Dr. Asghar
SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
For most of you, it must have been too much to endure. It was a bit too much for me as well. I have seen many horrific and bloody videos of the brutes beheading their captives. However, the 22 some minute video of the Jordanian pilot held hostage and then burned to death by Islamic State (IS) was ultra cruel. The final five minutes or so, when the poor guy is in the cage and the masked beasts initiate the inferno, just shakes you from the inside. The helplessness of the captive being charred and then being totally crushed by a hefty load of rocks adds a new chapter to the brutality of this outfit of ‘Islamic’ terror. This was one man deliberately captured on video with jihadi hymns playing in the background, justifying the reason and rationale of so-called equity, justice and closure. May Allah have some mercy and may this jihadi group just disappear from the face of this earth for good.
The people of Jordan demonstrated their anger and resolve in unison. It is noteworthy that the queen of the land was seen shoulder to shoulder with the ordinary citizens. At least it sent a straightforward message to the world and the aforementioned outfit in particular that the people of Jordan would not accept this affront.
To say that the politics of the Middle East are complex and confusing is an understatement. Too many conflicts, too many rifts, too many diverging lines and one ends up scratching his or her head figuring out what to make of all this. At the centre there has always been the Israel and Palestinian conflict. The folks who think that once that issue is resolved, the conflicts in the Middle East will vanish, are definitely mistaken. The aforementioned issue is used as an extremely lame excuse to flash overall Muslim backwardness in every sphere of modernity and development.
I have argued with many passionate Muslims at many gatherings, who tend to be very biased when it comes to the Jewish state. To them, I have always said that the term ‘resolution’ always means a middle ground. You cannot exterminate or annihilate the other side to call it a resolution. I remember mentioning this in the past that the peace deal that was being offered at Camp David at the time of President Clinton would have been the most probable and logical resolution. From there on it has been a downhill slide and, come to think of it, it is perhaps impossible to see a resolution at least in my lifetime.
The complexity of Middle Eastern politics is quite evident from this dispute. Some Muslim countries perhaps do not want a resolution because, to them, it would minimise their influence in the region or their leveraging with the US. Others are perhaps concerned that any settlement may not be as equitable as most Arabs would desire and it could possibly burden them with an influx of Palestinian brethren. It is amazing that most Muslim countries can show solidarity with the Palestinians through speeches, rallies and banners, yet none of these countries can offer a long lasting and enduring solution that will stick. This has been the staple of our so-called ummah (Muslim community).
Getting back to IS, the outfit has started to expand its footprint in our region as well. Though officially our government and its very capable interior minister deny any presence of this organisation, the organisation in question is ignoring the infinite wisdom of our very capable minister. The argument that most folks peddle is that certain al Qaeda and Taliban members have switched sides and now use the banner of IS to advance their heinous agenda. Regardless, once those black banners emerge, those banners reflect a very potent symbol and send a very strong message of terror. The folks in the honourable interior minister’s office are perhaps mistaken when they assume that commanders of the outfit will emerge from Iraq or Syria. Perhaps the leadership there is relying on a franchise formula, where folk hell-bent on forming a caliphate, by hook or by crook, are creeping up from within and advancing in the direction of the capital.
The rather sorry aspect of this whole scenario can be easily sensed and seen in the form of another video that had been garnering a lot of buzz not too long ago. This was a video in Arabic by the female students of the notorious Red Mosque, ratifying their allegiance to the terror outfit. The ladies made a passionate appeal to Amir ul Momineen Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to send his mujahids to the land of the pure. Mind you, these ladies were perhaps at a very reasonable proximity to our legislative and very ‘sovereign’ parliament. One may assume that the dear parliamentarians had overlooked those pleas as an April fool’s joke being played in advance in December. The law enforcement agencies looked some other way because, after all, these were hijabi sisters just uttering some harmless little religious prayer in Arabic.
As these lines are being written, President Obama is requesting Congress to authorise the use of force against IS. Most presidents in their final years are very cautious and cognizant of their legacy. If this president is able to do something decisive against this particular group, then he will perhaps become immortal in the pages of history.
Courtesy dailytimes.com
pakistan.shafaqna.com
