ISLAM AND
THE MODERN WORLD

THEME
ISLAM AND THE MODERN WORLD
The rise of Islam and the interaction of Muslims with other peoples of the planet is one of the greatest stories of the world history. Manifestly Islam became one of the leading religions of the world through the quality of its profound message, relevant approach and universal appeal to all mankind. It distinguished itself from other religions of the world when it repudiated the dogma of being a subjective experience of relationship with a deity or a state sponsored expediency through Priest craft. The Muslims saw their zenith and are now in a serious transition.
Notwithstanding its universal message of peace, brotherhood, intellectual and scientific contribution, it is being interpreted as a breeder of contempt, purveyor of fearful conformity and an entity fuelling intolerance and extremism. Traditional faith and practices are regarded by the West as a reflection of medieval times, suggesting that Islam perhaps cannot meet the challenges of the modern world.
Carry out in-depth analysis of success story of Islam, its current paradoxes encompassing suitable recommendations to address the contemporary challenges.

SUB THEME
The word Islam means peace and as such it lays great emphasis on moderation and growth of a society which is tolerant and is blessed with virtues like forbearance and restraint. The co-existence of many civilizations and cultures during the periods of Muslim glory bears testimony to this effect. Different in approach from other religions, Islam met phenomenal success during a very short period of time. Not withstanding this truth the West propagates vehemently that Islam spread through brute force and thrives on antagonism, violence thus branding it as an extremist religion. The recent manifestations of events have further exacerbated the delicate situation.
Carryout analyses of success story of Islam identifying its uniqueness vis-à-vis other religions, reasons of Islam being misunderstood as an extremist religion un-suitable for modern times with a view to iron out the current paradoxes.

ABSTRACT
Present day state of the Muslims is not reflective of their glorious past. After having ruled the world for centuries; the Muslims are now pushed back to wall. The Muslims, who were once the role models for the Black Continent, are now being treated as a threat to modern civilisation. There has been a steep descend in the role and influence of Muslims on international horizon over the past two centuries. The nations who used to be the centres of civilisation and modern sciences and who used to control the world economies are now forming the core of the third world and are subjected to dictates of the West.
Success story of Islam in its initial days is indeed a very novel phenomenon. The advent of Islam took place in one of the most backward regions of the world. The people of the region were well known for their brutalities and ignorance. However Islam with its universal approach and quality of teachings transformed these tribesmen into a World Power. The Muslim dynasties excelled around the globe and where ever the light of Islam went, large scale conversion to the new religion followed. The new religion appealed the people more than the other contemporary religions due to inherent quality of its message. The major driving force behind the success story of Islam was the treatment rendered by the Muslim rulers to the new subject. Minorities enjoyed full freedom of action and social justice and human rights were the pillars of the social setup. Contrary to all this, present day image of Islam is that of a religion spread by the use of force; propagating violence and brutalities. With this follows the idea that Islam is a religion of Stone Age and is unsuitable for a more complex and developed world and society.
Preface
Current image of Muslims in the world necessitates presenting before the world true picture of what Islam is, contrary to how it is being projected and being conceived by the Western World.
Since the topic is one of the leading debates the world over, finding material on the subject was not a problem. However, selecting quality authenticated material and then developing it in the correct direction proved to be the most important challenge during the course of the research. In that, guidance provided by the College Faculty from time to time proved to be vital.
Introduction
1. With the advent of Islam, the process of communication of Allah’s Will to his ambassador on earth concluded. As such, no prophet was to precede The Holy Prophet (PBUH) and no book was to precede the Holy Quran. Through the Prophet (PBUH) and Quran, Allah conveyed his teachings to the human beings which were to remain valid till the Day of Judgement. This Religion differed from all previous religions of the world in that it had a universal approach and a practical lesson, thereby ensuring that the worldly affairs and the religious obligations run parallel to each other. Owing to its practicability and a balanced approach, the religion spread in the world with an unprecedented speed. Its followers met phenomenal success in its initial days and soon the new religion was threatening centuries old civilizations.
2. Islam did not remain confined to the bounds of Arabian Peninsula for very long. Soon its followers were to be found in every corner of the earth. Muslim dynasties excelled over a period of next five centuries. They not only progressed militarily but were also recognised as centres of civilisation and modern sciences. Muslim societies always remained accommodative and the minorities had all the rights and resources to excel.
3. After having controlled the world affairs for centuries, Muslim dynasties started eroding. The Muslims started forgetting the lessons of Quran and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and as a consequent were pushed back to wall. While the Muslims were addressing their own problems and disintegrating into smaller and smaller units, the Black Continent was acquiring knowledge and skills, once an attribute of the Muslims. Progressively all Muslim dynasties ceased to exist and were transformed into colonies of the West.
4. By the mid of the 20th century, most of the Muslim colonies managed to win independence from their masters. But this independence remained political in character only. These countries are following the dictates of the West and are dependent upon them for their very survival.
5. Recent events on the canvas of earth have further provided West with an opportunity to exploit the already fragile situation of the Muslims. Islam is now being propagated as a religion spread by force breeding violence. All Islamic states are being viewed with suspicion. Two global civilisations appear to be poised in a complex confrontation on various levels of human activity.
6. With Islam being labelled as a terrorist harbouring religion, the scope of development of Muslim countries is reducing day by day. Moreover, the past reality of Islam being the leading religion of the world is now becoming a reality too far. The situation demands Muslims to take immediate measures to come out of this state of dilemma. They have to present before the World the true picture of their religion and prove with their actions that they are still a force to reckon with.

Aim
7. To carryout an analysis of success story of Islam highlighting its uniqueness in comparison with the other religions of the world, identifying the roots and reasons of misplaced notion of Islam being an extremist religion, analysing it’s suitability as a universal religion of modern times and recommending measures for the Muslim Ummah to iron out the current paradoxes.

Part –I
Story of Rise & Fall
Rise of Islam and the Age of Caliphate (7th to 13th Centuries)
8. General. In the ancient world, the Arabian Peninsula was a cultural and religious backwater, only marginally affected by such great civilisations as those of Egypt, Israel, Phoenicia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Yet Islam arose in the centre of Arabia, the most culturally isolated and economically backward region, in the towns of Mecca and Medina. The personal faith of Muhammad and his enthusiast companions provided the catalyst for a mighty outpouring of the Arabs. Within less than a century after Muhammad’s death in 632, Arab warriors reached the Atlantic in Morocco and the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. Above all through Spain and Sicily, tentative cultural contacts were to become possible in the Middle Ages between the two largely closed and mutually suspicious worlds of Islam and Western Christendom .
9. But the most enduring and significant alterations in the political and religious map of the Mediterranean basin and the Near East resulted from the clash of the expanding Arabs with two old established empires, both of which had aspired to dominate ancient world, Byzantium and Sasanid Persia. Byzantium Empire was thrown back upon the mountainous heartlands of Anatolia and the Balkans. Intervening centuries witnessed an increased interaction between Greeks and Muslims. Byzantium was the one power which the Muslims really respected, both for the artistic glories of Byzantine civilisation and because the Byzantines were rightly regarded as the repositories of wisdom in such fields as science and medicine. In this way, the Greek influence on early Islamic culture became a lasting one, and affected not only the disciplines just mentioned but also the development of Islamic theology.
Age of Great Islamic Empires (13th to 18th Centuries)
10. Invasion of Mongols. The Mongol invasions of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth centuries constituted a time of troubles for all the Islamic lands east of Egypt. The Mongols under an outstanding leader, Chingiz Khan, irrupted both into China and into western Asia, the Islamic World. Within a few years of Chingiz’s appearance on the Oxus River in 1219, the Muslim power in central Asia and eastern Persia had been overturned. Baghdad fell to Chingiz’s Grandson Hulegu in 1258. A line of Abbasid Caliphs was set up soon after this in Cairo under Mamluk protection.
11. The various branches of the Western Mongols gradually adopted Islam. Despite the fact that the name of the Mongols ranks in the popular mind with those of perpetrators of mass destruction, this initial violence subsided.
12. The Mamluks. An alliance between Christian Europeans and the pagan Mongols against the Muslims of the Near East never materialised in the thirteenth century due to the vigour of a great imperial power in Egypt and Syria, that of the Mamluks. As their name implies (‘owned’) these were of slave status, gaining independent power in 1250 and retaining it till the Ottoman conquest of 1516-17.
13. The Ottoman Empire. In the fifteenth century the Mamluk state grew perceptibly poorer in resources and fighting manpower. The successive conquest of Syria and Egypt by the Ottomans in 1516 -17 therefore occasioned no surprise.
14. More than any other Muslim power of the late classical period, the Ottoman Turks struck terror into the hearts of Christian Europe to the extent that they were described as ‘The Present Terror of the World’. In 1354 they crossed into Europe, cutting off Constantinople in its rear, and expanded relentlessly into the Balkans. States like Serbia and Bulgaria were humbled, and for 500 years to come were to be nations without history. The Ottoman victory at Mohacs in 1526 brought most of Hungary under Turkish rule for a century-and-a-half, providing a base from which to threaten Austria and the very heart of Christian Europe.
15. Fall of Ottoman Empire. Christian Europe rallied in the seventeenth century after the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 was dictated to a defeated Turkey. Soon afterwards, the ‘Sick Man of Europe’ was born, to suffer a protracted decline of some two centuries. The Turks were pushed back through the Balkans; yet in its heyday, the Ottoman Empire was the most powerful and lasting state known to the Islamic world since the early Arab Caliphate.
16. In the opening years of the sixteenth century Shah Ismail Safavi brought the whole of Persia under his control with the capital at Isfahan. Safavids maintained their power for over two centuries, till in the early eighteenth century when they were overthrown by the Afghans .
17. Mughal Empires. The remaining great Muslim empire arose in Northern India, where the Turks and the Afghans founded military dynasties from the eleventh century onwards. All through its existence, the dominant feature of Indian Islam had been its minority position, numerically speaking, within a non-Islamic, predominantly Hindu environment; hence Muslim princes often ruled over extensive non-Muslim populations and relied on them as officials or soldiers.
18. The English settlements in India formed the bases for subsequent territorial expansion in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it was the British who, in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny, in 1858 deposed the last feeble representative of the Mughal line in Delhi.

Imperialism and Independence (19th & 20th Centuries)
19. Period of Decline. With the nineteenth century, the Islamic ‘Middle Ages’ drew to a close. European political and economic influence dominated the fringes and later the heartlands of Islam. In addition, the Russians pushed across Siberia and into Central Asia; the Dutch fastened their control upon Indonesia, the French extended their dominion over the local rulers of Morocco, Algiers and Tunis and the Italians seized Libya. In the late nineteenth century, the scramble for Africa brought extensive Muslim populations under French, British and German control.
20. After Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition of 1799-1801, the Near East was never the same again. Reaction in Egypt led to the overthrow of the Mamluk ruling class and the emergence of Muhammad Ali in 1805 as Governor of Egypt and founder of the Turkish dynasty which was to rule there till 1953.
21. The 1st World War saw the ending of Egypt’s formalities with Turkey. Her present national boundaries were secured, with the capital now moved to Ankara. The Arab lands were detached from Turkey. The ‘Palestine Problem’ also emerged during the War as Britain issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917 in favour of a national home there for the Jews.
Part – II
Islam as a Faith – An Analysis
What Islam Stands For?
22. Islam is the complete submission of man before God, the one and only faith consistently revealed by God to mankind from the very beginning. Noah, Ibrahim, Moses and Christ – Prophets who appeared at different times and places – all propagated the same faith.
23. What then distinguishes Muhammad (PBUH) from the other prophets? He was the last Prophet of God. God revived through him the same genuine faith which had been conveyed by all the former prophets. Islam in its pure and original form was transmitted to mankind through Muhammad (PBUH). Since there was to be no messenger after Muhammad, the Book revealed to Him was preserved word by word so that it should be a source of guidance for all times.
24. The life of Muhammad, and the manner in which he conducted himself, was also recorded in a unique manner by his companions and by later compilers of the Traditions. A more complete and authentic account of the life, sayings, and actions, of any prophet or historical personage has never been compiled. In this way, the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet together became a reliable source for precise knowledge of what Islam is, what it stands for, what guidance it provides, and what obligations it places upon us.

The Pillars of Islam – An Analysis
25. Belief in Oneness of God. Among the fundamentals of Islam, the most important is belief in one God; He alone is the Creator, Master and Controller of all that exists. To associate anyone in His worship is as great a sin as it is an act of infidelity. He responds to man’s prayers and He alone has the power to accept or reject them.
a. The sovereignty of God in Islam is not just a supernatural phenomenon. It covers all aspects of political and legal sovereignty also, and in these too no-one other than God has any share.
b. Certain consequences flow naturally from this Islamic concept of God. God is the Master of man’s destiny and no one else can interfere with the fate of other or with his own fate. Man’s hopes and fears must, therefore, be directed only to God.
26. Belief in Prophet Hood of Muhammad (PBUH). We come now to our second most important belief- belief in Muhammad’s Prophet Hood. God conveyed His message to man through Muhammad. This took two forms – the Qur’an which God revealed to the Prophet and the Sunnah of the Prophet which is an unerring guide to man in respect of all that is permissible and all that is prohibited in the eyes of God.
a. Without this belief in the Prophet, belief in God would become a mere theoretical proposition. It is the example of practical leadership, and the ideological guidance provided by the Prophet, which transforms belief in God into a culture and a civilization, and enables man to evolve a way of life.
b. The Sunnah of Holy Prophet (PBUH) provides a practical manifestation of teachings of Quran and reinforces the practicability of words of Quran.
27. Belief in Hereafter. The third fundamental creed of Islam is belief in the hereafter – Akhirah. Denial of hereafter is the denial of Islam even though one may have belief in God, in the Prophet, and in the Qur’an.
a. Man has not been unleashed on the earth as an irresponsible savage. He is accountable to God for his actions. At the end we will all be called upon to render a complete account of our acts to God.
b. This concept in itself provides the life of Muslims an ultimate aim. It is not that the life is a short lived affair and will finish hereafter, but the aims and objectives to be pursued in the life have everlasting fallouts.
28. The above discussion reveals that Islam represents a whole civilization, a complete culture and a comprehensive world order. It provides moral guidance in all walks of life. This is why Islamic values are not solely for the ascetic who renounces the world, but for him who actively participates in different spheres of life, and works within them.

Islam as a Code of Life – An Analysis
29. General. The role of the Prophet Muhammad and the revealed message which he communicated to mankind were revolutionary; they brought about a radical transformation in society. Man was freed from slavery to innumerable nameless and arbitrary forces into the service of One God. He learned of the dignity of man, and the universal brotherhood and equality of all men before God.
30. Analysis. The liberal and revolutionary concepts of Islam and its Prophet Muhammad, which transformed society in the seventh century, are still today amongst the most potent forces at work for the betterment of humanity. They provided the impetus for a new age of culture and civilization, arts and learning, material and spiritual progress.
a. First and foremost he proclaimed belief in the Oneness of God. Man’s life was spent in fear of the unknown and helpless belief in nameless powers, which could not but foster confusion, cowardice, doubt and indecision. By removing the fear of all else save God alone, the Prophet of Islam made man a self-reliant, courageous and rational believing being.
b. The second great favour conferred by the Messenger of God on human beings was the concept of the equality and brotherhood of all mankind. Before him the world was divided into innumerable castes and creeds, some claiming nobility for them and condemning others. It was from Muhammad that the world first heard the revolutionary message of human equality.
c. The third great gift bestowed by the Prophet of Islam is the concept of human dignity. During the age of darkness, none was more humiliated than man. It was solely through Muhammad the Prophet that men came to appreciate the fact that the human beings were entitled to much more regard, respect and honour than any other creature.
d. The doctrine of forgiveness of sins was one of the most bounteous gifts of Islam to mankind. This gospel of hope was a revolutionary message to despondent humanity condemned for ever by the guilt of original sin and past misdeeds.
31. In the ancient world, the prevalent view was that the path of salvation lay not through the rough and rumble of life, but only in isolation from the social, economic and political problems of worldly pursuits. Forced by this dichotomy to choose between the world and religion, large numbers of the most able people dissociated themselves from the rigours and constraints of religion. The teachings of Quran and practical example of Holy Prophet (PBUH) persuaded men of religion and men of the world to unite in bringing about God’s kingdom on earth. It would be difficult to conceive a more complete transformation of life than the one brought about by the fusion of the secular and the sacred.
32. Analysis carried out in this part of the paper reveals that the unprecedented success of Islam was attributed to the dynamic teachings of Islam, universal approach of the religion and the very nature of its teachings which were new phenomena for the entire world in general and the Arabs in particular.

Part III
Uniqueness in Comparison with
Contemporary Religions
The Word Islam
33. The religion of Jesus bears the name of Christianity, derived from his designation of Christ; that of Moses and of Buddha are known by the respective names of their teachers. The religion of Mohammad alone has a distinctive appellation. It is Islam.
34. In order to from a just appreciation of the religion of Mohammad, it is necessary to understand the true significance of the word Islam. Salam (salama), in its primary sense, means, to be tranquil, at rest, to be at perfect peace; in its secondary sense, to surrender oneself to Him with whom peace is made .

