Friday, December 29, 2006 at 12:12am
Musharaff: Sectarian strife perils Islam
The Muslim world must counter sectarian strife that threatens to tear it apart, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf warned in a speech Thursday.
Musharraf stressed that Islam was not in conflict with democracy and modernization, but that modernization was distinct from Westernisation. His speech came at a time that his own course of "moderate enlightenment" faces conflicts with conservative forces at home, IANS reported Friday.
"We need to work for reconciliation with the world at large," the Pakistan press quoted him as saying at a lecture to scholars and intellectuals in Islamabad. "Now is the time to act immediately to resolve long-standing political disputes including Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon," he added.
Muslims currently hold no consensus about the correct interpretation of Islam. Illiteracy exacerbates the situation, with the teachings of Islam generally being left in the hands of semi-literate mullahs, he said.
Extremists try to impose their rigid views on the majority, while ultra-modern fringe elements propagate secularism, creating an unhealthy schism, Musharraf said.
Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, is America's key ally in the war on terror. He faces a threat, however, from religious parties in next year's parliamentary elections. They condemn his policies as "anti-Islamic" and pro-Western.
Musharraf stressed that Islam was not in conflict with democracy and modernization, but that modernization was distinct from Westernisation. His speech came at a time that his own course of "moderate enlightenment" faces conflicts with conservative forces at home, IANS reported Friday.
"We need to work for reconciliation with the world at large," the Pakistan press quoted him as saying at a lecture to scholars and intellectuals in Islamabad. "Now is the time to act immediately to resolve long-standing political disputes including Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon," he added.
Muslims currently hold no consensus about the correct interpretation of Islam. Illiteracy exacerbates the situation, with the teachings of Islam generally being left in the hands of semi-literate mullahs, he said.
Extremists try to impose their rigid views on the majority, while ultra-modern fringe elements propagate secularism, creating an unhealthy schism, Musharraf said.
Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, is America's key ally in the war on terror. He faces a threat, however, from religious parties in next year's parliamentary elections. They condemn his policies as "anti-Islamic" and pro-Western.