Imran Khan knows how to make a statement. He did so when he made his international cricket debut in 1971 and when he captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup. He did it throughout the 1980s as a London social figure and tabloid heartthrob. And he really did so in 1995 when he married Jemima Goldsmith, an attractive English heiress who later went on to become an editor at the New Statesman magazine. The couple divorced in 2004, yet Khan continued to make headlines. First when he formed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Movement for Justice) political party in 1996 and then when he won a seat in the 2002 Pakistani parliament. He did so when he resigned in protest in 2007 and was subsequently placed under house arrest. And again when he escaped and for 10 hectic days lived as a fugitive, before being caught once again by police.
Khan is a liberal politician. He stands for laissez-faire economics, less bureaucracy, anti-corruption laws, and an independent judiciary. But aside from that, with his juicy past, dashing good looks, and cosmopolitan air, he is said to be a “third force for change” (The Daily Mail) – a fresh alternative to the usual suspects.
eniGma’s Editor-in-Chief, Yasmine Shihata, sat down with Khan at the World Economic Forum in Davos to see how Egyptians could learn from his experience in Pakistan, especially concerning the divide between Islamists and liberals. Having lived most of his life between London and Lahore, Khan has developed an expertise in building bridges and promoting understanding between different worlds. Below are excerpts of the interview.
How was your experience campaigning in Pakistan? And what are your views on Egypt’s transition to democracy?
I’ve been in politics for 15 years. I always felt I could only change the status quo if I led a (political) movement rather than through normal politics; this is the only way to gain mass public support. In Pakistan, the movement started about two and a half years ago and it is taking off now. The difference between us and Egypt is that our movement in Pakistan was led by a single political party. While in Egypt the revolution was a mass movement without a specific leader. Our movement has a leader, that’s why it has a much greater chance of being a soft revolution.
The liberal parties in Egypt had a very hard time competing with established Islamic groups. Given that you’re a liberal candidate in a Muslim country, how have you been able to be successful in Pakistan?
Unfortunately it’s difficult to be seen as both a liberal and a Muslim in our countries these days. My advice to the liberal or westernised Muslims is that in a Muslim country people live their religion. If you try to introduce secular westernised ideas, the majority of the people will feel that these ideas go against the culture and religious values and they will reject them. In any case, our Pakistani constitution says no law can be passed against the Quran and the Sunna, so we can’t be totally secular.
In your experience representing a liberal party, how have you been able to win support from conservatives and liberals alike?
This narrative that there is inevitably some kind of clash between being an Islamist and a liberal is misplaced. The people who stood up in the Arab spring all wanted democracy. They wanted their rights, they wanted accountable governments, and they were against their broken corrupt governments. So I represent people who want a genuine democracy. This is the real fight, the real clash; it’s not the liberal against the religious – it is actually genuine democracy against a controlled system headed by unrepresentative leadership which does not allow people their rights. In Pakistan we are succeeding. We have given them a vision of Islam as a just and humane society. My model is very similar to the Turkish model, Erdogan is a Muslim and a democrat and look at what he has done for his people. He brought prosperity. This is the model for us. Islam is the one religion in which all minorities flourish. The Muslim world is open for Jews and for Christians. Our history has always been one of tolerance. But there are extremists in every society. There are extremists in Europe and there are racists there as well. Look at the things that have happened against the Muslim minorities in the West. But we should deal with extremists intellectually and engage them in the political system.
A lot of dictatorships in the Arab world have done a lot of fear mongering against Islamic parties internally and abroad. How can we overcome this obstacle so that we won’t be isolated from the West?
Forget about isolation, first get the house in order. And to do this you have to promote the idea of a genuine democracy. If it has worked for the Western countries, why should it not work for us? Why does it have to be a controlled democracy in our countries? The Muslim world must develop genuine democracy and allow elections to happen and respect the results. Why is it in our countries if anyone talks about religion they are immediately looked upon with suspicion?
On the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, what are your thoughts on the political situation and Egypt’s new president?
Since your revolution was not led by a political party but by young people all over Egypt, it is going to take a bit of time for the country to settle down and to find some sort of equilibrium. Everyone has a claim to this revolution, but a political party cannot function unless it has a specific agenda. It can be all encompassing but there will be areas where a political party will want to implement its manifesto in its own way. I call it the growing pangs of democracy. I don’t think it’s a terrible crisis, Egypt will find its equilibrium.
A lot of people were very dissatisfied with the new constitution and felt the process was rushed. Do you think that will affect us negatively in the future?
Because of the protests that followed after the constitution’s
referendum, the president did make amends, and as I said, there will be a to and fro but eventually Egypt will settle down. I am quite optimistic.