Islam vs. Rest of the World III

Post-Ottoman World order

I see the fall of Ottoman Empire as the biggest milestone in the history of Muslim World. What we see in the present Muslim World, the conflicts of nations and cultures, has come about following what happened after WWI.

Breakup of and complete decimation of Ottoman Empire is an important event. Before that, Muslims enjoyed a long standing empire which was relatively stable compared to the events happening in Western Europe. Breakup of Ottoman Empire threw away that blanket of security and suddenly most Muslims of Middle East and Europe found themselves directly under foreign masters. The reaction of West towards people’s movement for freedom in the Muslim World was very different from what was imposed on some other places- like India and South America, for example. Even Lawrence of Arabia who fought alongside with Arabs (Bedouin) later became disillusioned and disappointed when British did not live up to its promises [Sykes-Picot Agreement]. Discovery of oil and creation of Israel in those regions was another key factor. Unlike some Asian and American nations where the West completely renounced its involvement and control, they did not extend the same practice towards many countries of Middle East because of Israel and oil. They carved up many nations and instead of giving up their control they installed puppets in the form of kings and dictators to contain them, to perpetuate their influence and domination and to extract oil.

Muslim World woke up to stark realities after the fall of Ottoman Empire. Before the fall, Muslims were an equal force in the world events, but after the fall, they did not constitute a single and powerful force- they were many small nation states ruled by ineffective and subservient leaders. Caliph was considered center of Muslim World during and after Middle Ages, just the way Rome was and is for most Catholics. When Caliph fell and the Empire was overrun by the West, most Muslims lost their notion of a secure Muslim World. One can ask why Muslims show such affinity to foreign lands- this is the common accusation thrown at Muslims in India- “are your Muslim first and Indian next?” The way most Western Christians show affinity to Rome and Jerusalem and is reflected in the foreign policies of major nations, including US and Britain, the way most Hindus maintain their ties with India as the seat of their civilization, most Muslims of the world consider the seat of their religion in Middle East/Asia Minor and they did not take the fall of Caliph very nicely. Khilafat Movement was used in Indian Independence movement to overthrow British because Muslims in India looked at the fight against British as the fight to restore Caliph. Such mixing of religious with nationalistic fervor in fight for independence is quite prevalent as seen from 1857 War of Independence in India (which started as religious outburst), using Vande Mataram (first to fight Muslims and then to fight British), and Gandhi resorting to many religious overtones in his struggle for Independence.

Muslim World saw its Ottoman Empire broken up into tiny pieces to be mastered over by the puppets of the West. They saw the new and emerging nation states a mere façade of the West to continue their hegemony. When every democratic movement in these regions was mercilessly suppressed by these puppets with the help from the West, Muslims did not trust any interventions from the West as benevolent. They see the West to be hypocrite. Other countries who are now aligning with the West, like Israel, India and Russia, share the same attitude towards Muslims lands. They suppress every democratic institution in these regions. Israel topples democratically elected governments in Palestine and even bombs their offices to kill their leaders. India does not accept elections which bring to power parties it does not approve of. Russia does not recognize local Chechen rule and rolls its tanks to bust them out. No wonder Muslims see in action a nexus between Rest of the World forces against Islamic nations. With no strong nation or centre to represent their faith unlike most other religions which have a centre nation (India for Hindus, Japan for Japanese, China for Sinic, US and Britain for Western Christianity, Russia for Orthodox Christianity), Muslim nations are in disarray and scrambling to find single voice of guidance. Unfortunately, with many weak Muslim nations warring with each other to promote hegemony of the West, most Muslims seem to find that voice in leaders like Osama Bin Laden, and events like bombing of Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Some of the conflicts which shape the new world order pitting Islam against Rest of the World are discussed below.

Israel-Palestine

One of the root causes for the frustration of Muslim World is Israel-Palestine conflict. Inability of the Rest of the World to implement a peaceful solution to this conflict has resulted in the dawn of Islamic terrorism which was later taken up by many frustrated and disillusioned Muslim populations across the world. How come we don’t see many terrorist and suicide activities from this Muslim World prior to this conflict? Why did we not see terrorism during Ottoman rule which spanned six hundred years?

Each country or people devised its own way of fighting the imperial masters. While Indians took to non-violence (it can be easily argued that it worked only because British believed in law and order and hence respected our movement), most others resorted to violent methods to evict their masters- Indo-China to evict French, South American countries to evict Spanish and Portuguese, Algerians to evict French, etc.

