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February 01, 2006 13:42 PM
War On Terror Cannot Be Seen As Washington-driven - Analyst
By Jackson Sawatan
SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Bernama) -- The global war on terror has to become locally relevant in order for it to be effective, an analyst here said.
One reason for the war on terror's ineffectiveness was its emphasis on global impact instead of striving for local relevance, said Terence Chong, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
He said the United States' strategy to cast the net as wide as possible for "evil-doers" meant that efforts have been global but thinly spread.
Islamic governments and moderate voices understand that efforts to combat militancy cannot be seen to be Washington-driven, lest those efforts were siphoned of local legitimacy, he said.
"Efforts have to become locally relevant by addressing the interests of domestic politics," he wrote in a column in Today newspaper.
Citing Malaysia's Islam Hadhari concept of how a universal religion is geared towards local needs, Chong said its message of a civilisational or progressive brand of Islam proved popular during the last general election in Malaysia.
Although certain quarters criticised the concept of Islam Hadhari as being vague, it was that very vagueness that had endowed it with the flexibility to respond to both local politics and the global war on terror, he wrote.
He said Islam Hadhari, mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, allowed Malaysia to position itself as a model Muslim society in a post-911 world.
"The discourse of Islam hadhari, while vague, has garnered immense political value for Malaysia on the international stage," he said.
"If the war on terror is to escape the "trash-can of big ideas", it has to address local politics and nation-building concerns.
"It is only when these concerns are mobilised that moderate Muslims will have a legitimate and viable platform to contest extremists which may otherwise seek to undermine moderates by appealing to religiosity," he said.
Chong concluded that as with all successful global trends, the war on terror "needs to under globalisation".
"It is only when the global begins to serve local interests and concerns, in the way Malaysia's Islam Hadhari has, that domestic sustainability and relevance are assured," he added.
-- BERNAMA