Author: Brown Pundits Archive

The latest Islamist-terrorist atrocity hit the news on Friday with a Mumbai-style attack on the city of Paris. The same group (ISIS) has recently bombed Ankara, a Russian aircraft and a civilian neighborhood in Beirut. But as expected, the strike in Paris got the most attention (not inappropriately so, in my opinion). It was a typically brutal operation. Ordinary civilians going about their pleasure in one of the world’s great cities were targeted in Restaurants, outside a football stadium (when the suicide bombers could not get in), on the streets and, most cruelly, while watching a death-metal concert. Most of the casualties occurred in the concert hall, where the terrorists managed to get into a location with a large number of innocents gathered in a confined space. They shot and killed calmly and ruthlessly and without any hint of pity or common humanity. When the police burst in, the killers blew up their suicide belts to shower those around them with ball bearings in one last atrocity before they departed to what they no doubt expect will be a land of milk and honey, suitably supplied with virgins so fair and delicate that their bone marrow will be visible. It takes all kinds.

Several interactions on twitter (@omarali50) revealed a few common themes and I thought I would expand on some of those brief comments and get some feedback. It’s one way to learn.

1. Is ISIS Islamic? 
Short Answer: Yes
For a “secular observer”, this is a no-brainer. The secular (and even more so, religious) outsider obviously does not believe in any particular version of Islam as the one true faith, etc etc. To them, Islam is (or should be) whatever any Muslim claims as his religion (this obviously means that for any such observer there is no one Islam, there are many Islams). To such an observer (if he or she is well-informed), Islam is a religion that started in Arabia, took up very notable strands from Rome (aka Byzantium), Persia, Judaism, etc and evolved into many different schools and sects. An exceptionally well-informed observer could indeed comment that ISIS does not replicate the dominant Sunni theology of the Ummayads or the Abbasids and has more in common with the relatively small Kharijite tradition, but even so, it would be the height of “Whitesplaining” for, say, professor Juan Cole to step in and deign to tell Syrian and Iraqi Muslims in ISIS that they are doing it wrong and their Islam is not “real Islam”. The appropriate answer (and this is exactly the answer many different Jihadist groups have given) is “WE know what Islam is and you dont have to come down from Michigan to tell us what our religion should look like”.  To sum up: well-informed outsiders can indeed note that ISIS is more like this, less like that; not representative of ALL Muslims (who is?), not representative of all Muslim states, not typical of all Islamist movements, etc. But for Bush or Blair to announce that ISIS is not really Islamic carries no weight. Islamic is what Islamists think is Islamic. THEY disagree among themselves, giving rise to many different Islams, Some represent bigger groups and larger sects, some are small cults, but all are Islamic.

For the believing Muslim, the answer depends on what sect/group/tendency they believe in. If their sect/tendency regards extremely vicious and extremely literalist Islamists as unislamic, more power to them. But some of them do indeed regard ISIS as Islamic (as is obvious from the thousands of Muslims (including neo-converts) who have flocked to the banner of ISIS in recent years. Others regard them as mostly Islamic, but occasionally doing things that a good Muslim would not do. This group is not trivial in numbers. Finally, countless others hold no firm opinion, but waiver between admiration of some acts and total opposition to others. Humans have complicated loyalties and psychologies. Would it surprise anyone (or at least, anyone not educated in the current Western postmodern left-liberal “tradition”) that a Palestinian or a Turk or a Pakistani may hold internally contradictory views on ISIS; sometimes admiring their deep faith and readiness to fight for Islam, even against overwhelming odds, other times cursing them for their cruelties, and last but not least, at other times worrying about what ISIS’ actions may do to his or her job prospects, visa status or college prospects. We are all human.

My own view: ALL of Islamic history is characterized by a struggle between three political-theolgoical camps that all appeared fairly early in the rise of the Arab empire and the Islamic religion (the two, empire and religion were obviously intertwined and interdependent):

1. Sunnis. Those who thought the rising Arab empire was best led
by the consensus of the elite, with a tendency to rally around whoever had
managed to fight his way to the top, provided he paid lip service to religion,
patronized the rising ulama class and (most important) kept his eyes on the
ball as far as managing and growing the empire was concerned. While Sunni
clerics developed what seems to be a theory of politics (who is a just ruler?
who has the right to rule? what do the people owe their ruler? etc.) on closer
inspection it turns out to be pretty much divorced from actual politics. Rulers
and their courts had more in common with past Roman, Persian and Central Asian
traditions than anything specifically Islamic. Rulers usually grabbed power by
force, then tried to pass it on to their children rather than some ideal
“just ruler”. Dynasties rose and fell with little concern for
theological rules. No “Muslim church” acquired a tenth of the
influence of the Roman Catholic church. This tradition is not ISIS-like in
detail, but it also paid lip service to ideals that ISIS can and does fling in
the face of “court clerics” who happily go along with whoever happens
to be the ruler (from King Hassan to Hussain to Salman..and even Sisi). Sunni
tradition is not ISIS, but it trains and teaches children using ideals that
ISIS may aspire to more strongly than the Sunni rulers themselves. This
hypocrisy-crisis is a recurrent feature of modern Islamicate politics. And it
is the reason why “moderate Muslims” (aka mainstream Sunnis) regularly fall
prey to “Wahabism”. They are not falling prey to a new religion, they are
falling prey to a more distilled and internally consistent version of what they
have been taught is indeed their own religion. Classical Sunni ideals overlap
with modern Jihadist ideology, their true-believers tend to find Wahabism
attractive.

2. Shias. Those
who felt there was something special about the family of the prophet and in
particular, the family of Ali and developed theologies that included varying
combinations of the charismatic Imamate and its heritage of revolt against
Sunni authority. Since Shias are a majority in only a few places, (most
important, Iran) and their history includes long periods of conflict with
mainstream Sunni rule, they are more or less immune to the appeal of Sunni
revivalists, whether they are the milder Maudoodi types or the harsher ISIS
types. They have set up their own theocracy in Iran (much more effectively so than
any Sunni revivalist has managed to do) but they are not ISIS. For the purposes of this post (i.e. for outsiders who
dont have to live in Iran), they are “objectively liberal”.

3. Khwarij. The Khwarij insisted that neither the elite, nor the
family of the prophet had a special right to rule. Only the most pious, the
most thoroughly “Islamic” person could do that. Muslims who committed
major sins or failed to meet their standard of Islamic fervor were as much the
enemy as any infidel. Even more so in fact. The Khwarij were always small in
number and they were repeatedly defeated by both Shia and Sunni rulers, but
their tendency has never completely gone away. Something within Islamic
tradition keeps them alive. Mainstream Sunnis frequently pay only lip service
to Jihad and the harshest punishments of shariah law (particularly in modern
times), but these ideals are present in
their theology. This theology that was rarely an impediment to statecraft
and its priorities in the actual golden age of Islamic imperium, but it still
paid lip service to those ideals. In fact, the more divorced it was from actual
politics, the more it could fly off into discussions about the ideal ruler,the
ideal law and the ideal Jihad, all un-encumbered by any contact with reality.
But ideals can effect some people.
True believers arise, and in times of anarchy and state collapse, they may be
the lowest common denominator, providing a framework around which the asabiya
of Islam can cohere and in which the community can see hope for a return to a
commonly-imagined (though mostly imaginary) golden age.

In fact, even reformers who have some mainstream cred can drink quite a bit from #3 in this age of Western domination (perhaps to be replaced soon with mixed Chinese AND Western domination, but still with no Islamic empire in sight); see Maudoodi, Syed Qutb and others. Not as far from ISIS as you may wish.

Just as an aside: What about Sufism?

This post is not really qualified to go too deeply into what religion (any religion) may mean (and may do) to those struck by epiphanies on the road to Damascus. That whole issue is alluded to here by the always erudite Tanner Greer. Hopefully, he will have more to say in a longer post soon.

2. Does Islamist Terrorism have anything to do with Islam?
In light of the above, one answer would be: of course not. There IS no one thing called Islam. There are many Islams. And most of them are not terrorist. Case closed.
But, again in the light of the above, one may also say that mainstream Sunni Islam is remarkably uniform in its theology and its ideals. The vast majority of the world’s Muslims are Sunnis. Within Sunni Islam, there are four recognized schools of law. In principle, the vast majority of Sunnis honor and respect these schools and their doctors. The vast majority has no idea what is IN those schools or in the writings of their doctors, but they honor them and idealize them. It is very common for educated Muslims to own a book or two of fiqh and hadith. Rarely read, but always honored. A small minority of highly westernized postmodern Muslims believe that those medieval books and their authors are no longer valid for us and Islam (like modern Christianity) is more or less “spiritual” and can (or should) be whatever a believer sincerely thinks it is. Even these postmodern Muslims frequently believe that the Quran is the inerrant, literal word of God, but given that most classical Islamic theology is not lifted straight out of the Quran, they feel they can safely reject aspects of classical theology that are no longer fashionable. That they have usually not read the Quran makes this kind of cherry-picking even easier. But as numerous public opinion polls have repeatedly shown, most Sunni Muslims do not share this postmodern view of their religion. Whatever they may do in practice (and they frequently do exactly what adherents of all other religions are doing in similar econcomic and political circumstances; the much-mentioned “Muslims who just want to have a sandwich and send their kids to good schools”), they do believe that Islam is more than just an identity token. They believe it is “a complete code of life” and if enforced in its true letter and spirit, it holds the possibility of reversing all our communal ills. And what is that letter, if not that spirit? it is the books of Shariah written by medieval Sunni theologians. Books that were composed in the midst of a warlike expanding empire by confident intellectuals of a dominant creed. Books that idealize holy war (not “inner struggle”, Karen Armstrong notwithstanding) and a society where Muslims rule and non-Muslims know their (inferior) place in society. Books that idealize pious rulers and the enforcement of shariah law (stonings and amputations included). Books that idealize martyrdom and war against the infidels. Books that prime some of them to fall for preachers who preach purity and a true Islamic state.  Only some of them. But that is enough. A convert from France felt strongly enough about this to sacrifice his own life in a suicide mission that aimed to kill random innocent Frenchmen. Well, not innocent in his eyes any longer.