Varied Beliefs of Arabs
35. Let us now take a brief retrospect of the religious conceptions of people of the world when the Prophet of Islam commenced his preaching. Among the heathen Arabs the idea of Godhead varied according to the culture of the clan. Some believed in a future life; others had no idea of it whatever. And thus there floated in the Arab World an intangible, unrealised conception of a superior deity, the Lord of all.
The Jews
36. The Jews probably might have assisted in the formation of conception of Phallic Worship. But the mass of the Jews had never, probably, thoroughly abandoned the worship of the Teraphim; a sort of household god made in the shape of human beings, and consulted them on all occasions, perhaps more as guardians.
37. The Mosaic Law contained no ordinances respecting prayers: only on the payment of tithes to the priests, and the domestic solemnity of the presentation of the firstlings, was there a prescribed formula of a prayer and acknowledgment. The necessity for the service of priests, combined with the absence of any positive precedent coming down from the Lawgiver himself, tended to make prayer, in the majority of cases, merely mechanical.
The Christians
38. When Jesus made his appearance in Judea, the doctrine of divine unity and of a supreme Personal Will, overshadowing the universe with its might and grace, received acceptance only among one race—the worshippers of Jehovah.
39. His conception of the “Fatherhood” of God embraced all humanity. All mankind were the children of God, and he was their Teacher sent by the Eternal Father. The Christian had thus a nobler exemplar before him. But six centuries had surrounded the figure of Jesus with those followers who, in opposition to his own words, resolved him into a manifestation of the Godhead. The ‘Servant’ took the place of the ‘Master’ in the adoration of the world.
40. The teaching of Jesus, representing a later development of the religious faculty in man, recognised the true character of Prayer. But the want of some definite rule for the guidance of the masses, left them completely to the mercy of priests, who monopolised the office for regulating the number, length, and the terminology of prayers .
Hinduism
41. The early Hindu worship consisted of sets of acts, oblations and sacrifice accompanied with invocations. The sacrifice could be performed only by the priest according to rigid and unalterable formula. Without religious feeling or enthusiasm, the worshipper stood by, as a passive spectator of the worship, which was performed on his behalf.

The Religion of Muhammad (PBUH)
42. Against all the absurdities described above, the life-aim of Mohammad was directed. Addressing, with the voice of truth, inspired by deep communion with the God of the Universe, Mohammed, that “master of speech” as he has been truly called, never travelled out of the province of reason. Mohammed the grand apostle of the unity of God stands forth in history in noble conflict with the retrogressive tendency of man to associate other beings with the Creator of the universe. And so on goes this wonderful book, appealing to the nobler feelings of man, __ his inner consciousness and his moral sense.
43. The Advent of Islam. All these evils had culminated to a point in the seventh century, when the Prophet of Arabia began to preach a reformed religion. Major reforms set forth by this new religion are as under:
a. Regulating the Prayers. In instituting prayers, Mohammed recognised the yearning of the human soul to pour out its love and gratitude to God and by making the practice of devotion periodic, he impressed that disciplinary character on the observance of prayer which keeps the thoughts from wandering into regions of the material.
b. Direct Interaction with Almighty. Islam recognises no caste of priesthood, allows no monopoly of spiritual knowledge or special holiness to intervene between man and his God. Each soul rises to its Creator without the intervention of priest or hierophant.
c. Custom of Annual Pilgrimage. The wisdom which incorporated into Islam the time honoured custom of annual pilgrimage to Mecca and to the shrine of the Kaaba, has breathed into Mohammed’s religion a freemasonry and brotherhood of faith in spite of sectarian divisions.
d. Intoxication and gambling, the curse of Christian communities, and the bane of all uncultured and inferior natures, and excesses of all kinds, were rigorously prohibited.

The Comparison – Uniqueness of Islam
44. Nothing can be simpler or more in accord with the advance of the human intellect than the teachings of the Arabian Prophet. The few rules for religious ceremonial which he prescribed were chiefly with the object of maintaining discipline and uniformity, so necessary in certain stage of society; but they were by no means of an inflexible character.
45. The wonderful adaptability of Islamic precepts to all ages and nations; their entire concordance with the light of reason: the absence of all mysterious doctrines to cast a shade of the sentimental ignorance, all prove that Islam represents the latest development of the religious faculties of our being. Those who have ignored the historic significance of some of its precepts to present modes of thought ought to exclude it from any claim of universality. But a little inquiry into the historic value of laws and precepts, a little more fairness in the examination of facts, would evince the temporary character of such rules as may appear scarcely consonant with the requirements of prejudices of modern times.
46. The practical character of a religion, its abiding influence on the common relations of mankind, in the affairs of everyday life, its power on the masses, are the true criteria for judging of its universality. We do not look to exceptional minds to recognise the nature of a religion. We search among the masses to understand its true character. Does it exercise deep power over them? Does it elevate them? Does it regulate their conception of rights and duties? __ are the questions we naturally ask. In Islam is joined a lofty idealism with the most rationalistic practicality. It did not ignore human nature; it never entangled itself in the tortuous pathways which lie outside the domains of the actual and the real. Its sole object was the elevation of humanity towards the absolute ideal of perfection.
47. The success of Islam in the seventh century of the Christian era, and its rapid and marvellous diffusion over the surface of the globe, were due to the fact that it recognised this essential need of human nature. To a world of wangling sects and creeds, to which words were of far greater importance than practice, it spoke in terms of positive command, it aimed at the integration of the worship of a Personal Will, and thereby to recall humanity to the observance of duty which pointed to the path of spiritual development. And by its success in lifting up the lower races to a higher level of social morality it proved to the world the need of a positive system. It taught them sobriety, temperance, charity, justice and equality as the commandments of God. With these lessons as the main theme of teachings of Islam, it remains the most suitable religion for mankind till date.

Part IV
Western Perception of the Muslim World
Historical Back Ground & Recent Developments
Historical Back Ground
48. There has never been a situation of interaction between the West and the Muslim world when there was an absence of suspicion, misperception, and latent hostility. It has been unequal ness that defines the relationship between the West and the Muslim World. Historical relationship between the West and the Muslim World would be discussed to identify the roots of this hostility. An attempt will be made to highlight how Western attitude and perceptions toward Muslims continue to shape and determine its present relationship with the Muslim world .
49. Geographical Proximity. The first thing to note is the contiguity of the West and the Muslim World, a geo-historical fact basically unchanged for the past fourteen centuries. If the crucible of Islam had not been in the Arabian peninsula and the Mediterranean basin and stood instead at a physical distance from Europe, the history of the relationship between the West and the Muslim World would have been significantly different and in the same measure perhaps less acrimonious. From the very outset of the Prophetic mission of Muhammad it was inevitable that Muslims and Christians would become locked in a contest.
50. In the first ten centuries after the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad was completed, the Christian West succeeded in maintaining a very difficult posture of defensive containment of the dynamic expansionism of Muslims.
51. It was Europe’s millennial relationship with Islam, the cultural interactions and military engagements, the Crusades and its memories, that shaped Europe’s and the West’s attitude towards Muslims and Islam.
52. Maxine Rodinson, the well-known and respected French scholar of the Arab and Islam, observed pithily, “Western Christendom perceived the Muslim World as a menace long before it began to be seen as a real problem. “This perception of the Muslims as a “Menace”, of Islam as a religious challenge to the doctrines of Christianity and of the expanding Arab-Muslim Empire as a mortal threat to Christendom generated a virulent response from the Church. The Muslim adversary was powerful and competent, and it threatened to overrun the lands of the Latin Church. The military defence of Western Christendom also required mounting an ideological offence against Muslims and Islam. Hence, the full force of Church polemic was unleashed to describe Muslims as pagans and Islam as a heresy.
53. The essential features of the anti-Islamic polemics were set forth during the very first century of the Arab-Muslim expansion. John of Damascus, a Syrian Christian in the early 8th century, was among the early polemicists to construct the main arguments against Islam. The main line of Christian reaction to Islam has remained essentially unchanged from the period of John of Damascus to modern times, since the area of contention between Christianity and Islam remains the same.
54. Once the Muslim threat was contained and reversed, a more objective and less defamatory view of Muslims and Islam began to be entertained in the West. From the 16th century onwards Europe outflanked the central Islamic zone. The Renaissance launched Europe into a process of cumulative changes which brought about the twin political and industrial revolutions of the 18th century. This produced a gap between Europe and the Muslim world in the 19th century, which has widened ever since.
55. Unlike the Europeans who learned from Muslims in the “Golden Age of Islam”, the 9th through the 12th centuries, the generation of 1789 felt supremely self-confident. For Voltaire, just as later for Marx, Muslim religious consciousness and the values of Islam reflected the largely irrational nature of mankind. This negative perception of Muslims is continually reinforced in the imperialist age as Muslims refuse fully to concede defeat and accept the political-cultural supremacy of the West.

Recent Developments and the Failure of the Muslim World
56. It is an indisputable reality that Muslims have not successfully met the challenge of the “Great Western Transmutation”. They are on the negative or low investment side of the developmental gap. In the contemporary situation, the Muslim world is decidedly a large portion of the “Third World’, mired in the poverty, illiteracy, diseases, marginalization, and underdevelopment.
57. In the very recent events at the canvas of globe, we have played at the hands of the Western World whereby some elements of the Muslim World reinforced the negative perception of the West about the Muslims. Events of September 11th are a practical manifestation of the same.
58. Facing a unidirectional threat, the Muslim Ummah is not united to meet this threat. Today the Muslim countries are following their own national interests and in pursuit of the same, they have lost sight of where lies the interest of Ummah.
59. Chaos and confusion rather than consciousness and creativity are reigning supreme in the Muslim World. A very unhealthy development has been the spread of narrow nationalism among Muslim Intelligentsia creating further obstacles in the way of unity. Political frontiers strengthened and abetted by nationalism appear difficult to be demolished in the foreseeable future with Pan-Islamism remaining a dream unrealised.
60. The failure in terms of political institution building is equally demoralizing. There are 46 member countries in the Organization of Islamic Conference, and not one of these countries has yet worked out a successful model of democratic-representative from of government.
61. Today the Muslim World is lagging behind in the field of Science and Technology. In order to have weight in our point of view, we must be a force to reckon with. It is high time the Muslims give due weight age to this facet and embark upon a programme of scientific and technological development.
62. Muslim failure with the media has been another grey area. It not only provided West with an opportunity to project the events as per their own designs, but also denied the Muslims the opportunity to project what Islam actually is and how it can address the evils of the modern society.

Part V
Challenges of Modern Times and Islam
An Analysis
Features of the Modern Era
63. In the fifties, when many Muslim countries had gained their independence, a series of problems emerged. The colonial rulers had left the new nations in the state of economic and mental dependency. All this led to the break-up, disintegration and dislocation of the economies, cultures and societies of the Muslim world, as well as countless Muslim minds.
64. Alongside the modernisation has brought about concepts of nationalism, socialism and capitalism and secularism. A new World Order has been shaped, Western Societies, in spite of their technological developments face challenges of anxiety, confusion and mental dissatisfaction and a gulf between religion and science has been created which is seemingly getting wider day by day. These new trends would be discussed in the light of message of Islam and it will be ascertained as to how Islam provides a rational solution to these challenges. At the end, a comparison between Islam and the other leading religions of the World will be made to ascertain whether Islam still remains the most suitable religion, in the modern times.
65. Islam vs Nationalism. Nationalism demands and secures, if necessary by force, the total and supreme loyalty of the people to a nation. Islam, on the other hand, demands loyalty, submission and dedication to the one and only God and recognises no other loyalty. Some other arguments are:
a. Nationalism is a form of glorified tribalism, and Islam abolished tribalism.
b. Nationalism has given rise to the structure of the modern nation-state which demands the promotion of its own interests in preference and at the cost of all others. It is the primary cause of all modern conflicts and wars and the condition of mutual terror that exists between nation and nation and man and man.
c. Nationalism thrives on such diverse factors as territory, language, culture and racial superiority. Islam, on the other hand, recognises no geographical, linguistic, cultural or racial barriers .
66. Islam vs Socialism
a. The socialist philosophy merely replaces tribalism with economic classes and is based on the assumption that man acts in his class interests.
b. Islam, on the other hand, motivates man’s social and economic conduct in such a way that no one pursues greed and acquisitiveness which characterise the capitalist system; Islam enjoins the pursuit of collective good in a collective framework in which the individual goals are attained without incurring social costs: Islam unifies the social order in a brotherhood of man which ensures more than any welfare state or socialists system that the weakest members of the society, if any, are fully protected .
67. Islam vs Secularism
a. There is no common ground between secularism and Islam. The fundamental assumption of secularism is that material well-being in the present world is an essential means to human happiness. That material well-being does not remain a means and becomes an end in itself is a major dilemma of secular culture. Its main orientation has to be towards maximum efficiency.
b. Let us turn now to the material gains which are overtaking secular society. The disturbing side-effects of growth have assumed alarming proportions. Any decline in growth now will bring about an inevitable deterioration in the quality of life and that is unacceptable to secular man. Secular society is facing an institutional collapse. The situation has not come about as a result of any external challenge but as a direct consequence of a fundamental duality which has gradually destroyed the basis of every secular institution.
The World System
68. Over the last decade or so, we have come to an important realisation: the world community is evolving into a system: the previously more or less independent parts are becoming more and more interlinked and interdependent. A consequence of the system’s character is that a disturbance in any one part of the world spreads quickly all over and, indeed, may trigger off a chain reaction .
69. That certain trends are threatening the world system. The main ones amongst these are the menace of global terrorism, the increasing rate of depletion of renewable resources, increasing trends towards modernisation and industrialisation of practically all human activities, the increasing trend towards urbanisation and growth of the megalopolis, the increasing gap between the developed and the developing countries, the increasing dependence on technology and increasing isolation from nature, and alienation of man: from nature, from other men and from himself.

The Muslim System
70. The Muslim system is a traditional system. Its most basic principle is that it is goal-orientated. Traditionally, the goal of the Muslim system is to seek the pleasure of Allah. That is, to create and maintain an environment in which Islam can be operationalised in all its manifestations. Thus, in contemporary terms, the goal is the maintenance and stability of the system itself. Stability, in terms of the Muslim system, is its ability to maintain its basic parameters in the face of change and hence ensure its operational continuity.
71. When we view the Muslim world as an interactive, holistic system, we see that there is no place in it for paternalism, let alone the domination of one nation – state over another. The system demands sharing of experience and information, cooperation in scientific, technical and commercial fields and coordination of activities on the international level – in fact, the system needs the operational form of the concept of Shura.
72. The prime goal of the system is to develop a stable relationship with its environment, yet adjust to changes in space-time relationships. Both values and goals are a means for the Muslim system to adjust to change.

The Ills of Western Societies – The Remedy
73. West now recognizes the absence of spiritual values as the main reason behind the anxiety, confusion, madness, suicide, many other psychological and nervous disorders, and the feeling of perplexity and illusion among youth, all of which constitute a threat to the security, peace and welfare of humanity, despite all the material progress achieved during the last two centuries .
74. There is a deep-rooted contradiction between body and soul that can be only conciliated by suppressing one in favour of the other. One either suppresses the body to free the soul, or suppresses the soul in order to attain material emancipation. But, in reality, in neither case does suppression lead to goodness.
75. Islam, on the other hand, provided the balanced alternative which harmonises soul and body and disposed off any contradiction and conflict between them. Islam never accepted the idea of an irreconcilable conflict between these two entities. Moderation or equilibrium lies at the basis of God’s creation. And it is Islam which restores to man the balance and moderation with which he is endowed by God.

Gulf between Religion and Science – The Reply
76. A similar split occurred between religion and science. Man has an instinctive disposition to worship, yet he has too an instinctive disposition to know the secrets of the material world around him, and to subject these to his power. Both dispositions are instinctive and authentic: both are innate. No necessary contradiction, split or conflict exists between them. Divine Revelation provided no grounds for it, but man’s errors have created conflict and dispute between them. This dichotomy occurred in Europe at the beginning of the Renaissance when the Church opposed science and scholars, and threatened to bury, torture and kill people of science such as Copernicus, Galileo and Jordano Bruno. As time passed, the gap widened and the conflict deepened.
77. This misinterpretation of the nature of the relationship between the two subjects could not help but disturb man’s balance and security. It aroused conflict in man’s inner self between two genuine elements each requiring satisfaction. His anxiety is reinforced, and when he is forced to choose between satisfying his immediate needs, and fulfil the religious obligations thereby addressing a world altogether less real and tangible whose existence, in any case, he doubts, the decision likely to be made becomes evident.
78. Islam in its simplicity eliminates this contradiction again by means of a realistic and simple procedure. The God, who man worships in his prayers, is the same God who gave man knowledge for the first time, and the same God who invites man still to learning and knowledge. Thus comes the unity of orientation through the Oneness of God. Islam establishes a unity between religion and science and learning as between religion and life.

Suitability of Islam for Modern Times
79. This century has witnessed the growth among humans of a new awareness, namely, that mankind must live together, every group of it interdependent upon all the others. Fortunately Islam presents us with an excellent base, rational and critical, as well as tested by fourteen centuries of history. Our need for a sure and promising foundation on which to build a world-order of human relations obliges us to listen, to consider and to learn from Islam.

80. Contemporary Religions in Modern Times
a. Roman Catholic Church offers no salvation outside its bounds. That no one will be saved unless he is a member of the Catholic Church of Rome. As to Protestantism, we have still heard nothing regarding Islam except rumours and hearsay from individuals .
b. Judaism and Hinduism are ethnocentric religions by nature. In modern times, they have resurged more ethnocentric than ever. They offer no prospects of a dialogue with the other world religions.
81. Islam’s theory of other faiths still commands the loyalty and support of a billion Muslims around the world. It provides us with the best foundation for a religious world in which the religions honour one another’s claims without denying their own. It also provides us with the only legitimate foundation for seeking the religious unity of mankind.

Part VI
Recommendations
82. After having analysed the threat in fourth part of the paper and having discussed the validity of Islam as the most suitable religion for modern times, this part of the paper will give certain recommendations which can assist the Muslims of the world to come out of the current crisis and gradually move towards the glory which had been their hallmark in the past. The recommendations are given in ensuing paras.

