PM Shaukat emphasizes peace, harmony, progress in Muslim countries
02 October, 2005
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| PM Shaukat emphasizes peace, harmony, progress in Muslim countries. |
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KAULA LUMPUR, October 03 (Online): Stressing the need for rethinking and Ijtihad, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has called for political, economic and social reforms to build and consolidate system capable of ensuring tranquillity, harmony and progress in Muslim societies.
"Many of our societies face grave internal challenges. First and foremost is the intellectual challenge of reorientation and adjustment to the imperative of modernity to unleash the genius of our people for creativity and development in today's world", the prime minister said and added " we need reform, rethinking an Ijtihad to apply the enduring values of Islam to thee present day circumstances and environment".
He was addressing the faculty and students of International Islamic University of Malaysia on the topic of " Enlightened Moderation- The way forward for the Muslim Ummah", here on Sunday.
Shaukat Aziz accorded a rousing welcome when he arrived at the campus where the faculty members led by Sri Dato Sansul Junid, President of the university, received him.
The prime minister said it as important to address the root cause of terrorism which bred and environment in an environment of political injustice and denial of freedom and fundamental rights that lie at the heart of many unresolved long standing political disputes afflicting Muslims.
" These situations give rise to a volatile mix of anger, frustration, and humiliation that erupts into violence", he said and observed that the just resolution of these issues would take away the environment and the motivation that drove a person to desperation and violence.
Rejecting thee theory of Clash of Civilization, Aziz said that vested interests and prejudices had given currency to these fallacious ideas that defied historical experience and existing realities.
" Human civilizations have always coexisted, interacted and enriched each other", he maintained.
Elaborating President General Pervez Musharraf's concept of enlightened moderation, Aziz said the Muslims needed to transform themselves into vibrant, progressive, tolerant and technologically advanced societies.
" We must remove poverty and illiteracy because they also bred extremism", he opined.
He said the concept also involved the international community especially the West, which must help in facilitating the just solutions to long-standing disputes such as Palestine, and Kashmir to remove the root cause that had spawned extremism in Muslim societies.
Equally important is the need to help Afghanistan, and Iraq move towards stability, security and peace, he added.
He said the international neglect of war-hacked Afghanistan is the 90s had contributed to the rise of international terrorism in the region.
" Al; -Qaeda had found safe heaven in the country (Afghanistan) until the cataclysmic events of 9/11", the prime minister said adding that in the new scenario, Pakistan was obliged to playa a frontline role in the fight against international terrorism.
" We have doe so primarily in our interest because terrorism is as mush a threat to our society as to any other society in the world", he said.
There were hopeful signs of peace in the Middle East, which depends on the realization of a Palestinian state in their homeland with Al-Quds as its capital, Aziz observed.
Welcoming the Israel's pull out from Gaza strip, the prime minister said the process must now continue in the West bank and the Quartet roadmap must be implemented.
Defending Pak-Israel diplomatic contacts, he said the Istanbul meeting between Pakistani and Israeli foreign ministers was not the farmer's recognition of Israel, but he added, it was an engagement that "should" help thee peace process by impressing upon Israel that reasonableness on its part would draw positive responses from the Islamic world.
" Muslims must also recognise that first and foremost, the remedy of our malaise lies within.
We need to be realistic and except that there are faults within Muslim societies that generate extremism and militancy.
These flow from our political, economic and social under-development, from our divisions, and differences within and amongst ourselves as well as from our weaknesses and vulnerabilities", he thought.
Unfortunately, he said, the educated and enlightened people had abdicated the leadership role in the Muslim polity.
A small minority of obscurantist and extremists who have distorted the real meaning of Islam and tarnished its image has usurped the role.
As a result, Aziz maintained, a vast majority of Muslims was being bracketed with these extremists and demonised because of the actions of a few misguided people who claimed to be acting in the name of Islam.
The prime minister called for leveraging the collective social, economic and political potential of the Muslim countries for their true emancipation by restructuring their economies and improving delivery of social services, and creating necessary Intellectual environment for the renaissance the Muslim world.
His thrust was that without attaining economic self-reliance and huge investment for the promotion of education, especially in the field of science and technology, the Muslim countries, whose economies were weak, would not be able to on their own.
He also emphasized the need for improving "delivery of social services especially health and education to create an environment off quality education and higher learning, especially in the scientific and technical fields".
He observed that there was no substitute of good governance, empowerment of the people, effective management, structural reforms, and consistency of policies, transparency and accountability.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that Malaysia was the leading example and successful model of how the Muslim Ummah could meet the challenges of the 21st century.
He also referred to the various structural reforms being made the regime in Pakistan for rejuvenating and repositioning across the entire spectrum of governance to meet the challenges of development and progress.
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