The Muslim World | Medusa's Wreck!

[OrionHunter]

Many in the region see America's hand in the current upheaval in the Islamic world. But while the Iraq invasion of 2003 has proven to be the principal catalyst behind the turmoil being seen today, America alone should not be considered a mastermind of today's turmoil. The schism between Sunnis and Shias is simply too vast, too gory, and too inflammable to blame any outsider.

Many in the other major world faiths too seem to buy into Western propaganda, and see Islam as some sort of virulent cult. How then can Muslims first stop the sectarian massacres, and then restore their image in the eyes of the world?

First, they must realize that the 1,400-year-old Sunni-Shia dispute is past its sell-by date. It's high time for a truce between Sunnis and Shias. If Christianity could bring its sects in line, so can Islam.

Second, Muslims must realize that we live in an era of democracy. States cannot continue to exist as theocracies, monarchies, and dictatorships. Of course, one can keep postponing the democracy project, but Muslim democracies can integrate into the global village while retaining their culture.

Third, Muslim people should realize how much damage is done to their image by being painted as obscurantists and terrorists. More Muslims have died in the last decade in the wars against the West than Westerners themselves, but it's Muslims that are getting a bad name. Some sort of reformation seems to be in order. This of course could be challenging in a religion like Islam with devolved spiritual authority, but just repeating ad nauseam that Islam is a religion of peace does not seem to be rectifying how Muslims are perceived.

All of us like to be liked, our religions to be admired, and our countries to be applauded. Who doesn't feel a tinge of guilt or a pang of anger when our identities are criticized, especially when we believe the criticism to be unfounded? The Muslim world is in crisis. It has seen crises before, and survived those. It will surely survive the current tempest, but will do so more easily with some of the prescriptions herein.

Relevant portions extracted from Huff Post

 

[VelocuR]

PML-Q leader calls for joint Islamic army

By The Newspaper's Staff Correspondent
Published about 3 hours ago

Muslim countries should form a joint 'Islamic Army' on the lines of Nato to halt Israeli atrocities on the innocent people of Palestine, says Salma Hashmi

QUETTA: A PML-Q leader has called for Muslim countries to form a joint 'Islamic Army’ on the lines of Nato to halt Israeli atrocities on the innocent people of Palestine.

In a statement on Sunday, Salma Hashmi said, “Israeli fighter jets and military tanks have been killing hundreds of innocent Palestinian people including...women and children but the governments of Muslim countries have been issuing just condemning statements”.

She said all Muslim countries must take immediate measures to form a joint army like Nato if they were serious to retaliate against brutal Israeli attacks on Palestinian people.

“When Western countries, including the USA, Britain, France, Canada and others, could join hands to protect their interests by forming a joint military alliance in the shape of Nato then why are Muslim countries reluctant to form a joint Islamic army which should be funded jointly by all Muslim countries,” she said.

Gaza toll soars as Israel pounds north

Ms Hashmi said that if billions of dollars that the Arab countries had deposited in American, Swiss and French banks withdrew a big financial crisis would emerge in Western countries.

She also urged the Muslim countries to form their joint bank like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, adding that Arab monarchs and elite classes should transfer their money from Western banks to the proposed joint Islamic bank.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2014

PML-Q leader calls for joint Islamic army - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

@Aeronaut @T-123456 @Chinese-Dragon

 

[gambit]

First, they must realize that the 1,400-year-old Sunni-Shia dispute is past its sell-by date. It's high time for a truce between Sunnis and Shias. If Christianity could bring its sects in line, so can Islam.

Good luck with that...

Muslims must realize that we live in an era of democracy. States cannot continue to exist as theocracies, monarchies, and dictatorships. Of course, one can keep postponing the democracy project, but Muslim democracies can integrate into the global village while retaining their culture.

Good luck with that...

, Muslim people should realize how much damage is done to their image by being painted as obscurantists and terrorists. More Muslims have died in the last decade in the wars against the West than Westerners themselves, but it's Muslims that are getting a bad name. Some sort of reformation seems to be in order. This of course could be challenging in a religion like Islam with devolved spiritual authority, but just repeating ad nauseam that Islam is a religion of peace does not seem to be rectifying how Muslims are perceived.

Good luck with that...

Looks like the Muslims need a lot of luck instead of Allah. But until either one kicks in, what WILL happens is that enough of the Muslims will blindly follow the few who will exploit the gullible and mislead the masses into believing that their problems are the results of <you-name-it-here>. We see that mentality on this forum enough.

