Where to go from here?

[VCheng]

Where to go from here?
Syed.Ali.Haider

(Original Submission to PDF)

After the gut-wrenching horror of Peshawar, much has been said and written about how we found ourselves in this situation in the first place. Rather than looking at the past, this article intends to look at the future with an aim to proposing some feasible solutions to the security crisis facing Pakistan today. While some proposals may be painful or indeed regarded as being against collective wisdom, at least all of them should make for an engaging debate. The main thrust of the response should be on several fronts, not just the military one, with an aim to seizing the narrative across a wide domain. The military response has been swift and tactically effective, but to turn its gains into a more permanent state, much more needs to be done.

The Army has invested much blood and effort in creating the ideology under which it fights and motivates its personnel. The terrorists have managed to create a competing narrative specifically aimed at undermining this ideology due to the poor governance across wide swathes of the country. To leave it to the civil arena to resolve this issue is simply going to fail. Therefore, the Army must seize control of the way the masjids and madrassahs are financed from both within and without the country as a matter of national security. There need not be overt bans on what the mullahs can say, but tying it to their remuneration is a potent lever that will yield the desired results in short order. No money should be allowed to flow to any masjid or madrassah without being vetted and passed through a special cell created for this specific purpose. Anyone trying to bypass this system should be tried before a military court as an agent of the terrorists.

The second front that must be controlled is the several avenues of propaganda that the terrorists use to great effect. A specific task force must be assigned the seek and disrupt those who create and distribute the CDs, DVDs, posters and similar material for the terrorists. Anybody found to have participated in such material must be charged as an abettor of the terrorists, right down to truck drivers who may be found carrying such contraband in their cargo and right up the chain with confiscation of duplicating machines and computers and presses wherever indicated.

The third front should be specifically aimed at removing the equipment and support structures that the terrorists rely upon to infiltrate before their planned attacks. A task force with the specific authority to conduct searches for weaponry must be instituted to achieve this goal. Surprise raids with no warning must be carried out at all suspected sites without any regards to political or other sensitivities across the country, not just in KPK. Video recording of such raids must be made at the time to serve as proof as those responsible for their places are put up before military courts.

Once these three specific campaigns are in place and running, thought must the be given to the longer term strategies. These strategies must cover the following three areas: political, educational, and military.

For too long, political parties and factions have been able to create armed student wings that serve as the illegal forces serving their overall political agendas. These armed forces must be taken out without consideration to which political parties they belong. Direct intimation to the party leadership giving them a suitable period of time to disarm their armed wings at the highest levels must be followed through with action to confiscate this weaponry and personnel. Any political party found to still attempt persistence or creation of such wings must be eliminated from the political process forthwith.

Similarly, there has been a creeping religiosity that has been strangling all academic activities and laying the groundwork for manipulation of young minds later on. All curricula must be reviewed by the specific Board constituted for this purpose with an aim to removing such material and leaving behind a secular educational framework only. Only four subjects should be taught formally (English, Maths, Science, and Civics) up to the 12th grade level with no compulsory religious material. Religion can be introduced at the college level as an optional area of study.

Such trends have also been finding a footing with the armed forces themselves. While there are some indications that efforts to reverse this trend are being trying in the military training institutions, they must be invigorated as a matter of grave urgency, ranging from the small steps (for example, all officers must be clean shaven and groomed at all times) to the bigger ones (for example ensuring that all promotion criteria are dereligified).

For too long, Pakistan has relied on results of mixing religion with policy to try to serve its national interests. It should now be clear to the leadership that this approach has failed and their entire enterprise is in danger of collapsing under this historical mistake. It is time to reverse these trends and ensuring that Pakistan is put before all else, including religion, if the country and its institutions are to survive in this fast changing 21st century.

Surely, this will be not an easy task, but it must be done. Failure at this stage is not going to be an option. Whether the steps proposed above are implemented or not is up to the leadership to decide, but at least the recipe for survival should be clear to them.

 

[Side-Winder]

Good points but again hardly implementable.

Agreed, all madrassas must be put under a monitoring cell. but the whopping number of madrassas that we have in our country makes it vertually impossible to be implemented. Not to forget how the fanatic mullahs can turn the minds of masses against army for this "anti-islamic" act. Don't be mistaken, our people are still religiously gullible, they are still crazy about the religion without having the proper understanding of it. The people will soon turn against army believe me. for the second front, you're just suggesting intelligence needs do some extra work. They are already having a hard time giving pre-attack reports.as for third point, This is already happening after the peshawer attacks. Loads of people have been arrested by police and intel. Agreed, political armed wings must be disarmed but it may result in khakis being blamed again. like they oppose operation in karachi by the rangers.Next, you have a good point about the subjects at schooling level but again it will have to face sever public disapproval.

