The War Within Islam
The real expansion of proxy power has come this century, starting with
the US-led invasion of Iraq, which opened up a country formerly closed to
Tehran’s intelligence network, and then the Arab Spring uprisings...
The question now is: Can US policy affords to tip the internal balance
against the mullahs, even as Trump tries to extricate us from the region?...
Britain in particular was soon in a tight spot with the Zionists and
Arabs in what is now Israel and Palestine. Britain was entrusted to support the
recently founded Zionist movement that aimed to create “a national home for the
Jewish people” in the land....
The two forces had coexisted in separate spheres for years, but they now
openly clash head-on in Iran, Iraq, Syria and in Lebanon, as
"resistance" troops try to beat down "revolutionary"
protests by force....
People want to live in a society where they enjoy freedom of thought and
action and can freely exercise their right to speak. Liberal democracies thrive
on the freedom of expression. ..
Until the mid-1970s, Pakistan enjoyed a seamless relationship with Iran.
In fact, Pakistan was closer to Iran than it was to Saudi Arabia. Iran, a
modern pro-US monarchy, was one of the first countries to recognise Pakistan
when it was formed in August 1947...
This crisis is threatening to undermine the peaceful protest movement
that for months has been challenging the Iraqi political system and
establishment — putting the protesters in a very difficult situation....
Saudi Arabia's tantrums are age-old and its sense of entitlement only a
pretence. Two types of countries are normally unaffected by Saudi mood
excesses: Their arch-enemies who can speak in a tough language and those who
have surrendered in a sycophantic way....
Imran Khan of Pakistan made his debut as his country’s leader with a
sterling reputation garnered in his career as a cricketer. All his fans
expected the Kaptan (Captain)—the sobriquet his admirers affectionately use for
him—to make waves...
At a state level, with a few notable exceptions, the political landscape
of the Arab world might be characterised as follows: a core of monarchies which
has thus far survived the turbulence of the Arab Spring...
KL Summit was perceived as a potential threat to the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as it was similar enough to be an alternate platform.
However, it is to be more broad-based, modern and in line with democratic
norms....
Part of this snub arose from Malaysia’s initial reluctance to extend
invitations to Saudi and its Gulf allies, while it proactively engaged Turkey,
Qatar, Iran and Pakistan, countries which have been at loggerheads with Saudi
Arabia in recent years for a range of reasons....
We hope that not only Pakistan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, but all
Muslim states would sooner rather than later join the idea and make important
contributions to this noble cause….
Islamic leadership is not merely about slogans, but actions and
practices, and each country shouldering its responsibilities. If Turkey, Iran
and Qatar genuinely want to help Muslims, they should stop supporting militias
and terrorist organizations that kill Muslims in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon,
and Libya — and instead start contributing to the work of existing Islamic
organizations....
Saudi Arabia’s snub of the KL Summit demonstrates its intolerance for
Iran and the Shias. Rouhani’s excellent speech highlighted global economic
terrorism. It was in tandem with Mahathir’s own contempt for economic
imperialism and sanctions by big powers. Rouhani and Mahathir are obviously on
the same page...
The Founder of Pakistan repeatedly said that Pakistan shall not be a
theocratic state to be run by priests with a divine mission. In the last All
India Muslim League’s convention in Karachi in December 1947, he explained that
in his view Islam did not stand for an ecclesiastical state. ...
Walking onto a football pitch hardly seems an act of high diplomacy. But
two and a half years into the embargo of Qatar by three Gulf
neighbours—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—it may
count as progress....
"Israel is being seen by moderate Arab governments as a trade and
security partner." Israel and many Arab states were united in an uproar
over the Obama administration's Iran deal. He even notes that an Arab prince
recently asked, "Who else will fly in joint missions against Iranian
targets with us?...
Extreme instability and mistrust
are heightening tensions in the Persian Gulf, especially between Shiite Iran
and Sunni Saudi Arabia....
Arab “Brexits” come with little warning, negotiation, parliamentary
deliberation, or media debate, and usually persist for decades. But the impact
of these self-inflicted economic disasters is now painfully evident....
The faction led by “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei started by dismissing
the uprising as a déjà vu version of the protests that have punctuated Iran’s
history since the 1979 revolution....
And right when Middle Easterners are demanding to be treated as citizens
— not Sunnis or Shiites — Americans are devolving into Sunnis and Shiites or,
as we call them, Democrats and Republicans, with the same tribal mentality:
rule or die....
The UN, EU and all Western nations must condemn the violence and
savagery of the Iranian regime. The West must make it known that we stand
shoulder to shoulder with the protesters in Iran demanding regime change....
The three-year “extension” given to General Bajwa was challenged at the
Supreme Court by an eccentric lawyer of Rawalpindi who had been censured
repeatedly in the past by the court for “frivolous litigation”....
Such preaching is one of the reasons behind Maldives having one of the
highest ratios of fighters joining IS in Syria and Iraq. An estimated 200 citizens have left the
island nation, which has a total population of roughly 400,000, translating to
‘one in every 2000’ Maldivians becomes an ISIS fighter....