Lal
Masjid Storming: A Beginning
To Musharraf's Exit
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu
02 August, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The
recent storming of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad was, of course,
reminiscent of attacking of the Golden Temple, Amritsar by Indian Army
in June 1984. Both events bear semblance as respective State Establishments
sent armed forces to flush out extremists or militants holed up in religious
places. In Lal Masjid, well-entrenched Jihadis put up armed resistance
to the armed forces so as did Sikh militants from the Golden Temple
Complex which is 'Mecca' for the Sikh community.
However, the two historical
incidents differ remarkably with regard to immediate cause and provocation
so as their locale and theatre of occurrence. But in both cases armed
operation were effected to achieve almost similar strategic political
ends by the rulers of the two States.
Through an orchestrated armed strike at 'sanctum sanctorum' of the Sikh
minority and thereafter projecting the destruction of the 'bastion of
Sikh militancy', Indira Gandhi did emerge as 'heroine' of India's 80
per cent the Hindu majority. The political dividends of her action were
evident in the landslide electoral victory of her son, Rajiv Gandhi
in the 1985 Parliamentary polls.
In the process she, however,
communalised the Indian polity to a larger extent. This, of course,
provided a fertile ground for Hindutava forces which later on emerged
to the centre-stage of the Indian polity with six-year rule of Bharatiya
Janata Party in New Delhi.
Even though Lal Masjid can
not be said to have holding that religious status for muslims which
could be held parallel to what Golden Temple have for the Sikhs but
mounting attack on the masjid - code-named as 'Operation Silence'- by
as Islamic theocratic State of Pakistan was equally an aggressive step
as that of 'Operation Blue Star' conducted by Indian forces in Amritsar.
It could be said that 'Operation
Blue Star' was a watershed in Indian politics which saw idioms of militancy
and extremism and recently terrorism creeping into political vocabulary
and overshadowing mundane matters like poverty, employment and health
issues. Also, it gave a new dimension to the Indian democracy that rendered
the ruling political class distanced from the common man. And, also
witnessed the real merger of money, muscle power and bureaucratic elite
with the ruling political class moving around heavily guarded by State
security personnel.
The Lal Masjid occurrence, on the other hand, signals that President
Pervez Musharraf appears to be trying to shift political debate in Pakistan
from 'democracy versus military rule' to 'moderates versus extremists
(jihadis)'. Also it is meant to scotch the political trouble emanated
from this a backfired move of dismissing of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary
in March this year.
At domestic level, it looks like that General Musharraf's move against
the militants was aimed at frustrating the efforts of several political
parties forming a 'united front' to upstage him. The political alliance
has pledged to resist the re-election of General Musarraf through sitting
parliament and provincial assemblies. The front's strategy is that the
members should resign
enmass before the election. The General's move seems to have succeeded
to some extent with Benazir Bhutto's large political party, Pakistan
People Party (PPP), unambiguously supporting the flushing out of militants
from Lal Masjid and her staying away from the alliance's recent meeting
in London.
On the other hand, General Musharraf also got a shot in arm with President
George W Bush coming in unambiguous support of him saying "I like
him .. I appreciate him as a strong ally of America in the war against
terror... I am, of course, constantly working with him (General Musharraf)
to make sure that democracy continue to advance in Pakistan".
The US State Department
has expressed its 'open approval' for storming of the mosque ''controlled
by Taliban-inspired clerics'' and described it as an ideological struggle
between 'moderation and extremism (terrorism)'.
All this goes to salvage
the falling reputation of General Musharraf internationally as a bulwark
against the extremists. This, according to a senior Pakistani journalist,
M Ilyas Khan, will get him some crucial military and diplomatic support
from the west.
To project a liberal democratic
image, Musharraf has already been exhorting Pakistanis ''we have not
been able to project the softer face of Pakistan society and that is
why we have not been able to attract investments''.
Anyway, General Musharraf
has now carved out a path of 'moderate Islam' as against radical Islamists
for building a liberal modern society of Pakistan, albeit, with appropriate
peppering of Shariat.