So yes, classical Sunni Islam tends to prime some people for joining Jihadist organizations (whether ISIS or LET or Islamic Jihad or any other of an alphabet soup of Jihadi groups) and committing atrocities with a good conscience. See the ten young men who went to Mumbai on the first “Mumbai-style attack”; what motivated them to go on that suicide mission? Nothing to do with Islam? I think is hard to say that with a straight face..
Unless you happen to be in the postmodern Western liberal elite, in which case you may suffer from what Tanner Greer calls “the limits of liberal education in the 21st century, far better at teaching platitudes than exploring the depths of the human condition; and the inability of secular elites to understand religion and the religious masses who earnestly believe in them…“

3. George Bush/Western colonialism/imperialism is responsible for this attack. 
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yes, But.
It is true that the rise of Western power and the defeat of the Ottomans in the first world war created the modern middle east. And it is a staple Western left-liberal talking point (picked up and used by Islamists and by other imperial powers like Russia as needed) that British and French imperialists created the modern Middle East via the Sykes-Picot agreement and messed it up, leading to all or most current problems. This is obviously not true in any strong sense. Britain and France did not look at some blank piece of paper and convert it into the modern Middle East. They grabbed and missed opportunities galore (as did the Turks, who chose the losing side in world war one when they may not have had to do any such thing), worked around existing populations and structures (many of them Imperial Ottoman in origin), argued and tried to double-cross each other before and after Sykes-Picot, were resisted by new forces, adjusted to the results of world wars and local wars, and so on..in short, history happened; not just two people meeting and making up what they wanted and determining all that has happened since then. But let us leave details for another day. Let us use Sykes-Picot as short hand for the modern post World War II Middle Eastern system of nation-states that arose after the brief British and French colonial interlude, primarily (but not always) under the control of local elites groomed or put in place by those two powers.

These elites ruled what were formally (if not very deeply), “Westphalian” nation-states on the “European model”. What that means and why that is so bad (or such an improvement) over past models is another debate we can leave for another day. But the modern Middle East came into being. The states that were created were like most postcolonial states, a mixture of past divisions and new creations, some of them more arbitrary and artificial than others (Pakistani nationalists, take a bow).
Israel was the obvious outlier. With a more Westernized/modern population and with a direct (and at least temporarily, mostly sympathetic) connection to the Western world, it was an order of magnitude more capable (in terms of knowledge, organization, sophistication, ability to fight) than it’s unfortunate neighbors and it’s own aboriginal inhabitants. Even though the physical infrastructure of the state (and the weapons it was able to acquire) were not (at least initially) much superior to those of its enemies, the software was so much better that they were able to whip larger opponents with some regularity. Even so, an order of magnitude is still only an order of magnitude. It may have reached or exceeded the limits of it’s superiority by now. Or it may not. In a battle, it does not matter who is absolutely good at fighting, just who is relatively better. In purely military terms, the Israeli advantage may yet grow; and if present trends accelerate and the Sunni-Shia-Wahabi-Whatever shit totally hits the fan, they may well annex some more territory. History can be cruel. Vae Victis and all that. But moving on..
What about the Arab states of the region?

A. Iraq has splintered after the American invasion and is unlikely to see peace in the immediate future. Some sort of three way division seemed possible, but with ISIS taking over the role of “Sunni resistance”, enough Sunnis may prefer cohabitation with Shias, so maybe the split is not totally final. On the other hand, with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states still interested in fighting Shia-Iranian domination, anti-Shia forces may still get enough weapons and money to keep fighting for a very long time. The safest bet is “more of the same”. But whatever happens, in the near future it will not be able to contend for regional hegemon, that much is given.

2. Syria has totally crashed and burned. Neither the Assad regime nor its various opponents(including irreconcilable Sunni-Jihadists) are in a position to win completely anytime soon. Continuing violence seems to be the near and medium-term future.

3. Yemen is in flames and has now been invaded by a multi-national coalition led by Saudi Arabia (ostensibly in support of the last “elected” government of the state). Conquering North Yemen has never been an easy prospect and great powers from Rome to the Ottomans have tried and failed to impose their authority over the whole country. The British took control of Aden (all they really wanted) and managed the surrounding tribes with bribes and punitive policing, but never controlled the whole country. The Egyptian adventure in the 1960s ended up being “Egypt’s Vietnam”, so the chances that the Saudis will prevail completely are pretty much nil. Stil, in the near-term it is likely that the people of Yemen will pay the heaviest price, not the people or the elites of Saudi Arabia. Yemen is broken and no policy, no matter how sensible (a faint possibility in any case) will put it together again in the foreseeable future.

For some White or Desi (as in Indian-ish) Leftists, this is time to say “I told you so”. Some of them have reacted to these implosions with barely disguised glee, celebrating the collapse of the borders and states they had always decried as a colonial imposition, and throwing in formula appeals for a “revolutionary” or “pro-people” program to build a new future, blah blah blah. We can ignore this lot. Other Leftists (especially those with family and friends in the region, who do not have the luxury of simply enjoying being “right” about Sykes-Picot) are more confused. They know there is no leftist hegemon or potential hegemon in view that has a reasonable chance of building a new peace out of this chaos, and they have too much local knowledge to blithely generate fantasy stories about the heroic Syrian regime, or the Yemeni rebels for that matter. Between Asad and Sisi and ISIS, who is one to root for? Many of them will likely end up rooting for the existing “Sykes-Picot” states and forget the dream of erasing those hated borders?  But still, that order was neo-colonial and will not return to status quo ante even if many people wish it were so. As the colonial and neo-colonial order fades, what will replace it (in the region as a whole)? With little local knowledge it is not for me to attempt a detailed prediction, but even with limited knowledge, we can say this much: as in any region, the power that imposes order will have to possess sufficient solidarity and ideological clarity to be able to ensure the loyalty of their own core and to compel the loyalty of a critical mass of those they incorporate into their system of rule. What ideal and what asabiya will provide that glue and that motivation in the middle east?

Sunni Islam is one obvious contender (Arab nationalism was another, but seems to have lost out. Marxism was never a serious contender, smaller ethnic nationalisms will save some). Western intervention has destroyed some states, but not provided an alternative (and really cannot provide an alternative). The result, in Syria and Libya and Sunni Iraq is chaos. In that chaos, ISIS has risen to power in parts of Syria and Iraq. And it has been attacked by many powers. Among them, France and Hezbollah and Russia. And all three have been hit by atrocities against soft targets in response.

Even if one does not believe conspiracy theories about the CIA and Mossad creating or helping ISIS (I don’t), one can easily say that ham-handed/short-sighted Western intervention in Iraq and Syria created the conditions that allowed ISIS to rise. They also created or supported many of the grievances (real and imagined) that local Muslims find humiliating and unjust (again, whether the anger is all justified or not, it hardly matters, this is how it feels to many people). So yes, Bush and imperialism do share the blame. But not necessarily in the total and exculpatory way the postmodern Left imagines.


The alternative to a bad situation is sometimes worse. Shit happens. There is no universal framework of liberal democracy (or socialism, or whatever you regard as ideal) and human rights that exists a priori in all places, only waiting for the overlay of imperialism or neoliberalism to be removed to allow universal peace and tranquillity to break out. Everything is hard work. Institutions take time. Ideologies matter. Humans are humans everywhere, but they do not live in the same history and the same circumstances. Within the limits of what can be done with human biology, much can vary. And sometimes, things fall apart.

Even when they don’t fall apart, one can easily see that not everyone is happy in liberal democracies. In fact, some of their best intellectuals are the most unhappy, and are willing to entertain almost any movement that threatens to overthrow this sorry scheme of things entire…Some of us may fear what will follow if the revolution actually happens, but all of us can agree that the revolutionary dream has support. In the Middle East, this dream may take some Islamicate forms. No surprise.