83. Self Realisation. Today Muslim world lies prostrate before the West, divided, dumb and docile, stunned at the immense gap that exists between themselves and others. Realizing that they cannot match the west in either power or progress they are deeply perturbed. They should realize that they have very powerful weapons in their armoury which they have not been using for centuries. The weapons are the Quran___ the best code of life, and the Sunnah___ its finest demonstration. As already pointed out, these weapons have been tried by Muslims again and again for centuries and unfailingly, they enabled the Muslims to come out with a proper response to every challenge.
84. Religious Tolerance. Both in precept and practice Muslims were liberal, tolerant, and broadminded towards non-Muslims as well as towards Muslims holding different beliefs and giving various interpretations to Quranic verses. We do not hear of religious wars in Muslim history or of large-scale persecutions by the governments. Rigidity, obstinacy and narrow-mindedness in matters of religion among Muslims are later developments which are the result of several unhealthy factors. They were the cause as well as the consequence of decline and must be given up in the larger interest of the Ummah.
85. Liberal and Dynamic View. In this state of disarray, Islamic ideology and Muslim culture can be helpful provided we adopt a dynamic and liberal view, a universal and enlightened outlook, on accommodating and accepting attitude. For this, we do not have to give up the broad outline delineated by the Quran nor the simple cultural constraints imposed by its ideology. The only requirement is to keep Islam an easy religion and not make it difficult as was done by the protagonists of other faiths.
86. Unity of Ummah. The aspect of the unity of the Ummah is the most important factor in Muslim response to the challenge of the West because in today’s highly advanced world, pooling of resources is essential for any material progress. USA and other developed countries could become great powers because of the enormous resources at their disposal. Without achieving this objective, any steps for material progress and scientific and technological advance will hardly make any impact.
87. Meeting the Challenge of Fragmentation. Muslim response to the challenge of nationalism and political fragmentation imposed by the West has to take a route through the masses rather than through the bosses. Sufi organisational structure built up in the 12th century A.D. and later, can be adopted as a model with strapping of modern communication media attached and applied according to requirements. The Sufi organisational structure was so powerful and enduring that it enabled Muslim society to absorb the shock of devastating Mongol onslaught in the 13th century. It was established at the grass-rout level, among the masses, with frequent travelling linking one centre with the other through out the Muslim world, keeping communication constantly alive. This constant exchange of views, deliberation over common problems, efforts to evolve ways and means to combat inimical forces kept the spirit of unity throbbing in the hearts of Muslim masses and strengthened their faith in Islamic ideology. Pan – Islamism should be organised at the level of the masses and the intelligentsia through a chain of centres all over the Islamic world, having purely socio-cultural objectives to begin with .
88. Stable State Institutions. A great failure of most Muslim countries has been to establish sound and stable institutions in the political, judicial, economic and scientific fields. There is a dire need to establish stable state institutions to strive for national development and the development of Ummah as a whole.

89. Scientific Research. Muslims must concentrate on commitment to scientific research without giving up religion to achieve material progress. To begin with, Muslims should set up as many scientific laboratories as within their means and devote their talent to research work. Secondly, the Muslim World should change from an agricultural base to an industrial base which is a vital requisite for progress.
90. The Proper use of Media. Anyone today with access to a television, radio or newspaper will have been recently inundated with negative images of Muslims. In the age of the media, of the sound bite and of television images, Muslims have not yet found a way of expressing themselves adequately. Media can be used as a strong weapon to communicate Islamic point of view and to reduce the misunderstandings between West and the Islamic World. There is a need of a strong Islamic news channel which could be used to propagate the point of view of Muslims, just as leading channels like BBC and CNN are used by the West. There is also a requirement for Muslims to be visible in the Western media more frequently, on discussion programmes, on the radio and so on. It would allow them to project their point of view as well as to counter their exotic and alien image.
91. Outstanding Irritants. Finally, the major problems that cause so much anger and distress amongst Muslims need to be addressed: those of the Bosnians in Europe, the Palestinians in the Middle East and the Kashmir’s in South Asia. The West must illustrate to the Muslims that justice will be done in these cases; that the United Nations does not act only to hammer its enemies. In turn Muslims masses must exercise restraint and demonstrate that foreign embassies, diplomats, travellers and non-Muslims are safe in their countries.

Conclusion
92. Story of rise of Muslims as a world power is a unique one in the history of mankind. The Muslims rose from one of the remotest regions of the world and threatened the centuries old established civilisation. As such, these civilisations always

perceived Muslims as a threat. The Muslims who in their days of dominance were accommodative always found an atmosphere of hostility from their rivals. In the past century or so, many Muslim states have won independence from their Colonial Masters but in a way still remain their subject. The current state of Muslims is not reflective of their being followers of a religion which is most dynamic and progressive.

93. The current state of affairs whereby West is propagating Islam as a backward and brutal religion is not a new story. Our response to the current crisis will have to be a calculated one. We will have to act more intelligently realising the gravity of the threat and taking long term remedial measures. With an intelligent, modern and correctly directed approach we can still find a way out. Unlike individuals, civilisations have an infinite capacity of self regeneration. They can pull themselves back from the very edge of the crisis and regain balance. This is the time for Muslim society to assert its right to organise its existence according to its principles. If we fail, we may have failed for ever.

Annex A

ISLAM AND THE CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURY

EXTRACTS OF TALK BY DR ANIS AHMAD
AT COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE, QUETTA
(24 JUN 2002)

1. Features of 21st Century
a. Technology in society.
b. Communication of information.
c. End of Cold War and rise of Unipolarism.
d. Development of Ideological Exclusivism; Capitalism is system of the day.
e. Age of Clash of Civilizations.

2. Western View of Islam
a. Islam is an anti-Christian faith. The same concept was propagated by the famous Christian writer Martin Luther (1483-1546). This concept is contrary to truth as the great Crusades were not started by Muslims but by Christians.
b. All attempts have been made to distort the image of Holy Prophet (PBUH).
c. No attempt has been made to understand the concept of Holy War. The concept has been understood wrongly and is being widely propagated in the same manner.
d. Religious emotionalism is used to grasp political powers.
e. Islam is unjust to women in that there is discrimination in the law of inheritance, evidence of women is not treated equal in court and women are denied political leadership.
f. Islam is against the idea of “Liberal Democracy”.

3. Recent Western Comments about Islam
a. Muslim fundamentalism is being declared as dangerous a threat as Communism was once. (Comments by the Secretary General NATO in a TV interview).
b. From November 1994 to May 1997, the Daily Telegraph published 194 items using term Fundamentalism out of which 142 items were used against Islam.
c. Distorted images of Muslims conducting acts of terrorism against Westerns and women are being published in various periodicals as a routine matter.

4. Muslim View of West
a. West stands for Godless materialistic ideology devoid of spirituality and values of morality.
b. It stands for political, racial and cultural colonialism.
c. It stands for crusading anti-Islamic civilization.
d. It stands for modernity, liberalism, democracy and secularism.
e. It has most of the good teachings of Islam except belief in Allah and the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

5. Muslim Understanding of Islam
a. Ritualistic Religion.
b. Spiritualism.
c. A legalistic Religion.
d. Concerned about personal salvation more and about the society less.
e. Muslims ourselves have not justified the obligations of Islam.

6. Quranic point of view of Islam
a. Universalistic and comprehensive guidance.
b. Dynamic view of Din; religion has not a narrow connotation.

7. Challenges of 21st Century
a. Globalization of economy, political power, culture, media and education.
b. Economic blackmail of 3rd World Countries.
c. Enforced alliance with the World Power. Only other alternative is to become her enemy.
d. Intellectual and cultural crisis.
e. Social crisis.
f. Moral crisis or crisis of values.
g. Beginning of a “Crusade” or clash of civilizations.

8. Muslim Response
a. Need to study and understand Islamic Culture, values and thoughts.
b. Non-apologetic, simple, straight forward and honest communication of Islam.
c. Rebuilding confidence in values of Iman, Taqwa and Jihad.
d. Adoption of simple living, complete trust in Allah and adoption of Islamic way of living.
e. Must guard against getting dissolved in the cultural assault of the West.
f. Development of Islamic personality and building of Muslim family.
g. Development of Ummatic attitude as compared to individualism.
h. Development of a knowledge based society.
j. Excellence in thought through an integrated use of ijtihad and technological developments of modern times.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. The Challenge of Islam by Altaf Gauhar
2. The Future of Muslim Civilization by Ziauddin Sardar
3. The Spirit of Islam by Ameer Ali
4. Islamic Civilization by RM Savory
5. THE HEIGHTS Glory of Muslim World by Ahmed Abdulla
6. Living Islam by Akbar S Ahmed
7. Periodical “IRANIAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS” Article by Salim Mansur
8. Talk delivered by Dr Anis Ahmad to students of Staff College 2002 on “Islam and Challenges of 21st Century “on 24 June 2002.

INTRODUCTION
1. Inheritors of the world’s oldest civilization, the Chinese can be justly proud of their achievements. Creation of a written language, development of elaborate techniques of silk weaving, wet rice cultivation, invention of the compass and gunpowder are but a few of the more outstanding of these accomplishments.
2. Socialist China, with a 5000 years old culture and one fifth of the population of world is historically a special country; Chinese have had for centuries, a continuous society and self contained civilization with its own racial, social, cultural, spiritual and technological characteristics. They are among the world’s most tenacious and resilient people. China is a large country. Her 3.8 million square miles of territory is forty times the size of United Kingdom and larger than United States including Alaska and Hawaii. This immense domain has made it extremely difficult to be annihilated by other nations.
3. Over the last two decades China has experimented boldly and has fired the imagination of the world. The present Chinese government, under the pressure of communism’s failure in Eastern Europe, is reshaping its ancient civilization. They are well poised to play a major role on the international political scene in the present day uni polar world. Their desire is peaceful environment, which is imperative for domestic economic development. In view of the progress made by China over the last fifty years, one is naturally inspired to project the changes in the next century in order to look at probable future of this great nation.
AIM
4. To carry out an analyses of the future of market socialism in light of reforms introduced by Deng Xiao Pang.
SCOPE.
5. The subject shall be dealt in the following manner
a. Part I Historical Perspective
b. Part II Synopsis of Dengism
c. Part III Future of Market Socialism
d. Part IV Conclusion
PART I – HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
6. More than a century ago Napoleon Bonaparte had remarked, ” China, there lies a sleeping giant let him sleep, for when he wakes he will shake the world” . Within a century of Napoleon’s death, China began to awaken, and its awakening has indeed shaken the world.
7. For some 3000 years, China has been one of the main centres of the world. Rivaled for sheer power and sophisticated living only by the Roman imperial colossus, Despite many vicissitudes, China has continued to endure as a political entity, and in it has once again surged to the forefront of the international affairs. Prehistoric China is shrouded in mystery from 2000 BC to 1500 BC. Following dynasties followed the course of history until early 20th century :-
a. Xia(2000-1500 BC)
b. Shang(1700-1027BC)
c. Western Zhou(1027-770BC)
d. Eastern Zhou(770-221BC)
e. Chin (221-207 BC).
f. Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD).
g. Eastern Han(25-220)
h. Sui (581-617 AD)
i. Tang (618-907 AD).
j. Song (960-1279 AD)
k. Yuan (1279-1368 AD)
l. Ming (1368-1644 AD)
m. Manchu(Qing) (1644-1912 AD)
8. During different dynasties there was always a certain kind of political and administrative machinery. Thus, China’s political past gave her almost everything, a society needs.
9. China under Mao (1949-1976). By 1926, the Kuomintang was facing many internal and external threats. Taking advantage of this unrest, the communists started their campaigns. The two groups fought each other from 1927 to 1949. The Red Army of Mao took 25,000 miles Long March, which took a year and involved large scale fighting against the Kuomintang. This Long March of the Red Army opened the path to liberation, and ultimately brought the downfall of the Kuomintang in the Mainland China, in 1949. This ushered in the success of Chinese Communist Party -forming its Government in China. Immediately the new Government established its contact with the Soviet Union and based its principles on the concept of Leninist party organization .
PART II – SYNOPSIS OF DENGISM
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a black or a white cat, as long as it catches mice”
Deng Xiao Pang
10. When Deng Xiaoping returned to power, he was highly critical of the country’s economic situation. In December 1978, at the widely publicized Third Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP), Deng reintroduced the Four Modernizations with much fanfare, and added to them a sweeping reform of the planning and management system in industry and agriculture. The order of the four modernizations put agriculture first, followed by light and then heavy industry. Science and technology and defense were prioritized third and fourth, respectively .
11. Of a host of reforms introduced by Deng, few major ones are described in the succeeding paragraphs
a. Agricultural Reforms. Deng fixed quotas for the farmers for each produce. Anything they raised or produced beyond these quotas was theirs to keep, or to sell in the free market. To bolster agriculture, more credit was made available to it than ever before. In 1978 alone, state banks and credit cooperatives put an unprecedented 25 billion Yuan at the disposal of production brigade.
b. The Private Sector. In urban areas, Deng’s reforms called for a rapid revival of the private sector. By the end of 1983, the private sector employed seventeen million people. As of 1990, this had risen to twenty five million .
c. Private Enterprises. The lynchpin of economic reforms, however, laid elsewhere; in the delegation of greater authority to individual enterprises in order to transform them into more independent units that would be responsible for their own successes and failures. Beginning in 1979, the government issued a number of directives and regulations designed to implement decentralization. Many state imposed mandatory quotas were lowered. Instead of requiring factories to turn over their profits to the state, taxes were levied .
d. Price System Reforms. In 1983, a transitional two-tier price system was adopted; a government set price for materials covered by the state plan and a negotiated price that was normally well above that of the government set price, was introduced .
e. Revival of Examination System. Intellectually rigorous examinations were reintroduced as the criterion for admission to universities . At the same time, the requirement for political reliability was quietly downgraded.
f. Red and Experts. Under the new regime, “redness” was to be less important than “expertness”. In order to enlist the support of intellectuals, the Maoist characterization of them as the stinking ninth category” was removed.
g. Class Labels. Class labels, such as “capitalist and landlord”, that had been awarded as long as thirty years ago and that had been hereditary, were removed . An investigation was promised into the verdicts rendered during Cultural Revolution, those discovered to have been wronged their verdicts reversed.
h. Religious Freedom. A new, much more tolerant policy was announced with regards to religion. Services could again be held and the government offered help in rebuilding Mosques, Churches and Temples that had been destroyed.
i. Political Reforms. As far as the political system is concerned, constitutional guarantees and procedures would also be extended to the electoral system . In sharp contrast to the practice of the previous decade, party and the state organs would hence forth meet at their scheduled times. Elections for the representatives thereto were to be held by secret ballot. There would be more candidates than the positions, although only in lower level elections. This would be the first step towards competitive elections.
j. Politics of the Economy under Deng. The profit motive was restored. Factories were allowed to retain their earnings beyond a certain amount, and peasants were free to sell in the free market whatever they raised beyond fixed quota to be delivered to the government. By modernization Deng appeared primarily to mean industrialization and attainment of higher standard for the population.
An Overview of China’s National Economic and Social Development.
12. Till 1997 China continued to deepen its reforms and open wider to the outside world. Substantial progress was made in restructuring the national economy, which continued its steady pace of development.
a. The national economy realized “high growth with low inflation” in 1997. The GDP reached 7,477.2 billion-Yuan, an 8.8 percent increase over the previous year, calculated in constant prices.
b. Country’s total grain output reached 492.5 million tons , the second-highest yield in China’s history.
c. Key projects were boosted in 1997, as a total of 145.7 billion Yuan was invested in 129 key national projects.
d. Over the year, the volume of import and export trade totaled 325.1 billion US dollars, an increase of 12.1 percent over the previous year.
e. Per capita disposable income of urban residents was 5,160 Yuan, and the per capita net income of rural residents was 2,090 Yuan, increase of 3.4 and 4.6 percent respectively.
PART III – FUTURE OF MARKET SOCIALISM
13. At the third plenum of the 11th Communist Party Congress, a newly reinstated Deng Xiaoping assumed control of the country, promising to replace class struggle with modernization. In the two decades since that pledge was made, the mainland has been transformed both materially and culturally. Mobile phones are as ubiquitous today as Little Red Books were during the Mao era. Karaoke parties now take the place of class-struggle sessions. The number of high-rise buildings in the country is possibly greater than in the rest of the world combined. Coastal cities look surprisingly like metropolises in any middle-income country .
14. As the mainland is still changing its national statistical system to reflect a market economy, there is bound to be a problem with the accuracy of statistics. Any assessment therefore of how successful this has been and weather or not the market socialism has a future, presents problems of what weight to assign to the various criteria of success. For example, those who place high value on the criterion of a system’s ability to keep peace , or that of satisfying its citizen’s minimal needs for existence, will make a judgment very different from those whose greatest concern are things like human rights and freedom of the press. Another problem is how to assess the system’s failure. Should one consider it as aberration of the system and therefore discount its disastrous effects, or as evidence of fatal structural flaws in the Chinese Communist system itself? In addition, every political system has both its backers and detractors. A critical analyses of these may help us arriving at some sort of a conclusion:-
Analyses
15. Strengths. Implementation of Deng’s reforms started improvement in living standards of a common man. The Chinese economy turned in a creditable performance over the past decade. Deng’s legal reforms are generally regarded as a significant improvement over the legal nihilist views of the Cultural Revolution.
a. Party and government deserve credit for feeding and clothing 22% of the world’s population on a mere 7% of the world’s arable land. The average Chinese has a life span of just over 70 years, putting China nearly at the level of more developed nations and well ahead of many developing areas.
b. Thousands of miles of railroad and highways have been built, and the country’s industrial base has been greatly expanded.
c. The Chinese have developed a nuclear deterrence capability and sell a variety of military equipment to the third world. It is regarded as a major actor in the international affairs.
d. China is a respected member of United Nations and permanent member of UNSC.
e. Deng Xiaoping‘s education policy has succeeded in changing a literacy of 25% to one of almost 85%.
f. The one-child policy was rigorously enforced. The population has grown 28 per cent in the past two decades, compared with 47 percent in the previous two decades.
g. Peasants had become sluggish and inactive under the People’s Commune system. When they were given back their land, it ignited a revolution in agricultural productivity.
h. Investment by the non-state sector, mainly by township and village enterprises and foreign investors, was encouraged in the mid-1980s, which sparked the most spectacular export boom.
i. The most important accomplishment of Dengism was its success in releasing the economy from the stranglehold of leftist policies without incurring massive social upheaval, which would have meant widespread starvation.
16. Weaknesses. Following can be turned as the weak points or potential threats to the future of market socialism.
a. The transformation, however, were accompanied by rapidly increasing differences between rich and poor, in terms of both individual person’s and geographic regions. If Deng’s reforms made some people and areas wealthier, they made others relatively poorer. ”
b. Abolition of the communes and decentralization of economic decision making led to deterioration of the capabilities of central level institutions, generally without the emergence of compensatory mechanism to fulfill many of the services they had provided. Local and regional protectionist tendencies in the economy and even in court system caused problems for further development of a nation wide market directed by the party from the capital city. Decentralization and market reforms also strengthened centrifugal forces in ethnic minorities’ areas.
c. The rule of law, the most important component of a modern market economy, has yet to mature in the mainland.
d. The incentive framework has become highly complex and has eroded the state’s capacity to collect taxes. Deng’s pragmatism policy means local governments have been encouraged to give special incentives to fresh investments; but local governments all have ambitious development plans of their own, which require additional funding. This suggests the country
e. should standardize its tax system so it can provide a dependable source of funds for development and is perceived by the people as fair.
f. The separation of government and business is essential for creating a level playing field for investors, a critical factor in the development of a market economy. Businesses alone cannot take advantage of the arbitrage opportunities created by gradualism but government-sponsored businesses can. Existence of such a system often undermines the effectiveness of government agencies in providing public services and creates a prevailing sense that becoming rich is only possible for the powerful.
g. Civil service reform is necessary to slim down the government, delineating better the roles of government agencies and improving material rewards for civil servants.
h. The state enterprise sector is in a critical condition because deflation has destroyed the cash flow of many industries. The chronic need for banks to prop up state enterprises has led to the banking system having a large amount of non-performing assets, making meaningful banking reforms difficult.
i. The mainland must impose discipline on the extension of new loans, based on the financial viability of investments. This would stop non-performing assets being added to the already-large stock in the financial system.
j. The most serious immediate challenge in economics and politics is the need to create enough jobs for the large pool of surplus rural labor (more than 150 million), laid-off state-enterprise workers (10 to 30 million) and new entrants into the labor force (25 million) . The numbers suggest the mainland cannot possibly create enough jobs in the formal economy to solve its employment problem over the next few years. This means wages in the grey economy will be constantly under pressure, exerting deflationary pressure on the formal economy.
k. Housing reform and the replacement of a state-sponsored system by an insurance-like social safety net needs completion.
l. Accession to the World Trade Organization can only aggravate the problem of instability because membership will limit the ability of the regime to defer solutions to critical problems.
CONCLUSION
17. China today is passing through the most critical stage of its history, where even the very existence China is in danger. Unlike Russians the reforms made by the Chinese are gradual and in accordance with their nature, therefore China’s transition to a moderate social structure had a positive impact. In my humble view, it is amply evident that the transformation of a socialist China into a capitalist one is just a matter of time, however this transformation is going to be very slow, controlled and gradual so as to avoid any Russia like turmoil.
18. With the membership of WTO China has been posed another serious problem. In the light of the impacts discussed in the preceding paragraphs I personally feel that if China is able to fight the short term ill effects it is going to benefit a lot in the future and will definitely emerge as the next super power.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
19. Xie Andy, China: After 20 Years of Dengism, What Lies Ahead? [online] www.bradynet.com/bbs/china/100006-0.html
20. June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, Modernization and Tradition (Macmillan Press Ltd., Second Edition 1996).
21. Gittings John, China Changes Face (Oxford University Press, UK).
22. Shangquan Gao, The development of China’s non governmentally and privately operated economy, (Foreign language press Beijing).
23. Arshad Syed Khan, The People’s Republic of China. A Study in Political System (Progressive Publishers, Karachi, 1971).
24. Eberhard Wolfram, A History of China (Routledge and Kegan Paul London).

