Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 38
38 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi Secondly, they targeted the Muslims themselves by using the Muslims’ own scholars who showed liberalism in their thinking and exploiting them to ‘soften’ the conservatism within their own ranks. As this failed also, a new and more devious plan had to be conjured up; more subtle and more beguiling than all the others put together. And they took their time in making this plan so that it could be damaging to the extreme. There was a need for a fresh reconstruction of Muslim liberal thought, and this new liberal interpretation of Islam had to provide a cogent alternative to the conservative programme of the Mullah and the extremists. So who could be the new liberal scholar who would revolution- ise Muslim thought to the advantage of the West and Christianity, which was, and still is, in evident decline? Dr. Ali has expressed this need of a new liberal and has outlined his role : ‘The new liberal must address himself primarily to the world of Islam and will have to take account of the forces of anti -imperialism which form part of the world today. ’ (p. 139). T H E N E W LI BE R A L ‘SC HOL A R’ All the previous works of the orientalists had been for the benefit of religious scholars and the style of writing was complicated and too ‘historically’ minded. Many of the criticisms and insults levelled at the Holy Prophet(sa) were carefully disguised so that there would be no major outcry, but at the same time they presented a distorted and ambiguous image of Islam. The best way to portray Islam and its noble personages in a negative and flagitous way was to employ the literary craft of a ‘fiction’ writer who could by his sensational style use it to the maximum effect. Even if things did go wrong there would always be the ‘cushion’ of the work being one of fiction ! So the search was on for a suitable candidate who would fit in with the nefarious plans of the West. The final piece in the jigsaw puzzle had to emerge. Ideally, this new liberal should be from an