At the invitation of the American Jewish Congress (AJC) President Musharraf addressed leaders of the Jewish Community in New York on September 17 2005.Keeping in view the present prevailing situation, this address would be a historic event that may mark a turning point in the relations between the Muslim and the Jewish Communities. This address has not evoked a negative public reaction in Pakistan and even the majority of the opposition leaders, who are generally critical of his foreign policy objectives, seem reconciled to the idea. This signifies that where as the people of Pakistan, by and large, are against the normalization of relations with Israel, prior to the resolution of the Palestinian problem, they are not averse to seeking reconciliation and peace with Jews .It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that the Istanbul meeting was aimed at paving the way for formal contacts between Pakistan and Israel, on a regular basis, so that they may facilitate Pakistan and Israel settlement and eventually lead to Israel's formal recognition. This is why! Pakistan and Israel needed to talk about how the two sides could move forward as establishing formal relations. So President Musharraf 's address to AJC was arranged and majority of the participants of the convention described the ground breaking dinner meeting, attracted by a large cast of Jewish leaders and dignitaries assembled by the AJC as "Historic Occasion".
I commend and applause President Pervez Musharraf for the content and the style of his address to the American Jewish Congress, which comprises some of the most powerful leaders in the Western World. In the middle of this conceptual mayhem and prognoses of civilization clashes, Musharraf seems to have taken the plunge into the much required domain of ecumenism; not in a religious sense but in the nature of a political initiative, which allows the two sides to understand each other's compulsions and requirements. President Musharraf stressed that Israel's security can be rightly limited with the liberation of Palestine. In the other words, the security in the Middle East is a mutually inclusive rather than a mutually exclusive factor. This was a bold message and President Musharraf must be commended for voicing it at a forum of Jewish leaders and without mincing any words. In the complex of configuration of power politics, it was a correct decision by the Government of Pakistan to test the bitter waters of Pak Israel doldrums, which paved a way for Musharraf to address the AJC. It is pragmatic, to prevail upon Israel to stop the repression of the Palestinian people and give them their rights (which are linked with the dreams and aspirations of liberation of Palestine.)
It is this stand that President Musharraf voiced at the AJC. Pakistan would recognize Israel only after the Palestinians get a free homeland and the issues of illegal settlement; return of refugees and the status of Jerusalem have been worked out. Actually this is the position that Pakistan has always traditionally taken and it is significant one because this is a bold stand that Musharraf voiced it at the AJC. Musharraf has also indicated that if Israel agrees to give the Palestinian what are their rights, the two states Pakistan and Israel could engage fruitfully and to mutual advantage. With regard to his address he was accorded wide coverage in the international electronic and print media with front-page stories and with his prominent pictures carrying his statements. The international community has recognized him as a world-class leader. His country's role in the war against terrorism, under his able leadership, is being enumerated day and night out on TV channels and in newspapers editorials.
