DOCUMENT No. 20

Text of President Musharraf's Article, as Published in Washington Post on 1 June 2004
 

Time for enlightened moderation
Gen Pervez Musharraf,  President of Pakistan

The world has passed through a tumultuous period since the dawn of the 90s. The suffering of innocent multitudes, particularly the Muslims, at the hands of militants, extremists, terrorists, has inspired to expound the strategy of enlightened moderation The unfortunate reality is that both, the perpetrators of crime, as well as most of the sufferers from it, are Muslims. This inevitably made non-Muslims believe that Islam is a religion of intolerance, militancy and terrorism.

My idea for untangling this Gordian knot is the strategy of enlightened moderation, which I think is a win-win for all - the Muslim and the non-Muslim world. This is a two-pronged strategy. One prong is to be delivered by the Muslim world by shunning militancy, extremism and adopting the path of socio-economic uplift. The other prong, to be delivered by the West and the US in particular, must aim at resolutely resolving all political disputes and assisting in the socio-economic uplift of the deprived Muslim world.

We need to understand that the root cause of extremism and militancy lies in political injustice, denial and deprivation. Before the anti-Soviet Afghan War started, the Palestine dispute alone was the cause of unrest or concern in the Muslim world which led to a general unification of Muslims in favour of Palestinians and against Israel. The Afghan war of 80s, supported and facilitated by the West as a proxy war against the Soviet Union, saw the emergence and nurturing of pan Islamic militancy.

Islam was used to harness  worldwide Muslim support. Subsequently, the atrocities and ethnic cleansing against Muslims in Bosnia, the Chechen uprising, Kashmir freedom struggle and invigorated Palestinian Intifada all erupted in the 90s after the Soviet disintegration.

To make matters worse, the militancy sparked in Afghanistan was allowed to fester for the whole of the 90s. This festering wound turned multidirectional, looking for new conflict zones where Muslims were suffering and saw the birth of al-Qaeda.

All this while the Palestinian Intifada kept gathering momentum, uniting and angering Muslims across the globe. Then came the bombshell of the horror of 9/11 and the angry reaction of the US against Taliban/al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. All subsequent reactions of the US, their domestic responses against Muslims, their attitude towards Palestine and their operations in Iraq, led to total polarization of the Muslim masses against the US.

This needs to be recapitulated to prove that it is not Islam as a religion, which preaches or infuses militancy and extremism, but the political disputes which led to antagonism in the Muslim masses.

This situation cannot be allowed to fester. For the sake of universal harmony, a remedy has to be found.  

The cry of the day is for the West to resolve the political disputes enumerated above with justice as their part of the commitment to the strategy of Enlightened Moderation.

I would now like to turn to the Muslim World. What we need today is introspection. Who are we, what do we as Muslims stand for, where are we going, where should we be headed and how can we reach there? I see the answers to all these questions as the Muslim prong of the strategy of enlightened moderation.

We have had a glorious past. Islam exploded on the world scene as flag bearer of a just, lawful, tolerant and value oriented society. We had faith in human exaltation through knowledge and enlightenment. We exemplified tolerance within ourselves and with people of other faiths. The armies of Islam did not march forward to convert people to Islam through the sword, despite what perceptions may be, but to deliver them from the darkness they were under, through the visible example of their virtues...

We need to face stark realities. Is the way ahead one of confrontation and militancy? Will this path lead us to our past glory and also show the light of progress and development to the world?

My brother Muslims, the time for renaissance has come. The way forward is to head towards enlightenment and concentrate on human resource development through poverty alleviation, education, health and social justice. If this be our direction, it cannot be achieved through a confrontationist approach. We have to adopt the path of moderation and a conciliatory approach to wash off the common belief that Islam is a religion of militancy in conflict with modernization, democracy and secularism.

All this has to be done with a realization that, in the world we live in, the doctrine of fairness is not always available to us. This is the prong of the strategy of enlightened moderation, which we need to deliver.

If this be the strategic course to be adopted by the Muslim World, what are the operational parameters to be executed? The OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) is our collective body. We need to infuse life into this body, which at present is in a state of near impotence.

It has to be restructured to meet the challenges of the 21st century, fulfill the aspirations of the Muslim world and take us towards our emancipation. The committee of eminent persons being formed to recommend a restructured OIC is indeed a big step in the right direction. We have to show resolve and rise above self-interest for our joint, common good in the very spirit that Islam teaches us.

The world at large and the powers that be, must realize that confrontation and use of force is no more the option available to bring ultimate peace. Justice must be done and be seen to be done. Let it not be said by our future generations that we, the leaders of today took humanity towards apocalypse. 

<http://www.pakmission-uk.gov.pk/HC/Neletter5.htm>