The War Within Islam
Saudi Arabia has jealously guarded its claim to being the “guardian of
Islam” by being the undisputed leader in donating humanitarian aid to the Muslim
world, with foreign aid contributions exceeding $90 billion – or 3.7 percent of
its annual gross domestic product in thirty years spanning 1975 to 2005....
When we asked Arabs what their foreign policy priorities were for the
region, far and away their top choices are investing more of the region’s
wealth and expertise in creating a more prosperous and stable Arab World and
promoting greater political unity among the Arab states....
Moqtada al-Sadr, nearly two thirds of a century later, has brought this
critique, which the old world that lacked strong arguments used to rebuke the
ideas, organizations and institutions of the new world, back to the fore....
Now, amid staggering levels of anti-Iran demonstrations across the
country, the Iraqi people have a genuine shot at ejecting Tehran’s invasive
political influence and creating a truly sovereign Iraqi state....
Washington and Tel Aviv are counting on the fact that anger at the ‘Deal
of the Century’ among Arabs and Muslims will eventually peter out, exactly as
happened after Trump recognized all of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moving
his country’s embassy there in May 2018....
The Houthis say they are leading a Zaydi revival, but they are also
changing the way Zaydism is practised, bringing it more in line with mainstream
Shiism. They have opened Husseiniyas, halls to mourn the Prophet Muhammad’s
grandson, Hussein...
“How could you question someone’s patriotism?” the chief justice of
Islamabad High Court inquired while hearing the bail application of political
activists arrested by the capital administration and charged with sedition. The
young detainees were protesting against the arrest of Manzoor Pashteen, the
Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement leader who has also been charged with sedition....
The henchmen of Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq’s most capricious—and perhaps most
powerful—cleric, not only participated in the anti-government protests that
have rocked Baghdad and other cities for months, they defended them....
Jinnah envisaged the most capable men and women to hold public office
regardless of their personal faith or lack thereof. The state was a temporal
endeavour to Jinnah and not an otherworldly one...
Despite their claims to being the “guardians of Islam” and “protector of Muslims,” Arab monarchies have demonstrated they care only for two things: countering Iran at every turn, and growing trade ties with the powerhouse economies committing human rights violations against Muslims.....
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. ..
Madame President,... But xenophobia, particularly in the form of Islamophobia, is growing in several European countries and partly feeds upon the flagrant violation of the human rights of religious minorities in several Muslim-majority countries. Petrodollar Islam has injected the poison of Islam-supremacism in Muslim societies worldwide. Even exemplary moderate countries like Indonesia, Malaysia are now infected with this virus. But the worst case scenario is evolving in the only Muslim nuclear power, Pakistan. Jihadi vigilantes including members of security forces are hunting down and killing all those who oppose their version of Islam. The country is drowning in a sea of violence but civil society, media or elected parliamentarians dare not condemn the wanton killings in the name of Islam. -- Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam, addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 16th session in Geneva on 22 March 2011 in the General Debate on Follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
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....