DELVING DEEP INTO MUMBAI MASSACRE

 By Kazi Anwarul Masud (former Secretary and ambassador of Bangladesh)

One wonders whether the mindless massacre in Mumbai of late November reflects for Pakistan a  passage towards becoming a failed state as the entire country is seemingly  not under the control of the government--- one of the signs of a failed state—or a refusal by the military to ignore civilian control and thereby weakening the nascent democracy in Pakistan or a continuation of hate-India syndrome that has been the raison d’etre of Pakistan’s creation and existence as a state or a reflection of al-Qaeda/Lashkar-e-Toiba’s belief of “US-Jewish-Indian alliance against Muslims.  Though the Western colonization process was not specifically targeted against the Muslims because the “white men’s burden”—of civilizing the uncivilized—had universal coverage of “duty” to the Westerners, the conflict between the two  religions and cultures-Islam and Christianity- continued through out with the passage of time.  Each was convinced of the moral superiority of its teachings. Proponents of the dueling civilizations found prescience in historian Bernard Lewis’ observation dating back to the nineties that the world has a “clash of civilizations”—Islamic vs. Christians and post-Christians; rigid theocratic hierarchy vs. permissive secular modernism—charged with as Lewis perceived the Muslim world’s “downward spiral of hate and spite, rage and self-pity; poverty and oppression”. It has been argued that the Muslim world is horrified by the fundamental debasement and moral corruption in Western society, the West’s tolerance of every sort of decadence fuelling Islamic contempt of a dissolute culture that effectively could be termed as a dereliction of duty by the church. This wavering and tenuous belief in Christianity by modern day Westerners, it has been argued, resulted in the simultaneous assault by the followers of Marx and Freud – one contending that evil springs from unjust social conditions created by unfair political systems while the other saw it as a product of psychological dysfunction. The strict adherence of Christian belief would disregard both contentions and lay the blame on endemic human nature—the doctrine of original sin. They further claim that atheism and radical secularism are denial of essential human spirituality and that both Christianity and Islam claim exclusive universal moral sovereignty. Of late the term “Islamic fundamentalism” has gained global currency though as Professor John Esposito has noted on several occasions that the term “fundamentalism” originated in Christianity and can be misleading if used in equal measure for Saudi Arabia, Libya or Iran who have entirely divergent political systems.  He sees in the resurgence of Islam deep malaise typified by widespread feeling of failure and loss of self-esteem, failed political system and stagnant economies. Stephen Zunes of the University of San Francisco goes further and lays the blame squarely on US policy towards political Islam (Foreign Policy in Focus—June 2001). He identified problems of current US policy being US support of hardliner repressive Islamic regimes making democratic and non-violent opposition as a nonviable option; US tolerance of “democratic exceptions” in many Islamic countries on grounds of vital national interests and in the process perpetuating unfair distribution of wealth in those societies; and perhaps the cardinal sin of US policy is its totally one sided support of Israel in the Arab Israel dispute. Middle East road map is not seen by many as implementable or reflection of US equidistant policy in the Palestinian dispute.  As Stephen Zunes keeps on reminding us of the fact that from the time of the crusades through European colonization and the Iraq war western Christians killed far more Muslims than has been the case in reverse and the Muslims have a very strong sense of this historical fact. Additionally had the Americans not been instrumental in the overthrow of popular Iranian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mosadegh and replacing him with Reza Shah Pahlvi then Ayatollah Khomeini’s triumphant return to Iran at the head of the Iranian Revolution would not have happened. One must remember that many Muslims retain a strong historical sense of the Anglo-French colonization of the Muslim countries that assaulted not only Islamic religion and culture but also caused the death of a million Algerians in their fight for independence from France. Despite Tony Blair’s claim that NATO forces fought for the Bosnian and the Kosovar Muslims against Christian Serbs it has been alleged that the massacre at Srebrenica could have been avoided but for NATO delayed decision that perhaps was occasioned because the victims were Muslims. Francis Fukuyama (of The End of History and The Last Man fame) seems to concede that nine-eleven events might have strengthened Samuel Huntington’s premise (The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of the World Order) that instead of progressing towards a single world order the world could be faced with several cultural groups and thereby produce fresh fault lines for global conflict. Fukuyama is also intrigued by Huntington’s central question: whether institutions of modernity like democracy and capitalism are peculiar to the West or have a broader appeal. Though the modernity institutions are doing well in East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and Africa; most of the Islamic countries suffer from democracy deficit and none of the Islamic countries have made successful transition from a developing country to a developed country like Singapore or South Korea.

Despite universal condemnation of terrorism in ant form questions have been raised whether radical Islam can constitute a serious alternative to Western liberal democracy .One would wish it not to be so. For example despite the chaos that envelops Afghanistan most of the people seem relieved at being freed from the Taliban Caligula.  In case of the Iranians after more than two decades of clerical rule it is generally believed that the youth who constitute the majority of the Iranian population would like to live in a freer and more liberal society.   Ivan Elad of Cato Institute (Does US intervention overseas breed terrorism—December 1998) reached the conclusion that large number of terrorist attacks that occurred in retaliation of an interventionist American foreign policy implicitly demonstrated that terrorism against US targets could be significantly reduced if the US adopted a policy of military restraint overseas.

But would it necessarily be so? Jessica Stern of Harvard University advises the West to spend on health, education and economic development to prevent the rise of Osama bin Ladens. Former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel feels that fundamentalist forces draw sustenance from poverty, inequality, injustice and repressive political system. President Clinton held the view that forces of reaction fed on disillusionment, poverty and despair. But empirical study on Islamists and terrorists found them to belong “significantly above the average in their generation”. It has been said that like Fascism and Marxism-Leninism in their heydays, militant Islam attracts highly competent, motivated and ambitious individuals. So if militant Islam is not a function of poverty and as Birthe Hansen of Copenhagen University puts it that the spread of free market, capitalism and liberal democracy is probably an important factor in the rise of political Islam; the West may have to look for a solution less confrontational and more based on diplomatic and, when necessary, economic engagements.  

 In the case of Mumbai massacre India by the laws governing war would be entitled to its pound of flesh for the barbarity inflicted upon the innocent people and the long term economic loss that the financial capital of India stands to incur. But given the volatile history of Pakistan and the accommodative gestures by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani it would be advisable for India to exercise restraint and prevent the conflagration that is looming in the horizon of South Asia.