The man who ‘stands up to America’

Absolutist ideologies are something that Mr Ahmadinejad and the Taliban have in common even though they are enemies.

Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in New York last week for his annual show of provocation and Napoleonic bravado. He was probably tickled by how 36 foreign delegations walked out of his speech as he narrated stale conspiracy theories demonizing the United States. Predictably, he showed smug amusement at how freedom of speech in his host country allowed him to speak whatever he desired, while any hint of dissent in his own country would be branded as “fitnah” and shut out by the Iranian Council of Guardians.

All this was predictable, but the reaction this speech got in Pakistan was particularly troubling. There was applause from the blogosphere and even some of my own close relatives were cheering on the man who “stands up to America.” I tried to remind them that this was a man who was denying the Holocaust with moribund manuscripts in hand, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which has been proved by German authorities to be a Nazi fabrication. Yet, I was dismissed as being a typical “Amreeki.” Such is the level of simplistic populism even among the Pakistani educated elite. In the pantheon of provocateurs, Pakistanis have also started to admire the likes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who likes to give four hour sermons.

Then there was a viral YouTube video of President Ahmadinejad being compared to former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The imaginative photoshop artist who prepared this propaganda clip showed Mr Ahmadinejad as a “simple man,” praying on a sidewalk or commiserating with elderly rural folk. In contrast, Mr Musharraf was shown petting his dogs and sitting in some lavish residence in Istanbul. The caption read: “this is why Islamists win elections.” Now I am no fan of Mr Musharraf but there was more to the man than dog-petting and parties. The fact that such caricatures can gain traction in Pakistan and be picked up by TV hosts and the vernacular press to valorise an oppressive regime is truly frightening.

The argument given by the cheerleaders of President Ahmadinejad in Pakistan and other leaders who misuse Islam to garner popular support is that they are “simple.” By that measure the Taliban are even “simpler” – they provide a linear view of the world of good guys and bad guys and offer quick austere punishments. In many ways they are primal in their approach to world affairs but isn’t complexity of thought what differentiates us from other primates?

Absolutist ideologies are something that Mr Ahmadinejad and the Taliban have in common even though they are arch enemies of one another. The Shia- Sunni rift is just as poignant in Iran as it is in Pakistan and the country has also suffered recent suicide attacks by Talibaninspired Sunni extremists. Both these antagonists are simply on the wrong side of history and need to look forward rather than backward.

Iranians are a great civilization from which Pakistan has gained much in terms of our language and literary tradition. It is heartening to also see that Iran and Pakistan will be strengthening economic ties with a new gas pipeline. However, our friendship with Iran should not lead to hero-worship of an errant leader but rather a critical comparison. Areas where Iran is clearly to be emulated are female literacy and population control. There are now more women university graduates in Iran than men and the population growth rate has been reduced by half, through good family planning practices.

At the end of the day, Pakistanis need to differentiate between simplicity and humility. The world is complex and “simple” people can often lead us astray despite their ostensible personal virtues.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2010.