The Clash of Fundamentalisms

Title: The Clash of Fundamentalisms – Crusades, Jihads and Modernity

Author: Tariq Ali

Publisher: Verso, 2011 (First published 2002)

ISBN: 978-1-85984-457-1

Pages: 428

Tariq Ali is a renowned Pakistani writer and journalist, now settled in Britain. Author of many books on Islam and world politics and a film maker, he is noted for his leftist leaning that reasserts itself in his writing style. Ali tries to put in perspective the new phenomenon of Islamic terrorism that devastated many parts of the globe since the fall of Communism in early 1990s. Terrorism is fuelled by fundamentalism, which is not limited only to Islam. Any religion is capable of rearing a bunch of hell hounds who would carry out any imaginable atrocity in the name of god. Not only religion, but an ideology is also capable of mimicking all the destructive proclivities of religion. In this book, the author argues with free flowing logic that American Imperialism is an equal partner in spawning fundamentalism in its mindless quest for material wealth from every corner of the planet. In a bid to keep one step ahead of rivals, this capitalistic imperialism utilizes the harmful elements of other fundamentalisms to play them against the others. Though the author does not state as such, Communism has been another instance of imperialism - and the fundamentalism such an intolerant philosophy would no doubt produce – till its unexpected though long due demise in the last decades of the previous century. Thus, when one rival suddenly left the fray, the remaining players, who had worked hand in glove till then, turned against each other. What we see today is a clash of fundamentalisms, and forms the core idea of the book. The cover page is also cleverly conceived, with the former U.S. president Bush Junior portrayed in the garb of a hardline Muslim cleric. The book is easy to read and noted for the clarity of its arguments, even though the reader may not agree with him. His balanced views on South Asia is especially noteworthy, as the author is himself a Pakistani and thoroughly knowledgable about what goes inside the nation. Indians should learn from his criticism of the Pakistani establishment and not repeat the same mistakes on home ground.

The book presents a picture oscillating between truth and falsehood through its chapters. There are many sections that paints a down to earth portrait of how things actually happened, especially early Islamic history where the author’s irreverent style helped narrate the events truthfully without offending the sentiments of even diehard adherents of the faith. But on Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, such neutrality and objectivity is thrown to the winds. Again and again, we see justifications for Saddam’s fateful incursion against his weaker neighbour. We hear Ali say, “Kuwaitis were very provocative in their oil disputes against Iraq” (p.142), “Democratic elections in Kuwait immediately after occupation would have ensured massive support (to Saddam Hussein)” (p.143), “venal rulers of Kuwait became part of Western propaganda offensive” (p.143) and “Iraqi occupation of Kuwait was no exceptional outrage in either the region or the world at large” (p.147). Isn’t this sufficient to prove the hollowness of his arguments elsewhere about freedom and progress? The author’s strong tilt towards the political left must have dislodged the rational thinker in him to churn out unwarranted indictments against the victim, while at the same time condoning the aggressor. Thankfully, the book came about before the U.S. toppled Saddam. Otherwise, we would have witnessed more gruesome and vocal condemnation of the West.

A noteworthy feature of the book is its candid exposure of the state of affairs in Pakistan. Being the arch-enemy, Pakistan has been a country of interest to most Indians evoking a mixed feeling of hatred, mistrust, enmity and all those emotions that one should not be proud of possessing. We think Pakistan to be a country of evil, but this book presents a different picture. Ali declares Pakistan to be a failed state, where the Military calls the shots and politicians have lost all credibility due to widespread corruption. Unlike its eastern neighbour, this country is not seen to be wedded firmly to democracy, as four military takeovers have already marred its chequered history that spans seven decades. However, reading between the lines, we see that not all military establishments had been detrimental to the long term interests of the country. The most corrosive of them all was Gen. Zia ul Haq’s regime in 1977 – 1989. He brought in the hardline militant into the ranks of the army, which was as professional as any other army in the Islamic world up till then. Pakistan’s downward slide to a theocratic state, thus initiated by the unscrupulous Haq, continued unabated. Now, many parts of the state has become lawless, with brainwashed fanatics from madrassas becoming a law unto them. As usual, Tariq Ali blames the responsibility for this metamorphosis on America, especially its Afghan War, in which it trained, armed and paid for the Mujahideen to combat Soviet troops. Osama bin Laden arrived there to supervise the action on America’s behalf, as the author says. But there is something fundamental that is flawed in this ‘blame-it-all-on-America’ attitude. Soviet occupation lasted barely ten years, ending in 1989. But Afghanistan has not been able to stand on its feet for 25 years thereafter, till the time of this writing, and there is no hope that peace would return to the rugged country in the foreseeable future. True, there was an enemy and it was routed. But why do the combatants are not able to sit around a table and exchange ideas, instead of bullets and bombs? This issue is not addressed by the author.

The book offers an enjoyable experience, but the readers should never lose sight of the fact that the author is a Leftist, and none of his words are to be accepted at face value without ascertaining its truth. He waxes eloquent on the political murders in Indonesia and Vietnam, where the Communists were heavily oppressed, but keeps silent on Stalin and Mao’s equally bloodthirsty pogroms. The author’s ideas are liberal, but he should owe them to the permissive culture of the West where he sought and obtained asylum. Pakistan would not have tolerated his unorthodox ideas. Many a people have been executed in that country for the offense of harbouring even less revolutionary thoughts. When the time came to emigrate, Ali had no hesitation about which country to choose. There was Soviet Union, China and a few dozen Communist havens, but he promptly found his nest in Britain. Ever since his life was assured, he turned against the society that provided him with shelter and this book is another example of the ungrateful tirade.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star