By A. Imran
All of Pakistan’s troubles have been written off rather simplistically by the western media, think tanks and governmental bodies as an increasing chasm of sectarianism. The reality is that Pakistan is badly caught between Modernist Islamist Saudi influence and Western Secularism. The irony if it all, is that Pakistan is neither. Thus in a tug of war between the two, Pakistanis are being asked to pay the price in terms of loss of sovereignty, an anemic GDP, a degenerating law and order situation, and the penultimate and infuriating - loss of lives.
Wahabi Primer
Without delving into long history and philosophy, it must suffice to say that Wahabism(1) may be deemed as new interpretation of Islam. This interpretation is synonymous with Modern Christian Fundamentalist movements in the West. It must also be understood, that the Wahabis came to power by sheer violence at the consternation and annihilation of the previous Sunni order. In a Hanafi majority state as Pakistan, the Wahabis stick out like soar thumbs. The best defenders of Wahabism are found in the West. And sadly, the best allies the West has are also House of Saud in Arabia. We are reminded by westerners that the political and clerical apparatus in Saudi Arabia are separated as had been the practice throughout Muslim history in the Classical times as far as the Sunni world was concerned, meaning that the political rule is of the House of Saud, while the alleged Islamized legislation becomes the burden of the Wahabi elite. In Classical Islam (3) there always had been a healthy tussle between the ruler and the Ulemas (clerics), however, in Saudi Arabia there exists a perfect Theological-Political Collusion. It may have illusions of being structurally sound but its utterly ignorant, un-intellectual, literal, misogynistic in its world view which may have more in common to archaic Levitical Law than Islamic epistemology.
Saudi Arabia : The Trusted Ally
On the surface the historical alliance between the two nations is time tested. Both nations were allies of the US during the Cold War and effectively worked tirelessly to ward off Soviet Communism. This aversion to Communism made them friends of the US and the West. Post Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the alliance of the three seemed to have degenerated a degree, in that US trotted off angrily, as Secular forces were subdued effectively by Pakistan’s famed ISI ( Inter Services Intelligence) in favor of ultra-orthodox misogynistic un-intellectual Saudi educated clerical theocrats - The Talibans, who were needed to keep the Iranian expansionist Shia revolutionaries at bay. Saudi Arabia allegedly paid for Pakistani US made F-16s. Pakistan even collected a $ 2 billion oil subsidy from the Kingdom. In return, Saudi Arabia is supposed to have purchased six nuclear tipped missiles from Pakistan, however, the veracity of the claim is at best, a conjecture (4). Pakistan reciprocated by stationing battalion of Pakistani army units on Saudi soil. Saudi intelligence may have been helping Pakistan in its pseudo-Taliban insurgency. There is talk of Pakistan insuring Saudi security in case Iran goes nuclear etc.
However, there is a dismal facet to the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Its not so much that the likes of members of Saudi royalty that visit frequently on hunting trips to Pakistan where the they are given State protocol, or that Pakistanis living and working in Saudi Arabia are treated lowly like many others national groups, but that Pakistanis being a majority Hanafi sect of Sunni Islam, are being marginalized in their own nation by the Modernist (Jadidi) upstarts like Saudi Wahabis with the tacit approval of Pakistani State, is oppression by Wahabi totalitarianism in which Pakistani leaders are complicit.. This would be Theological Cannibalization by the Wahabis of fellow Muslims, if the Wahabis can be labeled as such. It must be understood that Wahabis are deemed Sunni, perhaps simply, due to the fact that they are not Shi’a. Thus Wahabi domineering takes the forms of seemingly unlimited funds pouring into Pakistan to stage Wahabi madrassahs, both makeshift in homes and organized ones as well, publishing of Wahabi books and pamphlets that are beginning to crowd out the mainstream Hanafi Islam. Hanafi Islam is steeped in tradition of rational thought, is spiritual, and intellectual, whereas the Wahabi thought is rigid, reactionary, extreme and definitively lacks wisdom. This would be yet another example of how certain aspects of Modernity do not suit us Muslims. If Wahabism is Modern (Jadidi) then Muslims are better off without it. Reactionary Pakistanis must come to terms with the foolish adage “ but that’s how they do it in Saudi Arabia” as deeply flawed. There was a time the Pakistani state struggled to curb the revolutionary zeal of the Iranian Shi’a revolution, but that is no longer the case. The threat now is the petro-dollar enabled renegade Khawarijism of Wahabi/Salafist domineering and it is eating up theological, moral foundations of Classical Islam.
