By:Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef (Shahbaz Nadwi)*
On July 21,2013 in the evening when people were teeming in the markets and were busy in purchasing Iftar good, several regions of Iraq including the capital Baghdad were shuddered by powerful serial bomb blasts, that claimed nearly 65 lives, and left more than 200 peoples seriously injured .Cars were used in this crime. Only in the current month the toll of bomb blasts went up to 520 lives.
It is a matter of great regret and agony that even in the month of Ramazan, the sacred eve and era of peace of mind and body , salvation , Godly grace and mercy ,many Muslim lands as Syria, Arakan province of Myanmar Xinjiang (of Uyghur Muslims in China),to name a few ,are bleeding. Isn’t it? Iraq is the case in point here. Wherein terror strikes consecutively have been occurring unchecked. Powerful explosions or suicide bombings are being reported in Baghdad, the capital city, in Kircuk, in Floja or in areas having a Shia concentration and elsewhere. And innocent poor Iraqi civilians are being killed in cold blood, by unknown marauding bands, supposed to be either Shia militants or Sunni insurgents. Both are slaughtering each other indiscriminately. Among poor citizens who have been murdered mercilessly , are mostly old ones, women as well as innocent children. It was not a sad story of only this year but every Ramazan, in after math of Saddam Hussain’s toppling and then planned his murder, has been witnessing this horror tale. After giving the rein of power to the people of their choice , Americans and their allies now have left with bag and baggage. But their trained Iraqi army and police in so far are unable to stop this ghastly blood shedding. Millions have become victim of this gruesome violence, which was first unleashed in the wake of America’s illegitimate invasion and occupation of Iraq. When after falling Saddam regime, there rose a resistance to foreign intrusion and occupation. In the beginning the resistance groups were including cadres from both communities ;Shias and Sunnies and also the remnants of dismantled Baasi regime and dissolved Iraqi army personnel. Then Sunnies fearing that ensuing the fall of Saddam and beginning of picking helping hands from the rank and files of whom were regards as the fifth column in Iraq, by Americans now they might be suppressed by Shias, led religiously by Ayatullah Ali Sistani and politically by able leaders, who had long been suffering torture by Saddam’s establishment, they started attacking deadly on both Shia masses as well as Americans. In the harsh retaliatory measures taken by Shia militias like Mahdi Army, led by firebrand leader Moqtada el-Sadar, and others, the whole Sunni colonies were arsoned, bombed and purged as reported by Arab media.
In 2006the noted British magazine ”The Lancet” reported that the toll of Iraqi violence so far had reached to a half million” If this was in 2006,now when seven more years have been passed on it, it easily could be guised to which extent the toll might have risen till now?
Saddam Hussin was an staunch secular Arab nationalist, believing inعروبة Uruba(Arab Nationalism)and Baasism and was of the sort of true to the salt to his doctrine. And no doubt was an autocratic, dictator and ruthless president. who had been through the most part of his life a favorite of the West. Always bowing to his master’s voice, of course turned on them in his last phase and was defiant. He dealt with an iron hand with Shia community and uprising Kurd Sunni minority. The both had always been on the receiving end during his long reign. Saddam was used to fill on his enemy with a heavy hand. Strangled every dissent voice with utmost cruelty with no condemnation from either Arab Shaiks or the Western powers. He even was spurred and stimulated by the very West to enter with his neighbor Iran in an eight years long devastating war. Then on whimsical grounds and on the spur of the moment, giving no second thought to his decision, he attacked the tiny neighboring and friendly state of Kuwait and captured it. As a result latter his nation had to pay hugely for this crime. With all these faults he should be credited to have developed Iraq into a modern, strong and prosperous country, to have maintained the law and order situation, to have ensured peace and security to the nation. Iraq then was one the successful economy among Arab countries having a high 90 plus percentage of literacy and high per capita income. Then why he incurred the West’s rage and incrimination? Perhaps he committed two mistakes ,unpardonable to the West and they were: first that he built Iraq into a strong and prosperous country. Who with his huge, highly trained and strong army could be in future posing a challenge to Israel, the beloved child of all Western powers especially America and Britain. The second was his attack on Kuwait, a puppet and satellite state to Americans.
I am not a believer in conspiracy theory and not among the obsessed ones with much touted Jewish conspirator’s cable. Yet one can’t help when one sees that Western powers brazenly backed the army hijacking Islamic Salvation front’s(FIS)electoral victory in Algeria back in 1992,only to prevent Islamist’s bid to rule the country. That led it into rioting, tumult, disorder and a horrific civil war, claimed million lives. When one sees the West eagerly helping to coup d d’état against a democratically elected and moderate president like M.Mursi. To me it is safe to say that this very West hatched a clandestine plot to destabilize Iraq and to punish a defiant Saddam. So despite his secularism, they punished Saddam and impose on him and his nation a ghastly and frightening punishment. On the bidding of former US president Bush, CIA and M15 of Britain concocted a big lie about Saddam’s possessing the WMD(the WMD lie was to be unveiled soon),with this cooked justification, bypassing UN they invaded Iraq in the broad daylight. Then in aftermath of Iraqi dictator’s cold blood hanging, Iraq was robbed of its cultural heritage, arts, and wealth. It was razed into rubbles and deprived of its coffers. And its oil reservoirs were looted. The country was led into disturbance, barbarisms, and brazen sectarian violence, that insofar has claimed a million precious lives. and so it was sent into the age of stone and into the gory situation it finds itself now. Now the question is that who is to be blamed for all that? Islamists or political Islam as they say, or Islam itself, or terrorist outfits like Al-Qaida, and Taliban(both are the brain child of the CIA)or the West?
Any student of recent world history will conclude that all terror organizations around the world, either created or backed by America and other big powers of the world. In the end of the day it is the West which is to be blamed. It has two standard to democracy and human rights, nay double standard. That freedom, justice, equality secularism and democracy are cherished values and goals when suit its interests. But when using the very democratic tools Islamists seem to go ahead and assume power in any country, the very West would sacrifice these values and ethos on the altar of venality and greed, bias and prejudice. And preferred Sheikhdoms , autocratic despots and army criminals. Then ultimately who is to be blamed? My answer is, the West, because before their attack it was not the same Iraq as it is now.
*Dr.Mohammd Ghitreef is the director of Foundation for Islamic Studies ,New Delhi, he can be contacted on: mohammad.ghitreef@gmail.com, ghitreef1@yahoo.com