THEME
It is generally agreed that conflicts are endemic to and inherent in human nature, recorded history bears evidence to this fact, as conflict in human history has persisted as a historical constant. However in the past tribes and societies clashed owing to a range of reasons, but since the time that states had established themselves as predominant actors in the international system, conflicts between them have increasingly occurred due to the clash of National interests. Despite this fact many in the west perceived the cold war era as a clash between contending ideologies rather than states or of USSR, the age of clashes between ideologies has terminated. Samuel P. Huntington belonging to a similar school of thought has advanced the thesis that the clash in future will occur primarily between the major contemporary civilizations and not the states. The thesis in not only provocative but has dangerous dimensions for nation states like Pakistan which is entrapped between major civilizations. It therefore merits an in depth analysis to ascertain its veracity and ramification.
SUB THEME
The clashes amongst various nations at the world arena occur in the pursuance of their respective national interests rather than their civilization imperatives.
ABSTRACT OF CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS
Neither civilization nor culture has become the “fundamental source of conflict. All the major religions of the world give a very high status to man. All the world religions teach that there is only one ultimate reality, which we call God. All of the world religions make absolute claims to truth. War, unrest and disharmony are loathed by all the religions” May it be World Wars, Iran- Iraq War, Gulf War and America-Afghan War. Nation states have been fighting for their political, ideological and territorial interests. There have been conflicts among different as well as same civilizations. In the future also, there will be conflicts on the basis of national interests and not on the lines of civilizations. Yes, there will be a degree of moral and political support for the kin civilization but one nation will not align with another nation without having a national interest. In the recent American- Afghan War we saw American’s destroying everything that came in their way; but there was no substantial reaction from the Muslim Ummah. However, if the attitude of the United Nations and USA do not change towards Muslims there can be a possibility of a clash between the Muslim and the Western civilizations.
Introduction
1. The 20th Century ended with the triumph of capitalism over communism. It was claimed that man’s ideological evolution had come to an end with the collapse of Marxism and the ultimate victory of western liberal democratic capitalist system as the ultimate form of human government. Most of the 20th century remained trapped in misery, chaos, pain and suffering.
2. The new millennium has set in with new hopes and horizons. But the suffering of mankind has still no end in sight. The reasons for this gloomy scenario can be attributed to the prevalent master paradigm in international relations, which is based on the discourse of power, which plunged mankind into the two World Wars. It was the blatant show of might in the guise of ideology, which brought humanity to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. Though the west emerged victorious in this ideological battle, yet to retain its hold on its might, required a search for another enemy. This search led the West to evolve a new and novel paradigm in the shape of ‘Clash of Civilizations’. Samuel Huntington’s thesis projected culture as the fundamental source of future conflicts. According to him, nation states will continue to play a crucial role in international relations but civilizational forces will increasingly overshadow the former.
3. This is not a world where the writ of civilizations runs. Civilizations and civilizational fidelities remain. There is to them an astonishing measure of permanence. But let us be clear, civilizations do not control states, states control civilizations. States avert their gaze from blood ties when they need to; they see brotherhood and faith and kin when it is in their interest to do so. This becomes evident from the Iran- Iraq war, Kuwait’s invasion by Iraq and then Muslim stand against America’s war against Afghanistan. We remain in the world of self help. The solitude of states continues; the disorder in the contemporary world has rendered that solitude more pronounced.
Aim
4. To evaluate whether nations fight for their national interests or civilizational imperatives.
Scope
5. The paper has been developed in following parts:-
a. Is the clash of civilizations is inevitable?
b. The world order and reasons of conflict.
c. Analysis and recommendations.
PART I
IS THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS INEVITABLE
6. General. According to Huntington, ‘differences among civilizations are not only real, they are basic. Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition and most importantly from religion. Differences over religious beliefs and practices are natural, but it would be an exaggeration to label them as fundamental and basic irreconcilable factors leading to clashes. As a matter of fact, different religions emerged out of specific traditions within particular backgrounds. Therefore, differences are inherent to that process. The need of religion arises wholly within the human consciousness and, “Human beings have to face certain common problems in the world and because people of different religions share certain common feelings, ideas and sentiments, therefore, there are bound to be certain similarities”.
a. Commonalities among Civilizations. If commonalities and differences among major religions of the world are inherent and natural, then a comparative study of this aspect becomes an imperative to gauge whether there is a divisive or a bridgeable gulf among the various clashing civilizations of the world:-
(1) First is the concept of God as viewed by the five major religions of the world i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There is general agreement amongst all these religions; most of them either strictly or loosely believe in only one supreme power, all knowing creator, God.
(2) All the religions firmly believe that the world has been created by God and is subject to destruction by Him, at any time in future.
(3) Then we take on the concept of Man as viewed by these religions. All the major religions of the world give a very high status to man. Since Buddhism does not believe in God in its traditional sense, therefore man becomes the highest being, capable of attaining ‘Godhood’ by himself.
(4) Evil and suffering is a burning fact of life. While the world religions accept that evil and suffering have been allowed by God for some good inherent purpose, their essential details differ with each religion.
b. Differences among Civilizations. One of the most puzzling questions of our age is how to account for the great number and diversity of world religions and at the same time, to acknowledge their similarities is also one of the most challenging social issues confronting humanity. Disputes and disagreements over religious beliefs have been and continue to be one of the main sources of conflict, civil war, terrorism and even genocide in the modern world. As the noted theologian Hans Küng has said: “There will be no peace among the peoples of the world without peace among the world religions.” The fact that religion appears in such colorful variety that there is not one single religion but a plurality; has always been a source of irritation for people. Dr. Schaefer writes, “Religions are in many ways similar, and yet they are so different; there is much which unites them, but also much which divides them. This is indeed irritating. All the world religions teach that there is only one ultimate reality, which we call God. If that is so, there can logically be, only one truth: But, if there is only one truth, why are there so many religions?”
All of the world religions make absolute claims to truth. Each is convinced that it possesses a divine message brought by its founder which to them is ‘the way, the truth and the life.’ The problem with this attitude is that it too often leads to intolerance. “This claim to exclusivity and superiority, in which one’s own religion is regarded as a priority better than others easily slips into fanaticism”.
7. The Concept of State and Interstate Relations. All the religions outline a political order framed for the welfare of its followers and aspire for universal brotherhood and international peace. War, unrest and disharmony are loathed by all the religions. Although these world religions follow different practices to assert their viewpoints regarding state and inter state relations, yet they happen to arrive at similar conclusions.
a. Hindu Concept. The kings of Hindu era who generally belonged to the Kshtriya caste were thought to be divinely appointed and ruled by the ‘grace of the gods’ and it was the divine law of Dharma(righteousness) not the legislative law of men which the king was to obey. The existence of the state was primarily dependent on two factors; Danda and Dharma the social order, that is, the preservation of the caste structure. Even Rama the ‘ideal ruler’ of the ideal state of Ramraj ruled according to the Dharma. The principal method by which a king was to extend his dominions and govern his own kingdom were called upayas. These were: conciliation/ negotiation (Sama), giving presents/bribes (Dana), causing/sowing dissension among foes (bheda) and war or punishment (danda) .
b. Buddha Concept. Buddhist views about the state are almost similar to Hinduism because of their common origins. The roots of political thoughts in Buddhism can be found in ancient India, but the real development of Buddhism occurred in sixth to third century B.C, when the Mauryan Empire dominated the sub-continent. The third ruler of the empire, King Ashoka, who acceded to power in 270 B. C. Ashoka attempted to establish a ‘true dharma’ in his realm based on the virtues of self-control, impartiality, cheerfulness, truthfulness and goodness. Though he did not found a state church, he did attempt to make for the state a church that would include Hindus, Janis and Buddhist alike. His aim was to create a religious and social milieu that would enable the ‘children of the king’ to live happily and attain heaven in the next live. A system of dharma officers was set up to provide for the empire magistrates, district attorneys, preachers, bureaucrats, social workers and spies.
c. Christian Concept. Christianity has developed two schools of thoughts in defining state and interstate relations. The first is the Augustinian Tradition, which had a major influence upon the 12th and 13th centuries. The second is Thomas Aquinas, who influenced the Roman Catholics thinking on the concept of the state, which prevails to the present. St. Augustine asserts man is a passionate being and creature driven by love. The instrument of reason does not transcend the special love, which the self has for its own interest. Reason projects self-interest as a universal claim, but it is love that rules. However, Augustine holds the view that the love that wins is in fact the ‘disorderly love’ which seeks to advance the self at the expense of all others. It is the common love that binds a group of people together into a community or a society. For instance, Augustine states that it was the ‘common love of glory’ of ‘love to dominate ‘that bounds the Roman together into a like-minded community. St. Aquinas’ thoughts are in a sharp contrast to that of Augustine’s. He asserts that state provides us with common things, and by virtue of which we transcend our immediacy and carry on the common concourse of life. He says that self interest, if perceived accurately, leads not to selfishness but to the ‘common good’ and the public order. The modern Christian community still derives inspiration both from Augustine’s realism and Aquinas’ optimism. The policy makers of the West have transformed self-interest into the new realism of national interest. The West has also come to realize that the world in which they live today has become transnational and Aquinas’ ‘common good’ theory has a universal appeal and applicability.
d. Judah Concept. Judaism approaches the concept of the state and universal brotherhood in a cautious manner. The Judaic political philosophy recognizes the indispensability of the state, but at the same time admits the dangers inherent in it. As stated by a commentator, in Judaism; the state in indispensable, otherwise the threat of internal chaos and defenseless resistance to aggression will overwhelm the people. Therefore, the state is a defense against sin in the social order. But the state also becomes a vehicle of sin when: The necessity of the nation state does put into power groups of people over other people. The wielders of power face the constant temptation of increasing their power at the expense of others. J Pedersen, a political observer on Jewish statehood writes, ‘when we see a soul we always see a community rising behind it’. But, Judaism sees the universal brotherhood as too idealist to be achieved perfectly in this imperfect world. It fears that pursuance of this lofty ideal can lead to uncontrollable destruction. Therefore, Judaism finds a middle ground by floating the notion of ‘Berith’ or a covenant. A Berith is a mutual agreement in which two or more existence. Judaism sees little prospects for a perfect universal brotherhood. It stresses a partial unity instead.
e. Islamic Concept. The universal brotherhood envisaged by Islam breaks all ethnic bonds, territorial affiliations and national boundaries. The Quran asserts: ‘O Human, We have created you of a single pair and constituted you into tribes and nations that you may identify one another. Nobler in the eye of Allah is the more righteous’. (49:13) Nations and tribes are not meant to divide human beings; they are only for the identification purposes. Islam embraces a universal community under one single arch of Ummah. The Islamic state is an expanding world. Ummah designed eventually to include humanity as its citizens. The communities, which constitute the world Ummah, were to co-exist in peace. It is a kind of United Nations, to preserve peace and with respect and concern for the spiritual identity of the members. It is the expression of Islamic humanism. Islam’s political order rests on the fulfillment of Allah’s commandments so that an ordered society is established. The State, therefore, is the focus of Uammatic activity. The State is the mobiliser and organizer of collective human energy, towards achieving the desired goal of peace and tranquility. The world order that Islam envisages, therefore, is an order of peace where no ethnic group, or a nation, would be at odds with another. Humanity continues to be arranged in continents, provinces and ethnic groups, but under the concept of universal brotherhood, none would have the God-given right to commit aggression upon another. Such a socio-political order is to be maintained not by the whims of statesmen, or by any bill of legislation, but by what Allah has ordained. The first Islamic State, established in 7th century A.D. at Medina, where the Jews and Muslims lived side by side, was the true implementation of the Divine Laws.
PART II
WORLD ORDER AND REASONS OF CONFLICTS8. General. During the Cold War, the people, in general believed that the conflict between the two super powers will end up in favour of humanity; the world will become more peaceful to live, economically more prosperous, politically more democratic and , overall , a more free world. The West, more so the US, tried to claim similar intentions under the guise of New World Order (NWO). But the event has proved otherwise. The end of Cold War and events to date are contrary to the hopes and gains. After the demise of Russia there exist a unipolar World, in which America has emerged as sole super power and there is no disagreement on that in the intellectual and political spheres.
a. Present World Order. With the end of the Cold War, the US President George Bush, in early 1990, came out with a fresh call for a new world order. Iraq’s disastrous attack on Kuwait and the US led Gulf War were used as the harbinger of the alleged new world order. It was claimed that “no aggressor would, in future, be allowed to go unpunished”; that “international boundaries would not be allowed to be changed arbitrarily”; that “it would be ensured that any violation of human rights is brought to an end” without the constraints of national boundaries; and that “the United Nations would play a new role as the peace keeper of the world”. With the establishment of these principles, it was suggested that humanity is bound to enter in to a new era of cooperation and security.
(1) Faulty Birth of World Order. It is basically, like an illegitimate child because it took its birth from the use of brutal force against Iraq. Other responsible countries in the region were neither given a chance nor the right to solve their problems. It is perceived that events were preplanned. Such perceptions can conveniently be supported by the measures like providing full support to Iraq against Iran, encouraging Iraq to attack Kuwait and moving the forces to the Gulf Region even before the start of the invasion. Thus the principles projected on the birth of New World Order(NWO), obviously, become doubtful.
(2) Self Defeating Definition of Claimed Principles. Since the West has its own definition, therefore, the claimed principles of NWO have become mere rhetoric. The definition of “aggressor” has been confused and the “occupation forces” have changed their style. The “international boundaries” have been tampered with and are being continuously threatened. The “human rights” violations are being treated discriminately. United Nations is playing the role of “peacekeeper” as the West wants. In short, because of self-suiting definitions, the goodwill has also been defeated due to violation of the claimed principles by those who set forth these principles.
(3) 20th Century Claims for World Order. After the First World War, the American President, Woodrow Wilson, tried to break some fresh air into the debate on the future world order and came out with a dream of a world, ruled by principles and universally accepted values. Wilson’s world order could neither prevent wars nor polarization. The world was split politically to the extent that it saw another world war, just after two decades. At the end of the Second World War, new hopes were nurtured, once again. The UN was founded, and prospects of a new era were trumpeted. Very soon, these hopes were shattered as well, and humans entered into an era of a disastrous Cold War, stretched over four decades. This time, the world ended up with deep divisions of all kinds: political, economic, social, cultural, religious, ideological etcetera. Military, the world is busy in the mad race of nuclearization, engulfing even the poorest countries of the globe. Economically, the world is heading to a great disorder. Seeing this World Order, purely from the point of view of history, it is visible that:-
(a) Firstly, it is again an American brand world order.
(b) Secondly, it genuinely lacks sincerity of purpose and goodwill.
(c) Thirdly, events to date have proven otherwise.
(1) To Date Progress. A summary of events contrary to the proclaimed principles of NWO that no aggressor, in future, would go unpunished; that international boundaries would not be allowed to be changed arbitrarily; that no violation of human rights be let: that the UN would play a peacekeeper’s role, is given as under:-
(a) Continuing attack on Iraq against the wishes of world community and the UN Charter.
(b) Threatening the sovereignty of nations through missile attacks and the threats therein.
(c) Violating air space of countries like Pakistan and Iran during attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq respectively.
(d) Israel and India continue to be allowed to violate NWO.
(e) Ever increasing hypocrisy in establishing standards against human rights violations.
(f) Dual policy on the issue of nuclearization and non nuclearization and resultant threats to the third world countries.
(g) Ever increasing civil wars and pumping up of the prejudice openly, as this suit to the West.
(h) Creation of economic crises in third world countries and the doubtful roles of World Bank, IMF and WTO.
(i) Degeneration and irrelevance of the UN rules, leading to the abuse of its charter.
(j) Allowing and practicing dual standards for acts of terrorism.
(k) Mixing terrorism with freedom struggles.
(l) Taking action against only Muslim terrorists and projecting Islam as religion encouraging use of violent force.
(5) Impact on Islamic World
(a) In spite of the fact that Muslims constitute over one fifth of the humanity, yet Islam remains the most misunderstood religion in the West. The bogey of Islamic fundamentalism, therefore, is perceived to be the next threat to the West as visualized by Huntington.
(b) In the past, Muslims have suffered at the hands of the Western colonial powers. The Islamic world, therefore, perceives to be threatened by the new style of colonization reflected in the unfolding of the NWO.
9. The Changing World Order
a. European Union is Strengthening itself. United States and its Cold War allies no longer have a shared view of the world and its dangers. The war against terrorism has opened this breach. None of America’s friends and allies is against a war against terrorism, but it has failed to provide an explanation of how this war is to be conducted, an explanation that convinces or reassures them that Washington understands the risks of what it is doing. George W. Bush has said that this is a war against evil, which makes European and others uncomfortable. By definition, a war against evil is unlimited and interminable. Moreover, European Union has introduced Euro and has a different perception about the world affairs as compared to America. It has all the potentials to part ways with America and makes another bloc.
b. Asia Pacific may emerge as another Power. What Huntington fears and is hoped by the world, that Asia Pacific region will emerge as a global power to thwart American and Western dominance. Particularly Chinese are excelling in every field except Militarization at the moment to make themselves strong and they have resolved most of their problems with their neighbours peacefully. Huntington also fears Confucian civilization to be a danger for the West for the reasons that they have growing relations with the Muslims.
10. Reasons of Recent Conflicts
a. Iran Iraq War. The Iran-Iraq War permanently altered the course of Iraqi history. It strained Iraqi political and social life, and led to severe economic dislocations. The problem in the area escalated when the Iraqi Kurds rebelled against the government. Their stand was supported by the Iranians, which eventually led to the Iraqis accepting new peace talks in 1975. In that, the waterway of Shatt al Arab was split down the middle, giving each country an even share. Saddam Hussein, despite having made significant strides in forging an Iraqi nation-state, feared that Iran’s new revolutionary leadership would threaten Iraq’s delicate Sunni-Shia balance .(About 55% of Iraq’s population was Shia) and would exploit Iraq’s geo-strategic vulnerabilities–Iraq’s minimal access to the Persian Gulf, for example. In this respect, Saddam Hussein’s decision to invade Iran has historical precedent. Above all, Iraq launched the war in an effort to consolidate its rising power in the Arab world and to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state.
b. The Gulf War. There were events from 1970s to 1980s that would prompt the invasion, and one of the most significant was the Iran-Iraq War. There were five other reasons for Iraq’s decision to invade Kuwait, which are as under:-
(1) Iraq could not repay the $80 billion that had been borrowed to finance the Iran- Iraq War.
(2) Kuwait’s decision, not to forgive Iraq’s $80 billion debt provided economic and emotional justification for the Iraqi invasion.
(3) The Kuwaitis were incredibly rich and had huge investments abroad. Access to this wealth could resolve Iraq’s financial problems.
(4) Yet another reason was alleged Kuwaiti oil drilling in the Rumaila oil field, which lay in disputed territory.
(5) Kuwaiti overproduction of oil. Gulf revenues were depressed as a result of an oil glut on the spot market in the late 1980s, and on 17July1990, Saddam threatened to use force as retribution for Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had cost Iraq $14 billion in oil revenue.
c. American Afghan War. These were not merely two towers which led to the unlimited war. There was much more to this end and that was, to have an access to oil reserves of Central Asian States and reduce the dominance of China, by having strong military forces in the region. Another aim of American’s was, to have a strong check on the rising militancy in the Muslim world by curbing the few militant organizations and warning the others to refrain from it. Moreover, America wanted to reiterate its dominance by exponential show of its military advancements.
PART III
ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
11. General. The end of the Cold War has indeed brought a new phase in world politics, yet its impact is not unidirectional. The tense confrontation between the two armed camps has disappeared and in this sense ideological conflict seems to have come to an end, for the moment. But, conflict of economic and political interests are becoming more and more common among the major nations of the world. Neither civilization nor culture has become, “the fundamental source of conflict in this new world.” The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany may no longer exist, but the economic, social and political factors that led to their emergence still do. The Cold War has ended, but hot Wars rage in more than thirty countries and regions. We can hardly say this phenomena result from conflict between different civilizations.
a. The logic of history. It is evident from the history of the world and preceding discussion that the conflicts always erupted due to differences among nations on issues ranging from political to ideological and even religious. But history is also witness to the fact that there have been conflicts between civilizations and within civilizations. The driving force being the national interests behind these conflicts. May it be World Wars, Iran- Iraq War, Gulf War or America-Afghan War, in all these conflicts the overriding factor was Nation and not the civilization.
b. The Blind Future. There have been conflicts on religious as well as on political and ideological basis. Nation states have been fighting for their political, ideological and territorial interests. Conflicts have been among different as well as intra civilizations (i.e. Iran-Iraq war, Gulf war, America’s war with Afghanistan and Muslim stand towards the American war). It can safely be assumed, that in the future also, there will be conflicts on the basis of national interests and not on the lines of civilizations. Yes, there will be a degree of moral and political support for the kin civilizations but one nation will not jump into the war of another nation without having any national interest. The present anti terrorism war mainly led by USA is aimed at eliminating terrorism alone; however its manifestation does not bear the testimony of its definition. If it were to root out terrorism alone, then it should not have encouraged undeclared Muslim genocide. It may be relevant to fear, that if the present drive against terrorism continues unabated, Muslims would be pushed against the wall to the last extremity. Such a scenario where the interests of the individual nation states are likely to be compromised on one pretext or the other, there might be a situation wherein individual nations for their survival may group on the basis of civilization to fight their way through.
12. Who will fight future war and why? Huntington would have nations battled for market shares rather than civilizational ties and faithfulness. To learn how to compete in a merciless world economy, provide jobs, and move out of poverty. It is hard to think of Russia, ravaged as it is by inflation, taking up the grand cause of the bearer of the Orthodox-Slavic Torch. And, where is the Confucian world Huntington speaks of? In the busy and booming lands of the Pacific Rim, so much of politics and ideology has been subjugated into finance that the nations of East Asia have turned into absolute workshops. The civilization of Cathay is dead; the Indonesian inhabitants are deaf to the call of the religious radicals in Tehran as it tries to catch up with Malaysia and Singapore. A different wind blows in the lands of the Pacific. In the world economics, not politics is in command.
13. Recommendations. Above study reveals that nation states pursue their national interests as their prime objectives, where as civilizational aspects seem secondary. Nation states are fully legitimatized to have their respective national interests, nevertheless it is important to manifest legitimacy in pursuance of interests. Needless to say that conflicts and problems emanate when a nation state pursues its interests at the cost or by undermining the contemporary opponent to a definite or indefinite limit. The suffering of the human beings, increasing hatred and intolerance, economic disparity, discrimination and violation of basic human rights is attributable to the misdeeds of the key global players. Present world of distrust and fear can become a world of peace and harmony provided interests of other nation states not undermined and all contentious issues/conflicts are resolved with justice and fair play by the global players of the day. In the light of above study following recommendations are proffered:-
a. Role of United Nations. United Nations must play a role for which it was established; particularly the role it assumed in the gulf war that is “the peace keepers”. The hegemony of nations should be eliminated and decisions taken on the majority of the votes and implemented irrespective without prejudice.
b. Role of America. Being the only super power America holds the greatest responsibility to be fair and just in its policies towards all nations and particularly the Muslim who are unfortunately the sufferers in most parts of the world. America may also be communicated at the appropriate forums to review its policy of targeting the Muslims.
c. Resolution of Contentious Issues. A number of unresolved issues like Kashmir and Palestine have kept the contestants on war footings, resulting into a very slow economic progress. The international community must pay an immediate attention for resolving all such issues inline with the United Nations resolutions amicably, without compromising the legitimate interests of the nation states.
d. Elimination of Economic Disparity. Economic disparity is the biggest challenge being faced by the world. In order to address this issue the great industrial nations of the world should generously help the economic plight of the poor countries. This will eradicate the roots of hatred, intolerance and violence ensuring greater economic integration and cohesion.
e. Protect ion of the Rights of Weaker Nations. Non acceptance and exploitation of weaker nations must be curbed to eliminate potential dangers of conflicts among the nations and subsequently civilizations. United Nations must play its envisaged role effectively and without discrimination.
14. Conclusion. Huntington is impressed by the “de- Westernization” of societies, their “indigenization “and apparent willingness to go their own way. In his views such phenomena as the “Hinduization” of India and Islamic fundamentalism are ascendant. To these detours into “tradition” Huntington has assigned great force and power. But Huntington is wrong. India will not become a Hindu state. The inheritance of Indian secularism will hold. The vast middle class will defend it; keep the order intact to maintain India’s and its own place in the modern world of nations. The phenomenon we have dubbed as Islamic fundamentalism is less a sign of resurgence than of panic, bewilderment and guilt. Those young urban poor, half educated in the cities of the Arab world, and their Sorbonne-educated lay preachers, can they be evidence of a genuine return to tradition? They crash Europe’s and America’s gates in search of liberty and work. It is easy to understand Huntington’s frustration with this kind of complexity, with the strange mixture of attraction and repulsion and his need to simplify matters, to mark out the borders of civilization and visualize the impending clash. Effective role by United Nations along with the key global players to address contentious issues, ensure justice and fair play, removal of economic disparity and acceptance of weaker nations will lead the world towards real peace and tranquility. In such a scenario chances of a conflict among nations will considerably reduce and that of civilizations will become further bleak.
BIBLIOGAPGHY
1. Nazir Hussein, “Dialogue among Civilizations: An Alternative Paradigm of International Relations” Strategic Studies, April 2001, p 103-130.
2. ibid., p.104.
3. Ibid., p. 107.
4. Brigadier Javed Hussan, India: a Study in Profile, Rosalinda: Army Education Press, 1990, p.12-15.
5. Ibid., p. 13.
6. Ibid., p. 14.
7. Seymour Siegel, “The Nation State and Social Order in the Perspective of Judaism” in Al Faruqui, p 31.
8. Ibid., p. 30.
9. Ibid., p. 30.
10. Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Rafique Sabir, “A New World Disorder” Pakistan Defence Review, winter 2000, p 43-54.
11. Ibid., p. 47.
12. Ibid., p. 50.
13. Ibid., p. 52.
14. Bruce W. Watson, Military Lessons of the Gulf War.(Lahore: Izharsons)
15. Ibid., p. 5.
16. Ibid., p. 7.
17. Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. (New York: Simon & Schuster)
18. Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Rafique Sabir, “A New World Disorder” Pakistan Defence Review, Winter 2000, p 43-54.
Denise Groves, “ India and Pakistan: A Clash of Civilization?” Current Affairs, Februray1999, p 109-113.
19. Nazir Hussain, “Dialogue among Civilizations: An Alternative Paradigm of International Relations” Strategic Studies, April 2001, p 103-130.
20. Robert L. Bartley, “ The West Should Believe in Itself” Foreign Affairs, September/October 1993, p 15-17.
21. Liu Binyan, “ Civilization Grafting: No Culture is an Island” Current Affairs, September/ October 1993, p 19-21.
22. Feane F. Kirkpatrick and others, “ The modernizing Imperative” Foreign Affairs, September/ October 1993, p 23-26.
23. Samuel P. Huntington, “If Not Civilizations, What?” Foreign Affairs, November/ December 1993, p 187-194.
24. Fouad Ajami, “ The Summoning: But they Said, We Will Not Hearken” Foreign Affairs, September/ October 1993, p 2-9.
25. Udo Schaefer. “Beyond the Clash of Religion: The Emergence of a New Paradigm”. [Online] Available http:// www. Burlb. Bmi.net, April 30, 2002.
26. The AMAR/UNESCO standing conference,[online] Available History , April 30,2002.
27. Simon Heseltine. “The Iran and Iraq War” [online] Available http://ak.essortment.com/inandiraqwa_rlnp.htm, May 3, 2002.
28. John Pike. “The Iran Iraq War (1980-1988) [online] Availablehttp://www.fas.org/man/dod-101 /ops/war/iran-iraq.htm, may 3,2002.
29. Schwarz. “The Gulf War”. [Online] Available http://www.mindspring.com/~fragments/TXT2/ gulfwrtx.html, May 3,2002.
30. Bruce W. Watson, Military Lessons of the Gulf War.(Lahore: Izharsons)
31. F. Gregory Gauze, III, “Iraq’s Decisions to Go to War, 1980 and 1990” Middle East Journal, Winter 2002, p 47-70. 

