or led to the cave-in. As was feared at the time, the ‘quick’ inquiry that was ordered by the government has certainly taken time. Though there have been a lot of reports in the media about the findings of the probe, nothing is known officially about the proceedings of the high-powered, high-profile seven-member committee that was set up by the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission (PMIC) days after the tragic incident. Also, we know nothing of the findings of another probe that was initiated by the equally high-profile National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The closest we have come thus far on this count is a statement by the communications secretary in the Senate Standing Committee on Communications according to which design flaws were behind the disaster. It is some reflection on the level of confusion prevailing in the officialdom when the minister concerned totally distanced himself and his ministry from the entire issue, stressing that he was not privy to the probe findings. This confusion and delay together are only reinforcing the public perception that someone somewhere is trying to save a mighty skin or two.

Built at a cost of Rs3.5bn, the bridge came tumbling down a mere three weeks after its inauguration. Supervised by the National Highway Authority, the project was executed by the National Logistics Cell whose sudden foray into development work, to start with, was hard to understand. Flaws in the design of the bridge were known midway through the process and a team of private consultants was subsequently hired to have them rectified. Who erred where is what everyone is desperate to know; except, as it seems, certain elements in the official machinery who are delaying the release of the inquiry report. It goes without saying that an inquiry is no good if it does not locate the fault, pinpoint the culprit, and if it is not made public. Suspending a few people, putting their names on the ECL, and doling out meagre sums to the affected families is not enough. Accountability certainly goes beyond such steps. And, accountability alone can restore people’s confidence in the viability and functionality of future undertakings. With more than 50 projects planned for Karachi alone — and several others across the country — this is vital.

A trend to reinterpret Islam

SCHOLARS have coined different terms to interpret Islam in view of the present political, social and economic condition of the Islamic world. Some of these terms are used to explain the existing situation. Here I shall try to explain these terms in their historical context.

One of the terms which is widely used is ‘political Islam’. Generally it refers to religion used for political motives. This is not a modern phenomenon. Religions were used by political authorities to legitimise their power in the past in most of the great civilisations.

Muslim rulers exploited it to further their own interests since ulema or religious scholars were also office-holders of the state and in this capacity they were ready to legalise all orders and commands of the ruler on the basis of religious teachings. There are a number of examples to show that whenever rulers needed a religious injunction (fatwa), it was immediately issued by the mufti and qazi according to their wishes.

When Akbar wanted to legalise his more than four authorised marriages, it was done by the Maliki qazi on the basis of Maliki jurisprudence. Interestingly, Akbar immediately dismissed the qazi after obtaining sanction for his marriages lest others took advantage of it. Thus there are a number of religious injunctions which approved usurpation, royal expenditure, killing of rebels and opponents, and declaration of war either against Muslims or non-Muslims. It is evident that throughout history whenever politics and religion were integrated those who wielded political authority used it in their favour.

In the modern period, we have witnessed the late President Ziaul Haq making use of the religious authorities to strengthen his dictatorship in Pakistan by violating democratic norms and justifying his brutal actions against his opponents.

The same pattern was followed by generals H.M. Ershad of Bangladesh and Jaafar Numeiri of Sudan to implement Sharia to get the support and sympathy of the people. In Saudi Arabia and Iran, Islam is used by the monarchy and religious oligarchy by interpreting it from their particular political points of view. Under such circumstances the people are helpless and do not react for fear of flouting religious injunctions.

In a democratic process religious parties also use religious slogans to exploit the sentiments of the people in order to win elections. Their assumption is that society can be reformed only after capturing state power. Therefore they interpret Islam as a complete political system which has no contradictions with democratic institutions and values.

Although there are some Islamic groups which reject this point of view and attempt to revive or reconstruct a political system based on orthodox Islamic teachings, which in their view is the only solution to the ills of the Muslim world, in order to pull themselves out of the state of decline and backwardness they find themselves in.

As far as the term ‘militant Islam’ is concerned, it is a product of colonialism. When in the 19th and 20th centuries European powers defeated the Muslim ruling classes and occupied their countries, the defeated rulers were not in a position to fight or to struggle against the occupation forces. Either they submitted to the colonial powers or just vanished from the political scene. Under these circumstances religious groups emerged to challenge the foreign powers and resist them.

These religious movements assumed the messianic form in a bid to bring Muslims into their fold and inspired them to fight for freedom and for the glory of Islam. In Algeria, Abdul Qadir claimed to be Imam and fought against the French to liberate his country. Mahdi in Sudan proclaimed himself the ‘Guided One’ and announced war against the Christians. He defeated General Gordon in the battle of Khartoum (1881) and shocked the British imperialists who considered defeat unthinkable.

