Remarks by Ambassador Toquir Hussain at an International Symposium on “Islam: Fostering Peace and Dialogue in an Interdependent World”with Mahatir Mohammad the Prime Minister of Malaysia as the Key Note Speaker Many thanks for giving me this opportunity to speak on a subject which touches us all, muslims and non-muslims alike. The topic of the Symposium has assumed an added significance and urgency after the September 11 terrorist attacks and that is what I will focus on in my remarks. I shall basically build on the theme of the keynote speaker. He spoke like a scholar, philosopher and statesman. I will give a diplomat’s perspective. 2. The international community’s approach to the tragic and unforgivable events of September 11 reflects a paradox. On one hand terrorism is being treated as if it were a rootless, self-sustaining entity that had no origin and no cause and can be defeated through use of power. And on the other hand a dangerous hysteria, specially by sections of international media and think thanks, has been raised against Islam as a source of terrorism. As a consequence the war on terrorism is unfortunately beginning to look like a war on Islam. Hence, this need for dialogue to understand the reality of terrorism as well as of Islam. 3. There is an urgent need not only to understand Islam but also those who profess or practice this faith, specially to understand their problems and world view, which may largely derive from religion but is not confined to it. Indeed, it is not religion but people who spread terrorism and as has happened so often in history, issues may seem religious but are not often so; they can be political issues entangled with religion. Just because religion has been associated with a certain political dispute does not mean that the dispute is a religious issue. Political disputes or struggles must be judged on their own merits which should not be discredited just because of the religion of the people involved, or just because of exploitation of religion by certain extremist or militant elements who preach and practice violence against innocent people. 4. Similarly you cannot ignore the merits of a political dispute by denominating your opponents or those struggling for their legitimate political rights as terrorists. Nor can you ignore people’s rights of self-determination or pursue larger political or strategic interests in the name of fight against terrorism. Palestine and Kashmir are a case in point. We should keep the merits of political disputes disentangled from both the terrorism and religion. All three may be related but are still independent. 5. Religion and politics have always been mixed in every society throughout history. In Islam religion is indeed the society. The two are linked inseparably. Islamic societies contain an astonishing variety of contrasts and diversities, culturally, ethnically and geo-politically, and depending on its historical experience, political institutions, existing social structure and economic conditions each society faced as well as raised different sets of problems in meeting the challenge of keeping religion and society together as they entered the modern age. It was not easy to do so. Many factors complicated the Islamic societies’ search to evolve an Islamic identity compatible with religious values and modernization. 6. Currents flowing from different directions and at different times have impacted on the Islamic world in modern history: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, rivalries of successor imperialist powers, the colonialization and decolonization, the discovery of oil in the Middle East, the beginnings of the Arab-Israel conflict, the Cold War and the East-West tensions. By design or default, the colonial experience subverted or diluted the Islamic identity of muslim societies but did not supplant it, and thus left them only half modernized and confused. 7. The problems that the Islamic world faces were thus not created in a vacuum. These are a consequence of their own socio-economic conditions, and these societies’ poor responses to challenges of modernization as well of the international security environment and international politics. 8. One major challenge for Islamic societies in the post-colonial times has been which model of society to accept __ the secular, modern and Western, inherited from exposure to foreign domination or influence, and reflecting the assumptions of the ruling elite who owed their intellectual ancestry to the liberal value system of the colonial experience; or the religious and conservative, representing the traditional way of life of the vast majority, specially the poor and the dispossessed. 9. The struggle thus had seeds of a potential class conflict in some of the societies, causing disaffection among the masses and the liberal intelligentsia alike. And both sought empowerment, with different aims and means.The masses,generally tradional,conservative and religious, hoped to achieve social change through an Islamic state rather than the Western model. After all, they all thought Islam did provide a successful model of social revolution, specially in its early history. And they looked to Quran and Sunna for guidance. But it was not easy to find clear answers. 10. Where does the terrorism come from? The reality about terrorism is very complex. Terrorism in fact does not represent Islam, militant or otherwise. There have been terrorists in all religions, in all societies and in all ages, even upto now. Yes there are certain extremists and militants among muslim societies who give strength to their political objectives by basing them on some religious values but frankly many of these values exist only in their mind. They hold a mirror to their distorted mind. 11. But who is a terrorist? The terrorist who professes Islamic faith may represent a pseudo Islam,not real Islam, born out of despair and pessimism, characteristic of mystery cults and sects. A terrorist, whether Islamic or of any other religion, creed or philosophy, is fundamentally a fanatic, indoctrinated by an ideology adapted to facilitate the _expression of his rage. The dominant emotion here is anger and hatred, animated by a sense of gross injustice, inspired by ignorance and prejudice, and sanctioned by ideological or religious injunctions as distorted by a charismatic cult figure. The objectives are often political, and that can happen, as I said, in religions other than Islam as well. 12. Indeed, the despair caused by the humiliation, denial of human dignity and exploitation provide a fertile breeding ground for such terrorism. The ordinary Muslim who appears to be supporting the terrorist is basically sympathizing with his cause not the means. And unfortunately it creates a misperception in Western societies about the terrorist’s identification with the main-stream Islam and its adherents. 13. There is thus critical and urgent need for dialogue to enhance the understanding of the issues involved. Partnership, or at least engagement, by the advanced industrialized societies with the Islamic world is critical. Unresolved political disputes involving the rights of Muslims have to be addressed to raise the West’s profile among muslim peoples. 14. The situation in the Middle East for the past one century has provided the single most powerful and lingering source of resentment in the Islamic world. And this has radiated far and wide with many other currents flowing into it in recent history. And I have seen this, in religious and secular elements, the educated and uneducated, and the traditional and the modern, alike. Ideologies provide a good peg to hang on one’s anger and sense of wrong and injustice. And foreigners or foreign powers a good scapegoat. 15. If the West needs the muslim societies to effect modernization it cannot achieve that objective without removal of poverty and improvement of social and economic conditions. And this uni-focal approach to target muslims and the inflammatory language, specially by the Western media, may have the effect of erecting barriers between muslims and the West, thus eroding their mutual trust. 16. What we need is improved mutual understanding and inter-dependence between Muslim societies and the West. Only then will there flow cross currents of ideas, people, values and mutual understanding and shared commitment to a just society. We need to raise people’s trust and confidence in modern political institutions and an international system which responds to people’s aspirations for quality of life and expectations of a fair and just world order. 17. There is need to approach the issue as a political, socio-economic, and human rights, indeed human security, problem rather than a civilizational challenge or clash of religions. What we are witnessing is not any clash of religions much less clash of civilizations. It is about Islamic societies, caught up in a conflict of ethnicity, class, culture, social conditions and political rights often caused by experience of colonialism as well as politics and ethics of international relations, including harsher side of globalization. 18. A comprehensive approach is necessary. And it must begin with a dialogue and mutual understanding.