United States: A primer
We are all familiar with the reasons why the Mayflower came to sail towards the New World. The Founding fathers vision of a future distinctly different from its European confines specially in matters of governance and freedom of religion. Not only is the United States, of the West, from the West, but a stark contradiction to the Europe’sancien regime. United States, specially after the WWII became the leader of a Western centric Modern world. Thus, the United States represented freedom from oppressive religious totalitarianism as was practiced in Europe in the Dark Ages. And it celebrated a spirit of creativity driven prosperity of the Free Markets system. Like the Virginia Slims commercial , it must be said about the United States, “ you’ve come a long ways baby”. Its one thing to mature, but another to degenerate from a republican form of government.
Pakistan’s relationship to the US has been tenuous at best in the best of times. United States utter smothering of Pakistani politics has largely contributed to rather fine mess that Pakistan finds itself in at the moment. There was a reason why the Pakistanis were burning US Embassy when Ka’aba was run over by the scourge of Juhayman the ultra-orthodox rabid Wahabi. The memory of a popular Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto being hanged behest a Pro-US dictator must have been fresh in the minds of liberal and young Pakistanis.
The US and Pakistan remained allies due to a shared perception of the threat of Soviet interventionism in the region. Other common held perceptions in Pakistan that US was a unreliable partner, that failed them in their dire times of need, are actually a failure of full disclosure on part of Pakistani leadership to their own populace of their treatise with the West. Pakistan’s wars with India had its roots in the collective shared animosity and history of the bloody partition as the British were departing. The US would have been directly involved only if the Soviets themselves had attacked Pakistan. The US shied away back then, and to this day still shies away from Pakistan confronting India. In fact, US found its allies within the domestic Pakistani political front of the Islamist parties not necessarily moderate secular PPP Bhutto types.
The US follows a milder version of Western Secularism, in that its not as hard edged as that practiced in some European nations. The US being a leader of the West wishes to install US Grand Narratives like Freedom, Democracy and Equality. However, the ground reality in both Afghanistan and Iraq clearly betray the broader narrative under US occupation. In America’s War on Terror, Pakistan is crucial. Afpak - the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a fault line between the futuristic visions of two different competing and clashing interests, one Western Secular, the other Modernist Islamist. Modernity is a common denominator to both. The only thing Pakistan shares with Modernity is its origin - its status as a Post Colonial independent Nation State. Otherwise, Pakistan is home to majority Sunni populations who are adherents of Sunni sect of the Hanafi Fiqh of Classical Islam.
Pakistan : The road ahead.
It would be in the interests of the people of Pakistan to pursue their interests by giving in to legitimate interests of the US as in trade, security, and a committed pursuit of Al-Qaeda elements from a law enforcement perspective. The US should be made to stop drone attacks immediately. If the drone attacks continue, the United States may have another Iran in the making in Pakistan which could have dire consequences for US interests in the region. The United States in return needs to stop alienating Pakistanis by halting the drone attacks.
As noted above, Western Secularism, that is the non-theocratic nature of governance and the Free Markets are ideas not alien to Pakistanis. Temptation should be avoided to see a society deeply steeped in religious piety as being theocratic. Pakistan, on the other hand, needs to challenge the Wahabist Saudi Arabian trained and educated fundamentalists to protect the very foundations of the State. The distinction needs to made to protect the Islamic nature of Pakistan without falling prey to Khawariji doctrine. Khawarijism of Saudi Arabia in the form of Salafist Wahabis is an existential threat, not just to Pakistan, but threat to Islam as well. Pakistan must not fight a Khawariji fight. The US must be coerced and seduced into a negotiated settlement for a post US Afghanistan and a broader comprehensive trade, commercial and security policy for the region. Pakistanis can work with the United States, in that they know the difference between religion, culture, and geography vis a vis the United States. However, the nefarious and pernicious modern ideology of Wahabism poses a clear and present danger to Islam from within.
(1) Regardless of who defines Wahabism, it must be noted that it is not a “reform” movement. The Wahabis’ excessive use of “tauheed” the singularity of God( SWT) is obfuscated crutch to seek legitimacy.
(2) The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman
(3) Classical Islam or Traditional Islam here being defined as the interpretation deemed mutually agreed upon between Muslims based on the five pillars of Islam- (a) Shahada , declaration of creed, (b)daily prayers, (c ) fasting, (d) almsgiving(e) pilgrimage , Hadith , Sunnah, Ijtihad ( Independent reasoning), Qiyas (Analogical reasoning), Aql (Intellect) , ijma (consensus)
(4) Deception : Adrian Levy & Catherine Scott Clark. Walker & Company NY 2007
PS. The article was written prior to the “Davis Affair” , the author now has reservation about Afpak and Pak-US relations.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the SPY EYES Analysis and or its affiliates. The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). SPY EYES Analysis and or its affiliates will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements and or information contained in this article.
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