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English
rendering of Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf’s address
delivered on 25th National Seerat Conference at Islamabad Bismillah
Hir Rehrnanarahim Federal
Minister for Religious Affairs, Dr. Mahmood Ghazi Sahib, All
the Respected Ministers, Federal
Secretary for Religious Affairs, Mr. Zubair Kidwai Sahib, Excellencies, Ulama
and Mashaikh-e-Kiram And Honourable
Ladies and Gentlemen, This
day carries great significance for all of us Muslims. It was on this day
that Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Mohammad (May peace be upon him) to this
world to serve as his last messenger to humanity .It was through him
that Allah perfected Islam and .it is his life and teachings that will
provide the guiding light to Muslims till the end of the world. The
Holy prophet brought about a revolution in social relations through
Islam. I would like to talk on that frankly, simply and in my own idiom.
I do not have a written text before me. That is because 1 would like to
say how I feel like on various issues in a straight forward manner . What
did that Islamic revolution mean? The first thing it did was to provide
justice and equity .Dr. Mahmud Ghazi has talked about it so eloquently.
There was no discrimination between the rich and the poor, the white and
the black. No man had preference over another man. Everyone was treated
at par and justly. A spirit of accommodation and tolerance was promoted
among them. This led to unanimity and cooperation. A new consciousness
developed and unity created strength. To
my mind, without this unity Islam would not have moved forward. At the
same time, the importance of moral principles was highlighted and every
individual was encouraged to reform himself, in other words, to elevate
his moral tone. The society was rid of all evils. And, above all, and
this carries weight with me, woman was accorded a place of honour and
respect. A truly model society was brought into being, the kind we would
like to be created not only in Pakistan but in the whole world. Allow
me now to talk about our present society. Where do we stand and which
way we are going? We say Islam is a Din. It is no mere religion. It
provides guidance to us in all walks of life. And because of this we
claim it is superior to all other faiths. But how do we actually conduct
ourselves life. Look at Muslims everywhere and in Pakistan too. Is this
what our Din teaches us. We
say Islam is for all times to come because as a Din it relates to
practical life. But how does the world look at us.
The world sees us as backward and constantly going under. Is
there any doubt that we have been left behind all although we claim
Islam will carry us forward in every age, every circumstance and every
land. lslam
is vibrant and forward looking. But more than that claim it is the most
tolerant of faiths. How does the worId
judge our claim? It looks upon us as terrorists. We e been killing each
other. And now we want to spread violence
and terror abroad. Naturally, the world regards us as terrorists. Our
claim of tolerance is phony in eyes. This
is where we stand today. It is time we took tock of position. I would
like to analyze it like this. All of us sitting here are Muslims. We
believe in one God, we accept Prophet
Mohammad (May peace be upon him) as the last prophet, and we recite the
same Kalima “There is no god but God and Mohammad is the messenger of
Allah”. Coming
to basics about which I have talked and in which we all believe, we are
all Muslims. Beyond that if you have a particular approach and thinking,
keep them to yourselves. But if you want to propagate them to others, do
it nicely. Why quarrel about it? Everyone has a right to his own
thinking. In any case, who is going to be the judge? Are
you my judge? Whether I am right or wrong? Whether you are right or
wrong? It is Allah Almighty who is the Judge. Only He knows who is right
or wrong. Who is a good Muslim. Who is a bad Muslim. We have no right to
tell anybody that he is bad and we are good, we are on the right path
and he is on the wrong track. Nobody
has this right. This is what I believe in. We are all Muslims. On my
part, I can assure you whenever a crisis overtakes Muslims or Islam, you
will find me in the forefront. I have just talked about the model
society built by the Holy Prophet. Let us try some comparison of our own
society with it. Where do we see justice and equity? Do you see it?
In Pakistan? Where? Look at the judiciary’s performance.
corruption is rampant and misdemeanour the order of day.
Only Sifarish works. Merit has no taker. The poor are oppressed.
