Every little bit counts
The recent attack on the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar killed more than 80 people and sent a wave of shock across Pakistan and the world. There were similar suicide attacks in other parts of the country, sending a clear message to all of us: the Cosmic War was on.
The Iranian-American scholar Reza Aslan defines Cosmic War as a religious war. “It is a conflict,” he says, “in which God is believed to be directly engaged on one side over the other”. This war is entirely different from the earthly battle between two armies or religious rivals, and alters the status of those who should be considered murderers and ruffians into God’s soldiers.
This war divides the world into good and evil, us and them. The terrorist groups like TTP, LeJ, LeT, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar etc have clearly chosen their sides.
Organisations like TTP, LeJ and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar take the ethnocentric view of religion – making one’s beliefs superior to others and it’s this ethnocentric attitude that justifies sacrifice and sanctifies martyrdom.
Kill one, frighten a million – the logic of the suicide bomber
There must be no doubt that terrorists follow the famous Chinese proverb: Kill one, frighten one million. It is quite reassuring to consider such vile acts of terror emanating from a pathological gang of people but the fact is that terrorism is almost always a calculated choice. Terrorism is deliberately chosen to further the nefarious goals of a group in most economical and expedient way.
The most abominable form of terrorism we are facing is suicide attacks. We should keep in mind that this form is not a characteristic of Islamic manifestation – the Tamil Tigers who fought a violent insurgency against Sri Lankan government are considered to be its pioneers. According to the research of Robert Pape, a political scientist at University of Chicago who compiled a database of suicide attacks from 1980 to 2003, there is no connection between suicide bombing and Islam – or any other religion.
So why have suicide attacks have become so common and potent a mode of terrorism?
The answer: It works.
These terrorist organisations know the strength of their enemy i.e. army and law enforcement agencies that possess modern weapons and surveillance techniques. To challenge this formidable force, terrorists resort to suicide attacks to level the playing field – despite the Quran categorically denouncing suicide. (4:29-30)
Terrorism in Pakistan has taken the form of radical social movement that believes in bringing radical transformation of the society. In countries where democratic institutions are weak and no legitimate discourse is available for opposition, collective violence is the only remedy to pursue their goals.
There are two possible scenarios when violence is used as a tactic by extremists to advance their movement: first, violence may create a perception that change can be possible with such horrible tactics like suicide bombings and when suicide attacks portray some success, other groups jump the bandwagon and pick up suicide bombing as a tool for their movement. Second scenario is more frightening. Here state comes with full force to suppress the violence leading to further radicalization of the movement. We have witnessed this in aftermaths of military operations and resultant attacks by TTP and its allies.
So what can we do to win this “crusade” launched by terrorists in Pakistan?
The answer lies in a statement given by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He stressed on fighting the malaise of extremist ideology. He vehemently denounced the very idea of takfir (where anyone can designate someone Kafir and ultimately to be punished by death).
A cosmic war is won not through artifice or strategy but rather through the power of faith – faith in our ideology and cultural identity. To defeat a bad ideology, we have to come up with a better ideology that gathers the support of politicians, religious scholars, intelligentsia and civil society. Similarly, the Government should do its best to implement National Action Plan (NAP) in its entirety.
The basic aim of terrorists is to cast terror and for that the most potent weapon a terrorist has is neither a gun nor a bomb but a television camera. So it is the responsibility of media to give the least or, rather, zero coverage to any terrorist outfit or their spokespersons.
Furthermore, we need to educate our youth in science and math plus comparative study of religions.
Our students must be encouraged to respect other religions.
Maulana Azad, the first Education Minister of India had introduced a competition in schools where Muslim students were asked to write essays about Hinduism and Hindu students on Islam. The best essays received prizes. In addition to monetary benefits, it allowed students to have a deeper look into the faiths of fellow countrymen.
In Pakistan we have parallel education system where seminaries operate along with other education institutions. Madrassah students stay restless and jobless. They cannot climb the social mobility ladder ending up being socially and economically deprived. In Islamabad alone, the madrassahs outnumber other formal education institutions as reported by Capital Administration. The youth of these religious seminaries admire war because it is the only occupation they can possibly adopt to. Government should provide them with balanced education to pull them out of squalid poverty.
One thing that is lacking in the National Action Plan is the use of economic development to counter extremism. According to economist Hernando De Soto, terrorism can be drastically reduced when a country’s citizens join the formal economy. When the social status of people improves, they become less prone to be recruited by militants.
In the end, there are so many good things happening in Pakistan. The recent ECO Summit in Islamabad, the Pakistan Super League Final in Lahore and acknowledgement of reputed international organisations of Pakistan’s economic performance is something we should appreciate. Mother Teresa once said: “What we are trying to do may be a drop in the ocean. But Ocean would be less because of that missing drop”.