 

[VCheng]

Good points but again hardly implementable.

Agreed, all madrassas must be put under a monitoring cell. but the whopping number of madrassas that we have in our country makes it vertually impossible to be implemented. Not to forget how the fanatic mullahs can turn the minds of masses against army for this "anti-islamic" act. Don't be mistaken, our people are still religiously gullible, they are still crazy about the religion without having the proper understanding of it. The people will soon turn against army believe me. for the second front, you're just suggesting intelligence needs do some extra work. They are already having a hard time giving pre-attack reports.as for third point, This is already happening after the peshawer attacks. Loads of people have been arrested by police and intel. Agreed, political armed wings must be disarmed but it may result in khakis being blamed again. like they oppose operation in karachi by the rangers.Next, you have a good point about the subjects at schooling level but again it will have to face sever public disapproval.

Now you are being a realist. I have often been accused of not outlining solutions and only problems, which I have attempted to correct here. Whether they are implementable or not is the reason for my very real despondency, to be frank.

 

[Slav Defence]

Wonderful @Syed.Ali.Haider we will be soon announcing result

 

[Dubious]

To leave it to the civil arena to resolve this issue is simply going to fail.

So civilian govt is only good for crying for democracy without acting on it?

IF that is so...they as well be abolished as they failed on ANY other ground!

IF Army is gonna end up doing things for them they might as well be in power...whats the use of the phony civilian govt?

The second front that must be controlled is the several avenues of propaganda that the terrorists use to great effect. A specific task force must be assigned the seek and disrupt those who create and distribute the CDs, DVDs, posters and similar material for the terrorists. Anybody found to have participated in such material must be charged as an abettor of the terrorists, right down to truck drivers who may be found carrying such contraband in their cargo and right up the chain with confiscation of duplicating machines and computers and presses wherever indicated.

We will have a lot off yahoos crying over having censorship! Or worse the usual: Liberals are allowed but we are not attitude! If you wanna introduce such things I suggest do it for both extremes (typical elite liberals to typical everything is haram idiots) that way no idiot can shout and scream their lungs out!

. A task force with the specific authority to conduct searches for weaponry must be instituted to achieve this goal.

Another problematic area esp with every elite idiot having their own arsenal and muscles or whatever they wanna call it...

For too long, political parties and factions have been able to create armed student wings that serve as the illegal forces serving their overall political agendas. These armed forces must be taken out without consideration to which political parties they belong. Direct intimation to the party leadership giving them a suitable period of time to disarm their armed wings at the highest levels must be followed through with action to confiscate this weaponry and personnel. Any political party found to still attempt persistence or creation of such wings must be eliminated from the political process forthwith.

THIS def is a must!

Political parties with gundays also should be prosecuted

Only four subjects should be taught formally (English, Maths, Science, and Civics) up to the 12th grade level with no compulsory religious material. Religion can be introduced at the college level as an optional area of study.

Now that is harsh! I know America has certain rights well I dont think you should take away rights of other nationalities while practicing your own...

If you start drilling religious affairs after 12th grade do you think you will find a single PRACTICING Muslim in Pakistan? And when you dont have them then any screwed up man can feed them anything at collage level and they might believe it is religion!

Heck most of those foreigners going to ISIS were converted AFTER 12th grade so this is basically useless...

 

[VCheng]

Wonderful @Syed.Ali.Haider we will be soon announcing result

I will remind you here of film actor's Ali's immortal lines said in many a Pakistani movie: "Amma! Amma! Mein BA mein paas ho gaya! Ab mujhe naukri mil jaye gee aur tumhein kaam nahi karna parey ga!"

 

[livingdead]

controlling madrasa is a bit too much, I think monitoring their activities, and asking them to file regular reports to a nodal agency will work better. Then you can bribe them with funds if they allow a few bits of govt curriculum.

 

[VCheng]

controlling madrasa is a bit too much, I think monitoring their activities, and asking them to file regular reports to a nodal agency will work better. Then you can bribe them with funds if they allow a few bits of govt curriculum.

That is why I suggested only to monitor their finances. The rest will fall into place in due course once that is done.

 

[Jango]

There can at least be a start to this process of vetting madressas.

Start with Islamabad and the localities. There are many madressas mushrooming in the greenbelts of Islamabad. They start of as a canteen or a 'khokha' and then a little prayer place for the locals and voila, you have a wahabbi mosque sprung up.

