The Scorpion's Shadow - I

Friday, August 9, 2002
By: Tashbih Sayyed

I'm going to tell you about a scorpion who wanted to cross a river. First, he asked a frog to carry him, but the frog said no.. " If I let you on my back you may sting me, and the sting of a scorpion is death." "Now where," asked the scorpion, "is the logic of that? If I sting you, you will die, and I will drown." So the frog became convinced and allowed the scorpion to climb onto his back. But, just as they reached the middle of the river, the frog felt a terrible pain rush through his body. The scorpion had stung him. "Logic!" cried the dying frog as he started going under, taking the scorpion down with him. "There is no logic in this!" "I know," said the scorpion, "but I can't help it. It's who I am."
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Growing up in a Muslim society, I was always aware of the hateful extremist streak in Muslim sociology as represented by Deobandi, Salafi and Wahabi schools of thought and its possible lethal consequences for the world. But somehow, I always had confidence that true Islam would prevail through moderate Muslims like the Hanafis and Sufis who countered this destructive mentality by their openness. My confidence in the strengths of true Islam would not have been misplaced and may have even proven to be correct if Saudi Arabia did not find itself in such a financially superior position to other Muslim countries. With trillions of petro-dollars to spare, Saudis are able to propagate their brand of literalist fundamentalism – Wahabbism to every country including the United States. This accidental financial power, as the world experienced on September 11, 2001, proved to be as lethal as the sting of a desert scorpion. While its venom has been painful to many Americans, its shadow is stretched much farther, infecting the nerve center of Muslim thought processes everywhere.

Nowhere is the scorpion's shadow deeper and darker than in Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Jews, Ahmadis, Ismailis and Shias all became its target. And their survival became difficult in the "Islamic" republic, turning the life of a day to day working person like me into a high wire act. In the 1970s, I was comfortably settled journalist, working as the head of Pakistan Television's Current Affairs Department in Karachi. Very quickly, it was made clear to me by the authorities that the only way I could survive at work was if I became a bigot, churning out programs aimed at spewing venom against non-Wahabis, democratic institutions, and pluralistic thinking or end up in jail. I did not want anything to do with it so I was forced to leave the "Islamic" republic of Pakistan.

The decision to leave Pakistan was not an easy one, but finding another country in the Muslim world where I could enjoy civilized values, the rule of law and a system of social justice was impossible. All Muslim societies without exception had undemocratic, totalitarian and fascist regimes representing various shades of social, cultural and intellectual deprivation. The peoples living in this "Muslim" environment were being systematically brain-washed into hating all nations that favored, practiced and promoted freedoms and humane living. And since the Judeo-Christian world not only believed in democratic values but also practiced it, its demonization was done under state supervision. I could not allow myself to fall from the frying-pan into the fire, so I chose to seek shelter for my family and myself outside the Muslim world.

Islam means submission to the will of God. And to me, the "Will of God" is nothing but the establishment of a state based on the principals of social justice. A state where human beings are allowed to pursue happiness as a foundation of society. God's Will is to establish a state that not only believes in liberty and democracy but demonstrates its belief by practicing these noble virtues as the essence of its existence. The United States of America, as a result of my quest, was the only country that had translated the "Will of God" into a state. America, to me, was the answer to the dreams of all prophets. If you believed in American values you did not need to have any other faith. The message that Islam's Prophet brought for humanity had articulated itself in the shape of American values. I knew that only the American faith could provide solace to a soul searching for spiritual happiness.

So I opted to make America the future for my children since it stood for everything that I thought God intended for its creation. But it was not so. America itself was facing a threat to its very existence. The scorpion's shadow had spread, reaching into various corners of society here too.

As soon as I settled down in the US, I found that not everyone who has come here from Muslim countries believes in American values. Islamists chose this land of opportunities to fulfill their dream of ridding the world of democratic values. They use the freedoms guaranteed by the US constitution to destroy the very values that protect their intolerant extremism. They spread their message through religious centers where the majority of Muslims, though generally conservative and not very political, are influenced by their way of thinking. Islamists remind me of that scorpion who asked the frog to ferry him over the river, but stung him on the way, killing both. Like the scorpion, Islamists cannot help it. It is in their nature to hate pluralism and democratic systems.

Once again, I found myself facing the same dilemma - cooperate with the devil and help destroy a country that provided my children and myself with a future or stick to what I believe in. I realized that back in Pakistan I had a choice, I could escape to the US, but where could I go now? It was time to fight back rather than run. I could not let the scorpion sting the very basis of my existence. I had to stand up and defend America.

In order to defeat these forces of darkness, one has to first understand their strengths. Although Islam means submission to the "Will of Allah" by following basic principles of social justice within a pluralistic society, Allah's (God's) will has never been allowed to come into force through out Islamic history, except during a very brief period when the Prophet of Islam was at the helm in Medina. The reason why a state based on social justice could not be founded in the Muslim world after him is simple to understand. In order to establish an " ideal state based on Allah's will ", first a "state of mind" is needed that believes in social justice. And such a "state of mind" has never existed in the Muslim world. Muslims have always been very good at following ritual, but never action, which social justice requires to realize and maintain an egalitarian society.

The US, more than any Muslim country, understands the principles Allah values and protects them through the US Constitution. The Constitution proclaims that the US government is a creation "of the people by the people and for the people." Allah's will does not favor a particular faith, color or creed, and neither does the American constitution. Allah advocates the middle road hoping that every person will not only take care of themselves, but will work to make the lives of their community members better as well. American values teach the same, translating the idea of social justice into civil liberties principles like the right to privacy, and education without any prejudice or discrimination. Volunteering and charitable work are respected as well. One only has to demonstrate a will to perform.

Islamists know that if American values are allowed to spread in the Muslim world, it will help the evolution of a Muslim state of mind that believes in democracy, pluralism and social justice. The real Islam which, up until now, has lain imprisoned in books, can finally be set free. The US can help in the establishment of a democratic society in the Muslim world after fifteen hundred years of intellectual despotism.
(To be Continued..)