Enlightened moderation

Anti-extremist Islamic school of thought, created by Pervez Musharraf

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Pervez Musharraf

|

* Early life
* Military career
* 1999 coup d'état
* Political career
* High treason case

* * *

Political views

* Enlightened moderation

* * *

Elections

* Referendum
* 2004
* 2007

* * *

Parties

* PML (Q)
* All Pakistan Muslim League

* * *

President of Pakistan

* Seventeenth Amendment
* Suspension of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
* Siege of Lal Masjid
* National Reconciliation Ordinance
* 2007 state of emergency
* Impeachment movement

* * *

Bibliography

* In the Line of Fire: A Memoir

* * *

Media related to Pervez Musharraf at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Enlightened moderation is a term coined by a former Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf; it applies to practicing a moderate Islam, as opposed to the interpretations of fundamentalist Islam.

To think properly as to rationalize thoughts, to be on the positive side of life and to prefer optimism, the theory goes, is to be against extremism.[1][2]

The strategy of enlightened moderation was unveiled by Musharraf during the 2002 OIC Summit Conference in Malaysia.[3]

Musharraf explained his position in an opinion piece that was published in various newspapers in 2004. His plan for enlightened moderation has two sides. It calls "for the Muslim world to shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift" and "for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment of the deprived Muslim world".[4]

Musharraf pointed out that moderation and enlightenment have been the traits of the Islamic world since the times of Muhammad.[4]

Musharraf wrote:[4]

> I say to my brother Muslims: The time for renaissance has come. The way forward is through enlightenment. We must concentrate on human resource development through the alleviation of poverty and through education, health care and social justice. If this is our direction, it cannot be achieved through confrontation. We must adopt a path of moderation and a conciliatory approach to fight the common belief that Islam is a religion of militancy in conflict with modernization, democracy and secularism. All this must be done with a realization that, in the world we live in, fairness does not always rule.

## Criticism

[edit]

Fundamentalist Islamic organizations have criticized Musharraf's vision of enlightened moderation. The Jamaat-e-Islami condemns it as a neologism for Westernization and American imperialism. Islam is innately a religion of enlightened moderation, they argue, and needs no Westernized amendments.[5] Masooda Bano points out that the US is not likely to "suddenly metamorphose into a benevolent entity, which will 'resolve all political disputes with justice.'"[6]

## References and notes

[edit]

1. ^ "A Plea for Enlightened Moderation", by Pervez Musharraf, June 1, 2004, The Washington Post
2. ^ Ayman Al-Zawahiri's Interview to Al-Sahab (Part II): Osama Bin Laden Still Commands the Jihad, but the Jihad Is Larger than Individuals. Mujahideen Should Attack Oil Infrastructure in the Middle East
3. ^ [1], p. 63
4. ^ a b c A Plea for Enlightened Moderation
5. ^ Jamaat-e-Islami ""Enlightened Moderation" or the new US 'Religious Order'" Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, by prof. Khurshid Ahmad, accessed 12 February 2005.
6. ^ Masooda Bano, "Unraveling 'Enlightened Moderation'", Al-Ahram, 17–23 June 2004 ,Issue No. 695

## Further reading

[edit]

* Compare and contrast to "Enlightened Underdevelopment." 1994. The Spirit and Power of Place: Human Environment and Sacrality: Essays Dedicated to Yi-Fu Tuan. In Rana P.B. Singh (ed.). Pps: 87-100. Varanasi, India: NGSI Publications No. 41. Concurrently published under same title in National Geographical Journal of India 40,1-4:87-100.

## External links

[edit]

* Jamaat-e-Islami "“Enlightened Moderation” Or The New US ‘Religious Order’" Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Pervez Musharraf

* 10th President of Pakistan (2001–2008)
* Chief of Army Staff (1999–2007)
* Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (1999–2001)

Administration|

* Gang of Four
* Military takeover of federal government
* Nawaz Sharif vs. Federation of Pakistan
* Modernism
* Liberalism
* Agra summit
* Formation of political entity
* 2001 Kashmir standoff
* Seventeenth Amendment
* Aziz ministry (PML(Q) and MQM)
* Concession and re-development
* 2007 state of emergency
* Siege of Lal Masjid
* Suspension of Supreme Court justicses
* War on Terror
* Political violence
* JF-17 Thunder
* Credible minimum deterrence
* Economic liberalization
* Growth of Housing industry
* Women's protection legislation
* 2005 Kashmir earthquake
* Trade negotiations with Iran
* Thaw with India
* Policies on higher education
* Protests and agitation

Military career|

* 1965 war
* 1971 war
* Siachen conflict
* Kargil war
* Relief of General Jehangir Karamat
* Coup d'état
* Far-right insurgency

Election campaigns|

* 2002 referendum
* 2002 primary elections
* 2004 presidential elections
* 2007 presidential elections
* 2008 primary elections
* Disqualification from 2013 elections

Ideology and Writing|

* Enlightened moderation
* In the Line of Fire: A Memoir
* Third Way
* Centrism
* Secular Islam

Personnel and staffers
(Incl. advisers)|

* Sher Afghan
* Rashid Ahmad
* Humayun Akhtar
* Tariq Aziz
* Tariq Azam
* Nilofar Bakhtiar
* Fawad Chaudhry
* Nasir Chattha
* Mahmud Durrani
* Ijaz-ul-Haq
* Mushahid Hussain
* Shujaat Hussain
* Ishrat Hussain
* Faisal Hyatt
* Pervez Illahi
* Liaquat Jatoi
* Zubaida Jalal
* Khurshid Kasuri
* Abdul Qadeer Khan
* Hina Khar
* Nisar Memon
* Marvi Memon
* Sehba Musharraf
* Abdul Aziz Mirza
* Mushaf Ali Mir
* Hamid Nawaz
* Atiqa Odho
* Peter Pace
* Rashid Qureshi
* Sharifuddin Pirzada
* Khalid Ranjha
* Atta-ur-Rahman
* Saleem Saifullah
* Aftab Sherpao
* Rao Sikandar
* Kashmala Tariq
* Wasi Zafar

Opposition|

* Conservative opposition
* MMA
* PML(N)
* Left-wing opposition
* PPP
* ANP)
* Constitutional opposition
* Lawyers' Movement

Controversies|

* Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
* Assassination of Akbar Bugti
* Missing persons cases
* Proliferation scandals
* Court inquiries on Red Mosque
* Abdul Rashid Ghazi death
* 2007 Karachi riots
* Drone attacks
* Mukhtār Mai case
* NRO case
* Allowance of CIA in Pakistan
* Shazia Khalid case
* Allegations of support system in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden
* TTP
* Karachi affair
* 2002 Karachi bus bombing
* Daniel Pearl case
* Spread of violence
* Safe houses in Karachi
* Kunduz airlift
* Iraq's WMDs conjecture
* U.S.–Pakistan secret directives
* WikiLeaks
* Musharraf v. Federation of Pakistan

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template