2008.02.09
Fate of Pakistan Pivotal For The Future Of The World - Historian Karen Armstrong
Fate of Pakistan pivotal for the future of the world- historian Karen Armstrong
03 Feb 2008 09:53:26 GMT
Source: Reuters
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3, 2008 - The future of Pakistan, and how it balances the need for Muslim symbols with the secularism needed to run a modern state, will be important for the future of the world, according to historian and theologian Karen Armstrong.
Nuclear-armed and reaping the grim harvest of "extremism" resulting from the West's support for a religious war to drive the Soviet Union out of neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan has a big question to answer, says Armstrong. "How do you become a secular Muslim state?"
Last Thursday, Armstrong, whose writings have highlighted the tolerant and pluralistic nature of Islam, met President Pervez Musharraf, who hoped to change Pakistan into a state where "enlightened moderation" prevailed.
"Pakistan is on the frontier of this present struggle," Armstrong told Reuters during a visit to Islamabad to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Aga Khan, Fatimid Imam Caliph of Islam.
"I think it is not so much important for the future of Islam as important for the future of the world," said the 63-year-old Briton, whose book "The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam" was released a year before 2001 attacks on the United States.
"What happens here will be very decisive in how the so-called war against terrorism proceeds in other regions."
"The kind of conversations I have about this topic remind me very much of conversations I had in Israel, another secular state born out of displacement and tragedy."
Armstrong said Israelis faced a similar struggle between secularists in tune with the vision of their country's founder, David Ben-Gurion, and ultra-orthodox Jews, some of them militant.
Even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, realised the need to have a degree of secularism in order to run a modern state, she said. Khomeini, just before he died in 1989, told mullahs not to meddle in defence and economic policies, she said.
CORNERED BY SECULARISM
The separation of religion in the state represents a modern, major change in societies where religion is a way of life. When it happens too quickly, people feel threatened and if attacked through the media or by force, they become aggressive, said Armstrong, a former nun who describes herself as a "freelance monotheist". "Most of these extreme movements are rooted in profound fear, a fear of annihilation," she said, stressing that the same dynamics play out in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. "In small-town America there are Christians who believe they are going to be wiped out by a so-called liberal establishment."
During the interview, Armstrong cited the example of Sayyid Qutb, whose writings from an Egyptian jail in the 1950s and 60s helped craft a strain of Sunni Muslim fundamentalism that spawned the global jihad of al Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.
People should study Qutb's texts rather than the Koran if they wanted to understand al Qaeda, she said. But they had to be read in the context of the torture Qutb suffered and his reaction to efforts to secularise Egypt, she said. Attempts to introduce secularism, which took centuries in the West, has been done too quickly in the Middle East, according to Armstrong, resulting in religious movements that tend to become lethal if they occur in regions where violence is endemic.
Armstrong didn't see militancy in Pakistan's tribal lands, or Hamas or Hizbollah movements, or even bin Laden's al Qaeda, as being motivated principally by religion. It is more of a kind of political followup.
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10:44 Posted in Africa , Aga Khan Award for Architecture , Aga Khan Development Network , Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph , Arab World , Asian Development Bank , Bangladesh , BBC Documentary , Canada , Central Asia , Community , Culture , Democracy , East and South-East Asia , Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union , Economy , Environment , Europe , Excellency Soomro , Fatimid Heritage Foundation , Freedom of expression , Geneva Peace Development Centre , Germany , Hillary Clinton , http://ismaili.us , Islamic Republic Pakistan , Ismaili Muslim Centre , Ismaili Muslims , Karen Armstrong , Latin America , Madagascar , Maghreb , Media , Middle East , Mountain Girls Education Development Program , Mozambique , North America , Politics , President Clinton , Princess Zahra Aga Khan , Rwanda , South Asia , Sport , Sub-Saharan Africa , Supreme Court of Pakistan , United Nations , United States , USAID , Western Europe , White House , White House Project | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, Central Asia, World Peace, Pakistan, Fatimid Heritage Foundation, Middle East
2008.01.31
Asian Development Bank and Aga Khan Development Network Strengthen Partnership
His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), today 30th January 2008 met with Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for discussions on joint collaboration between the ADB and AKDN. The meeting preceded the signing of an agreement aimed at expanding the partnership between the two institutions.
