Lal Masjid Massacre

Example is better than precept

A Plea for Enlightened Moderation

Muslims must raise themselves up through individual achievement and socioeconomic emancipation.

 Washington Post

By Pervez Musharraf

Tuesday, June 1, 2004; Page A23

The world has been going through a tumultuous period since the dawn of the 1990s, with no sign of relief in sight.(No kidding his coup 10/12/99) The suffering of the innocents, particularly my brethren in faith -- the Muslims -- at the hands of militants, extremists and terrorists has made it all the more urgent to bring order to this troubled scene. In this spirit, I would like to set forth a strategy I call Enlightened Moderation.

The world has become an extremely dangerous place. The devastating power of plastic explosives, combined with high-tech remote-controlled devices, as well as a proliferation of suicide bombers, has created a lethal force that is all but impossible to counter. The unfortunate reality is that both the perpetrators of these crimes and most of the people who suffer from them are Muslims. This has caused many non-Muslims to believe wrongly that Islam is a religion of intolerance, militancy and terrorism. It has led increasing numbers of people to link Islam to fundamentalism; fundamentalism to extremism, and extremism to terrorism. Muslims can protest however vigorously they like against this kind of labeling, but the reality is that such arguments are not likely to prevail in the battle for minds.(Oh really did you listen to Ron Paul said in the Republican debate) To make things even more difficult, Muslims are probably the poorest, most uneducated, most powerless and most disunited people in the world.( And he is telling all this in the US, where he is investing his loot)

The stark challenge that faces anyone with compassion for the common heritage of mankind is determining what legacy we will leave for future generations. The special challenge that confronts Muslims is to drag ourselves out of the pit we find ourselves in, to raise ourselves up by individual achievement and collective socioeconomic emancipation. Something has to be done quickly to stop the carnage in the world and to stem the downward slide of Muslims.(Get rid of the parasites dictators))

My idea for untangling this knot is Enlightened Moderation, which I think is a win for all -- for both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. It is a two-pronged strategy. The first part is for the Muslim world to shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift. The second is for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment of the deprived Muslim world.

We need to understand that the root cause of extremism and militancy lies in political injustice, denial and deprivation. Political injustice to a nation or a people, when combined with stark poverty and illiteracy, makes for an explosive mix. It produces an acute sense of hopelessness and powerlessness. A nation suffering from these lethal ills is easily available for the propagation of militancy and the perpetration of extremist, terrorist acts. It is cannon fodder in a war of terrorism.(Duh!)

I would be remiss if, in defense of the people of my faith, I did not trace the genesis of the Muslims' being labeled as extremists or terrorists. Before the anti-Soviet Afghan war, the sole cause of unrest and concern in the Muslim world was the Palestine dispute. It was this issue that led to a unity of Muslims -- in favor of Palestinians and against Israel. The Afghan war of the 1980s, supported and facilitated by the West as a proxy war against the Soviet Union, saw the emergence and nurturing of pan-Islamic militancy. Islam as a religion was used to harness worldwide Muslim support. Subsequently the atrocities and ethnic cleansing against Muslims in Bosnia, the Chechen uprising, the Kashmir freedom struggle and the invigorated Palestinian intifada all erupted in the '90s after the Soviet disintegration. To make matters worse, the militancy that was sparked in Afghanistan -- which should have been defused after the Cold War -- was instead allowed to fester for a decade.

During this time, hostility among fighters from the Muslim world turned multidirectional, seeking new conflict zones in places where Muslims were suffering. Enter the birth of al Qaeda. Meanwhile, the Palestinian intifada kept gathering momentum, uniting and angering Muslims across the globe. And then came the bombshell of Sept. 11, 2001, and the angry reaction of the United States against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. All subsequent reactions of the United States -- its domestic responses against Muslims, its attitude toward Palestine and the operation in Iraq -- led to total polarization of the Muslim masses against the United States. It is not Islam as a religion that has created militancy and extremism but rather political disputes that have led to antagonism among the Muslim masses.

This is all history now. What has been done cannot be undone. But this situation cannot be allowed to fester; a remedy must be found. I call on the West to help resolve these political disputes with justice, as part of a commitment to a strategy of Enlightened Moderation.

When I think of the role of Muslims in today's world, my heart weeps. What we need 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 it? The answers to these questions are the Muslim part of Enlightened Moderation.

