The myth about Islamic world

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, OCT. 10. The ``Muslim'' world has come under scrutiny after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. As television and newspaper reports fly thick and fast about protests in ``Islamic'' countries, some basic questions about terminology stare you in the face.

Is Indonesia an ``Islamic'' country? With the largest number of Muslims, this multi-religious nation of 220 million also has a sizeable number of Christians and Hindus.

Does Malaysia with some 60 per cent of Malay-Muslims in its population of 22 million also count as a ``Muslim'' country? In these days of charged reportage, some assumptions need to be challenged. Is Indonesia an ``Islamic'' nation or is it just a country where the largest number of Muslims live? This difference may prove to be crucial in the days ahead.

By using terms such as the ``Islamic world'', the Western television networks, perhaps unintentionally, create an ``the U.S. versus them'' scenario. No one calls Western nations the ``Christian world'' (except for some extremists).

Osama bin Laden and his associates want to create a ``monolithic'' Islamic world and must be enraged that other ``Islamic'' nations are actually backing the U.S. to find those responsible for the September 11 kamikaze attacks.

Just as ``Hindu'' and ``Christian'' nations have divisions and differences over wealth, resources and their use, the situation in ``Islamic'' nations is the same. (The Taliban, it may be recalled, fought a ``jehad'' against the Northern Alliance, who consider themselves as good Muslims).

Today, the Indonesian President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, is at the receiving end of militant Islamists, who are demanding that her Government sever diplomatic relations with the U.S. after the retaliatory strikes against Afghanistan. Her Government has rejected the demand. She, along with other leaders of Muslim- majority nations, is battling the same forces at home that the international coalition against terrorism has taken on globally.

The skirt-wearing Ms. Megawati must, however, deal with the militants in her own way. Her Vice-President, Mr. Hamzah Haz, is an Islamist, who in the past had opposed a woman becoming President of Indonesia by invoking ``Islamic'' principles. Today, he is making some dissenting noises, but remains part of the Government.

The Indonesian Government for its own domestic reasons will not speak the way Washington wants it to speak. Many people (not just Muslims) have concerns about the American military strikes killing innocent civilians, but the focus seems to be on those who take to the streets and shout the loudest when the camera is on them.

The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has declared that a conventional war cannot defeat the forces of terrorism. He has opposed the military strikes, but is also the first world leader to propose a global conference against terrorism.

Politicians, at times, coddle militant elements for expected political gains or just to stay in power. Indonesia, for instance, has seen the rise of extreme Islamist groups and their attacks on Christians in the Malukus.

For every country, extremism and extremist elements fired by their own perceptions of their religion, constitute a clear and present danger. The cross-country mobilisation by the BJP-RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal, which led to the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, was just as warped as the views of many extreme Islamists.

Moderates of all political persuasions have to fight their battles within national parameters first. Fiery rhetoric, coupled with civilian casualties seen on television, can bring many on to the streets.

Samuel Huntington's thesis of a ``clash of civilisations'' is being given currency by Western news networks. The ``Islamic world'' is a myth - same as the ``Christian world''.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : Dissecting a `myth'