The Muslim world: Medusa’s wreck
Woefully, the Muslim world today represents the tragic story of the Medusa, the ill-piloted French naval ship that ran aground because of its captain’s blunders and his dependence on others for navigational guidance, leaving behind a tale of helplessness, desperation and death. The Medusa’s wreck is still out there, lying stuck on the West African coast, and isn’t going anywhere. The Muslim world today is in no better shape. Like the Medusa’s wreck, it is just lying out there, aimlessly floating like a stricken ship, with no one to steer it out of troubled waters.
Representing one-fifth of humanity as well as of the global land mass spreading over 57 countries, and possessing 70 per cent of the world’s energy resources and nearly 50 per cent of the world’s raw materials, the Muslim world should have been a global giant, economically as well as politically. Instead, rich in everything and weak in all respects, it represents only five per cent of the world’s GDP. As a non-consequential entity, it has no role in global decision-making or even in addressing its own problems.
Poor and dispossessed, Muslim nations emerging from long colonial rule may have become sovereign states but are without genuine political and economic independence. Their trade, their oil revenues, their investible funds, their banking, their savings, every thing that the affluent countries in the Muslim world have is concentrated in the West. Though some of them are sitting on the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, the majority of Muslim countries are among the poorest and most backward in the world. With rare exceptions, they are all politically bankrupt with no institutions other than authoritarian rule.
They have no established tradition of systemic governance or institutional approach in their policies and priorities. Every ingredient of political life in these so-called sovereign states has been faked; sovereignty is not sovereignty, parliament is not parliament, law is not law, and the opposition parties are as corrupt and wasted as the ruling parties. Even the independence following the colonial powers’ handing over of the reins of government to local rulers was not true independence. Other than being members of the United Nations, they remain virtual colonies of the West with no sense of freedom or dignity.
Since the 9/11 attacks, the religion itself is being demonised by its detractors with obsessive focus on the religion of individuals and groups accused of complicity or involvement in terrorist activities. Religion is being blamed for everything that goes wrong in any part of the world. With violence and extremism becoming anathema to the world’s high and mighty, Muslim freedom struggles are being projected as the primary source of ‘militancy and terrorism’. Global terrorism is now being used to justify military occupations and to curb the legitimate freedom struggles of the Muslim peoples. The tragedies in Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan represent the continuing helplessness of the world’s Muslims.
Muslim issues remain unaddressed for decades. Palestine is tired and has given up. Iraq is still burning. Afghanistan has yet to breathe peace. Kashmir stands disillusioned. Lebanon is simmering. Libya has been tamed. Egypt is once again the bastion of authoritarianism. Syria is on notice for regime change. Iran is being coerced to give up on its legitimate rights. And Pakistan is on ICU resuscitation. These are all a dreary phenomenon for which the rulers of the Muslim world alone are responsible. They have mortgaged to the West not only the security and sovereignty of their states, but also the political and economic futures of their nations.
What aggravates this dismal scenario is the inability of the Muslim world as a bloc to take care of its problems or to overcome its weaknesses. We cannot entirely blame the West for the Muslim world’s institutional bankruptcy and its deficiency in education and science and technology. It makes no sense in dwelling nostalgically over the past and ‘lost’ glory. For us, the steady erosion of polity and power, and the Muslim world’s stumbling lurch into Western colonialism, and now, with total industrial and technological backwardness, our political, economic and military subservience to the West should be stark reminders of the historical magnitude of the failures of the world’s Muslim leadership.
Things will not change unless the Muslim world itself fixes its fundamentals and puts its house in order. Angels will not descend to help or salvage it. They are busy helping the West and others in the non-Muslim world. It must take control of its own destiny through unity, mutuality and cohesion within its ranks. Its wealth and resources, now being exploited by the West, should be used to build its own strength and for its own socio-economic well-being.
The key to reshaping the future of the Muslim world lies in its political and economic independence and military strength, with each Muslim nation opting for peace and for knowledge and technology as top strategic priorities. Each one of them at the national level will have to revamp its existing mindset to opt for peace, and for good and accountable governance. Ultimately, governments alone bear the responsibility for a turnaround in the Muslim world and for recovering from its political, institutional and intellectual morbidity.
