Humanity at a Crossroads

When we study the historical evolution of the last century we recognize a gradual rise in religious fundamentalism all over the world. The wave that was introduced by Christian fundamentalists in America was brought to its climax by Muslim fundamentalists in the Middle East by the end of the 20th century.

In the not too distant past Muslim countries had leaders like Kamal Ataturk in Turkey, Mohammad Ali Jinnah in India, Jamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt and Mohammad Mosaddagh in Iran who cherished secular values. But in the mid-20th century those secular values came into direct conflict with the fundamentalist ideology of religious and political parties like Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan-ul-Muslameen), Al-Jihad and the Islamic Group. These organizations were inspired by Muslim scholars like Syed Qutb in Egypt, Abul Ala Maududi in Pakistan and Abdullah Azzam in Palestine, who dreamt of creating theocratic Islamic states all over the world. When the conflict between secular and fundamentalist forces became violent and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt who had made peace with Israel was assassinated, thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Jihad were rounded up and sent to Egyptian prisons. Those prisoners were tortured and they emerged from prison more militant than before.

When some of them were released, they heard the news that the USSR had invaded Afghanistan. This invasion became fertile ground for the growth of fundamentalism. The Saudi and American governments started pouring millions of dollars and weapons into Afghanistan and Pakistan and supporting the Mujahedeen. This holy, rather unholy, war in Afghanistan was also supported by the military government of Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan, who deposed the constitutionally elected Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and then hanged him. That war against Communism lasted nearly a decade and by the time the Soviet troops withdrew to Moscow, Osama bin Laden had already prepared a guerrilla army of thousands of Muslim militants from nearly sixty Muslim countries.

When the war with the USSR ended, Osama bin Laden felt abandoned by America and, disillusioned, went to Sudan to build a highway. When America started the Gulf War against Iraq to confront Saddam Hussain and brought their troops onto Saudi soil, the seeds of a new war were sown. Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, Dr. Fadl [Syed Imam al-Sharif] and Abdullah Azzam held meetings in Pakistan and Afghanistan and created Al-Qaeda, declaring a holy war against secular governments of the Middle East and the Western world, especially America. Gradually the Mujahedeen, the holy warriors, admired and funded by America, were transformed into the Taliban. Within a decade these heroes, these freedom fighters were known as terrorists. The Taliban, the religious students of traditional Islamic schools, the madrassas, were quite popular among Afghanis when they protested against the atrocities of the warlords, but became unpopular after they came into power and created a theocratic state that ignored the human rights of women, children and minorities. In the early phase America was willing to negotiate with the Taliban leaders and make compromises to secure her economic and strategic interests including access to the oil pipeline in Afghanistan. But when the Taliban refused to accept the unreasonable demands of Americans, the American representative threatened them.
Jean Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie in their book Forbidden Truth “reveal that it was at a may 15, 2001 meeting in Berlin that a U.S. official ominously presented the following ultimatum to the Pakistani delegation (who were the Taliban’s interlocutors at the meeting) “Either you accept our offer on a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs.� At that point America was contemplating attacking Afghanistan.

The September 11, 2001 tragedy where thousands of innocent people died on American soil, provided a golden opportunity for Christian and Muslim fundamentalists to plunge into a cycle of violence. Rather than requesting the United Nations and all peace-loving countries to manage international violence politically and peacefully, George W. Bush opted to attack Afghanistan and to take revenge by killing thousands of innocent civilians alongside Al Qaeda members. It did not take long for the war Bush started in Afghanistan to extend to Iraq and Pakistan. When Bush and Osama bin Laden started killing indiscriminately, each claimed that God was on his side, one calling it a crusade and the other a jihad. The war between Osama and Bush was as much economic and political as it was religious. Bush was more interested in holy oil than democracy and freedom, as he had found a new enemy to promote his war economy, now that the cold war with the USSR had ended. In the last decade millions of innocent men and women from many Muslim countries have been crushed between Western imperialism and Middle Eastern fundamentalism.