1. End of the Second World War. As the World War 2 ended on a favorable note for USA and the USSR, both developed credibility, the alliances already existing with the two started growing. Before this also the international relations had been viewed as virtual clashes of super powers for centuries, France VS England, Spain VS France, Spain VS England, Germany VS France, England Vs Ottoman Empire, the Astro Hungarian Empire VS the Ottomans and so on. The period of cold war can be defined as a period once there was cold conflict between the two powers and there was no direct war between the two powers so diplomacy was at the paramount. The divided world had two clear blocs of direct influence of the US and USSR and some neutral alliances the quest for dominance of which became the actual cold war. Bipolar relationship between the US and the USSR became clear when president Truman gave his containment policy. This bipolarity included two kinds of conflicts, ideological conflict between capitalism and communism and a substantial struggle over balance of power between the two blocs. This struggle started from dominance of Europe hence dividing Europe into two followed by division of Asia. This US policy of containment of communism drove the world towards Korean War, Vietnam War and Afghan War 1989. This era affected the world in following manner :-
a. On the soviet side the events of cold war were, interventions in Eastern Europe, tanks in East Berlin, Budapest and Prague. This had been the old route of Russian invasions in the past.
b. Russian invasion of Afghanistan was one example of intervention out side that route.
c. On the US side, intervention was world wide reflecting the ‘contain communism policy’.
d. On the domestic front, the cold war helped the Soviet Union to entrench its military – bureaucratic ruling class in power and it gave the US a way to compel its population to subsidize high – tech industry. The technique used was the old stand–by-fear of the great enemy.
e. US conducted its war against the third world under this tacit arrangement.
2. The Initial Blocs. At the end of the WW-2 the allies comprised of USA, UK, France and their colonies in Asia and Africa in general and Sub Continent and the Middle East in particular. Germany was divided into two whereas the Russian bloc mainly consisted of USSR including Central Asian Region and some Eastern European countries. The quest for influence in rest of the world started thereafter .
3. Environment during the Cold War. Due to the fact that many regions were still to be brought under the influence of either of the blocs the capitulation struggle started of and various world bodies and alliances came on the world scene.
a. UNO. As the League of Nations ended the WW-1, the United Nations declaration of 1942 brought the end to WW-2 and first session of 50 countries took place on 24 October 1945.
b. Warsaw Pact. A treaty of friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance, between Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, USSR and Czechoslovakia in May 1955 which was basically for an organized system of collective security in Europe. This was primarily to capitulate maximum of Europe (at least the eastern half) in favour of USSR.
c. Paris Agreement. About at the same time when Warsaw Pact was taking birth the allies went through ‘Paris Agreement ‘ hence forming Western European Union.
d. NATO. Immediately at the end of the war the allies felt the threat of spread of communism and influence of USSR. This brought the western European Nations and the US into a military alliance in 1949, called North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO countries thought that, the Soviet Union would not wage war against the western European nations since that would mean triggering the whole NATO including USA.
4. Arms Race and Interests in Various Regions. The automatic fall out of formation of various treaties and alliances was in the form of strengthening one against the other. This in a way helped many countries, to develop and take financial advantages but in another it introduced an unending arms race around the globe hence giving birth to regional powers and new dimensions to the wars and conflicts. Interests of the US and those of the USSR around the globe were:
a. Geographical proximity, ethno-religious identity and energy related issues gave prime importance to Central Asian Region, which had always been on the wanted list from the days of the Great Game.
b. Oil rich Middle East was an obvious area of interest.
c. Influence in Europe would mean economic strength and influence at various forums.
d. Contain China was a policy on both sides.
5. The above given is the block division of the world into areas of interest for the powers of bipolar days. These became the causes of various big and small conflicts and arms race around the globe. But still various alliances and treaties had been somewhat balancing the world affairs.
6. Demise of USSR. The fall of Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany ended the division of Europe. Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika led to the end of communism. The Soviet Union and most of its allies seized to be ruled by communist governments. This slow process supported by the West reached its climax during the Russo-Afghan war and finally Soviet state itself collapsed fragmenting into over 15 sovereign successors. This brought following major affects around the world.
a. Separated CARs from USSR, hence making of long awaited target

vulnerable to the western allies.

b. Disintegration of Eastern European Treaties and increased the chances of NATO to enter these countries in the name of restoration of peace.
c. Tilt of world power ultimately toward USA.
d. Importance of China enhanced from regional power to a global actor.

e. End of the bipolar order.
f. Global role of USA into play.

