Threats of extremism, separatism and terrorism
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 5, 2013
In Muslim countries, such groups have been united in dreaming about the "glory" of Islam in the 9th to 11th century when as an ascendant religious ideology, Islam spread from the deserts of the Arab world to Europe, Asia and Africa. But with the passage of time, the Muslim rulers lost their appetite for learning and research. Their religion became a dogma and they were enslaved by rising Western countries, which were spreading the power of science and technology across the globe.
During the 21st century, the 57 Muslim countries are no match for a single country like Germany in terms of economy and innovation. Instead of realizing that their backwardness is due to illiteracy and rigid creed, they think that they are being persecuted as being Muslims and the only way forward is to go back to Islamic way of life of their early years. This psychological condition blocks their forward-thinking and arrests their best energies. Instead, they recoil to become extremists, seeking support from violence. In Muslim countries like Pakistan, Iraq, Syrian, Egypt, Lebanon, Somalia, Afghanistan and Nigeria, the extremists demand the implementation of strict Shariah laws. Where Muslims are in minorities, like in China, the Philippines and Russia, the extremist faction demands separation of the areas where they have majority.
Other than Muslim extremist groups, the ethnicity usually takes up the shape of separatism and terrorism. Sri Lanka faced this kind of violence for decades until Tamil groups were defeated and militancy crushed. Tribalism and linguistic issues also breed militancy. Examples of this type of violence can be found in Africa.
The important thing to understand is that terrorism is a manifestation of physical or spiritual problems. There are a number of stages where people can be cured of their violent tendencies. Provision of material welfare is just one step, but it doesn't help much because most of the militants are young people who are not really worried about the economy or related issues. The treatment of the problem should start much earlier. Families and schools are the best institutions to deal with extremism, which is the first rung of the ladder that takes people up to separatism and militancy. Children are greatly influenced by parents and teachers who can save them from falling into hands of violent groups. Schools should also take care of the anger management issue, which results in violent behavioral development. At the next stage, the state should respond to economic needs of the people by providing them with decent job opportunities and reasonable salaries, as well as recreation.
Using this long-term strategy, governments should deal with the powerful extremists groups wreaking havoc with an iron hand. It is unfortunate that the global community has so far not developed mechanisms to deal with these serious issues. But some regional groups like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) adopted the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism in more than a decade ago, in June 2001. Other countries can learn from this experience.
The writer is a senior Pakistani journalist and columnist.
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