Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has recently called on Muslim leaders to unite to confront Israel. His call was followed by the killing of scores of Palestinians by Israeli snipers. It is happening recurrently now. Muslims’ blood throughout the world is spilling over the ground as no one is holding the perpetrator accountable. And Muslims will continue to suffer if remain disunited. However, the President’s call is a litmus test for Muslim’s leadership.
Unfortunately, the fate of Muslim countries is sealed by the world powers. Power like US has to decide the fate of Muslims. And they have to take decision without taking Muslims into consideration. The relocation of US embassy to Jerusalem is an example that must be taken as an eyes opener by Muslims. Muslims, though very strong in resources, cannot beat their enemies. The reason lies in the fact that Muslims are divided and therefore cannot decide their fate.
Erdogan’s call for unity is a litmus test for Muslim’s leadership
Countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon had seen the shadow of US imperialism. Iraq was destroyed on the pretext that she had weapon of mass destruction whereas the fact of invading Iraq was her abundant resources. The invasion of Iraq has not only caused economic scourge for Muslims but also destroyed ancient historical sites along with other precious preservation. If one delves back into the Iraq’s history, one can easily figure out that Iraq had considered once the center of Muslim knowledge and home to many important historical sites, today Iraq is home to militants and has no prosperous future.
The destiny of Syria is also bleak. Syria has seen many battles in short span of time. The warring parties are buttressing different ethnic groups. The purpose of the belligerent countries like US and Russia is to get hold of Syria’s resources. Russia is supporting Bashar al-Assad- a Syrian politician who has been the President of Syria since 17 July 2000. While on the other side, US is supporting other ethic parties against the president. The war has continued disfiguring the lives of Syrian Muslims unprecedentedly.
Muslim countries have been under the shadow of US imperialism.
Muslims in Kashmir have a different story to unfold. They have seen unprecedented atrocities at the hands of Indian government. There is chaos in Kashmir around the clock. Indian army is not letting the dust to settle even for a single day. And it has been seven decades now that these Muslims are living in up-side-down like situation. And Muslims leadership are not getting united to address the issue as they are having diverse outlook regarding this. Very rarely, Muslim leaders bring the issue to the limelight.
Regretfully, the chasm between Saudi Arabia and Iran has further fanned the deterioration of Muslim society. This rift has done countless damage to the Muslim society as a whole. Country like America takes this as an opportunity to exploit and use one against the other. US has been pitting Saudi Arabia against Iran since long time now. And because of the support of Saudi Arabia, US is preparing to attack Iran.
Saudi Arabia has supported China in crushing Muslims.
The agonies of Rohingya and Uighur Muslims are leafs of current crises. And it is a slap on the face of Muslim leadership worldwide. Saudi Arabia, which is considered by Muslims to be the hub of Islam, has supported China in crushing Muslims. It is extremely shameful on the part of Saudi Arabia.
Platform such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is playing no significant role in relieving the suffering of Muslims countries. Surprisingly, its creation is based on the idea of doing mutual cooperation and making unity among Muslim countries, but nothing as such has occurred so far. The disunity and trust deficit among Muslim leadership has made the OIC paralyzed.
OIC has no significant role in relieving the suffering of Muslims
The above discussion has proved that if Muslims did not wake up from the absurd slumber, their condition will be more compounded. Muslim leadership should respond to the call of Turkish president and guard Palestinian Muslims and other Muslims wherever they reside against unjust and atrocities.
Likewise, the OIC platform should be utilized as much as possible for the best of the Muslims interest and security. And the chasm between Saudi Arabia and Iran should be iron out as soon as possible. It is now necessary for Muslims to stand united as further delay and negligence will cause identity crises and break up of Muslim civilization.