“A strengthened partnership between ADB and the Aga Khan Development Network provides an effective channel for supporting inclusive development in the region, especially for the benefit of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society,” said Mr. Kuroda.
The Aga Khan’s younger brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, who signed the agreement on the Aga Khan’s behalf, thanked the ADB for its long-standing cooperation and lauded the Bank’s efforts to adopt a new long-term strategy this year in the face of growing challenges and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Prince Amyn Aga Khan expressed confidence that the agreement will enable an intensification of the collaboration between the two institutions, thereby helping to transform the lives of many.
He added that the agreement is “an expression of our shared commitment to ensure that marginalized and impoverished areas of South and Central Asia receive the attention and support needed to alleviate poverty and to create stability in cross border areas, by connecting isolated communities, developing markets, incomes, and employment, and fostering an enabling environment.”
The joint ADB/AKDN agreement stresses the need “to find ways to undertake investments to connect the poor to the opportunities of growth and to connect services to the poor emanating from national and regional growth benefits.”
The ADB and the AKDN collaborate across multiple sectors in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India, and Pakistan. The agreement signed today reinforces the need for cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, economic development, and human capacity building. It expresses the joint commitment of both institutions to local and regional ownership of development policies and programmes, long-term approaches to sustainable development, and investments which connect the poor to growth opportunities. Amongst the new areas for potential partnership are investments in higher education, including with the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.
Notes:
ADB, a major development institution in the Asia and Pacific region, seeks to foster economic growth, good governance, human resource development, and the reduction of poverty for the benefit of its developing member countries.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network’s nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN’s underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social development is in excess of US$300million.
For more information please contact:
Jason Rush
Media Relations
Asian Development Bank
Tel: (632) 632-4444
www.adb.org
Aly Nazerali
European Representative and CEO
AKDN
3 Cromwell Gardens
London SW7 2HB
Tel: +442075916800
E-mail: aly.nazerali@akdn.org
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06:11 Posted in Africa , Aga Khan Award for Architecture , Aga Khan Development Network , Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph , Arab World , Asian Development Bank , Bangladesh , Canada , Central Asia , Community , Culture , Democracy , East and South-East Asia , Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union , Economy , Environment , Europe , Fatimid Heritage Foundation , Freedom of expression , Geneva Peace Development Centre , Germany , http://ismaili.us , Islamic Republic Pakistan , Ismaili Muslim Centre , Ismaili Muslims , Latin America , Madagascar , Maghreb , Media , Middle East , Mountain Girls Education Development Program , Mozambique , North America , Princess Zahra Aga Khan , Rwanda , South Asia , Sport , Sub-Saharan Africa , United Nations , United States , USAID , Western Europe | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, Central Asia, World Peace, Pakistan, Fatimid Heritage Foundation, Middle East
2007.12.04
BBC Series on Aga Khan Award for Architecture Voted Favourite for Best Documentary of the Year
Building for Islam, the BBC World series on the 2007 Aga Khan Award recipients, was nominated as one of the top BBC documentaries of 2007. Your chance to choose !
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08:04 Posted in Africa , Aga Khan Award for Architecture , Aga Khan Development Network , Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph , Arab World , Bangladesh , BBC Documentary , Canada , Central Asia , Community , Culture , Democracy , East and South-East Asia , Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union , Economy , Environment , Europe , Excellency Soomro , Fatimid Heritage Foundation , Freedom of expression , Geneva Peace Development Centre , Germany , Hillary Clinton , http://ismaili.us , Islamic Republic Pakistan , Ismaili Muslims , Latin America , Madagascar , Maghreb , Media , Middle East , Mountain Girls Education Development Program , Mozambique , North America , Rwanda , South Asia , Sport , Sub-Saharan Africa , United Nations , United States , USAID , Western Europe , White House | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Arcnet, Ismaili.US, Fatimid Heritage Foundation, Muslim Civilization, Geneva Peace