Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
Benazir Bhutto
HarperCollins, 334pp, £17.99
‘This is the beginning of a long journey for Pakistan back to democracy, and I hope my going back is a catalyst for change. We must believe that miracles can happen.’ Benazir Bhutto, October 2007
On 18 October 2007, Benazir Bhutto touched down at Karachi airport to a hero’s welcome. Her book opens with a description of that evening – the euphoria of being back in her homeland abruptly snuffed out by a bomb blast that killed 179 people. Just 10 weeks later, she herself was dead.
One can’t help but read this book and wonder about what might have been. Its account of the challenges facing Pakistan and its prognosis for change could so easily have become Bhutto’s manifesto as the country’s new prime minister. Instead, it is difficult to see who the ‘catalyst for change’ will be now that she has gone.
Bhutto describes Pakistan as the ‘ground zero’ for two key challenges: the struggle within Islam and a potential clash between Islam and the west. Parts of the analysis feel just as relevant here in Britain, where a generation of young Muslims are questioning the attitudes of their parents and when community cohesion has become a mainstream political priority.
For Bhutto, the two struggles are inextricably linked and will only be solved together through a renewed commitment to democracy. She dismisses those within her faith who claim that Islam is incompatible with democracy. It is these extremist forces who push a wedge between Muslims and the west, in the Islamic world as well as in countries like the UK. She also points the finger at America and Britain, whose support for dictators in Islamic states has played straight into the hands of the extremists.
The British government should not only draw foreign policy lessons from Bhutto’s analysis, but must also reflect on the domestic implications. The ‘war on terror’ presented security and democracy as being in opposition to one another. The government might have decided to drop the term, but many of its policies continue to reflect this view.
Lasting security is only ever achieved through – not inspite of – democracy, whether here or in Pakistan. Bhutto’s book – and indeed her life – are timely and poignant reminders of that.