We have a glorious past. Islam exploded on the world scene as the 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 toward people of other faiths. The armies of Islam did not march forward to convert people by the sword, despite what the perceptions may be, but to deliver them from the darkness through the visible example of their virtues. What better projection can be found of these deeper values of Islam than the personal example of our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.), who personified justice, compassion, tolerance of others, generosity of spirit, austerity with a spirit of sacrifice, and a burning desire to make a better world.

Today's Muslim world is distant from all these values. We have been left far behind in social, moral and economic development. We have remained in our own shell and refused to learn or acquire from others. We have reached the depths of despair and despondency. We need to face stark reality. Is the way ahead one of confrontation and militancy? Could this path really lead us back to our past glory while also showing the light of progress and development to the world?

I say to my brother Muslims: The time for renaissance has come. The way forward is through enlightenment. We must concentrate on human resource development through the alleviation of poverty and through education, health care and social justice. If this is our direction, it cannot be achieved through confrontation. We must adopt a path of moderation and a conciliatory approach to fight the common belief that Islam is a religion of militancy in conflict with modernization, democracy and secularism. All this must be done with a realization that, in the world we live in, fairness does not always rule.( What a hypocritical and contradictory concoction after he takes  The Prophet�s(saw) name in vain two paras back!Yes modern I don�t know what his definition of modernity is ! if  getting best of the booze and broads and living in a palace while the most countrymen are on $2 /day ration yes I will buy that! It also proves that fairness doesn�t always rule so he has ruled by breaking every rule in the book. No body knows other than the bankers how much he is worth with all the money he gets for this dirty work. Of course he is promoting secularism with all his mighty army�s that never got into any external conflict which it didn�t loose!

The Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) is our collective body. We need to infuse new life into it; it is now in a state of near impotence. The OIC must be restructured to meet the challenges of the 21st century, to fulfill the aspirations of the Muslim world and to take us toward emancipation. Forming a committee of luminaries to recommend a restructuring of the OIC is a big step in the right direction. We have to show resolve and rise above self-interest for our common good -- in the very spirit that Islam teaches us.

The world at large and the powers that be must realize that confrontation and force will never bring peace. Justice must be done and be seen to be done. Let it not be said by future generations that we, the leaders of today, took humanity toward the apocalypse.

Gen. Musharraf is president of Pakistan.

� 2004 The Washington Post Company

A Rebuttle to 'Enlightened Moderation'

Unravelling 'Enlightened Moderation'  Attalics mine

Musharraf is telling Muslim nations to follow Washington's dictates

Absolute power often leads to a conviction that one is omniscient. Pakistanis have seen this happen to President Pervez Musharraf, whose passion for giving long, all-knowing style speeches is only increasing with time. From being an authority on what is best for Pakistan, General Musharraf, since the last Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meetings seems to have become an authority on what is best for Muslims too. He is keen to sell his vision of "enlightened moderation" as a solution to problems of the Muslim world.

The opening of the OIC meeting in Islamabad the week before last was followed by a massive attempt to once again promote General Musharraf's vision. The Pakistani president published an article entitled "Plea for enlightened moderation" not only in the Pakistani press but also in The Washington Post and Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly. Given that the article deals with a vision for the entire Muslim world, it is important to unpack it and see where the blame is laid; whom it addresses and what solutions it suggests.

Many points within the article raise serious concerns.

To begin with, the main achievement of this piece is to solicit pity from the West for the Muslim world. The tone suggests an extremely apologetic mindset; it paints an extremely bleak picture of the current state of Muslims. When considering the role of Muslims in today's world, General Musharraf admits, "my heart weeps". He depicts Muslims as the "poorest, the most uneducated, the most powerless and the most disunited people in the world". True, Muslim countries are not leading the world today, but the Muslim world is by no means as deprived and miserable as Musharraf views it to be; he completely ignores the huge numbers of educated, intelligent Muslims, and fails to give credit to the rich traditions and culture of the Muslim world which remain intact. They may not be living in Pakistan or other dictator occupied countries. Who is responsible for the destruction of education system? Why would an occupation army let the people educated and get smarter?

There are two key problems with painting such a hopeless and demoralizing picture of Muslims.