Palestine resorted to violence in various degrees with increasing ferocity as each and every initiative to secure their land failed time and again. Israel has occupied all its lands and rules them with tanks, gun-ships and bulldozers. Muslims in Palestine live in ghettos the way Jews living during World War II before being sent to concentration camps. Here, we see a nation of victims imposing the same punishment they endured onto others legitimizing it all in the name of the suffering they have experienced. Israel has ignored 70 or more UN resolutions and completely broken every international norm in the process. It is supported by the only super power on the planet, United States. Between 1972 and 2001, US vetoed 33 of 35 UN resolutions critical of Israel. While there are many reasons attributed to why US supports Israel and absolves of it all of its war crimes, one of the biggest reasons is religious in nature. Many Jews and Christians in US, including George Bush, believe that Holy Land should be controlled and ruled by Jews when the day of Armageddon comes. Continued support of US to Israel, militarily and economically, does not go well with Palestine and the Muslim World. When the bulldozers, the gun-ships and bombs that raze their buildings are supplied by the West, most Palestine kids who just lost their parents grow up hating the West as much as they hate Israel. Becoming a suicide bomber becomes an easy step. When each and every UN resolution to facilitate a peaceful solution is vetoed and ignored by US and Israel, most of the Muslim World wakes up to the new world order where they witness Clash of Civilizations. And it doesn’t go well with Muslim World when some selected UN resolutions were used as a pretext to wage war against Iraq and now are being used to force Iran into giving up nuclear technology.

Middle East

Muslim’s frustration with the West started with Post-WWI breakup of Ottoman Empire and carving of Middle East where Britain and French sliced up Middle East. They went reneged on their promises made to these people who supported them in the WWI against Ottoman Kingdom. Going against its promises to create a unified state, the West divided up the region into small states to install kings of their choices- who merely turned into puppets later on. This is seen as grand betrayal of the West by most Muslims. [It is also reflected in the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam who legitimized it on the pretext of unresolved conflict of these carving of nations.]

Discovery of oil has perpetuated the hegemony of the West in Middle East. By installing klng after king, dictator after dictator, the West has pursued a policy in which the mandate of the people was ignored meticulously, forcefully and aggressively, to ensure a smooth flow of oil to their countries. This continuous and constant meddling and influencing factors have not gone well with Muslim people whose right to freedom, right to expression and all democratic institutions were curbed by their own leaders to suit the interests of the West. They reckon and realize that they would have found their vaunted freedom and expression, and hence true independence only if the West stopped supporting their leaders. This discontent threw open many religious and militant institutions and people to support various Islamic movements in the world, including the later Afghan war against Soviet Union and Kashmir rebellion against India.

Iran-Iraq

How come the ‘upholder of freedom’ and the ‘champion of democracy’ destroy every democratic and people’s movements in the Muslim World? US with the help of CIA put back Shah on the throne in spite of the Iranian’s people’s decision to dethrone him. Every election conducted in Iran is denounced by US and Israel and its leaders are not accepted- looks like the West is more comfortable dealing with despots and dictators and not legitimate representatives of the people. Why should not Muslims World conclude that the West is hypocrite- it wages wars in the name of democracy and then goes onto upstage the results of the same?

US positioned and supported Saddam Hussein to contain Iran after the debacle it faced during Hostage of US Embassy. After a decade long war between Iran and Iraq with full approval and help from the US, Saddam invaded Kuwait cutting off supply of oil to US which prompted an immediate reaction from US and its allies. The Gulf War resulted in further humiliation and devastation of Muslim World.

Though none of the 9/11 terrorist masterminds were from Iraq, or had any link with Saddam, US used extended its ‘War on Terror’ to already battered and sanction-struck people of Iraq to kill thousands of innocent civilians. Isn’t it sheer hypocrisy to charge Saddam of using chemical weapons especially when those weapons were delivered to him by Donald Rumsfeld during Iran-Iraq war? How can Iraqis NOT become gun-toting terrorists when their homes were bombed, children killed, cities ravaged in the name of ‘crusade’ on the contention that they possessed nuclear bombs which never existed?

Afghanistan

Involvement of US and Russia in the affairs of Afghanistan has brought about a new breed of Islamic radicalism in which many nations, many different sects were unified under one flag of Islamic militancy. In an effort to oust Soviet Union from Afghanistan in order to win the ideological war, US has brought in many radical elements from different geographies, funding the activities and supplying all necessary military equipment, into Afghanistan with a sole purpose to defeat its enemy. The battles that ensued between these radical militants, whose only common bond was Islam, and mighty Red Army were bloody and grueling. In the long-drawn guerilla warfare, Soviet Union buckled and left Afghanistan hanging its face in shame. While this war might have been one of the prime reasons that led to eventual collapse of Soviet Union, which was a victory for US and its allies, the greater victory was for Islamic world. For the first after the fall of Ottoman Empire did an Islamic nation win against another major power! In the process, it brought under one roof nationals from different Muslim countries- from Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, to Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.

