Over the past few days there has been an alarming increase in the number of innocent Muslims who have been killed. I am not referring to Palestine, Iraq or Chechnya but to Thailand. It too has become another country in which Muslims are mercilessly assaulted, beaten and killed.
Over the past week I have seen pictures of Thai soldiers firing bullets at unarmed protesters, killing 86 of them in cold blood. What pained me most was the shocking brutality of the soldiers. They kicked people with their boots and struck them with their rifle butts. One solider was very obviously enjoying what he was doing.
Unfortunately, I never understood what had provoked the soldiers to fire upon an unarmed crowd. Thailand too, it seems, has joined the “war on terror.” Encouraged by certain countries, it has now embarked on a collision course with a group of its own citizens. No amount of dialogue will satisfy the army’s appetite for striking at the poor and impoverished minority who, in fact, have genuine grievances. But who is there to stop them? Who will? Who can? No one.
The time has come for someone to speak out, to call the world’s attention to a gross injustice. Muslims are being slaughtered around the world and no one utters a word in protest. In America, there is now a new law. If you criticize Jews, you are liable to have legal action taken against you. George W. Bush wants the Jewish votes and so he tries to please them. And then of course, there is his opponent, John Kerry.
I would like to bring to your attention an article written by Kerry for “Forward,” a Jewish magazine published in New York. He said he would hound and punish anyone who incited people against Jews or defamed them. He also said far worse things and so to those naive Arabs who are still debating whether Bush or Kerry will be good for the Arabs, I say please go, have a cup of tea and exercise your minds a bit. Alas! we Arabs have not used our brains for a long time. For far too long.
Remember that the Bush Arab Islamic policy is the same as the Sharon policy. What is more dangerous is that Bush will certainly use American power and money to attract other players onto his anti-Islamic team. Other likely players include Russia’s Vladimir Putin; the Likud of course is on the team as well as certain anti-Islamic Indian leaders who will join because of their hatred of Pakistan. Even China is a possibility. All of this springs from Bush’s orchestration of the “war on terror.” It is as if he and his neocons were trying to frighten the world into some kind of alliance against Muslims and Islam.
Pakistani President Musharraf is concerned about this and indeed, last month at the UN General Assembly, he spoke of an “iron curtain descending between the West and Muslims.” History repeats itself as we know and Bush’s attempts to gather support for his “war on terror” reminds me of Europe’s Holy Alliance in 1815. The alliance was meant to prevent revolutionary change and maintain the status quo after the havoc resulting from the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.
What is most disturbing is the fact that a Bush victory will sharpen the appetites of both the neocons and the Zionists for a prolonged conflict with Islam. Sadly, there are strong indications that Colin Powell who is seen as a moderating influence will not be part of any new Bush administration. His has sometimes been the only voice of reason and it is certain that, as a former general, he fully understands the difficulties and implications of using military force to solve disputes. There has been no hint of dialogue with any of the Muslim countries America has condemned nor has there been any hint of investigation into the causes of international terrorism.
The right-wing media has done all it can to heighten anti-Muslim sentiment in the US. Its rhetoric and accusations will drive a number of moderates into the arms of the extremists in the Muslim world. Thus, a new collision with America will become inevitable. The solution to these problems is not military might. Many Muslims believe in dialogue as the answer and certainly, it would be a first step toward arriving at an answer and a solution. Many other Muslims, including me, believe that by giving justice to Muslims, stopping the attacks on Islam and not aligning itself so absolutely and uncritically with Israel and supporting its state-sponsored terrorism, America could at last have peace with the world of Islam.
In the meantime, Muslim blood continues to flow.
