I finished reading Benazir Bhutto's Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West a while ago. Although I thoroughly enjoyed her book, I do not think I learned as much as possible because of my poor background in history and religion.
I was initially attracted to Reconciliation for two reasons. First, I wanted to learn about Pakistan and Islam. Pakistan and Islam are playing important roles in international affairs, especially as NATO countries are involved in neighboring Afghanistan. And second, I was intrigued and inspired by a person who believed so passionately in her causes and beliefs that she should would risk—and succumb to—an assassination.
The challenge I had in reading her book is that my understanding of history and religion is weak. Throughout much of the book, Bhutto discusses history and religion and their affects upon Pakistan. I realize that every political figure uses all media sources to promote a message. As a reader, you should have sufficient background to be able to judge the reasonableness of that message. Unfortunately, my depth of knowledge did not afford that opportunity. As a consequence, I took everything she wrote at face value, realizing that there are those who would disagree with her.
Aside from the historical and religious references, I found two important themes that resonated with me: knowledge and information as well as hope.
On page 295:
Targeted economic development can help reduce poverty and violence in Muslim-majority states. Alleviating poverty is a fundamental responsibility of all Muslims, wherever they live, as part of the basic principles of Islam. It would be far more Islamic in its true sense to declare a jihad on poverty, illiteracy, hunger, and poor governance. That is exactly what I am proposing.
Islam's first generations produced knowledge and wealth that empowered the Muslim empires to rule much of the world. But now almost half the world's Muslims are illiterate. The combined GDP of the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is about the same size as that of France, a single European country. More books are translated annually from other languages into Spanish than have been translated into Arabic over the past one hundred years. The 15 million citizens of Greece buy more books annually than do all Arabs put together.
The World Bank comparison of average incomes demonstrates a disquieting pattern. In the United States, the average per capita income is almost $36,000; in Israel it is almost $20,000. Pakistan, on the other hand, has an annual per capita income that barely crosses the $2,000 mark. No Muslim nation that is a non–oil producer has an annual per capita income near or above the world average. I find this pattern, these statistics, unacceptable.
On page 271:
Technology and communication have changed our world and are influencing a global culture. The more one knows of people, the more comfortable one is with them. I believe that, even if Professor Huntington doesn’t. Chatting on the Internet with strangers all over the world builds relationships and friendships and understanding. The ability to “Google” information from anywhere in the world puts technology into the hands of even the most isolated rural communities in the developing world. The more people learn, the more they want to learn. The more they interact, the less likely they will be to fear the unknown. Just as democracy and educational exchange promote peace, the free flow of modern technology and communication promote peace.
Everything we learn about sustained trade between nations tells us that it promotes understanding between cultures and civilizations. Globalization may be the most fundamental element of conflict resolution that has developed. The more nations trade with one another, the more they have to lose by engaging in conflict with one another. And we know that as individuals are exposed to more options in consumerism, in products they can purchase and use and share, the more they want options in other elements of their life.
On page 264:
Contrary to the pontifications of many who are unashamedly contemptuous of Muslims around the world, democracy and Islam are congruent. The basic tenets of democratic governance are specifically and directly cited in Muslim teachings and are basic to religion of Islam. As I have discussed, history shows that democracies do not make war against other democracies. And democracies are not state sponsors of terrorism. Therefore, I conclude (and challenge others to give any evidence to the contrary) that if democracies can be nurtured and sustained in the Islamic world, the possibility of conflict between Islamic democratic states and Western democratic states, and the possibility of democratic state-sponsored terrorism by democratic Islamic states against Western targets, would be all but eliminated.
Given her strong determination and sense of purpose and passion, I am terribly saddened by the loss of Benazir Bhutto. I believe that she had much to offer the world, and especially Pakistan. I hope that her book continues to shed light and optimism and that we—all of us—learn more about one another so that further bloodshed can be one day eliminated.
I highly recommend Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. As an aside, often when I am going to meetings, I bring along a book. While waiting for others to arrive, I read a chapter or two. When I brought this book along with me, complete strangers would often stop me and provide their thoughts and opinions on Benazir Bhutto or Pakistan or both. Her book is certainly a conversation starter. I know that if you read her book, you will be much better and wiser for the experience.
My photograph of the Lake Louise in Banff National Park is hosted at Flickr. This picture was taken on 8 November 2008, an usually warm November day with the temperature near the freezing mark. If you click on the picture, you will be taken to my Flickr account where you can see more pictures.
Addendum
I received an email from the Boston Review, which might be of interest to those who read the above article.
BostonReview.net now features a forum on “Democracy and Muslim Minorities” with essays by three religion and Islam scholars. Martha Nussbaum, noted American philosopher, examines the fate of Islamic liberalism, finding hope in Jamia Millia Islamia, a secular university inspired by classical Muslim values. She acknowledges liberalism’s tenuous future, and describes the pleas of secular Muslims in India: “You say you are a liberal, and that proves you are a radical Islamist.” John Bowen, author of Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves, discusses the spread of sharia law in England, and poses a critical question: “Do the tribunals provide a useful model for legally recognizing the equal standing of an immigrant community? Or do they threaten the integrity of law and democracy, and promise the unequal treatment of women in that community?” Finally David Mikhail, Research Associate with the Project on Middle East Democracy, details the detention of Shakir Baloch, a Muslim moderate detained after 9/11. Noting the “violent and enduring” effect imprisonment had on Baloch, Mikhail lays out the repercussions that such policy will have on American foreign policy in the Muslim world.
If this interests you, you can read more at Boston Review with the forum Boston Review — Democracy and Muslim Minorities.







