National Geographic - The Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan

The nation's efforts to straddle the fault line between moderate and militant Islam offer a cautionary tale for the post-9/11 world.

If there is an address, an exact location for the rift tearing Pakistan apart, and possibly the world, it is a spot 17 miles (28 kilometers) west of Islamabad called the Margalla Pass. Here, at a limestone cliff in the middle of Pakistan, the mountainous west meets the Indus River Valley, and two ancient, and very different, civilizations collide. To the southeast, unfurled to the horizon, lie the fertile lowlands of the Indian subcontinent, realm of peasant farmers on steamy plots of land, bright with colors and the splash of serendipitous gods. To the west and north stretch the harsh, windswept mountains of Central Asia, land of herders and raiders on horseback, where man fears one God and takes no prisoners.

This is also where two conflicting forms of Islam meet: the relatively relaxed and tolerant Islam of India, versus the rigid fundamentalism of the Afghan frontier. Beneath the surface of Pakistan, these opposing forces grind against each other like two vast geologic plates, rattling teacups from Lahore to London, Karachi to New York. The clash between moderates and extremists in Pakistan today reflects this rift, and can be seen as a microcosm for a larger struggle among Muslims everywhere. So when the earth trembles in Pakistan, the world pays attention.

Travel 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) across this troubled country, as I did recently, and it becomes obvious that, 60 years after its founding, Pakistan still occupies unsettled ground. Traumatized by multiple wars with India, a parade of military strongmen (including the current president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf), and infighting among ethnic groups—Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi, Pashtun—Pakistan's 165 million people have never fully united as one nation, despite being 97 percent Muslim. To hold the country together, successive governments have spent billions on the military, creating a pampered and self-serving monolith of mostly Punjabi generals while neglecting the basic needs of the people, for justice, health, education, security, and hope. Lately, these grievances have spilled onto the streets, as lawyers and other opponents challenge Pakistan's military government and demand a return to civilian, democratic rule. Meanwhile, six years after 9/11, the forces of Islamic radicalism are gaining strength and challenging Pakistan's moderate majority for the soul of the country.

More:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/pakistan/pakistan.html

Sounds remarkably like a certain percentage of our population here who have a tremendously warped view of America's history.

As I read it, I thought about how a few r-w fundies have pushed themselves into positions of power and bullied the populace with their beliefs. If you look at the slideshow, the photo of the women associated with the Taliban inspecting library books shows that. There are many other references to this phenomena in the slideshow, though.

Sounds remarkably like a certain percentage of our population here who have a tremendously warped view of America's history.

It's been a trend worldwide, fueled by reaction to such rapid change in the world.



Cher

Another fine work of British mapmaking...and the "age of nationalism" that created multi-cultural states that can only function under a military dictatorship. It's caught in several "culture wars" internally and externally that confuse...its a country that had a Benazir Bhutto; representing a secular, modern socity in the east vs. the tribes and madrassas of the western regions of the west. It's not just where "Islamofascism" is a threat to the West...but also faces its own religious identity crisis and then conflicts with Hindus and Sikhs.

The problem with these multi-cultural states...as we've seen in the Balkans, Lebanon and now in Iraq is it only works when there's some kind of power balance...where one group dominates the others. If there's a shift in power, chaos ensues and so does extremism. Sadly, history usually shows that the answer to this power shift is yet another military dictatorship or oligarchy that keeps the various interests at bey.