Challenges Facing Islamic World
English Essay on "Challenges Facing Islamic World"
It is not an imagination but a straightforward reality that the world system has changed rapidly. The changes that we have witnessed are phenomenal, affecting the structure of relations almost among all major pl8yers in the world. Of all of them, Islam, Muslim and the Islamic countries confront greater challenges than any other community in the new world order for two reasons. First, conservatives sectors of western societies that have grown strong in recent years have launched a campaign to malign Islam and Muslims after the tragedy of September 11. They have put in use many effective channels from media to legislatures, think tanks and influential lobbies.
Driven by political and security interests, the campaigners against Islam blur the distinction between societies in Islamic countries at large and the minority of Islamic militants among them. They also deliberately confuse legitimate resistance against state oppression with terrorism The old stereotypes against Muslim societies have found new expressions that brand them as violent, anti-west, against progress, liberal ideas and democracy. Some of the, notorious anti-Muslim scholars have argued that Islamic societies are inherently incapable of transforming themselves according to the principles of democracy. Others extend this irrational line to all developing countries insisting that the western democratic experience and political institutions are unique and that they cannot be replicated anywhere else.
Second reason why the Muslim countries are more at the receiving end of the stick than others is the nature of responses to oppression and injustice against them. How should peoples and societies oppressed and disposed of their land, human dignity and power to control their affairs pond Invokes different answers. This is common dilemma of all of them no matter what is their religion or nationality. Armed struggle for national liberation has been an accepted principle of international law and many nations used this as the most effective means to end colonial domination. National liberation movements in the Islamic lands were no exceptions.educationsight.blogspot.com In areas still under the control of alien powers, like Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya they continue to wage their struggles. With the changes in the international environment, these struggles however face greater challenge of acceptance, legitimacy and recognition than before. Not only have their oppressors become more oppressive with a strong sentiment against Islamic militancy, but also the attitude of western nations toward territorial and national disputes involving the Muslims has grown more indifferent than in the previous decades. Many of the Muslim political activists, intellectuals and even rulers have argued that the western approach toward Kashmir and Palestine, Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya was already biased. They watched brutalities there on the sidelines and did very little and too late to do anything to avert massacres, genocides and ethnic cleansing.
The media graphically portrayed the. ugly glimpses of these inhuman acts, and the world community including the Muslims watched them with awe and disgust, as they do the daily killings by the Israeli soldiers in the occupied Palestine. Frustration and deep disappointment with the world bodies and great powers to settle these problems justly and fairly has fuelled radicalism and militancy in the Islamic societies. Anti-American has also surged because of its unconditional support to Israel and endorsement of its brutal policies, provoking some of the groups to attack American and western interests where over they can. This is not rational but impulsive response to oppression and injustice, which would further weaken Islamic societies. There is a misperception, particularly in the ranks of the religious groups, that only militancy would force the western nations to reconsider their position on Palestine and other issues. The danger in such thinking is that it would sap the energies of the Islamic societies and make them more vulnerable than ever before. Cultivating confrontation with the west is a trap. Not only the conservatives in the religious right in the west but also the nations confronting resistance movements of Muslims populations would like to see confrontation between Islam and the west deepen. Only they would benefit and succeed in advancing their interests and political ‘agendas, not the Muslims societies. Internally weak, fragmented, underdeveloped and ruled by authoritarian cli4ues and externally without bonds of integrative institutions among them, the Islamic countries would collective stand to lose.
The sources of Muslim rage are too obvious and well known, and so are our vulnerabilities. What we need is cool, calculated and a rational response that would contribute to our strength and not weaken and fragment us more. For this, first we must redefine the question of power and how we can attain this. A common folly about power is that it is considered synonymous with military capabilities, both of private groups an the states. Its roots however lie deep in the development of science and technology and economic progress. Social cohesion, stable and functioning political institutions and representative legitimacy are the most recognised tools to achieve progress. The present conditions in most of the Islamic societies don’t give us much confidence and hope about our ability to restructure and reform ourselves. How to go about them would require institutions through which some consensus or contract can be reached. This would be possible only through empowerment of the people, democracy and rule of law. These essential of modern polities have evaded most of the Islamic countries, because the vested interests would allow democratic change to take place. In my judgment, there is no other process that can provide stability, continuity, strength and legitimacy to regimes in the Muslims lands. On the external front, the Islamic countries need to contest demonization of Islamic and Muslims collectively. One finds the central theme of the recently concluded meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Countries was “solidarity and dialogue” both interesting as well as intriguing. That partially explains the challenges that the Islamic countries face in the post-Soviet world system. The need for solidarity stems from the multiple divisions that our societies face within and the lack of coherent common agenda among the Islamic nations. There is a sense of disjointedness that has gripped the Islamic countries for long time. Passing of resolutions has become a ritual. That has not helped us much.
