On the rise despite containment
On August 14, 1947 Pakistan emerged on the world map as the first Islamic democracy. The Quaid-e-Azam succeeded in liberating the Muslims of India both from British colonialism and Hindu domination. After Pakistan, Iran was the second democracy in the Ummah. When the elected representatives of the two nascent democracies started to assert their leadership in building their nations they had to be contained. The first prime ministers of both the countries were toppled. Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan was murdered while Dr. Mossediq was imprisoned and tortured. Turkey remained in khaki control until Recep Tayyip Erdogen was able to contain the generals and established representative democracy. Today the country has one of the strongest economies both in Europe and the Islamic block.
In the 21st century all Islamic democracies are progressive and developing (Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Iran, Bosnia, Bangladesh). Emerging democracies (Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Yemen and Sudan) continue to struggle whereas the autocratic states remain retrogressive. By comparison, the Jewish democratic state was nurtured and supported by the West, and its leadership is tolerated and respected even when it defies international laws and is involved in abuse of human rights. There is strife and confusion in neighbouring countries like Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Tunisia where democracy bashing is done by their establishments usually through external support and manipulation.
While the democratic system of Iran is criticized, the repressive autocratic regimes are supported by the Western democracies. Resurgence of Islam will certainly take place in the 21st century, and the West will not be able to derail this process any longer.
The mode of resurgence is difficult to predict. The democratic route will be peaceful while the Taliban approach will result in bloodshed. The choice is between the ballot and the bullet but Ummah can no longer be contained by the Lawrences of Arabia and Afghanistan and their tailcoats. With its human and natural resources the Islamic world is poised to regain its rightful position in the comity of nations.
Democratic transitions in the Islamic world have not been easy. Despite the fact that Pakistan started as a democratic state but when it was derailed by military intervention the recovery has been an uphill task. The Martial Law of October 1958 not only destroyed democracy it also diverted the fruits of hard labour of the founding fathers towards empire instead of nation building. The khaki reign of Ayub supported by 22 few families took control of financial resources of the people and clear divisions between the haves and have-nots emerged. The 1956 constitution was abrogated and a one man contraption was imposed in 1962. Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah challenged the dictator by contesting the presidential election in 1964. We the students took to the streets to topple the first Khaki usurper.
In the words of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), ‘Pakistan is a grand laboratory where the workability of Islam has to be experimented’. This formed the basis of the 1973 constitution formulated by the freely elected and most able house ever. ZAB had to face the gallows while his daughter Benazir Bhutto was assassinated together with her two brothers, Shahnawaz in the 1980s and Murtaza in the 1990s.
In Indonesia Dr Ahmed Sukrano’s daughter Sukrano Putri led the movement for democracy. She was elected President, on completion of her term elections were held in which she was not elected. There was smooth transition of power and democracy was established. Indonesia is a progressive constitutional democracy which has entered the ranks of the Asian Tigers together with Malaysia which is another Islamic democracy. Bangladesh is not far behind in progress.
The revolution in Iran toppled the government of Raza Shah Pahalvi the Asian policeman for the West. The US Embassy in Tehran was a CIA fortress that controlled surveillance operations in the Middle East. Iran became a republic where elections are regularly held. In order to contain the spread of the democracy virus, Saddam Hussain the bully was directed to attack Iran. The war continued for eight years with a high human toll and as a result the spread of democracy was curtailed.
In Algeria, the Islamists prevailed in the elections which were annulled and dictatorship was imposed. The same methods were adopted in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood came into power through the electoral process. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia always supported the Brotherhood but this time they sided with the tyrants. The struggle for democracy continues without the Saudi support which is a good sign.
Islamic resurgence is round the corner. The Western democracies and the international Shylocks cannot contain this surge through war and manipulation. Ballot is certainly a better option than bullet but both courses are available. Pakistan and its insurgency is a test case. If the democratic order prevails in the first Islamic Republic and the country is cleansed of all the insurgents then the path to Islamic resurgence in the 21st century will be peaceful. The insurgents or Mujahideen as they were previously called can then go back to their respective countries to liberate them from the sharks and take back control of their natural resources. The future holds great promise both for Islam and its emerging democracies. Islamic Republics can one day form an effective trading block or an alliance to safeguard their mutual interest, another expanded RCD could be in the making but this time by genuinely elected leadership and not Western toadies.
Dr Farid A Malik is former chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation, and can be reached at: [email protected].
The author is quite confused…he thinks that western democracies are trying to stop democracy?…excuse me?…smart people know that the western democracies are the best example of how to operate and maintain a democratic government.. and Islamic countries are still struggling with the concepts of freedom of speech and particularly freedom of religion…to use Iran as a model of democracy is very flawed…he forgets that in Iran candidates for office must be approved by the mullahs before the elections…this is hardly democratic freedom to decide who your leaders will be….his opinions are tainted with anti western bias and conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact…
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