To be poor in Pakistan is a curse. Everybody oppresses him. Only
the other day, I was listening to a presentation on the Khushhali
(prosperity) Bank. Some of the poorest folk who had been given small
loans of fifteen, twenty or thirty thousand rupees had come from far off
places in Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab. I talked to them. An old man
told me that the workers of the Khushali Bank came to them and gave them
the loans but did not accept even a cup tea from them. Otherwise, he
said, what is our lot? Dacoits
swoop on us, beat us, we go to the police, they too beat us. This
is the justice about which we brag so much that Islam provides. But
where is it in Pakistan? And for whom? For the rich, may be. For the
powerful may be. What
about mutual tolerance? It exists nowhere. Instead, we are killing each
other wearing masks. Was Islam propagated like this? Did our prophet do
it that way? We
know and the world knows that whenever we took up arms for Islam, we did
it openly, not hiding behind the masks, not through terror not firing a
burst and then slipping away. This is not the way to promote an
ideology. Is this the way
the ideology of Islam should be promoted? This is sheer cowardice. Do it
openly if you want. It
is intolerance that holds our society in its grip. Everyone is trying to
thrust his own beliefs on others. Believe me, he says, because I am
right. You are unknowing. Come to the right path. But how? First you
should correct yourself and then tell others. There
is pervasive hypocrisy. Do we say what we feel and think? No. There is
wide contradiction between what we profess and what we do. What comes to
our lips is not what we feel in our hearts or what we think about. We
are deceiving ourselves as well as the country . Where
is unity? Unity gave us strength. Islam spread through unity in our
ranks. Without it, its message would not have got through. Where is that
unity which achieved Pakistan in the name of Islam. We
are blessed with all resources. We can develop into a powerful country,
ahead of all other Islamic states provided that we are united, otherwise
no. We are riven into sects. We are prey to regionalism, ethnicity and
provincial disharmony. The provinces are bickering among themselves. No
one trusts the others. Even
when the truth is told nobody believes it. Take the case of water
distribution. When one tells the other that water is being distributed
correctly, he is not believed. Instead
he is accused of theft. All kinds of accusations are being traded on the
basis of what is stated to be the past experience. There is conflict and
dissension but no unity. We
are searching for it. What
about adherence to moral principles? Do we notice it anywhere? What we
see upheld is clan affiliation, caste and money. But no moral
principles. As
I said earlier, merit has no place in our society. Do we judge anyone on
the basis of his merit, his deserts, his ability or his character? We
look to his clan and his pocket. Or
we favour him if he belongs to our own area. We follow no moral
principles. We
are never tired of talking about the status that Islam accords to women.
We only pay lip service to its teaching.
We do not act upon it. This in plain words is hypocrisy. I would
now like to turn to more mundane matters. Pakistan
does not live in a void. It is part of the globe. The world has actually
turned into a global village. No country can live in isolation or stand
alone. For progress and development, every country has to interact with
others. Unfortunately,
we are weak because of the causes I have already mentioned. We do not
suffer from built-in weakness. We have all the resources to develop. But
we are ourselves responsible for our weakness. As
we are weak, we have to keep in step with other countries. First acquire
strength, only then you can tell others to fall in step with you. We are
in no position to dictate to others. Commonsense demands that first you
attain that position from where you can ask others to follow the path
you are treading. If you make a premature attempt, you will be crushed
and further weakened. When
I say that we should keep in step with others. I do not mean that we do
it at the cost of our honour and dignity , or our national interests. I
would like to do that with our eyes open and in our own interests. We
have to wade through a river where there, are crocodiles. It is not
smooth sailing that we should expect. We
should also be aware of the present state of the Muslim Ummah. I went to
Cairo to take part in the D-8 summit meeting. With the grace of Allah,
one fourth of the world population is Muslim. Seventy percent of the
world energy resources are in Muslim countries. But our GDP the entire
Muslim Ummah taken together, comes to bare twelve to thirteen hundred
billion dollars. On the other hand, Japan’s GDP stands at five
thousand five hundred billion and Germany’s at two thousand five
hundred billion dollars. In other words, Germany’s GDP alone is twice
that of the Ummah. And Japan’s is four and a halftimes that of our GDP
although in population we are one fourth of the world’s and are
sitting on seventy percent of its energy resources. Why
this is so? An analysis tells us that it is all because of a difference
in the advancement of human quality, of environmental
development. Other countries have swept forward. Just take education. In
the entire Muslim world, there are about 380 universities, of which only
25 are ranking. In Japan alone, one thousand universities award Ph.D
degrees. The entire Muslim Ummah can boast of a total of 500 Ph.Ds. In
England, three thousand do Ph.D and in India five thousand every year. It
is this that should engage our attention. When we make an assertion, we
‘should have strength to back it up. Wisdom dictates that we should
first acquire strength, come on top and then talk. How
to bring about the change. We have the military muscle. We are a nuclear
power. But we do not have a matching
economic strength. You are aware of the fate of the Soviet Union. It was
a super power in military terms but it lacked economic strength.