In tune with USA's thumping
support for the General's crusade against the Lal Masjid militants,
India also went aboard lending oblique nod for the storming of the religious
place as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that Pakistan had taken
a cudgel against Jihadis which could pave way for turning the' line
of control' in Jammu and Kashmir into a 'line of peace'. And public
projection of pardoning of a young Pakistani suicide-bomber by Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai on July 16/07 is a move in the string that fits
into the US inspired initiative of projecting General Musharraf image
as one fighting against terror. In this context Mr Karzai's statement
is worth noting that "Kabul wanted good ties with Islamabad, a
key US ally in its war on terror".
Of course, General Musharraf
will, get a strong backing for his action from the ruling military elite,
landlords and neo-rich class who together dominate the political-economic
scene of Pakistan. However, the gap between the rich and poor got more
widened in Pakistan with the dawn of economic liberalism than that of
India and elite there, as usual, ignores the cries of the sufferings
of commonman.
In this context, there is
a stark reality that, of course, makes a disturbing study.That, it is
always easy, says eminent American journalist Robert Jensen that one
can denounce the fundamentalism and demonise a section of people from
a position of safety and confort. And, complexity of situation on the
ground, rarely makes it to print that 'who are those people who comprise
the jihadi ranks... are they not the ordinary people struggling against
the elite? Esack who teaches at Harvard Divinity school and the author
of "Quran: Liberalism Pluralism'' says "we can reject the
jihadist and patriarchal aspects and still recognize that there is in
this fundamentalist philosophy a call for social justice, a challenge
for power-seeking and greed of elites".
Lal Masjid's imams Abdur
Rashid Ghazi, killed in the Army's action and his brother Mohammad Abdul
Aziz who was caught by security forces while leaving the masjid belonged
to rural areas of Pakistan Punjab and had been bitter critic of corruption
of Pakistan's political, military and economic elites and highlighted
the poverty of millions of Pakistanis. Perhaps, their critique on widening
inequality gap drew thousands of youths from improvised rural areas
to their seminary and hundreds of other seminaries run across Pakistan.
These seminaries, however,
produced thousands of Pakistan jihadis for eight-year-long fighting
against Soviet aggression on Afghsanistan in 1980s and later also filled
ranks of mujahiddins in a long-drawn bloody battle in Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir. No doubt, Pakistan establishment promoted and aided
these seminaries under the active direction and surveillance of ISI
whose headquarter is situated only a kilometre away from Lal Masjid.
Of course, the incidents
like kidnapping of women, policemen and Chinese nationals by Lal Masjid
gun-wielding militants including burqa-clad women volunteers which are
said to have forced the Pakistan Establishment to take such a drastic
step. But leaving aside the media-projected image of Ghazi, the cleric
was persuing and preaching a different agenda: how an Islamic state
could be constructed to ensure economic equality. Such complexities
, usually ignored by the media, certainly have contributed to some extent
to the six month long dillydalling by the Pakistan establishment before
striking on Lal Masjid.Behind Pakitan's wavering attitude also stood
its two-decade old covert support to jihadis that sustained and promoted
various outfits.
Almost a similar schism was witnessed among the Sikh community as Damdami
Taksal's seminary also drew its students from non-privileged and poor
section of the Sikh community who later formed the militant ranks of
Jarnail Singh Singh Bhiderawale. The Akali Dal, a claimant to power,
always attracted youth from rich and privileged Sikh families. And rich
and elite Sikhs always have sided with the Indian establishment and
covertly supported the flushing out of militants from Golden Temple,
Amritsar.
The fast growing divide among the rich and poor in the third world countries
stands to pose threat to political class of these countries. And, when
the poverty and religious hurt feelings mingle the jihadi mindset, the
threat could be more potent for General Musharraf.
Some of around 600 students
of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia seminaries caught by security forces
after the Lal Masjid crackdown had nowhere to go and some others were
not inclined to go back to their poor parents in villages. And, their
debriefing by security agencies revealed that they believed that Musharraf
and his team are 'kaafirs' (non-believers) and agents of the US and
should be eliminated.
The Lal Masjid crackdown
has already triggered a bloodbath in NWFP while the Interior Ministry
sounds a warning for armed forces that hundreds of 'suicide bombers'
are stalking around to avenge the 'sacriledge' of the masjid.
Jaspal Singh Sidhu
is a senior journalist in New Delhi working with UNI, for past 25 years
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