In Libya Mohammad Ali Sannusi (1787-1859) fought against the colonialists and laid the foundation of resistance. In India Sayyid Ahmad declared holy war against the Sikhs and established an Islamic state in the NWFP.

However, these militant and messianic movements did not succeed in their goals. Although they had the spirit to fight and die for a cause they lacked modern knowledge to confront their enemies. As they were the early fighters of holy war they became models for the modern religious movements to follow. They became a great source of inspiration for them. Their heroism and martyrdom are greatly admired by religiously motivated young people.

The modern militant Islam is in one sense the continuation of the past. It is also a response to foreign occupation. Religion provides a tool to fight against the occupation forces. But they have the same problem their predecessors had: they lack modern knowledge to confront their adversaries. They rely on the West for technological know-how and are not in a position to create knowledge themselves and to use it for their own benefit. As consumers and customers, it is difficult for them to overpower their opponents either in the battlefield or in a conflict of ideas.

To counter political and militant Islam an attempt is made to preach and promote ‘liberal Islam’ which includes most modern values and traditions. Some Muslim states support this version of Islam to counter a militant and political Islam which is a threat to their authority. Sometimes western countries encourage ulema to propagate and preach liberal Islam in order to eliminate the threat of religious fundamentalism.

In both cases the attempt has failed because liberal Islam cannot develop and be popular in isolation. It requires political stability, economic prosperity and social justice. As nearly all Muslim countries are under the grip of dictators along with social inequality and economic exploitation, liberal Islam cannot have any appeal for common people.

In the West and the US some scholars are reinterpreting Islam from a liberal point of view. As they write in European languages their readers are either intellectuals or western-educated Muslims. Their point of view remains confined to a limited circle. On the other hand the traditional ulema who write in Arabic, Persian or Urdu have a wider circle of readership which is influenced by their ideas. Their version is more appealing to the public.

OTHER VOICES - European Press

Alcohol fuelling crime

Irish Examiner

LAST year, St Patrick’s Day drinking led to about 1,000 public order offences, widespread vandalism, some violence and a number of stabbings. That trend is set to accelerate this year as figures … [show] that alcohol-related juvenile crime has jumped by 35 per cent in a mere two years….

These young people are getting into trouble because of drink and their inability to drink without becoming a threat to themselves and those around them. This lethal mixture had a violent and public manifestation in the savage … murders of two Polish men … who were stabbed in the throat and head with a screwdriver by teenagers who … decided to attack … after [the men] refused to buy drink for them….

Last January we reported that the number of off-licences rose from 3,612 in 2005 to 4,261 in 2007…. Add to that the availability of cheap drink in garages and supermarkets and it is a wonder these figures are not even more depressing.

Opening a new off-licence more or less every day for two years in a country where supermarkets sometimes sell alcohol for less than … bottled water in a culture where we have never managed to convince even ourselves that our relationship with alcohol is a fully rounded one…. Add to that argument … the role of alcohol in road deaths and suicides…. There is a common theme … [namely] the conspicuous absence of political will to confront the escalating problem….

Juvenile crime is only one of the many tragic manifestations of how alcohol misuse undermines our society, and … the lives of those nearest and dearest to us….

The tobacco monster was confronted and its well past the time the alcohol monster got similar treatment. — (March 18)

A welcome decision

Cyprus Mail

EDUCATION minister Andreas Demetriou said all the right things about the decision of the Cyprus University and TEPAK (the applied sciences university) to open their doors to students who did not graduate from state secondary schools….

The minister not only supported the decision … he also made it clear that the university had the autonomy to determine its admissions policy.

This commitment … came as a big relief…. Apart from the fact that President Christofias … believes in an interventionist state, he and his party had in the past been highly critical of administrative decisions taken by the university…. The president may have modified his views regarding the autonomy of the university, as the appointment of Demetriou … would seem to indicate. Demetriou could have a positive influence in keeping the new government at a safe distance from their decision-making. A clearer indication of government intentions will be provided by the way it handles the Senate’s plan to charge tuition fees to undergraduates who fail to complete their degree courses within … four years.

Tuition fees are a sore point for [Christofias’s party] AKEL…. Student unions … have slammed the decision, and it remains to be seen what line the government will take, given its commitment to free university education. Interestingly, it is the unions which are opposing the decision to open up the universities to students who do not sit the state secondary school exams.

Teaching unions claim that this move would downgrade state schools…. The fact is that barring students who have passed their IB or GCEs with good results is discriminatory and smacks of a closed shop mentality. It is preposterous that the Cyprus University should be the exclusive preserve of state school graduates…. — (March 18)