No permits, no building approval, no nothing. And this is all in the open. Jamia Dar-ul-Uloomia al Hussainia and such names are sprining up all over Islamabad.

Then comes Bahrakahu...I am venturing as far as saying that after Waziristan and Karachi, Bahrakahu is the next biggest hub of terrorism. I am sure @Icarus would agree with me on this.

There's a mosque down the street from where I live and the imam there regularly used to badmouth the Armed forces and such, even during eid prayers. Stopped praying there afterwards.

At least take a start.

BTW, send this article to DAWN or some other newspaper maybe...

 

[VCheng]

"Jango"? Now the "D" is invisible, not just silent?

There can at least be a start to this process of vetting madressas.

Start with Islamabad and the localities. There are many madressas mushrooming in the greenbelts of Islamabad. They start of as a canteen or a 'khokha' and then a little prayer place for the locals and voila, you have a wahabbi mosque sprung up.

No permits, no building approval, no nothing. And this is all in the open. Jamia Dar-ul-Uloomia al Hussainia and such names are sprining up all over Islamabad.

Then comes Bahrakahu...I am venturing as far as saying that after Waziristan and Karachi, Bahrakahu is the next biggest hub of terrorism. I am sure @Icarus would agree with me on this.

There's a mosque down the street from where I live and the imam there regularly used to badmouth the Armed forces and such, even during eid prayers. Stopped praying there afterwards.

At least take a start.

BTW, send this article to DAWN or some other newspaper maybe...

 

[Jango]

"Jango"? Now the "D" is invisible, not just silent?

The one with the D was already taken so I thought why not do it uniquely!

 

[Cheetah786]

How about investing in real education. Kids attending madrasah have no future period.

 

[Vassnti]

Good points but again hardly implementable.

Agreed, all madrassas must be put under a monitoring cell. but the whopping number of madrassas that we have in our country makes it vertually impossible to be implemented. Not to forget how the fanatic mullahs can turn the minds of masses against army for this "anti-islamic" act. Don't be mistaken, our people are still religiously gullible, they are still crazy about the religion without having the proper understanding of it. The people will soon turn against army believe me. for the second front, you're just suggesting intelligence needs do some extra work. They are already having a hard time giving pre-attack reports.as for third point, This is already happening after the peshawer attacks. Loads of people have been arrested by police and intel. Agreed, political armed wings must be disarmed but it may result in khakis being blamed again. like they oppose operation in karachi by the rangers.Next, you have a good point about the subjects at schooling level but again it will have to face sever public disapproval.

Perhaps better to say difficult to implement. Over my time here sadly i have seen many posts after tragic attacks with often similar solutions to those Syed proposes and each time the response is but its too hard people will turn against the army. If not now when?

The best thing for the future of Pakistan is a population that is educated not by a two bit mullah pushing his message for an easy life or political reasons. The greatest fear of the fanatics is an educated population that knows there is a better way. If no one acts there will be more attacks, if people of good will act yes sadly there may be even more attacks in the short term but its brings a hope of a better future for your children and thiers.

 

[VCheng]

This article by Dr. Hoodbhoy reiterates the soundness of the steps that I have outlined in the OP:

Mosque versus state - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

Mosque versus state
Pervez Hoodbhoy

THE mosque in Pakistan is now no longer just a religious institution. Instead it has morphed into a deeply political one that seeks to radically transform culture and society. Actively assisted by the state in this mission in earlier decades, the mosque is a powerful actor over which the state now exercises little authority. Some have been captured by those who fight the government and military. An eviscerated, embattled state finds it easier to drop bombs on the TTP in tribal Waziristan than to rein in its urban supporters, or to dismiss from state payroll those mosque leaders belonging to militant groups.

Very few Pakistanis have dared to criticise the country’s increasingly powerful mosque establishment although they do not spare the Pakistan Army and the country’s political leaders for their many shortcomings. For example, following the Army Public School massacre, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s promise to regulate the madressahs was immediately criticised as undoable. Had he instead suggested that Pakistan’s mosques be brought under state control as in Saudi Arabia, Iran and several Muslim countries, it would have been dismissed as belonging to even beyond the undoable.

The state’s timidity was vividly exposed in its handling of the 2007 bloody insurrection, launched from inside Islamabad’s central mosque, Lal Masjid, barely a mile from the heart of Pakistan’s government. It was a defining point in Pakistan’s history. The story of the Lal Masjid insurrection, its bloody ending, and subsequent rebound is so critical to understanding the limitations of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism that it deserves to be told once again.