4. What next? 
More of the same. (i.e., I am out of time. But more later I am sure 🙂 )

Do read Tanner Greer’s post about the limitations of the Western liberal worldview when it comes to Islam, or any religion for that matter.
Excerpt: The truth is that most faiths, though of course not all, possess a concept something like what the Christian Church Fathers called metanoia — usually translated as “repentance” but more properly the transformation of the soul. It is visible in the tales of Paul, Raskolnikov, and Malcolm X. It is not “people get[ting] out of [religions] what they bring into them.” Quite the opposite: it is people getting out of religion what they never had before. Max Fisher of Vox does not misunderstand this because he lacks a grasp of faith: he misunderstands this because he does not grasp the nature of man. He possesses a graduate degree in international security issues from the Johns Hopkins University, writes for a major publication, is a go-to for White House narrative promulgation, and he lacks this most basic element of the liberal education.


This is not to condemn him as any sort of unusual creature. He is not the exception. He is the rule. Our elites are well credentialed: but the danger they pose to us lies in the dismaying truth that they are not wise. Worse, they are not even smart.


Also See this from Razib Khan for another angle.
Excerpt:
The power of the Islamic State derives in part from the fact that it inverts the moral order of the world. Some of its soldiers are clear psychopaths, as the most violent and brutal of international jihadis have been drawn to the Islamic State (as opposed to Al Qaeda, which is more pragmatic!). But a substantial number believe in its utopian vision of an Islamic society constructed upon narrow lines. A positive vision of a few evil goals, rather than a grand quantity of small evil pleasures. The Islamic State ushers in an evil new order, it does not unleash unbridled chaos. Though its self-conception that it is resurrecting the first decades of Islam is self-delusion in my opinion, it is still a vision which can entice some in the Islamic international.

I do not think that the Islamic State is here to stay. I believe it will be gone within the next five years, torn apart by its own contradictions and its rebellion against normal human conventions, traditions, and instincts. But that does not mean it is not going to cause misery for many on its way down. The irony is that the iconoclastic Islamic State may as well be worshiping the idols conjured in the most fervid of Christian evangelical apocalyptic literature, because they shall tear the land end to end and leave it in a thousand pieces, a material sacrifice to their god. They live under the illusion that they are building utopia, but they are coming to destroy an imperfect world and leave hell in its wake.

* The modern Salafis are just the latest in a particular extreme of Sunni belief, which goes back to individuals such as Ibn Taymiyyah.

And Shadi Hamid’s excellent post from 2014: The roots of the Islamic State’s appeal.  
Excerpts: 

…
..If ISIS and what will surely be a growing number of imitators are to be defeated, then statehood—and, more importantly, states that are inclusive and accountable to their own people—are essential. The state-centric order in the Arab world, for all its artificiality and arbitrariness, is preferable to ungoverned chaos and permanently contested borders. But for the Westphalian system to survive in the region, Islam, or even Islamism, may be needed to legitimate it. To drive even the more pragmatic, participatory variants of Islamism out of the state system would be to doom weak, failing states and strong, brittle ones alike to a long, destructive cycle of civil conflict and political violence.


Last but not the least, from Ali Minai, unreal Islam. 
Which brings us back to the issue of “real Islam”. As someone in love with the cultural traditions of Islam and as a diligent student of its history, I agree that the acts of the jihadis do not represent the vast majority of Muslims today or in history. Humans are a violent species and Muslims have contributed their share, but it is completely asinine to think that Muslims have been, historically, any more violent than other groups. However, it is equally absurd to deny that the ideology underlying jihadism draws upon mainstream Islamic beliefs and is, therefore, undeniably a form of “real Islam” – albeit of a very extreme form. It is more accurate to say that this extremism is “not the only Islam”, and, by historical standards, it is a version very different from what the vast majority of Muslims have practiced. That’s why groups espousing such puritanical and rigid attitudes were traditionally called “khawarij” – the alienated ones. At the same time, Muslims should acknowledge that they have not constructed the logical and theoretical framework within which extremism can be rejected formally. If anything, the opposite has happened in the last century, with increasingly literalist attitudes gaining strength for political reasons. And that is the core problem: A literal reading of even moderate Muslim beliefs can, and does, lead to behaviors incompatible with modern society. Like Christians, Jews, Hindus and others, Muslims have to turn towards a less literal, more inspirational and humanistic reading of their sacred traditions, drawing from them principles that can stand the test of time rather than literal, ahistorical prescriptions. This does not require the invention of a “new Islam”, or the imposition of an “official Islam” by states. Nor does it require a rewriting of Muslim sacred texts any more than the Enlightenment needed a rewriting of the Old Testament – Thomas Jefferson notwithstanding. What is needed is a change of attitude, of how people relate to the texts and traditions. Strong strands of humanism, compassion, diversity of ideas and acceptance of differences already exist within the Islamic tradition – among Sufis, among poets, and even among scholars. The trick is to rediscover, re-emphasize and reinterpret them for our times. And even as we wring our hands in despair, brave individuals within Muslim societies are trying to ignite just such a change at great risk to their lives. The least we can do is to add our voices to theirs.


Oh, and Razib Khan on the poverty of multicultural discourse: Excerpts
The problem with the bleeding over of academic “discourse” into the public forum is that it obfuscates real discussion, and often has had a chilling effect upon attempts at moral or ethical clarity. Unlike the individual above I am skeptical of moral or ethical truth in a deep ontological sense. But I have opinions on the proper order of things on a more human scale of existence. You don’t have to reject the wrongness of a thing if you reject the idea that that thing is wrong is some deep Platonic sense. I can, in some cases will, make the argument for why some form of the Western liberal democratic order is superior to most other forms of arranging human affairs, despite being a skeptic of what I perceive to be its egalitarian excesses. I can, and in some cases will, make the argument for why legal sexual equality is also the preferred state of human affairs. But to have this discussion I have to be forthright about my norms and presuppositions, and not apologize for them. They are what they are, and the views of those who disagree are what they are.


An academic discourse tends to totally muddy a clear and crisp discussion. The reality is that most Egyptians have barbaric attitudes on a whole host of questions (e.g., ~80 percent of Egyptians favor the death penalty for apostasy from Islam). It was not surprising at all that the majority of the Egyptian electorate supported parties with reactionary cultural political planks; because the classification of these views as “reactionary” only makes sense if you use as your point of reference the Westernized social and economic elite. The majority of Egyptians have never been part of this world, and for them upward mobility has been accompanied by a greater self-consciousness of their Islamic identity.


This reality is not comforting to many, and so there has been an evasion of this. If we accept, for example, the hegemonic superiority of sexual equality, should we not impose the right arrangement upon those who oppress women? This is a serious question, but the fear of engaging in “dangerous” analysis in the “discourse” allows us to sidestep this question. Rather, by minimizing the concrete realities of cultural difference and the depths of their origin, Egyptians are easily transformed into Czechs in 1989 with browner skins and a Muslim affiliation. This is a totally false equivalence. As Eastern Europeans go the Czech population is atypical in its secularism and historical commitment to liberal democracy (one could argue the weakness of the Catholic church goes as far back as the Hussite rebellion and the later suppression of Protestantism by the Habsburgs). While other post-World War I polities switched toward authoritarianism in the inter-war period, the Czechs retained a liberal democratic orientation until the Nazi German invasion. After the collapse of Communism they reverted back to this state. Notably, extreme nationalist parties with anti-democratic tendencies have come to the fore in most post-Communist states, but not so in the Czech Republic.



The irony here is that an academic position which espouses the deep incommensurability of different societies and cultures in terms of their values, rendering inter-cultural analysis or critique suspect, has resulted in the domain of practical discussion a tendency to recast inter-cultural differences of deep import into deviations or artificialities imposed from the outside. In this particular case that artificiality is the Egyptian military, but in most cases it is Western colonialism, which has an almost demonic power to reshape and disfigure postcolonial societies, which lack all internal agency or direction. This is simply not the true state of affairs. The paradoxical fact is that there is commensurability across very different cultures. You can understand, analyze, and critique other societies, if imperfectly. For example, I can understand, and even agree with, some of the criticisms of Western society by Salafist radicals for its materialism and excessive focus on proximate hedonism. The Salafists are not aliens, but rather one comprehensible expression of human cultural types. But that does not deny that I find their vision of human flourishing abhorrent. I understand it, therefore I reject it.


And my own comment on the multiculti question: 


“One angle (not the most important one, but I think its there) could be that while many casual adherents and self-satisfied groupthink nurtured “thinkers” are just mindlessly repeating the party line there ARE a number of people who are seriously committed to what they imagine is a worldwide organized movement to overthrow the existing system (including the system in which they work and draw a salary or get grants). i.e. they may know that a lot of their bullshit is bullshit, but its useful bullshit in a higher cause. It undermines the dominant civilization and its armies and bankers (or so they think..I think the actual contribution of Tariq Ali or even the far more scholarly Vijay Prashad to bringing down Western civ is negligible compared to the contribution of wall street bankers). but there IS a hardcore of calculation and conscious propaganda mixed into the postcolonial bullshit…

[ by Charles Cameron , original at zenpundit— both answers are true in different contexts — IMO a significant point that previous discussion has tended to overlook ]
.