 

[FaujHistorian]

The Muslim world: Medusa’s wreck

By Shamshad Ahmad
Published: July 19, 2014

The story of the Medusa begins in Paris in the year 1816. The French monarchy had been restored to the throne by the English after they had defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. In a show of support for the newly instated king, they offered the French the port of Saint-Louis in Senegal on the West African coast. King Louis XVIII appointed a personal friend, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, as a frigate captain and tasked him to lead the fleet to take possession of the gifted port. He had never commanded a ship, to say nothing of a fleet. Throughout his career, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys had worked only as a customs officer.

Woefully, the Muslim world today represents the tragic story of the Medusa, the ill-piloted French naval ship that ran aground because of its captain’s blunders and his dependence on others for navigational guidance, leaving behind a tale of helplessness, desperation and death. The Medusa’s wreck is still out there, lying stuck on the West African coast, and isn’t going anywhere. The Muslim world today is in no better shape. Like the Medusa’s wreck, it is just lying out there, aimlessly floating like a stricken ship, with no one to steer it out of troubled waters.

Representing one-fifth of humanity as well as of the global land mass spreading over 57 countries, and possessing 70 per cent of the world’s energy resources and nearly 50 per cent of the world’s raw materials, the Muslim world should have been a global giant, economically as well as politically. Instead, rich in everything and weak in all respects, it represents only five per cent of the world’s GDP. As a non-consequential entity, it has no role in global decision-making or even in addressing its own problems.

Poor and dispossessed, Muslim nations emerging from long colonial rule may have become sovereign states but are without genuine political and economic independence. Their trade, their oil revenues, their investible funds, their banking, their savings, every thing that the affluent countries in the Muslim world have is concentrated in the West. Though some of them are sitting on the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, the majority of Muslim countries are among the poorest and most backward in the world. With rare exceptions, they are all politically bankrupt with no institutions other than authoritarian rule.


They have no established tradition of systemic governance or institutional approach in their policies and priorities. Every ingredient of political life in these so-called sovereign states has been faked; sovereignty is not sovereignty, parliament is not parliament, law is not law, and the opposition parties are as corrupt and wasted as the ruling parties. Even the independence following the colonial powers’ handing over of the reins of government to local rulers was not true independence. Other than being members of the United Nations, they remain virtual colonies of the West with no sense of freedom or dignity.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the religion itself is being demonised by its detractors with obsessive focus on the religion of individuals and groups accused of complicity or involvement in terrorist activities. Religion is being blamed for everything that goes wrong in any part of the world. With violence and extremism becoming anathema to the world’s high and mighty, Muslim freedom struggles are being projected as the primary source of ‘militancy and terrorism’. Global terrorism is now being used to justify military occupations and to curb the legitimate freedom struggles of the Muslim peoples. The tragedies in Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan represent the continuing helplessness of the world’s Muslims.
View attachment 39646

Muslim issues remain unaddressed for decades. Palestine is tired and has given up. Iraq is still burning. Afghanistan has yet to breathe peace. Kashmir stands disillusioned. Lebanon is simmering. Libya has been tamed. Egypt is once again the bastion of authoritarianism. Syria is on notice for regime change. Iran is being coerced to give up on its legitimate rights. And Pakistan is on ICU resuscitation. These are all a dreary phenomenon for which the rulers of the Muslim world alone are responsible. They have mortgaged to the West not only the security and sovereignty of their states, but also the political and economic futures of their nations.

What aggravates this dismal scenario is the inability of the Muslim world as a bloc to take care of its problems or to overcome its weaknesses. We cannot entirely blame the West for the Muslim world’s institutional bankruptcy and its deficiency in education and science and technology. It makes no sense in dwelling nostalgically over the past and ‘lost’ glory. For us, the steady erosion of polity and power, and the Muslim world’s stumbling lurch into Western colonialism, and now, with total industrial and technological backwardness, our political, economic and military subservience to the West should be stark reminders of the historical magnitude of the failures of the world’s Muslim leadership.

Things will not change unless the Muslim world itself fixes its fundamentals and puts its house in order. Angels will not descend to help or salvage it. They are busy helping the West and others in the non-Muslim world. It must take control of its own destiny through unity, mutuality and cohesion within its ranks. Its wealth and resources, now being exploited by the West, should be used to build its own strength and for its own socio-economic well-being.

The key to reshaping the future of the Muslim world lies in its political and economic independence and military strength, with each Muslim nation opting for peace and for knowledge and technology as top strategic priorities. Each one of them at the national level will have to revamp its existing mindset to opt for peace, and for good and accountable governance. Ultimately, governments alone bear the responsibility for a turnaround in the Muslim world and for recovering from its political, institutional and intellectual morbidity.