The salvation of the Muslim world lies in the policies and priorities of each Muslim nation, for which the ownership lies with the leaders and governments alone to ensure not only their state’s security and independence, but also their political, economic and social stability and strength.
On its part, Pakistan has a pivotal role to play in reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world. In doing so, it must focus on cohesive rather than divisive strategies by promoting greater political, economic and strategic cooperation among Muslim countries and also by serving as a beacon of good quality education, scientific and technical knowledge and modernism.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (56)
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1731669127-0/diddy-(44)1731669127-0-270x192.webp "suge knight on usher and diddy s relationship what was done to usher they did to justin bieber")
1731647129-0/Untitled-design-(56)1731647129-0-270x192.webp "internet curbs may cost pakistan dearly")
@whitesky: I did not use logic but stated the reality!
Rex Minor
@Gratgy
Don't try to hide your prejudice. These are your and your ilk's thoughts not just on Pakistani Muslims but Muslims in general, the RSS brigade that you are.
@Ranjit
And a seriously deluded lot too.
Nonsense. it lies only in the Arabs being united and thez never will be due to the dirty policies of Saudi Arabia
"On its part, Pakistan has a pivotal role to play in reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world." A country that cannot reinforce solidarity within its own borders has a pivotal role to play in the so called "Muslim" world? Amazing, the kind of people in Pakistan that run the foreign office....
Two different civilizations have taken two different paths. Thirty ethnically and languistic diverse nation of Hindus have always remain united under the cultural civilizational umbrella of Bharat and has finally emerged as one civilization called India. This is the ultimate success story of unification. Muslim world although religiously uniform and far less diverse compared to Hindu civilization has moved into opposite direction of disunity and rivalry, today their civilization divided into numerous tiny tot nations.
The author is basically saying that people who follow islam should behave like a cult by loosing all their other identities so that the "muslim world" can prosper. Maybe the people who run the "muslim world" will prosper vet muslims won't if they continue falling prey to religious cultism.
@Rex Minor: Do you mean to say that donation in a hospital in Islamic country will not help the sick and ill of the population. ( will cater to the rich) or London hospital will not treat the rich Britons. strange logic.
@Rex Minor: Yes, it could be true that India may have largest illiterate population, but how do you know they are Hindus? As far as internal reports are, large population of those illiterate are Muslims in India. Also, when it comes to think about progress made by a religion, its not just in terms of how many literates are produced by that religion. All major religion in the world have progressed to live with modern times and have made changes accordingly while Islam is the only religion where people want to live by the rules set up 1400 years ago. Also the German term that you mentioned was coined almost a decade ago when unemployment was high in Germany and German companies wanted to hire Indian IT experts. To me looks like Indians were lapping up the jobs during those times too. Now I don't think it reflects Indians in poor light. It just shows that Indians can survive in tough times too.
Razi, I agree. A rather clever and articulate lot!
@Razi: Exactly our thoughts on Pakistani muslims.
@Rex Minor: That comment was made in a particular context - when the question arose about letting in Indian IT professionals. You have distorted the German point of view to make it racial.
The only bit i agree with in the article is gaining of knowledge and technology as a priority. And that too for the nation as a whole.
@Huma: "Had each Muslim country had a nuclear weapon, the world would be eating out of our (Muslims) hand." No Huma, we would have bombed each other to oblivion. Please read how Muslims are killing other Muslims in this link.
Key to survival depends on thing only, the so called muslim worlds willingness to live peacefully in the world. Everything else is just blabber jabber rubbish.
Economics, military and any other power is not going to happen when you are in constant conflict with rest of the world. Is it so damn difficult to understand this basic fact?
@Its (still) Economy Stupid: Christianity and Hindu world made so called progress as religion is not a constraint in their path to growth! Very strange to hear about the hindu world, when the UNO reports that India has thelargest population of illetrates on this planet? Also in Germany there is a saying coined by a Pre mier of a Privince; Kinder statt Inder, meaning we should better have more children than allowing Indians immigration into the country.
