George
Bush has Islamic
diversity on his side
By JONATHAN
POWER
December 04, 2001
LONDON - Perhaps the single most striking thing about the
attack of September 11th and its aftermath is the
significant number of Muslims who have argued the
ludicrous proposition that the hand of Israel was behind
it. But what such voices are in effect saying in their
roundabout way is that such a dastardly deed could not
possibly be the work of a God-fearing Muslim.
The second most telling fact about this horrendous
epoch is how quiescent has been the majority of the
Muslim world in the face the American bombing of
Afghanistan. To get this in perspective the present
should be compared with the universal Muslim (and indeed
Third World) outrage that met the Russian invasion of
Afghanistan twelve years ago. From presidents to peasants
the anger was deep and heartfelt and it was this moment
that made it clear that the reflexive support that much
of the Third World had given Moscow over the years was
now at an end.
An overwhelming majority of Muslims have shown one way
and another that they have no time for the extreme,
violent, fundamentalism of Osama bin Laden, a variant of
Islam that was brought to the boil more by Western
malfeasance than by any Arabic religious impulse. Unless
America makes the mistake of killing too many obvious
innocents or widening the war effort to take in the
toppling of Saddam Hussein of Iraq the present
indications are that Washington is going to get away with
this war.
Whether it was the most sensible way to go in terms of
capturing bin Laden is another question. That it has
stirred up a hornet's nest of new, even angrier bin
Ladens to come is most likely. That it has demonstrated
the inherent weakness of decades of American diplomacy in
the Middle East, that has tolerated dictatorial regimes
as long as the oil spigot was left on and has refused to
use its economic strength to bend Israel's ear to listen
to what they have to do is more than obvious.
But none of this answers the interesting question why
is America getting an easy ride? The answer is contained
in the evolving and geographically varying nature of
modern Islam itself. Too many critics, from Samuel
Huntington and his seminal "Clash of Civilizations" of
eight years ago down to the instant analysis of the media
pundits today, have assumed that the Muslim world is
still stuck in a medieval rut where the populace blindly
do what the imam asks of it, interpreting old scripture
with no regard for the present tense, and earnest to pay
off old historical slights with contemporary
vengeance.
But human beings are everywhere more complicated that
this. Much of what passes for shrewd analysis today
belongs in same class as those who interpret British
antagonism to the Euro-currency by dragging up on-going
bitterness at the Norman Conquest.
"Islam has not been hospitable to democracy",
Huntington wrote. Yet in the last few years we have seen
a significant and widespread pro-democracy ferment in
much of the Muslim world and important steps towards
democratic reform in many Islamic countries. Five out of
the 42 predominantly Muslim states now have
democratically elected governments: Albania, Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Mali and Turkey. In fact, if one takes into
account these five, add in Nigeria, where half the
population is Muslim, and the Muslims who live in India,
Europe and America, a majority of the world's 1.15
billion Muslims live under democratically elected
governments.
In several Arab states, the passing of old monarchs
has led to reform. In Morocco, under the new king, there
is much greater tolerance of opposition parties. In
Jordan under its new king, press laws have been relaxed
and there have been competitive elections at the
municipal level. In Kuwait the national legislature
(albeit elected by excluvily male suffrage) has
widespread legislative authority. In Iran the continuing
efforts of a democratically elected parliament and
president to sideline the overweening power of a
fundamentalist clergy are unabated
Similarly, the notion that economic progress is
impossible under Islamic rule is manifestly untrue.
Turkey has a better modern economic record than its
Christian neighbours in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Until the crisis of four years ago, Indonesia had the
best economic and social development record of all the
large developing countries. Malaysia, a majority Muslim
country, is arguably the most impressive of all the
economic "dragons" when taken in the round.
Or take the role of women. Turkey abounds in women in
high positions. In Iran more women than men now enter
Iran's universities. In Egypt women have openly struggled
for their rights since the beginning of the twentieth
century and Egypt now is in process of passing
legislation to give women the right to divorce.
All this speaks to the growing tendency towards the
modernisation of many Islamic societies. The actions of a
few zealots have discoloured our understanding of
political Islam. Until now George Bush has had a great
deal of luck on his side but - dare one say it? - the
march of Islamic history too.
I can be reached by phone +44
7785 351172 and e-mail: JonatPower@aol.com
Copyright © 2001 By
JONATHAN POWER
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