Were (are) the Khawarij Muslim? That’s the question I keep thinking of when discussion of whether IS (or AQ) is Islamic comes up. From a Muslim perspective, they were heretics. Joas Wagemakers identified the central distinctive opinion of the Khawarij thus:

The first of these is the Khawarij’s belief that revolt against Muslim rulers was allowed if they were deemed insufficiently pious. When ‘Ali accepted arbitration with Mu‘awiya, the people later known as Khawarij reportedly shouted ‘judgement is God’s alone’ (la hukm illa li-llah). In the context of that event, this referred to their belief that only God had the authority to arbitrate, not human beings, and that ‘Ali should not have accepted Mu‘awiya’s offer. The slogan later came to represent their broader view that all judgements and rulings should be left to God, thus applying Qur’anic rulings so strictly that they expelled Muslims guilty of major sins from their community and fought them. Because they believed sinful Muslims to be unbelievers (kuffar, singular: kafir), they directly applied passages from the Qur’an pertaining to jihad against non-Muslims to those of their co-religionists who were less than perfectly pious.

From the perspective of what I’m going to call “ongoing Islam” they were heretics — the very name Khawarij indicates those who have gone out, ie left the religion of Islam — and yet their heresy was that of “fundamentalizing” Islam, being, if you like, excessively Islamic.

Consider: according to a hadith reported in Abu Dawud:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There will be dissension and division in my nation and a people will come with beautiful words but evil deeds. They recite the Quran but it will not pass beyond their throats. They will leave the religion as an arrow leaves its target and they will not return until the arrow returns to its notch. They are the worst of the creation. Blessed are those who fight them and are killed by them. They call to the Book of Allah but they have nothing to do with it. Whoever fights them is better to Allah than them.”

As a student of religions might say, their use of the Qur’an marks them as clearly Islamic, and as a Muslim theologian might say, they have clearly departed the religion, in truth “they have nothing to do with it.”

Many contemporary Muslims would say of IS, its leader and members, that they “call to the Book of Allah but they have nothing to do with it” — and they have every right to say that. Those, however, who wish to understand what drives IS do well to understand the theology and eschatology involved, as well as the psychology of the passions they invoke — and also the Islamic context in which IS may well be viewed as having by the very nature of their excesses left the religion..

**

This post is copied wholesale from a fascinating conversation among friends (Mark Safranski, J Scott Shipman, Michael J. Lotus, Dan Tdaxp, Joshua Treviño, Lynn Rees and others) in response to Tanner Greer’s post Vox Will Never Understand Islam… Or Any Religion, Really, which is itself a response to a Vox piece by Max Fisher, The perfect response to people who blame Islam for ISIS.

Please share this post if you find it helpful.

My own (i.e. Omar’s) off-the-cuff comment on this post:

About the hadith, it does make one think that someone made it up AFTER the Khwarij had already appeared on the scene. A lot of Hadiths make good sense if they were invented after events had given rise to their need, but seem suspiciously overly-prescient if one imagines them as actually dating from the days of the nascent state of Medinah 🙂
ALL of Islamic history can be seen as the struggle between three camps that all appeared fairly early in the rise of the Arabs:
1. Sunnis. Those who thought the rising empire was best led by the consensus of the elite, with a tendency to rally around whoever had managed to fight his way to the top, provided he paid lip service to religion, partronized the rising ulama class and (most important) kept his eyes on the ball as far as managing and growing the empire was concerned. Details to follow.
2. Shias. Those who felt there was something special about the family of the prophet and in particular, the family of Ali and developed theologies that included varying combinations of the charismatic Imamate and its heritage of revolt against Sunni authority.
3 Khwarij. True believers who took it all so literally it hurts.
Everything since then can fit into one of these streams, with wahabism and ISIS etc combining the waters of 1 and 3, usually with more 3 than 1.

What about Sufism?
Mostly just Sunnis with nice instincts?
With some of them being sensitive people trying to get the most good out of religion while leaving out most of the imperial and legalistic baggage.
And sometimes a secret society, influencing much behind the scenes, but by definition, not really easy to disentangle myth (and self-promotion) from shadowy reality.
Not really a sect or a theology.
Something like that.
Of course, this post does not touch upon the whole issue of what religion may mean (and may do) to true believers and those struck by epiphanies on the road to Damascus. That whole issue is alluded to here by the always erudite Tanner Greer. Hopefully, more to come in a longer post soon.

See this from Razib Khan for another angle.
Excerpt:
The power of the Islamic State derives in part from the fact that it inverts the moral order of the world. Some of its soldiers are clear psychopaths, as the most violent and brutal of international jihadis have been drawn to the Islamic State (as opposed to Al Qaeda, which is more pragmatic!). But a substantial number believe in its utopian vision of an Islamic society constructed upon narrow lines. A positive vision of a few evil goals, rather than a grand quantity of small evil pleasures. The Islamic State ushers in an evil new order, it does not unleash unbridled chaos. Though its self-conception that it is resurrecting the first decades of Islam is self-delusion in my opinion, it is still a vision which can entice some in the Islamic international.


I do not think that the Islamic State is here to stay. I believe it will be gone within the next five years, torn apart by its own contradictions and its rebellion against normal human conventions, traditions, and instincts. But that does not mean it is not going to cause misery for many on its way down. The irony is that the iconoclastic Islamic State may as well be worshiping the idols conjured in the most fervid of Christian evangelical apocalyptic literature, because they shall tear the land end to end and leave it in a thousand pieces, a material sacrifice to their god. They live under the illusion that they are building utopia, but they are coming to destroy an imperfect world and leave hell in its wake.


* The modern Salafis are just the latest in a particular extreme of Sunni belief, which goes back to individuals such as Ibn Taymiyyah.


And of course, Shadi Hamid’s excellent post from 2014: The roots of the Islamic State’s appeal.  
Excerpts: 

..If ISIS and what will surely be a growing number of imitators are to be defeated, then statehood—and, more importantly, states that are inclusive and accountable to their own people—are essential. The state-centric order in the Arab world, for all its artificiality and arbitrariness, is preferable to ungoverned chaos and permanently contested borders. But for the Westphalian system to survive in the region, Islam, or even Islamism, may be needed to legitimate it. To drive even the more pragmatic, participatory variants of Islamism out of the state system would be to doom weak, failing states and strong, brittle ones alike to a long, destructive cycle of civil conflict and political violence.

A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections by Brian Cloughley

Dear All,

Some questions came my way about Brian Cloughley’s good book about Pakistan army. I put them in an unconventional book review. Regards, Hamid.

Book Review by Hamid Hussain

A History of Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections by Brian Cloughley, Fourth Edition. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 588

Brian Cloughley’s A History of Pakistan Army is the fourth edition of a book, which was originally written in 1999. Fourth edition adds many new chapters especially tenures of General Pervez Mussharraf and General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Author is one of few foreigners with long association with some senior Pakistani officers going back to early 1980s. This gives the author an advantage to draw on his personal associations.

Book is a comprehensive review of history of Pakistan army starting from 1947 when country gained independence. It documents journey of Pakistan army over six decades.

On page 29 author commenting about Ayub’s actions after becoming C-in-C states that “He examined the Military Secretary’s records of every senior officer and, if in doubt about someone’s competence, he sacked them”. This needs clarification and understanding of the context. The issue was not much about competence but about reliability. In March 1951, only about two months after General Muhammad Ayub Khan took over command of Pakistan army, a conspiracy was unearthed by the local police where a group of army officers were planning to overthrow the civilian government. The leader was then Chief of General Staff (CGS) Major General Muhammad Akbar Khan. Many officers involved in the conspiracy were left leaning and avowed leftist and famous poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz was also involved peripherally. After the arrest of main culprits, Ayub used this opportunity to ease out all officers with leftist leanings. For Ayub, the issue was reliability of officers and proper orientation rather than competence. Many officers promoted by Ayub to senior ranks will never pass a competency test in any decent army.

Author complements Ayub for ‘considerable activity in all sorts of spheres’ and that constitution committee finished its work in just over a year. A little background will help readers understand the machinations behind these maneuvers to keep dominance of western wing. There were seven members of constitution committee; four from West Pakistan and three from East Pakistan. Even Ayub’s own handpicked cabinet members from East Pakistan; Muhammad Ibraheem, Abul Qasim Khan and Habib ur Rahman demanded greater autonomy during discussions on Constitution and warned of grave dangers of a highly centralized government. Several 4:3 votes during these deliberations clearly indicated a genuine different thought process and different perspective among ministers from the two wings. Ayub was clever enough to keep three Bengali members on board as he needed to show that Bengalis were at the table but in fact handicapped by being minority in the committee. After the promulgation of the constitution, he dropped all three Bengali ministers from the cabinet which clearly shows his motives.

