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Lessons from the Taliban
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Zafar Hilaly
We owe the Taliban a lot. But for them, introspection would not have occurred. They focussed our minds on what we are not, but must be, if we are to survive. Whether we can effect a transformation and reinvent ourselves is another matter. Probably not; but at least we will not be able to say that the 'Quadyanis', Americans, Israelis, India and the KESC prevented us from knowing this about ourselves.
What lessons did the Taliban impart? First, to stop indulging the ignorances, indifferences and imbecilic hatreds of the populace who invariably elect the likes Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and the Ilahis to rule us. That is not to say that the uniformed variety, who the people had no say in their infliction upon us, were any better. It's just that the people are so easily diverted, deluded and misinformed, so full of crass contradictions that it is delusional to expect them to work democracy even after they have learned to spell it. Look at Rome: the mob changed the aristocracy into a democracy, and then vice versa. The people's judgement is, after all, "a mere lottery." Surely, a system more suited to our needs can be evolved.
The second lesson is that the army is not some kind of a robotic fighting machine which, when switched on, and wound up and pointed in a direction, starts to fight till the coil unwinds. And, then it starts again, like one of those "Made in Japan" toy soldiers of the fifties. The army is made up of men who bleed like us and who can think and have souls. True, they are trained to fight, but that does not mean that they are the answer; force never is, it is at best a temporary palliative. Besides, a nation "is not governed which is perpetually to be conquered."
Nevertheless, the notion that is dinned into our warriors, day in and day out, that the army is a nation within a nation comprising a distinct breed different from, and superior to, the "bloody civilians," ends up in them actually believing it. We saw this phenomenon taken to absurd extents under Musharraf when an ex-army spy was thought good enough to be made minister of education and some others were made heads of universities.
Of course, a better example was Musharraf himself. A fairly ordinary soldier, at best, he not only developed delusions of grandeur but also trivialities. He presided over meetings the subject of which he had not the faintest idea. Ignorance came to his rescue now and then, which allowed the experts to have their way, but the little knowledge he possessed on issues such as foreign affairs was indeed a dangerous thing. Ironically, he owed his downfall to the idea that being of a special breed he had special insights, which he clearly did not, as events proved.
The third lesson is that unless the state controls the teaching and interpretation of religious texts, mindless medieval men will murder religion with bigotry and frighten people with her ghosts. The Irish patriot, Daniel O'Connell summed it up aptly:
"Bigotry has no head and cannot think; no heart and cannot feel. When she moves it is in wrath; when she pauses it is amid ruin. Her prayers are curses, her communion is death, her vendetta is eternity and her decadence written in the blood of her victims."
Consider Arab states, which invariably control not only the teaching of religion but also its interpretation. In Yemen a cleric who diverted from the Friday khutba issued by the ministry of religious affairs was dragged from the pulpit even as he was speaking to the congregation. There is no priesthood in Islam. A venerable outward appearance gives no one the right to seek or expect obeisance by others.
Ending bigotry and espousing a tolerant and progressive attitude towards religion has the advantage of discouraging intolerance. The Quran and Sunnah forbid blasphemy and at the same time protect the right of all to practice their own religions. Deriding Islam is rightly a punishable offence, just as the deriding of other religions by Muslims must also be, to say nothing of killing members of other religions and sects.
A fourth lesson is making greater sense of the law and legal procedures. Noticeably, about the only thing that appealed to the Swatis about the Taliban was their ability to dispense justice quickly, even crudely. Such was the desperation of the people of Swat with the system. The law of the land, as it presently stands, as much as the quality of those who apply it, is abysmal. Not to be overlooked is the crippling cost of corruption to the many seeking justice, but worse are the dilatory procedures.
For example, four years after the death of a former foreign minister his successors are still struggling to obtain his property from the tenant, an EU member-state, which refuses to vacate the premises or pay the rent claiming diplomatic immunity.
And, notwithstanding the decision of two lower-court judges denying the Mission immunity and ordering it to vacate the premises, an additional sessions judge ruled that a foreign Mission is barred from being sued; and, hence, by implication, can stay as long as it wishes in the property without paying the rent or being in possession of a valid lease which expired two years ago. The absurdity of the judgement, quite apart from the fact that it is contrary to statute and international law, did not occur to the judge. It is just as well that the erstwhile tenant, now a trespasser, cannot pick up the house and the land and depart with it to Europe.
Considering the dismal state of the administration of justice which has reduced many to penury, and almost all to tears, one would have thought that our elected or selected luminaries would have jumped into action. In fact, that is far from happening. This lot are not only slow in themselves but the cause of slowness in others. Why else are hundreds of vacant positions of judges not being filled while thousands of cases remain unheard? Against such stupidity we have struggled in vain, but not the Taliban. They took up arms. Their justice may be crude but it is swift and effective.
Simply put, our tragedy is that, even as we get to learn more and more, we end up doing less and less, and often nothing. If the lessons the Taliban have attempted to teach us are forgotten, how about remembering what we have learnt? Why bury our head in the sand in the face of danger? As one saying has it, "if one is too lazy to think, too vain to do a thing badly, too cowardly to admit it, one will never attain wisdom."