The salvation of the Muslim world lies in the policies and priorities of each Muslim nation, for which the ownership lies with the leaders and governments alone to ensure not only their state’s security and independence, but also their political, economic and social stability and strength.

On its part, Pakistan has a pivotal role to play in reinforcing the solidarity of the Muslim world. In doing so, it must focus on cohesive rather than divisive strategies by promoting greater political, economic and strategic cooperation among Muslim countries and also by serving as a beacon of good quality education, scientific and technical knowledge and modernism.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2014.

The Muslim world: Medusa’s wreck – The Express Tribune


The message for us is simple - EVOLVE OR DIE!

@Icarus @Xeric @Hyperion @Arabian Legend @JUBA @1000 @Kaan @Casus Belli @Indos @TheOccupiedKashmir @Bubblegum Crisis - Tag others please - Must read

The premise of this article is wrong.

Muslim world only exists in the minds of Pan-Islamists and only in hot cups of Gahwa.


Islamist world is more like a virtual body aka Jinn.

Jinns are supposed to have lot of power, that they can use to lift the whole cities.

but no one has seen Jinns.

Not in recent years.

Unless off course you are a Jinn baba who gets such things out of mad women in tiny villages.


Perhaps the writer of this essay sham-shade mian is a Jinn baba.


hahahaha.

Many in the region see America's hand in the current upheaval in the Islamic world. But while the Iraq invasion of 2003 has proven to be the principal catalyst behind the turmoil being seen today, America alone should not be considered a mastermind of today's turmoil. The schism between Sunnis and Shias is simply too vast, too gory, and too inflammable to blame any outsider.

Many in the other major world faiths too seem to buy into Western propaganda, and see Islam as some sort of virulent cult. How then can Muslims first stop the sectarian massacres, and then restore their image in the eyes of the world?

First, they must realize that the 1,400-year-old Sunni-Shia dispute is past its sell-by date. It's high time for a truce between Sunnis and Shias. If Christianity could bring its sects in line, so can Islam.

Second, Muslims must realize that we live in an era of democracy. States cannot continue to exist as theocracies, monarchies, and dictatorships. Of course, one can keep postponing the democracy project, but Muslim democracies can integrate into the global village while retaining their culture.

Third, Muslim people should realize how much damage is done to their image by being painted as obscurantists and terrorists. More Muslims have died in the last decade in the wars against the West than Westerners themselves, but it's Muslims that are getting a bad name. Some sort of reformation seems to be in order. This of course could be challenging in a religion like Islam with devolved spiritual authority, but just repeating ad nauseam that Islam is a religion of peace does not seem to be rectifying how Muslims are perceived.

All of us like to be liked, our religions to be admired, and our countries to be applauded. Who doesn't feel a tinge of guilt or a pang of anger when our identities are criticized, especially when we believe the criticism to be unfounded? The Muslim world is in crisis. It has seen crises before, and survived those. It will surely survive the current tempest, but will do so more easily with some of the prescriptions herein.

Relevant portions extracted from Huff Post

Sir Ji

Aap to serious ho ga-ay (how come you got so damned serious?)

OP in this thread is bunch of cr@p. No need to stir it.

Thank you

 

[Butchcassidy]

Whatever the problem is between Muslims now, I don't think it could be anywhere near as bad as the Chinese civil wars, the Taiping rebellion alone killed around 30 million people.

Or the wars between the European countries which killed almost as many.

The thing is, these things can be solved. Muslim sectarian violence is not that different from the cases above, and certainly a lot less bloody.

During our Century of Humiliation, nobody would have believed that we would have reunited, and become the largest trading nation in the world, and on the path to becoming the largest economy in the world (again). The world changes so quickly, if China could reverse our fortunes within the span of only a few decades, then the Islamic world surely can too.

It was easier for china because u r a predominantly uniracial, unicultural and unilinguistic country (i just made up three new words i think).

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

It was easier for china because u r a predominantly uniracial, unicultural and unilinguistic country (i just made up three new words i think).

I think people usually write mono- for those terms. Mono-racial, mono-cultural, and mono-linguistic.

And that didn't help much anyway, if you see our past 200 years. Han Chinese vs Han Chinese were the bloodiest civil wars in world history.

 

[Butchcassidy]

I think people usually write mono- for those terms. Mono-racial, mono-cultural, and mono-linguistic.

And that didn't help much, if you see our past 200 years. Han Chinese vs Han Chinese were the bloodiest civil wars in world history.

