Daily Alert Archives

Bhutto Opposed Transforming Pakistan into an "Islamic State"

[Times-UK] Amir Taheri - Whoever killed Benazir Bhutto belonged to one of the nebulae of organizations that have vowed to kill not only those who stand for election but also those who vote. To people in the West, voting in an election might appear banal. In the Muslim world, over the past decade, thousands of people, from top politicians to ordinary voters, have been murdered by Islamists (in Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia). Islamist opposition to democracy is based on the claim that allowing men to legislate would be a form of sherk, associating man with God, who is the "sole and ultimate legislator." Man-made law cannot rival God-made Shariah. Referring to Islam's history, in which the murder of leaders, including three of the first four caliphs, was the surest way of coming to power, the Islamists hope that by assassinating senior politicians they would kill hopes of democracy in the Muslim world. Bhutto believed that the only way to save Pakistan from a Taliban-style regime was to mobilize the masses through democratic means. For her, dictatorship and terror were political twins that kept each other alive. "Only the fresh air of democracy can kill the monster [of Islamism]," she liked to say. "When the people are allowed to speak, they will not speak in support of terror." The terrorist who killed Benazir believed that Islam is worth killing for. Benazir proved that democracy is worth dying for.
2007-12-31 01:00:00
Full Article