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Why Muslims hate the US?
By Zafarul-Islam Khan
This pre-11
September article attempts, in general, to trace the roots of Muslim anger
at the US and West long before the illegal and unjust current imperialist
crusade in Afghanistan under the guise of fighting terrorism. If the US
really wanted to fight terrorism it should have bombed Florida, which is
the haven of many criminals who once served US interests, or London which
houses nerve centres of most of the terrorist outfits in the world, or
Israel which is the terrorist state number one in this world and is right
now headed by a known terrorist who is facing a genocide trial in a
Belgian court and has been indicted by an inquiry commission in his own
country for his role in Sabra and Shatila massacres for which the US was
equally responsible because, through his special envoy Philip Habib,
President Reagan had given solemn pledges in writing that Palestinian
civilians will be safe after the withdrawal of the PLO forces from Lebanon
and that the Israelis will not enter Beirut. A similar assurance was given
most recently that the US’ notorious allies will not enter Kabul. The
new western crusade has only opened many an old wound.
During recent months we have heard and read a
lot about ‘Islamic terrorism’ which, if western media is to be
believed, has spread its tentacles to all parts of the world targeting
western (read ‘American’) interests. Despite all this focus on the
supposed conversion of a whole religious community to active
‘terrorism’ or condoning it, no one seems to have bothered to probe
the issues that have led some people in the Muslim community in some parts
of the world to take arms against the most powerful nation in the world
today. Even if an individual commits a crime, the society, media, police
and judiciary try to find out its reasons. Crimes by ordinary and normal
people are seldom committed without a strong reason.
Unlike the impression created by the western media, the current Muslim
anger is directed only against two countries: US and Israel. In the case
of Israel it does not take much to understand the reason: it has occupied
a Muslim country (Palestine), expelled most of its population, has changed
the demography of Jerusalem and refuses to honour a solemn treaty (Oslo)
that allows Palestinians to regain sovereignty in only 23 percent of their
original homeland..
The Muslim animosity to the US is closely linked to the American blind
support to the zionists. The US had very cordial relationship with the
Muslim and Arab World until early 1950s. Indeed in the wake of the First
World War people of Syria and Palestine had expressed their preference for
an American mandate if that was necessary to regain their independence.
This is recorded in the report of the King-Crane Commission of Inquiry
sent by the US Administration to the Middle East to find out the popular
mood in the wake of the conflicting British agreements and declarations
during the war.
The immense Arab and Muslim goodwill for the US stemmed from the fact that
the US was raising slogans dear to these oppressed peoples and, more
importantly, the US had no colonial past and hence there was no animosity
towards it. All other western players, especially Britain and France, had
a bitter colonial past and present and therefore were held in utter
contempt and animosity. The US went back into its shell after the First
World War and hence, apart from some mutually beneficial economic
interests, there was no direct American contact with the Arab and Muslim
peoples.
It was only after the Second World War that these peoples came into direct
contact with the US. As the US was endeavouring to inherit the old
colonial order at the expense of the old European players, it was mostly
in conflict with British and French attempts to retain whatever control
was possible in the Middle East and North Africa. The US naturally
benefitted from siding with local rulers and movements which had goodwill
for the US. This is how many countries in the Muslim World, from Egypt
during early years of the July 1952 ‘Revolution,’ to Pakistan and
Turkey etc allied with the US.
In the meantime a subtle change had started to take root in the US
internal politics which soon became a permanent feature of its foreign
policy: blind support for the zionist efforts to turn Palestine into a
Jewish State. It all started with President Truman who took a clear pro-zionist
line. In return for Jewish donations and votes, Presidential, Senate and
Congress candidates started outbidding each other in supporting the
zionist cause -- an established tradition now in the US elections.Thus
support for the zionist cause has been turned into an internal American
electoral issue. Every US candidate, presidential, congressional or
Senate, has made it his solemn duty specifically not only to support the
zionist cause but to outbid others in order to win Jewish votes and
financial support.
Here are some broad features of the US policy vis-à-vis the Muslim World:
>Support to dictatorships violating human rights and robbing their
peoples (Indonesia / Pakistan / Egypt / Jordan / Morocco; induced coups
attempts in many places
>Support to reactionary regimes in many parts of the Muslim world which
do not believe in the slogans of democracy, human rights and popular
government as propounded by the US.
> Support to Israel and protecting it within and without the UN by
using its veto and military power in addition to financial and military
aid year after year. UN resolutions against Israel are ignored if not
vetoed in the first place while similar UN resolutions are used to wage
war against Iarq and subject it to genocidal blockade. Unproven
allegations have been used to place Libya under inhuman conditions.
> US is perceived as the main supporter for the normalisation of
relations with Israel, to which Arab regimes have been forced after the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
> US role in condoning Serbian aggression in Bosnia and now Kosovo
> US role in the genocidal blockade of Iraq and sanctions against Iran,
Sudan and Libya
> Economic attrition of the Muslim world resources, e.g. cheap oil,
ploughing back oil revenues through unnecessary grandiose projects,
sapping of the Saudi and Kuwaiti monetary reserves during the Gulf War
against Iraq, sucking Muslim wealth through sale of weapons which in turn
are sold after manufacturing wars in the region and use of Israel as a
constant threat.
> Constant media onslaught against Islam and Muslims without trying to
understand their points of view or trying to assuage their hurt feelings.
v Double standards: supporting a military regime in Algeria when
‘democracy’ led to the election of an Islamic party; supporting
dictatorships against popular and freely-elected governments (Egypt and
Indonesia are clear examples).
> Military rule unacceptable in the west but very much desired in the
east to prop up subservient regimes. q |
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