A time for introspection

One cannot deny the existence of contradictions between the Muslims

on the basis of sect but the enemies of Islam tend to exacerbate those
contradictions

Mohammad Jamil
May 07, 2015
1 COMMENT

The Muslim world today

faces crises unparalleled in history since the advent of Islam. In view of the
current worlds political scenario emanating from 9/11, Muslim countries are
looked upon as places that engender terrorism. It is therefore imperative for the
leaderships of Muslim countries to use their collective wisdom to improve their
image and also counter the machinations of their enemies. They should do a bit
of introspection as to where they went wrong and should identify the causes
that have brought the Muslim world to the present pass. It goes without saying
that if rulers in Muslim countries had ensured socio-economic justice,
strengthened the institutions, established democracy and fostered the spirit of
tolerance and accommodation in their societies, they would have been spared
the ordeal and ignominy they face today.
In other words, the Muslim fraternity is its own enemy, as its leaders have not
tried to discover the verities of freedom, equality and solidarity, which is why
some Muslim countries have become breeding grounds for extremists and
criminals. Islam stands for love and affection, peace and amity, moderation and
enlightenment. However, the shenanigans of the fraternitys extremist strands
have given handle to the compulsive detractors of our religion to depict it as a
creed of violence and bloodletting. Those involved in the 9/11 tragedy definitely
brought no victory but only outright hostility and the animas of the world
community to the predominantly moderate Muslim fraternity. The sorriest part is
that the fraternity itself is the most bleeding quarry of the rabid extremism of
fanatical clans, which has been the result of unimaginative leaderships that

neglected research and development despite being endowed with enormous

natural resources.
It is true that the people have been unhappy with dictatorships and that there
were uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya but the US and the west
deemed it appropriate only to give weapons and funds to the rebels in Libya.
See what has become of Libya. It has turned into a lawless land where no
government worth the name is in the ruling clique. The country stands divided
on eastern and western fault lines. As to the unrest in the Middle East and North
Africa, after Libya, Syria was the target. If the adventurists had their way in
Syria, it would have met Libyas fate. However, Russia, chastened by the Libyan
saga, was not prepared to sign on a UN Security Council decree authorising
outside military assault on its ally, Syria, with the result that Bashar al-Assad
has survived and is still the president of Syria.
Muslim countries are paying the price of their follies and, at the same time, they
have been playing into the hands of imperialist powers. In its third, summit held
in 2012 at the holy city of Mecca, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
suspended the Syrian Arab Republics membership without hearing the Syrian
point of view. The two-day summit moot, chaired by then custodian of the two
holy mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, ended with clear polarisation within
the 57-member body of Islamic states. There was a major anomaly in the
Mecca Declaration, as the OIC had faltered in calling for non-intervention by
foreign forces in Syria. They supported the rebels in Syria but now demand the
world community to support the rebels in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and Iran should
wean off internecine conflicts.
They should realise that efforts are being made to divide the Muslim world into
Shia and Sunni areas of influence. One cannot deny the existence of
contradictions between the Muslims on the basis of sect or fiqah but the
enemies of Islam tend to exacerbate those contradictions. One could infer from
the testimony of the then secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, before the
Senates foreign relations committee when she referred to Sunni states as
centres of moderation and Iran, Syria and Hezbollah of Lebanon on the other
side of the divide. The US, in fact, has twin objectives: one, to secure Israel
and, secondly, to control the worlds resources. The US destroyed Irans
enemies i.e. Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Iran
has emerged as the strongest country in the region.

In the backdrop of the forced oustre of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in
Yemen and the seizure of power by armed Houthi (Zaidi) rebels, a joint aerial
operation, codenamed Decisive Storm, is being conducted by Saudi Arabia, the
UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan. The joint action has the endorsement
of the Arab League and support of many Muslim and western countries. Some
opinion makers suggest Pakistan should join the coalition, which could have
serious implications and consequences. The US has had the bitter experience of
invading Iraq and Afghanistan, and has remained in this quagmire for over a
decade. The terrain of Yemen is mountainous and a strategically important
coastline. The area is generally acknowledged as the Afghanistan of the Middle
East.
Pakistan has always played a key role in unifying the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia
is a brotherly country and the people of Pakistan hold it in very high esteem.
Pakistanis are ready to sacrifice their lives and resources for the safety, security
and sovereignty of the Kingdom. At the same time, they do not wish for Saudi
Arabia to get weakened in a protracted war that has serious consequences.
Pakistan has suffered the cost of similar wars in the last three decades. The
Muslim world has also seen the destruction and weakening of Iran and Iraq
through the stratagem of world powers. Pakistans approach in solving this issue
is based on attaining political objectives rather than military means. One does
not expect much from the OIC and, therefore, Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia
should work in unison to bring peace to Muslim countries.