June 14 , 2013
Bitter Harvest
Both the Western World and the Muslim World are reaping the bitter harvest of bad policies, wrong priorities, and inept pilots at the helm.
My elder brother, Mujahid Syed, always told me that, in his lifetime experience, those who are overly cautious often get entrapped in the quagmire of their own timidity.
The West, now embroiled in boundless conflict, has yet to show the guts to tackle the Palestinian question, which has now metastasized and is at the heart of much of the turmoil that has unsettled and roiled Western-Muslim relations. The roots of the rage are being ignored. Inaction principally is because of fear of incurring the wrath of the pro-Israel lobby, which over-influences the direction of Western policy.
In much of the Muslim world, including Pakistan, the moneyed impact of the ossified Arab Establishment has blocked emergence of a vibrant and bona fide Muslim presence on the international stage. For example, how many now know the name of the Secretary General of the 57-member OIC?
But great leaders sometimes rise above their circumstances to leave their indelible imprint on the global stage. 50 years back, de Gaulle showed his class as a leader by recognizing that the French hold on Algeria was untenable and would devour France itself. King Faisal was the architect of the landmark Lahore Islamic Summit of February 1974.
Britain was pusillanimous in tackling the atrocity of apartheid until Mandela, and then de Klerk, showed the necessary reconciliatory statesmanship and pulled back South Africa from the brink of disaster. Today, one of the iconic figures of post-apartheid era is the great Hashim Amla.
Here, pseudo leaders, along with their progeny, have flourished on the basis of the platform which wealth alone can provide. It is a sorry reflection on our society, which has been a cradle of Sufism whose cardinal virtues of self-effacement abhorred the hoarding of riches.
Similar mindset with similar personnel does not suggest a sanguine outcome. Those who have emerged have not demonstrated a unique set of governance skills. The tendency remains to build monuments to mendacity. So much of the national energy is squandered to keep politicians alive and solvent in the public eye and imagination. What is required is a change of approach to achieve a different and better result.
Only the blessed few have the insight and depth of character to realize that they are (and have been) on the wrong track.
If the errors of the past are left unattended and uncorrected, then it is the nation that shall reap the bitter harvest.
Democracy number 2 has not worked and so much has been lost in the sustenance of this masquerade. Chameleons continue to enjoy the free ride while the rest pay the price. The subordination of public interest to super money has left a legacy of dismal governance and darkness. Those who expect a revolutionary change would be well served to remember Hazrat Ali’s admonition: “Power or wealth do not change a man; they only unveil him.”
Now is the time to take a strategic pause and reassess what has gone wrong.
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