He was addressing the teaching faculty and students of the International Islamic University on “enlightened moderation- the way forward for the Muslim Ummah” here on Sunday.
Mr Aziz was given a rousing welcome at the campus by faculty members led by Mr Sri Dato Sansul Junid, president of the university.
The prime minister underscored the need for rethinking and ‘Ijtehad’ and called for political, economic and social reforms to build and consolidate a system capable of ensuring tranquillity and harmony in Muslim societies.
“Many of our societies face grave internal challenges. First and foremost is the intellectual challenge of reorientation and adjustment to the imperative of modernity to unleash the genius of our people for creativity and development in today’s world,” he said.
He said it was important to address the root cause of terrorism and understand the factors that breed political injustice and lead to denial of freedom and fundamental rights.
In this connection, he cited the example of Afghanistan a country which suffered international neglect in the 1990s and had been haunted by the spectre of terrorism.
“Al Qaeda had found safe haven in the country (Afghanistan) until the cataclysmic events of 9/11,” the prime minister said, adding that in the new scenario, Pakistan had been obliged to play a frontline role in the fight against international terrorism.
“We have done so primarily in our interest because terrorism is as much a threat to our society as to any other society in the world,” he said.
There were hopeful signs of peace in the Middle East, which depends on the realization of a Palestinian state in their homeland with Al-Quds as its capital, Mr Aziz observed.
Welcoming Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip, the prime minister said the process must now continue in the West Bank and the quartet’s roadmap must be implemented.
“Muslims must also recognise that, first and foremost, the remedy of our malaise lies within. We need to be realistic and accept that there are faults within Muslim societies that generate extremism and militancy. These flow from our political, economic and social under-development, from our divisions, and differences within and amongst ourselves as well as from our weaknesses and vulnerabilities,” he said.
Unfortunately, he said, the educated and enlightened people had abdicated their leadership role in Muslim polity. The role has been usurped by a small minority of obscurantists and extremists who have distorted the real meaning of Islam and tarnished its image.
Elaborating President General Pervez Musharraf’s concept of enlightened moderation, Mr Aziz said that poverty and illiteracy must be removed because they also gave rise to extremism. He was of the view that enlightened moderation should also involve the international community, especially the West, which must help in facilitating equitable solutions to longstanding disputes such as Palestine and Kashmir to remove the root cause which had spawned extremism in Muslim societies.