We need to create institutions and utilise the exiting ones to promote solidarity and economic integration among ourselves. Another important aspect of our external agenda should focus on dialogue with the west. It is equally in the interest of the west to show empathy toward the Islamic societies. So long as the basic injustices against the Muslims remain in place, they cannot buy long term security of the friendly regimes or of themselves. In such a climate, they would find it hard to protect their interests in remote areas of the world by coercive means alone. There is lot of common ground between Islamic countries and the west that has to be reclaimed from the religious and political right in the west and Islamic extremists.
Driven by political and security interests, the campaigners against Islam blur the distinction between societies in Islamic countries at large and the minority of Islamic militants among them. They also deliberately confuse legitimate resistance against state oppression with terrorism The old stereotypes against Muslim societies have found new expressions that brand them as violent, anti-west, against progress, liberal ideas and democracy. Some of the, notorious anti-Muslim scholars have argued that Islamic societies are inherently incapable of transforming themselves according to the principles of democracy. Others extend this irrational line to all developing countries insisting that the western democratic experience and political institutions are unique and that they cannot be replicated anywhere else.
Second reason why the Muslim countries are more at the receiving end of the stick than others is the nature of responses to oppression and injustice against them. How should peoples and societies oppressed and disposed of their land, human dignity and power to control their affairs pond Invokes different answers. This is common dilemma of all of them no matter what is their religion or nationality. Armed struggle for national liberation has been an accepted principle of international law and many nations used this as the most effective means to end colonial domination. National liberation movements in the Islamic lands were no exceptions.educationsight.blogspot.com In areas still under the control of alien powers, like Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya they continue to wage their struggles. With the changes in the international environment, these struggles however face greater challenge of acceptance, legitimacy and recognition than before. Not only have their oppressors become more oppressive with a strong sentiment against Islamic militancy, but also the attitude of western nations toward territorial and national disputes involving the Muslims has grown more indifferent than in the previous decades. Many of the Muslim political activists, intellectuals and even rulers have argued that the western approach toward Kashmir and Palestine, Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya was already biased. They watched brutalities there on the sidelines and did very little and too late to do anything to avert massacres, genocides and ethnic cleansing.
The media graphically portrayed the. ugly glimpses of these inhuman acts, and the world community including the Muslims watched them with awe and disgust, as they do the daily killings by the Israeli soldiers in the occupied Palestine. Frustration and deep disappointment with the world bodies and great powers to settle these problems justly and fairly has fuelled radicalism and militancy in the Islamic societies. Anti-American has also surged because of its unconditional support to Israel and endorsement of its brutal policies, provoking some of the groups to attack American and western interests where over they can. This is not rational but impulsive response to oppression and injustice, which would further weaken Islamic societies. There is a misperception, particularly in the ranks of the religious groups, that only militancy would force the western nations to reconsider their position on Palestine and other issues. The danger in such thinking is that it would sap the energies of the Islamic societies and make them more vulnerable than ever before. Cultivating confrontation with the west is a trap. Not only the conservatives in the religious right in the west but also the nations confronting resistance movements of Muslims populations would like to see confrontation between Islam and the west deepen. Only they would benefit and succeed in advancing their interests and political ‘agendas, not the Muslims societies. Internally weak, fragmented, underdeveloped and ruled by authoritarian cli4ues and externally without bonds of integrative institutions among them, the Islamic countries would collective stand to lose.
The sources of Muslim rage are too obvious and well known, and so are our vulnerabilities. What we need is cool, calculated and a rational response that would contribute to our strength and not weaken and fragment us more. For this, first we must redefine the question of power and how we can attain this. A common folly about power is that it is considered synonymous with military capabilities, both of private groups an the states. Its roots however lie deep in the development of science and technology and economic progress. Social cohesion, stable and functioning political institutions and representative legitimacy are the most recognised tools to achieve progress. The present conditions in most of the Islamic societies don’t give us much confidence and hope about our ability to restructure and reform ourselves. How to go about them would require institutions through which some consensus or contract can be reached. This would be possible only through empowerment of the people, democracy and rule of law. These essential of modern polities have evaded most of the Islamic countries, because the vested interests would allow democratic change to take place. In my judgment, there is no other process that can provide stability, continuity, strength and legitimacy to regimes in the Muslims lands. On the external front, the Islamic countries need to contest demonization of Islamic and Muslims collectively. One finds the central theme of the recently concluded meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Countries was “solidarity and dialogue” both interesting as well as intriguing. That partially explains the challenges that the Islamic countries face in the post-Soviet world system. The need for solidarity stems from the multiple divisions that our societies face within and the lack of coherent common agenda among the Islamic nations. There is a sense of disjointedness that has gripped the Islamic countries for long time. Passing of resolutions has become a ritual. That has not helped us much.
We need to create institutions and utilise the exiting ones to promote solidarity and economic integration among ourselves. Another important aspect of our external agenda should focus on dialogue with the west. It is equally in the interest of the west to show empathy toward the Islamic societies. So long as the basic injustices against the Muslims remain in place, they cannot buy long term security of the friendly regimes or of themselves. In such a climate, they would find it hard to protect their interests in remote areas of the world by coercive means alone. There is lot of common ground between Islamic countries and the west that has to be reclaimed from the religious and political right in the west and Islamic extremists.
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