Consequently, it disintegrated. Its
present predicament is no secret to you. We
have therefore to strengthen our economy in order to create a balance
with out military power. From every forum, I have been trying to drive
home this point. Economic
progress holds the key. It is this that will take us forward. I would
not tire repeating it ad nauseum. But
how to advance in the economic field? We are taking a number of
important steps in this direction. I would avoid details but touch upon
some of the salient points. Our
first priority is to improve the law and order situation.
Unless the foreign investors come in or our own people make
investments, we cannot make any economic headway. So far they have not
done that. Neither foreign nor indigenous investment has taken place. I
confess our government has failed in this. We have to induce such
Investment. We are offering several incentives for this purpose. Undoubtedly,
law and order is an important factor, which inhibits investment. No body
is going to make an investment where there is fear of losing it. An
investor first of all looks at the conditions obtaining in a country,
particularly law and order. We must therefore attend to it. What
is public order really? It is, in our case, sectarian harmony. In the
beginning, Shias and Sunnis were fighting with one another. And now the
Brelvis and Deobandis have entered the fray. Do we realize where we are
heading? What do we intend doing? Do we wish to become strong? For that
you need sectarian harmony. But
if you beat your own drum, it is of no avail. Rather, we should have a
good word for others. That is what makes for sectarian harmony. For
our internal strife, the outside world is asked to declare us
terrorists. Some say we are primitive. Others say we are a failed state.
It hurts badly. We are one hundred and forty million, we are a nuclear
power, and yet somebody gets up and tells us we are a failed state. Religious
and sectarian harmony is therefore an inescapable necessity in Pakistan.
It will unite us and bring stability. Only that will attract others to
come to Pakistan. Recently,
a Chinese Minister was visiting us and we were discussing the question
of investment. He said investment is like a sparrow. It flies out as a
flock of pigeons but returns one by one. So this sparrow will come to us
one by one. We are trying to attract it by throwing feed of incentives
before it. I ask you to lend us a helping hand. Our
second failing is to provoke each other through meaningless statements.
We can improve the law and order situation by just holding our tongue.
We should be able to understand this simple point. If we become a
tolerant society, where people with different outlooks can live
peacefully, investors will come. Why
should you be unnecessarily railing against the great powers. Is it
wisdom that you invite hurt, without any rhyme and reason. As I have
told you we are not a powerful country .When we do become powerful, you
can afford to indulge in this pastime. They might then be impressed by
you. But till then, it is not wise to talk loose and damage yourself.
When you do not have the capability, why open your mouth. Why not keep
your counsel. If speak you must, do it intelligently. One
example comes to my mind. One hears the boast that we will hoist our
flag on the Red Fort (in Delhi). We will do this, we will do that. Have
your ever thought of the consequence of such talk on Muslims in India.
