Islam and the West | NeoColonialism and branding with Terrorism

1.

Credit to 8 years of George W. Bush's presidency the world has seen an invention which is totally unprecedented. In order to forward the agenda of neo-colonialism (think of Iraq and Afghanistan, few millions of innocent civilians dead among which are children and woman who had nothing to do with this, think of oil and who funnels the oil without any accountability and you will know what neo-colonialism mean), in this era of information where images from Abu Ghraib abuse, Guantamano Bay stirs heavy criticism from human rights group and people of conscience, the power elites adopt the tactics of replacing information with mis-information.

Thats why those who want genuine freedom (who are fed up with west supported decade long dictators, example Saudi Arabia and Egypt) and want their land to be free of occupation, who fight to defend their homeland, who fight because their infants and wife is killed in their sleep by unmanned drone made in USA dropping bombs on them- all of them are labeled as terrorism. Think of the abusive power behind these each single 9 letter words, "Terrorism" or "Terrorist". You tag this word to anyone and the person instantly become faceless, unworthy of any human dignity, any human rights. Then you can kidnap them, water board them, abuse them as much as you want, you can torture them and keep them in unknown detection center for unspecified period even when there is no proof of their association. No regard for Geneva convention. All you need is to label them as terrorist and you are beyond justice, human rights, any accountability to anyone. What is more sacrilegious than to violate the sanctity of human dignity and human life!

Thanks (but no thanks) to George W. Bush's 8 years, the word most associated with Islam is Terrorism. Never this happened in the history of humanity that you label a whole religion or its billions of other peaceful followers by a tag that applies only to few thugs and criminals. Its like labeling every Canadians as killers because of say ten Canadians are convicted of killing. Nobody dare to say them that unjust war conducted by the most wealthy nations against the most poor nations IS the most naked Terrorist act. Killing of millions of innocent Iraqis is USA sponsored terrorism, just as killings of millions of innocent civilians in Vietnam war their past terrorist act in mass scale.

And whats even more interesting is that these thugs and criminals whom media portray as terrorist these days, were once trained by none other than USA, their CIA to fight enemies of USA (for example, Saddam was USA's own man when he was used to fight Iran, Talibans was USA's directly support group to fight off Soviet Union in Afghanistan). Now all these thugs and criminals which were once created, trained, funded by USA are turned into excuses to indiscriminately kill millions of civilians and to eye wash the rest of the world only to colonize these places for the sake of oil beneath their lands. And how do you do that, lets call them, all of them bunch of "terrorists", and lets call this war of colonization of vast regions from North West Pakistan to Afghanistan to all the way to Iraq and even Iran (again lame excuse of nuclear) as "War Against Terrorism". No, go further that that, lets call these bandit missions of stealing others land and resources by killing its own people: "Spreading Democracy". Voila! You got a plan! really!!

2.
Recently former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim delivered a very timely speech in Paris at the L’Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI) Conference-Debate on "Islam and the West after George Bush". IFRI is one of the most prestigious think tanks in France and among the top International Relations research institutes in the world.

In this Opening Speech, Anwar Ibrahim spoke eloquently to give light on this issue. I quote highlights from his speech via Ck Counterpunch blog:

The discourse between Islam and the West as we know very well has been loaded with enormous historical baggage. It remains so today. What it tells us is that in as much as the interpretations of history differ and diverge so do the perceptions about Islam and the West. Today, regardless of George Bush, there continues to be a clash of interpretations on the subject.

Ironically, the clash is not about God. It is not a clash between the Church and the state as typified by that part of Western history as we know it. Bashing the Church is no longer considered a healthy intellectual sport and the concept of secularism itself is considered passé in many conversations.

In fact, if we look further, we ought to see centripetal forces at work. John Locke’s doctrine of the inviolability of human life and property finds resonance in the Prophetic tradition so well known to Islamic scholars: “O mankind, your blood, your property and your honour are as sacred as this Holy Land.”

Lockean principles as transmitted down the French and American constitutional grundnorms bear striking resemblance to the maqasid al-sharia, the higher objectives of Islamic Law, as expounded in the 8th century, which sanctify the preservation of religion, life, intellect, family, and wealth.

Yet in current discourses, we are seeing still centrifugal forces being brought to bear and giving rise to the now infamous notion of a clash of civilizations.

