The Muslims are in the claws of western powers not because the West is more powerful and we have less energy but because we lack unity and the guts to say no to power and wealth.
Talking about Muslim Ummah is like walking through a path of risky ventures and unparalleled achievements. Like any civilisation, it had its falls and rises but unlike any nation it has had saviours coming along, at the tip of every century to cleanse it of impurities rubbed into it by non-believers and at times by its own home grown diverters. It’s a tale of many cities and a fate of one people woven in the tapestry of faith gone awry because of disunity. The Holy Quran has explicitly warned Muslims over the brutal outcome of disunity. Before Islam, the overwhelming tendencies of self interest and pomposity resulting in disunity, had framed the Arabs as inhuman. Though rich and respected, the Quresh lacked the civility to manage worldly affairs without messing with human dignity. Their rituals, customs and habits had divided the society into different classes. They had self-made rules that could be tampered by anyone at anytime if some personal interests were to be fulfilled. Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) united them and brought out of these unlettered people a nation that would rule the world selflessly with a singular aim to emancipate the world from ignorance, rejection and serfdom in the name of Allah.
After the demise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), under the rules of the first three rightly-guided caliphs, Abu Bakar Abdullah Ibn Abi Qahafa (573-634), Umar Ibn Khattab (590-644), and Uthman Ibn Affan (579-656) Islam spread to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt and upon a considerable portion of North Africa, within only 25 years. During the reign of the forth rightly-guided caliph, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (598-661), this expansion ceased for a while but with Ummayad on throne the efforts to enhance Muslim fraternity leapt to new heights, with the result that from Turkistan through Afghanistan up to Sindh, the entire area of North Africa and a vast area of Western Europe, including Spain came in the folds of Islam. This was the time when Arab armies, had thrown open to themselves the gates of Europe to enter the heart of France. These were the fruits of unity.
These conquests were not earned mindlessly with an aim to bring the sprawls of lands only under the banner of Islam…the earth belongs to Allah in anyway…..these were the conquests of most disciplined order. Islam enlightened the world with research and development. The likes of Jabir-ibn-Haiyan (Chemistry), Mohammad bin Musa al Khwarizmi (mathematics and geography), Ali Ibn Rabban Al Tabari (physics), Ali Abdullah Al Battani (astronomy), Abi Al Nasar Al Farabi (philosophy and science) Abu Raihan Al Biruni (scholar and scientist), Omer al Khayyam (mathematics), Ibn Kaldoon (history and politics), Abu Hamid Al Ghazali (philosophy) Ibn-e-Sina (medicine), are a few names that were to become a source of light for the Europe to undo the darkness that had engulfed it since eternity. Such was the glory of Islam, until the love of wealth and grandeur stealth into the hearts of the Muslims. As the spirit of Islam began to dissipate the carter of decadence widened and by the 11th century Muslim rule under the banner of Ummayad and Abbassids had ushered into its last lag of survival. The Kurds and the Seljuk Turks held the dying empire for a few more years, however, by the end of the 11th century it eventually died under its own weight. The seed of disunity had found its way eventually in the Muslim rulers!!!
In 1099 the Crusaders from the West made a horrible history of Jerusalem. Al Aqsa Mosque was desecrated. The streets of Jerusalem bathed in the pool of blood were littered with dead bodies. The state of Jerusalem, an important identification of Muslim rule, remained in the clutches of Crusaders for 88 years until in 1187 a non-Arab Salahuddin Ayyubi liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
The new world order made Islam its new target. Market economy needed customers, rich customers. Macworld came handy to trap and tap Islam. Western culture in the guise of pop music, burgers, pizzas, coke and Levis jeans crept into the Muslim world.