Rex Minor
@britpak: Because the gift will benefit the sick and ill and not the rich UK?
Rex Minor
@jracforr:
What is the criterion you are using to define Malaysian progress? Are two aeroplanes disappearing from sky are not enough to tell you about the people where people are sentenced to death for homo sex?
Rex Minor
@Tariq: I would'nt need Ferguson's grand discovery, but say it simply that muslim majority lands suffered from colonisation, followed by authoritative and military backed bad Governance and very few reforms specially in the field of Education!!:
Rex Minor
"The key to reshaping the future of the Muslim world lies in its political and economic independence and military strength, with each Muslim nation opting for peace and for knowledge and technology as top strategic priorities. "
North Korea has political and economic independence and military strength, has not engaged in a major military conflict with its neighbors for decades, and its nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles showcase the strategic priority it places upon knowledge and technology. Is this the route the author wishes Pakistan to take?
@britpak: Because Sheik Fatima might have to go there some day; would definitely not like to be treated in a "poor Arab or African country"
@Huma: Are you sure?More likely, they will destroy one another!
@Ali. I: well said
Strange as it may seem the solution to the Muslim World's problems is Pakistan's Asian heritage Observe the progress of Malayasia as against Pakistan's chaos and militancy and try to understand the root cause.We are in an era where Pakistan will be the light of Asia if it wishes
i would like to recommend an excelent book to the former foreign secretary if he wants to know the real reasons behind the decline of the Muslim world. The book is called "Civilization. The west and the rest", by Niall Ferguson. In fact, the book should be required reading for every Muslim.
Ferguson lays out the following reason for the west's ascendency and Muslim world's decline since the year 1500:
competetion. science rule of law consumerism Medicine the work ethic.The thing that makes you want to tear your hair out as a Muslim is that in every one of these categories, the Islamic world was clearly ahead of the West up to the 1500's. Muslims now need to go back to the basics, and stop whining and blaming outside forces for their decline. Look into the mirror and realize that our worst enemies are ourselves. That is the first step to recovery.
@Huma: If there was a nuclear bomb given o each Muslims nation, there would not have been any Muslim nation as all of them had bombed each other. Whatever little sanity is left in Islamic countries is because of their western Masters. The moment West take the leash away, Muslims are fighting each other and killing each other.
Very. interesting comments mostly from Muslims who r ignorant about their own Islamic creed,or by our Hindu friends with their prejudices against Islam & Muslims. There is no harm in unity among Muslim countries on political and economic basis. No need for khilafat or self styled "defenders" of Islam like the fanatics and distorters of its teachings that we r faced with now. Muslims need to learn their 1400 years old book, because principles and wisdom it teaches are as relevant today as in 7th century, because man's nature has not changed. They also need to progress in so-called 'secular" sciences. Disagree with author about acquiring military strength , because Muslims can only fight a war of defense, and not be aggressors , need to build their defenses .
@Ali. I: this week sheikha fatima made a gift of $100m dollars to london hospital, it begs the obvious question why a gift to UK one of the richest countries in the world.why not to a poor arab or african country.
This opinion gives insight to the views of the Pakistani elite which has governed the nation since its independence. Just because common religion will the Petro rich countries of Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Libya and Iran be willing to share its oil wealth with Pakistan, Egypt, Syria?Do the Petro rich Arabs treat the South Asian and Africans Muslims as equal? Progress will only come after good governance , acceptance of diversity both outside and within the religion, and decrease of wasteful of military expenditure
Mr. Samshad, it is interesting that you call West a block. And that is the root of the problem.
The world does not work that way. There is no 'Christian' block (US, EU and Russia), there is not 'Buddhist' block (Japan, Sri Lanka, Burma and China), there is no 'Hindu' block (India and Nepal), etc.
Its all individual countries, trying their best to improve the lives of their citizens. If there was a 'block' US/EU and Russia, China and Japan, etc would not be at loggerheads.
I have said to you earlier too - grow up and smell the coffee.
You are one of the elites in Pakistan, and a foreign policy expert to the boot. If you have such archaic views, then there is no hope for Pakistan. Pakistan cannot solve its problem, if it does not even know what these problems are.
