Akhtar Raja
The problem with a state’s claim to ‘exceptionalism’ is that this is often interpreted as bringing with it a special status with unique privileges and infallibility. We are used to hearing about the US claiming an almost divine status. It seeks to impose its brand of democracy in the Muslim world, causes carnage and consistently loses wars it begins. This time it has encouraged and supported Israel in a war without any red lines. The hope of and access to mechanisms of justice and the rule of law have been eviscerated. The Muslim world has however been unified. At the heart of its own faith is the imperative to act justly.
The two state solution is an aberration – a ruse. If a permanent ceasefire does not transpire Israel and the US will find themselves in the midst of a regional conflict which they will lose devastatingly.
The current conflict is not limited to Gaza and the West Bank. It is gradually embracing ever widening interests. Israel has no appetite for a just resolution. Justice and equity are concepts it is allergic to. The subhuman barbarity of the holocaust spurned the sentiment ‘never again.’ That should be ‘never again for all humanity.’ Netanyahu’s government and all those complicit in his current ethnic cleansing project have excluded a class of homo sapiens from humanity. On 28 October he stated: ‘You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible’. This was a reference to a version of the Torah (Samuel 15:3): ‘Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.’ It is simply fallacious to attribute this mindset to Jews as a whole. Jews of varying complexion from across a spectrum of nuances in faith and identity are also staunch human rights defenders seeking peace and justice. Islam guarantees to them their freedom of faith. That is unimpeachable. This conflict is down to the conduct of the state of Israel as a long-standing US asset.
In the meantime, the UN has remained impotent. Diplomacy has completely failed. Spinless Western states are acting in concert. Justice has no seat at the table. The imposition of apartheid remains unabated. Genocide is playing out before our eyes. Israel’s ‘self defence’ is characterised by rampant butchery while it peddles pathological lies to a largely subservient Western media machine. International legal instruments have been reduced to ashes. The deprivation of food, water, medicines, and electricity, in addition to relentless bombing of refugee camps, hospitals, schools, humanitarian missions and fleeing crowds is part of Israel’s war strategy. We are witnessing the second Nakba.
A whole set of existential problems prevail. These include: The express acceptance that Palestinian life is worthless. A declaration that the Middle East will change. A further step closer to the achievement of a Greater Israel. And Israel’s continued ‘right’ to transcend rule of law and humanity. There is no such thing as an effective liberal political West when it comes to the Palestinian issue. Previously, Keir Starmer (the next likely British Prime Minster) and I worked together on legal cases. In 2000 he trained judges on human rights law and authored a book about the subject. He recently stated Israel had the right to withhold electricity and water from civilians in Gaza. At the time of writing, he continues to oppose a ceasefire. US Senator Lindsay Graham has called for wholesale destruction of Gaza as part of a religious war. Muslim culture has been described as being in the grip of a death cult. There has been a call for a Nakba that overshadows 1948.
These statements are set against a new world order in which the US is no longer in control. The global south, China, Russia, and the Middle East do not support the colonial project. I venture to suggest the agenda is not purely political or strategic in nature but also ideological. Israel wants maps redrawn and to reach, in due course, amongst other territories, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our two Holy Cities are vulnerable. After all Jerusalem has been carved up. Applying the same rationale for a Greater Israel means Yathrib is also included.
Muslim states are not (if they so wish) beholden to these dynamics. They have a collective duty to the Nation of Muslims and all those who live with them.
There is no legal prohibition to provide immediate humanitarian relief. Muslim countries cannot postpone taking on the task of opening a humanitarian corridor to facilitate the needs of Palestinians in Gaza. A call to do so must not be subordinate to Israel’s, the West’s, or the UN’s dictates. A child dying every few minutes during the Israeli onslaught does not give any room for a wait and see approach.
A time for Muslim states to renew their faith and dignity. In this second part of my two part article I examine Israel’s aggression juxtaposed with the Nation of Muslims.
