By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,
It remains a mystery as to why, and how, thousands of Muslims––some of them women too––from the West, have covered such a long distance to join ISIS to fight war in Syria and Iraq, when we hardly find any example of community members from the US, UK, France etc. joining any war against Israel, or against NATO-led forces. For Muslims––cutting across sectarian lines––a war against the Jewish state should have been much more holier than taking up arms against Assad and al-Maliki, as it had occupied Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the third holiest place after Mecca and Medina. This is so in spite of the fact that attacks by Israel on Arabs always evoke a lot of anger and street protests in Paris, London, New York etc.
Hardly any Muslim from the US and Europe, came to Iraq in 1991 and 2003 to fight against the American-led NATO attacks, even though there was a strong anti-American feeling in the entire Muslim world. Those who did show eagerness to fight for Iraq were from the Muslim countries and not the West.
US Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel addressing the media about ISIS in the Pentagon Briefing Room, Sept. 26, 2014. DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp.
Earlier in 1980s Muslim youths from around three dozen countries did converge to Afghanistan to fight against the Communist Soviet Union. Almost all of them who volunteered to fight the Communist regime in Kabul were from the Muslim world though the United States did provide material and moral support to these warriors. Many of the foreign fighters stayed there to later wage war against the West. Osama Bin Laden was one of them so was Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The big question is why is there so much enthusiasm among the fighters from the West, to go for what the international Press wrongly dub, ‘jihad’ in Syria and Iraq and not against Israel or its western allies?
When travelling, especially for the Muslims in the West, is so difficult how is it that such a large number of them from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia etc. landed up in the war-zone of Levant and Iraq. Several of them who went thousands of kilometres to be in the battlefield are White converts to Islam. Who encouraged, motivated, financed and facilitated these youths to go to the strange land?. Most of them are actually Facebook Revolutionaries with hardly any military training and any knowledge about the ground reality. Why the western intelligence and security agencies failed to make distinction between ‘tourists’ and ‘terrorists’ and, in a way, let these youths go there?
If India’s ex-President A P J Abdul Kalam, and the then defence minister George Fernandes had to undergo strict security check and the country’s ambassadors to the United States, Meera Shankar, and the United Nations, Hardeep Puri, had to undergo so much harassment, while travelling within the US, for wearing sari and turban respectively, why is it that nothing could be known about the movement of so many youths to the West Asia?
The phenomenon of volunteers from one, or more country going to other to join war is not new. One finds its example in Holy Crusades between 11th and 13th century. English poet Lord Byron went to fight Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule in 1830-31. The Spanish Civil War of 1930s drew volunteers from several European and South American countries. Novelist George Orwell was one among them.
Young comrades in the heydays of Communism would cross oceans and seas to wage war in the far away land against the capitalists. Che Guevera, an Argentine-born doctor is still considered as a hero in many parts of Latin America as he fought in three different continents against imperialism. He took part in Guatemalan struggle against US-backed capitalist; with Fidel Castro helped bring about Cuban Revolution in 1960, fought in Congo in Africa and was caught and executed in Bolivia in South America by the US-backed regime.
At the height of Sikh militancy in Punjab a reputed Indian magazine carried a story as to how a few Hindu youths embraced Sikhism and became militants and earned, what they call martyrdom, at the hands of the security forces.
Thus, ISIS is not the first outfit which comprises international warriors who are fighting in distant battlegrounds. But it is different in other ways. Its volunteers have misunderstood ‘jihad’ as they have been brainwashed and indoctrinated by those very western powers, who want to get their countries rid of radical elements.
Take the example of Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf have hardly anything to do with Islam in their own life. But in a bid to get their country rid of radical elements they encouraged them to fight war in Kashmir and Afghanistan and get killed. In the process these leaders also wanted to achieve what is called the strategic depth for Pakistan.
Similarly Saudi Arabia, at least in the initial years, tried to export the hot-heads from their own country to Syria as the ruling royal family was apprehensive of them. Checking the Iranian influence was also inherent in such move. So they wanted to hit two birds with one stone. However, it is other thing that ISIS started challenging the royal family of Riyadh too.
But apart from money the Saudis––or Qataris––alone do not have the wherewithal to organize and orchestrate such a prolong war. For that they had to rely on the same oncologists––Barack Obama, David Cameron and company––who are now calling ISIS a cancer. The truth is that these doctors instead of diagnosing and treating the disease on time help spread the virus.
While George Bush-II devastated Iraq and Afghanistan the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2009 supervised the systematic destruction of Syria and Libya. No doubt both Syria and Libya have dictators ruling the country and a lot of people were against them, yet the opposition within were not as powerful as to overthrow Bashaar al-Assad or Maummar Gaddafi on their own.
The surprise aspect is that though there are so many oncologists around yet the cancer of ISIS spread within no time. Till the start of 2014 hardly anyone knew about it. The news of its split from al-Qaeda came in February. The West was excited as in the process al-Qaida got weakened. This was naturally their main objective.
But by June the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria(ISIS) managed to virtually overrun the entire central Iraq threatening the very existence of the country.
The another related question is: as to how is it that the ISIS, a splintered group led by a former Baathist soldier, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, succeed in such a short time when no other terrorist outfit, including the much powerful, organized and well spread al-Qaeda could achieve.
Barack Obama is the head of a non-cricket playing country. But he knows that cancer can now be detected at the early stage and cured. Yuvraj Singh got treated in the United States itself. He came back after a few months to play some good innings.
About a quarter century back Australian all-rounder Simon O’ Donnell too was diagonized cancer. He was cured and took to the field to hit the fastest One-Day 50––in just 18 balls. It took six long years for a Sri Lankan batsman, Sanath Jayasuria to break the record.
So now cancer is not the disease which can not be cured, Dr Obama. There is no need to lament. The problem is that it is difficult to treat when the virus has deliberately been injected into the body by the oncologists themselves.
The fact is that in the name of aerial bombardment the United States and its Arab and western allies are further aggravating the disease as they are not interested in treating the patient.