Firstly, the situation does not reflect the diversity of the Muslim world but reduces it to one helpless, powerless bloc. Apart from everything else, what about the oil wealth of Muslim countries which, if controlled by the Muslim world, could send shudders down the spine of the Western world? One person did exactly that and in six months times he was shot and that was end of that talk!His name King Faisal

Secondly, it automatically puts the West in a superior position with Muslims assuming a subordinate role. Why General Musharraf should want to publish this self-pitying article in a leading US dailyJewish owned Washington Post) is beyond comprehension. All it does is tell the American audience that, yes, you people are right, the Muslims are a hopeless case and are to be held responsible for the problems in today's world. ( It is almost like a ghost of of some Red Indian tribal leader confessing for being a nuisance and asking forgiveness for the battles they fought for their survival but lost)

The article wholly accepts that Muslim groups are responsible for terrorism. It refers briefly to the politics of the Western world that have led to resistance within the Muslim world, but in terms of today it holds only Muslim extremist groups responsible for current tensions.(The colonialism and neo colonialism is conveniently overlooked) The differentiation between freedom fighters and terrorists finds no place in his analysis. Nor does Musharraf have any thoughts on how the US-backed "war on terror" fails to provide the solution to bridge the perceived gap between Muslims and the rest of the world.

Musharraf's solution to the current state of Muslims rests on what he calls "enlightened moderation" which is a very simplistic two-pronged strategy. The first step of this strategy implores that "Muslims should shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socio-economic uplift." The second step is for "the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socio-economic betterment of the deprived Muslim world".

What an amazingly enlightening solution it is. According to this strategy, therefore, Muslims should henceforth shun all forms of militancy and think only of winning more bread and butter. But is life that simple? What about the militant suicide bombers in Palestine for whom there is no other way to resist the oppression of US-backed Israel but to kill themselves? Who is going to provide Palestinians with the weaponry to match Israel's sophisticated arsenal, which would eliminate the need for them to blow themselves up? When the Israeli forces humiliate and search every single Palestinian at checkpoints, are we to tell the young men to concentrate on socio-economic reform; should we tell them not to feel humiliated and angry that they are being treated like this in their own land?

What about the self-imposed dictators of the Muslim world who have never invested in education or health, who have neglected to establish societies based on a constitution rather than the orders of one man? Are they suddenly going to disappear, or will they now experience a major change of heart and begin investing in the people of their own countries? Since General Musharraf is the one proposing this vision for socio-economic reform in Muslim countries, I would like to mention a serious issue in Pakistan: 32 people, mainly children, have died over the past two weeks due to the supply of contaminated water in Hyderabad and Dadu. And what has the government done? (Since this article his own country has been through unlimited and unprecedented corruption ever heard in that country. Any foreign exchange coming in is divvied up amongst the top brass of the military, the education system for the commoner is a joke and only place left them is the madrassahs.What has Mush�s gov�t doen for the flood victims?

I have been told by all the young enthusiastic medical doctor and interns those have visited the last big Earth quack area that Musharraf and his cronies NGO embezzled all the aid monies and the people had little assistance coming to them.

Making and breaking political deals for self preservation need no rule of law, his words are the laws cuz he�s been Enlightened like Ghulam Ahmed before him. His approach and words are like that of Mirza of Qadian who was also the favorite of the Anglos.    

Coming to the second step of the two-pronged strategy, what makes us think that the US will suddenly metamorphose into a benevolent entity, which will "resolve all political disputes with justice"? Miracles do happen, but they have their limits too. How can we expect a display of altruism from a nation whose entire foreign policy is centred on self-interest? Do we actually think that one day the US will suddenly declare that India should stop killing Kashmiris, that it is unjust? Or that Israel should stop butchering Palestinians, that it is unjust? To propose such a thing is to present a simplistic view of the world. ( how is the picture in Iraq, Lebanon,

General Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" is not a two-step process. It is one thing and one thing only: a request for all Muslims to bow unquestioningly to US demands; the salvation of the Muslims lies in the benevolence shown by the US as a reward for complying with those demands. Once unpacked, this is what General Musharraf's view of "moderation" boils down to. But after all, that is exactly the message he wanted to convey by publishing this article in The Washington Post. (I beg to remain you most humble servent!)

Have we not just recently heard Colin Powell's statement that, "We would not be supportive of any effort to change the government of Pakistan in a way that is not part of the political process." ( What political process from this lying uncle Tom ; the country is  in the control of the International Bankers and uncle Sam�s slaves & Co. The local politics ; I doubt it back to replay of the each dictatator�s dying days scenario with any kinds of dirty deals you can think of.

