(Dr. Javed Jamil) Nothing was clear yet except that the name of the perpetrator was Omar Mateen. He was no known Islamic devout. As the reports appear, he might well have been a gay himself, and used to drink. American Government seems to be hard pressed to impart the IS connection to the whole drama. More and more people are getting convinced however that it was just another mass shooting.
When the perpetrators are Christians or Hindus or of any other faith and Muslims are the victims, nobody talks of the faith of the perpetrator. None expects Pope and Churches to issue statements of condemnation. Nobody seems to be shocked. But as soon as a Muslim looking name appears as the perpetrator, shock waves move across the globe. Muslim organisations too jump on the bandwagon to condemn the killings. Orlando shootings earned the attention all the more because it could provide a new twist to American Presidential elections, which are due in a few months’ time. The Presidential nominee, Trump whose name has already started shaking the nerves of peace loving people, was quick to take to Twitter after news spread that the assailant in the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was a child of Afghan immigrants and had apparently “pledged allegiance” to so-called Islamic State. Trump called for Mr Obama’s resignation for his “refusal to even say the words ‘radical Islam'”.
Trump forgets that the real threat to the world is from Radical West rather than Radical Islam. Radical West (with leaders having Christian or Jew names) has given Two World Wars and numerous wars and civil wars in the last one hundred years causing the death of more than 150 million people worldwide. While for the first half of these 100 years, Christian West was busy killing people with Christian names, during last 50 years, it is busy killing Muslims. Since 9/11, the radical West headed by the undisputed king the United States has killed at least 3 million people in the Muslim World none of whom had anything to do with the attacks on New York. This means that on average, they have given 10 Orlandos every day. And yet, Trump has the audacity to blame “Radical Islam” rather than apologising to the Muslim world for the misdeeds of Radical West. If there is radical Islam anywhere, it is a very minor reaction to the radical West. Had it been anywhere near the ruthlessness of the radical West, America would have really become what Trump was taking when he said that “”If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore.” He wrote. “Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen – and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.” And the most effective means of preventing terrorist attacks in the eyes of West is to launch another attack on a Muslim country. Following that attack, they would forget counting the dead.
The greatest truth of the modern times is that it is almost the total radicalization of West and Westernism rather than that of Islam which has become the biggest foe of peace in every dimension of individual and organized human existence in recent times.
If we want to bring true peace to the whole world, we need to condemn every single act of violence, whatever the identity of the perpetrators, whatever the identity of the victims, whatever the ideology or motive of the perpetrators, religious, non-religious, atheistic or nationalistic, whatever the methodology used, whatever the place and whatever the time. Every single death of an innocent is equally condemnable, and the condemnation of every category of violence has to be proportionate to the magnitude of violence.. And if the magnitude of violence is made the criterion, West at the global level and certain non-Muslim elements in India will have to be condemned hundreds, even thousands of times more than Muslims. Recently, some experts have calculated that up to 5 million might have died in Iraq alone as the result of the war and its late effect. Do the Muslim innocents deserve lesser sympathy than Western? Are they any less human? And if we examine the role of Big Powers in the wars and civil wars in the last century, these consumed 180 million lives, an overwhelming majority being at the hands of these very big powers who claim to be the champions of peace.
India too uses its own terminologies in describing various forms of violence. While any terrorism related to Muslims is highlighted, the terrorism related to other ideologies is hardly discussed. More than 95 pc of terrorism related deaths in India in recent years have been caused by Hindu terrorists, not Muslim terrorists. Out of more than 35000 terrorist related deaths in India in last 30 years, more than 33000 are by Hindu terrorists (Naxalites, Ulfa, Bodo, Maoists, and Sikhs). Those allegedly by Muslims relate to not more than 1500
Radicalisation of West is visible in every single institution, every single practice and every single war or civil war the world has been witnessing in the last century. West believes that its set of political, social and economic ideologies, what I call Westernism, is the only correct ideology for the world, and it alone has the right to define various concepts and parameters, and it alone has the right to endeavour through all possible ways, for the propagation and implementation of its ideology. Of course, they have made the world believe, even against their inner beliefs, that religion, individually or collectively, has no role to play in the modern “civilized” world. If the proponents of any other ideology, religious or non-religious, challenge the concepts of Westernism and try to prove the superiority of their ideas, they are described as “uncivilized”, “radicalized” and “extremist” forces.
