Jefferson
and Jinnah: Founding Fathers
By Prof Akbar S. Ahmed
On September 11, 2001, the world
of Thomas Jefferson, founding father of the USA,
and that of Muhammad All Jinnah, the founding father
of Pakistan, came dramatically and tragically face
to face with each other.
The events of that day would impact on both societies
in ways that the respective founding fathers could
not imagine. America launched a war against terrorism.
The immediate target was the Taliban regime and
the Al-Qaeda with its leader Osama bin Laden in
Afghanistan. Considering that the Taliban were nurtured
and educated in neighboring Pakistani schools and
the movement supported by Pakistan the role of that
country in America's war against terrorism became
crucial.
Two leaders working in two different cultural contexts
on two different continents and yet both echoing
ideas of liberty, religious freedom and the importance
of education. Their example suggests that these
ideas are universal, transcending culture, religion
and nation.
Given the fact that the two leaders come from such
different cultural and historical backgrounds, can
a valid comparison be made? Surely, the belief of
both in the ideals of liberty, the inalienable rights
to religious freedom, life and property suggests
a meeting of minds transcending time and space.
I believe that ideas of individual liberty, religious
freedom and respect for universal education are
not exclusive to Western civilization but also to
be found in Islamic civilization. This is illustrated
through the comparison of Jefferson and Jinnah.
But these ideas grew in one society and were thwarted
in another. We note then that while the individual
leaders represent humanist ideals the socio-logical
dispensation of their society determines the possibility
of implementing or developing them.
September 11 again created dilemmas in society.
Jefferson would have balked at the talk of secret
evidence, wire-tapping, arrest without evidence
and the casual approach to the notion of habeas
corpus. The Muslim community in America, feeling
itself the target, would have invoked Jeffersonian
ideals of liberty. There were far too many com-plaints
from the Muslim community. The actions of Osama
Bin Laden were challenging the very heart of the
Jeffersonian ideal.
Jinnah's Pakistan was also challenged by the actions
of Osama Bin Laden. The war against terrorism allowed
President Pervez Musharraf to declare a state of
emergency. People were picked up to be locked away
and civil liberties, in any case not very strongly
developed, appeared to vanish. Politicians demanding
elections were either banned or their leaders arrested
or Income Tax Officials harassed them. It was easy
to label people as "terrorists" and do
away with them. Clearing the way for his rule, Musharraf
held a widely questioned referendum so that he could
stay on for another five years. Thus Pakistan entered
the new millennium under a military dictator. Jinnah's
dream of a democratic Pakistan was once again lost.
There are interesting personal comparisons to be
made between Jefferson and Jinnah apart from the
striking similarity of ideas. Both were self-made
men not belonging to any aristocratic lineage; both
found it difficult to have comfortable personal
relations with people around them; both were involved
in relationships that raised eyebrows (Jefferson
and his slave girl; Jinnah and his bride half his
age); both were accused by their critics of inconsistency
(Jefferson for not being robust in defending Virginia
from an invading British fleet with Benedict Arnold
in command; Jinnah for abandoning his role as ambassador
of Hindu-Muslim unity and becoming the champion
of Pakistan); both were cerebral and not sensual
men; both are cast in heroic terms by their followers
as fathers of their nations and attract people from
across the political spectrum; both men are remembered
in national monuments which are on the visiting
list of tourists (the Jefferson memorial in Washington
DC and Jinnah's mausoleum in Karachi).
Both Jefferson and Jinnah were lawyers and in love
with the idea that the Constitution which reflects
the finest of human reason and civilization can
guide citizens and ensure their political and religious
rights. Both their nations were born in situations
of revolution, murder and mayhem. Both nations were
born with great hopes.
Both men would emphasize religious and political
freedom and equally emphasize education. Jefferson's
love of education helped him to create the University
of Virginia which still honors his name. He always
maintained his affection for the College of William
and Mary which he entered in 1760. After leaving
the presidency he spent his energy in supporting
the university.
Jinnah too would keep in close touch with several
educational institutions, including the Sindh Madressah
in Karachi where he was educated. He had a close
relationship with Aligarh University and the students
from Aligarh would act as his most loyal troops
in the battle for Pakistan. When his will was disclosed
people were amazed to see that he had left his fortune
to the Sindh Madressah, Aligarh and colleges in
Delhi and Bombay. They were amazed because Delhi,
Aligarh and Bombay were not in Pakistan but in India.
Jinnah never changed his will even after he left
India for Pakistan in 1947.
Both were born as subjects of the British Empire;
both ended their careers by leading a successful
revolution against the British. Both were religious
in a general, broad sense and not dogmatic or what
today would be called fundamentalist. Both had little
time for the obsessive minutiae of religion while
respecting the moral strength that religious tradition
provides. The two icons of their nations would have
found much in common in each other.
(The writer holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic
Studies at American Unversity, Washington, DC)
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