Please Help
Aziz P
Sepoy at Chapati Mystery writes:
It was the summer of our junior year in high school. Khayyam, Sohail, Reza and I went to Mansera and beyond for a hiking trip. Our host in Mansera was Bilawal. His house was one of the many in lanes [galli] that dotted the mountain side. Thin strips of mountain rock led from the main road up to his house. Beneath the wide chasm. The jokes were that us fools will come out in the night and take a wrong step into the darkness below. We went fishing in the coolest, clearest river I had ever seen. And by fishing, I mean, we packed some gunpowder in a small bread ball with a long fuse and dropped it in the river. It was my first time alone in the mountains. I went many times after. Much further into the ranges with many, many fond memories. I keep remembering Bilawal's face. Not his face in person but his face in a picture that was taken and that I haven't seen since. Isn't that funny? This trick of memory. In the picture, all four of us are "striking a pose" with our jeans rolled tight at the cuff and our high-top Reeboks puffed high. I think my tshirt collar was up. I have no idea if Bilawal or his family are alive.
The human toll of this earthquake in Pakistan continues to rise. The Indo-Pakistani diaspora has taken the lead in relief efforts (though the Bush Administration has generously sent considerable money and material through official channels as well), and in the blogsphere, sepoy, emullah, and Haroon have been doing yeoman's work in compiling links to vetted and authentic charities that are already on the ground.
Of these, the Edhi Foundation is the most respected, experienced, and competent. While they prefer snail mail, you can donate online through this third party. Now there is also an American Red Cross Earthquake Relief fund. And the official airline of Pakistan, PIA, will airlift donated good and supplies for free to Pakistan if dropped off at any regional office, including Chicago, New York, Houston, San Francisco, and London. Here are contact numbers for PIA offices worldwide. Winter is coming and many hundreds of thousands are homeless, so the urgency is acute.
Please. Head over to your local PIA office and donate supplies. Or click over to Chapati Mystery, avari/nameh, or emullah and see what you can do to help. Let our sense of propriety and justice correct the otherwise natural inequality of our sentiments:
Let us suppose that the great empire of China, with all its myriads of inhabitants, was suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake, and let us consider how a man of humanity in Europe, who had no sort of connexion with that part of the world, would be affected upon receiving intelligence of this dreadful calamity. He would, I imagine, first of all, express very strongly his sorrow for the misfortune of that unhappy people, he would make many melancholy reflections upon the precariousness of human life, and the vanity of all the labours of man, which could thus be annihilated in a moment. He would too, perhaps, if he was a man of speculation, enter into many reasonings concerning the effects which this disaster might produce upon the commerce of Europe, and the trade and business of the world in general. And when all this fine philosophy was over, when all these humane sentiments had been once fairly expressed, he would pursue his business or his pleasure, take his repose or his diversion, with the same ease and tranquillity, as if no such accident had happened. The most frivolous disaster which could befal himself would occasion a more real disturbance. If he was to lose his little finger to-morrow, he would not sleep to-night; but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions of his brethren, and the destruction of that immense multitude seems plainly an object less interesting to him, than this paltry misfortune of his own.
But what I would like to know is whether there is anything comparable to this on the Pakistan side of the border.
I see from the CIA World Factbooks that India, with a population of 1.080 billion, is 80.5% Hindu, 13.4% Muslim, and 7% other. Whereas Pakistan is 97% Muslim and only 3% Hindu, Christian and other.
Which tells me there that the amount of religious tolerance for other religious faiths in India is strong, while religious tolerance for other religious faiths in Pakistan is more or less non-existant.
I keep looking in vain for any muslim country, other than Bosnia and Lebanon, in which there is any kind of tolerance for day to day practice of any religion other than Islam is possible to any degree.
Possibly I get on the nerves of some people because of comments like these. But as a free man who grew up in a free society in which there never was any need to confirm to a state religion, I learned very early to judge people by hard facts and not about how they sugar-coat the things they do.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb wI
First to the case of Pakistan: it was formed specifically to be a muslim state by muslim separatists at the time of India's independence in the 1940s--i.e. they broke off from India as they wanted muslim independence. They got their wish. Muslims anywhere in India were free to move to Pakistan. Some did. Any muslims who remained in India, however, clearly chose to remain.
Regarding muslims and democratic pluralism: when measuring these things, I find it best to use the data set used by political scientists. The two most widely used are Polity and Freedom House. I choose Freedom House simply because it's more publicly accessible and somewhat less fine-grained. This organization has been using well-established standards for rating the nations of the world on political and civil freedoms for decades.
