Today is 11th September; common knowledge that it was year 2001 that this day turned into history. From that moment onwards we all know this day by 9/11. The collapsing twin towers and the mountains of smoke and dust billowing out in all directions, as if an atomic explosion had occurred, are still the defining images of the decade. That day, not just US, but world lost near three thousand lives. Though grief pointedly invaded US, but pain travelled to every conscious soul around the globe. It was a great tragedy from whose womb only the greater tragedies would be born.

The US foreign adventures since WW II enhanced the public image of US as an empire driven to devour anything coming its way. Beginning with Communists, US stepped into Muslim world with its imperial penchant. This approach of US added crust to the already chronic animosity towards its imperial policy. With that thing in the background many thought 9/11 to be a sort of nemesis, less realising how it would raise the towers of violence in the midst of populations, world over. The most frightening outcome of 9/11 was the imaging of Muslims among others, and the strategic strikes of others into the Muslim lands making that terror-image of Muslims as an advantageous high ground.

Those who are pained at the sight of human sufferings and the condition of Muslim world were shocked the day it all happened. But unfortunately euphoric minds and some sections in the Muslim world that looked, and still look, at war and the accompanied hardships with a tinge of romance, thought of it as a moment of defiance. Even now the split remains; some say America is an enemy and must be fought to the finish, while others reject this bellicosity and think in terms of  confidently, yet peacefully, engaging with the West; in ways that disallow violence from becoming the determining image of this engagement.

If there are issues between West and the Muslim world, and of course there are, present violent confrontation can only worsen the position of both the West and the Muslim world. As a power of the times - economic, military, knowledge and cultural - West, particularly US, should think in terms of addressing the apprehensions and animosities present in the Muslim World. Likewise, Muslims world need a radical change of mind. Looking at everything from the perspective of suspicion and violence has immensely destroyed the Muslim world. Our polity, economy, and society are in ruins. In this confrontation the first and the ultimate loser is the Muslim world. It might sound pusillanimous, or may be buying the ‘anti-Muslim’ Western propaganda, but facts can be ignored only at ones own peril. Muslim world has to make a choice between further destruction or a beginning towards building up of relations with the rest of the world based on confident cooperation.  It doesn’t mean that Muslims take the blame for everything gone wrong; who doesn’t know that Afghanistan was a peaceful country till Russians invaded it. Who can belie the diabolic role played by the West in Palestine and other Mid East countries! Who says that what is being done to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir is not macabre! But in spite of all this our share in our miseries and sufferings is so high that it will take decades to undo that, before Muslims actually put their case before the world and the generations to come.

Right now the relations between US and the Muslim world are guided by elements like hate, anger, suspicion and a deep distrust. For the civilised world it is only unfortunate. By civilised, one doesn’t mean any particular part or parts of globe, it’s rather a kind of people that are scattered all over the globe.
 
What brought the two to this sad state of affairs. Here is a little background. US’s involvement in the world politics accentuated after the WW II. The lone Muslim political power, Ottoman Sultanate, drowned to death in the wake of this Great War. Around the same time Soviet Union emerged as the global power. Since the ideological underpinnings and, and as its consequence, the socio-economic vision espoused and unfolded by USSR, directly confronted that of the US, the world immediately got divided into  two blocks, with huge amount of military power accumulated on either side. Since Europe fell to the capitalist lot the fight between two blocks could mostly be fought in Muslim lands. Since Muslim World was no organised power; its economy, culture and politics could not safeguard themselves from the pernicious impact of the conflicting power blocks. So essentially the relation of these two powers with the Muslim World was that of medium through which they could inflict damage on each other. This phenomenon of cold war came to a head once Russia invaded Afghanistan. This was the time when US got madly involved in the Muslim World. To settle the scores with USSR and have the vengeance upon Vietnam debacle, US adopted an aggressive policy.

With the fall of USSR, things took a dramatic turn, and at an incredible speed. In fact the speed itself was a part of the happenings. All the hostility of Muslim World that in yesteryears was directed towards USSR made a turn around and US and Muslim World came into straight confrontation. From here onwards US entered into a sort of direct confrontation with the Muslim World. This way the heart of Muslim World aches at the way US operates in their lands.

To put an end to this violent confrontation US has to stop looking at everything Muslim militarily. A possibility of how Muslim countries are allowed to live and progress without their peculiar cultural practices being interpreted as anathematic to the modern civilised world, whatever that means, need to explored. It may sound little off putting but the fact of the matter is that even the practices that sound medieval and anachronistic need not be necessarily disturbed. Things always follow natural course to evolve and change.  Further there are daily practices on either side which give fright to the other. Vehement opposition to such practices, associated with military action, attains deeper political meanings and results in bringing the two people at loggerheads. If left undisturbed Muslim World will change as a direct consequence of the contact with the outer world.

Right now we have two images doing the rounds in US; these representing two minds. One, that supports establishing a Muslim centre right on Ground Zero, and another that wants to burn the copies of Qur’an. One can only wish that the image of tolerance and accommodation prevails over the image of hatred. But not just in US, in the Muslim World too.

(Feedback at mrvaid@greaterkashmir.com)

Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST