By now most of us should realise that the upcoming attack on Iraq following swiftly from the bombing of Afghanistan by the so-called 'international alliance' led by the powers-that-be in Washington is just the prelude to a world-wide conflict that will probably last ten to fifteen years.

The ascendancy of the United States of America as the world's undisputed leader and sole superpower will be the end result. What makes the situation all the more deplorable is the fact that the rest of the world seems to be suffering from a major testicular deficit. The balls remain (literally) in John Wayne's court, and we are forced to watch helplessly as our leaders sell us out for posterity.

From the outset, September 11 was going to be a disaster for the rest of the world, and the Muslim world in particular. Living as we do at a time when practically every single government in the Muslim world is facing a credibility crisis (due to their own deplorable human rights records and economic dependency on the West), the aftermath of September 11 has forced Muslim leaders and governments to take sides.

In every single case, they have erred on the side of caution, at an enormous cost to their standing in the eyes of their own populations. Washington in turn has exploited this gulf of interests to the maximum, pitting Muslim leaders against their own restless populations, who are still waiting for that oft-lauded paradigm shift that political Islam was meant to offer but holds back still.

So the announcement that Ahmad Ibrahim Bilal (photo) an American student accused of being involved in 'anti-American activities' will be sent back to the US to face American 'justice' brings little cheer for those of us who hoped that Malaysia might actually make a difference in the battle for hearts and minds that is going on around us today.

63 individuals detained

Thus far 63 individuals have been rounded up and detained as part of the 'war against terror' that has landed gracelessly on our shores. In an effort to receive the coveted title of 'moderate Muslim state' that Washington is handing out like gilded baubles these days, Malaysia like the rest of the Muslim world joins in the race to ingratiate itself to the Western powers to make sure that we do not get into the FBI and CIA's bad books.

But it is precisely here that the contradiction lies: That in the present neo-Cold War climate created in the wake of September 11, states and regimes with the most appalling human rights records can actually gain kudos and earn the honorific title of 'progressive moderate Muslim state', allying themselves to the West (not to mention their invested business interests).

Never mind the fact that those arrested have been detained under draconian laws that do not respect the rights of ordinary citizens, or that in some countries those detained have also been 'questioned' via the use of tactics and methods that can only be described as barbaric. All that matters is that the states concerned should act and do as they are told, and round up all of those who have fallen foul of US political, economic and military interests the world over.

The global concert of silence

If you listen hard enough, you will be able to hear the global concert of silence all around you. During the days of the Cold War, when human rights and political conditionality were the bargaining chips in the clash between the Western and Eastern blocs, religious freedom was used as a weapon by the Western powers in their ideological war against the Soviets.

The rationale then was that the West was more open, democratic and civilised because it allowed for freedom of belief and expression. The 'evil Soviet empire' was that nasty place where having religious and political differences was frowned upon and often regarded as a criminal offence.

These days the tables have been turned. In the neo-Cold War scenario, the West is cast as the final bastion of instrumental rationality, and those who hold on to convictions (particularly religious ones) are deemed a threat to world peace and civilisation.

Thanks to the hegemonic grip of the US on the rest of the world, Washington is able to call the shots and set the tune for the concert that follows. In Malaysia as in Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and every other country with a significant number of Muslims in it - arresting and detaining Muslims on the charge of being possible terrorists or supporters of terrorism is now acceptable practice.

While human rights groups and observers continue to bemoan the fate of political prisoners (and I am not suggesting here that their fate should not be a matter of concern for us all), hardly a squeak of protest has been made in relation to the thousands of Muslims who have been arrested, detained, interrogated, denounced and even liquidated the world over as part of the global "war against terror".

While this is happening, those Muslim states with the highest arrest scores have inched their way up the "moderate Islam" ladder, earning brownie points as they cosy up to the American establishment. Fearful of losing much-needed foreign investment and tourist dollars, these states are falling over themselves to prove just how "moderate" and "progressive" they are, by arresting as many Muslims as possible and in many cases without even the slightest shred of evidence save what has been handed to them by the US intelligence sources.

A "good Muslim state"

Notwithstanding this pathetic attempt to curry favour with the US, the fact remains that "moderate" and "progressive" Islam will not be born behind bars and it will certainly not thrive and prosper under repressive and dictatorial conditions. While some Muslim states and governments may think that by arresting the "bad Muslims" they have earned for themselves the title of "good Muslims", they need to be dissuaded of the notion rapidly.

