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by Ambassador Maqbool Ahmad Bhatty

The world of Islam has had to contend with the overall hostility of the West since ancient times when the birth of the last revealed religion, and its rapid spread were seen as a challenge. The attitude of the Christians and Jews has been coloured by a history of conflicts and confrontation, notably the crusades.

The 9/11 events have rekindled the historical antagonism, and made the Islamic world conscious of the need to project Islam properly, to counter the perception that it is a religion that preaches extremism and violence.

It may be recalled that even earlier, it was the attempt to set fire to the Al-Aqsa mosque, in Alquds Alsharif (Jerusalem), one of the holiest places of Islam, that had led to the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), in 1969. Though the membership of this body has grown to 57, and it has continued to hold summit and ministerial meetings regularly, it has not played the role expected of it in safeguarding the interests and image of the Ummah, and in promoting economic and social progress.

Pakistan, which has been a founding member, and hosted the Second Islamic Summit at Lahore in 1974, has always played a leading role in supporting the OIC, and in efforts to make it more effective.

The Lahore Summit took historic decisions to include economic development in the Charter of OIC and to play a more active role in supporting Islamic causes, wherever they were under threat. However, the organization has never become really effective in carrying out tasks entrusted to it, mainly because it is not taken with the seriousness it deserves by most of its members.

The government of President Pervez Musharraf has sought to revitalize the organization to counter the challenges created by the terrorist attack of 9/11 on the US. He attended the 10th Islamic Summit at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2003, and together with leaders of like-minded countries, sponsored a resolution, designed to create a Group of Eminent Persons, that would urgently address the problems of revitalizing the OIC, and of projecting a moderate image of Islam.

The report of the Commission of Eminent Persons (CEP) was discussed and finalized at a meeting in Islamabad in the last week of May 2005. It has come out with the most far-reaching proposals to reform and revitalize the OIC since its foundation.

Special summit of OIC

These would be later considered by a special summit of OIC to be hosted by Saudi Arabia. Apart from measures to increase the resources of the organization by compelling the defaulting members to pay up their dues, the recommendations focus on making the body more effective. Special importance has been attached to measures to improve the means, and mechanisms to project a correct image of Islam, and to creating a think-tank that would facilitate research, and enable scholars from all over the Islamic world to keep abreast of contemporary trends and developments.

Senator Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Secretary General of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), is Pakistans representative on the Group of Eminent Persons. He has mobilized a variety of scholars and media personalities in Pakistan to pool their views and recommendations.

While the need to revitalize the OIC, and to make it more effective in supporting the political and economic goals of the Muslim countries is long-term goal, more immediate counter-measures are necessary to project a softer image of Islam, on account of the worldwide misrepresentation.

The goal of projecting an image of Islam and the Islamic world that truly reflects the spirit of Islam has to be pursued with a sense of urgency, since the prejudice prevailing in most western countries threatens not only the well-being of Muslims, but is also resulting in active measures against their security. President Musharraf has been accentuating the concept of enlightened moderation, which characterizes the approach of the great majority of Muslims all over the world.

Enlightened moderation

This concept requires follow-up action in Islamic countries in two key areas, namely in the system of education, on the one hand, and in the media, on the other. We could consider the practical measures required in Pakistan, where the international community is following remedial action.

Starting with education, there has been a trend, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas, to leave elementary education to madressahs, run by poorly educated instructors who are grounded mainly in religious subjects.

The madressah, or the mosque school, was deemed as a convenient solution to two problems affecting the rural population, namely sustenance of large families, and arrangements for their schooling.

The madressah provided board and lodging, as well as rudimentary education, though the curriculum remained confined to basics of Islam. One consequence, as poverty persisted in rural areas, was that the madressahs became the recruiting ground for religion-based political movements. A major factor in this trend was the lack of sufficient funds for education.

Despite its resource constraints, the government has increased the provision for education, accompanied by efforts to broaden the base of education in the madressahs.

Even the international community, notably the US has recognized the need to provide financial assistance in the area of education, and is backing government efforts to reform the madressahs, both in their curriculum, and their cultural orientation, towards the Islamic value system of moderation, and promoting liberal education.

The projection of a soft image of Islam requires action not only through the media, but also by the civil society.

The past three decades witnessed not only the growth of religious parties, but also of religious extremism and sectarianism, which are alien to the spirit of Islam, whose very name means religion of peace. It is incumbent on the leaders, both of religious political parties, and of religious groups belonging to various sects, to lay emphasis on Islams message of brotherhood and tolerance.

Efforts have already been launched, and prominent religious leaders and scholars are supportive of this movement. Any individuals seeking to build their support on preaching militancy have to be curbed and prevented from sowing discord.

The rights of religious minorities are also sacrosanct under our constitution, and must be ensured. The media are becoming more powerful thanks to technological progress, and action to regulate their activity insofar as it affects the image of Islam and Pakistan, is clearly necessary. Regulatory bodies alone cannot do this, though their role is clear.

Our writers, journalists and media managers must work as responsible individuals, who should avoid extremism or any kind of religious bias in their projection. A code of conduct would have to be enforced to prevent resort to provocative or inflammatory propaganda, or to calls for militancy. Again, punitive action should be taken as a last resort, and each person should be made aware that he has a role to play in projecting a correct image of Islam.

Projecting a faithful and correct image of Islam has become a major challenge for the Islamic world, if it is to resist the post 9/11 campaign to vilify and distort the religion of peace and moderation.

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