The year 1258 once again emaciated Islamic Empire beyond recognition. The Tartars after taking Afghanistan and Iran from racks to ruins brought Baghdad down to rubbles. So heinous was the invasion that the entire Baghdad had been soaked in blood. During the 12th and 13th century Islam was battered relentlessly only to resurface with new vigour under the mighty power of new believers. What an irony that from the ashes of the same Tartars who had once ransacked Baghdad, rose people who restored the megacity of Islam in the world again. Similarly two other barbaric nations, after embracing Islam, established their empire ‘one in India under the reign of Taimuri Turks and the other in Asia Minor under the hold of Uthmani Turks. The latter took upon themselves the responsibility of leading the Muslim world with the result of reviving Caliphate. By that time the Islamic Empire had spread across Asia Minor, North-West, and Eastern Europe and to the borders of Vienna, of course not to forget North Africa.The revival and consolidation of Caliphate happened in an era of new diversions. The world had solved many ambiguities by then; Europe had shed many of its layers of ignorance, and had gained the muscles to bridle the world under the ownership of colonialism. It was that very period when Islamic Empire once again fell into rivalry and disunity and as a result it had to relinquish its ruling status this time for a rather longer period, that too in spite of being not only the most populated nation but being rich as well in resources and talents.The Ottoman Empire somehow managed to buy some time but the Muslim Kingdom of Spain in the West fell into the hands of western powers rather quickly. In 1498 Vasco De Gama discovered a new sea route to India. This discovery brought an end to the domination of the Muslims rule in the eastern sector with the result that India, Malaysia and Indonesia were soon in the grip of Europe. Colonialism came full circle in the 18th century. By this time the Ottoman Empire had become ‘the Sick man of Europe’. After World War-I the sovereignty of Ottoman Empire was reduced to Asia Minor only. And eventually in 1923 the Ottoman Empire or maybe the Islamic rule disappeared. In the first quarter of the preceding cen tury almost all Muslim territories had come under the control of western power. In 1967, the barbaric act of desecration of Al Aqsa Mosque was repeated with the consequence of Jews getting the hold of the Mosque to date.
It is pertinent to note that the currency West used to dismember Muslims was the lust for power that should not belong to others if one has control of it. They pitted the Arabs against the Turks. With the passage of time they bought the loyalties of Arabs under the guise of science and technology. After having placed some greedy and power hungry rulers in relatively poor, myopic and rich countries alike, they brainwashed them to prolong their dictatorial rule by force convincing them to amass heavy artillery bought from the defence industry of America and its western allies. In Turkey, the seat of Ottoman Empire, on the other hand drove Islam out with the locomotive called secularism.
Today Israel personifying West has entrenched itself fully in the Middle East. Though the era of colonisation in it real sense has ceased to exist but its shadow has always been around us, stashed carefully under the doctrine of humanitarian crises. The plea to control the world has been taking different forms and shapes such as freeing the nations from the clutches of communism, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction or from a dictator as is the case with Libya today.The Cold War was a pitch that allowed US and former USSR to amass nuclear power ad nausea. Interestingly during the same period oil began coming out of Arabian soil. The Arabs had become rich; they had a pie that they could eat too. It was a paradigm shift for the world powers. The world was opening up, market economies were defining new rules, Cold War was becoming a burden, and communism was losing its charm. With Afghan war proving the last straw on the back of USSR the facade of communism tumbled down with the result that USSR broke into 15 states. In the same vein a vast area of Eastern Europe threw the shackles of despotism wounded around them in the name of communism. It was a time for a new world order.The new world order made Islam its new target. Market economy needed customers, rich customers. Macworld came handy to trap and tap Islam. Western culture in the guise of pop music, burgers, pizzas, coke and Levis jeans crept into the Muslim world. The Muslims of oil rich regions were sold to Macworld. America and Europe had installed their puppet regimes in major Arab countries with Israel sitting at the heart of it. Macworld came full circle in the aftermath of 9/11. Islam has become number one enemy of the West. The enmity brought more hard cash to America’ the oils of Iraq and the riches of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and their likes in the form of payment against military equipment filled America’s coffer. The shambles of Iraq, the ruins of Afghanistan, the debris of Palestine, and now the attack on Islamic identities that too through legislation are part of their expansionist policies taking into their snarl not only lands but hearts and minds too.
The questions that come to mind time and again are that who is to blame for all these miseries inflicted on the Muslims; how the West would manage to pit the Muslims against one another; who is at fault? No matter how much we blame West or Israel for the rot set into the Muslim world we cannot escape the reality that it is primarily the disunity among the Muslims driven by greed, ‘greed of power and wealth’ that has paved the way for the enemies to design on us their plans.