They are our brothers. They come and meet me. They have told me what
repercussions our loose talking has on their position. Is it wise? Why
are you talking loose? Why are you damaging yourself and your brothers
and sisters? What are you going to gain from it? On the contrary, this
provides India with the excuse to talk about you as terrorists and to
tell others to declare you as terrorists so that prospective investors
shy away from your country. When you kill each other, who will consider
Pakistan a safe place for investment. A
freedom struggle is going on in Kashmir. We will always lend them
diplomatic support. We will collect funds for them in order to look
after the refugees who are coming over after being uprooted from their
homes. But the funds that are being raised in their name are going into
private pockets. I know it for a fact. If these funds are not being
collected for the welfare of the Kashmiri refugees, then whose cause
suffers. I know what is going on in Kashmir. I have myself fought there.
We are aware of the situation. We
are doing our work. There is no need for vain boasts.
Whatever we do, we should do it with restraint, prudence
and honesty. There is no gain in unnecessary and irresponsible
statements and activities, which cause damage to the country . Just
broaden your horizon. When you talk or act, weigh advantages and
disadvantages in the scale of national interests. The foremost
consideration before you should that we have to make this country
powerful. Above
all, religion should never be exploited for political gains. Do not
sully our glorious faith. I say this to all those who are guilty of it. My
particular appeal is to all those Ulama who are sitting here to promote
harmony among all sects so that we achieve unity in our ranks and are
able to devote our entire energies towards economic uplift. How
reassuring it is to see Ulama of all persuasions sitting here together.
Why can’t we maintain this harmony outside. Why should we weaken
ourselves internally. This
is all that I had to say. I could read out the written text but I
thought on this auspicious day I should open my I heart before you and
talk frankly. You all understand what our problems are. To
me, Pakistan’s progress and welfare means the welfare of the Muslim
Ummah. I have no doubt about it is in my mind. I have visited several
Muslim countries and met their leaders. They have told me we rely on
you, you are a source of strength for us. I have attended the OIC
session. We enjoy a
prestige in that forum. We are a nation of one hundred and forty million
people. We have talent. We can achieve anything. We have resources. We
can progress. We
have a coastline, water, gas, coal, in fact, the Thar coal is the
world’s biggest coal deposit but it is lying unexploited. Let us
together take this country forward. Conflict and dissensions will not
contribute towards progress. We
are going to ensure that it continues living .It was not created to wind
up. It is a state created for the Muslims and for Islam. If we are firm
in our faith, this country will never disappear. It is in our hands to
ensure that. We can both keep it afloat and sink it. Insha’ Allah, we
are going to pull it forward. I
would close with a prayer that Allah may enable us to follow the Sunnah
of the Holy Prophet (May peace be upon him) and become good Muslims so
that we can discharge our duties to Allah as well as fulfil our
obligations towards fellow-beings. As Dr. Mahmud Ghazi has explained,
the duties towards fellow-beings are as important as those towards
Allah. But we hardly talk about our obligations towards our
fellow-beings. It
is with their discharge that society progresses and the country moves
forward. The foremost obligation on us is that we should watch and set
right those of our actions which cast their influence on our
environment, our families, our neighbourhood and our country. We often
neglect tha1 because that demands sacrifice on our part. In
the end. I express my gratitude to Dr. Mahmud Ghazi and the Ministry of
Religious Affairs for providing me an opportunity to speak to you
frankly. I was looking for it. I congratulate all those who have won
prizes. I hope that in future also this Seerat Conference will continue
to be convened and the discussions that are held will bring benefits to
the people of this country and serve the cause of our Din. Dr.
Ghazi has briefed me about the topic that is going to form the subject
of your discussions. I would be keenly looking forward to your
contributions so that we can learn from you how to work for the
betterment of Pakistan. I
am indeed very grateful to you all, both ladies and gentlemen. Pakistan
Paindabad. |