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Badawi Ready to Go Extra Mile to Bridge Muslim-West Divide
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has outlined his vision for the Muslim world and its relationship with the West with an informed frankness... Malaysia, he said, continues to support the war against terrorism and condemns terrorist acts committed by Muslims. Even though Saddam Hussein was brutal and oppressive, Iraq still "was illegally invaded"... He lamented that "the sheer weight of the problems that face the Muslim world today is tremendous. Many Muslim countries are synonymous with poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition. Some stand out because of oppression, tyranny and injustice. Globally Muslim countries are devoid of a common voice that is taken seriously." The statistics of achievement are dire. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) classifies only five out of 57 Muslim countries "as having high human development" with the majority having a low human development. Similarly only five Muslim countries enjoy a per capita GDP above $10,000 — some 30 Muslim countries have one below $1,000.
| Five out of 57 countries aren't a drag on the rest of the world. "Muslim" is synonymous with povery, illiteracy, and malnutrition. To that list we might also add a very high propensity for violence and an absolute veneration of ignorance. And for some reason they demand to be taken seriously by the rest of the world. |
Against this background and the continuing carnage in both Iraq and the Palestinian territories, Badawi threw down the gauntlet to both the Muslim world and the West.
| Don't throw your gauntlet our way. We're not the ones with the problems. |
"Malaysia," he confirmed, "will continue to support the war against terrorism. We will condemn terrorist acts committed by Muslims. We will continue to confront those who claim to fight in the name of Islam but are not worthy to be called Muslims. We will encourage reforms in the Muslim world. But at the same time Malaysia will continue to use our resources and goodwill toward pressing for substantive changes in the way the world works. What is more important, however, is a willingness for the West to meet us halfway, and demonstrate that their policies can change accordingly."
| How about a nice, resounding "No!"? Your system demonstrably doesn't work. Ours demonstrably does. The reason Malaysia's not a backward rathole like Pakistan or Bangladesh isn't because of Islam. It's in spite of it. The greater the distance the West can keep between itself and Islam, the better for the West. |
Muslims through the concept of a collective Ummah, irrespective of class, education and economic background, have a great empathy with other Muslims.
| Which is how they somehow always end up supporting the dictators and princes and holy men, even when the dictators, princes and holy men are blowing up or otherwise slaughtering innocents... |
"This is why Muslims who are not affected by poverty or have nothing to do with Palestine feel so strongly about this issue. This is why without addressing the root causes, the war against terrorism will not succeed," he explained.
| It's my opinion that the root causes of terrorism are Islamic violence. Addressing the root causes requires the expenditure of large quantities of ordnance, with ropes for the survivors. If Badawi doesn't like the economic conditions within Muslim countries, perhaps he should start an intra-ummah program of holy man eradication and fix things. |
Malaysia, he committed, is keen to play the role of honest broker by setting itself up as a center for conflict resolution, "since peace is at the heart of the Islamic faith, I believe that we should demonstrate our commitment to peace in a formal, structured and institutionalized manner."
| Do that. Call us when you've got some results to show. |
Malaysia is also prepared to take the lead in "energizing trade and services in the Muslim world." Intra-Islamic exports account for less than 10 percent of total Muslim exports. If trade and investments are seen as necessary ingredients for development, Kuala Lumpur wants to encourage the rich capital available in some Muslim countries to be allocated and invested in potential growth markets in the Muslim world. He singled out two areas such as the global market for halal foods worth $150bn annually, and the global Islamic financial services industry worth about an estimated $650bn.
Posted by: Fred 2004-10-02 |