On page 78 in remarks about Major General A. O. Mitha, author points to “withdrawal of a well earned decoration’ of the officer and suggests that Bhutto was responsible for the withdrawal. It is quite clear that then C-in-C Lieutenant General Gul Hassan recommended to the President for withdrawal of the award and even Mitha blames Gul Hassan and not Bhutto. As far as award of Hilal-e-Jurat is concerned, there are two aspects of the issue. One is whether Mitha deserved the decoration and second is the technical aspect whether proper procedure was followed. Mitha was close friend of then President and C-in-C General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan and was serving as Quarter Master General (QMG) in 1971. Yahya sent him to East Pakistan just prior to ‘Operation Searchlight’ in March 1971. Mitha arrived on March 24 and appointed Deputy Corps Commander to Lieutenant General Tikka Khan and put in charge of the operation. This was done verbally and no official notification was issued. Mitha travelled all over East Pakistan and gave direct orders to fighting formations for operations against Bengali rebels. Mitha was in East Pakistan from March 24 to April 11, 1971 when Pakistani forces disarmed Bengali troops and fought with rebellious soldiers. After pacification, he visited East Pakistan again about two months later. Chief of Staff (COS) General Abdul Hamid initiated the citation for the award of Hilal-e-Jurat to Mitha for his role in crucial operations in March 1971 and General Yahya Khan approved it. It is strange that Mitha was upset about the withdrawal of the award as he thought that he deserved it for his crucial role in the operations. However, in his memoirs he mentions that he was retired unjustly and gives the argument that as QMG his responsibility was only to supply what was in stock and had nothing else to do with either the planning or execution of war. In his view others were responsible for the debacle.

Now the tricky issue of whether Mitha deserved the award. His role was essentially advisory and although he was not in direct command of troops, in fact he travelled all over East Pakistan and gave direct orders as well as supervised operations including infantry, artillery and Special Services Group (SSG) troops. In view of general confusion all along the chain of command, lack of clear direction from top brass and management crisis at mid-levels, Mitha’s actions were important to take the initiative back and restore the writ of the state. Looking from this angle, in my view, he probably deserved the decoration. On pure technical and administrative grounds, Mitha was not in direct command of troops and his role was essentially advisory. In addition, citation was not initiated by his direct superior Lieutenant General Tikka Khan but COS. Mitha and then CGS Lieutenant General Gul Hassan didn’t like each other and when later became C-in-C, he recommended to President to withdraw the award on technical grounds. Bhutto who was busy putting generals in the dock was happy to approve it.

On page 88, author while describing some actions of 1965 war states that “Major Aziz Bhatti thoroughly deserved the award of Nishan-i-Haider (the highest gallantry award)”. There is no question that many soldiers including Bhatti fought bravely to defend their country and deserve all praise. However, highest gallantry award is usually awarded for actions beyond the call of duty and bravery in face of enemy action. Major Raja Aziz Bhatti was company commander of Alpha Company of 17th Punjab Regiment. On September 10, Bhatti was in a three story house in Barki village along with an artillery observer Captain Mahmood Anwar Shaikh of 24th Medium Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Sial to coordinate artillery fire to stop Indian advance. He survived the action of September 10 when Barki village was captured by Indian troops. On September 11, Indian troops advanced towards the east bank of Ichhogil canal. Shaikh was replaced by a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Subedar Sher Dil but he was not effective therefore Bhatti took over the important task of directing artillery fire on advancing Indian troops. Bhatti was supporting the Pakistani counter attack led by Major Habib Khan of 12th Punjab Regiment (Habib along with seven of his comrades was killed in this action). Indian artillery (7th Artillery Brigade as well as 5th and 66th Field Regiment and 82nd Light Regiment) was also very active in the theatre. Bhatti was killed by an artillery shell while manning own side. His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier) Ibrahim Qureshi had to re-write his citation three times to qualify for the highest award. Some officers are candid about the deficiencies in the system of gallantry awards in off the record conversations. Only one officer Major General ® Tajammal Hussain Malik went on record and mentioned in his memoirs that after investigations by a committee set up by General Head Quarter (GHQ) it was determined that sixty to seventy percent of gallantry awards in 1965 war were bogus. In Indian and Pakistani armies controversies about gallantry awards caused significant resentment among soldiers. In Indian army, a fine cavalry officer who gallantly fought in 1965 war was a bitter man his whole life because he was not awarded a gallantry award. He claimed that if he had won the gallantry award, he would have been an army chief. He retired at Brigadier rank and later in life took his own life.

On page 294, author points to disagreement between Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo and General Zia ul Haq about promotion of two officers; Pir Dad Khan and Shamim Alam Khan referring to both of them as ‘admirable officers’. I’m sure they are wonderful chaps but promotion is based on professional competence. Major General Pir Dad Khan was commander of Force Command Northern Area (FCNA) in April 1984 when Indians occupied Siachin glacier. FCNA comes under the command of Rawalpindi based X Corps and Lieutenant General Jahandad Khan was Corps Commander from March 1980 to March 1984. I knew late General Jahan Dad Khan for several years and discussed this subject with him. I used to joke with him that he should thank Indians for taking Siachin excursion just two weeks after his handing over the charge. Pakistan was well aware of possible Indian move and this was discussed at the highest level. Pir Dad thought that due to extremely difficult terrain Indian move was not very likely. General Zia ul Haq was of the view that even if troops were involved in the area due to difficult terrain only a brigade sized force on Indian side and about battalion sized Pakistani force will be involved. Everyone missed the tough logistical question. Jahan Dad claimed that he envisaged this and informed the high command that army’s helicopter force will be needed. In addition, he advised that Military Intelligence should keep its ears and eyes open in the area and monitor Indian troop movement to give warning in time to Pakistani forces.

Pakistan’s plan was to move troops to strategic points in late April or May. Pir Dad was probably correct in his assessment about the terrain but he was proven wrong by Indians and area was lost under his command. It is not only Mr. Junejo who thought that officer didn’t deserve to be promoted but majority of Pakistani officers hold the same view. General Zia ul Haq rewarded him by promotion to Lieutenant General rank and appointed him Corps Commander.

On page 301, author while describing Benazir Bhutto’s relations with army writes that ‘on 24 May Benazir Bhutto dismissed the Director General Inter Services Intelligence, Lieutenant General Hamid Gul’. This is not correct. Benazir complained to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Mirza Aslam Beg about Hamid Gul and asked him to take action against him. It was not due to any differences over policy but due to the fact that Gul was directly involved in cobbling together the opposition parties against Benazir in elections and involved in intrigues against her government (Mr. Gul has admitted to this fact after his retirement). Gul was not doing it on his own initiative but carrying army high command’s decision, therefore it was no surprise that instead of taking disciplinary action, Gul was given the prestigious assignment of command of Multan based II Corps. Late Major General Naseerullah Khan Babar was a close confidant of Benazir and he was the point man as far as army was concerned. I knew General Babar for long period of time and had several very long sessions with him and he shared many intrigues of that time period with me.

On page 344 when describing General Pervez Mussharraf’s appointment as COAS, author states that he ‘brought in or moved some of his own team’ and in this regard gives the example of appointment of Lieutenant General Muhammad Akram as QMG and then concludes that ‘the chain was not controversial’. This conclusion is flawed on several grounds and a brief description will clarify the point. Immediately after the announcement of his appointment, Mussharraf settled down in Armour Mess (General Jahangir Karamat was still in Army House) and Lieutenant General Khwaja Ziauddin then serving as Adjutant General (AG) joined him. Mussharraf embarked on major changes and brought the new team of his own confidants to key positions of command of Rawalpindi, Multan, Lahore and Karachi Corps and CGS, Military Secretary (MS) and Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) posts.

Akram was Corps Commander of Lahore-based IV Corps and has been at that post for a little over a year. When Musshrraf was Corps Commander of Mangla based I Corps, he used to come to Lahore for relaxation. Every Corps has its own intelligence and it keeps an eye on happenings in its jurisdiction. Akram gently pointed to Mussharraf to be careful as he was in the run for the position of COAS and Mussharraf was offended by this. Musshhrraf’s first action as COAS was to remove Akram from the command and posted him as QMG (QMG and Chief of Logistics Staff positions are usually used by COAS to park a senior officer on the side for a while if he can’t be removed immediately). Rawalpindi based X Corps Commander Lieutenant General Salim Haider was moved to Mangla as Mussharraf had an earlier tiff with him on a petty protocol issue. Salim was replaced at Rawalpindi by Mussharraf’s old buddy Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmad (then serving as Commandant of National Defence College). Lieutenant General Muzzaffar Usmani was brought from Bahawalpur Corps to important Karachi Corps. Lieutenant General Muhammad Yusuf Khan was brought as Multan Corps Commander while Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool was brought as Lahore Corps Commander. In addition, Major General Ihsan ul Haq was appointed DGMI.

All these newly appointed officers were trusted allies of Mussharraf and the trajectory of their future career clearly points to this fact. Mahmud and Ihsan served as DGISI and later Ihsan was given fourth star and appointed Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). Yusuf later served as CGS and then promoted to four star rank and appointed Vice Chief of Army of Staff (VCOAS). Khalid was later appointed Governor of Punjab in 2001 and became the longest serving governor of the province until 2008 when Mussharraf saw his own sunset. More important is the fact that when in October 1999 Ziauddin was appointed COAS, one of the first orders of Ziauddin which never took effect due to coup was to bring Salim Haider back as Rawalpindi Corps Commander and appoint Akram as CGS.