.. It is worth mentioning even the observations of the Azharite scholar Rifa’a al-Tahtawi, who visited this city in the early 19th century and took note of the revolutionary motto, liberté, egalité, fraternité. Initially perplexed by the direct translation of the word freedom, which in the Arabic context generally referred to the condition of a freed slave, he later realised that the more accurate rendition of the motto’s underlying gist in his mother tongue was concept of ‘adl – justice, which is nothing short of one of the Divine Attributes in Islam and a prevailing concern of Muslim scholars and theologians since time immemorial.

Globalization, in principle, at least requires that we overcome that which divides us. In the coming decades humanity must find ways to overcome the immense challenges of climate change, poverty and the drying up of energy resources. Sustainable development of the vast majority of the world’s population remains a significant challenge, particularly in times of recession. These are problems of monumental proportion and are best solved as a community of nations working together.

This effort would require people guided not just by self-interest or the interest of the nation but rather individuals of impeccable credentials inspired by basic ethical and moral concerns of justice, human dignity and mutual understanding.

.. And this is not academic hair-splitting. We know that issues of abuse of executive power and violation of fundamental liberties, as well as governance and accountability still loom large, continuing to cast doubts upon the legitimacy of ruling elites. Gender rights, labour laws, treatment of detainees and the repression of political parties are facts of life in most Muslim countries.

Reform is no longer an option. There must be firm resolve borne out of the efforts of leaders and with the support of institutions of civil society to bring about the right changes.

Even if we are agreed that Muslims must be committed to change, the question that remains is how we can proceed. Real engagement must be inclusive. We should not start by building a wall around ourselves, setting preconditions, and prejudging groups and parties. These impediments only serve to strengthen old prejudices and further sow suspicion and doubt. If the notion of the universalism of Islam is to mean anything, it would require that its values of justice, compassion and tolerance be practiced everywhere. Can we remain blind to the injustice perpetrated in non-Muslim countries? Should we not also relate to the suffering of other minorities in Muslim countries? And our condemnation against the violation of human rights must transcend race, colour or creed. But we should do well to remember that no nation, no region, and no culture or religion has a monopoly on the values of freedom, justice and human dignity. If we seek to engage in dialogue between Islam and the West that is meaningful, then let it be based on these universal principles that we all share.

Thank you.

Anwar Ibrahim

>> Full Speech here

3.

"You have to be very naive to think this war is about Saddam Hussein. This is one is a series of wars which are about perpetuating American domination through out the 21st century..." - Professor Alex Callinicos, Department of Politics, University of York, Commenting on Iraq War

"I think there are two things going on. One is a sort of slow international coup where the systems of global governments that we have got at the moment, deeply flawed as it is, very weak as it is, is gradually being pushed aside by Washington in favour of a system of global governments run by Washington. At the same time we see some very clever strategic maneuvers all over the world, getting hold of and securing some of the key strategic regions, particularly the regions which produce oil and regions through which oil could be transported..." - Professor George Monbiot, Writer and environmental activist, also Honorary Professor at the Department of Politics in Keele and Visiting Professor at the Department of Environmental Science at the University of East London. (credit)

4.

When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth," they say: "Why, we only want to bring peace!" Now surely they themselves are the mischief makers, but they perceive not. - Quran, 2:11,12

On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land. - Quran 5:32

When asked what is best Jihad or noble striving and struggle, Prophet Muhammad replied, "the best Jihad is to speak a word of truth in the face of an oppressive ruler."


# Related:
. Barack Obama speech: the full transcript
. Obama, Egypt Speech: VIDEO and Text
. How Muslim we are?
. Deepak Chopra on Obama's Call to the Faithful
. Obama in the Muslim World - Washington Post: On Faith
. Rumsfeld Used Biblical Quotes in Top-Secret Iraq War Briefings for Bush: “Open the Gates that the Righteous Nation May Enter”
. Global Voice Online has a compilation of Reactions from Middle Eastern Bloggers on Obama's Address delivered in Cairo, Egypt
. Anwar Ibrahim on BBC News commenting on Barack Obama's "Engaging the Muslim World" speech
. Terrorism is no -ism of any religion
. Humanity condemns hate in the name of religion
. Democracy Now