Political engineering is a funny business. You aim for one thing and it brings out an entirely different result. In the late 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to reform the Soviet Union through glasnost (liberalization) and perestroika (reconstruction), but it all ended in the crumbling of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new world (dis)order. In the 90s, a ragtag army of madressah students called the Taliban was formed to bring stability in Afghanistan. Mainly originating from NWFP, the tribal areas in Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban went on to conquer Kabul and established their writ over a country ruined by decades of anti-soviet war and infighting among warlords. However, in 2001 the world found out that it was this very ragtag Taliban who were providing safe haven to Al Qaeda --established with a stated aim of toppling pro-west despotic regimes in Muslim countries -- that was behind the blowing up of the twin towers in New York.

The post-9/11 political engineering, either done through the instrument of war e.g. Iraq and Afghanistan, or tried through a mix of political means and military action in Pakistan and elsewhere, presents a dismal picture. With nearly a million killed in Iraq, thousands dead in Afghanistan and hundreds perished in other countries including Pakistan, the war seems to have only exacerbated the conflict, which many in the west and also in the Islamic world consider an essentially ideological one.

In Pakistan too, the process of radicalization, instead of subsiding, has gone up. There are more suicide bombings taking place and video shops are being burnt. Vigilante groups are vying to enforce their version of Islamic codes, women and NGOs are being harassed and girls' schools are being closed. The writ of the state is being openly challenged. The silent majority, that is fairly liberal, is standing on the sideline, silently watching the unfolding events. Many among it also consider it a natural reaction to what they believe is an unjustified western onslaught. There are a number of factors, external as well as internal, stoking the rise of extremism in the country.

The external factors are rooted in the process of globalization and western political positions. Technological advancement in the media and information systems has turned the world into the proverbial 'global village'. What happens in one part of the world is being instantly reported to the other parts and it is getting difficult for the governments to control information or manipulate it. Therefore, anomalies in policy and action are more exposed to public scrutiny. Extensive mass communication also means that ordinary people can read leaders minds and can react to policies perceived as unjust and wrong.

One dangerous faultline on the global ideological map is the conflict in the Middle East. Palestine is a deep festering wound on the body politics of the Islamic world. The west's biased and often one-sided support to the state of Israel is perhaps the major underlying factor in the anti-western feeling among the Muslim masses. The way Zionist lobbies in Washington worked hard and succeeded in replacing Islam with communism as the new enemy in the post-cold war era, and the way they have managed to sell the concept of 'clash of civilization' in theory and in practice during the last decade has further strengthened the rivalry.

The recent upsurge in extremism and anti-western feeling also owes its momentum the west's denial of popular mandate to Hamas -- welfare NGO turned political party in Palestine which won a landslide victory in 2006 against the pro-west Fatah party. Israel's effort to cripple the Hamas-led government through tacit support from western countries eventually leading to the dismissal of the Ismail Hunaya's government last week plunging Gaza and the West Bank into turmoil has exposed the west's lack of commitment to democracy and reconciliation.

Another strong external influence on extremism is the way Iraq war has been played out. Iraq has provided breeding grounds for a new wave of suicide bombing recruits. The US, despite hanging Saddam and his close associates, has in fact failed to establish control. Insurgents are carrying out their operations with impunity and the number of civilian causalities continues to grow in numbers. What happened and is still happening in Iraq has created waves of anger across the Muslim world. Scenes from Abu Gharaib prison and lawless cells at Guantanamo Bay have left all right-minded people in the world outraged and disgusted, to say the least.

Afghanistan is another sore and perpetually sick part of this body politics. What happens in Afghanistan has a direct bearing on Pakistan. The inability of the west and its partners in Kabul to understand and tame the warring factions has spooned a new generation of Taliban sworn to fight till death for their honour, and of course Islam. The carrot and stick policy in the southern parts have failed to pacify raging tempers. Each new bombing and or targeted strike is producing more unbridled suicide bombers willing to blow up anywhere any time.

In such a precarious political environment, in which the wellbeing and peace of so many human beings is at stake, the aging queen of the United Kingdom decides to honour the most hated individual in the Islamic world. If bestowing knighthood to Rushdie is a conspiracy to trigger more hatred and violent reaction, then the queen and her poodle prime minister have certainly succeeded. But in doing so the queen has also unwittingly pressed the button for accelerated Talibanization in countries like Pakistan, a process already in motion due to multiple internal reasons. If not arrested in time it can create more problems for the world then it can actually handle.

The writer is based in Islamabad and he has a background in media, public policy and development. Email: ismail.k2@gmail.com

-- The News