There are some errors in the book which can be corrected in next edition. On page 26 author describes the assessment of Nicholas Barrington of British High Commission and British Military Attaché written in 1966 about Ayub Khan. Author has mixed Ayub’s profile with another officer. The description of ‘an aristocrat from Patudi family and highly intelligent and rather an intellectual and he is also Anglicised’ by Barrington and ‘rather shy nature and one cannot see him inspiring his officers by the force of his personality though he might inspire admiration for his integrity and intellect’ and reference to polo by British Military Attaché is description of Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan and not Field Marshal Ayub Khan. Ayub was from humble rural background and his father was Risaldar Mir Dad Khan of Hodson Horse. Terms like Anglicised and intellectual do not apply to Ayub and it was Ayub’s powerful personality rather than his intellect which inspired others. Ayub could ride but was not a polo player and in early 1950s during Peshawar vale hunt was thrown off his horse. British High Commissioner Sir Gilbert Laithwaite had described Ayub’s profile but about a decade earlier in 1958 in these words, “He was according to our records, a failure as a Commanding Officer (Lieutenant- Colonel) on active service and had to be relieved”. This should also clarify author’s description of Ayub on page 48 “gallant in combat”. On page 77 when mentioning Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, author states that Yaqub was awarded Military Cross for gallantry in North Africa. This is incorrect and Yaqub didn’t earn any gallantry award in Second World War. He spent most of the war as prisoner of war first as involuntary guest of Italians and later Germans. He used this time to learn Italian and German languages. Yahya was in the same theatre during that time period and successfully escaped from captivity. He is alleged to have made the remark that Yaqub declined to join them in escape stating that he was learning the Italian and German languages.

The chapter on operations in FATA gives only one point of view as author relied heavily on diaries provided by then Corps Commander of Peshawar Lieutenant General Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai. Orakzai was Corps Commander of Peshawar based XI Corps from October 2001 to March 2004. Author edited Orakzai’s diaries for later publication and reliance on one single source narrowed the scope of analysis of a very complex situation. Personal friendship can also limit one’s ability to critically analyze and I suspect that this happened in this case. Some of Orakzai’s observations narrated by author are so incredulous that it is hard to believe that the man put in charge of the most important Corps held such views. On page 390 it is mentioned about South Waziristan that ‘No foreign fighters have been seen by independent witnesses’. Based on my own work on operations in FATA and interviews with different sources (operational as well as intelligence), I found almost consensus that tenure of Orakzai was to put it mildly paved the way of the future disaster. Mussharraf relied on Orakzai for advice about FATA thinking that being a member of a tribe was an advantage. This concept is flawed on several levels. Most educated tribesmen whose families left native lands grew up in cities and gradually lost contact with their ancestral lands. If someone has no interest then he may know few family stories about his own clan or tribe but this does not make him an authority on a different tribe. On another level, he can be less effective as other tribes will not see him as representative of the government but simply member of a tribe which could be rival for local resources (this happened when a Pakistani officer who happened to be member of Wazir tribe was a senior ISI operative in the region. He was an officer of Pakistan army representing government but to a Mahsud he was simply another Wazir and no matter how impartial he would be seen as member of the rival tribe).

According to some intelligence officers who operated in the region in that time period, Orakzai as well as then Inspector general Frontier Corp (IGFC) Major General Taj Muhammad Khattak were in complete denial and oblivious to the rapidly shifting ground right under their feet. ISI provided them details of movement of foreign fighters in FATA but their response was that there are no foreign fighters in our area of command and blaming them for generating false reports. Militants were gaining strength by the day and eliminating traditional tribal elders while other elders ran away to the safety of the cities. Orakzai like everybody and his cousin was talking about development of FATA and advocating making roads and spending money ignoring the basic fact that militants were rapidly expanding their authority, sidelining and eliminating traditional tribal leaders with government authority evaporating by the days and weeks not in years. In this context talking about building roads without first establishing the authority of the government meant that he was actually improving the logistics of militant infrastructure. This is proven by the facts that emerged later when army cleared some areas. Militants had established an elaborate underground infrastructure with extensive training facilities, industrial sized car and motorcycle bomb factories and tons of explosives neatly stacked in warehouses was found. This massive infrastructure was not put in place by ghosts but over several years right under the nose of XI Corps. In addition, in their great plans, senior brass was totally oblivious to the deep suspicion of the local population as locals were not blind and aware of double dealing of the army. Mussharraf brought Orakzai for briefing at the White House presenting him as an authority on tribal affairs. Americans had their own sources of information from inside Pakistan and were not much impressed. In 2004, when he handed over the command to his successor, militants were in full control of South Waziristan and Pakistan had lost large swaths of tribal territory. To be fair to Orakzai, he was carrying out the policy agreed by the senior brass. Now, General Mussharraf has admitted that at that time Pakistan allowed Afghan Taliban to park in Pakistani territory.

There are few things which are not important for ordinary reader but from a military history point of view need clarification. In the notes on page 49 author describing allotment of cavalry regiments in 1947 states that “The Guides Cavalry bound logically for Pakistan”. Guides Cavalry had two non-Muslim (Dogra & Sikh) and one Muslim (Pathan) squadron and initially it was allotted to India. On the other hand Scind Horse with two Muslim (Muslim Rajput & Pathan) and one non-Muslim (Sikh) squadron was allotted to Pakistan. Every regiment is proud of its regimental center but Guides center at Mardan was not an ordinary center but a shrine where legends of Raj served and stories told and re-told. It was unimaginable to think about Guides without Mardan. British officers convinced senior authorities and decision was reversed where Guides Cavalry was allotted to Pakistan and Scind Horse to India. This complicated the already confusing break up of regiments and battalions.

Author has expanded his earlier work by adding new chapters. Book is a good read for anyone interested in Pakistan army. It takes reader on a journey that spans sixty year history of Pakistan army.

Hamid Hussain
June 27, 2015

When I put my part deux (or is it trois) of JC insulting the Queen, it soon turned into his comments about Osama Bin Laden’s assassination being a “tragedy.”

The reason why Jeremy Corbyn is going to lose, and lose badly, while David Cameron busily plans the coronation his best friend George Osborn for a 20year Tory reign, well.

1. Winning elections is actually very easy. There are two votes that really matter, middle class middle England and working class urban England. Both are white not very diverse, not racist but don’t like immigrants, not classist but don’t like posh people. Both are of course very fond of the richest immigrants out there, the Royal Family. 
2. If you run on an anti-immigrant (light touch no one wants to be a Nazi about it) and anti-rich people (again light touch no one in these two electoral banks support welfare street or heavy taxes, it all about a fair chance) then you’ve got a chance.
3. Jeremy Corbyn is the candidate that is almost perfectly designed by the Metropolitan Left. His appeal to Middle England is probably non existent.

What follows is Dr Hamid Hussain’s comments regarding General Javed Ashraf Qazi’s long letter about the role of the army in creating the current Jihadi mess. Hamid sahib’s comments are in red.
The original is on Major Amin’s website.

Dear Sir;

Thanks for forwarding Lt. General Javed Ashraf Qazi’s bird’s eye view of ‘witch’s brew’ that is perfected over three decades of fermentation. My two cent worth in respected officer’s main text in red.  In private conversations, I’m more candid with officers who had/have front row seat to the ‘horror show’ and obviously that limits what I can say in an open forum.  I’m just finishing excellent biography of Auckinleck by John Connell and most quotes are from that book.

For the un-initiated, few housekeeping rules;

–      As expected, respected officer can only talk about certain aspects and his professional oath prohibits him from discussing other aspects of his job.  He is a patriotic Pakistani and army officer so it is natural that he will give that perspective defending certain policies which is his right.
–      Every nation has its narrative and we may agree or disagree with that narrative.  I have the chance of interacting with non-Pakistanis therefore I’ll interject that view to give some perspective. I found a great similarity in opinion of Pakistanis regarding Americans and Afghans view about Pakistanis.
–      Every narrative blames the ‘other’.  Fact is that this is too big a shit hole to be the job of one actor.  Everybody (locals, regional and international) has generously contributed towards this. Similarly, no one player holds the key to nirvana but a collective effort will be needed to clean it up.
–      In general, everybody agrees with Pakistan’s genuine security concerns regarding Afghanistan and that includes me. However, disagreement is about careful and cautious handling of an explosive situation to safeguard one’s interests versus repeatedly thrusting hand in the snake pit and coming openly in favor of one or other party in a civil war thus multiplying one’s adversaries exponentially.
–      Discussion is limited to practical aspects and not any ideological or moral ground as ‘Saur’ revolution of Afghanistan was as legitimate or illegitimate as General Zia’s coup in Pakistan.
–      Every perspective is limited and mine is no exception.  My opinion is based on my own limited work and subject to correction, critique etc.