PART – III
EMERGENCE OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER

1. The end of the cold war was widely expected to offer the world a peace dividend. But the collapse of the USSR and the victory of the west, leaving only the US as the sole super power needed the US to retranslate the global harmony. At the end of the Gulf War President Bush while about to deliver the new world order expressed his concern for an expected arms race and wanted to reorder the world to contain this threat, not to mention that within three days of that announcement, the New York Times reported “the US has emerged from the war as the Gulf’s premier arms seller, the White House has told the Congress in a classified report, it wanted some five Middle East allies to buy an 18 billion dollars package of top drawer arms”.
2. US first got Iran beaten by Iraq and then to clip the wing of a future power in the ME encouraged Iraq to attack Kuwait through a bait by US envoy Gillespie’s visit to Saddam in July 1990, days before attack on Kuwait. This gave a chance to US to help the weaker hence direct hegemony over the Arab oil and reason for US fleet in the Gulf. While delivering the new world order following was claimed by the US :-
a. In future no aggressor would go unpunished.
b. Arbitrary change in international boundaries would not be allowed.
c. It would be ensured that any violation of human rights is brought to an end with out the constraint of national boundaries.
d. The UN will play a new role as the peacekeeper of the world.
3. The Ideas Like No Aggressor, International Boundaries and Human Rights. In the fundamental principles of the NWO such terms were used whereas these had their own connotations for the US. The events following the NWO clearly support these self-suiting manifestations, the continued attack on Iraq, UNSCOM scandal, economic and military sanctions through UNO and other international financial organizations show the confusion in the term ‘aggressor’. There are different standards of human rights for Afghanistan, China, Kosovo, Bosnia, Kashmir and different for East Timor. Even the violations of national boundaries by the west in following cases show the manifestations of the NWO which support the self adopted role by the US as the world’s police man :-
a. Imposition of no fly zone on Iraq by US & British Air Forces.
b. Missile attacks by the US on Afghanistan and Sudan.
c. Landing of cruise missiles in Pakistan and Iran.
4. Concepts like Interrelated Security, Peace and Development. This policy of making the two fight and then coming in as an arbiter has been pursued by the US in conjunction with the EU with highly specific aims. From Kosovo to Iraq to Afghanistan, following chronology is self-explaining:-
a. Make the two fight.
b. Strengthen one of them.
c. The weaker one has to either ask for support or resort to unconventional means, called terrorism.
d. The stronger one then needs clipping of wing
e. The region becomes in danger in particular and the world in general.
f. Most threats are directed to the West and to the US.
g. A concept of interrelated security comes into play.
5. Such chronology is followed in most of the regions of the world, particularly in Asia for following reasons:
a. To allow the US to stay in Middle East and control the world oil market.
b. To create opportunities to enter into Central Asia to explore its riches of oil and gas and also be present in the region to look after Iran, China and any resurgence on the part of Russia. Caspian region oil resources are of great attraction to the West.
c. To allow the West to be around South Asia and East Asia i.e. Korea, Taiwan, Japan, etc to control a region of extreme economic importance for future. Since countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan have great economic potential it would specifically be dangerous for the West if there starts some concept of regional cooperation and harmony especially in conjunction with China or Japan.
6. Policies to be Pursued under NWO. The manifestations of NWO have also been pushed in almost all spheres of life through the principle plea of human rights. It clearly demonstrates that the words “New World Order” are serious and have been is use even before 1990. The old world order was based on the policy of independent nation-states. Most of the NWO proposals involve following policies, which may well be covered under the heading of conspiracies:
a. Conversion of the UN and its agencies into a world government, complete with a world army, a world parliament, a world court and numerous other agencies to control education, nutrition, population, immigration, commerce, agriculture and environment.
b. Let the world recognize the capitalism to be a successful economic order, which will automatically bring in the need for an effective and a central control the question would then be, who is to lead?
c. Pursue the concept of sharing of the world resources (by conquest or consent), recognize a single world authority and that the concept of national sovereignty is not such a great idea, it rather restricts options for the nations, multi-national companies and even individuals.
d. Keep the idea of convergence of goals between US, EU, Russia and China open, basically to avoid direct resistance or making of anti US blocs.
e. Further global progress is only possible through universal consensus.
7. Need for Alliance Building. What so ever may the US policies be in the garb of NWO, the need for some alliances and favorable opinion building cannot be set a side. In the presence of various religious concepts, zones of economic cooperation and regional powers the US is clever enough to know how to process with her aims:
a. Europe/NATO. Europe has under gone profound changes. The original European Economic Community has blossomed into European Union embracing the entire continent from the Atlantic to the Urals. They have moved towards a common currency and are furthering towards a common foreign policy and also a defense policy. The US-Europe alliance is a must for the US not only for economic reasons but to control NATO, which had gone irrelevant after the end of the cold war. Under American pressure NATO has found a new role of creeping closer to the historic borders of Russia. The US had also provoked the Baltic States into NATO to finally threaten the Russian security.
b. Following other alliances with varying degrees of engagements are a must for the US to pursue the NWO:
(1) US-Japan, to contain China.
(2) US-India, since India is thought to be a predominant regional power with credible armed forces. It is a vast economic market and has all the potentials to pursue the US policy of containment in Asia especially in terms of China and the ASEAN. Any cooperation between India and ASEAN has to be avoided by the US.
(3) Conditional alliance with Pakistan being a gate way to Afghanistan and the CARs.
(4) Korea and Taiwan follow suit.
(5) Israel- to keep the reasons for US presence in ME alive.

PART – IV
VIABILITY/OPPOSITION TO THE NWO

1. Theory of Clash of Civilizations. An analysis of various conflicts around the globe in the last 2 decades shows consumerist capitalism versus religions and tribal fundamentalism . These diametrically opposite but strangely interlinked forces are tearing apart and also bringing together, the world. On the one hand capitalism is a so-called dissolving force for the social and economic barriers and on the other, ethno-religious and racial hatred are fragmenting the landscape into smaller groups. Critics and political leaders have already heralded the dangerous chaos in the post-cold war world. The concept of “Jihad” is not only getting strength as a holy war against the suppressor or the supporter of the suppressor but has become a form of ethnocentrism and nationalism. The question is to see that if a three hundred years old ‘system of states’ is nearing its end, what is emerging – a new world order, or chaos and anarchy
2. The global politics have always been multicivilizational in character and maybe only economic luring or use of force might not be able to deliver as envisaged in the NWO. In the days of the cold war the world was divided into three parts, two halves believed as per their leaders i.e. USA and USSR and third half was the Third World itself, the playground for the other two. These third world nations never needed to emphasis to cultural boundaries since existence of bipolarity was providing refuge in many ways. With the break up of bipolar world the most important distinctions left amongst the people are following:
a. Cultural distinctions instead of ideological or economic.
b. Questions like who are we, are being answered by reference to the things that mean most to them, in some the right religion, in others independence, in some other cases right of self-determination, ancestry, values etc. The concept of ‘we know who we are only when we know who we are not and often only when we know who we are against’ is becoming the cause of strength within various societies and civilizations. Following trends, which have emerged as opposite to NWO need attention:-
(1) Global politics are still multicivilizational hence multi polar to an extent. Modernization is still distinct from westernization and no universal civilization has been produced as yet.
(2) The balance of power is shifting, the West is declining in relative influence, Asian civilizations are expanding; Islam is exploding demographically and is being portrayed as destabilizing factor for Muslim countries and their neighbors.
(3) Lead or core states of particular civilizations are transforming into regional powers.
(4) The West’s universalistic pretensions are bringing it into conflict with other civilizations, especially Islam and China.
2. Concept of East VS West. West always meant US along with Western Europe. East is Old Russian bloc countries in Asia, the Muslim world and East Asia etc. The standard ‘West’ following NWO is unintentionally giving strength to the concept of East VS West, which is putting the viability of the NWO into question. Non-Western societies, particularly in East Asia are developing their economic wealth and creating enhanced military power. As their power and self-confidence increase the non-Western societies assert their own cultural values. The international system of the twenty first century, as noted by Henry Kissinger will contain at least six major powers, the US, Europe, China, Japan, Russia and probably India. Out of these, four belong to East so any coalition will mean dangerous for the West. Keeping them separate is one of the manifestations of the NWO.
3. Emergence of Oppositions for the NWO. The main constituents of the NWO may be the US and Europe but with in this due to its history and inherent cohesion Europe has its own standing. Russia may be called as a broken state out of USSR it still has the arsenal to influence a portion of Asia at least. China the ever threatening dormant giant, economically capable North East Asia and various other countries often named as rogue stated by the US are seen as oppositions for the NWO, off course with varying degrees. There are trends of regionalism in this otherwise shrinking world. Following are being seen as the obvious oppositions in the way of a clear go by the US in the wake of NWO:-
a. European Union. Europe itself is a multicultural society and there exists a great divide in Western and Eastern Europe. It is not possible for all the European countries to be united on matters like US interventions into European Union or even NATO, hence America will always have to work hard to keep better relations with Europe. Though right after 9/11 all Europeans showed solidarity with the US and slogans like “ We are all Americans now” were heralded but soon differences cropped up some of the prevailing US-EU differences are as follows:
(1) President Clinton’s failure to secure ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty from the US Congress.
(2) America’s abandonment of ABM treaty to proceed with the NMD programme.
(3) US withdrawal from Kyoto protocol.
(4) Some of the US domestic policies are being criticized by EU notably, tax breaks to the rich, lack of concern for the environment etc..
(5) Firmer pronouncement of the US Military hegemony through enhanced defense budget is thought to be a potential challenge to EU as well.
(6) Europe’s opposition in last few months to the US terminologies like ‘rogue sates’, ‘axis of evil’ and policies towards, Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
(7) Various EU officials have been terming the US war against terrorism as ‘ Unilateralism’.
b. The Trans-Atlantic Agenda (NTA)-1995 was a step towards institutional and a broader political partnership between EU and US and show that EU is a serious and a capable partner in the world affairs. EU has much to contribute to the so-called global war on terrorism and by its nature is equipped to address the growing array of global challenges. This feeling of isolation on their own continent by US-Britain relations or future US-Russia direct relations leaving the Europe aside and threat to CARs make many Europeans to think anti-US.
c. Resurgence of Russia. At present Russia needs the West, their loans, cooperation in rescheduling of debts and foreign investments. Russia cannot afford an open confrontation against the West but it is not to be forgotten that Russia is a serious, important and a powerful country. It has always been a threat to the NWO, could the old Soviet nuclear arsenal be aimed once again at the west? Will Russia re-supply Seryia’s Army? Will India acquire more Russian missile technology? And will Russia and China combine against the US interest in Asia?
d. No mater who is in power in Russia the west needs Russia’s cooperation on the international scene. There has been marked resurgence in Russia. On the political scene emergence of new and young generation of politicians is of great significance. Sino- Russia relations have got out of their traditional rivalry of 1960s & 70s, expansion of NATO has put the two heads together. Following chronology of major events is self-expalainatory of the resurgence of Russia on the world scene, which is not very favorable to the NWO :-
(1) Rehabilitation of KGB (Dec 2000).
(2) Deployment of a third regiment of ICBMs (Dec 2000).
(3) Restoration of soviet programme in Cuba.
(4) Moscow’s increased arms / nuclear trade with Iran.
(5) Russia keeps chipping away the US Missile Defense programmes.
(6) Russia has been denouncing the US Rogue Regime Defense a number of times.
(7) Russia has been warning US, and has showed tough arms control stance and threatened to join China against US.
(8) Apr 95. Russia bombed Chechnya and Afghanistan.
(9) Russian economy showed stability and huge loans were sanctioned by IMF.
(10) May 95. Russia gave 30 Million dollars in nuclear plant construction credits to Cuba.
(11) Russia continues to help Iraq and Libya.
(12) Russia declared guarding of traditional strategic Bosnian supply corridor.
(13) Exchange of military hardware and technology between Russia and Ukraine.
(14) Russia threatened military measures had Hungary joined NATO.
e. The Russo-Indian, Russo-Syrian or Russo-Chinese nexus in any form would be very dangerous for NWO. Off course the Russian support to Cuba and Iran have always been thorns in the US side.
f. Dormant Giant – China. Though China presumably remains away from the active world political scene but its economic and military power has always rendered it the status of a giant. Its dormancy at times becomes a dilemma for the West. As far as regional matters are concerned China has always held a strong position. Beijing’s leadership has always envisaged a united China that is the indisputable economic, political and military power in the East. Its population, proximity of Russia, CARs, Japan and South East Asia adds to making it look like a future super power and probably the only one to oppose US and especially the NWO. Despite the best tries by the US in exploring new channels of positive interaction with China it has not been able to achieve the desired results. Following pattern clearly shows China’s aspirations in the region and its anti US sentiment: -
(1) Since 1995, a number of exchanges of missiles, technology (nuclear) and sub-marines have taken place between Russia and China.
(2) The forming of Shanghai- 5 is a very clear manifestation of China’s anti US interest in CAR’s, on the face of it there may be other reasons of regional or ethnic nature.
(3) America’s strategic partnership with China as envisaged by President Bill Clinton went blown away with the so-called mistaken NATO strikes against Chinese embassy at Belgrade. This brought China in the lead role in Kosovo crises.
(4) China did get the membership of WTO despite opposition by the US.
g. China and Pakistan are also into traditional cooperation. China’s interest in the gulf region through Gawadar port is a portion of it but primarily it is to support Pakistan against India, which is a future power in the region. China has also embarked upon a very ambitious plan to develop a strong Navy primarily to counter the US strategy in South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, pressuring Taiwan and acquiring disputed islands is Southeast Asia. It even seeks a permanent naval presence in the Indian Ocean. China also seeks to be a green water naval power i.e. extending eastwards in the Pacific Ocean. More than half of the world trade fleet tonnage passes through the Straits of Malacca, Sundae and Lombok with the majority of these converging in South China Sea. The dominance of the SLOCs is one of the objectives of PLAN (People Liberation Army Navy)
h. Rogue States and Un Conventional Opposition. Despite the tendency of viewing the cold war in retrospect as a time of simplicity between good and evil, the era did contain many dilemmas for the US policy makers. In the wake of the NWO and the unipolar world and in the name of combating communism initially and terrorism subsequently the US is getting engaged with all sorts of regions, from South America to Africa and to Asia. In the last twelve years of the NWO the simplicity that the US had anticipated has proved elusive. Instead new sorts of problems have beset the West and particularly America. Among these is the appropriate strategy for dealing with various civilizations, diverse groups and states. These are then called rogue states and the US sets out to punish these.
(1) What is Rogue State. A state which opposes the American interests specifically and so called global security generally. This concept emerged at least as early as the 1980 when President Reagan branded Qadafi as an outlaw. This concept has been popularized in the last decade in response to the changing nature of threats facing the US. For the US the nightmare is these so-called rogue states getting into weapon race in this era of theatre and missile defense.
(2) What makes a Rogue State. The US policies driven by the NWO towards some counties without realizing their internal and regional dynamics makes them retaliate which allows the US to brand these regimes or these countries as rogue states.
(a) Countries that seek to challenge the US so called international order.
(b) Countries that US accuses of trying to acquire WMD (weapons of mass destruction).
(c) Countries, which support terrorism, no matter what the basic reasons and facts, are.
(d) Countries that the US accuses of often-reprehensible treatment of their own citizens, without any realization for their internal dynamics.
j. The opposition to the NWO through Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Cuba etc is on the increase and the so called near rogue regimes like Syria, Serbia, China and Sudan will certainly keep creating ripples in the US policy makers. The American policy of isolating such states, putting economic sanctions and military strikes etc creates more resentment hence room for terrorist groups which then find softer spots to foster, like Al Qadea in Afghanistan and many other such groups in ME and Kashmir etc. This fosters another opposition to the NWO in the form of unconventional acts termed as terrorism. Sep 11 was the end of the era in which the US perfected its zero-dead approach to conflicts, with minimum casualties to the US and maximum damages to the enemy. The new opposition is mobile and transnational. This kind of opposition to NWO can be further divided into two following categories:
(1) The concept of asymmetric warfare to be fought by an opponent who might have a non–nation state base, such as an ideology or religion.
(2) The second concept has been the larger conflict by rogue states. The making of anti missile defense shield to protect America from incoming ballistic missiles carrying chemical, biological or nuclear weapons seems to be the next step towards enforcement of NWO in this context.
k. Unconventional Opposition specific to Asia. In Asia and particularly around Central and South Asia there are powers, Russia, China and India. All the three have one thing common, these are bordering various ideological or civilizational diversities, Islam in most cases. The US policy in ME and against Iraq and Libya etc brings this opposition into stronger bondage and a sort of collectiveness is being experienced from Afghanistan to Palestine and to Sudan. The bordering Muslim countries get naturally involved (with varying degrees). There is another view of this unconventional threat to NWO, which says that such threat provides reasons for the US to pursue its policies by entering these regions in the name of bringing peace but it is worth noting that this multiplies the resentment hence unconventional opposition increases and transforms in to various concentrations. The cyber space becomes another very vulnerable target for such an opposition and this would be much more harmful to the US than the day of 11 September was.

