Extremism: The Taliban, Iran & The Pakistan Floods
Please Note: As with everything on theSprout, the views contained in the this article are those of the author.
People and countries shift in patterns, movement and thought. Often vacuums are created when one falls through creating an environment where extremism can fester, recruit and grow.
When the USSR fell it created a vacuum for extremist thoughts to grow i.e. lack of centralised government, fall of government, lack of economic security, health care etc. People turn to old habits.
The Iranian Revolution
It’s why we have people in Iran protesting around the time of Muharram, the month where it’s said that Imam Husayn was martyred at Karbala. This significant event in Shia Islam could be viewed as fuelling the opposition to president Ahmadinejhad in the theme of ‘Good versus Evil’ (e.g. Imam Husayn vs. Yazid) and on the day of Ashura (the day of his martyrdom) people were shot while demonstrating during June of last year. People who supported the President chanted in their thousands "Death to the UK! Death to the USA!"; not because they literally want us all dead, but because after years of interference in their country Iran is furious.
After the revolution, much like Marjane Satrapi said, the only thing which can unite a country after that are politics and religion. In the USSR it was politics (Communism which banned religion, replaced itself with a similar set of beliefs) but in Iran it was religion, which is why it is now run under Shariah Law. Under Shariah Law and the Ayahtollah the rate of political prisoners went up something like 3000% and most of them were reds. It’s a complete rejection of Western ideals to an extreme.
The Shah was ousted because it was felt he represented the ideas, views and wants of his Western counterparts after years of colonialism: what better way to reject the West than becoming a complete Islamic Shariah law state? Even ties and mullets are banned as they are symbols of Western decadence; to some extent they have the right views e.g. anti-capitalism therefore anti-materialism, but the Shariah Law state is a dangerous threat to human rights worldwide. The Shah and colonialism created a vacuum for a traditionally moderate even liberal country to become a Shariah law state. Iran’s an interesting example, to say the least. Ali Shariati rallied the red Iranians for a socialist/communist state with Islamic influence…Islam rallied the people for revolution, and she rose again to rally them on the Day of Karbala, 2009. The bullets bore new flowers to fight for a fairer Iran.
This can be mirrored everywhere but in different situations, such as the problems between Israel and Palestine…do you think Palestine would be that militarised without constant interference and war? We, as humans, develop drastic measures for drastic times and since the systematic erasing of Palestinian land, they’re fighting back. Years of bombings, Israeli Apartheid and the blockades have rallied the people more than ever.
Pakistan's Political Problems
Let's take a more prominent example, more prominent than Israel and Palestine or Iran; Pakistan. Military dictatorship under General Zia Al Haq and the pillage of the country under Benazir Bhutto deeply effected the country, she went into self-imposed exile after alleged charges of corruption and despite her flaws Pakistan embraced her with open arms. The leader of Pakistan Peoples Party came back from exile in 2007 after reaching an agreement with then-President (and also head of the military at the time) Pervez Musharraf which gave amnesty and dropped all charges against her. Bhutto was later assassinated in 2007 after a bomb blast went off, she wasn't killed by the bomb blast, she hit the top of her head severely on the roof of her car... it's all a bit (too) strange for my liking.
At an earlier bombing, government allocated personnel were seen scrubbing the streets before the taking of forensic evidence, which lead to accusations that the totalitarian government of Musharraf had organised it. Don't believe me? Look at the 'missing people' of Pakistan; men and women who've been flown abroad and tortured in the best interests of US intelligence. No matter what actually happened, we will never know. Her death was a set back for democracy and many interpret her death to be an act of martyrdom for the plight of a better Pakistan or something sentimental along those lines. Riots took place all over Pakistan in wake of her assassination and Pakistan was already unstable. Its birth after Partition only happened in 1947 compared to the hundreds of years of say, England as a solidified country or even Wales as a united country both under Llewelyn Fawr and under English rule.
Taliban Influx
For those of us who oppose the Taliban, we must acknowledge that issues such as ecological destruction and Western neo-imperialism which directly affects their ways of life causes extremes; just look at Iran.
A lack of government support from the people of Pakistan, especially given President Zadari's trip to the UK while a fifth of his homeland was under water; the bombing of food stuffs by the Taliban; the Taliban being the only ones to coordinate a successful relief operation; The recent offensive in south eastern Afghanistan in the hotly debated Helmand Province has pushed a huge excess of Taliban personnel south to north west Pakistan where the US brought in Shariah Law in an effort to be friends with the locals; Pakistan has been bombed to bits, especially the historic and metropolitan city of Lahore owing to the influx of Islamic Terrorism being fuelled by countries such as Saudi Arabia.
The Madrassahs
Pakistan spends 2% of its budget on schools when it spends many times that on its nuclear facilities. The only schools that are widely available, which have sprung up faster in Pakistan than Starbucks in the UK, are madrassahs funded by the Saudi Arabian government where a hard-line and extremely orthodox view of Islam known as Wahabi Islam is taught. You don't get an education like the one many countries offer; foreign languages, maths, English, sciences; you're taught the Qu'ran from front to cover and spoon fed this extremist ideology. If we really wanted to combat extremism from Third-World countries, we'd be opposing the Gulf states who put the wheels in motion by preying on poor families who just want an education for their children. If we really want to oppose the Taliban, why don't we oppose the things that allow such a mentality to grow and fester? Such as alleged killings of nationals, economic imperialism, Pakistan's 'missing people', the war in Afghanistan, the interference of the West in the East and wars where oil is held in higher esteem than the blood of people.
The Flood
Want to oppose the Taliban? Do whatever you can for the Pakistani flood victims - a 'text in' scheme which allowed people to text in donations to aid those injured during the recent earthquake on the Caribbean island of Haiti raised around ten million dollars in the US, whereas another similar scheme for those affected by the floods got just $25,000.
It's the mentality that's been fed to us through the media, that of Pakistan 'all being terrorists' owing to the huge influx of Afghanistani Taliban; Pakistan has lost more people to terrorism on its soil than 9/11 and 7/7 put together and so much more. The media doesn't mention this.
If there isn't a good coordination plan to help those effected by the floods, there'll be a vacuum for the Taliban to use, where the puppet strings of the government have fallen. If you oppose Islamic terrorism, donate to the Pakistani flood disaster fund.
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IMAGE: Pakistan Flood 2010 by shirazbashir
