President Pervez Musharraf on Friday called upon the West, particularly the United States, to help resolve political disputes and alleviate the sense of deprivation in Muslim world.
| Sounds like an admission they're incapable of taking care of themselves... |
"The sense of helplessness and powerlessness leads individuals to extremism. Poverty and lack of development have become extremely explosive and unresolved disputes like Kashmir, Palestine and Chechnya, which have given rise to extremism," he said while addressing an inter-religious conference in Islamabad on Friday morning.
| Didja ever consider that the sense of hopelessness and powerlessness might have something to do with the fact that roving bands of religious fascisti keep people in line by throwing acid in their faces or shooting them to death or cutting their heads off or blowing them up? And I'd call Kashmir, Paleostine and Chechnya manifestations of extremism, not sources of it... |
The one-day conference was jointly organised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Forum for World Peace and Justice. He called upon all countries, specifically those in the developed world, to take measures to promote inter-faith and inter-religious harmony.
| I hope he doesn't mean like they do it in Pakland? Those blasphemy laws aren't really helping, Perv... |
Mr Musharraf said that the world is facing serious challenges like extremism and terrorism. These challenges have to be tackled through tolerance, he said.
| I'd say they had to be tackled by aerial bombardment... |
He said there are misperceptions in the West regarding Islam as a religion of extremism and militancy. There is also a misperception among Muslims that Islam is being targeted by the West. He said the world could be a better place if the strategy of enlightened moderation was adopted.
| It takes two to tango. On 9-10-01 we were a nation at peace. |
He said the strategy has two prongs, one has to be delivered by the Muslim world and the other by the West. He said Muslim countries have taken a step forward to fulfil their part of the strategy. "The strategy of enlightened moderation was adopted by the OIC," he said.
| It's been working real well, too... |
Now, Mr Musharraf said, it is the turn of the West, particularly the United States, to implement the other prong and help resolve political disputes and assist the Muslim countries economically.
| Help the Muslim countries economically? Half of them are sitting on pools of oil that should keep them rich for the next hundred years, and still they somehow manage to remain ignorant and backward, with the princes tucking the dollars in their pockets and tossing crumbs to the common folk. And the ones that don't have pools of oil nine miles deep remain incapable of fostering economic development because what's not raked off by local officials is snatched for zakat... |
Referring to terrorism in Pakistan, the president said those carrying out terrorist acts are just pawns and the masterminds behind these acts are mostly foreigners living in the country, he said.
| Qazi's not a foreigner. Sami's not a foreigner. Fazl's not a foreigner. Hafiz Saeed's not a foreigner. Masood Azhar's not a foreigner... |
Mr Musharraf again urged the foreign elements operating in the tribal areas to come forward and register. He said the government has never sent any Pakistani terror suspect to any foreign country. "Those in Guantanamo were arrested from Afghanistan and sent there. Pakistani terror suspects arrested in the country will be tried in the country's courts," he declared.
| Except for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad... |
He said the Pakistani people are moderate and only a tiny minority are extremists who want to dictate their views to the rest of the people.
| They're the ones with the explosives, though... |
"This is not acceptable," he said. The president said "sipah, jaish and lashkars" have no place in the country because these outfits cannot co-exist with Pakistan's armed forces.
| Armed forces be damned. They can't coexist with anyone. |
The president expressed appreciation for the role of deeni madaris in providing food, shelter and education to millions of poor students. He said they are rendering a remarkable service to humanity. He said only a few madaris are imparting militant training.
"Yasss... Yasss... It's only a few."
"How many?"
"Ummm... Most of them." |
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