The most notable form of radicalization of West is its theory of violence and its involvement in violent conflicts. It is working on a well-planned categorization of violence to suit its political and economic ends. Instead of reacting on the basis of the magnitude of violence, its reaction is based on the political considerations. Any violence, which is linked or can be made to appear linked to religion, especially Islam, is worthy of highest condemnation, but any violence, which is related to the effects of West’s ideological or political positions is either not talked about or becomes “collateral damage”.
In recent years, Western role has been prominently there in all the conflicts in the Middle East. But again, it can be seen that their weapons go to the side, which toes their lines, and against those which have refused to surrender to their diktats. And always, the media would blame the loss of lives on the forces that are not pro-West.
It is clear that radical Western ideologies and radical Western powers have disturbed the whole equilibrium and harmony in society. They first commercialise problems and then they commercialise solutions. And they think they alone have the right to invade and bombard countries, they alone have the right to decide all the major policies of the world; they alone have the right to decide the course the countries want to pursue and they alone have the right to teach lessons to others. West thinks that West alone knows what is best; and West alone knows how to act or react. What else can be a more extreme form of radicalization? All others forms of Radicalization in the current world including “Radical” Islam are the product, direct or indirect, of Western radicalism. If the world is to be saved from chaos and devastation, the only solution is to abandon all forms of radicalization. And before asking others, West being the leader will have to abandon it, not in parts but in totality. Others will automatically fall in line.
If I wanted, I would have replaced “Radical West” with “Radical Christianity”. West have an overwhelming majority of Christians, and most of the Western political leaders and army men are Christians, at least in theory if not practice. It is also well-known that many Western leaders including George Bush have had deep religious commitments. But I purposely avoided it because it is not the religion but their political and economic ambitions that give rise to radicalism.
It can be easily seen that terrorism in Muslim countries is born either out of anger against the West, which has continuously tried to keep its puppets in power in those countries against the wishes of the people, or out of Western support to certain groups. Terrorism has obviously been directly proportional to the Western involvement. This is true for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Most Arab countries. Moreover, all the major “terrorist outfits” have been the friends of the West in the past. Al-Qaedah was a close friend when it was fighting the Russians along with Talibans. It is nonsense to call ISIS Islamic in any sense. They are the products of Western machinations and most of their fighters, fdollars and weaponry has come from the West.
Radicalisation is a universal phenomenon these days, but it is the radicalisation of West, not Muslims, which is the biggest breeder of the global violence. Radicalisation is bad –Western, Hindutva or Islamic. And it is bad in proportion to the amount of fire power each possesses. The powerful indulges in wars and instigates civil wars and riots. The weak indulges in terrorism and guerrilla wars.
The time has come now when all the right-thinking intellectuals must ask the West to stop talking about Islam’s and Muslims’ role, and instead focus on its own role. Let the global media discuss Western military ideologies in details and their roles in the destruction of human lives! Before studying Islamic Jihad, let Western philosophies of confrontation, combat and wars be discussed in all its minute details. Let this continue for at least one year before debating the Muslim factor again! Instead of criticising the others, let the West learn to face criticism! Let the West allow their own people to know the whole truth, rather than the truncated truth. Violence cannot be minimised unless every single factor responsible is discussed and effectively addressed.
Dr Javed Jamil is India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”, “Qur’anic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” (First Vol: Health), “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and Other works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “The Killer Sex”, “Islam means Peace” and “Rediscovering the Universe”. Read more about him at http://www.worldmuslimpedia.com/dr-javed-jamil. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/javedjamil2015; also http://javedjamil.blogspot.in/. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com.