You will find their current country ratings right here. I find that by using this and the CIA World Factbook you can garner a huge amount of useful data. The one thing to avoid is the CIA's ratings of the governments because they use no objective standards on this, tending to merely take the country's word on it. So for example the CIA might call "Democratic Republic of Congo" a democratic republic, but Freedom House will quickly disabuse you of any such notion.
In looking at the Freedom House data, I have discovered examples of nations rated as stable liberal democracies which are majority muslim (Mali and Senegal), electoral, somewhat illiberal democracies (Turkey, Indonesia), and non-democracies aplenty. I can also point you to democratic nations which have a sizeable minority of muslims which are nevertheless democracies, India being easily the most prominent example.
So now what is it you want--a democratic nation in which muslims are a majority, but in which there is a sizeable minority population which is non-muslim? Okay. I'll spend some time looking.
In the meantime I will just observe what I have said before: I believe you are buying into anti-muslim propaganda put out primarily by Christians who have faith-based issues with these people. I find this to be terribly common. I only note that those folks are very fond of basically taking the same position on Islam as Osama Bin Laden does. I find that a perilous assumption. These Christians are not being reasonable or objective--they automatically accept the worst possible spin on all things islamic, mostly because the whole religion is a challenge to their faith.
Anyway, let me see if I can find a democracy that is majority muslim but only 50 or 60% or somesuch. If one doesn't exist, what will that prove precisely?
I'm sure you have realized ever since I have been commenting with you that I regard Islam as a unique modern form of slavery that self-perpetuates by turning its adherents into the closest example anyone has seen of zombies outside the caribbean cultures from which such legends are derived.
Who else, other than the leaders of various packs of zombies could induce human beings to strap explosive belts around their bodies and have them walk smiling to their deaths in crowded streets and market places in Israel and Iraq, or skillfully organize a mass suicide or hijackers who would fly themselves and their fuel-laden planes into great buildings?
And because Islam is a faith-based phenomenon, I do not imagine it will conveniently self-destruct as did communism, which, although it exhibted signs of becoming a faith-based system of its own, was really a failed economic system that imploded in the largest country of the world. Therefore, I think it is a major danger to the freedom and advancement of the human race, and I think it should be opposed and driven back into the deserts from which it sprang upon the world.
I do not view them as distateful. As religions go, Islam is more appealingly logical than Christianity. But I view their spread as a deadly dangerous threat to all the principles that western civilization is based on. The longer they are tolerated in our midst, the faster they will grow and create permanent trouble of the type that is now seen all over Europe and every other part of the world where they have been allowed to spread.
Wake up Dean. You have put on a set of blinders about all that I have described above. Panglossianism was cute in literature and as a Broadway musical. When it massively affects public policy, freedom is seriously threatened.
As for your questions about non-islamic populations or cultures living in peace with them, it seems to me that they are are the most intolerant people on the face of this planet. They are perpetually at war with each other and with any non-Muslims whose lives intersect with theirs.
Since Americans and western Europeans no longer have the foresight and and strength of will to defend themselves from this menace, I sincerely hope one day that the Chinese, Indians and Russians massively coalesce and shatter the islamic empire from one end of Asia to the other.
Otherwise, I think these people will one day conquer the world, while the other civilizations die out with the same kind of whimper echoed from the memories of all the small independent peoples whom they have robbed of their freedom in their 14 century march of conquest.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Aziz posted a plea for help. That is the topic.
33,000 dead, little children still being dug out of the rubble in a region so poor that in many places there aren's even roads to bring in help, and winter is already upon them. Who knows what their attitudes are? Maybe under the influence of Saudi-funded hate ministries, they think we're the bad guys. They have the protection of what the old Church Fathers called invincible ignorance. They cannot know better, and so they must be held blameless.
So, innocents are in mortal danger in the direst conditions. That is the situation, right this minute.
though I may disagree with some of your statements, I've respected you as a patriot to my nation. However, I do have to question why you bring this issue up in an apolitical post abouut humanitarian relief. One wonders whether you are implying that there should be a Freedom Litmus Test applied to aid recipients?
If there is no connection between the content of my post and your comment, and you were just free associating from seeing teh word "Pakistan" (because I did not use the words Islam or muslim even once), then kindly make the dissassociation clear. I would prefer that I not have to dilute my respect for you. otherwise.
