Economic progress requires political stability and social harmony. This has been the story of much of the Muslim world and the reason why it has lagged behind other developing nations in terms of economic development.
The Arab Spring of 2011 changed many assumptions regarding governance in the Muslim world. In the period that followed, five questions were asked. These relate to the roles of Islam and the military in politics, the location of executive authority, accommodation of minorities within the political and social systems, and the basis of relations with the West. In the move towards the establishment of such an order, there will be flow of ideas and influences from one country to the other. In this context, Pakistan will have an important role to play. The reason for that is simple: Pakistan has struggled the hardest and longest in finding answers to the questions being raised in the Muslim world.
By far, the two most important questions are the roles of Islam and the military in the evolving political systems. Pakistan and Turkey have found an answer to the first question, while the Arab world is still looking for it as it transits from one type of political order to another. These two non-Arab Muslim states have come from different directions to find more or less the same solution. In spite of the intense campaign and hard work put in by the political organisations that call themselves Islamic, it is clear that the majority of the Pakistani people don’t want to live in a political system that is strictly Islamic. This is the main reason why those who want to create an Islamic state are operating from outside the political system rather than from within it. They have chosen to use violence as their tool. That is not acceptable to the majority. The mainstream political parties are prepared to accept Islam’s guidance, not its ruling tenets. The system that emerged since 2008 has resolved this issue.
Turkey has reached the same conclusion but has come to it from the other side. Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, created a secular state in which a number of practices associated with the practice of Islam were strictly banned. Such draconian dispensation produced instability. The country was able to resolve the issue of Islam in politics once power was assumed by the Justice and Development Party headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He and his party have declared that while the religion of the vast majority of the country’s people must be respected, it must not have a role in governance. The Arab world, however, has not found an answer as is shown by the struggle over the draft constitution produced by the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Western observers, “to Mursi and his Islamist backers, the draft charter is the legitimate product of a democratically-elected Constitution-writing assembly that is dominated by Islamists. To his opponents, the document represents a kind of tyranny of the new Islamist majority.”
The second question — the role of the military — has been answered decisively by Turkey and to some extent by Pakistan. It, too, remains unanswered in the Arab world. In both, it has become clear to the men in uniform that the people want them to remain in their barracks and help to provide security to the citizens. Any attempt to enter the political space will be resisted by the street. The street has shown its power not only during the Arab Spring but even before that in the Lawyers’ Movement of 2007 in Pakistan that brought the dismissed judges back to the bench. In Egypt, however, the Brotherhood has been tempted to use the military to strengthen its claim to power. In the controversial decree issued by President Mohamed Mursi, the military was given additional powers to deal with the protests that may seriously disturb the peace as the Constitution was voted upon in the December 15 referendum. In the article next week, I will take up some of the other questions that need answers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2012.
COMMENTS (13)
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BruteForce, Abid P. Khan
That is the beginning of all understanding.
@BruteForce: "---Why do you need parties like the Jamaat when you have PPP doing all the power lifting for them? ---" . I disagree with you on many occasions but on this one you have hit the nail. While in the welcoming show arranged for BB, near Karsaz, she emerged with Koran over her head. If she was serious about her religious dispensation, as a secular person she would have kept that street performance private. . It applies as much on The Great Guru, Center of The Earth, CMLA himself. While on the death row, talking to Col Rafi, he came with this hyperbole that no one in the country had served Islam as he (ZAB himself) did. . Secularism and PPP, that is a real oxymorron.
The author mentioned PAK and Turkey, why did he leave out I.R of Iran. Is it because its Islamic law actually brought progress to their country when they were drained by a western inspired dictator. Here are some Facts. From 1995-2008 Iran had the fastest growth in scientific publication with China coming 2nd. It’s a pioneer in Nanotechnology, Stem cell research, polymer chemistry and health science. This is to go with their self reliant industry, technology and manufacturing. I can talk days about this but you know the drill (all this under sanctions!!!). Let’s talk human rights. Jews, Iran’s so called adversary have actually thrived in the Islamic Republic. Not only do they have two seats in parliament but they have members in Iran’s Academy of Sciences, Ministries and other important national institutions. Same goes for the Sunnis and Zoroastrians who enjoy full rights. They along with Lebanon have a democracy in the Mid-East region which is a rare find. WOW democracy in an Islamic republic am I dreaming.......maybe some of you should change your status quo. Point is it doesn’t matter if your society is Islamic, Secular, Communist whatever IT JUST DOSEN’T MATTER......When the ruling elite give the people a chance to grow guess what they will GROW. When the ruling elite wants to plot divisions and cause in-tolerance(for their personal gain), believe me it will happen one way or the other and then all your ideologies will go down the drain.
@ethicalman:
These exist in the entire world. The problem is that in Islamic states, these actions are essential in pleasing god if not carrying out his will and have no guilt or wrong attached to it.
That's not important to play an important role in any social Issue ....The important think is that How to face prob
" it is clear that the majority of the Pakistani people don’t want to live in a political system that is strictly Islamic."
This is a highly inaccurate statement. Many polls have shown that over 75% of Pakistanis want a strictly Islamic system. Once you create a country in the name of Islam, there is no escape from trending towards more and more strict Islamic dispensation. Besides, how can a good muslim, by the very definition, not want a totally Islamic rule? By the very definition, your are a muslim or you are not.
I wish it were true for Pakistan that the General and Mullah are no longer dominating our policy-making (foreign policy, national security paradigm, education policy, defence policy, and even economic policy)
Its seems that the more things get murkier, the clearer they get. There is not a single "Islamically" run country that is doing a good or even fair job. If you want to be a good muslim be a good human and citizen first. The rest will automatically follow.
Islamic states naturally comes with all these problems..
Assasinations,milatary raids, murders, ethnic cleansing, denial of history etc..
Same with Turkey ..which is an ideal Muslim country for muslims world wide..
Fromt the first day of the Arab Spring protests in Egypt I had predicted Egypt will go the Islamic way. How right was I!
Today an Islamist party president is trying to push through an Islamic Constitution and has partially succeeded. Most Muslim states are doomed to follow this approach, even Pakistan.
The Author contends Pakistanis don't want Islamic system to rule over them. Several questions come to mind.
1) Why? I thought Islam was perfect. The diktat from Allah. Why would an Islamic Republic want to defy that Supreme Commander?
2) Really? Look at PPP. It banned Ahmadis from being called Muslims. It was not a JuD, but it did what many Right Wingers in many other countries wouldn't dare to do.
Why do you need parties like the Jamaat when you have PPP doing all the power lifting for them?
In the recent PEW surveys Pakistanis voted overwhelmingly for Islam against Democracy.
I don't think the Author is right. There is a "secular" party in power in Pakistan today, but Blasphemy laws exist. And, he calls Pakistanis rejecting Islamic tenets. From from it.. They are embracing it.
Progress requires stability and harmony. But you cannot have either when politics and religion are one and the same in Islamic countries. In addition, you declare yourself Islamic, change laws to exclude non-Muslims, decide who is and not muslim and silently and actively support bigotry. After all that has been achieved in Pakistan and Turkey, you have the gumption to think that you have arrived at some sort of democratic solution! But the world is not fooled by your definition of democracy which means - Muslims first.
People from islamic countries havent even decided what is true islam and who is true muslim. On this question, Pakistan hasnt even found an answer considering what is happening to shias and ahmedis. The only way to solve this is to keep the religion out of the govt's and army's purview. That is unlikely to happen anytime in Pakistan soon.
I do not really care too much about the "ummah" Mr author. Pls write ONLY about pakistan. We have had enough thekedari of Islam in this country to last us many generations already.