The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Zafar Hilaly
We owe the Taliban a lot. But for them, introspection would not have occurred. They focussed our minds on what we are not, but must be, if we are to survive. Whether we can effect a transformation and reinvent ourselves is another matter. Probably not; but at least we will not be able to say that the 'Quadyanis', Americans, Israelis, India and the KESC prevented us from knowing this about ourselves.
What lessons did the Taliban impart? First, to stop indulging the ignorances, indifferences and imbecilic hatreds of the populace who invariably elect the likes Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and the Ilahis to rule us. That is not to say that the uniformed variety, who the people had no say in their infliction upon us, were any better. It's just that the people are so easily diverted, deluded and misinformed, so full of crass contradictions that it is delusional to expect them to work democracy even after they have learned to spell it. Look at Rome: the mob changed the aristocracy into a democracy, and then vice versa. The people's judgement is, after all, "a mere lottery." Surely, a system more suited to our needs can be evolved.
The second lesson is that the army is not some kind of a robotic fighting machine which, when switched on, and wound up and pointed in a direction, starts to fight till the coil unwinds. And, then it starts again, like one of those "Made in Japan" toy soldiers of the fifties. The army is made up of men who bleed like us and who can think and have souls. True, they are trained to fight, but that does not mean that they are the answer; force never is, it is at best a temporary palliative. Besides, a nation "is not governed which is perpetually to be conquered."
Nevertheless, the notion that is dinned into our warriors, day in and day out, that the army is a nation within a nation comprising a distinct breed different from, and superior to, the "bloody civilians," ends up in them actually believing it. We saw this phenomenon taken to absurd extents under Musharraf when an ex-army spy was thought good enough to be made minister of education and some others were made heads of universities.
Of course, a better example was Musharraf himself. A fairly ordinary soldier, at best, he not only developed delusions of grandeur but also trivialities. He presided over meetings the subject of which he had not the faintest idea. Ignorance came to his rescue now and then, which allowed the experts to have their way, but the little knowledge he possessed on issues such as foreign affairs was indeed a dangerous thing. Ironically, he owed his downfall to the idea that being of a special breed he had special insights, which he clearly did not, as events proved.
The third lesson is that unless the state controls the teaching and interpretation of religious texts, mindless medieval men will murder religion with bigotry and frighten people with her ghosts. The Irish patriot, Daniel O'Connell summed it up aptly:
"Bigotry has no head and cannot think; no heart and cannot feel. When she moves it is in wrath; when she pauses it is amid ruin. Her prayers are curses, her communion is death, her vendetta is eternity and her decadence written in the blood of her victims."
Consider Arab states, which invariably control not only the teaching of religion but also its interpretation. In Yemen a cleric who diverted from the Friday khutba issued by the ministry of religious affairs was dragged from the pulpit even as he was speaking to the congregation. There is no priesthood in Islam. A venerable outward appearance gives no one the right to seek or expect obeisance by others.
Ending bigotry and espousing a tolerant and progressive attitude towards religion has the advantage of discouraging intolerance. The Quran and Sunnah forbid blasphemy and at the same time protect the right of all to practice their own religions. Deriding Islam is rightly a punishable offence, just as the deriding of other religions by Muslims must also be, to say nothing of killing members of other religions and sects.
A fourth lesson is making greater sense of the law and legal procedures. Noticeably, about the only thing that appealed to the Swatis about the Taliban was their ability to dispense justice quickly, even crudely. Such was the desperation of the people of Swat with the system. The law of the land, as it presently stands, as much as the quality of those who apply it, is abysmal. Not to be overlooked is the crippling cost of corruption to the many seeking justice, but worse are the dilatory procedures.
For example, four years after the death of a former foreign minister his successors are still struggling to obtain his property from the tenant, an EU member-state, which refuses to vacate the premises or pay the rent claiming diplomatic immunity.
And, notwithstanding the decision of two lower-court judges denying the Mission immunity and ordering it to vacate the premises, an additional sessions judge ruled that a foreign Mission is barred from being sued; and, hence, by implication, can stay as long as it wishes in the property without paying the rent or being in possession of a valid lease which expired two years ago. The absurdity of the judgement, quite apart from the fact that it is contrary to statute and international law, did not occur to the judge. It is just as well that the erstwhile tenant, now a trespasser, cannot pick up the house and the land and depart with it to Europe.
Considering the dismal state of the administration of justice which has reduced many to penury, and almost all to tears, one would have thought that our elected or selected luminaries would have jumped into action. In fact, that is far from happening. This lot are not only slow in themselves but the cause of slowness in others. Why else are hundreds of vacant positions of judges not being filled while thousands of cases remain unheard? Against such stupidity we have struggled in vain, but not the Taliban. They took up arms. Their justice may be crude but it is swift and effective.
Simply put, our tragedy is that, even as we get to learn more and more, we end up doing less and less, and often nothing. If the lessons the Taliban have attempted to teach us are forgotten, how about remembering what we have learnt? Why bury our head in the sand in the face of danger? As one saying has it, "if one is too lazy to think, too vain to do a thing badly, too cowardly to admit it, one will never attain wisdom."
The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com
