Page 2 of 2 SPEAKING FREELY
Ideas before bullets
By Asim Salahuddin
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say.
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then what you have is a recipe for disaster, as effectively within the borders
of one state two legal codes are in operation. This will serve only to entrench
separation and division between a group of people and the state as you begin to
have two sets of laws running in parallel, which is impractical and
inconceivable for any successful and progressive state.
All this is despite the fact that if sharia law was to be sincerely applied, it
would not be in the form of a neutered "bill" but as the source of all laws in
a state which then defines economic policies, the judicial system, foreign
policy, the social system etc. Clearly
then, this is at best a foolish attempt to remedy a deeper ideological problem
or at worst an insincere attempt to show the application of sharia law.
Both of these responses show a state which is at a loss for ideas as to how to
deal with a population which neither respects its authority nor recognizes its
legitimacy. These actions of the Pakistani state are leading to a tremendous
loss of life and civil unrest, whilst revealing the nature of the state and its
relationship with the people. It is being driven by foreign instructions and
threats by America and is attacking the local population, the very people it
should be defending. What is then the way out of this quagmire that Pakistan
finds itself sinking in?
The solution is not to deploy an increasing amount of armed forces to the
region, let alone allow a foreign colonial power to help with an armed
operation. The solution is to strengthen the authority and legitimacy of the
state in the eyes of the people. The state must regain the initiative by
establishing a sovereign authority which derives its support from the people
and not from external forces; otherwise the state will always be weak,
externally dependent, subject to manipulation by foreign forces and
fire-fighting insurgencies constantly.
The core problem that Pakistan faces is that the people are disenfranchised and
disillusioned with the state and do not identify with it. The interests of the
state now clearly diverge from the interests of the people. Such a situation is
not tenable and will sooner rather than later lead to either massive bloodshed
or the breakup of the Pakistani state, or both, as was the case in the war of
1971.
This is clearly in the interests of foreign powers like America and part of
their plans which are out in the open. The interests of the state must urgently
be defined so that the people can be united around these. Nationalism has
failed to define the interests and could never succeed in origin. Pakistani
nationalism neither has the depth of history to which all the disparate ethnic
and tribal groups in Pakistan can lay claim to as being common heritage nor
does it have the necessary political depth which can be used to define specific
interests. At best, it will result in Pakistani colonialism, as it offers
nothing to the people except shallow loyalty to a centralized administration,
which is what the people in provinces outside of Punjab are feeling.
There must be one basis on which the interests and all laws of the state are
based on. This basis must be the casus belli of the state and the idea
for which the state exists to protect, implement and propagate. This basis must
serve as the source of all values and ideals in he society which binds people
together. This basis must not be confused with opinion, as even if a basis is
agreed there could be multiple opinions as to how best to implement this basis.
This is not an issue, rather this is healthy.
For example, in Britain you have the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats,
UKIP and Green parties, while in America you have the Republicans and the
Democrats. The key is for a state to adopt one coherent and consistent basis.
In the UK and America, this is capitalism and secularism applied in tandem
within the democratic ruling system. So while all of these parties may differ
in their opinions on policy and indeed engage in heated or bitter debates on
specific issues at times, no one contends the basis of the state. The
discussion only centers on how best to adhere to this basis and which rules
will result in the best application of this basis. The result of this is that
regardless of what party comes to power, the nature of the state never changes
and the people will obey the laws of the new government, even if they do not
agree with all the new laws or policies of the new government.
The problem in Pakistan is that there is no coherent basis on which the state
is built. People may form parties and groups and come to power on ideas as
varied as secularism, socialism or Islam. In effect, Pakistan has no basis for
existence. Laws, regulations and even the constitutions change according to the
whims and wishes of every new ruler. The identity of the Pakistani citizen is
undefined. Indeed, Pakistan and what it stands for is not defined. As of now,
the state of Pakistan stands for nothing.
It is clear then that the basis for the state must urgently be established and
it should be something which the people identify with and trust. There is only
one idea that has the ability to bring together the various ethnicities and
tribes in Pakistan as one and at the same time has the political depth to
define very clearly both the interests of the individual and the state in
perfect unity. This is Islam.