The bottom line is that the neo-Cold War logic of today pits all Muslim states against the rest of the world, and that there is no such thing as a "good Muslim state" in the eyes of the hawks of the US: only domesticated and compliant Muslim leaders who can be manipulated to serve the interests of Western military and economic powers by playing the role of Uncle Tom.

If Malaysia wants to earn for itself the title of "moderate Islamic state", then its leaders as well as its society would do well to remember a few simple facts: Any form of "moderate'' and "progressive" Islam will only have any credibility if it originates and proceeds from the premises of Islamism itself, and not according to the ready-made recipe dished out by Washington.

In fact, due to America's deplorable standing and record on human rights (this is the same country that supported the Shah of Iran, Generals Suharto, Zia 'ul Haq and Ferdinand Marcos and was responsible for the death squads in Central America) one could argue that any endorsement from Washington would spell the kiss of death for any truly progressive Muslim state, government, leader, movement or intellectual.

Secondly, no school of "progressive" and "moderate" Islam will ever get off the ground unless and until it commits itself to some of the fundamental tenets of justice and universal humanity that is at the core of Islamic ethics. How can any moderate or progressive Muslim state, government or intellectual defend their image and standing unless they are also committed to human rights, democracy, civil society and the fundamental freedoms of individuals.

No Muslim government can claim to be an example of moderate Islam at work if it continues to arrest and detain its own citizens under various internal security acts without giving them the right to a fair and open trial where they can defend themselves. And no Muslim leader can speak up for the rights of Muslims or condemn the fundamental structural inequalities in the world today unless he or she is also prepared to grant the same rights to the citizens under his leadership.

But sadly the world today is run according to the logic of realpolitik, and in politics consistency counts less than goals and objectives. Despite its claims to the contrary, neither the US government or its allies seem interested in addressing the root causes of terror in the world today, which have everything to do with the ever-growing cleavages of power and wealth that continue to divide the world and tear it to pieces.

America's own record in promoting human rights shows that it hardly merits the label of being consistent. This is the government that has condemned the human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, while remaining blissfully oblivious to the abuses of human rights in other countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia and its bevy of crony states elsewhere.

This is the government that tells the rest of the world to consume and pollute less, while walking out of the Kyoto summit and defending the right of US citizens to gorge on more food than they need, buy bigger cars than they need and pollute more than they should.

The failure of political Islam

Thus far, political Islam has failed to make even a dent in the armour of the US hegemon as it lumbers forward, juggernaut-like, on its march towards its manifest destiny. The reason for this is that Islamists themselves have failed to come up with an alternative paradigm that would radically critique and challenge the premises upon which US/Western hegemony is based.

Political Islam exploded on the global scene in the 1970s with the promise of a brave new world where the inconsistencies and contradictions of the old era would be exposed and done away with for good. But instead of the birth of a genuinely new world order, we have witnessed only the resurgence of a reactionary and defensive form of Islamism couched in terms of a politics of authenticity and nostalgia where Islamists seem to be more obsessed with moral guardianship, sartorial norms and the policing of thought.

Looking at the developments in Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Egypt and even here in Malaysia, one might be forgiven in thinking that what drives these Islamists on is their obsession with the tightness of women's jeans or whether students are making out in the dark on campus. Both Muslim states and opposition movements seem more concerned with trying to use Islam as a discourse of social control and policing, rather than harnessing its critical potential by turning it into a discourse of social emancipation instead. The promised critique of the dominant political and economic paradigm has yet to make its mark, or if it has then its arrival has gone unnoticed by most.

Now, more than ever, the truly progressive and moderate face of Islam must show itself. In the Malaysian context this would mean developing a new voice of Islam that is committed to universalist and humanitarian principles that would critique the abuse of power both at home and abroad.

It would mean a school of Islamic thought that is prepared to take up issues and concerns like democracy, civil society, gender politics and economic justice under its wing. It would also have to be a school of Islamic thought that would consistently condemn the machinations of power on the global scene, and expose the ways through which the workings of geo-politics has an immediate and deleterious effect on domestic politics.

This is a task that has to be taken up by society as a whole; by politicians and laymen, regardless of their racial, ethnic and religious identities. In short, if Malaysia really wants to present itself as a moderate and progressive Muslim state then the first thing it has to do is turn itself into a democracy, to show that Islam is indeed compatible with the values of a progressive, liberal and pluralist age.

It can start by repealing the ISA and releasing the prisoners held under detention without trial by laws and regulations that bind us to the decidedly un-moderate and un-progressive colonial past. Moderate Islam will never be born behind bars.