And yes, I know you are both a Muslim and a loyal and patriotic American. Or at least I judge you that way from your writings.
I associated with arab Muslims in Jerusalem more than 30 years ago, and I have muslim relatives (from Bosnia) through my wife, whose family is from neighboring Croatia. So the thought of Muslims doesn't bother me, and I sure as hell am not a racist. Nor does your religion, which, as a theology, I find more elegant than the tortured convolutons of the western faiths. But the thought of Islam as a whole, taken as a militant and growing political institution, frightens the shit out of me, for all the reasons I expressed above.
I hope one of the things you respect me for is my utter truthfulness in all matters. Like the old time american Indians, I don't like folks who speak with forked tongues, and I tend to treat them like rattlesnakes. So I don't want to live out what's left of my life by being one of them. I would rather that people hate me for what I say, than to be disappointed in me for what I hide from them.
As for the quake. I hope everybody in Pakistan can see that if you live in an earthquake zone, you must learn to construct buildings with the same kind of design considerations in mind that the Japanese use to protect themselves from massive death and destruction in their island habitat, which is one of the most earthquake-prone locations on this planet.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Not just to save lives in this immediate crisis, but hopefully to help spread the idea of better building construction so the next time a big quake hits the HinduKush or Himalayas, destruction of this kind might be greatly reduced.
As for that god-damned saudi monarchy doing anything with its money except funding terrorism, forget it. They were the ones in the first place who made sure the middle east wars would never be settled by putting the 1848 Palestinians into refugee camps all located within spitting distance from Israel's borders. So, as far as I'm concerned, fuck them. And I'm not referring to the Pals.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Freedom House gives ratings on civil and political freedoms on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being most free and 7 being least free. The numbers on each country represent civil and political freedoms. A combined average rating of 2.5 or better rates a country as "free" and is counted as a liberal democracy. A combined average rating of between 3 and 5.5 is rated as "partly free" and is counted as an electoral democracy. Any rating below 5.5 is considered an unfree, undemocratic nation.
All numbers given here are as of early 2004, which is when the 2003 numbers are released. More on methodology right here. The 2006 numbers, which will include data on 2005, should be available in a few months.
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ALBANIA
Freedom House: Electoral Democracy (3,3). 70% muslim, 30% Christian.
BAHRAIN
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 100% muslim (70% Shia, 30% Sunni)
BANGLADESH
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 83% Muslim, 16% Hindu, 1% other (probably Sikh)
BENIN
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (2,2). 20% Muslim, 30% Christian, 50% "indigenous beliefs" (probably some form of animism)
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 40% muslim, 50% Christian, 10% other.
BULGARIA
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (1,2). 12.1% muslim, 83.8 Bulgarian Orthodox (Christian), 4.1% other (probably other Christian denominations)
BURKINA FASO
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 40% muslim, 50% indigenous belief, 10% Christian.
BURUNDI
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 10% Muslim, 23% indigenous beliefs, 67% Christian.
COMOROS
Freedom House: Electoral Democracy (5,4). 98% Muslim, 2% Christian
CYPRUS (Greek)
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (1,1). 18% muslim, 78% Greek Orthodox Christian, 4% other.
DJIBOUTI
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 94% muslim, 6% Christian.
ETHIOPIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 45-55% muslim, 35-40% Christian, 12% other.
FRANCE
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (1,1). 5-10% muslim, 83-88% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish.
GAMBIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 90% muslim, 9% Christian, 1% other.
GEORGIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 11% muslim, 65% Georgian Orthodox Christian, 10% Russian Orthodox Christian, 8% Armenian Apostolic Christian, 6% other.
GHANA
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (2,2). 16% muslim, 21% indigenous beliefs, 63% Christian
GUINEA-BISSAU
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (6,4). 45% Muslim, 50% indigenous, 5% Christian
INDIA
Freedom house: Liberal democracy (2,3) 12% muslim, 81% Hindu, 2% Christian, 5% other.
INDONESIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,4). 88% muslim, 8% Christian, 4% other.
ISRAEL
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (1,3). 14.6% muslim, 80.1% Jewish, 2.1% Christian, 3.2% other.
JORDAN
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 92% muslim, 6% Christian, 2% other.
KENYA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,3). 10% muslim, 78% Christian, 12% other
KUWAIT
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,5). 85% muslim, 15% other.
MACEDONIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,3). 30% muslim, 67% Macedonian Orthodox Christian, 3% other.
MALAYSIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,4). Percentages not available, but listed religious groups are Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, and Other, with Islam listed as the official state religion
MALI
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (2,2). 90% muslim, 9% indigenous belief, 1% Christian.
MALAWI
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,4). 20% muslim, 75% Christian, 5% other.
MAURITIUS
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (1,2). 16.6% muslim, 52% Hindu, Christian 28%, other 3%.
MOROCCO
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). 98.7% muslim, 1.1% Christian, 0.2% Jewish.
MOZAMBIQUE
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,4). 20% muslim, 30% Christian, 50% indigenous beliefs
NIGER
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 80% muslim, 20% other.
NIGERIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 50% muslim, 40% Christian, 10% other.
SENEGAL
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (2,3). 94% muslim, 6% other.
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Freedom House: Liberal democracy (3,2). 19% muslim, 65% Orthodox Christian, 4% Roman Catholic, 12% other.
SIERRA LEONE
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,3). 60% Muslim, 30% indigenous beliefs, 10% Christian.
SINGAPORE
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,4). No percentages available, but religions are listed as Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and Other.
TANZANIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,3). 35% Muslim, 30% Christian, 35% indigenous beliefs
TURKEY
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (3,4). 99.8% muslim.
UGANDA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,4). 16% muslim, 66% Christian, 18% indigenous beliefs
YEMEN
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (5,5). No percentages. Predominantly Shia and Sunni muslim.
ZAMBIA
Freedom House: Electoral democracy (4,4). 24-49% "muslim and hindu", 50-75% Christian. Note: I have no idea what the hell "muslim and hindu" means, or what the wild differences in percentages are.
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So. Looking that over, I have a few more remarks.
Pakistan's not on this list. It shouldn't be; it has some very weak somewhat democratic institutions but is ultimately ruled by the strongman Musharaaf who was only quasi-democratically elected at best.
In most cases, if you look at the 10 year trend in these nations, most of these nations show a trend toward greater and greater freedom, with only occasional lapses. A few trend worse over time or seem stuck in partial freedom.
Of the liberal democracies, those which most Americans would recognize as embracing most of the fredoms we do here (universal franchise, free speech, free press, freedom of religion and association all enshrined in law and political practice) I can detect no significance to the percentage of muslims in the population. Benin is 20% muslim, Bulgaria 12%, Greek Cyprus 18%, France 10%, Ghana 16%, India 12%, Israel 15%, Mali 90%, Mauritius 17%, Senegal 94%, and Serbia &Montenegro 19%. In looking at the reports on each of these liberal democracies with substantial muslim populations, none are on any particularly downward trend on freedom.
Some have a history of troubles that they have overcome in the last decade; Serbia for example has made the most amazing transition, from unfree under Slobodan Milosevic to free in only 10 or so years.
Of the Partially Free/Electoral democracies, most are on a visible trend toward greater freedom, but some are not. I can detect no relation to the percentage of muslims in their population on that, but you let me know if you see one.
Finally, as a quick sample, of the partly free nations which are rated 3.5 or better (thus being closer to free liberal democracies), over the last 10 years here is the trend:
Albania is 70% muslim and has grown moderately more free.
Indonesia is 88% muslim and has grown steadily freer.
Kenya is 10% muslim and has grown steadily freer.
Macedonia is 30% muslim and has grown moderately freer.
Malawi is 20% muslim and has grown somewhat LESS free.
Mozambique at 20% muslim has been rather static
Sierra Leone at 60% muslim has grown rapidly more free.
Tanzania at 35% muslim has grown rapidly more free.
Turkey at 99.8% muslim has become somewhat less free.
In short, regardless of the percentage of muslims in the population, the trend in the majority of these nations is toward greater and greater freedom over time.
This in fact is true of all the nations listed if you check them: regardless of the number of muslims in their population, the majority are either on a quite visible trend toward greater freedom, or are quite steadily free, with only a few on downward paths.
FINAL OBSERVATION: here in America we hear a lot about how Europeans are having trouble with gang violence, terrorism and terrorist sympathizers, etc. among muslims. Those stories seem to come predominantly from the Netherlands, Holland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In each of those cases, muslims are under 10% of the population, usually on the order of 1 or 2%. Which would indicate to me that those nations' problem isn't muslims, it's lack of standards in who they allow into the country, and perhaps excessive tolerance for terrorist apologism and other brutish behavior.
In short, they have an immigration policy problem, not a religious problem.