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Jul-28-2009
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Views expressed here are author"s own and not of this website. Full disclaimer is
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I offer a rebuttal for the column, West and the Islam,? by the Kazi Anwarul Masud sahib published at follows. I also present information on a new development for conducting a war in future. America is now preparing for serial wars for next few decades.
Given that the globe is coming under increasing demographic and environmental pressures, what should be the priority for concerns about the misfortunes or collateral damages that some Muslims in the West experience?
Muslims Discomforts and Collateral Damages
I am not comfortable that some Muslims settled in the West are complaining about violation of their constitutional rights. If true, I consider it as abrasions; call it collateral damage associated with on-going clash of civilization. The Muslims blame America and the West for their misfortunes ignoring who started the clash of civilization.
West in general and America in particular is in a clash of civilization otherwise called War on Terrorism (2002 to 2008) and now labeled a war to destroy al Qaeda and Taliban lodged in the safe houses in the Afpakia region and threatening to attack America with nuclear weapons. The clash of civilization was instigated by radical Islamists who occupied Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Some Muslims settled in the West have openly expressed sympathies for the Muslims engaged in the clash of civilization against America. Some Muslims carry religion on their person (un-kept beard, hijab, burkha dress code, etc) in disregard to sensitivities of civilians in areas of the West that were attacked by Islamic terrorists.
America and the West certainly are not going to allow proliferation of Islamic norms that are at odds with Western norms in their homelands. There is no middle ground between social, cultural, political and economic norms followed by Western powers and that by Muslims who prefer to promote Arab tribal norms, especially the concept of theocracy, gender based discrimination, religion based hate and intolerance of non-Islamic believers and economically impractical banking and financial practices, etc.
In any war there is a lot of collateral damage to civilian life and property; for example, an estimated 2 million tribals became internally displaced persons, IDP, recently as a result of Pakistani military actions in the Swat valley to wipe out insurgency by radicals.
The discomforts of Muslims settled in West during this period of the clash of civilization are minor compared to the collateral damages experienced by IDP caught between the cross fire in the war zones. The point about discrimination felt by second generation Muslims, etc or violation of rights granted in the constitution are irrelevant as America and the West are acting to protect national interests.
History of Clash of Civilization
Historically, Roman Catholics were at forefront of the clash of civilizations overtly to spread their faith but in reality, extraterritorial expansions for economic growth. Then Arabs invented Islam, which is a modified Abrahamic religion. It replaced European social, cultural and political norms incorporated in Christianity and Judaism with Arab tribal norms. In the medieval period Muslims adopted logics used by the Roman Catholics for spread of their faith and extraterritorial expansion.
The medieval period wars were known for brutalities. The changes in the nature of wars from medieval period to present had to wait for new technologies to mature. The changes in war technologies included improved naval power, new inventions leading to air power and missile power coupled with WMDs. The war theater has undergone a radical change but not the lust for power and economic gains.
In globally spread political struggles nations that have relied on science and technology to maintaining its military and economic power second to none have prevailed for last several centuries. Barring discomforts experienced by minorities in some geographical areas with relative peace residents of the West have escaped brutalities suffered by their forefathers during the clashes of civilizations of the medieval period.
Serial War
For America, after the end of WWII if it is not a fight against spread of communism, it is a clash of civilization. In dispatches from America titled, "Serial war as a way of life," Mr. David Bromwich has explained why America is engaged in the clash of civilization. For internal political reasons according to an analysis published by Mr. Bromwich in the Asia Times at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KG24Df01.html after the end of WWII America became a party to the Cold War and then a target in the clash of civilization.
The Vietnam War debacles led internal political compulsions for America to outsource its small regional wars of 1980s-present to a frontline state, Pakistan. It invaded Iraq and Afghanistan after it was attacked in 2001 by a handful of European educated Arabs who had also received training as terrorists in the Afpakia region.
For internal political reasons explained in the Asia Times article America is now preparing for serial wars. No sooner a war ends another is initiated to keep America in the play, directly or indirectly. America can play this game as they are able to find and outsource American wars to willing dictators of frontline states on the global stage. Who knows what will follow once a serial war is activated?
The Future
In light of these developments, nations that preach non-violence being militarily and economically weak for survival are doomed unless they invest heavily in preparing for wars of invasion by ambitious powers for global domination or hegemony. Is it better to fight defensive war or adopt the offensive-defense doctrine of countries like America, NATO nations and even Pakistan remains to be seen?
The demographic and environmental pressures are building globally. In an unpredictable future, who will be the winners in long run?
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