Interaction with Delegates
The day of 11th October was primarily spent in meetings. Hundreds of people from different countries came to the conference. I met and exchanged views with some people. A European Christian professor asked a question about jihad. He said that the issue of jihad (in the sense of violent action) was related to the ancient age and that it had lost its relevance in the present age. He suggested the need for launching a movement in Islam like the Reformation and reviewing ancient Islamic teachings of Islam to make Islam compatible with the present times.
I replied by expressing the view that Islam had a need, not for reform (islah) but, instead, for revival (ihya) and clarified that the actual meaning of jihad is a struggle for a noble cause. Some politically-oriented Muslims of later times had wrongly made the concept of jihad appear synonymous with armed action, but now there was a need to restore the accurate picture of the concept. I also pointed out the need to distinguish between Islam, on the one hand, and Muslims, on the other. Finally, I suggested to the professor that he should not form an opinion about Islam based on the words or actions of Muslims. Instead, he should gauge the Muslims’ actions in the light of Islamic teachings.
In the evening, dinner had been arranged at Hotel Shweizerhof in Luzern. We were taken to Luzern by car. Before dinner, the conference’s chief organiser, Mr. Andrey Beykov, delivered a speech. He thanked the participants who had come from different countries.
The chief guest of the dinner function was the former President of the former Soviet Union, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev. In the vast hall, people were sitting around different tables. Mr. Gorbachev was sitting at the same table as me. My chair was to the left of Mr. Gorbachev, and his translator’s chair was to his right. Thus, Mr. Gorbachev’s conversation mainly happened with me on this occasion.
Talking about the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Russia, I said that this step had been a mistake. Mr. Gorbachev replied that they had only wanted co-operation from their neighbouring countries. I responded by saying that co-operation is good, but it is possible only using peaceful means, not military means. I further stated that Soviet Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan had been a severe challenge to the Afghans. The culture of the Afghans is a war culture. To solve problems, they always think in terms of violence. Thus, they had replied to the Soviet military action through counter-military action. In addition, some other factors worked in favour of the Afghans. Thus, after suffering heavy losses, the Soviets had to pull out of Afghanistan.
Another issue that we talked about was how in contemporary terrorism, a large share is that of Muslims. I said that this point is valid but that these were the actions of some Muslims. They had no relation with Islam and that Islam is an entirely peaceful religion. In this regard, I referred to some Quranic verses.
A lady seated at the dinner table mentioned Mr. Gorbachev’s late wife, Raisa. I told Mr. Gorbachev that ‘Raisa’ appeared to be a Muslim name and asked him if his late wife had been a Muslim. He replied negatively, explaining that she had been associated with the Orthodox Church. However, he mentioned an interesting point about her. Even in the bitter cold of Moscow, she would step out in the mornings for a walk and would return after a long time. There was never any change in this practice of hers.
Liquor glasses were being placed on the table. I requested a hotel worker for some water. It led to us talking about the issue of liquor. Acknowledging the harms of alcohol, Mr. Gorbachev said that when he was the President of the Soviet Union, he had tried to place restrictions on vodka, a Russian alcoholic drink, but the Russian public had become so habituated to alcohol that they could not accept this reform.
Mr. Gorbachev appeared to be a heavily-built person. I said to him that he seemed to be healthy. He said that this was deceptive. It seemed that he knew little English, so the entire conversation took place through a translator. I felt that Mr. Gorbachev would reply at once to any question put to him. Perhaps he did not have the habit of first thinking and only then speaking.
In contrast to this, my experience is that Chinese leaders do not reply to a question at once. They first think and only then reply. Perhaps, this difference between the Russian and Chinese mentalities has some bearing on the fact that in Russia, Communist control collapsed, whereas it is still intact in China.
Mr. Gorbachev was the last President of the Soviet Union. He introduced perestroika—political freedom—in the USSR, because of which it broke up.
In contrast to this, the Chinese authorities, taking well-planned steps, responded to the demands of the times by separating political administration from economic affairs. They granted people economic freedom while still maintaining political autocracy. In this way, they were able to keep Communist political control intact, unlike in the case of the former USSR.
