Is the spiritual leadership sufficient to ensure the survival of a state?
ISLAMABAD: In 1258, the Mongol invasion marked one of the most devastating blows to the Islamic political world. Hulagu Khan, unlike Ghengis and Ogedai, pursued its conquest in Islamic world from the Khwarazmian Empire, having been greatly influenced by his Christian and Buddhist advisers. The Muslim world was ill-prepared due to the constant civil wars and strongholds of Hashashins, an extremist group demanding sectarian revolution. Troops from Christian Armenia and the remaining crusader states also joined in to advance to Baghdad where Caliph al-Mustasim refused to surrender to the Mongols on the basis of spiritual leadership. According to which, a set precedent was that circumstances were bound to turn in their favour, as never an Islamic capital was drawn to its knees by an external force. However, this time the odds were against them and who said that history always repeats itself?
Consequently, the devastating intellectual and political damage that followed the defeat of Muslims constitutes a separate chapter altogether. However, the point of information is the ultimate rise of dilemmas it poses on Pakistan currently. Is the spiritual leadership sufficient to ensure the survival of a state? Does it continue to be a strength, even when the leader is surrounded by internal disorientation and external blood-seeking enemies? For how long do we plan to take our spiritual leader’s words for granted that “no power on earth can undo Pakistan”?
Even a casual glance reveals that the variety of internal and external factors have absolute resemblance with the mainstream situation surrounding us, sketching an equally dangerous position with prospects of an appalling demise. With Iran adding to Pakistan’s list of neighbour-cum-enemy, the former seems to be proficient at deceiving itself into the trap of spiritual leadership dilemma, ignoring the emancipation of large infiltration and security threats majorly due to foreign policy failures and internal divides. Isn’t it too much to hold on to a stake when we are unsure about the spiritual strength of our leaders?
The next level imposes on us a greater dilemma of confused priorities. What shall we strive to correct on priority? Internal sectarianism or provincial strife? The increasing sense of insecurity or the lacunae of foreign relations, in which we prefer strengthening military ties with a distant country to economic and security partnerships with the neighbours?
Sobia Mansoor
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2017.
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