THE brief student revolt in Iran (and its swift and brutal suppression) brought to the surface the fault-line that exists to varying degrees in virtually all Muslim nations.

The latent tension between moderate, modernizing elements and retrogressive forces continues to cause minor and major eruptions around the Islamic world, and the rest of the international community has not remained immune from their fallout. The former view Islam as a peaceful faith which encourages education and democracy; for this group, there is no contradiction between material well-being and progress on the one hand, and spiritual attainment on the other.

The extremist elements see the world as a hostile place with the enemies of Islam arrayed implacably against the believers. They view modern education with great suspicion as much of it has originated in the West. For them, democracy is a tool that they seek to use to attain power.

These two categories of Muslims are locked in battle from Turkey to Indonesia even though the battle lines are often blurred. This struggle was waged in the western, Christian world several centuries ago, and largely won by the forces of modernization, but not without much bloodshed and suffering. It took centuries for this ideological clash to be resolved. In Israel, this struggle between modern, secular Israelis and orthodox, fundamentalist Jews continues.

India, too, is undergoing a struggle between ultra-nationalistic, extreme right elements like Shiv Sena and Indians educated in the western tradition who would like their country to remain secular. Indeed, they view this as indispensable if the multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation is to stay together.

At least some of this tension is a function of poverty. As the elites have sought a modern education for their children and acquired a lock on power, the have-nots have flocked to the fundamentalist banner. They feel marginalized in an increasingly technological world, and hence the entire process of modernization. Unable to fit in, they want to bring the whole edifice down in the name of creating an "Islamic society." Nobody is sure of how such a society would function in today's complex world, but this is the Holy Grail sought by green-turbaned zealots across the globe.

Even immigrants sitting comfortably in the United States have their own websites on the Internet from where they exhort those of us living in Islamic countries to pull down corrupt governments and replace them with perfect Muslim rulers. Where these paragons of virtue are to come from is not clear.

Another reason for this global convulsion is the failure of the post-colonial elites in most developing (and Muslim) countries to provide good governance. Their dismal performance has fed fuel to reactionary Islamic parties who then tout their model as the panacea for all social and economic ills. In countries like Turkey and Algeria where they have received electoral majorities (or were poised to), they have been blocked by secular armies that view themselves as the guardians of secular democracy. This, in turn, has resulted in fresh tension; indeed, Algeria has witnessed a decade of unrelenting bloodshed in a ferocious civil war.

Iran is an interesting case study for it is the only major nation where an Islamic revolution has been successful. The recent disturbances are the harbingers of more opposition to the Islamic government for a whole generation has grown up under it, and many of them are unhappy with the wide gulf between the rhetoric put out by the ruling clergy and the grim realities they see around them. The liberal President Khatami's election was the first manifestation of this growing unrest among the post-revolution generation; it remains to be seen what form and direction this dissatisfaction will take. But it is too facile for the clergy to blame outsiders for this state of affairs.

In Pakistan, despite their repeated electoral defeats, the religious right appears to have won the war. More and more, its leaders are writing our internal and external agenda. The face of the country has been transformed over the last two decades as a succession of military and civilian governments have caved in to extremist demands. Women and minorities have felt the full fury of this growing zeal. Now, Muslim sects are feeling the heat.

An interesting phenomenon is the growing fanaticism amongst the younger generation of Muslim immigrants in the West. In a search for identity in an alien culture, tens of thousands of young Muslim men and women have acquired a militant outlook. Clearly, a modern education does not automatically produce a rational individual.

In the long run, there is no doubt that reason will triumph as the only other option is chaos and anarchy. But as the eminent economist Keynes reminded us, in the long run we are all dead. What about the immediate future? One answer is to let Islamic parties assume office when they win an election. They will be exposed as groups who have no solutions to the problems of the modern world. By not allowing them to govern even when they have a majority behind them - as they were excluded in Turkey and Algeria - they are permitted to simultaneously play the roles of martyrs and saviours.

Another, more difficult, solution is drastic improvement in the quality of governance prevailing in much of the Muslim world. The explosive population growth in many of these nations, combined with massive corruption and a progressive breakdown in law and order, have led to a situation where armed militias are virtually running a parallel government. Weak, inefficient politicians have buckled under instead of resisting their extreme demands.

In Pakistan, we face the possibility of having the Islamic Ideology Council strike down the entire interest-based banking system. Already, the term "interest" has been replaced with the euphemism "mark-up". Prohibition and a ban on gambling have deprived the exchequer of billions of rupees every year.

If the oil-rich Arab states are thus far exempt from these tensions, it is largely because with their low populations and gushing oil wells, they have been able to pamper their citizens over the last few decades. However, for them the crunch will come when oil prices continue falling and their generous support net collapses. I just hope I'm around to watch when that day arrives.