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It is good to see the young British sailors and marines held captive by Iran for almost two weeks reunited with their families during the Easter holiday. They were indeed an “Easter gift” not only to their families and the British government but also to the entire explosive Middle East region. It is a gift, however, that should never have had to occur in the first place.
The tragedy of Alan Johnston and many other Western journalists before him who were either kidnapped or slaughtered in cold blood is not about neutrality or journalistic objectivity; it is about a people living in religious obsession losing their minds. The Muslim world is tangled in benighted hatred of the West. Even the dividing line between extremism and moderateness is blurring by the day.
Anger, frustration and helplessness; this is the feeling of the majority of sound-minded Muslims and Arabs I spoke to over the last few days. With people in the Middle East starting their summer vacations, many of them dread the harassment, humiliation and abuse waiting for them in Western airports. If it is difficult for the West to answer the recurring question of “Why do they hate us?” it is even more difficult for the majority of Muslims to find an answer as to why these terrorists decide to act in their name. There is indeed something rotten in the Muslim world, but the tragedy is that no one wants to point a finger at the source of the evil. They rather bury their heads in the sand and let the West do the dirty work and live with the consequences.
Hard as it may seem, I can understand people rejecting change and determined to continue to live as the Prophet lived in the 14th century. But what I cannot understand is how they are able to twist the words and actions of the Prophet, in whom they so vehemently believe, and commit such inhuman crimes in his name.
I agree with David Ignatius’ conclusion in his latest column that “…changing Pakistan is a job for Pakistanis, and history suggests that the more we meddle, the more likely we are to get things wrong.” In the Muslim world, it is history that shapes people’s perceptions of political situations. Unlike people in the West, who view emerging political scenarios through prisms of economics and of self-interest, Muslims and Arabs turn to history for explanations of western conspiracy in every situation they face.
The West thinks many of these events lie in the dust of history: the crusades, the loss of Andalusia, European colonial rule, the destruction of the Ottoman Caliphate, the debacle of Palestine, and the willy-nilly interference and changing of Muslim leaders. But these wounds are very much open and hurting in the Muslim world.
This is why when America goes east, Muslims go west. Recent U.S. military ventures into Afghanistan, Iraq, and indirectly into Somalia, and the larger war against terror, are all seen by the majority of the Muslim populace as the continuation of a war to dominate and subjugate the Muslim world.
The Question: After Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Thursday, what's next for Pakistan?
Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s strongest voice against terrorism and military dictatorship in Pakistan. After her assassination, the country’s fate has been thrown into the unknown.
A look at Benazir’s latest statements gave us a glimpse of just how much of a threat she was to the extremists. She didn’t mince words in stating loudly and clearly her intention of cleansing Pakistan of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
Ann Curry of The Today Show wondered aloud why Bhutto was risking her life by returning to Pakistan. She told the former Prime Minister, “You're a mother of three. You could be living in London fine. You don't have to do this.”
Benazir replied, “Look into the eyes of the people who came to receive me at the airport, the joy, the happiness, the singing, the dancing, before the terrorists struck. They were celebrating my return because they want hope. If I don't come back, the 160 million people of Pakistan won't have hope of a future free from terrorism, a future in which there will be democracy.”
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