Muslims must rise up to demand change, progress

The Organization of Islamic Conference was created in 1969 and it has 57 member countries. The majority of Muslims live in these 57 countries. One of the planks of the charter of OIC is to "eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of colonialism."

Many Muslims around the world believe that the problems they are facing were caused by the old colonial powers and the new world superpowers, including the United States. There is no doubt that outside powers had exploited these nations and territories for their own benefits, but there have been ample opportunities in the lives of these nations to set themselves straight on the path of economic and political progress. But most of them have failed miserably in capitalizing on these opportunities.

In the 15th century, the colonial powers of Europe started expanding and conquering lands in Asia and Africa. They went far and wide. Indonesia came under the rule of Netherlands; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia were ruled by the British; French ruled Syria together with some parts of North Africa, including Chad and Sudan; Libya was ruled by Italians; Morocco was ruled both by Spaniards and the French. All the central Asian states were controlled by the U.S.S.R.

During the peak of the Ottoman Empire, it controlled the whole of the Middle East. The Colonial powers, after the World War I, broke the empire into pieces and turned these pieces over to local chieftains, warlords and emirs.

Most of these countries got their freedoms in the 1940s-1960s after long struggles. More than a half a century of freedom could not bring pluralistic rules. Corruption in these countries is rampant and disorders are commonplace. Some of them still cannot figure out what system of government they need to adopt. Some call themselves Islamic Republic, some are patterned after the British system of parliamentary democracies, others are autocratic kingdoms, and some have presidents for life.

Professor John Esposito of Georgetown University in his book "Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics and Society," describes in detail the systems of government each of these Muslim countries have.

In Egypt, the president can be elected an unlimited number of times and once elected essentially becomes ruler for life. Pakistan, although called Islamic Republic of Pakistan, never became Islamic or a republic. The military dictators found every opportunity to oust an elected government and ruled the country by martial law.

The autocratic rulers of Saudi Arabia used to call themselves Jalatul Mulk (elegant ruler of the land) until there was an uprising in the 1980s when they changed their title to Khadimin Haramain (custodians of the holy places).

The official title of Libya is Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The last word in the title means democracy. This nation has never seen real democracy. Yet all these countries call their system of government "Islamic."

After the departure of Russian troops from Afghanistan there was a golden opportunity for the Afghanis to start afresh. But the Mujahidin leaders, who fought the Russians very effectively, became warlords and started fighting each other for control of the territories and opium trade. All this infighting and lawlessness gave rise to the Taliban who crushed these warlords and started its own reign of terror and created an environment which allowed al-Qaida to flourish. Yet most of Afghanis believe that their problems were caused by outside forces.

The Muslim nations have been in a downward spiral. Due to the corruption, mismanagement, uncertainty and lack of progress, the people of these nations are finding themselves out of sync with their governments and governing officials.

In this day of Internet and 24 hour news briefs, a person sitting in a desolate place in Kazakhstan can easily find out what is happening in the world.

They demand change, which the corrupt autocratic regimes are continually resisting. There is a big void between the people and the leaderships. There are no processes or institutions which would allow a new generation of leaders to emerge. The political and economic progress is stymied. The OIC has become a forum for speeches and press releases.

The void between the corrupt leaders and the needs of the people is filled by people like Osama bin Laden, who capitalize on the frustration of the people and in the cloak of religion take them on journey which does not fit into the modern day world politics, their own culture, or faith.

People of these nations have to rise up and demand change, without which this downward spiral will continue.

Taj Khan of Lodi is a consultant and retired engineering manager for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

First published: Friday, September 8, 2006