The entire thought process of the western world today is seized by one factor, “Terrorism”. In today’s context the primary players are the sandbagged behind the Muslim world and the Christian world. Both religions have an aggressive psyche and hence a negotiated settlement seems like fiction. The next question is how long will this deadly play continue. Is there an end to the antagonism and hostility between the two dominant religious forces of the earth? The west primarily USA egged on by UK seems to be having enemies around the world. Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, host of African nations.
The west was always saddled with something to fight against. First against Germany and its allies, later against the Soviet Union and its allies and now against the Muslim world. Why does not the US have an enemy free situation? The prime reason for this situation can be in the struggle for dominance of world leadership. The leader of the world the United states of America, has so much military power and has had a rich robust economy, that it was able to exert considerable influence on happenings in much of the world and most importantly the muslim world.
What has the west done with so much influence in the world? Have they used it to leverage it for peace and earned themselves respect. Unfortunately few powerful and bigger nations have managed it. Western leaders with strong opinions aided by Novice and brash diplomats ended up slicing countries and people of the world. That has caused such widespread havoc among the developing and underdeveloped nations of the world. Major conflicts in today’s world have their origin to that big and sharp western slicing knife. Tutsis & Tulu’s, India & Pakistan, North and South Korea, Palestinians and Jews.
One of those slices was the country of Pakistan. It was a creation of pique by the departing British. This nation allowed itself to be molested by the west with the concurrence of insider for one primary reason, its antagonism against India. To get even with India is the survival agenda of this country. That has enabled it to achieve success in fields as diverse as Nuclear weapons, to sports as cricket and hockey. There has been little else significant development on its own. This creation of the British is now haunting the entire western world and has turned into a terrorist factory of the world. It allowed itself to be used by the USA, as the then USA wanted to contain India. It has become the turn of the US government to face what India suffered from Pakistan sponsorship of trouble first Kashmir and later in Punjab.
Let us compare the situation in respect to Indian muslims.In spite of emerging criticism against the Mahatma Gandhi for his pro-Muslim action, one need to acknowledge the visionary in Mahatma. He could foresee that a muslim mind has an aggressive temperament but also did not fail to see that it can mellow quite easily and under the right circumstances, when approached with an embracing hand. That approach paid off in a big way and also eased the process of winning Independence from the British. He was also instrumental in containing the backlash from Hindus against muslims arising out of hundreds of years of muslim repression against Hindus.
That foundation was carried forward by the governments in India and while it hasn’t helped to contain riots involving muslims completely it definitely allowed muslims to grow up as a much peaceful society in India compared to muslim in other parts of the world. This also created a new word into the political dictionary of India, “Muslim Appeasement”. Reasons for that appeasement was fear of their unbalanced responses, part of it was to keep them calm, and part was vote bank politics. What ever it was it succeeded and India was successful in not seeing hardcore muslim extremism taking centre stage like in Pakistan or in other muslim nations. Even the so called hawkish right wing parties in India followed the policy of Mahatma Gandhi, because that is the culture of the nation. Remember Mr. Vajpayee’s bus and train diplomacy !
Whereas the approach of the west towards Muslims has been…lets say Christian in nature. While it befriended regimes which supply oil with a combination of carrot and stick policy it also alienated vast sections of populace in those countries who had no other option but to swallow anger and pride at the antics of their puppet rulers, like those of Saudi, Nigeria, and Post Saddam Hussein Libya. From that segment came into existence the most wanted man of today’s world, Osama Bin Laden.
It’s unfortunate for the muslim world that it hasn’t produced a single visionary leader who would look at welfare of the muslim populace. They instead threaten the west with their lung power. A classic example was the bravado of Saddam Hussein who provoked Bush Jr who was itching for action post 9/11. What did his bravado do? Force sanctions on his country, deprive the children of Iraq of milk and bread, allow the nations oil to be looted, and left so many families tattered. There was a documentary which showed that after the parents have been killed by US soldiers, the children are enticed by Christian missionaries. So these “leaders with lung power” have ensured that not only the present generation is suffering but the future generation grows up as Christians. Are these leaders’ really Muslim leaders. They haven’t seemed to learn diplomacy. Now the Iranian president talks of wiping out Israel. Can he really match the power of the western world? Doesn’t he see that in case of conflict all western nations will join hands against Iran if it does anything stupid against Israel? Does he have the leadership skills to muster all Muslim nations together? Then why the bravado!!
In India muslims enjoy reservations, total freedom to practice their religion, economic prosperity. The government of India invited the present Iranian leader as a guest even at the risk of displeasing US. In return muslim painters paint Indian gods nude, set off bombs in religious places and attack parliament. That is what the leader of the opposition in India Mr. Advani said, that there is something wrong with the muslim thinking. He has his reason as post bus diplomacy with Pakistan they reciprocated by sending troops, mercenaries and terrorists into Kargil.
The western world’s conflict with the muslim world escalated post Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It was a blunder on the part of the USA to have supported the Taliban in the first place. It was a blunder on the part of the leaders of Pakistan to be allowed to used by USA as a supply and staging area. Mahatma Gandhi understood the psyche of the Muslims and gave them room to calm down without triggering the hard line psyche of a muslim, because it can get triggered to violence easily.
Sandwiched between the communists, the right wing parties, the alliance of secular parties, and the lure of democracy and prosperity which they receive muslims in India receive such confusing signals that they spend their time in understanding those signals and have no time for big time terrorism in India.
Mr. Bush in spite of his many weaknesses had it in him to see things. He has acknowledged that there is no Taliban in India in spite of a huge muslim population.Its time other leaders take Mr. Bush seriously at least on this point. They should counsel Indian leaders on how to handle the muslim world instead of sponsoring religious terrorism by sending hordes of Christian missionaries to destroy the culture of India, which is offering balance and peace to the muslim and western world.
Muslim leadership of the world have to acknowledge the fact that Indian muslims are treated with much more respect in India much better then even gulf countries. Its time for hard-line muslims in India to see the hardships of muslims in other countries and acknowledge that they are better off in India.
It was definitely refreshing to read Mr. Tarek Fatah of the Canadian Muslim congress say that, “There’s no greater place on this earth to live as a human being than the subcontinent. India as a subcontinent is a marvel of god’s creation.”
We want the right wing Christians and their missionary friends and the hard line Muslims and their sponsors to see this simple truth.
