The tragic event of 9/11 will be remembered in the history of the world not only because of the destruction of the twin towers but also for the extent of the use of a weapon: The Human Bomb. The episode was unprecedented. The incident brought down the grandeur and glory of the political and economic symbols of the 'New World'.
However, both the non-Muslims and Muslims alike must manipulate the present together to build an amicable collective future. Concerns of enlightenment and moderation have been raised.
Moderation is a quality of becoming less violent, extreme, or intense. In the wake of the period of Enlightenment, the world witnessed two World Wars. Europe remained an epicentre of both.
Secondly, the Enlightenment could not teach Europe to end the colonial period on its own. It was the IInd World War that served a lethal blow to end the era. Hence, for the liberation of today's world, the credit goes more to war - an anti-thesis of moderation - than to any sort of enlightenment.
From the Cuban missile crisis to the Star war crisis, the Cold War also could not catch a tinge of moderation.
Focusing on the US and its allies, even the Gulf War of 1991 was a sheer negation of the moderation of the enlightened West, in its transatlantic dimensions.
The same is true of ferocity of the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq as a retaliatory measure of 9/11.
Hence, one can hardly find a true model of moderation in the contemporary history of the world to learn lessons from.
It was a commendable step of the Muslim countries to form a platform in the shape of an Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
However, the dilemma is its ineffectiveness to act practically for a Muslim cause instead of merely passing resolutions.
Hence, one of the reasons for the militancy in Palestine, Kashmir, and Chechnya, especially in the post-1991 era, is the toothless roaring tiger nature of the OIC.
The Muslims, fatalistic in nature are less concerned about poverty. However, owing to their Faith in 'Life after Death', they react more against oppression. That is why, where an assembly of Muslims, like any national assembly or the OIC, is worthless practically, an individual and a low level reaction is started on the ground.
That reaction goes against both one's fellow nationals and the oppressors. The recent example is of Saudi Arabia where the 'nonconformists' have been launching attacks on whatever they deem wrong and unjust.
The famous statue of Liberty symbolises unrestrained and unbridled 'Free Will'. That free will when it enters the political and economic spheres provides for Democracy and Capitalism respectively.
When the same free will enters in societal and moral spheres, it introduces a different kind of New Order.
At the society level, it disrupts the family system and gives birth to broken families. The same leads to negative population growth rate and same sex marriages, as is happening in the US and Europe.
Similarly, when the same free-will pierces the moral sphere, it brings in the concept of free sex and pornography.
Under the umbrella of free will in the political and economic realms, both the social and moral fields have been penetrating the Muslim part of the world especially in this age of the global village.
This diffusion is making the Muslims reactionary and introvert. They have become more concerned about the social and moral fabric of their lives. The Muslim way of life even in the US and Europe as a self-segregated sub-community is another illustration of their reaction.
In order to bridge the widening gulf between the non-Muslims and Muslims, focusing merely on the politico-economic aspect of the story is insufficient. Rather, the situation calls for a parallel emphasis on the socio-moral aspect.
The OIC is in a better position to enter in a dialogue with the US and the West to incline them to restrain free will.