11 February 2002

Musharraf Speech Honored by Placement in Congressional Record

Senator Richard Durbin (Democrat of Illinois) placed the historic January 12 speech of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf into the Congressional Record on the eve of his visit to the United States.

Durbin submitted the Musharraf speech to the Senate on February 11. The Pakistani President is scheduled to meet with President Bush on February 13.

Musharraf, Durbin said, made the choice Pakistan faces "very clear."

The Pakistani leader spoke of a "day of reckoning" for his nation, Durbin said.

Musharraf told his people Pakistan had to choose between "the Kalishnikov culture" of religious extremism and a progressive Islamic state, according to Durbin.

"He made his case in terms far different than Western secular leaders. Speaking to his Muslim nation, he invoked the name of the Prophet Mohammad, the Koran and Islamic history and tradition," said the Illinois Democrat.

"If Osama bin Laden could find justification for his hate-filled extremism in a corruption of Islamic belief, Musharraf found tolerance, universal brotherhood and peace in Islam," Durbin told Senate colleagues.

Durbin is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

In the 107th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat of South Dakota) reappointed Durbin to the Senate's Democratic leadership team, where Durbin serves as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader and as a member of the Senate Democrats' Steering and Coordination Committee.

Following is the text of Senator Durbin's February 11 speech from the Congressional Record:

General Pervez Musharraf's Speech To The People Of Pakistan Senate February 11, 2002

Mr. Durbin. Mr. President, on January 12, Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan spoke to his people at a moment of great danger. Half a million Indian troops were massing on the border over the contentious issue of Kashmir, unresolved for over 50 years, and the December 13 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. Memories were still fresh of 100,000 demonstrators in the streets after September 11, praising Osama bin Laden and burning effigies of Musharraf and President Bush.

The speech was given to the nation of Pakistan, but it was followed closely by India and the West.

He made the choice facing Pakistan very clear. In his words, the "day of reckoning" had come. His nation must choose between the Kalishnikov culture of religious extremism and a progressive Islamic state. He made his case in terms far different than Western secular leaders. Speaking to his Muslim nation, he invoked the name of the Prophet Mohammad, the Koran and Islamic history and tradition.

If Osama bin Laden could find justification for his hate-filled extremism in a corruption of Islamic belief, Musharraf found tolerance, universal brotherhood and peace in Islam.

When we met with him 2 days later in the Presidential residence, he repeated the message in his speech that Islam teaches not only an obligation to God--Haqooq Allah--but also an obligation to others--Haqooq Al-ebad. And beyond the rhetoric of tolerance, he calls for a historic change in the madrassas, Islamic religious schools, so often identified with the memorization of the Koran, little or no education, and a breeding ground for hatred.

Pakistan's new jihad against illiteracy and poverty will require the madrassas to be religious schools, with a recognized curriculum, registered with the state; accredited in math, science and English, with trained teachers and foreign students deported if they are not legally in the country.

And he went further. All mosques are to be registered. Newer mosques require government permission and the loudspeakers outside the mosque, used traditionally for a call to prayer, cannot be used to incite hatred or extremism.

Musharraf told us that the public response to his revolutionary message has been positive, even among the Muslim clergy who met with him before it was given.

He believes that Pakistan, in his words, the "Citadel of Islam," can show the world that the Muslim faith is consistent with the values of this new century.

If real peace and progress are to come to the Islamic world, we must help him succeed.

Mr. President, I ask unanimus consent that the speech be printed in the RECORD.