PART – V
NEW WORLD ORDER IN ASIA
“ Makinder saw CARs as pivotal to the global power and termed it the Heartland whereas Spykman gave importance to the Peninsular Europe and the Far East and called it the Rim land with respect to already recognized Heartland”
1. US Interest in CARs. The last decade of the twentieth century has witness a fundamental restructuring of the world order . The breaking of Russia and the introduction of NWO had profound affects on the Eurasian region and more particularly the Central Asian Region, from Black Sea to Pamir Plateau. The new sovereign states in the region felt an immediate politico-strategic and economic vacuum despite their enormous natural resources like oil and gas. Their geographic proximity of Iran, Eastern Europe, Russia and China and the energy related issues have always been the cause of such great games in this region.
2. Several powers, both from within the region and outside are trying to achieve influence in the CARs. The US interest in the region will directly affect the geopolitics of a larger region to include, South Asia, Central Asia and South East Asia. Major factors that would affect are:
a. Direction, the new world order takes, which means how much oppositions would the US receive while being interested to have a hold over the CARs.
b. A major factor, which is likely to affect this region, is the drive towards globalization, which discredits the idea of centrally planned economy. The new states would not be able to and have not been able to actively handle their economies being transformed from centrally planned (communism days) economy to the global concept.
3. The CARs are rich in natural resources, to mention few Uzbekistan produces large quantity of gold, Azerbaijan- oil, Turkmenistan- natural gas, Tajikistan-electricity and oil, Kazakhstan is rich in agriculture and minerals. These state do not have any experience of free market economic system or infra structure to meet such requirements, they are now looking outwards for guidance and capitalist world attracts them. The Russian Federation is incapable of providing that guidance Afghanistan remains in turmoil and Eastern European nations are also not very clear about their identity under the rage of NATO. This quagmire is very attractive for the US to offer her abilities hence furthering her objectives of the NWO. Following are the broad US policy parameters in this region:
a. Since the NWO draws much support from the idea of globalization the US wants a foothold in CARs whereas the easiest route is through Pakistan and Afghanistan as against the Eastern European side for its obvious technicalities.
b. Turmoil in Afghanistan and Sub-Continent provides a reason for such US interventions.
c. An encirclement of Iran, Russia, and China by the US and the NATO would then be possible.
d. The US has divided the region as following
(1) CENT COM – Five Central Asian Republics
(2) EU COM- Three Caspian states.
(3) Russia.
e. US Policy towards Caspian Region. The oil rich Caspian can be termed as major bone of contention between various powers of the world. CARs and Turkey are major actors in this game and the US policy on this has three pillars:
(1) Integrate CARs and Turkey into Euro-Atlantic and other international treaties under the leadership of USA.
(2) Promote the concept of free market and keep the human rights in the fore. This is primarily an option in case the direct access to oil and minerals is denied to the US.
(3) Take up the role of savior by creating mutual interests like combating terrorism, control of narcotics and weapons proliferation.
4. US Interest in Middle East. For decades the Arab-Israel conflict has been the most important factor in defining US relations with the Middle East . Other important policy concerns have been so called prevention of Soviet expansion, providing protection to ME nations, securing oil supplies. With the introduction of NWO the policy concerns of the US are changing rapidly, allowing Kuwait to occupy certain areas, which it never possessed, amounts to even affecting the geography. So despite the end of the cold war a peaceful order seems as remote as ever. Despite the self sufficient and rich nations and no major ethnic problems in the ME the conflict never finishes in this part of Asia. All solutions have become hostage to military conflict between US & Iraq, desired hegemony of Israel and domination of oil market. These invented conflicts were basically designed to preserve the vast apparatus of the West’s military power (primarily the US) in the post cold war era present in the region. The main US interests in ME can be envisaged as under:
a. Control oil production, prices and supply around the world, As per World Bank reports such military stand offs have shot the oil prices to present heights.
b. Master the very rich financial activity in the gulf region and benefit from investments.
c. Create turmoil for sale of arms and preserve continued US presence in the region.
c. Contain any expansions of Russian influence out of Syria and Iraq.
d. Create stability turmoil for Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan being in the proximity and some what related.
e. Contain Iraq’s capability of WMDs.
5. Behind all this is the US commitment to the global projection of military power, which can be traced back to the restructuring of the US intervention forces, ventures in Granada, Libya & Iraq etc and testing and selling of new generation of weapons. The Jewish lobby around the world and particularly in US is working to support Israel. Some of the new realities will shape the NWO in ME:-
a. Israel now enjoys paralleled supremacy politically and militarily and especially because of its nuclear status. In the post cold war world and in the absence of another power to neutralize this trend it seems to prevail as such.
b. The ME talks have brought most of the Arab countries and Israel around for direct negotiations hence providing defecto recognition to the Jewish state.
c. The Gulf States are being ruled by ineffective monarchies and the people have started getting feeling that they need the West to protect them.
d. The fact that Iraq has started rebuilding its military strength despite all sanctions would play a major role in the US interest in ME by creating security implications.
e. The fact that OIC if becomes a potent body which at present it is not will be a danger to the NWO.
6. US Interests in South and South East Asia. There are several factors that affect the conduct of US foreign policy in a particular region. These include the level of continuity of American interest in the region and amount and quality of constraints that exist on American government and within that region . The understand this it is important to draw comparison between US policy toward Europe and that towards South Asia. As far as Europe in concerned it has strong governments, and continuous economic importance so attracts high level of US attention and continuous engagement, whereas in South Asia after the cold war the US policy has been changing from a crises to another one. Europe has a lot of influence within USA so much constraint on US government in policies about Europe, conversely about South Asia there exists a lot of initiative with the US government, following can be the US interests in South Asia:
a. As far as US economic interests are concerned, these have always been limited since India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are not of any significance in term of raw material. The region has not been of much attraction for foreign investment. Only India due to its size and population becomes a lucrative consumer market.
b. The geography of this area i.e. the proximity of CARs, Iran, China, ASEAN and the Gulf makes it of utmost importance for the US in the context of NWO.
7. Historical Perspective (South Asia). The US south Asia policy has been a story of ups and downs and these periods can be divided from 1950 to 1965 and from 1980 to 1989 and the third phase is now, since Sep 11. These patterns are based on different calculations of what constitutes the American interest and what are the perceptions of South Asian countries. The pattern is analyzed as under:-
a. From 1950 to 1965, the US became very much engaged in South Asia, which was given very high priority during this period and is marked by the high point in cold war. It was taken as a bridge between Europe and Far East and a major physical barrier for southward expansion by USSR or China. This led to the pacts like SEATO and CENTO under the cover of containment policy. It also brought a lot of aid to India and Pakistan.
b. From 1967 to 1979 a policy of disengagement was felt since the priority went to ME and emergence of OPEC and problems in Sino-Soviet relations also eased the pressure on US security role in South Asia.
c. 1979 – Due to Russian intervention in Afghanistan this region became of concern once again, US then had three objectives to pursue the NWO:
(1) Contain USSR’s expansion.
(2) Lessen the Indian dependence on USSR
(3) Avoid nuclear proliferation.
d. Pakistan emerged important during this period on the plea of assistance by the US against direct Soviet aggression. The whole episode facilitated in breaking of USSR.
e. A disengagement policy was adopted for some time to develop the situation.
f. Events of 11 September provided an opportunity to US to re-engage the region and this time physical intervention in the name of a global war against terrorism, is actually supporting the overall design of NWO in terms of entering in CARs, containing China, Iran and Russia.
8. It would be very appropriate to sum up the South Asian discussion seeing the past perspective that this region is more of geostratigic importance than of economic consideration. The Indian market is of lower priority for the time being than the CARs and the American deployments around China and Russia. Most of all any meaning full cooperation at the level of SAARC would not be in the greater interest of US, so a turmoil in the region in the forms of Kashmir suits the US for the time being.
9. ASEAN and the NWO. The Association of South East Asian Nations actually groups Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, whereas India is the member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, a broader 37 member security grouping. This region is of great importance due to its location along the important sea routes and straits linking Indian Ocean with the Pacific in general and Arabian Sea with South China Sea to the Sea of Japan in particular. Along this belt dwell some of the world’s most economically capable nations. Malaysia, the leader of ASEAN has become a nightmare for the US policy makers and any regional cooperation between ASEAN, Japan, Korea and China would be completely opposite the now.

PART VI
EFFECTS TILL NOW AND FUTURE OF NWO
1. A summary of events contrary to the proclaimed principle of NWO that no aggressor, in future, would go unpunished, that international boundaries would not be allowed to be changed arbitrarily, that no violation of human rights be let, that the UN would play a peacekeepers role etcetera would easily lead us to the affects of the NWO up till now.
a. Continued attacks on Iraq and thrusting UNSCOM.
b. Different standards of human rights.
c. International Financial Agencies are controlled by the US.
d. US in backing up Israel’s mocked aggression on Palestinians.
e. Financing opposition parties in various countries to bring governments of the US choice.
f. Dual standards on the issues of nuclearization.
g. Control of world oil market ultimately in US hands.
2. Once all the principles of the proclaimed order itself were violated on the plea of one principle supporting the other every region under the effect felt bruised since resentment is a natural phenomenon. In some cases the governments due to either weak leadership or some other compulsions/compromises did not announce it and in the other cases it was openly opposed so they were called ‘rogue sates’.
3. Where the suppression in all forms crossed the human patience and the nations-states were also weak the people took over themselves and independent groups with ideological or religious bases took over and terrorism took birth. A point to note is that this phenomenon never existed in the bipolar days since a particular people had options to deal with problems. The major effects, which have been experienced by the today’s world due to NWO, can be envisaged as :-
a. Birth of terrorism – since weaker governments could not retaliate to the US policies and unipolarity did not leave any option the independent groups became the decisive authorities.
b. Since the US is controlling the world financial institutions and oil market etc it has been controlling the development in certain countries especially those where it has interests.
c. Since turmoil in certain regions helped US policies to be pushed, the UN has been controlled by the US to avoid resolutions.
d. Cultural, civilization and ethnic concepts are gaining strength as a refuge against the NWO.
4. Effects specific to Islamic World. After having gone through the general effects of the NWO the question is as to why to study the effects especially on Islamic world separately? There are two main reasons :-
a. In spite of the fact that Muslims constitute over one fifth of the humanity, yet Islam remains the most misunderstood religion in the west. The bogey of Islamic fundamentalism, therefore, is perceived to be the next threat to the West.
b. In the past, Muslims have suffered at the hands of the western colonial powers. The Islamic world therefore, perceives to be threatened by the new style of colonization reflected by the unfolding of NWO.
5. After the demise of Soviet Union, Iraq, being the most powerful Arab country became the first victim of NWO. This was followed by missile attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan. Coercion against Libya, Pakistan and Iran continued, the human rights standards have been different for Islamic world. Politically, the Muslim countries are divided and OIC, Arab League, GCC and ECO are victims of America. In spite of resources the Muslim world has been made to depend upon international financial institution. Only few Muslim countries have some element of power namely Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. Following policy is containing these:
a. Imposition of technology blockade to deny them self-reliance in arms and ecnonly.
b. Changing them into debilitating regimes through arms control and containing these to low-level defense capability to keep them under effective control of the regional powers.
4. September 11 and Pakistan. Strongest of the effects of pursuance of NWO was the birth of terrorism, which is a relative term. This culminated in the form of events of 11 September. These presumably Al-Qaida strikes, which were based in Afghanistan, brought Pakistan in to moonlight once again. The county had experienced many ups and downs in the Pak-US relations in the past. The nations momentarily was at the crossroads but due to inherent strength in NWO and US ambitions to physically step into this region Pakistan had to allow US to have bases and strike Afghanistan from Pakistan’s territory.
5. Being consistently under threat from India due to Kashmir Issue, a heavily under debt nation with mixed but crafted impression at the world scene this was a crucial point in the country’s history. Pakistan did achieve some temporary benefits and must have been at loss in some respects.
6. Future of the NWO. The already experienced manifestations of the NWO and the events of September 11 are a food for thought about the future of the NWO. Resurgence of Russia, expected role of China and EU, US public sentiments about their country’s policies (immediately after the events of 11 September) enforce the need for revision of basic principles of the NWO. It can now be visualized that following will be the guidelines for the shaping of future of the NWO for the US policy makers :-
a. Avoidance of multi-civilizational multi-polar global war (terrorism) is only possible if more diplomatic approach in adopted.
b. The survival of NWO depends upon the America’s affirming of their western identity and West’s acceptance of their civilization as unique not universal and their unity to renew and preserve it against challenges from non-western societies.
c. Military power is likely to be increased but will be used very sparingly.

CONCLUSION
Though the US needs to be more diplomatic in the present scenario of resurgence of Russia, upcoming China and EU and anti-US sentiment resulting in 9/11, it seems that there will be some amendments in pursuance of NWO but the basic spirit is likely to remain the same. In the absence of concept of civilizational diversities and presence of regional powers the whole concept of NWO seems to be very controversial. What needs to be seen is where Pakistan stands in the mosaic and what has the country achieved till now or what are the future policy paradigms for Pakistan. Pakistan has options like all out support of the post 9/11 coalition, no support at all or recently adopted option of limited/conditional support taking strength from UN resolutions. Relying on Muslim World which itself is in the US shackles would prove nothing. It is felt that in view of the US military might and her influence in the world this was the best option.

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ISLAM AND THE MODERN SCIENCES

Introduction
1. Education has always played a dominating role in forming the destiny of nations and people. Muslims saw their prime owing largely to educational and intellectual fields. Now, considering the present state, top educationists and intellectuals of the Muslim world have been emphasising upon the importance of educational reforms. Increasing the priority of educational is the answer to many questions. However, it takes a back seat when viewed in relation to the immediate steps that every one wants to take individually to solve the problems in hand at a particular time.
2. A state of helplessness seems to have set in where the Muslims all over the world have conformed to and accepted their present value in the eyes of the world. The West has also endeavoured to undermine and disparage the contributions made by the Muslims in all the scientific fields. The tendency of terming Islam as a religion that is out of touch with the realities of the present world has become a norm. To make the matters worse, there is a constant brain drain in progress where the able Muslims opt to pursue their goals of prosperity and move in to the clutches of the West to have their skills exploited at will. Their countries of origin have failed to stop this drainage. Resultantly, the capabilities of the Muslims are not properly tapped to benefit the very societies that need them the most. Lack of good governance, mismanagement and lure of the West has created a vicious cycle that if continued will keep the Muslims at the mercy of the West and their interpretations.
3. Undoubtedly, science and technology is the engine of modern development. But to utilise the engine one needs a perfect and secure vehicle, a proper road to drive and then traffic laws to reach the destination after a safe and secure journey.
4. There is a need to understand what and how Muslim Ummah should proceed in general in order to revive and exploit the universal appeal of their religion in relation to the scientific education. In order to regain the lost confidence and to inspire the Muslim youth about their rich heritage, there is a requirement to highlight the truth about the share of contribution of Islam to the benefit of the humanity. After analyzing the factors leading to the retardation in the field of education, a remedial strategy to start a reversal of the state of Muslims can be worked out.