After the defeat of Soviet Union, US did not need these elements and hence abandoned all the connections including all the arms and ammunition which were then used by various factions to wage a bloody war. The resulting events, where Taliban, supported by Pakistan, came to power under the guise and name of Islam, where every institution of Afghanistan was razed to ground, where every woman lost her freedom, were capitalized by the same person whom the US funded and created- Osama Bin Laden.

After 9/11, US bombed Afghanistan killing thousands of civilians to take revenge for the acts of the person whom they created in the first place. Afghanistan was raped by all. Muslim World looks at it as another case where a country is used and later thrown as scrap paper by the West. After so many wars, when US came to bomb them they could not realize what crime the people of Afghanistan had committed. They were ravaged by so many for so long that they didn’t know who came next to bomb them again and why.

India-Pakistan

The independence movement of Indian sub-continent threw open two nations, one which decided to form itself on the name of religion (Islam), another on secular principles but dominated by one religion (Hinduism). The partition resulted in an unresolved conflict (in Kashmir). India reneged on its promises to hold plebiscite to this region and held onto Muslim dominated region despite the people’s longing to be independent or be with Pakistan. Even after fifty years of Independence, India holds onto this land against the will of its people, with half-million troops to rule over few millions living there. While India was a champion of freedom movements worldwide and supporter of democratic institutions elsewhere, it has meticulously destroyed every legitimate representation of people in this region. How can Muslims of the world not see this as another case of hypocrite Rest of the World controlling and ruling them against their will? They see it as another hypocrite nation which seems to uphold certain principles elsewhere but chooses not to practice them when it comes to Muslim regions. Kashmir gladly invites people from different Muslim nations to fight their war for freedom against India.

Russia

Complicity of Soviet Union or Russia in the affairs of Muslim World should not be underestimated. Russia was involved in the carving up of Middle East but eventually did not get benefited since the Empire fell to create a new Soviet Union during WWI. After the breakup of Soviet Union, Russia went on an overdrive to establish its nationalistic pride which comes in way in dealing with Chechnya.

Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Arabia, et al

Arabia is ruled by the royal family and is given patronage by US. Most of the royal family members have close ties with many US leaders. One of the mandates of Osama and his fanatic sect is to dethrone this royal family. The King of Jordan and his family who control Jordan and are seen by its population as Westernized lot who seem to hold the reins only through support from the West. Egypt and Syria have got involved in Israeli-Palestine conflict in a see-saw fashion- sometimes supporting and sometimes backing out. However, the local populations show strong emotions towards Palestine cause.

How to ease up the friction between Islamic World and Rest of the World

The Rest of the World has meddled with Muslim nations for nearly hundred years now and the involvement is on the increase and is turning violent – with major wars happening in the last twenty years, and more are on the plate against other Muslim nations. Unless the Rest of the World accepts its complicity and makes amends, Islamic World will only pour out more hatred, out of frustration and disillusionment. There will be an increase in terrorist activities world wide. The assumption that one can curb terrorism by bombing their villages and camps is now clearly proven to be counter-productive. It only results in further inflammation thus resulting in more funds and more recruitment for these terrorists. Increasing terrorism is taken up by some Muslim leaders to hijack and blackmail the West into receiving sops, which will only legitimize and further fuel such terrorist activities. There is a need for a new outlook towards solving the problem of terrorism which has its roots in certain unresolved and unsolved problems in different geographies affecting Muslim World. Instead of taking a far more aggressive stance, which it is taking right now, the major powers and Rest of the World have to step back from its belligerent stance towards Islamic World. Only by giving room and space to the Islamic World to undergo its own change and establish its identity, will there be less friction between the two worlds. As long as Islam World looks at the modern values, such as criticism, debate and notions of equality, tolerance and liberty, as ‘Western’ values, it will not embrace them and instead reject them outright. And imposing these values by force will only result it extreme rejection and transpire out as radicalism, fanaticism and terrorism. There are strong indications to suggest that the present conflicts, confined to local geographies and sporadic terrorist activities, can spill over to far bigger wars unless checked. I feel that following immediate steps have to be taken to reconcile with Islamic World. This is only the first step towards harmonization between different civilizations towards paving way for a better world; and also to avert a disastrous world war in the coming years.

1. Give Palestine its nationhood.

2. Give Kashmir its independence.

3. Give Chechnya its independence.

4. Stop meddling in Middle East and other Muslim nations. Allow their forms of governments. Don't topple their governments.

5. Don't use Muslim nations as your battleground to wage your ideological wars.

6. Let them control their natural resources.