The only way to empower the Muslim world is to give each of the 57 Muslim majority states nuclear weapons. Dr. Qadeer was right. Had each Muslim country had a nuclear weapon, the world would be eating out of our (Muslims) hand.
and possessing 70 per cent of the world’s energy resources and nearly 50 per cent of the world’s raw materials,
Really? 70% of 'Energy Resources'? Including Coal, Lignite and Nuclear energy? Try this link for a reality check. Specially look at Venezuela and Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofcountriesbyprovenoilreserves
And 50% of 'Raw Materials'? What materials would that be? Iron, Aluminium, Zinc, Copper, Gold, Silver, Agricultural Produce?
Or is this a piece of fiction?
what is this obsession with ummah...Malaysian, Saudi, Nigerian etc. are different from us...just because we have similar religious beliefs does not make us one...lumping everyone as one is what got us in trouble...we should focus on what ails us...before thinking about 'ummah.
The author has written a very well articulated essay but has ignored the 21st century we are living in and not the times of Madusa. Today we are facing more Bonaparts than in olden days which will require several large prions on some distant planet since they have larger armies and more lethal equipment than what Napoleean could muster. In authors backyard Pakistan army has started a carnage against the waziri folks displacing a million plus civilians on both side of the line of no control. The Egyptian new military High Priest is trampling on the rights of its population and for this aid is coming in billions of dollars from Saudia Arabia and the Americans which Egypt pays back in buying oil and weapons from the two donators which gives life to the military. It is the respective Governments failure in more than fifty muslim majority countries which has created the turmoil we witness today. Pan Islamism is good if it means the protection of Islamic values, but Pan military alliances are the stories of the past and do not provide any life for nations advancement The objective of the arab spring was the Aufklarung of Islam to its followers for enlightenment to promote humanism which the christianity underwent during renainssance.. This is a process and will require a long period which has run into hiccups and its teething problems.
Rex Minor
A sanitized interpretation for Calipath of ISIS. There is intellectual bankruptcy in Muslim world. When you force everyone to think, dress(Hizab), eat (halal) alike based on a book written 1400 years ago with no updates you end up with the current state. Progress is made with new ideas that usually comes from a divergent view of the current knowledge. Christianity and Hindu world made so called progress as religion is not a constraint in their path to growth. Any time Muslim world gets power they use it to consolidate their own power due to their insecurities. Have you heard of a world class University or Medical facility in a Muslim world or big donation to eliminate certain disease from this planet? Muslim world kills more people than save lives.
Very interesting article from 1970 era.
If Muslim world want rest of the world to respect them, they must respect themselves first.
That's what I have learn from western world.
It foolish to think of the Muslims being only colonized by the west. Muslims also colonized Muslims. Egypt was part of Ottoman empire and I can tell you the Egyptians hate the Turks and they will never want to be part of the Ottoman empire again.
@Motiwala:
You mentioned my name, and here I am. Welcome to the age of the Internet. If Pakistani trolls inundate Indian websites and leave behind invectives and other hate-filled,obscene and irrational comments, Indians are, at least, rational in their arguments when they descend on Pakistani websites and try to correct wrong perceptions and ideas presented on Pakistani websites by hate-mongering Pakistani writers such as this author whose breed is rapidly becoming non-existent and he seeks, as a former foreign secretary, to find a post-civil service role. Given his general anti-India attitude, for which he became renowned, I am not surprised that he is constantly dragging Kashmir and India into whatever he does and says. But, dear chaps, Kashmiris are getting disenchanted with Pakistan's so-called "support" after they see how their Kashmiri brethren across the border, under Pakistani occupation, are treated. We have seen how Pakistan treats its Muslim population (not to mention how it openly persecutes Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and other "infidels" !!). Might I mention the name of Bangladesh? Or the ongoing problem in Baluchistan where every Baluchi feels discriminated and treated like a slave while his resources are plundered by greedy politicians and military who stash their ill-gotten money in foreign banks? The problem of the Muslim world is that it has no idea of how to run a country as a democracy which not only provides a safety valve for pent-up antagonism (which, in a Muslim country, including Pakistan) articulates itself in a cycle of violence, hatred and destruction. The biggest truth against which Pakistanis are blindfolded, is that politics and religion do not mix; that is also the reason why state and Church have been separated - and the countries that enforced this are doing well. Got the picture, oh wise man?