Aim
5. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of contributions of Muslims in the fields of science and intellectual development, the factors leading to the downturn of the Muslim’s progress including the current brain drain phenomenon, in order to recommend remedial measures.
6. Sequence. The sequence of this paper is as following:-
a. Part I. Muslim’s contribution towards scientific and intellectual fields.
b. Part II. Reasons and effects of current brain drain phenomenon
c. Part III. Misrepresentation of Islam being a medieval religion.
d. Part IV. Recommendations.
PART I
MUSLIM’S CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS SCIENTIFIC AND INTELLECTUAL FIELDS
7. Islamic Concept of Education. Islam has greatly emphasised on the importance of education to conquer the forces and resources of nature. That is possible only through the acquisition of adequate knowledge through a well-balanced, elaborate and all-embracing system of education. It involves harnessing human potential and then to utilize external forces in subservience to the Qur’anic values for the benefit of all the mankind. This provides us “identity, self-discipline and academic pursuits – all of the highest excellence but our difficulty, without any conspicuous flamboyant grandiloquent style and scintillating phrase, is that we overpower the forces of nature without being able to overwhelm the forces which lie within ourselves ”
8. Contribution of Muslims. The great and glorious heritage of Muslims can be recalled by briefly surveying what Islam has already contributed to the world’s civilization, education, culture and to scientific development. A few of the examples of contributions made by the Muslim Scientists in the field of science include the following.
a. Numerology. Muhammad Ibn Musa, who was also the first to use the decimal point notation, invented the zero.
b. Trigonometry / Sine / Tangent / Co – Tangent. The Arabs developed these and Ibn Musa’s work “Hisab-Al Jab-Wal Muqabala” (meaning the Calculation of Integration and Equation) presented 800 examples in the eight century. His work was translated from Arabic into Latin and until the 16th century, it was Europe’s main text book on the subject.
c. Geometry / Algebra. Another great mathematician was Omar Khayyam, who offered to the world geometric as well as algebraic solutions of the second degree. Nasiruddin wrote the treatise on the quadrilateral trigonometry, as well as plain and spherical geometry.
d. Physics. Kamaluddin examined the refraction of sun light in raindrops and actually explained the genesis of primary and secondary rainbows. The story of the invention of the pendulum and the presentation of a water clock to Emperor Charlemagne by Harun Al Rashid is well known.
e. Science of Mechanics. The development of science of Mechanics in Islam is an act of genius. Musa Ibn Shakir described one hundred pieces of mechanical equipment in his book of artifices. Other outstanding Muslim treatises included “Al Kitab Fi Marifat Al Hiya Al Handasiyya” (The Book of the Knowledge of Ingenious Geometrical Contrivances” by Abul Fiaz Ibn Al Raz. He also did work on accurate weighing, determination of specific Gravity.
f. Camera Obscura. In the field of optics, Camera Obscura was invented by Ibn Haitham in 1038 AD.
g. Theory of Relativity. Hazrat Qazi Abu Bakr had developed the theory of relativity in the Eighth Century in terms of time and space by means of mathematical equations and Astrophysics. Imagine Einstein wasn’t even born in the western world, who propounded the same theory of relativity in the Twentieth Century.
h. Geography. As far as Geography was concerned, the Muslim Scientists established in the ninth century that the world was round and under the Caliphate of Mamun, the first map of the globe was made.
i. Paper Makings. This was one of the earliest skills attained by the Muslims. As early as the Eighth Century, high quality paper was being manufactured in Samarkand. Egypt was known to have its first paper mill in the year 900 A.C. The earliest Arabic manuscript written on paper that has been discovered is the Gharib Al Hadith by Abu Ubayed, dated 837 A.C. It can be seen in Holland preserved in the Library of University of Leyden.
j. Advances in the Industry. Spain under the Islamic rule was an industrial centre. It was one of the wealthiest and thickly populated of European countries. Muslims were leading in Weaving Wool, Silk, Home Pottery, Jewellery, Leather and Perfume Industry. In the middle ages, the world trade was commanded by the Muslims and Baghdad, Bokhara and Samarkand remained centers for world fairs until the 16th Century.
k. Libraries. The Bait Al Hikmah, at Cairo contained 2 Million books, the library at Tripoli some 3 Millions but the Christians burnt down this library during the first crusade. Many such libraries were burnt down during the Crusades and it is interesting to note that where the books on theology were destroyed, those on scientific subjects were preserved by them for their own use.
9. It was not science only, which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influence from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European Life. Although there is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic Culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so “clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the permanent distinctive force of the modern world, and the supreme source of its victory, natural science and the scientific spirit ”.
10. Important fields like Astronomy and Mathematics were imported by the Greeks and were never properly absorbed by their culture. The subjects remained generalized in nature until “the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute method of science, detailed and prolonged observation and experimental inquiry ” were introduced by the Muslims.
11. Leaving this aside, let us consider the scientific facts in the Holy Quran. It is indicated that the earth was previously a part of the sun and after its separation; it became a habitable place for humanity, as mentioned in Surah 21, Ayat 30. That the matter is made up of sub atomic particles (Surah, 10, Ayat 61). That the embryo in the mother’s womb in enclosed by 3 epithelial coverings (Surah 39, Ayat 6). That each human being has a unique fingerprint (Surah 75, Ayat 4) etc. etc. There are thousands of other scientific facts in the Holy Quran.
12. It was under the influence of the Arabs and Moorish revival of culture and not in the 15th century, that a real renaissance took place. Spain, not Italy, was the cradle of the rebirth of Europe. After steadily sinking lower and lower into barbarism, it had reached the darkest depths of ignorance and degradation when cities of the Saracen world, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordova, and Toledo, were growing centres of civilization and intellectual activity. It was there that the new life arose which was to grow into new phase of human evolution. From the time when the influence of their culture made itself felt, began the stirring of new life.
13. The downfall of Muslims is not due to Islam as the West would have us believe but due to Muslims themselves for their sheer neglect of Islamic principles. They must realize that Islam has been and is undeniably the most progressive religion which is in fact a way of life with a very wide scope.
14. Acknowledgement by Western Scholars. A few Western Scientists, historians and intellectuals acknowledged the contribution of Muslims in various fields of science and their effects on Western advancements. Some of the remarks are quoted below.
a. Historian Gibbons. He wrote in his fifth volume of “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” that the science of Chemistry owes its origin and improvements to the Muslims .
b. George Sarton . “It will suffice here to evoke a few glorious names without contemporary equivalents in the West: Jabir ibn Haiyan, al-Kindi, al-Khwarizmi, al-Fargani, al-Razi, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Battani, Hunain ibn Ishaq, al-Farabi, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, al-Masudi, al-Tabari, Abul Wafa, ‘Ali ibn Abbas, Abul Qasim, Ibn al-Jazzar, al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Yunus, al-Kashi, Ibn al-Haitham, ‘Ali Ibn ‘Isa al-Ghazali, al-zarqab, Omar Khayyam. A magnificent array of names which it would not be difficult to extend. If anyone tells you that the Middle Ages were scientifically sterile, just quote these men to him, all of whom flourished within a short period, 750 to 1100 A.D.”
c. Carra de Vaux. “Arithmetic and algebra also flourished alongside of astronomy. This was the period of the cerebrated al-Khwarizmi whose name, corrupted by the Latin writers of the West, gave us, it so believed, the term Algorism (sometimes written Algorithm) .”
d. Silberberg. “Anyhow it is astonishing enough that the entire botanical literature of antiquity furnishes us only two parallels to our book (of ad-Dinawari, died 895 C.E.). How was it that the Muslim people could, during so early a period of its literary life, attain the level of the people of such a genius as the Hellenic one, and even surpass it in this respect? [Ad-Dinari wrote ‘Kitab an-Nabat’ (Encyclopaedia Botanica) in six thick volumes. It was written before any translation of Greek works into Arabic “.
e. Joseph Hell . “In the domain of trigonometry, the theory of Sine, Cosine and tangent is an heirloom of the Arabs. The brilliant epochs of Peurbach, of Regiomontanus, of Copernicus, cannot be recalled without reminding us of the fundamental and preparatory labour of the Arab Mathematician (Al-Battani, 858-929 A.D.).”
PART II
REASONS AND EFFECTS OF CURRENT BRAIN DRAIN PHENOMENON
Understanding Brain Drain
15. Brain Drain Defined. It can be defined as an emigration of students who do not return home after training. To a lesser (though growing) extent, it is “highly-qualified people leaving their home-country after finishing their education” . The exodus of educated people has become the epitome of wasted resources for advanced countries. Developing countries are at special risk because they lose highly skilled individuals. The migration of students from poor countries is now a long-term trend that educational improvements in the countries-of-origin have not yet managed to alter.
16. Statistical Analysis. One of the main problems of analysing brain-drains is the lack of data. There are many gaps. It is hard to say who the migrants are. There are no statistical tools and the flow of people is little understood. The only overall figures available are those of UNESCO for students, along with a few country-of-origin studies which do not include any country-comparative figures. Ironically, there is no separate data available on the magnitude of brain drain in the Muslim World.
17. Historical Perspective. The world saw the brain drain phenomenon in Europe, where many scientists and scholars left their insecure environments to live in the United States. The same scientists helped the host country in dominating the world during and after the World War II. Thus, the nation that produced excellent brains suffered where as another benefited merely by exploiting the opportunities available with her due to good governance and social values.
18. Cost Effects. Immigration out of and in to a country has its cost effects. These costs run in millions and billions. The cost of investment in postsecondary education, loss of tax revenue and the costs of settlement, language training and skills upgrading are distributed among the host countries and countries of origin. The countries of origin loose more due to weaker economic and social infrastructure.
Reasons Leading to Brain Drain
19. Quality of Education. One of the main reasons is the perceived value, career-wise, of a diploma obtained in a rich country. Looking at the issue of development in science and technology areas, we see that industrial and technological development largely depends on financial and economic stability and growth. The economic stability depends on social and political environment.
20. Education Used as an Industry. Higher education has become a lucrative and competitive market in the rich countries, where economic and financial considerations sometimes clash with academic and human ones. In this market, universities are behaving these days according to how many foreign students they can take. Due to the lack of educational institutions with equivalent facilities and repute, Muslim youth with the resources to pursue higher education prefer to spend billions for getting the quality education from the West. During their stay in Western countries they are introduced to and attracted by the Western social values and lifestyle that in turn motivates them in to staying there on completion of their education.
21. Socio-Political Stability. Social and political stability in any society depends on the degree of social values, justice and supremacy of law and order. These are all inter-related and inter-dependent factors. Hence, the bottom-line is, a country cannot succeed in any sector without achieving the prerequisites and without setting her priorities for the rest of the sectors. The progress can not be started from the middle but needs a strong base to start working on. Strong nations started from scratch and though it took time for them to reach where they are today, the resulting prosperity and strength are firm and less likely to be affected by minor irritants.
22. Pursuit of Better Opportunities. This quest for opportunity is part of the human experience. It is part of culture and sociology. It is a reality enshrined in the spirit of man that he is a mobile, migratory creature. He moves, when there is no grass on the prairie, to a greener pasture.
23. Immigration Policies of the Western Countries. The Western countries want immigrants presumably, to replenish an aging and diminishing population in order to sustain economic growth. They want economic growth to retain a competitive edge in the global economy. They want to retain this edge because they want to maintain a high standard of living for their population.
a. Preferences. They “prefer the scientists and engineers with further emphasis on research and development activities” . These sectors are indeed considered as the new major source of wealth and indicate the stage at which a particular society has reached.
b. Environments. The expatriate scientists and engineers work in an environment, which is far better than the one of their peers in the country of origin. They indeed have access to funding, technical support, equipment, scientific networks, experimental conditions, and many other resources, which are much more limited at home.
24. Globalization and the Movement of Intellectual Capital and Skills. In the age of globalization and new information technologies that facilitate the rapid transfer of ideas and money, a global concept of intellectual capital is emerging. An international community is developing that connects people based on shared interests and values, with less concern for where ideas are generated. In this era of competitiveness, companies are after the best and the brightest ideas and people regardless of where they come from.

PART III
MISREPRESENTATION OF ISLAM BEING A MEDIEVAL RELIGION
25. Portraying Islam as a medieval religion today is continuation of an extensive campaign to weaken the Muslim’s commitment and attachment to Islam. This campaign started when the light of Islam was still being spread in Europe. After many failed attempts to check the advance of Islam, the enemies set out to investigate carefully for more devious and long lasting. They concluded that the strength of Muslims stemmed from their religion and belief. They set out to change their understanding and application of the Shariah and to turn the great principles in Islam from active to passive and uninspiring elements.
26. Intellectual Incursions. It was through process of introducing (under the guise of logic and common sense) certain philosophical concepts that led to much controversy. The results were disastrous for Muslims with emergence of sects and defeats in the wars against Christian crusaders. The intellectual onslaught was at its height during the 17th century. Slow but steady weakening of Muslims continued till they were at the mercy of the westerns at the end of the 18th century resulting in colonialism. During the colonial rule, Muslims were deliberately prevented from progress and their educational system was systematically devastated. Muslims saw colonialists grab their property and resources, degrading their character and ridicule their religion.
27. After the Second World War several independent Muslim states appeared on the map of the world, and it seemed that the Muslims would soon take strides leading to a fresh efflorescence of its culture and civilization. But in the post-independence period, one could clearly see dearth of creative energy and lack of intellectual courage. This led many to conclude that perhaps the Islam as a religion was the basic cause of this decay. This misrepresentation of Islam that has found new height after the September 11 can be summarized in the following paragraphs:-
a. Extremism. Extremism and unaccommodating attitude towards other religions or communities as taught in the madrassas and so called Islamic organizations in countries like Yemen, Sudan, Algeria, Afghanistan etc present a wrong image of Islam to the world. The Islamic world faces a monolithic wall of suspicion and fear regarding the alleged nature of Islamic resurgence and activism, which is distorted as fundamentalism and terrorism. This is partly due to disinformation campaign fostered world wide against Islam and partly due to our own misinterpretation of Islam.
b. Islam and Muslims in the Media. Media coverage of Islam is on the rise. The tone and substance of such coverage, however, leaves many Muslims concerned about the negative image that is being relayed to Western public. However, it is important to note that, in almost all cases, negative coverage takes the form of sensational reporting on “exotic or violent behavioural attributes of individuals or groups of individuals” . Objective analyses are usually lacking and whenever Islam’s teachings and dictates are cited, in order to give the appearance of objectivity, they are taken out of context. The real damage is done when the writer, with superficial and sometimes biased notion of Islam, claims authority and seeks justification through misguided reading or interpretation of Quran or Hadith.
c. Generalising Islamic Label. At present the major flash points happen to be in Muslim majority areas. The violence in Muslim countries is mostly related to internal problems; their struggles are not over any religious issue. In Dagestan, Grozny, and Kashmir, the fighters are being called Muslim rebels though their cause is not just based on religion. In Afghanistan in-groups struggle for control of the country has nothing to do with Islam; they fight among themselves because they are hostile to one another but still, they are portrayed as fighters for Islam.
d. Western Culture/Values. The fallacy of the west regarding their own civilization as the yardstick to judge the whole world has led them to believe anything not western to be backward.
e. Civilisation Clash. In the words of Samuel P. Huntington of Harvard University, “the next world war, if there is one, will be a war between civilisations ”. He maintains that differences among civilizations are basic, involving history, language, culture, tradition and, most importantly, religion. The united efforts of other civilisations are likely to be directed in abolishing Islam as a religion and civilisation.
f. Backwardness. Muslim world as a whole suffers from lack of development and backwardness, particularly in the fields of Industry, management and science. Despite their vast natural wealth, talent and 30-50 years of independence many Muslim countries could not progress at the desired pace. Though these conditions are after effects of the colonial misrule, the results are wrongly related by the West to the religion itself.
PART IV
RECOMMENDATIONS
28. Will to Struggle. The vibrant societies have a will to live and struggle for a better place in the world. Choosing the right direction with appropriate methodology to direct the struggle is important. Being a Muslim the only way to solve our problems and also to achieve progress is to revive our true faith in Islam, to reduce our dependence on the West. We should concentrate our efforts on implementing the complete code of Islam in every walk of life, and in all spheres of social life. So we can say with conviction that the survival of Muslims lies in their religion itself and not in denying its universal appeal.
29. Role of Organisations. As already mentioned, most of the Muslim world organisations are regional interest oriented. Organisation of Islamic Conference is also doing little in the larger interest of the Ummah. Most of its declarations of intent are a mere lip service. There is a need to forge the political will to accelerate economic cooperation, which is a sine qua non for establishing mutuality of interests.
30. Role of Media. Media has played a negative role in portraying Islam as a medieval religion. It can also be used to help create understanding between Islam and the West. The effort needs to come from both sides.
a. Media need to take a more balanced and more understanding position.
b. More Muslims need to be visible in the Western media – in films, on discussion programmes, on the radio and TV and so on. It would allow them to project their point of view as well as to counter their exotic and alien image.
c. Major problems that cause so much anger and distress among Muslims need to be addressed: those of the Bosnians in Europe, the Palestinians in the Middle East and the Kashmiris in South Asia
31. The Concept of Twin Cities and Universities. Sharing and transferring of information among Muslim countries is possible through collaboration of universities and establishing the concept of twin cities. The same concept is working advantageously in the western world as well.
32. Sponsorship of Students and Scientists. Promising Muslim students should be recognised and sponsored by governments to provide them high quality education in affiliated universities round the Muslim world. These students will also be indoctrinated to serve their nation rather than falling for a dreamy world away from their home.
33. Strengthening the Industrial Base. Till the time Muslims have their own strong industrial base, their security concerns, poverty and over dependence on the West will continue. Serious efforts must be made to undertake joint industrial ventures. Technical expertise must be canalised from within the Islamic countries. This will help alleviate poverty and ensure best utilisation of technical knowledge.
34. Possible Solutions to the Brain Drain Problem. The national and international policies until the late 1980s focused on preventing or regulating flow of skills. Later the flow of skills was accepted as a norm and organising the skill abroad was added as a new option. The policies applied in the Muslim countries-of-origin to tackle the brain-drain should involve following two options:-
a. Recuperating people (persuading individuals to return home i.e. Brain Gain)
b. Recuperating skills (organising those abroad into a network i.e. Diaspora Option).
c. Conditions. There are definitely no quick fixes to stop brain drains because success depends very much indeed on the level of economic, scientific and technological development of each country and on political leaders taking a long-term view of the whole thing. These conditions are so far absent in most of the Muslim countries. The return-home policies are very long-term operations that can only work when the country-of-origin can offer prospective returnees satisfactory career conditions in their field. This supposes a high level of development. The solutions can only work under certain conditions.
(1) First, there has to be a sizeable scientific and technical or industrial community in the country-of-origin.
(2) There has to be long-term political backing for the idea.
(3) Finally, the administrative and financial resources to organise such networks and keep them going must be available.
35. Development of Socio-Cognitive Communities. There are numerous examples of talented scientists or engineers being misused or underutilised when they go back to their country of origin. Their abilities are disconnected from what used to make them powerful. This leads to an approach emphasizing connectivity and which departs from the traditional brain drain assumptions.
36. Brain Gain. For the last two decades, the conception about the migration of skills has evolved, putting stronger emphasis on brain gain, which is based on the idea that the expatriate skilled population may be considered as a potential asset instead of a definite loss. The scientists and engineers abroad appear as human resources educated, trained through professional practice, and employed in much better conditions than those the country of origin could have provided to them. If such a country is able to use these resources largely shaped through others’ investments, it would then gain a lot.
37. The Diaspora Option. The diaspora option is more recent and proceeds from a different strategy. It takes for granted that many of the expatriates are not likely to return. They have often settled abroad and built their professional as well as their personal life there. However, they may still be very concerned with the development of their country of origin, because of cultural, family or other ties. The objective, then, is to create the links through which they could effectively and productively be connected to its development, without any physical, temporary or permanent, return.
38. Advantages of the Diaspora Option.
a. It does not rely on a prior infrastructural massive investment.
b. Through the expatriates, the country may have access not only to their individual embodied knowledge but also to the socio-professional networks in which they are inserted overseas.
c. It is quite an extensive version of a connectivity approach. This is what is at stake in such initiatives around the world today.
d. The time thus gained will reduce the effects of present precarious situation gradually.
39. These networks need to emphasise on knowledge as well to gain more out of the experience of the Muslim scientists abroad. These networks should have better meaning and practicable measures added to their charter of duties that are listed below:-
a. Student/Scholarly Networks. They should facilitate studies abroad and/or reintegration into the highly qualified labour at home market afterwards. They need to expand the scope in terms of activities and contributions to the country of origin.
b. Local Associations of Skilled Expatriates. Groups of highly skilled professionals who should meet regularly on both a professional and social level. The aim is to promote the professional interests of members as well as to socialise on a more personal level.
c. Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) Programme. The Muslim countries need to set up permanent structures to tap their expatriate human resources through the TOKTEN programme more systematically. The list of databases of people, organised by area for example, can constitute embryos of real networks.
d. Developing Intellectual/Scientific Diaspora Networks. Their aim should be to make use of the highly skilled expatriate pool of their countries to contribute to the development process of the home country.
40. Database. Technically, through the databases or information system of diaspora network, it focuses on the information, which is useful, especially for building partnerships.
Conclusion
41. Muslims need to regain their past glory through an organised and consistent methodology. Only then the West will feel encouraged to trust the Muslims in spite of hatred and mistrust sown by their forefathers over a long period. The onus of proving the authenticity and credibility of Islam as a modern religion lies with the Muslims. Instead of suffering from inferiority complex and giving in to the harsh realities of the present time, Muslims must to trust their capabilities to master their destiny as their predecessors did under far worse conditions. Importance of education and morals are ordained for the Muslims and the rewards are far reaching for the coming generations. Inaction in this aspect will only strengthen the misconceptions of non-Muslims about Islam.
42. It is obvious that no religion with 14 centuries of history can be fairly reduced to the one-line analysis of bigotry, be it past or present. It is therefore time for the people of vision, both Muslim and Christian, to transcend their positions and aim to build bridges towards each other. We need to understand one another dispassionately, with a view to living together as good neighbours.
43. The glorious past of Islam needs to be recalled with pride by all Muslims to derive faith from the religion. If this reminiscence is not renewed and revived often, it is likely to face the danger of receding into oblivion.

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