18 - 24 October 2001
Issue No.556
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 October 2001 Issue No.556 |
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Only the eyes can see
Who should rule the world? Why, the world itself, writes Milad Hanna*
An article by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, published in Al-Hayat newspaper on 11 October under the title "Our dispute is not with Islam, but with terrorism and its advocates," caught my eye. I suggest a far simpler path to world peace: recognition of the right of other civilisations, Arab and Islamic included, to manage world affairs.
I have been following Blair's comments about the situation and his thoughts for the possibility of a "third path" for Britain. I believe this path has much potential, as a solution for other states and civilisations, but only after it undergoes certain developments and is subject to a measured dialogue. Many -- I count myself among them -- believed socialist democracies are a cultural setting conducive to accepting the "other," and consequently to enhancing stability and averting conflict.
The view he has been reiterating, that the current conflict or attack is not against Islam but against "terrorism and its advocates," needs to be tested against matters on the ground. Addressing terrorism with sophisticated weaponry has only fuelled more vociferous riots and protests, with masses taking to the streets throughout Asia and Africa, and in many cities in Europe. Muslims and non-Muslims alike have joined their voices to the chorus against the war. Terrorism is not Cuba or Japan; it is not a state. Terrorism represents a group of people who have developed a specific "creed," which one may or may not agree with. For one reason or another, their aspirations to live by their creed have been foiled, and they have found their "salvation" in adopting jihad -- a concept most central to Islam.
According to Islamic precepts, jihad takes numerous forms. It may be waged by word of mouth or by a resolute will, but the loftiest in the eyes of God is a jihad in which one's very life is sacrificed for the sublime goal.
Keeping jihad in perspective, the military operation against Bin Laden may succeed in capturing the man, or all or most of the Al-Qa'ida command; but that will not eradicate terrorism. Millions of others may be converted to terrorism by the present strikes against Afghanistan. Many more organisations will spring up under a host of names, but all will resort to terrorism to realise their aims.
The Second World War was fought to eradicate Fascism and Nazism. Fierce military battles devastated countries and shattered families, but Fascism and Nazism were not defeated on the battlefield. They were defeated when Germany and France genuinely decided to cooperate through non-governmental international organisations upholding noble moral principles. The two former archenemies formulated programmes to reeducate their people, uproot ideas of "Aryan supremacy," advocate a more equitable view of humanity and thus create an environment more conducive to peace and the elimination of violence. It is this environment that made possible subsequent collective initiatives, such as the European Common Market, the European Community and the unified currency.
Europe's experience in uprooting deep-seated hatred and enmity must be drawn upon as a substitute to armed conflict.
I am Egyptian by nationality, a Coptic Christian by birth. I grew up in an Arab Islamic civilisation, and maintain many considerable intellectual and moral links to Western civilisation. I am aware that never before have relations between Muslims and Christians deteriorated to the level we are witnessing today. The US is partly to blame for having created, encouraged and nurtured this brand of Islamist religious extremism for over 40 years; today, the US is this creature's primary and most grievously injured victim. Yet as a victim of religious extremism itself, why did the US believe it could breed Islamism and remain unharmed?
It was John Foster Dulles who advocated using religion to fight communism in 1955. Initiatives for bridging gaps took the form of alliances and associations such as the Christian- Muslim Dialogue. In the aftermath of the 1973 War, oil prices soared and a portion of the revenue financed the "Islamic awakening." The new Islamist tide sought to change society through jihad. But the movement was soon wracked by dissension, and the more radical factions resorted to "terrorism."
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in January 1979, the US resorted to the same strategy it is adopting today. Muslims were recruited from all parts of the Arab and Islamic world to fight in a "jihad" conducted, orchestrated and funded by the CIA. The mujahidin poured into Peshawar, where training camps were established and the zealous recruits trained on US-made weaponry of all kinds and supplied with arsenals to defeat the atheists. No wonder, therefore, that the US won an easy victory over the Soviets, at a small cost to itself. Today, ten years on, the US is suffering at the hands of the same men it nurtured and trained.
With British support manifested in declarations, diplomatic initiatives and military involvement, the US has waged war on Afghanistan. Given its position as the world's only superpower at the economic, military and scientific levels, the US cannot withdraw its forces or halt its military operations; it must live up to its reputation at the humanitarian, cultural and intellectual levels too. If the US fails to do this, it will go down in history only as the state responsible for waging the first war of the new millennium, and the aspirations of the international community for better times ahead will be foiled.
Conceived and established to avert the scourge of a Third World War, the United Nations was born in a globe divided into two camps. The UN system -- the concepts enshrined in the Charter, the powers of the Security Council, the right of veto, military monitoring, the imposition of sanctions, recourse to international law instead of military confrontation against offenders, and other such mechanisms that have dominated the political environment during my lifetime -- succeeded in warding off global conflict and sustaining a delicate balance of power during the Cold War years. But this system was designed for a different world than today's. With the disappearance of the Soviet Union and the US's emergence as the sole superpower, the UN system was no longer able to settle disputes under the principle of non-intervention in the affairs of sovereign member states.
The states that gained their independence from colonial domination developed distinct identities, systems of education and communication, forms of government and policies that reflected the minds of their national leaders -- the champions of their independence -- while serving their national purposes. Things went well for some years, but conflicts of interest led such states, Arabs and Muslims included, to use education, communications and policy in addressing challenges, often by propagating hatred for the "other," and in the process compromising human rights and democracy.
The UN system needs to be revised and amended -- not only in terms of monitoring arms stockpiling and armed conflict, but also in terms of supporting the development of attitudes and systems conducive to tolerance and diversity. That is the only way to ensure that 11 September will not be repeated.
No matter how long the war in Afghanistan lasts, it will neither bring peace nor even dispel the overwhelming uncertainty about the future. The world needs reassurance that no single state or civilisation will rule supreme. It must be ruled by legal, executive and cultural mechanisms of which all civilisations partake. It has been amply substantiated that the conflict today is about addressing Arab and Islamic civilisation. It is necessary for the US and Britain to recognise the role and significance of all civilisations in managing this "crisis of humanity."
Arab and Islamic civilisation has much to offer our world today. Under this civilisation, which spread over much of Africa, Europe and Asia, knowledge flourished and religious, ethnic and cultural diversity was tolerated. With the narrowing of distances due to information technology, the mixture and blend of civilisations is bound to produce a richer and more compassionate outlook, by which the world may recover its equilibrium and multipolarity. An example of such fruitful synthesis is the blend of Catholicism and Marxism that generated the liberation theology.
UNESCO has a privileged role to play in the formation of world awareness. The organisation's activities, however, have been curtailed for several decades by the US's reluctance to pay its statutory contribution. The US must therefore revise its position and provide both financial and moral support. UNESCO is qualified by virtue of its mandate to act as a cultural Security Council. Its task in monitoring academic curriculae, communications and the media extends to combating xenophobia and preserving the identity and specificities of minorities, without fear of factionalism .
After 11 September, the world changed forever. The battle on the ground will take its course, led by the politicians and the big brass. But the world needs men of vision and insight to forge a new order that bears no resemblance to that created by the Gulf War. The globe must accept a simple fact: we do not choose our colour, race, religion, family or even our names. No one should suffer under such divisive labels, which can only breed hatred and terrorism. Common grounds are there; let us open our eyes.
* The writer is a former member of parliament and chairman of its Housing Committee. He has authored many works on dialogue of cultures and civilisations.
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