A dialogue between Jews and Muslims is a necessary step towards easing tension. We are, therefore, pleased that President addressed the AJC in his contents and style. As we have been actively involved in such a dialogue efforts over the last two years, we believe that ultimately. Musharraf conveyed to his Jewish audience that the cultural and religious basis for such a fight is deeply entrenched in the Islamic civilization. He pointed out many strong bonds that exist between the Abrahamic faith of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as the respect, Muslims has for the great-shared biblical figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Moses and for many rituals and values. He also explained in details the Islamic attitude towards and practice of democracy human rights and civil liberties. He elaborated the Muslims viewpoint on the issue of terrorism, as how a Muslim leader takes an unequivocal moral stance, not only about the perpetrators of terrorist acts but also the ideologies and legitimizes of such acts, especially suicide bombing against Israelis. In order to over come the chasm of miss understanding and bad history which exists between the respective communities, an active long-term on going public dialogue of the Abrahamic faith needs to be supported throughout the Muslin and Jewish world. This dialogue needs to include every shade of political opinion, religious leadership and gender. It is a dialogue not only of civilization, but also for the future of the mankind.
There is no doubt that President Pervez Musharraf has given his nation a new direction. The Pakistani and Muslim community watches his activities with great interest and enthusiasm. They are of the firm belief that he is the man who has the guts to move Pakistan forward along with the changing realities. Pakistan has made tremendous progress in all fields, especially its economy that has stabilized in an unprecedented way. By the Grace of God, Musharraf is gifted with marvelous communication skills and his bold and confident address to AJC is a clear example of his eloquent speaker ship. He is the one who, in the prevailing world situation can really project Pakistan's true image among the comity of nations. Its is not opposed to Pakistan's policy towards Israel. People eulogies Pakistan's pragmatic style of working with the international community and they see no harm in extending ties with the Jews at a time when the Palestinian issue is going to be solved and majority of the Arab states have already recognized Israel and Israel has evacuated Ghaza strip and demolished some settlements.
President Musharraf made clear-cut statement in his address to AJC and supported them with facts. He has successfully communicated Pakistan's position on controversial issues without coming across as an apologist. There was a pin drop silence in the conference hall when he spoke about Palestinian's rights. He said, "I do not have iota of doubt that Palestinian problem lies at the heart of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond. In view of its global impact it is incumbent upon the international community, specially the western Powers and the US to ensure a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Israel must come to terms with geopolitical reality and allow justice to prevail for the Palestinians. Any final resolution should respect the international character of Jerusalem as well as international law and the resolution of the Security Council."
The critics should keep in mind that in view of the prevailing current issues such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, interfaith harmony, economic development and polarization within the Muslim world the foreign policy of any country including Pakistan does not develop in a vacuum. The government has to be aware of its responsibilities in the global infrastructure and does not cherish aggressive designs on any country. In the aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7 Pakistan can no longer be a soft state. In view of the development of relations with Israel Pakistan hopes to see Israel and Palestine co-exist peacefully and only then would Pakistan consider recognizing Israel.
Regarding General Musharraf's address to the AJC, the motivation for this will continue to be analyzed and its wisdom will become apparent in the years to come. But importance of timely action is a virtue in the field of diplomacy. Right timing has always played a crucial role in war and peace. It can make the difference between defeat and victory. Thus the opining of dialogue by Pakistan with Israel at this juncture, when it is seem by the world and Israel as an important member of the comity of nations, is the right decision because the international situations can change suddenly and they can have profound impact on Pakistan's standing in the world affairs.