What nonsensical tripe! Why are Muslim nations struggling? Why are thousands of Muslims killed each month by other Muslims? Why the never ending wars and hatreds and an utter lack of innovation or economic progress? It has NOTHING to do with the big bad West. Here's the simple answer: a witches brew of tribalism, sectarianism, lack of respect for the rule of law, pervasive corruption, misplaced and antiquated concepts of "honor", and the normalization and acceptance of religious violence and intolerance, have frozen the "Muslim" world in an endless cycle of hatred, blame and self-destruction. Today's Muslim battlefields do not exist not because of economic or political struggles having anything to do with the West. Look at each and every conflict in the "Muslim" world and at its heart you will see religious or sectarian fanatics in a fight to the death. THAT's the problem with the "Muslim" world.
Even today bulk of Muslims dying violently are being killed by their fellow Muslims. The day an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels emerges, the world will back off and you can regress completely to those medieval times that you constantly reminisce about.
"The key to reshaping the future of the Muslim world lies in its political and economic independence and military strength, with each Muslim nation opting for peace and for knowledge and technology as top strategic priorities. 1. Try saying 'achieving' in place of 'opting', and a brave future will look less certain. 2. Opting for military strength and peace in one breath? Maybe it means you buy lots and lots of guns but no ammunition. 3. Political and economic independence, and military strength, are what your future is all about? No creative advances in science, the arts, literature, education, ...... ? Oh, of course, that part has already been done, and now it's the time to reap the rewards. 4. And, of course, shaping out this magnificent future for the Muslim world would realize the secular dream of every Pakistani Muslim. Well, well! Some writers are natural entertainers.
Where does this delusion that “Pakistan has a pivotal role to play in reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world” come from?.
The breakup of Pakistan in 1971 when East Pakistan grabbed the opportunity provided by India and gained liberation to form Bangladesh is hardly an advertisement for Pakistan’s expertise in “reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world”.
The ongoing Baloch struggle for independence is likewise hardly an advertisement for Pakistan’s expertise in “reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world”.
Neither is the prevalence of Intra-Muslim religion motivated sectarian killing that pits Sunni versus Shia or religious motivated Intra-Sunni sub-sectarian level killing pitting Deobandi’s against Barelvi’s and Sufi’s.
Pakistan would serve herself and the world better to stop strutting the world stage as “sole Islamic Nuclear Power”, set aside all delusions of playing “pivotal role to play in reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world” and focus instead on cleaning up her own mess.
In fact there is no Muslim world as such. OIC was a conference organization. It took 40 years to change word from conference to countries. It need 400 years to become (OICEC) i.e.OIC for Economic Cooperation like EU or even ASEAN. So forget all these writings/ideas of unity and "role for us debate" and focus on bilateral- ism. Pakistan is neither in a shape nor have the resources to play any role in Muslim world.Our talent and potential is highly exaggerated.Our society is inherently weak and have character flaws. It is better to put our country in order. This itself is a monumental task.Let us live like poor and share with each other our own little wealth, control population jinn, open up society, work to change mind-set for own betterment, address immediate political issues with consensus and draw a new social contract for every body in the country. If we can not or will not then sure our map will change. There is an urgency, if someone is listening!
Last paragraph of article ignores the pecking order in the so called “Muslim World”. Pecking order of so called “Muslim World” is clear. Arab’s are the apex of the pyramid. Pakistan may claim to be a country made up of descendants of Arab’s but no Arab accepts that Pakistani’s are Arab’s. As far as the Arab’s are concerned, Pakistani’s are “Miskeen’s” and they certainly are not going to cede a leadership role to Pakistan for any reason even if Pakistan claims it is the “Sole Islamic Nuclear Power” and has a “geo strategic location” as global “energy hub” gateway to Central Asia and China, port at the mouth of the Persian Gulf etc.. A Not surprising in the least when even the Afghan’s consider themselves higher in the Islamic pecking order than say Pakistan’s Punjabi Muslims. Thus Pakistani dreams built on Mughal Imperial notions of becoming the hub of a new Islamic Caliphate aka Khilafat is untenable.