In early January 2007, the two head clerics of the Lal Masjid demanded the immediate rebuilding of eight illegally constructed mosques knocked down by the civic authorities. Days later, an immediate enforcement of Sharia in Islamabad was demanded. Armed vigilante groups from Jamia Hafsa and nearby madressahs kidnapped ordinary citizens and policemen, threatened shopkeepers, burned CDs and videos, and repeated the demands of tribal militants fighting the Pakistan Army.

At a meeting held in Lal Masjid on April 6, 2007, it was reported that 100 guest religious leaders from across the country pledged to die for the cause of Islam and Sharia. On April 12, in an illegal FM broadcast from the mosque’s own radio station, the clerics issued a threat to the government: “There will be suicide blasts in every nook and cranny of the country. We have weapons, grenades and we are expert in manufacturing bombs. We are not afraid of death….”

The brothers Abdul Aziz and Abdur Rashid Ghazi, who headed the Lal Masjid, had attracted a core of militant organisations around them, including the pioneer of suicide bombings in the region, Jaish-e-Mohammad. Their goal was to change Pakistan’s culture. On April 12, 2007, Rashid Ghazi, a former student of Quaid-i-Azam University, broadcast the following chilling message to our female students:

“The government should abolish co-education. Quaid-i-Azam University has become a brothel. Its female professors and students roam in objectionable dresses. They will have to hide themselves in hijab otherwise they will be punished according to Islam…. Our female students have not issued the threat of throwing acid on the uncovered faces of women. However, such a threat could be used for creating the fear of Islam among sinful women. There is no harm in it.”

For months, unhindered by Gen Musharraf’s government, Lal Masjid operated a parallel government. Its minions received the Saudi Arabian ambassador on the mosque premises, and negotiated with the Chinese ambassador for the release of his country’s kidnapped nationals. The showdown came in July 2007. Copious TV coverage showed armed madressah students with gas masks firing away into the dense smoke. The final push left 10 of Pakistan’s crack SSG commandos dead, together with scores of madressah students. A tidal wave of suicide attacks — as promised by the cleric brothers — duly followed.

Amazingly Pakistan’s civilian courts exonerated Abdul Aziz and Umme Hassan (his wife, who headed Jamia Hafsa). Ignoring TV footage, the court ruled that possession of heavy weaponry by the accused could not be proven. Today Abdul Aziz remains firmly ensconced in Lal Masjid and hundreds pray behind him. He has threatened to unleash a force of 8,000 students from nearby madressahs if he is again arrested. At the behest of the then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the destroyed Jamia Hafsa was awarded 20 kanals of choice land in sector H-11 of Islamabad for rebuilding. The land tycoon, Malik Riaz, lavishly reconstructed the damaged mosque.

How many other Abdul Aziz’s does Pakistan have? Clerics who propagate Taliban and Daesh (Islamic State) views to their followers and who, like Aziz, are unmoved by the Peshawar massacre? No one knows even the number of mosques in Pakistan, where they are located, and, most importantly, what their khutbas (sermons) contain. This must change if Pakistan is to make any progress towards containing religious violence.

The first baby step towards bringing an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 mosques under state control requires tasking local authorities at the district and tehsil level with documentation: mosque locations, sizes, religious affiliation, and known sources of funding. The second is to monitor Friday sermons, a possibility offered by modern technology. Many worshippers have mobile phones capable of recording audio. A sermon, once recorded, could be uploaded to a website operated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Readers wishing to see how this might be done should visit Message from the Mosque where sermons from scores of mosques in rural Punjab have been recorded, transcribed, and categorised for full and free public access.

A crisis is said to be a terrible thing to waste. Before the horror of the Peshawar atrocity fades from our collective memory let the state act decisively — albeit in small steps — to restore its right to regulate religious activities within its boundaries. Else the people of Pakistan shall continue to suffer terribly.

The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2015

 

[Zarvan]

This article by Dr. Hoodbhoy reiterates the soundness of the steps that I have outlined in the OP:

Mosque versus state - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

Mosque versus state
Pervez Hoodbhoy

THE mosque in Pakistan is now no longer just a religious institution. Instead it has morphed into a deeply political one that seeks to radically transform culture and society. Actively assisted by the state in this mission in earlier decades, the mosque is a powerful actor over which the state now exercises little authority. Some have been captured by those who fight the government and military. An eviscerated, embattled state finds it easier to drop bombs on the TTP in tribal Waziristan than to rein in its urban supporters, or to dismiss from state payroll those mosque leaders belonging to militant groups.

Very few Pakistanis have dared to criticise the country’s increasingly powerful mosque establishment although they do not spare the Pakistan Army and the country’s political leaders for their many shortcomings. For example, following the Army Public School massacre, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s promise to regulate the madressahs was immediately criticised as undoable. Had he instead suggested that Pakistan’s mosques be brought under state control as in Saudi Arabia, Iran and several Muslim countries, it would have been dismissed as belonging to even beyond the undoable.

