Britannia Radio

Pakistani NGO Maps Religious Extremism in Pakistan, Says Extremism Greater Menace than Terrorism Sudanese Writer Al-Hajj Warraq Warns Egypt About Danger of Rise of Islamists: 'Arab Spring Countries Are Heading Towards a Harsh Winter' Special Dispatch No. 4675 Pakistani NGO Maps Religious Extremism in Pakistan, Says Extremism Greater Menace than Terrorism In February 2012, a leading Pakistani research institute published a report stating that the problem of religious extremism in Pakistan poses a greater threat to the country than does terrorism and examining a series of extremist incidents from September 2010 to September 2011. The 54-page report, titled "Extremism Watch: Mapping Conflict Trends in Pakistan 2010-2011," was published by the Jinnah Institute, a non-governmental organization based in Islamabad. Marking the release of the report, Jinnah Institute Executive Director Ejaz Haider said: "Extremism is a greater menace in terms of a state's ability to deal with it, rather than terrorism, and this fact enhances the importance of studying extremism in Pakistan." Below are excerpts from the chapter in the report titled "Conflict Trends: Presenting the Data," written by Jinna Institute deputy director Salman Zaidi. To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6305.htm. Special Dispatch No. 4674 Sudanese Writer Al-Hajj Warraq Warns Egypt About Danger of Rise of Islamists: 'Arab Spring Countries Are Heading Towards a Harsh Winter' Following are excerpts from an interview with Sudanese writer Al-Hajj Warraq, which aired on CBC 2 TV on April 3, 2012: To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3415.htm. Al-Hajj Warraq: "It is very important for [people in] Egypt to understand that democracy is about more than just the ballot box. Democracy is a culture engraved upon the cerebral box before it is the ballot box. One cannot talk about freedom in the absence of free minds. The tragedy of the Arab Spring is that when the tyrannical regimes fell, the fruits were reaped by movements that preach closed-mindedness, rather than free thinking. The outcome will be regimes that are worse than those that were toppled. The so-called Arab Spring countries are heading towards a harsh winter."   To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6304.htm.