Muslim countries in grip of chaos
Posted by Faheem Belharvi
In the aftermath of 9/11 events, when the symbols of economic and military power were attacked, the US and the West consider Muslims as terrorists.
Today, one can visualize the action replay of post-Second World War with regard to the division of the countries, this time round especially Muslim countries. In the recent past, UNSC resolution was passed within days and implemented when East Taimur was carved out of Indonesia. Recently, in the name of democracy many Muslim countries have been destabilized. In Iraq, Saddam Hussain who was strengthened by the US and the Arab countries became albatross around their neck.
However, the contradictions between the sects was used by the enemies of Islam, and there was death and destruction after its invasion by the Coalition of the Willing, which was unparalleled in the history of Iraq. Apparently, Iraq seems to have gained some semblance of stability but the mayhem continues in the form of suicide bombings and sectarian conflict. Iran is being pushed against the wall for its efforts to develop nuclear technology, but it is accused of harboring ambition to develop nuclear devices.
America and European countries have been eulogizing the Arab Spring. Though there were uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya, but they deemed it appropriate only to give weapons and funds to the rebels in Libya. As to the unrest in Middle East and North Africa, After Libya, now Syria is the target, but Muslim countries do not realize that they will be taken on one by one. In latest issue of the Time, the author Bobby Ghosh stated that a chain of violence from Cairo to Benghazi raises the question whether the Arab Spring makes the Middle East more dangerous? In his article on violence in the wake of provocative film he wrote: “Before Arab Spring, this chain of events would likely have been stopped early. Dictators like Egypt’s Hosnie Mubarak and Libya’s Qaddafi would have either blocked Internet access to prevent their people from seeing inflammatory material (among other things) or used their security agencies to crack down on protests long before they could reach critical mass”. International media has been trying to identify the reasons for the violence; but there is in fact the need to stop hate campaign against Muslims and Islam. Perhaps, this is part of the sinister design to provoke Muslims and then to advance their pernicious agenda.
According to Foreign Policy magazine’s report, Washington said that it was deploying forces to cope with violence in as many as 18 different locations as deadly anger spreads over US-made blasphemous movie. There is no denying that the basic reason for the plight of Muslims throughout the world is because of leadership crisis. Hosni Mubarak might have done some good for his country; Moammar Qaddafi might have done a great deal in the social sector thanks to its income from oil, but there was no reason for them to remain in power for decades. Today once again, Libya is in the grip of chaos. The killing of United States envoy and three other embassy staff in Benghazi over a documentary made by a California-based Israeli filmmaker that allegedly indulges in blasphemy is unfortunate. But the uprising in Libya and in Cairo, where the US mission was attacked and flag set on fire, just goes on to establish that religion and region are quite sensitive issues. This film, which carries references to the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), has portrayed Washington in a bad light in a country that it had helped liberate from the clutches of dictatorship.
That said, the film producer and his associates should be taken to task, and they should not be allowed to hurt the feelings of the Muslims that make 20 percent of the world population on the premise of freedom of thought and expression.
The vandalism that the world had witnessed under the guise of free Press from biased cartoonists in Denmark and Sweden is enough to act as an eye-opener. The Middle East, in the aftermath of Arab Spring,is too ticklish to stand such upheavals. Respective governments and community leaders have to rise to the occasion to subside undercurrents of hatred and bias. Unfortunately, Muslim countries are also playing in the hands of the imperialist powers. Suspending the membership of Syrian Arab Republic and taking the issue of the genocide of Muslim Rohingyas to the United Nations were the two major decisions that the third extraordinary summit conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation took at the holy city of Makkah. The two-day summit moot, chaired by custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, ended with a clear polarization within the only 57-member body of Islamic states.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League last year over its clampdown on the uprising that President Bashar Assad characterized as a plot by Western and rival powers to overthrow his regime. The UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon also appointed former secretary-general Kofi Annan as his special envoy to find a Syrian solution but the attempt failed despite Annan’s visits to Damascus to hold talks with Syrian leadership. Thus, all the earlier bids to resolve the crisis failed after talks with President Assad. But the OIC suspended Damascus without hearing Syrian point of view.
This is, therefore, a major anomaly in the Makkah Declaration. Since the OIC also faltered in calling for non-intervention by foreign forces in Syria, this has added to the impact of the jarring decision.
As regards Kashmir dispute, the OIC had been issuing statements to resolve the issue on the basis of UN resolutions, but for quite some time it is also parroting the American and Indian stance that it should be resolved through bilateral negotiations knowing full well that for the last 63 years, India has balked on serious dialogue on the core issue of Kashmir.
(Mohammad Jamil)