“Wisdom after the event is the privilege and the peril of the historian”.  John Connell

Warm Regards,

Hamid

In case you haven’t seen. Would be interested in any comments you may have.

From: Javed Ashraf Qazi
Date: Fri, Sep 4, 2015 at 11:11 AM
Subject: Debate: Army Vs. Civilians
I do not remember if I clarified it earlier but I shall do it once again so that at least you should be clear in your mind and do not mix up various groups and terminologies. What I am going to tell you is the absolute truth.
I am in a position to do so since I was as DGMI in indirect contact with Mujahideen in 1990-91 and was the DGISI in 1993-95 when the Taliban appeared and captured Afghanistan less Panjshir valley.(It is correct statement by the respected officer but only to a certain extent.  Head of an organization is an informed person but he also has significant limitations.  Modern intelligence agencies are large bureaucracies with personality, organizational and turf battles. This is especially true for intelligence organizations.  I’ll give some explanation about MI and ISI but this applies in general to any other organization.  In almost 90 percent of cases, head of MI and ISI has no previous experience with intelligence and in general never served with the organization which he is leading.  This means that it takes a while before he is briefed about wide ranging areas in which his organization is involved.  As he is dependent on his subordinates for information therefore in general he is given more optimistic or neutral pictures.  It is highly unlikely that his subordinates will give him any honest opinion about botched operations. On another plane, if his subordinates disagree with the policy of the high command they have some room from maneuverability.  This applied to individual handlers (usually Colonel rank officers) in the field dealing with Afghan commanders.  I may provide some more details on this subject in my forthcoming obituary of Colonel ® Shuja Khanzada as he was involved in one such game.  In summary, if handler disagrees with the policy, he can slow or stop the flow of information going upwards and continue to give his own line to the ‘proxies’ as later don’t have any other channel upwards. Another important factor to remember is ‘compartmentalization’. In every organization, all eggs are never put in one basket.  When General Zia was uncomfortable with increasing power of then DGISI General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, he gave some tasks to MI.  Similarly inside the organization, different departments don’t know the details of working of another department in the same building.  This is norm and nothing unusual.  This is exacerbated when there is mistrust among senior officers or friction.  Case in point, when juniors came to know that DGISI Lt. General Ziauddin had lost the confidence of army Chief, his subordinates (then Major General Ghulam Ahmad and Jamshed Gulzar Kayani) passed information directly to Chief bypassing their own boss and in due time rewarded with promotions and coveted appointments to reward their loyalty.)
Mujahideen were first organized as a resistance group by Gen Babar on the orders of Mr Bhutto. (this is correct.  I have done quite an extensive piece on this early time period before Zia’s coup based on interviews with first hand witnesses including several hours long sessions with late Major General Naseerullah Khan Babar). These were mostly students from Kabul and other cities. The Russians had not yet marched in but there was hostility against Pakistan. When the Russians marched into Afghanistan, gen Zia decided to organize a resistance movement against them and keep them away from our borders. ISI was given this task and the groups called Mujahideen came into existence. Later The U.S., Saudis and others joined in when they saw the mujahideen as an effective resistance. Yes the ISI organized, trained and armed these Mujahideen groups and successfully kept the Russians engaged until they were forced to withdraw. The Army itself was not involved except some officers like Col Imam who were serving in ISI. The prominent leaders of the time were Hikmatyar, Haqqani, Ahmed Shah Masud, Gilani, Yunus Khalis etc.

After the Russian withdrawal these groups got into a power struggle. Hikmatyar had been elected (I’ll not be that charitable to call this process as election.  In fact, around $5 million provided by Saudi Arabia resulted in this arrangement of a fractious lot) as Prime Minister and Rabbani as the President. Masud who was the Defence Minister captured Kabul and did not allow Hikmatyar to enter Kabul. (and Hikmatyar earned the distinction of being the Prime Minister who decided to bomb his own capital rather than go there and take charge.  Even atheist Soviets were considerate enough to avoid destruction of mosques but the ‘pious lot’ where every resistance party had the word ‘Islam’ inserted in its name turned Kabul into rubble destroying countless mosques.  Pakistanis don’t know the animosity between Masud and Hikmatyar.  In fact they hated each other more than their hatred for Soviets. This goes back to days when both were ‘milk faced boys’. In 1973, when Pakistan’s efforts were in infancy to bring Afghans to Pakistan for training, both chaps were undermining each other. There were casualties and at one time Babar got furious and summoned Hikmatyar and threatened him that if he didn’t stop then may be one day his corpse will be floating in Kunar River.  It is very important to understand internal Afghan dynamics as in my view Pakistanis were seriously handicapped in judging Afghan character. They thought they can brush everything under the carpet of Jihad.  No wonder that one day ISI handlers called their Afghan clients as great warriors of Islam and next day called them ‘jokers’. Some really lost the path and ended up ‘reverse indoctrinated’.) A civil war ensued with lot of killing and total anarchy in Afghanistan. (Just like Pakistanis blame Americans for most of their ills, an overwhelmingly majority of Afghans blame Pakistan squarely for all the bloodshed stating that how can Pakistan wash its hands when it trained, armed and launched these folks even when they were turning Kabul into rubbles long after the last Soviet had left Afghanistan. Pakistanis can disagree with this notion.)
It was now 1993 and I was appointed DGISI. I took a decision to disengage ISI from Afghanistan since we did not want to take sides. U.S. And others had pulled out and no help was available. I called back all ISI reps back except liaison officers in the Embassy and Consulates. I was heavily criticized by Hameed Gul for doing so. (this was the right decision taken by General Abdul Waheed Kakar and efficiently carried by Qazi.  However, many Pakistanis including some ISI officers called it an American move to cleanse ISI stables; in my view a wrong impression.  It was in Pakistan’s interest although Washington used the stick of threatening to label Pakistan ‘sponsor of terrorism’ to get everybody’s attention.)
In 1994, the ex mujahideen and a group of students from Madrassas rose in revolt against the Mujahideen commanders. People of Afghanistan welcomed them. The leader was Mulla Umar who was head of Madrassas where it all started. They did not encounter any resistance and the troops of Mujahideen commanders fed up with atrocities surrenders and came over to them. They became known as Taliban because the bulk came from Madrassas. We did not create them or armed them since a lot of them were ex fighters and there were plenty of weapons in Afghanistan. (This is the dilemma when a country gets too much involved in another country. They can claim that when a fighter changes his cap badge, it absolves them of all responsibility but those on the other end will keep blaming them based on old associations.  Same is true even today.  If Pakistan brings Taliban on the table everybody says look they are Pakistan’s proxies and if Taliban go on their own way ignoring Pakistan’s advice, no one believes. Afghan clients can be very slippery. For every Afghan eating from Pakistan’s hand, there are ten Afghans who are eating from someone else’s hand.)
Our first contact with Taliban was after they had rescued our convoy to Uzbekistan being held by a commander. They had by this time taken Kandahar and Herat and were marching on Kabul. They neither asked for military help nor we gave them any. They sent a delegation to me requesting that we remain neutral in this struggle. Kabul surrendered without a fight just as all other cities did and they did restore peace in Afghanistan. We recognized them as the de facto Govt in Afghanistan (Afghans have a simple question that how come that Pakistani generals who enjoy their gin and soda and send their daughters to convent of Jesus and Mary to get educated want the most retrogressive gentlemen of Afghanistan to rule them.  If a Talib is good for Afghanistan then why he is bad for Pakistan? This dilemma is the root cause of confusion.) and they did not allow India to do any hostile activities against us. We had only liaison officers in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar Sharif. Col Imam was one of them located in Kandhar. These Taliban after 9/11 and the U.S. Assault had to leave Kabul and became the resistance in Afghanistan. A lot of them came to Pakistan and took refuge in our refugee camps or the tribal area. Haqqani who is such a thorn in American side came to N Waziristan. Subsequently he managed to establish his writ in three southern provinces of Afghanistan.(Correct to a certain extent but it also begs the question as who established writ in Pakistan’s tribal territories and how?) His fighters were now in Afghanistan but their families stayed on in Waziristan until Operation Zarb e Azab of Pak Army against TTP. Haqqani and his group have never attacked any place in Pakistan. They also did not launch their operations against Kabul from Pakistan since they control Paktia and Khost in Afghanistan. Their families however were  in N Waziristan but we did not attack their camp (this is correct and Pakistan saw in its own interest that Mr. Haqqani is not bothering them therefore if he is beheading Afghan soldiers or bombing the shit out of civilians in Afghanistan, they don’t care.  If we accept Pakistan’s point of view then how about Afghan’s point of view.  Afghans can claim that Mr. Fazlullah is not bothering them and it is not their business what he does in Pakistan. Each party can make others life miserable if they choose.  However, both countries need to come out of their present mind set and understand each other’s limitations.) despite pressure from Americans who would not send their own troops to fight them in Khost but instead wanted us to attack their base camp/ families.
After the U.S. Came in lot of foreign fighters specially Uzbeks who had taken refuge in Afghanistan now came to our tribal areas. They bought or rented property and teamed up with criminals to push the Malik’s out of tribal belt. Some inmates of Guantanamo Prison like Abdullah Mehsud were let out and came back to form a group called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It has nothing to do with Taliban of Afghanistan. (This needs correction.  Muhammad Alam aka Abdullah Mahsud had been fighting in Afghan Taliban ranks since 1996.  In fact, he lost one leg in 1996 in a fight against Northern Alliance.  In 2001, he was in Taliban ranks and fighting in northern Afghanistan and surrendered to Dostum. After a vacation at Guantanamo Bay where U.S. tax payers paid for his prosthetic leg, he came back to the theatre.  He was active in Af-Pak theatre until finally his luck ran out and Pakistanis dispatched him to his maker in Zhob.)   Sectarian killers and other criminals like ransom seekers and car thieves etc. all joined and they started their atrocities on the people of Pakistan. The Army or the ISI had nothing to do with their rise. (Sectarian killers rotate through various organizations for survival as described above.  Everyone knows about the ideology of Lashkar-e-Taiba; a group primarily trained for operations in Kashmir. They are pretty candid about what they think about Shia and other Sunni groups i.e. Barelvis. Their leaders may not openly advocate violence against ‘deviants’ but they prepare a very fertile ground and others are free to pick from this nursery.  While their leader Mr. Hafiz Saeed can be given a ‘golden handshake’ and a lucrative ‘severance package’ as state feels it is the right policy but what about the rank and file?  A large number is not physically involved against the state but everyone knows where their sympathies are.  Those who disagree with their own leadership have already found greener pastures in other organizations.  This is no secret that Pakistan’s sectarian killers were at camps in Afghanistan during Taliban time and none other than then DGISI Ziauddin and interior minister Lt. General Moinuddin Haider went to Afghanistan pleading with Taliban to do something about them.  More important point to ponder is that a youth of 17 & 18 who attained the power of having the authority of life and death and basking in glory.  Now we expect that he will just go back to his tea stall and taking the abuse from ordinary folks.  I think de-radicalization programs started by the army are maturing and in the long run will be helpful in containing the fires.)  They are the worst liabilities and no one ever considered this lot as assets. Some religious parties and zealots including some ex ISI officers tried to support them in the name of Islam but met the fate as that of Col Imam. These criminals are now on the run and this TTP remains the greatest threat to our security. Haqqani has remained a friend and is now totally in Afghanistan. We need to remain out of any conflict between the Afghan groups and keep friendly relations with all. (This is the sane course but temptations are hard to control.  In addition, too much blood has passed under the bridge and it will take a long time for everybody to forget what happened.)
Irrespective of what lies have been told and some books by our Pakistani authors this is the truth. They had to sell their books and invented fake stories behind the rise of Taliban with the help by ISI. This is the real truth which you may or may not believe but at least you have been told.  (This may be true, but what about ISI officers who proudly claim that they are legitimate or illegitimate fathers of Taliban and on every forum defend them?)
The groups who murdered Pakistanis were never created or nurtured by the Army or the ISI. This TTP is a bunch of criminals masquerading as Taliban. ( I disagree with the respected officer in strongest terms.  I think it was great ancient Chinese strategist Tao Te Ching who said that “No disaster is greater than slighting the enemy; for slighting the enemy borders on the loss of one’s treasures”.  My own work in this area and interaction with a number of officers with front row seat to the show gives me pause.  If we accept respected officer’s view that these are simply thugs then how we explain that they gave Pakistan army run for their money.  No doubt, they are a dangerous and blood thirsty enemy responsible for so much grief for Pakistan but let’s pause for a minute.  I’ll not go into more details but only highlight few things. Look at the events from 2003- 10; TTP organization: rise among leadership based on performance, earning respect and loyalty from following, training, motivation, use of skills (using workers with experience of mining in Baluchistan to create extensive underground infrastructure in Swat and other tribal areas), thorough planning, operational excellence, audacity, hitting center of gravity i.e. Pakistan army installations repeatedly with success, slick propaganda and sending the general public morale in nose dive.  Sir this is not the performance of a bunch of criminals but a determined foe.  There is a method in his madness.  A thorough understanding of adversary is must to meet the challenge.  This is the true test of professionalism. Reminds me a sentence which Auk wrote to his Corps Commander about adversary in Western desert ‘I have no doubt that they will be vigorous, clever and dangerous’. Alas there was no Auk at GHQ who could see clearly and prepare accordingly.  Too many years wasted before the right course finally adopted.)

