Prof. Khurshid Ahmad
The period of the Cold War, that set the political and economic tone during the last 50 years, has come to an end. The balance of power has so changed that the world is drifting towards a state of affairs where there may be only one superpower, resulting in a new world order characterised by the political hegemony of that superpower over the rest and giving rise to apprehensions among the smaller countries of the world about the beginning of a new colonial era. This situation cannot go unchallenged. New political and economic alignments may emerge. Reunified Germany, resurgent China, reassertive Japan and the regrouped Muslim world could be some of the new actors on the arena of world politics, unfolding new power scenarios in the future. The Western world, itself, cannot be looked upon as just one simple monolith. There are frictions and rivalries from within and there are possibilities of new power centres and alignments.
Also, at the intellectual level there are powerful prophets of doom, deeply concerned about the current crisis of human civilisation and fearful of a future that might make life miserable for humans the world over. There are others who trumpet the final and irreversible victory of the Western liberal system and as a result predict the end of history.’ There is also a conspicuous search for new ‘demons. threats,’ and ‘evil empires.’ that may be made targets of attack so as to keep the political and economic power of the West solidified. In this respect. A rather systematic effort has been made for almost over a decade to project Islam and the Muslim world as one of those new threats. Even the tragic genocide of the Muslims in Bosnia is being justified, by some, as an effort “to protect Europe from a fundamentalist Muslim state. Even academics of repute have gone to the extent of seeing this tragic situation as an aspect of the current and more serious emerging ‘clash of civilisations. A number of intellectuals. scholars, journalists, political analysts, statesmen and lobbyists are, in their own ways, trying to project Islam and the values it stands for as the ‘new threat’ to the West.
There are about 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today. Around 800 million of them live in 56 independent Muslim countries which make up two large clusters of states in Asia, Europe and Africa. The remaining 400 million, almost one-third of the Muslim people live in countries where non-Muslims constitute the majority.
The last 300 years have been years of domestic and internal weakness as well as external domination for the Muslims. It is only during the last 50 years that Muslim countries have again emerged as independent states on the world political map. From the 1970s their relative economic position has improved, yet most Muslim countries remain economically underdeveloped and very much dependent upon the West, particularly for technology, capital and know-how. Politically, Muslim countries remain divided and unable to achieve a modicum of political unity and economic solidarity. By and large, these countries are passing through a period of transition from colonial to post-colonial status. They are also facing a moral and cultural crisis. Moreover, the political influence, if not interference, of the West remains at a high watermark. A major concern of the emerging forces of Islamic resurgence to the degree of political, economic and cultural dependence of the Muslims on the Western world.
Even at the cost of simplification, it may be suggested that there are three major trends in the Muslim world:
Liberal: One dominant trend is represented by people who would like to align Muslim countries with the West, assimilate Western culture and values and in the name of ‘modernisation’ opt for ‘Westernisation without openly and completely discarding an Islamic nomenclature. They are prepared to go for that variant of ‘secularism wherein the role of religion can be limited to the personal affairs of the individual. They want the state and society to be run in accordance with secular principles that go to make the basis of Western civilisation.
Radical: Second, there are forces representing the orthodox tradition, who would like to reject whatever comes from the West. Their main object is to protect and preserve whatever has come through tradition, even if Muslim countries have to be cut off from the stream of modern life. While they do not deny the need to face the challenges of the age, their real focus is on the preservation of tradition and the avoidance of contact and confluence with the West.
Neutral: There is, however, a third and very powerful emerging trend which can rightly be described not merely as a political phenomenon, or militant Islam.’ as some outsiders have chosen to describe it, but as a movement of cultural resurgence in the widest sense of the word. This movement stands for affirming Islamic identity and adopting Islam as an alternative path: with its own worldview, values and principles social ideals and traditions. I aims at the reconstruction of the Muslim society and state in such a manner that the Muslim world can become a true representative of Islamic ideals, values and traditions. Proponents of this movement do not seek hegemony over others. They do not have any territorial claims over other people or lands. Yet nor do they want to be tied to the apron strings of the West, to exist under the shadow of Western civilisation. They want to pursue an independent road and carve out a place of honour for themselves under the sun, without stepping on others’ toes. They want to be cooperative. They do not regard everything Western as undesirable. They want to learn from the experience of the West and follow the dictum, ‘accept what is good and reject what is unsuitable’. This is the movement which is unfortunately misrepresented in West as a movement of ‘religious extremism’, ‘Islamic fundamentalism,’ ‘militant Islam,’ and ‘blind anti-Westernism’!
The sum and substance of the current Islamic revival is represented by the Muslims’ urged to set their own house in order and to build their own societies and states. That is where they hold power, in light of their own beliefs, values and ideals. This is the ethos of current Muslim idealism. It deserves to be noted that the Muslim world has no territorial claims or dispute with any Western country. There are certain irritants like Palestine, Mindanao (South Philippines), (South Thailand). Arakan: (Burma), Qibris (Cyprus). Kashmir, and recently Bosnia. Each represents a trouble spot. Nevertheless, none of them have any direct linkage to the territorial power-base of the West. In fact, Muslims are suffering in all these places, because they are weak and discriminated against. They are the oppressed and not the oppressors. In all these cases, Muslims have been denied their right to decide their political future through their own free will. The primary concern of the Muslims is to seek security and the right to self-determination in accordance with the charters of the United Nations, the Non-Alignment Movement and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are accepted by all nations of the world.
As far as the military power and political strength of the Muslim world are concerned, they are weak and dependent on the West. Where is the question of a military threat from the Muslim world? In the economic field, although rich in resources, the Muslim world’s economic power has been marginalised and hardly has any economic leverage worth the name. There is also no reason to be obsessed with economic rivalries and the clash of commercial interests. In fact, there are built-in complementarities between the economies of the Muslim world and the West. There is every reason to believe that economic and political issues can best be resolved through negotiation and dialogue, not through confrontation. In fact, it is through healthy competition and cooperation that the two can achieve the best economic results. In the fields of science and technology, the West is far ahead of the Muslim world. Here again, through cooperation and competition, both stand to gain. In the fields of ideas, thoughts, information and communications, the West remains the pace-setter. Current revolutions in information technology and communication systems have opened up new. possibilities for global cooperation, although the present disparity in control over these technologies also gives rise to certain apprehension about ‘cultural imperialism’ as were highlighted on the occasion of the final phase of the GATT negotiations in Geneva (Dec. 1993).
This brings us to the most important area of ideas, values, cultures and civilisations. This is an area where ill-advised policies can lead to bitterness, clashes and confrontation. A different set of policies, however, can pave their way for the healthy exchange of ideas, opening up new opportunities for dialogues and the cross-fertilisation of cultures, finally building a new world order where different civilisations can co-exist and even compete in a healthy manner without resort to war and exercises in mutual destruction.