As the political climate of the world is rapidly changing, there have been some significant signs in the last few years that both sides are reviewing their positions. Both parties are realizing that revenge is a dangerous proposition and can easily backfire.

In the Muslim world many leaders of militant organizations are reviewing their ideology. Dr Fadl is just one example. This scholar, author of the 1000-page book The Essential Guide of Preparation which became the bible for militant Muslims, has written another book Rationalizing Jihad in which he embraces peace rather than violence. Although bin Laden and al Zawahiri are critical of Dr Fadl and his new document and al Zawahiri has written a 200 pages rebuttal, three generations of Muslim prisoners in Middle Eastern jails are following his footsteps and renouncing violence. After spending years, even decades, in jails they are getting older and wiser as they see the bitter fruits of the seeds of violence and hatred they had sown decades ago.

Lawrence Wright, the author of an insightful book The Looming Tower…Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11, in his June2, 2008, New Yorker article titled The Rebellion Within reviews the revisionist movement inside Al – Qaeda and highlights that there have been liberal clerics like Mufti Gomaa in the Muslim world who are offering peaceful and metaphorical rather than literal and violent interpretations of Quran, winning people’s hearts as well as minds and inspiring them to abandon their holy war, their jihad, and embrace peace.

Similarly in America more and more people are realizing that Bush misled them by attacking Iraq on the false premise of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The election results of November 2008 are promising; for the first time in history, a black man, Barack Obama, has been elected to the White House. Such a historic step is a turning point and possibly a good omen not only for America but also for the whole world. Let us hope American representatives can sit down with Socialist leaders of South America and Muslim leaders of the Middle East to find a peaceful solution to international conflicts and promote peace consciousness rather than promoting war economy.

In times of war and political crises when emotions run high we need voices of reason and compassion. In the last few years writers like Arundhati Roy and Pervez Hoodbhoy from Asia, Tariq Ali and Robert Fisk from Europe and Robert Buckman and Noam Chomsky from North America have been the voices of social conscience in their interpretations of contemporary political conflicts. They are the promoters of a genuine dialogue between the scholars and philosophers, as well as the masses. They play a significant role in educating and enlightening the public.
The Internet, alongside the print and visual media, is also playing a major role in promoting such a dialogue. We need to educate the masses and raise their social consciousness so that democratic, secular and humanistic values can prosper and grow. This kind of discussion is even more urgently needed in Muslim countries where military and mullahs (religious clerics) have joined hands many times to exploit and manipulate the masses. It is also tragic that Western powers, especially America, have supported many dictators, generals and kings like the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussain, Zia-ul- haq, Pervez Musharaf and Saudi princes in the last few decades. America used them and then engineered their removal when they were no longer needed. If they are to be independent, people in the Muslim world have to resolve their love/hate relationship with America.

Time has come for all of us to review our positions. I have come to the realization that followers of different political and social traditions, whether liberals or socialists, need to rise above their ideological differences and work together for common goals of their communities. I believe people who:

…respect the human rights of women, children and minorities
…oppose religious fundamentalism and extremism
…want to keep church and state, mosque and parliament separate
…favor peaceful resolution of social, economic and political conflicts
and
…support democracy and social justice

can work together to create secular and humanist communities.
One such example was the cooperative relationship of Desmund Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who rose above their ideological differences, and fought together, one inside and the other outside the jail, for the democratic and human rights of Blacks of South Africa. At the end both received Nobel Peace Prize for their struggles to create a peaceful world. They are good role models for other political and religious leaders of the world.

In the 21st century, humanity is passing through an adolescent phase as is at a crossroads. All of us have to make certain choices. We can choose the path of collective suicide or the path of peace and harmony. I hope we choose the path of peace and grow to the next stage of social and cultural evolution by becoming fully human individually and collectively. We have to rise above the tribal mentality of ‘if you are not with us, you are against us’ and realize that our enemies are our distant cousins. I hope our tomorrows are better than our yesterdays. It is high time for all of us to work together and deal with the challenges of fundamentalism and imperialism collectively, respectfully and peacefully so that we can create a peaceful world for our children and grandchildren.