See a Muslim View on Recent World Issues

Dear WSN's members,

Here there is a voice from a Muslim perspective regarding the post-Cold War global re-arrangements which might be worth reading:

From: "Muzaffar Iqbal"

Subject: quantum note for feb. 1

Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:02:49 -0700

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Quantum Note

The Old Script

Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal

The News International, Feb. 1, 2002.

It would seem absurd, even outrageous, to claim that the fundamental drift

of history has not changed after September 11. But a sober reflection proves

just that. Nothing has changed in the essential nature of the post Second

World War era; only the pace of unfolding of events has accelerated and

that, too, seems to be in accordance with the nature of things.

The new world order that emerged after World War II was geared towards a

rapid expansion of the Western civilization. The enormous resources spent on

the reconstruction of Europe, a quick recovery of Japan and the emergence of

a powerful institutional base for this expansion were all meant to move the

world toward globalization. Moreover, this globalization was the one in

which the most powerful and dominant process was the westernization of all

cultures and societies.

The nation states which were carved out of the traditional Muslim lands were

inherently weak and structurally unstable. Even an elementary knowledge of

statistics and economics is enough to realize that they were “structured?to

keep them in a constant state of dependence on the former colonial masters.

For hundreds of years, they had been part of a larger entity which made it

possible for them to exist without any reliance on the West. They were

mutually linked, as constituting units of a larger entity. They had never

existed as independent states. They could not. The resources of these

states, the level and nature of their skilled manpower, their social and

economic structures were all built on mutual reliance.

For example, the region from which the colonial powers carved out the

contemporary states of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestine

was, for centuries, one unified region, called al-Shaam. Even now, there are

thousands of families in this region who live across these artificial

borders which were established in the most arbitrary manner by the colonial

powers.

Likewise, Central Asia, which was colonized by Russia, and which is now

witnessing a reign of terror under the rule of former communists-turned

Muslims, was always a distinct unity within the larger Islamic system of

communities. This vast region, with its fabled seats of learning at Marv,

Samarqand, and Bukhara, prospered because it could draw upon the resources

of lands further east, just as those eastern lands could complement their

needs from this arid region. Similarly, what are now the Gulf states used to

be one single region which was part of a much larger entity.

These regions had evolved as cohesive units in the larger framework of a

concept that has now become the scorn of cynics: Ummah. But let us note that

this is not a man-made concept; it is a bond among the believers that the

Qur’aan has established, and the Sunnah has sanctified. “All believers are

brothers [unto each other]? declares the Qur’aan in an unequivocal way. The

aberration produced by human follies cannot abrogate this divine rule.

The social, political and cultural patterns that had emerged in these Muslim

lands over centuries were violently disrupted by colonization. And they were

eventually replaced with new patterns that had no sanctity in the

civilization upon which they were imposed with violent force. Embedded

within the post-World War II world order was the scheme through which all of

this order and natural growth of the Islamic polity was disrupted.

The new nation states, that appeared on the world map, were cut on a model

which ensured their continuous dependence on the West. The mechanism was

simple enough. The government of the new nations states was passed on to a

small elite, consisting of Westernized military and civil “rulers?who

served as proxies. These were the first “northern alliance?founded by the

colonizing powers. To be sure, there were many versions of these proxy

rulers so that they could be rotated once in a while. This was the most

effective way of creating an impression of choice. While, in actual fact,

there was no difference between one and the other ruler, they fought with

each other to allure masses and to hide the real agenda.

In time, the personal interests of these rulers were deeply wedded with the

Western civilization. They amassed wealth and stacked it in Western banks,

their children studied in the Western universities and their personal

fortunes grew in New York and London stock exchanges. In order to enjoy a

Western lifestyle, they created western enclaves in their own countries:

Islamabad, Dubai, Istanbul, Tehran, Kabul, Amman and many other such cities

were created on the Western models to allow a small segment of population to

enjoy the benefits of western civilization while almost one billion other

human beings lived under degrading conditions, without the most basic civic

necessities.

What is common to all these rulers is that they have no allegiance to the

religious, cultural and intellectual traditions of these lands. In a handful

of oil-rich countries, the rulers live a despicable life of debauchery.

Their faces turned westward, their hands extended to snatch the most vile

aspects of the western civilization, they aspire for nothing but their own

luxury and survival. The rest is a sorry lot which continuously look toward

the coffers of IMF and World Bank for their monthly rations. But these

bounties do not come free.Those who dole out millions to their chosen proxy

rulers, know very well where the money lands, how it is used and by whom.

They also know that their millions are not going to make any substantial

difference in the lives of the people of these lands. These modern

instruments of colonization are not interested in any development.

The proof of the failure of IMF-enslaved states is obvious: there is not a

single country in the world where all the collective wisdom and genius of

IMF and the World Bank has produced a successful and sustainable economy. It

should be clear by now that these institutions only dole out millions for a

reason. Their interest is only in “buying?rights for their clients: rights

for drilling oil wells, for use air space, and for band widths.

This mechanism, that came into existence after the Second World War, has

only needed minor fine tuning during the last half century. The collapse of

the Soviet Union has made no difference to the unfolding of this scheme,

except to consolidate it in fewer hands. The United States of America

remains the major player and with the former colonizers, England and France,

standing behind, ready to come to help, whenever needed. The proxy rulers

also continue to read the script handed to them.

Many commentators in the Muslim world as well as in the West, have garnered

a great deal of ingenuity since September 11 to explain the current events

as if a new historical situation has arisen. In fact, nothing has changed

except the pace of events.

On the other hand, those who have resisted this old script and who strive to

establish a society according to the teachings of the twin sources of Islam,

the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, are also not fault. Their failures and follies

provide reasons to their detractor for scorning the very idea behind these

efforts. For example, there is no lack of “Muslim intellectuals?who make

fun of the idea of an Islamic state because of what the Taliban did. They

fall into two errors.

Their first error is to assume that there is a ready made model of an

Islamic state that can be taken out of a box and imposed on a society. They

think of Islam as some kind of a magic formula that should automatically

produce a society where they can see Islam’s social justice, moral values as

well as great material progress. Their second error manifests when they do

not see this happening. This error leads them to scorn the very idea of such

a society where the hearts and minds of individuals and the collective will

of the people are imbued with an unearthly spirit based on the precepts of

Islam.

The old script had found Jafar of Bengal and Sadiqs of Deccan, its new

incarnation has “northern alliance? The price in both cases is paid by

innocent victims of this grand drama which is churning out violence, poverty

and terror in the Muslim lands. But in spite of this, the scenario is not

completely bleak. Those who have remained steadfast in opposing this war,

which is now entering its third century, are learning and maturing. The real

task for such people is to clearly realize the stages through which such

struggles have always gone before victory. They should not fall prey to the

temptation of quick fix solutions. An Islamic society cannot come into

existence unless there are enough individuals who have realized the ideals

of Islam in their own lives. Islam cannot be enforced by promulgations by

governments; it grows organically, in a single heart at a time. Then these

hearts multiply, slowly and almost imperceptibly. And one day, the whole

society becomes Islamic.