EW DELHI -- So, class, time for a news quiz: Name the second-largest Muslim community in the world. Iran? Wrong. Pakistan? Wrong. Saudi Arabia? Wrong. Time's up — you lose.Posted on 11/20/2001 6:42:42 AM PST by milestogo
EW DELHI -- So, class, time for a news quiz: Name the second-largest Muslim community in the world. Iran? Wrong. Pakistan? Wrong. Saudi Arabia? Wrong. Time's up — you lose.
Answer: India. That's right: India, with nearly 150 million Muslims, is believed to have more Muslim citizens than Pakistan or Bangladesh, and is second only to Indonesia. Which brings up another question that I've been asking here in New Delhi: Why is it you don't hear about Indian Muslims — who are a minority in this vast Hindu-dominated land — blaming America for all their problems or wanting to fly suicide planes into the Indian Parliament?
Answer: Multi-ethnic, pluralistic, free-market democracy. To be sure, Indian Muslims have their frustrations, and have squared off over the years in violent clashes with Hindus, as has every other minority in India. But they live in a noisy, messy democracy, where opportunities and a political voice are open to them, and that makes a huge difference.
"I'll give you a quiz question: Which is the only large Muslim community to enjoy sustained democracy for the last 50 years? The Muslims of India," remarked M. J. Akbar, the Muslim editor of Asian Age, a national Indian English-language daily funded by non-Muslim Indians. "I am not going to exaggerate Muslim good fortune in India. There are tensions, economic discrimination and provocations, like the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya. But the fact is, the Indian Constitution is secular and provides a real opportunity for the economic advancement of any community that can offer talent. That's why a growing Muslim middle class here is moving up and, generally, doesn't manifest the strands of deep anger you find in many non-democratic Muslim states."
In other words, for all the talk about Islam and Islamic rage, the real issue is: Islam in what context? Where Islam is imbedded in authoritarian societies it tends to become the vehicle of angry protest, because religion and the mosque are the only places people can organize against autocratic leaders. And when those leaders are seen as being propped up by America, America also becomes the target of Muslim rage.
But where Islam is imbedded in a pluralistic, democratic society, it thrives like any other religion. Two of India's presidents have been Muslims; a Muslim woman sits on India's supreme court. The architect of India's missile program, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a Muslim. Indian Muslims, including women, have been governors of many Indian states, and the wealthiest man in India, the info-tech whiz Azim Premji, is a Muslim. The other day the Indian Muslim film star and parliamentarian Shabana Azmi lashed out at the imam of New Delhi's biggest mosque. She criticized him for putting Islam in a bad light and suggested he go join the Taliban in Kandahar. In a democracy, liberal Muslims, particularly women, are not afraid to take on rigid mullahs.
Followed Bangladesh lately? It has almost as many Muslims as Pakistan. Over the last 10 years, though, without the world noticing, Bangladesh has had three democratic transfers of power, in two of which — are you ready? — Muslim women were elected prime ministers. Result: All the economic and social indicators in Bangladesh have been pointing upward lately, and Bangladeshis are not preoccupied hating America. Meanwhile in Pakistan, trapped in the circle of bin Ladenism — military dictatorship, poverty and anti-modernist Islamic schools, all reinforcing each other — the social indicators are all pointing down and hostility to America is rife.
Hello? Hello? There's a message here: It's democracy, stupid! Those who argue that we needn't press for democracy in Arab-Muslim states, and can rely on repressive regimes, have it all wrong. If we cut off every other avenue for non-revolutionary social change, pressure for change will burst out anyway — as Muslim rage and anti-Americanism.
If America wants to break the bin Laden circles across the Arab-Muslim world, then, "it needs to find role models that are succeeding as pluralistic, democratic, modernizing societies, like India — which is constantly being challenged by religious extremists of all hues — and support them," argues Raja Mohan, strategic affairs editor of The Hindu newspaper.
So true. For Muslim societies to achieve their full potential today, democracy may not be sufficient, but it sure is necessary. And we, and they, fool ourselves to think otherwise.
Large families are great in principle. When I trot out the line "demographics is destiny", I'm just stating fact. The fact that they who reproduce faster will swamp the others ethnic groups. This part of the Muslim Jihad is always grinding away in the background. Everywhere there are Muslims.
Dennis, with all due respect, you simply don't know what you are talking about when it comes to Kosovo. It really isn't about religion, it is about ethnicity. Albanians speak a different language from the Serbs among other things. Neither they nor the language is Slav. And the Muslims have been a majority there for a least a century, and probably three.
You should read the WSJ today. It has an interesting article about how the CIA with the cooperation of the government spied on and scouped up an Arab terrorist cell in Albania. Quite interesting. The article described the Albanians (in Albania) as secular Muslims. That is quite right.
Yep, good phrase. The writer above is deluding himself as to the nature of this problem:demographics is destiny@. You should copyright that saying dennisw because someone's going to steal it and claim credit for it!
Many are secular. More than in your typical Arab nation. So what? I still see Jihad and another territory in the Muslim column. And who blew up the Serb Orthodox Churches?
The Jews probably did it. Actually, the militants shelled the churches I think not so much because they were Orthodox, but rather because they were Serb. The 50 number btw seems way high to me. Where did that come from?
All I say is Jihad does not explain all of what happened in Kosovo but it explains a lot. Same for Israel. Jihad does not explain all of why the Muslims want Israel destroyed but it explains plenty to me. I see religious conflict where you see ethnic conflict.
This brings tears to my eyes. Interesting when the Jihad gets reversed how the whining escalates. Maybe you should remember that when the Jihad extended for several hundred years over the Balkans, the Muslims had destroyed numerous churches and some of those very mosques which were destroyed sat on former churches.
Just Muslim jive talking. Hosni Mubarak would say the same thing, yet Egypt is brimming over with Islamic fundamentalists. Who are quiet for time being.
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