Hmm I wasn’t sure whether to put this in PA or religion but since the writer believes roshan khyali was a political move, who am I to argue 
The hoax of “enlightened moderation”
DR RIFFAT HASSAN
In these days of intense turmoil when the nation is going through the throes of waking up from the dark night of the soul, to feel the throbbing of its heart and see some rays of light coming through the black clouds, each one of us is called upon to participate in the just struggle for salvaging and actualising the dream that was Pakistan. According to the Qur’an (Surah 4:
An-Nisa’: 135) **bearing witness to the truth is a duty which a Muslim may not disclaim even in the face of the greatest danger or difficulty; and according to a well-known hadith narrated by Ibn Majjah, “The best jihad is to speak the truth before an unjust ruler.” My purpose in writing this piece is to testify to the truth as I know it with reference to the president’s countess proclamations about his commitment to “enlightened moderation.” **My testimony is based on what I know as an “insider,” having seen, both as an actor and as a spectator, the drama that has been enacted to project the general as a symbol of “moderate” Islam - a projection which has brought him huge dividends from the US and other Western countries that are more and more frightened and frustrated by the spread of what they consider “radical” or “militant Islam.
Undoubtedly, “enlightened moderation” has been a catchy slogan but on scrutiny it appears to be devoid of any real meaning. Let us, first, reflect on the term “enlightened” in the context of normative Qur’anic teachings. Islam puts primary value on “‘ilm” (knowledge) and “‘aql” (the rational faculty). The Qur’an refers to God more than 150 times as “Al-‘Aleem” (One who has the highest degree of knowledge) and mandates that Muslims should seek knowledge, identifying its five sources as revelation, reason, intuition, sense, perception, and the study of history. The Qur’an also tells us that on account of being a rational creature Adam was elevated, not only above the animals as the Greeks had asserted, but also above the “mala’ika” (celestial creatures). If Muslims obey the Qur’anic mandate regarding “‘ilm” and “‘aql, their thinking and behaviour would, of necessity, be “enlightened.”
Let us, next, reflect on the term “moderation” from a Qur’anic perspective. In Surah 2:
Al-Baqarah: 143, the Qur’an refers to Muslims as ummatan wasata translated by Muhammad Asad as “a community of the middle way,” which implies that it is not to be identified with any extreme. Here, it may be noted that a number of philosophical and religious traditions have upheld an ideal known as “the Golden Middle” or “the golden mean” which refers to “the medium between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines “moderation” as “the avoidance of excess or extremes, especially in one’s behaviour or political opinions.”
Seen in the light of the above analysis, it is clear that an “enlightened” Muslim must be “in the middle” or “moderate.” Since Islam includes the concepts of both “enlightenment” and “moderation,” the term “enlightened moderation” is redundant in the context of this religion.
General Musharraf is very proud of having proposed “the Strategy of Enlightened Moderation” which he recently reiterated in the 5th Altaf Gauhar Memorial Lecture, delivered in Islamabad on June 4, 2007, as follows: “We have to adopt a holistic approach. I call this a three-tier approach: action by the world and the powers that be, action by the Ummah. and domestic action by individual countries… I proposed the Strategy of Enlightened Moderation exactly because of this. Who can solve the root cause of a political dispute? The West and the United States must use their strength and coercive power to solve political disputes. In exchange, the Muslim world must understand that terrorism and extremism are un-Islamic and hurting only us. We must reject terrorism and extremism and take the path of socio-economic development, while the West and the United States deliver on the political disputes. We demand that.”
It is clear from the above statement that the general’s concern is political and not religious. This is evident, amongst other things, by his use of the word “Strategy.” believers in any religion would never refer to their faith as a “Strategy.” General Musharraf uses this word to describe his “two pronged” political agenda which has very little to do with disseminating an accurate understanding of Islam either amongst Muslims/Pakistanis or amongst non-Muslims. However, he links the term “enlightened moderation” with Islam in order to demonstrate to Westerners, particularly Americans, that he is serious about “reform” of “religious extremism” amongst Muslims.
An expatriate Pakistani, an Iqbal scholar, and a Professor of Islamic Studies in the US for more than three decades as well as a human rights and women’s rights activist, I had met General Musharraf first in 2000, sharing with him my vision of a model modern Muslim society and how this vision could be actualised. He apparently found my ideas - particularly those relating to the education and mobilisation of “the silent majority”- compelling and urged me to “return to Pakistan and start a movement.” Believing that he was committed to the development of a culture that would embody the highest ethical ideals and best practices of Islam, I agreed to work with him. In 2004, I organised The Islamabad International Consultation of 45 progressive Muslim scholars from 14 countries. The president met these notable scholars and eagerly accepted their unanimous recommendation that an international institute should be established in Pakistan to become a focal point of progressive Muslim thinkers from around the world.
General Musharraf asked me to work out the details of the proposed institute which he approved on August 1, 2005, appointing me as its head. In March 2006, five leading Muslim scholars whom I had known for many years, came to work at the institute which I had named The Iqbal International Institute for Research, Education and Dialogue (IRED) These dedicated scholars worked ceaselessly despite the fact that some of them were of an advanced age with health-related problems. They wrote books, lectured at significant institutions and on television, taught students, and interacted with a variety of persons. In a short time, IRED began to attract many intellectuals and academics as well as young researchers and students who regarded it “as a breath of fresh air” and as a beacon of light to guide the ummah of today and tomorrow. Discerning people in many regions, including, the US, Europe, India and Bangladesh, saw I.R.E.D. as the hope of the future.
The president had pledged all sorts of support to IRED of which he was the Patron-in-Chief. However, he believed that “enlightened moderation” could be brought about by a “liberal” person like Naeem Bokhari appearing on the television a few times. Given the superficiality of his views, it is not surprising that he considered the work of the international scholars who understood the complexity of the process of bringing about a paradigm shift, particularly in the minds of their young students, not only a wasteful exercise but also a threat. It was one thing to have an institute named after Allama Iqbal – a symbol dear to Pakistanis – and quite another thing to have young Pakistanis begin to identify with the daring, iconoclastic vision of Iqbal who challenged everything that was against the egalitarianism and ethics of Islam. Iqbal’s call to Muslims to exercise ijtihad and to develop their full human potential so that they could become instruments of destiny, could not be tolerated.
And so, the IRED was turned over to two persons who lacked any kind of scholarship. Alleging that IRED had not been “handled too well,” General Musharraf announced its transfer to the Islamic International University in Islamabad. However, IRED’s carcass still remains in Lahore under the control of its executioners.
It is lamentable that IRED which was a dream come true for the dedicated Muslim scholars who gave so much to so many in so short a time, was for the president just a useful ploy for gaining the approval of those who wanted Pakistan to have a “liberal” leader who, though Muslim, was “enlightened” and “moderate.” The callousness with which those in authority destroyed an institute that could have been the birthplace of a new Islamic renaissance, indicates the emptiness of their rhetoric about “enlightened moderation” which – in the final analysis – is an international hoax of huge proportions. However, the death of IRED does not mean the death of the dream that brought it to life. Muslim scholars, researchers, students and others who are inspired by the ethical vision of the Qur’an and the dynamic message of Allama Iqbal, will carry the dream forward in the service of God, of Pakistan, and the global community.
The writer is an internationally-known scholar of Iqbal and Islam
Email: [email protected]