profkhalidch@hotmail.com
 

The role of Deeni Madaris
Khalid Khokhar

Madaris in the subcontinent have performed a very vital function in preserving the traditions of Islam and reawakening the consciousness of Islamic way of life. These madaris have not only taught students traditional courses in Islamic subjects, but also produced some great Islamic scholars and spiritual leaders. They had nothing to do with politics of violence. Most madrassas still perform a traditional and useful function. However, few odd Madaris preaching militancy are the real root cause of extremism in the country. As the western-styled medium of education gripped the society, the importance of traditional madrassa lost it efficacy with the passage of time. Resultantly, madaris were left with semi-literate religious teachers who did not understand religion in its true essence. The teachers of these deeni madaris would not let scholars from other disciplines to interfere in their domain. Time has come to project Islam in its true values and essence in terms of developing a person’s character, responsibilities towards the society and the family. As a remedial measure to fight extremism from the muslim countries, Pakistan has developed the thesis of ‘Islamic Muslim Renaissance’ and urged the Muslim ummah to unite under the banner of OIC. In this connection, the real Islamists from all over the world are very keen to come to Pakistan to offer their alternative analyses of Islamic laws. It is felt that all Muslims, including intellectuals, religious leaders, and heads of states, must continue to marginalize the voices of hate and violence by uniting to condemn them. As a community we should encourage dialogue and understanding towards Muslims with new ideas, even those who advocate change.
Renaissance is the revival of a proven thesis characterized by reformation. Efforts for the revival of Islamic values have been made by individual Muslim countries in the past but a collective endeavour in this direction has not so far been made by the Ummah. Some hardline ulemas have interpreted the religion wrongly, or failed to abide by the correct teachings of our religion, or done the wrong things. The Islamic Renaissance has already begun. A growing number of Muslim religious scholars believe that the Sharia or past interpretations of sacred text may need to be reexamined to reemphasize the true, peaceful and pluralistic nature of Islam. Muslim women are interpreting the sacred texts from a feminist perspective. In today’s relatively peaceful international environment, the verses that call for violence may not be as useful as others which express equality, liberty, peace and freedom for all, irrespective of religion and gender. Some may argue the validity of such opinions. But, at least Muslim scholars, both here and abroad, are debating the issues.
Pakistan is taking both short term and long term measures to augment the concept of Islamic Muslim Renaissance. Pakistan has adopted a three-prong strategy in the short-term to deal with the issue; banning extremist organisations in Pakistan from resurfacing or to collect any funds, to stop spreading of hate literature and prevent mosques from misusing loud speakers to spread hatred and militancy. In the long term, amendment in the syllabus and curriculum in schools is being focused on learning, asking madrassas to teach all subjects and not just religion so citizens can become educated and skilled to take professions other than just being religious teachers. A number of steps have been outlined; setting of a December deadline for the registration of madrassas, controls on funding and links with militant organizations, stopping of hate-filled messages advocated by seminaries. The threat from the madrassas can be eliminated if the students get a dose of modern education. In other words, the madressahs would turn out better, non-militant students, if, in addition to the traditional curriculum, the students were taught modern subjects like science, mathematics, economics, IT, etc. The basic idea is to draw the students of madrassas into the mainstream of life in Pakistan. The media must do its part to provide a platform for surfacing the moderate voices especially in the western world. The Islamic Muslim Renaissance has begun, but it may take years before it bears some positive results. Till then, only patience and tenacity of purpose will allow this thesis to revive the peace-giving message of Islam.

Mad cow in Europe
Sobia Nisar

According to a paper published in the European journal The Lancet, the epidemic of mad-cow disease that struck Europe originated in exports of animal feed and bones from South Asia that included human remains scavenged from the Ganges. This hypothesis, published in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, is made by a pair of British experts in health and veterinary science. They say they have strong but circumstantial evidence that the crisis was initiated by bones and animal parts exported to Britain from India in the 1950s to the 1970s, either as animal feed or as raw material for processing into feed and fertilizer. These exports included remains from partly-burned corpses that floated down the Ganges after Hindu funerals, and which may have carried Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the cousin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as mad-cow disease is called.
Billions of dollars have been spent in Europe to try to control BSE, a brain-destroying disease that was first spotted among British cattle in the late 1980s. The crisis has been amplified by the belief that BSE leapt the species barrier to humans. There have been 181 recorded cases of this fatal disorder, which has been named variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The hypothesis says that humans contaminated cows. It suggests that the source for the contamination originated decades ago, in partly-burned human corpses or remains that were scavenged from the Ganges and added to exports of animal meal and bones. “BSE was acquired from a human ëprion diseaseű, the route of infection was oral, through animal feed containing imported mammalian raw materials contaminated with human remains, and the origin was India, from which large amounts of mammalian material were imported during the relevant time period,” it says. “Human remains are known to be incorporated into meal made locally, and may still be entering exported material.”
The paper is authored by Alan Colchester, a professor of medicine and health sciences at the University of Kent, and Nancy Colchester, of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Their hypothesis is backed by a long list of references of evidence about the pollution of Ganges from human corpses; the inclusion of human remains in material used in processing mills, scavenged by local peasants to supplement their income; and statistics about the long history of these exports to Britain. The European researches are disturbed over the Mad Cow disease originating from the dead bodies thrown in Ganges. Billions of dollars have been spent to control the epidemic but all in vain.