February 01, 2008

Extremism and Change

 

While Israel was pounding the Palestinians, President Bush was on his lecture tour to the Middle East where his pet theme was, yet again, of Iranian ‘extremism’ and the existential threat it allegedly poses. The media was full of what Bush was telling his Arab hosts. But there was little mention of what – if any – was said in return. It seemed more like a monologue than a dialogue. 

Bush is right – up to a point – about extremism. The peril it poses is grave. Daily routine is derailed and peace of mind is shattered. A cloud of insecurity and dread hovers.

Preaching against extremism in the Muslim hinterland is one side of the picture. The question left unanswered on the other side is doing something about extremism in the West. If many in the West see Muslims as out-of-control fanatics, many in the East see the fostering of a powerful anti-Muslim constituency in the West. 

The fantasy schemes of the neo-cons to transform the Middle East and to remould it nearer to their hearts’ desire has had unintended consequences. It has deflated democracy and energized radicalism to destructive levels. 

Pro-West secular forces, which are supposed to deter militancy, often end up motivating it further. Extremism within the West empowers extremism in the East. 

Policy discussions in Washington often center on who is better equipped to counter radicalism in the Muslim world. But then, the question remains who is better-prepared to fight the forces of hate which undermined American values through the brutal treatment of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. An acclaimed new movie documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side”, elaborates with clarity how the use of torture was, in effect, authorized on ‘persons under custody’. 

During election year 2008, almost all candidates are vying with one another in their Islamophobic fervor and rhetoric. Indeed, during the Democratic Presidential debate of January 15 in Las Vegas, NBC’s Brian Williams asked Senator Barack Obama if he was a Muslim. Williams referred to a campaign circulating widely on the Internet that panders to Americans’ paranoia about terrorism by suggesting Obama is disguising his Muslim roots. Swift to distance himself from his Muslim paternal lineage, Obama replied, “I am a Christian.” The subtext of this brief exchange was subtle yet unmistakably clear: you can’t aspire to have a seat at the top table in America while remaining faithful to Islamic teachings. Significantly, the campaign staff of Obama is now displaying photos of Obama with the words “Committed Christian” in bold letters. 

Republican Presidential candidates like Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani routinely use terminology which scapegoats Muslims. Even Republican front-runner Senator John McCain from Arizona – whose adopted daughter, Bridget McCain, is from a Muslim country, Bangladesh – declared on January 20 on Fox TV after his South Carolina Primary win that “we are in a Titanic struggle with radical Islamic extremism”. Earlier, he had said that “the transcendent issue of the 21st Century is the struggle against radical Islamic extremism.”

The political exploitation of anti-Muslim fears after 9/11 is historically reminiscent of the Roman Emperor Nero’s use of the burning of Rome in 64 AD as a justification to target and attack Christians. 

In this enhanced climate of confrontation, would there be any meaningful change in the US when the new President is sworn in on January 20, 2009? With the added economic threat of recession looming large, can America afford business as usual? 

Pakistan is constantly being force-fed the bitter medicine of ‘do more’. But, perhaps, the West may need to do more to demonstrate its own good faith toward a just world order. To date, the denial of self-determination and a sense of subjugation keep the cauldron boiling.

In the campaign for the White House, the recurring themes are of hope, healing, and change. But there is little evidence of any of these translating into action in areas that matter. It is far easier to seek outside demons than to tackle the demons at home. 

The Muslim world – with its own deep socio-cultural flaws – has paid a heavy price for Western policy blunders in the region. A combination of hopelessness and hate is driving suicidal fury. The governing elites are lacking the will to improve the atmosphere of despair. 

A basic realization has yet to sink in that the Christian West and the Muslim East are in it together. What happens in the Muslim world is critical to the well-being of the West. 9/11 demonstrated that if the Muslim East catches cold, the Christian West can catch pneumonia. 

The promise of a better future can only come with change. A two-way change.