THEY are strong words and all the stronger for the fact that they ring true. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has spoken with great conviction and frankness in acknowledging a deep malaise within the Muslim world. Be it online or in the real world, the narrative of Islam that is seemingly ascendant in the world is one propagated by bigoted and militant elements in the Muslim world. Most “violence, terror and massacres, unfortunately, take place in the Islamic world”, President Rouhani has been quoted as saying. There is a need to remove “Islam’s negative image” in the world, the Iranian leader added. Unquestionably, Mr Rouhani has given voice to a feeling that is widespread among right-thinking and sensible individuals across the Muslim world. It is not enough to say that Islam is a religion of peace; societies that represent Islam have to search within and fight the hate and violence that appears to have washed over so much of the Muslim world.

Courageous as President Rouhani has been in acknowledging that a great deal of the responsibility for fixing Muslim societies afflicted by war, violence and militancy lies with the Muslim world itself, he fell short of stating the full truth. Are Muslim-majority states, particularly the ones that are explicitly Islamic, truly ready to stand up for a broad, inclusive, tolerant vision of Islam? Consider Iran itself. From its support for Hezbollah to its early attempts to prop up Bashar al-Assad when the Syrian people rose up against his dictatorial rule to possibly stoking sectarian tensions in Bahrain and Yemen, has Iran really played a positive role in the region? To many outsiders, it still appears that it is an article of faith of the Iranian leadership, especially its clergy, that the Iranian revolution must be exported. But Iran is surely not the only, or even worst, offender. The extraordinary brashness of the new Saudi leadership, almost certainly fuelled by the fear that the people-power phase of the Arab Spring could penetrate Saudi Arabia, has led to extraordinary violence in Yemen and Bahrain. In addition, Saudi leaders are encouraging pro-Saudi Sunni militias to counter groups like the militant Islamic State, a move that can only backfire and prove disastrous for the region. Mr Rouhani is on firmer ground when he advocates social development and education as a long-term response to the poison that has seeped into Muslim societies. Surely, without a change in state policies, the violence on the ground will not go away. But just as surely, Muslim societies will not be able to get rid of the hate within until the people themselves have better prospects: better education, better jobs, better amenities and more representative governments. For now though more Muslim leaders need to follow Mr Rouhani’s example and speak frankly about the problems within their societies. For the truth to prevail, the hate must be challenged.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2015