AN adversary unlike any other today lays siege to the collective intellect of Pakistan. Like a powerful virus that uses a computer's own hard drive against itself, this foe renders the mind obsolete, deems necessary action to be reprehensible, casts doubt upon valour and glorifies apathy. Like a true Trojan, it then infects all others in range.
This scourge is the conspiracy theory. The conspiracy theory is not the only problem facing Pakistan, but it is one of the major problems facing this country's intellectual life. Despite the disproportionate wealth of fresh intellectual talent Pakistan possesses, few innovative ideas mature to sanitise the septic wound of suspicion. It is as if no one but India, Israel, America and Britain do any thinking surrounding Pakistan.
Ultimately, it is the conspiracy theory itself, not these countries, that truly prevents Pakistan from presuming its preferred position in the world. Its one consistent attribute is its ability to paralyse progress, and remove any remnant of national responsibility. The conspiracy theory disables Pakistan both domestically and internationally.
Like all viruses, the conspiracy theory would not have infected the imagination of Pakistan if not for a weak immune system. The weakness in this case can be found in the impulse to instinctively deny that any problems could have originated from Pakistan. The fear is that any self-scrutiny, rather than leading to self-improvement, will weaken an already crippled country. To take responsibility for our own problems, rather than being held as the peak of patriotism, is construed as collaboration with the 'enemy'. The enemy, depending on the day, can either be the ISI, CIA, MI6, RAW or Mossad. The enemy is anyone but ourselves.
Add to this the clear ideological war being waged by Islamists, like my former self, that Muslims must be in perpetual conflict with non-Muslims; and this weakness is provided with a perfectly styled self-glorifying prop. It is a common trait of fascist ideologies to direct blame towards 'the other', whilst rot sets deep from within. Islam, on the other hand, encourages self-scrutiny and highly commends taking personal responsibility. Alas, Islamists are often more motivated by the elixir of life than by the fountain of paradise.
What then is the damage that the conspiracy theory has left on the organs of intellectual life in this country? Domestically, such a mindset shirks all national responsibility for problems, preferring instead to play the blame game. And if national problems are not admitted to, national solutions will never be forthcoming.
Where a beleaguered government does attempt something positive, a trust deficit between the people and the government can scupper any chance of success. In fact, the only net gain from the growth of this mindset is accrued by those who profit from sowing discord and distrust between Pakistanis and their government, and between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is no wonder that extremism, which breeds on distrust, has been on the ascendancy inside Pakistan.
Internationally, this mindset must be music to the ears of those who truly wish Pakistan harm. When the boy cries wolf at every opportunity, the true wolf easily disguises itself as a lamb. To extend the analogy further, this same hypochondriac boy often raises what may only be a barking dog on the international stage to the stature of a wolf. Thus creating an illusion of power, and hence real influence, where neither is appropriate.
In the process, some Pakistani politicians fit a perfect caricature of themselves as they walk through the corridors of power in Washington claiming that just as terrorist attacks inside Pakistan are American conspiracies, 9/11 was 'an inside job'. Peddling such theories abroad provides the perfect excuse for others to dismiss Pakistan's legitimate complaints as more 'conspiracy bunk'.
None of the above is meant in any way to imply that international forces do not have their own plans for Pakistan. Rather, this is intended as a recipe for realism. Just as India is accused of interfering inside Pakistan, was it not Pakistan that supported the Sikh Khalistan movement inside India? What of Pakistan's strategy of strategic depth for Afghanistan? Is interference only wrong when it is done against Pakistan?
A more mature approach to international politics is needed. International interference, by and against Pakistan, is a fact of life. How we choose to react should be the real matter for discussion. Should this nation recline upon the proverbial couch and finger-point at foreigners for every failing? Or should it shake itself from slumber and ask if others are setting traps, why are we falling for them? Should every consequent attempt at self-improvement be dismissed as a foreign agenda? Or should each idea be evaluated on its own merits?
In fact, the conspiracy mindset is such a large red herring that it results in nothing short of collective intellectual malfunction. At any one given time, those who sow terror, and those who promote peace are both labelled 'foreign agents'. Islamist extremists and democracy activists are both smeared with the very same tar. We can't have it both ways. And in truth, we will never know what lies deep inside a person's heart. The only rational recourse is to evaluate an idea for itself.
Pakistan will not spontaneously combust if we self-criticise. I contend that Islam and Pakistan are stronger than this. However, Pakistan will indeed stop progressing if thought is discouraged. You see, the trouble with conspiracy theories is that they were invented by the infidel West to stop Muslims thinking.
The writer is director of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter- extremism think tank based in the UK.