The insurgency in Middle East is the most glaring example of our disunity. The call to NATO was made unanimously by the West and East alike and what to talk about the likes of Salah, and Qaddafi having an insatiable desire to cling to power. The war on Libya is distinguished from all other wars entered by America in Middle East so far, as the one trumpeted at the behest of NATO to rescue the civilians. However, the story is out and around that France and America have made Libya a stage to demonstrate their warfare equipment to cut better sales than other client states.Typhoon and Rafale are two important fighter jets being used in Libya. The former programmed for air-to-air attack while the latter equipped with air-to-ground attacking capacity. Typhoon is an American version and Rafale bears French emblem. Both come from countries hungry of defence orders from states expanding their military basis. Just as France was eager to embrace Libya for military ties in 2004, when Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction, it came running faster in 2011 to open the war page, with Rafale spewing fire on Libya first. The French officials though deny any showmanship in the deployment of Rafales in the opening hour of conflict maintaining that Rafales were the best choice to attack the tanks closing in on the rebels in the eastern Libya.The Middle East turmoil has provided an opportunity to the Americans to keep Congress from slashing the defence spending by 15 per cent. According to Joel Johnson, analyst with Virginia-based Teal Group, the US military use in the warring Middle East and as a humanitarian hand in Japan, would keep Congress from bringing down US defence spending. For the defence industry’s executives and military officials the double digit sale witnessed after 9/11 is now an unattainable target. As Johnson put it “we are probably facing a flat period of using spending, but flat at pretty high level.†The instability in Middle East has hiked the hopes of military industry in the West to a better future economically.
It is learnt that Saudi Arabia is all set to sign the biggest arm deals in history valued at over $60 billion, including 84 F-15 fighter jets and 70 Apache helicopters built by Boeing. It is reported that six Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, Behrain, Kuwait, and Jordan are expected to spend $70 billion on defence this year. Nearly all the ammunition used in the Arab conflicts so far, devouring million of Muslims, has been made in the military industrial complexes of Western world. With all this data in hand how do we suppose to interpret the relationship of US with the Muslim world? One is prone to ask at this stage where this ammunition would be used?
It is no more a war on terrorism; it is now a war on Islam, a war on the values of Muslims and a war on the spirit of Islam.
It is a shame to admit that although Muslim countries are rich in resources, have fiery youth, a dynamic history and the guts to go on jihad, a major part of the Muslim world has mortgaged itself to western values. Its pity to note that veil which has been lately banned in France is banned in Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt as well. Jordanian government discouraged veil by playing up reports of robbers who wear veil as mask. Syria termed it as a potentially destabilising threat. Turkey took it as an attack on its secular laws, and Egypt thought it ‘too Islamic.’ With such debilitating morals, can Muslims stand up, relent or even register their protest over this inhuman treatment to their women in the world? In such a situation if some true Taliban and real al-Qaeda rise up to guard their religious and economic interests why should that pinch the Muslim rulers or even America? It is no more a war on terrorism; it is now a war on Islam, a war on the values of Muslims and a war on the spirit of Islam. Afia Saddiqui serving 84 years life imprisonment in America, Marwa al-Sharbin stabbed to death in Germany’s court by a German who had sued for insulting her hijab and the strong-willed Fist Lady of Turkey Mrs Hyrunisa Gul who refused to remove her scarf even after stepping into the Presidential House are a few, in the estimation of Sarkozy and his likes, ‘undignified’ women to merit high in the Islamic history of the 20th century. It is perhaps because of these valiant people that Islam has so far survived the brunt of western hostility.
The Muslims are in the claws of western powers not because the West is more powerful and we have less energy but because we lack unity and the guts to say no to power and wealth. It is interesting to note that the decadence and revival of Islam is happening simultaneously. It is only a matter of time that some saviour of Islam would retrieve the lost glory of Muslims by following the teachings of the Holy Quran in its true perspective.
By: Durdana Najam
Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