                             They are totally different and have no relationship with Afghan Taliban. The only assets created by Pakistan were the Mujahideen who were used to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan. We did not create the Taliban which was an indigenous movement. Why is it so difficult to believe the truth? (This is a good example of simplicity of thought ignoring varying loyalties and blurring of boundaries.  Respected officer is correct in pointing the difference between rise of Taliban in Afghanistan and Taliban in Pakistan but totally oblivious to the fact how this thought process permeates across boundaries.  It also ignores how various groups use connections to their advantage. He wants to wish away the facts which are not disputed.  Few examples can refresh everybody’s memory.  Thousands of Pakistani religious seminary students led by clerics who had connections with Afghan clerics fought on front lines long before American B-52s showed up on skies.  When U.S. came to town thousands more went to Afghanistan to fight.  Those who are fighting sectarian wars have rotated through organizations active in Afghanistan, Kashmir etc.  Even today, when pressure comes on these organizations they move to a group not under attack.  Even proselytizing and non-political Tableeghi Jammat’s vast infrastructure is being used as ‘rat lines’.)  Why must you believe the anti-army lobby trying to throw all blame at army’s doorstep since it makes them heroes in the eyes of so called liberals sitting in U.S. (We have heard this before many times where army feels only it has the monopoly over patriotism. I don’t know many civilians but at least those well informed Pakistanis that I have the pleasure to know have also buried their loved ones and I find their view much more informed about some crucial issues.  They have a different view but they are no less patriotic.) I am sending you a complete rundown on all these groups and the misuse of terminologies to demonize the army and the ISI by your friends in U.S.
Your facts are totally incorrect. I have posted a detailed fact sheet on all these groups. You should believe me since I am in the full picture and was on the spot as against you depending on what others have written. TTP except the word Taliban has nothing to do with Taliban who are all Afghans. Haqqani is very much a part of Taliban but has nothing to do with TTP except that before the Army operation both coexisted in N Waziristan in their respective area. (A chap is abducted in Afghanistan and ends up in Waziristan, when TTP groups develop differences, then Haqqani’s emissaries come in to broker peace, when Commissioner of Malakand goes for negotiations, sometimes he leads the prayer while at other time Mullah Fazlullah, Corps Commander of Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain first garlands Nek Muhammad and then calls Nek’s successorBaitullah Mehsud “a soldier of peace,” a senior army officer telling a group of journalists “We have no big issues with the militants in FATA. We have only some misunderstandings with Baitullah Mehsud and Fazlullah. These misunderstandings could be removed through dialogue” and calling these two chaps patriots.  Entire Pakistan mourning the untimely death of late Hakimullah Mahsud and none other than interior minister wailing publicly and lamenting the death of a great peace maker. Is this all fairy tale or I’m delusional. Now things are clear but the time period under discussion was full of confusion, strategic myopia and incompetence at various levels. Pakistan lost a lot in this muddle. I have the pleasure and honor of knowing a large number of Pakistani officers; a good number first rate officers.  Many performed admirably no matter what their rank and when done professionally also delivered and completed their assigned task.  However, I’m a very strong critic when it comes to competence and professionalism and in private conversations I advocated as early as 2003-04 to start the business of sacking the ‘dead wood’ on the ship. I think it was Auk who said “It may not be in accordance with ‘usual practice’, but this is an ‘unusual’ war, and it will have an ‘unusual’ end if we do not get a move on and sweep aside cobwebs and precedents and ‘usual practices” and this was the cross road for Pakistan in 2003-4.  I think it was a fine Pakistani officer who said about the task at hand in those early days.  “I have come to the conclusion that we have to do it Sir and if we have to do it then better do it today than tomorrow”.)
TTP is Pakistan oriented wanting to capture the state. They are also barbaric killers more like the ISIS. (Should we believe that these chaps were raised and trained in Timbuktu and took chartered flights in C-130s to land in Waziristan, declare Emirate and gave Pakistani state an eviction notice which was accepted without a protest. Off course, army is not solely responsible for the royal mess but one cannot simply wash hands calling it the will of God. These demons are real and need to be exorcised.) If the operation by the army had not destroyed their bases in Waziristan, there would have been thousands more of our country men in graves. These killers were never an asset for anyone but themselves or our religious parties who tried to defend them. Surprise was Imran Khan who for a long time failed to differentiate and kept calling TTP as our people. (This is all history and good indulgence.  It is with purpose of understanding and not some silly exercise of blames or claims and counter claims.  Wars are not fought according to some manual and marking a checklist.  It is all uncertainty, fleeting moments of chance and test of will.  Now that the right decisions have been made, it is important to make sure that the momentum continues. The price of complacency will be more blood and tears.)

“Fools admire, but men of sense approve”.                  Alexander Pope