No, no more wars!
On Friday night, France suffered a hideous terror attack and deserves the sympathy and solidarity of everyone. Still, it should not be a reason to go to another war! We know the results of Sept. 11; at the time, the United States declared war, invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq to create more tragedy and turmoil. Now, since then, Afghanistan and Iraq are still war zones and, moreover, created the environment for the rise of more terror and, finally, the ultimate terror of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Even then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was an archdefender of the intervention in Iraq, admitted this fact recently.
We have seen that the politics of war and confrontation are no remedy; on the contrary, they create more wars and conflicts. The number-one reason behind the rise of ISIL was the policy of regime change in Syria. The fact that Syria was an authoritarian regime does not justify the Western policy of supporting armed groups against the regime. From the beginning, it was obvious that armed groups had nothing to do with the so-called “moderate” political opposition. Nevertheless, the Western countries had to name armed groups like al-Nusra as terrorist organizations at the end of the day. By then, it was too late. Now, the Syrian war has not only spilled over the region but also into Europe, killing innocent people all over the places.
Besides, the Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis who are being killed in the middle of a regional turmoil are no less innocent and less valuable humans. In fact, it is also true for all other war zones in the region like Yemen, where Saudi intervention has killed many civilians. Only two days before the Paris attack, more than 50 civilians were killed in Beirut just because they were Shiite. It may be considered inconvenient about who did what in the Middle East under the circumstances of tragedy. Nonetheless, it is the Lebanese allies of France who have been supporting Sunni extremists against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since the Cold War, Western powers have never given up supporting Islamist politics when it suits their interests. During the Cold War years, the priority was the struggle with communism and the Soviet Union, and then it turned into a struggle against Iran and its allies.
I am someone who have always been critical of “Islamist politics,” even when the Western academia was promoting concepts and politics in the name of “moderate Islam,” “Islamic democracy,” “post-Islamism” and the like. But, no it is not Islam and its theology, but pragmatic politics in the name of power struggles, along with poverty and discrimination of Muslims, that is the number-one reason behind this evil force. That is not to say that Muslim countries are innocent; on the contrary, they also benefit from promoting Islamism. Moreover, it is not to say that Muslims should not be self-critical but accuse Western powers for all ills. However, let’s start to discuss everything in context and in depth.
So, please no more shallow and meaningless debates on Islam, and please no more excuses for more wars!
