Asahi : Editorial: Assault on mosque

EDITORIAL: Assault on mosque

07/13/2007

The standoff between security forces and students who holed up in a mosque compound in Pakistan ended in a tragic showdown that left about 60 people dead. The mosque in Islamabad, the nation's capital, has a seminary where thousands of students live and study. Before people knew it, the place of worship had turned into a base of Islamic radicals.

Some of the students even went so far to act as self-styled religious police and abducted Chinese, claiming they were engaged in shady businesses or raided stores that sold audio-visual software of Western movies and music and confiscated the products.

While Pakistan is an Islamic nation, most of its people hold moderate and secular views. Apparently, the administration of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf decided to crack down on the radicals based on the judgment that it could win public understanding and support.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. targets prompted Pakistan to end its support of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and cooperate with the United States in its "war on terror." It is natural that it could not tolerate Islamic radicals acting as if they owned the nation's capital. But the problem is how to deal with them.

Immediately after students started to shut themselves up in the compound earlier this month, Pakistani authorities cut off power and water supplies. Couldn't the authorities instead have spent time to patiently talk the students into giving up?

The government, however, ordered the army to storm the compound after only seven days and used force to quell the situation. It even bombarded the mosque from which white smoke rose.

The image of the burning mosque was shown not only in Pakistan but spread throughout the Islamic bloc. The government should have thought more carefully how an assault on a religious place would be received by people who have faith in Islam.

Under the pretext of "fighting against terror," Pakistani authorities are detaining people without a warrant and many have gone missing. When the chief justice of the Supreme Court launched an investigation at the request of concerned families, President Musharraf suspended him from office.

The controversy caused public criticism against the president to flare up. In May, a clash between proponents and opponents ended in many deaths. The way the administration used force to deal with the confusion has caused the public to lose faith in it and allowed extremists to take advantage of the situation.

Children from poor families, who attend tuition-free seminaries, should be given the chance to study at public schools. The Pakistani administration is urged to make steady efforts to build a society that does not tolerate corruption and to isolate radicals.

It has been eight years since Musharraf came to power as a result of the 1999 military coup. The public is also becoming increasingly critical of the way he continues to single-handedly hold power as president and army chief of staff.

Presidential and general elections are slated before the end of the year to prepare for a transfer of power to a civilian government. At this rate, it is questionable whether Musharraf can stay in office for another term.

If the Pakistani political situation becomes unstable, it could have a negative impact on neighboring Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia. This would make it even harder for international society to band together in the fight against terrorism.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 12(IHT/Asahi: July 13,2007)