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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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