How did an ideological conflict between the Muslims and “Infidels” or “Satan” evolve into Muslims killing Muslims? The geopolitical landscape in the Middle-East has changed forever devastating the lives of millions of Muslims, especially in Syria and Iraq.
Who would have thought that western educated Syrian President Bashar-al Assad, holed up in his luxurious presidential palace, would find it acceptable to kill his own people, including women and children, and see his country being turned into rubble, building by building, so he could remain the president of what little remains of his country? His Oxford education sure went down the toilet because he behaves like medieval barbarian and not like an educated man. Thousands of people being gassed and being forced to flee violence any way possible, even in overloaded flimsy boats at the risk of being drowned, and ending up in a foreign land only to be kicked by locals who hate Muslims or put in a cage like animals. Even if we accept the premise that in some countries there is intense dislike for the Muslims for whatever reasons, it’s hard to imagine what kind of a man or woman would find it alright to kick and trip hungry and panicked children running for their lives. It’s as if these “civilized” people lost their minds and transformed themselves into monsters who would treat helpless people with an utter lack of humanity. One could never forget the haunting image of a three-year old Kurdish Syrian boy lying lifeless on a Turkish beach; he and his mother and brother were trying to escape Syria in a boat that flipped over and they all perished. Their dream was to go to Canada and start a new life – but their fate betrayed them and their dream got lost forever. The images of refugee migrants with sad stricken faces packed in trains, or walking along the train tracks holding their children in their arms, or held in cages like animals look eerily similar to what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany.
Why is it important for Iran to be a regional power with control over sovereign neighbors or Russia to have “sphere of influence” and a right to invade tiny neighbors at will if they ever tried to get loose from Russia's sphere or China to have control over the entire South China Sea, hundreds of miles away from their internationally recognized borders? Is the twenty-first century turning into a century of control freaks? Why don’t these power-conscious countries use their enormous power and resources to help their smaller neighbors prosper and live in peace rather than try to control them and bring nothing but destruction? If Iran wants to win over Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, or if Russia wants to win over Ukraine and Georgia, or if China wants to win over the Philippines and Vietnam, why not win over by becoming friends rather than try to control them by coercion and use of military force.
Al Qaeda and ISIS (a former Al Qaeda branch in Iraq) are fighting among themselves, killing their own people, raping women in a twisted interpretation of the Koran, and declaring victories over the graveyard of the massacred innocent people. They are even destroying rare archaeological monuments that one would have thought that they would actually work hard to preserve for future generations. They are destroying cities and villages left and right, uprooting common helpless people from their homes, and forcing them to run into an uncertain future. Why are these devout Muslims causing so much pain and hardship to other Muslims? Where does it say in the Koran that it’s alright to cut throats of innocent people or burn their bodies and broadcast these evil deeds on social media for the whole world to see – what kind of satisfaction do these people get from extreme cruelty? It would be nice if these insane “religious” leaders stop for a minute and think what positive would come out of their rage, how would they live with all of the destruction they are causing, and how are they going to rebuild when (and if) it’s all over?
Amidst the anguish of what we see on TV, day in and day out, there are some bright spots – it’s commendable that many western countries are coming forward to give these homeless and countryless Muslims shelter and a chance to rebuild their shattered lives, despite the fact that the people who recently murdered innocent people on the streets of Paris were Muslims. Where are those self-proclaimed great powers, Russia, China, and Iran? How come they are not offering to accept these frightened innocent people in their countries and give them asylum like the Western countries are doing? You don’t become a great power just by displaying your military might in parades; you become great by exercising moral authority and by empowering humanity. Germany, France, the U.K., Australia, Canada, and the U.S. must be commended for announcing to accept tens of thousands of these migrant refugees.
So how does this nightmare end? Would ISIS and Al Qaeda leaders or self-possessed leaders like Assad ever come to their senses and realize that they are on a path of total destruction and nothing good will come out of this? Probably not. The only recourse is that the rest of the world come together militarily and financially to defeat the misguided wrongdoers who have caused so much destruction and pain and suffering to the people of their own faith. The United Nations must develop a global military and humanitarian approach to defeat this menace and bring peace to the Middle-East region. Standing on the sidelines or looking for a geopolitical advantage is not an option for the major powers. The West, Russia, China, and all Muslim countries must find an effective way to defeat Islamic extremism and save the world from abyss.