Good luck with bringing the arabs and iranians on the same table. I will give u an analogy: two brothers may fight as much as they want, but at the end of the day they will shake hands. Same cannot be said about neighbors. Chinese have more in common with each other than say turks or arabs or iranians have amongst themselves sans the religion. Religion can never be a binding fore whereas shared culture and history are.

 

[Strigon]

Electing this author for PM with him having zero to no knowledge of leading a country would still be better than Nawaz/ Zardari/ and God forbid the fat fck insect, just because of his ideas.

I always knew these facts, just couldn't put on paper. Thanks to him everyone can see the reasons why we get punched in the face and laughed at.

 

[FaujHistorian]

...... Thanks to him everyone can see the reasons why we get punched in the face and laughed at.

Who is "WE"?

you answer should include consideration of Pakistani war history.

Thank you

 

[Strigon]

Who is "WE"?

you answer should include consideration of Pakistani war history.

Thank you

We as in Muslim countries suffering economically, politically, religiously.

A little light on what aspect of Pakistani war history you are referring to might help me fashion my response more accurately.

 

[T-Rex]

The premise of this article is wrong.

Muslim world only exists in the minds of Pan-Islamists and only in hot cups of Gahwa.

Whether it exists in the minds of Pan-Islamists or local Islamists is debatable but that it does not exist in the dictionary of the despicable turncoats is beyond a shred of doubt. Every time they speak it stinks, every time they pretend to be 'nice' they appear as Macbeth's wife whom Shakespeare described as serpent with the look of an innocent flower. They make perfect examples of the devil's advocates.

 

[Contrarian]

I've been saying this for years. The Islamic world combined has more geopolitical and diplomatic power and influence than anyone else in the world, maybe apart from the sole superpower America. Not only do they control the vast majority of the world's energy resources, but they also have control over the most important geostrategic regions in the world (the Middle East and Central Asia).

It is such a shame that all this power goes wasted, due to disunity and infighting.

And it doesn't have to be that way. Look at China during our Century of Humiliation, or during our Warlord era... nobody back then believed that we had a chance to be anything except the "Sick man of Asia". Hundreds of millions of Chinese died during this period, not just to foreign invasion but also due to our own Civil wars.

But we are now in the information era, and thus the Muslim world has the tools and ability to avoid our fate. Like China, the Islamic world is a "sleeping giant", but I do not think it will take two centuries for them to wake up. It might only take a few decades, if the will is there.

And unlike China, the Islamic world already has the power. The power is already there, it is just waiting for someone to come along and realize it.

CD, saying Islamic world is a non sequitor because there is no 'Islamic world'. Its a bunch of countries having the same religion.

By the same token you can use the word 'Dharmic world'. Would that make sense to you? No. Because while we may be a bunch of countries sharing the Dharmic faith, it does not mean we become one block.

The struggles and background of many countries is different and therefore the outlook of those people towards the world.

OT: The article states 'Islamic world' in Medusa's wreck. But Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia are not in that category. They are countries that are doing well and improving the life of their citizens and building institutions. They are by no means in a wreck.

 

[punit]

1: We don't need an American to tell us what exists and what doesn't. We existed from a 1000 years before you did!
2: Your view is not different from a typical American. Muslims are bad, Islam is evil - end of story.
3: That Somali chick is one of many 'media faces', used to malign Islam and Muslims. We are almost 2 Billion people from 57 countries and 100s of languages, no 'conference' by a western paid cheerleader can sum up the diversity of our world
4: We will govern ourselves by our laws, by our way of life for our people.

too many We, And Our !! the only problem is the those with money and resources dont believe in so many We and Our !

 

[Cherokee]

Can say same about Africa . With population of more than 1 billion , 20 percent of earth landmass , and Natural resources beyond measure African world is medusas wreck .

And same can be said by creating so many disjoined lines that the list is endless .

So nothing but wishful thinking of people .

 

[Contrarian]

What we need to get rid of is the tyranny West has fostered in our countries, the puppet regimes and dictators they bankroll. We want democracy in the Muslim world but the one that represents our aspirations and our goals. We have been humiliated for 100 years - this is enough. Now we are powerful and independent enough to start a reconstruction and claim what's rightfully ours. If we do not stick together a bunch of coward zionists will keep bombing our besieged people in Gaza. If we do not stand up, we will all become Gaza and those who fire JDAMs at our homes will blame us for getting bombed.

You are being patently unfair Aeronaut.
You blame the west for looking out for their interests and not the people in your countries for accepting tyranny and dictatorship.

You can blame the bribe giver, but not the bribe taker, when the bribe taker is the real one at fault. You are simply blaming the West for 'your' shortcomings.