No Clash of Civilizations, Says Pakistan’s Musharraf
23 January 2004 - Davos, Switzerland
President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan tonight urged the West and the Islamic world to adopt a two-pronged approach to bridging the gap between their cultures.
Addressing the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, the President called for “enlightened moderation”, a twin-sided strategy to bridge divides between civilizations. Muslims would reject extremism and focus attention on the socio-economic development of their communities, while the West would work to resolve all political disputes involving Muslims and provide socio-economic aid.
The Muslim world has taken the first step, Musharraf told business, government and academic leaders, noting that the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) recently created a commission to promote dialogue with other cultures. For its part, the West, particularly the US, should move to resolve political disputes involving Islam, Musharraf said. Economic inequities in the world have to be corrected, the President added. Musharraf noted that the major political disputes going on around the world involve Islam. Among Muslims, “there is a deep feeling of injustice, abandonment, hopelessness, powerlessness and a sense of deprivation,” the President explained. “The fallout of this has been resignation and desperation.” In communities afflicted by poverty and low literacy, “this is an ideal recipe for extremism.”
Two “dangerous misperceptions” have spread, he added: First, that Islam as a religion is being targeted by the West; second, that Islam is a religion of extremism, militancy and ignorance, and is counter to modernism. In fact, Musharraf asserted, Islam stands for peace, justice, moderation and equality; it is against extremism and militancy. Islam does not negate other faiths and is “democratic in essence.” The actions of a few extremists should not be regarded as being supported by the whole faith, Musharraf observed. Religious bigots and “ultra-modernists” should both be dismissed as extreme. Unfortunately, “the vast majority, the moderates, the real essence of Islam, remain out of the loop.”
The speech came on the day that the World Economic Forum launched the Council of 100. The group aims to become the foremost community of senior political, religious, business, media and opinion leaders to promote understanding and dialogue between the Western and Islamic worlds. The Council will have 20 leaders from each of the five sectors, representing Western and Islamic thought, and the dialogue is intended to be a process that will engage cultures and societies at all levels along three core stands – dialogue of discourse, action and experience.
The Council will be co-chaired by Lord Carey of Clifton, Former Archbishop of Canterbury, United Kingdom, and HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Saudi Arabia.
Making his special address, Musharraf said that, whatever the differences in moral values between Islam and the West, these should not lead to a clash of civilizations. The President declared: “Interaction between the haves and have-nots, the rich and the poor, is essential. The clash of civilizations is inherently flawed and should be rejected.” The roots of extremism and militancy, Musharraf argued, are unresolved political disputes, poverty and illiteracy. “All these are cannon fodder for extremist religious indoctrination.”
Asked by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, why he believes that Pakistan and India should be able to settle their disputes, Musharraf said that his “optimism is based on the fact that we realize that we need to address all issues including Kashmir. Kashmir cannot be sidelined.” Addressing the political situation in his own country, Musharraf insisted that religious extremism would not derail the democratization process. He pointed out that his government has introduced democratic reforms at the grassroots and set up a system of checks and balances at the national level. He also assured participants that Pakistan’s “nuclear assets are under total custodial control” and will never fall into the hands of extremists.
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