The state’s timidity was vividly exposed in its handling of the 2007 bloody insurrection, launched from inside Islamabad’s central mosque, Lal Masjid, barely a mile from the heart of Pakistan’s government. It was a defining point in Pakistan’s history. The story of the Lal Masjid insurrection, its bloody ending, and subsequent rebound is so critical to understanding the limitations of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism that it deserves to be told once again.

In early January 2007, the two head clerics of the Lal Masjid demanded the immediate rebuilding of eight illegally constructed mosques knocked down by the civic authorities. Days later, an immediate enforcement of Sharia in Islamabad was demanded. Armed vigilante groups from Jamia Hafsa and nearby madressahs kidnapped ordinary citizens and policemen, threatened shopkeepers, burned CDs and videos, and repeated the demands of tribal militants fighting the Pakistan Army.

At a meeting held in Lal Masjid on April 6, 2007, it was reported that 100 guest religious leaders from across the country pledged to die for the cause of Islam and Sharia. On April 12, in an illegal FM broadcast from the mosque’s own radio station, the clerics issued a threat to the government: “There will be suicide blasts in every nook and cranny of the country. We have weapons, grenades and we are expert in manufacturing bombs. We are not afraid of death….”

The brothers Abdul Aziz and Abdur Rashid Ghazi, who headed the Lal Masjid, had attracted a core of militant organisations around them, including the pioneer of suicide bombings in the region, Jaish-e-Mohammad. Their goal was to change Pakistan’s culture. On April 12, 2007, Rashid Ghazi, a former student of Quaid-i-Azam University, broadcast the following chilling message to our female students:

“The government should abolish co-education. Quaid-i-Azam University has become a brothel. Its female professors and students roam in objectionable dresses. They will have to hide themselves in hijab otherwise they will be punished according to Islam…. Our female students have not issued the threat of throwing acid on the uncovered faces of women. However, such a threat could be used for creating the fear of Islam among sinful women. There is no harm in it.”

For months, unhindered by Gen Musharraf’s government, Lal Masjid operated a parallel government. Its minions received the Saudi Arabian ambassador on the mosque premises, and negotiated with the Chinese ambassador for the release of his country’s kidnapped nationals. The showdown came in July 2007. Copious TV coverage showed armed madressah students with gas masks firing away into the dense smoke. The final push left 10 of Pakistan’s crack SSG commandos dead, together with scores of madressah students. A tidal wave of suicide attacks — as promised by the cleric brothers — duly followed.

Amazingly Pakistan’s civilian courts exonerated Abdul Aziz and Umme Hassan (his wife, who headed Jamia Hafsa). Ignoring TV footage, the court ruled that possession of heavy weaponry by the accused could not be proven. Today Abdul Aziz remains firmly ensconced in Lal Masjid and hundreds pray behind him. He has threatened to unleash a force of 8,000 students from nearby madressahs if he is again arrested. At the behest of the then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the destroyed Jamia Hafsa was awarded 20 kanals of choice land in sector H-11 of Islamabad for rebuilding. The land tycoon, Malik Riaz, lavishly reconstructed the damaged mosque.

How many other Abdul Aziz’s does Pakistan have? Clerics who propagate Taliban and Daesh (Islamic State) views to their followers and who, like Aziz, are unmoved by the Peshawar massacre? No one knows even the number of mosques in Pakistan, where they are located, and, most importantly, what their khutbas (sermons) contain. This must change if Pakistan is to make any progress towards containing religious violence.

The first baby step towards bringing an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 mosques under state control requires tasking local authorities at the district and tehsil level with documentation: mosque locations, sizes, religious affiliation, and known sources of funding. The second is to monitor Friday sermons, a possibility offered by modern technology. Many worshippers have mobile phones capable of recording audio. A sermon, once recorded, could be uploaded to a website operated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Readers wishing to see how this might be done should visit Message from the Mosque where sermons from scores of mosques in rural Punjab have been recorded, transcribed, and categorised for full and free public access.

A crisis is said to be a terrible thing to waste. Before the horror of the Peshawar atrocity fades from our collective memory let the state act decisively — albeit in small steps — to restore its right to regulate religious activities within its boundaries. Else the people of Pakistan shall continue to suffer terribly.

The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2015

This and others like him are the reason why extremists get more support these dumbos have hardly any idea about Islam but want to talk about it there fore ending up talking bullshit and proving support to TTP