Islam is the ideology which has a natural resonance with the people and has a
track record of success when applied correctly in its entirety and in its true
state form. Once Islam is adopted as the coherent and consistent basis, an
ideologically strong state will emerge as this state will naturally derive its
authority from the people.
This state will have a clear direction as defined by the sharia and the
legitimacy to tackle both external threats and internal rebels who seek to
implement their own views on the people. The state will then be seen to
represent the people and not foreign interests. The current state apparatus is
not equipped to support the implementation of Islam. It does not posses the
appropriate departmental bodies, courts, ruling structure or economy. The state
will thus need to be revamped and re-established in the form of a Khilafah
(caliphate). Only the Khilafah state will posses the structure needed to
implement Islam as a state ideology.
This is not an administrative issue where one can swap or rename a few
departments in the current Pakistani state and implement a few sharia rulings
on theft or adultery and be declared Islamic. The new Khilafah structure is
needed to reflect the transference of sovereignty away from parliament to the
sharia and the investment of authority in an elected Khilafah, not a president,
prime minister or military dictator. If one attempts to implement Islam and
sharia in the current state structure, then you will produce a circus show of
the like that is currently going on with Nizam-e-Adl.
Once this new state structure is set up on a clearly defined and coherent basis
with support from the people, the issue then will be to assess the claims of
any restless groups such as the Taliban via a due process of law through the
appropriate organs of the state (councils, courts etc) and then issue a verdict
which will have universal legitimacy. The state will also be able to lead the
people the Taliban currently rule to progression.
For instance, education for girls will be enforced; Taliban-like groups can
have no objection to such rulings as the curriculum would teach values which
are consistent with Islam and the verdict would be handed down by a legitimate
Islamic authority. Issues will not be disputed as the Khilafah will adopt
public laws which everyone must follow.
Anything not adopted will be the right of individuals to decide on, no
compulsion. As with any other ideological state, differences of opinions will
be allowed and if people want to lobby the Khilafah for a change in opinion
then appropriate channels will exist. Indeed, it will be the responsibility of
the Islamic civil society, such as political parties, to account the Khilafah
to ensure that the sharia is being followed at all times.
The current system does not provide this. It is the lack of such a legal
framework which causes frustration among the various Islamic groups as there is
no official mechanism to address their concerns or consider their opinions.
This legal process would be the correct method for not only dealing with the
Taliban but also any other movement which seeks to be separate from the state
or establish an alternative order.
By establishing the Khilafah state, the impracticalities of the Pakistani state
will be swept away and the people will be united on a shared intellectual basis
rather than a shallow idea of nationalism, which is a colonial construct in
origin anyway which serves to divide rather than unite people.
The Khilafah state will not only solve the problem of unity and address any
issues of militancy within society, but it will give direction to the whole of
society. As the national interests are defined according to Islam, many of the
current problems will be solved. The foreign policy of the state will be in
line with the wishes of the people as the state will refuse to take part in any
colonial adventure with nations such as America.
The security and property of its citizens will protected, as the state will
exist to serve the people, not the other way around, as it is currently.
Separatist movements will lose legitimacy as the basis for the state will not
be divisive nationalism but an inclusive ideology. The economy will be revived
as inflation is brought under control with investment in industry and
production, a gold standard backed currency, capital flows freed up as interest
is removed and the taxation system simplified. Industrialization will occur,
leading to a rise in education standards and employment as the state seeks to
provide for the people and project the ideological strength and power of Islam
globally.
A variety of topics have been addressed briefly in the closing paragraphs, with
each topic warranting a lengthy explanation in its own right. However, for the
current issue at hand the challenge presented to Pakistan by the internal
dissenters and foreign powers is one of challenging the ideological soul of the
state, and this has been addressed. This challenge must be met with a barrage
of ideas, not bullets or missiles. Islam is capable of meeting this challenge
and providing a resounding answer. It is then up to the people of influence in
civil society, politics and the military to adopt this call and save the people
of Pakistan before it is too late.
Asim Salahuddin is a Pakistani analyst and freelance columnist
(Copyright 2009 Asim Salahuddin.) Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature
that allows guest writers to have their say.
Please click hereif you are interested in contributing.
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