It’s hard to avoid the suspicion that Pakistan strongman Pervez Musharraf is playing a double game. But even if that’s true, his latest statements show a tremendous amount of guts—especially for a man who has already been the target of several near-miss assassination attempts: Reject Islamic Extremism, Musharraf Tells Pakistan.

“What is the biggest source of extremism? Unfortunately mosques are misused, loud speakers are misused, not all … and a few madrassahs are misused to spread hatred, create divisions,” Musharraf, dressed in his general’s uniform, told a youth conference in Islamabad.

“We cannot allow that.”

He said Pakistan was a victim of misperceptions in the outside world, where it was blamed for violence in Afghanistan, insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, nuclear proliferation, and for being a haven for “extremists” causing terrorism abroad.

“These misperceptions, what damage can they do to us?” he asked a few hundred students from across the country. “I will not go into details but let me tell you that they can lead to such serious consequences that Pakistan will be incapable of bearing it.” …

“We are in the eye of a storm,” Musharraf said. “If we get out of the storm we rise, the road ahead is great, if we don’t, we jump in the storm.” …

“Instead of behaving like an ostrich, hiding the face in the sand in front of dangers, we must confront these dangers realistically and squarely,” he said. “You must condemn and counter any religious personality who is dividing you and fueling hatred and sectarianism and promoting militancy in any form.”

Musharraf said militants involved in attacks in mosques, bombings and firefights were the real enemies of Islam and quoted the 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire: “Beware of a man who says believe in God as I do, otherwise God will punish you. Because he would say tomorrow, believe in God as I do, otherwise I will kill you.”