DAR AL ISLAM - PAKISTAN: HOW MUCH TIME DOES MUSHARRAF HAVE IN POWER?!?

Are Musharraf's Days in Power Numbered?
By Rüdiger Falksohn, Padma Rao and Tobias Schreiter

A violent crackdown ended the Red Mosque siege in Islamabad and allowed Musharraf to reestablish his authority over Pakistan -- for the time being. With al-Qaida vowing reprisal attacks, the conflict with Islamic fundamentalists threatens to throw the country into turmoil.

In his youth, Abdul Rashid Ghazi had a reputation as a headstrong young man. As a member of the warlike Mazari tribe from northwestern Pakistan, his stubbornness appeared to indicate a certain fighting spirit. If nothing else, it definitely reflected a strong rebellious streak. He defied his father Abdullah's wish that he receive a formal Islamic education, dropped out of Koran school and refused to grow an appropriately pious full beard when he reached adulthood. Instead, he insisted on shaving.

Later, Ghazi returned to the fold after all. He studied international relations in Islamabad and went to work for the Ministry of Education. After his father, the founder of the Red Mosque, was murdered by rival Islamists in 1998, the prodigal son even embraced religion, becoming a leader known as a maulana.

Together with his brother Abdul Aziz, he took over the leadership of the Red Mosque, using it as a platform for preaching pro-Taliban views and voicing strong condemnation of the US invasion of Afghanistan. The Red Mosque became a center for radical fundamentalist teachings and the authority of the Pakistani government was challenged when students and leaders of the mosque set up a Taliban-style judicial system.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Are Musharraf's Days in Power Numbered?