Since when did the US start to care about political process and constitutionality(in their client states)? General Musharraf did not come to power via political process, nor is he protected by the original constitution. But because the US for the present requires Musharraf as he is, it is clear that the US will not support change in Pakistan, regardless of whether or not the current regime is democratic. For a nation like this to expect benevolence and justice in political disputes, as General Musharraf does in his vision of "enlightened moderation", suggests either complete ignorance or vested interests. One can only hope that at least some leaders in the rest of the Muslim world can think of better solutions for the Muslims than General Musharraf can. (Don�t you think Mahatir Muhammad of Malaysia has better education and credentials than this praetorian self styled gun totting messiah with hardly any academic qualifications!.

Have heard there was an " Enlightened one" on his sub continent that was  Gautama Buddha; Want to compare with that man?

by Masooda Bano@Oxford

some of the contributors here are just sounding like immature teenagers venting their frustrations by attributing all the problems of pakistan on the poor man.

i told u everyone already but i think i have to repeat it again as bro syed123 is having need of it so i want to say bro syed123 is the only mature,most guided,educated and civilised person not of this forum,not of this world but of this planet ok now?

The fact remains that post 9/11 the very nature of global politics and strategic alliances has changed.

i ve listened this dialogue so many times and now i m sick of it.lame exuse to justify efforts to make pakistan more secular and country possessing dance and nudity culture and to justify attacks on some muslim countries.

Gen musharraf came to power at a very delicate and difficult time and has tried his best to pull the country out of the mess created by the bhuttos and nawaz sharifs.He has survived numerous assassination attempts and attempts by the radical elements to create countless hurdles by trying to poison public opinion against him.

good brother good keep on preparing for elctions after all u are going to support a person whose popularity in the country is like a dead horse.

The facts about Pakistan today is that its a country divided among itself without credibility and trust teetering on the brink of being labelled a failed state and desperately in need of a honest,,strong and decisive leadership

and also the one who can replace masjid with brothels and madrasas with jumma bazaar or some dancing clubs and pakistan with qadiyaan state?

Gen Musharraf is a progressive minded leader

ya very rite we can see progress made by PTV(Pakistan television) through leaps and bounds.earlier PTV was a family channel and now it is bed room channel.earlier we were not having marathon races in pakistan but now we r having.earlier to booze openly wasnt allowed in pakistan but now it is.earlier noble and chracterful ladies were protected in pakistan and now ladies like aunty shamim.earlier we lost world cup in 1st round too but we never said it is all bcoz of our players who were more intrested in namaz and preach rather than playing for country or WC but now we also said this these are clear evidences of his progressive mind.

who is a genuine patriot and wants to see pakistan on the road to progress but is being repeatedly frustrated in his efforts by all the hypocritical fundamentalist and secretarian elements  within and outside pakistan.

yeah rite bro and the clear proof of his patriotism is that "the patron of pakistan Dr A.Q Khan is behind bars".he proved his patriotism by saying "no need to investigate abt 12 may as it was sheer display of power of public".he proved his patriotism by killing Mushaf Ali Meer with some airforce officers on whom pakistan squandered million rupees just bcoz he threatened him to reveal his all secrets and said him not to give station to usa for attacking on Afghanistan.

             the moderate and enlightened beasts,animals,rapists,robbers,looters,chra cterless elements and inhumans are more dangerous and harmful than fundamentalists,extremists,secterian elements who are having Quran and Hadiths in their hearts and having sunnat-e-rasool on their faces.

some of the contributors here are just sounding like immature teenagers venting their frustrations by attributing all the problems of pakistan on the poor man.

after killing 5000 ppl in jamia hafsa and lal mosque and thousands of ppl in waziristan and after killing some parlimenterians of oppositon parties and many ulmas inside country specially of khatm-e-nabuwwat and after letting the killer like mirza tahir to go and the ppl who are being killed daily in karachi(bcoz of bloody mushraff and altaf hussain and MQM).he is a poor man.whtt a poor man he is?

Farwa Syeda, You have every right to have extreme right wing  opinions but thanks to allah people like you are very few and far in between with no support among the common folks who just want to lead  normal peaceful lives as good muslims.

Narrow minded secretarian individuals like you who blindly hate the west and everyone ranging from shias,mohajirs etc are causing nothing but disunity,internal strife and  misery for the ordinary muslim man on the street.

Its still not late to reflect upon your views and try to change them so that you and your neighbours could live in peace.

May Allah guide you and your kind  to the right path of peace, success and prosperity.

Ameen