Get out of this fixation of Muslims vs Non- Muslims, Muslim world etc, only then, will the world start changing the perception about us. The world perceives Muslims as a violent community, prone to terrorism on the slightest pretext, not caring at all for local laws, treating women badly. No matter, how much we shout on the roof top, that Islam is peaceful, nobody believes it. The only voice that is heard is of the crazy Jihadi's setting of their bombs and the anguish of the victims. Has anyone from the "Muslim World", who truly believes, Islam as peaceful, ever spoken against the terror unleashed on the world, by the fanatics, amongst us? The silence indicates complicity in the crime. This is why "'Non-Muslims" perceive us as a violent lot. Why blame Westerners for the sorry state we are in or for that matters even our rulers, when we are hypocrites to the core. What has been our contribution to the world, technologically, politically, economically? The "Muslim World" is a mirage and I just hope that for the sake of us and the world, this remains so.
Requesting the moderators to pls. Publish this. I would like to know others opinions too. Pls. Publish.
Author's idea of uniting Muslim word through religion is nothing but a romantic fantasy as it was never feasible in the past and not going to happen any time in future.That is why there are more than 57 Muslim countries(and not one) and every country is driven by it's own agenda.In to days world it is not the power of the sword but power of the brain that determines your economic and political status in the world.Countries which are in turmoil today have much to blame themselves than to west for their plight.When you provide handle to some one they are likely to beat you with this if it suits them.
Good Luck in getting the Sultan of Brunei in sharing his wealth and identity with Pakistan because he happens to be a Muslim. The author, being an ex-diplomat, could perhaps introspect a little on the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan before blowing anymore smoke in a pipe dream. It is amazing that he doesn't see the irony in arguing for the Muslim world to focus on Knowledge and technology acquisition, and yet steadfastly displays his own inability to learn from experience, which is the sine qua non of a scientific temper. Talk about a triumph of hope over experience!
A wonderfully well written and articulated Caricature of Muslim Utopia!
Coming from an author who was a leading foreign mandarin of his country, it is indeed disappointing. All that he came up were the usual - victim hood of the Muslims. Such kind of thinking goes to show why these countries are backward and lagging behind so called non-muslim world.
There is no "Muslim world" and also no "Christian, Hindu or Buddhist worlds. This is all an illusion of the mind which is actually harmful.There are over 200 nation states and most of them are mixed though mostly with one majority culture/ religion. You don't have to look further than Pakistan: a little "Muslim" world where Sunnis are fighting Shias and all others?
Is there any thing thing called the Muslim World except for self inflicted sufferings converging group of people to this illusory concept! Do we have the Christain , Budhist and the Hindu world ! Whom we wre kidding in the age of nation states most of which were drawn through some transitory convulsion or machination . There are countries on the war path with some just sitting on the side lines . Let us where does Real politics ' takes us .
The west is not known as the Christian world or tried to form a Christian bloc. They have tried to separate the affairs of the state from religion. They have tried to create a society based on rules and modern law. This is the reason for their economic success or technological prowess. As long as you are thinking in terms of a religious bloc you are condemned to backwardness.
Shamshad Sahib: We have hewed the ideology that Islam can provide a unifying identity to disparate people in the modern world. Our track record is dismal. Historically there is little evidence that Islam and not the strong arm of the wielding the sword provided the rule for the Muslims. Perhaps, it is time to examine whether the assumption you make and those of who seek a Khalifa and Rule of Sharia is not at the root of what ails the Muslim world. What does it take to create a thriving community in the global village of today in the presence of devastating weapons, and an overwhelming dominance of brains over brawn?
Keep dreaming for another 500 years!
Stellar article. No less. Shows what a strong grasp the author has of International political scene. And the ills of the Islamic World. May his tribe increase and prosper. Er,..here they come,.. the Hindustani trolls.
Well written, the only thing is we are fixated with being outwardly religious and internally immoral