Nothing should discourage countries surrounding Gaza and the West Bank allowing a humanitarian and peacekeeping mission - comprising representatives from armies of each Muslim nation and any other country wishing to participate - from being deployed to support a just cause. There needs to be an end to the grotesque punishment.
For a unified body of Muslim states to act they must collectively change their psychological and philosophical mindset from a secular to Islamic pattern. Muslim states need to reinvigorate their faith in the face of all other doors being shut. Such revival is dependent on two critical triggers. Firstly, belief in Allah (the ultimate and exclusive source of power) and secondly, love for the Holy Prophet (SWS). The former is engaged by worship without limit, and the latter requires love without limit.
Faith has been prevalent amongst Muslims in every era. It has never been extinguished. Islam supported our history favourably when faith was paramount, and it dictated our conduct and direction of accountability. Faith and history walked together.
The recent Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit hosted by Saudi Arabia was significant. Israel’s conduct has acted as a catalyst precipitating the unification of the Muslim Street and Muslim states. The terms of normalisation are now going to be vastly different.
President Ebrahim Raisi attended the meeting in Riyadh - the first visit by an Iranian president in 11 years. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani while recognising Muslims ‘are peace advocates’ (contrary to the West’s routine maligning portrayal) stated that double standards were no longer acceptable. He went on to observe:
‘What is happening is very dangerous, it includes trampling not only on international law, but also all values, norms, and religious and worldly laws, besides the proclaimed Israeli remarks of its illegal intentions such as displacement, and so forth…We are saying enough is enough.’
Muslim states have an opportunity to renew their confidence, dignity, and assertiveness. A preamble should recall our history not as a war cry but to highlight the extent of Allah’s far reaching favours on Muslim states.
In the seventh century our venerable military commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid, fought and defeated the Byzantines in the Battles of Hazir, Ajnadayn and Yarmouk. Having conquered Mesopotamia Yarmouk represented one of our greatest successes.
The eighth century, Umayyad caliph, Umar bin Abdul-Aziz, reformed the Muslim empire. During his reign, Muslim forces in Al-Andalus conquered and fortified the Mediterranean coastal city of Narbonne in modern-day France.
Under Muslim rule for more than 750 years Spain shone as Europe’s cultural centre. Tariq bin Ziyad led the conquest of Spain. He was arguably the most important military leader in Iberian history. In poetic contrast to UK’s ‘stop the boats’ policy, Tariq burnt his boats to inspire a small army after entering Spain by sea in 711 A.D. Having glorified Allah, he delivered his now famous address.
Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi, an Umayyad governor who ruled Al-Andalus in the eighth century, was the first Muslim commander to cross the Pyrenees in 717. North African Governor, Musa bin Nusair, and Tariq bin Ziyad ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula and occupied Lyons.
Abd Al Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al-Ghafiqi invaded France in 732 and defeated the Duke of Aquitaine. Al-Ghafiqi advanced as far as Tours, in central France. Numerous Muslim incursions into Gaul followed.
Abd Al Ramān I, also called al-Dākhil, flourished between 750–788 in Spain and defeated armies sent by Charlemagne (who had united most of Europe).
Qutayba ibn Muslim, another Arab commander, led the conquest of Transoxiana. He also conquered Xinjiang. In 751, the Muslims successfully fought the Tang Chinese army and Karluk mercenaries in the Battle of Talas. China ceased recapture of Transoxiana.
In 1187 the Battle of Hattin, in northern Palestine, was one of two decisive battles in the Middle East. Salah al-Din destroyed Christian crusader armies. The other battle was at Al Mansurah.
Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, defeated the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France at the Battle of Al Mansurah (in 1250) which led to the end of Crusader presence. He also led the Egyptian army in a decisive defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. This was a turning point in history. The Mongols of the Golden Horde embraced Islam and forged strong ties. His military campaign also extended into Libya and Nubia.
The Ottomans ruled for over six centuries from 1299 and added Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Romania, and Hungary to their empire.
Under the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (also known as Alamgir I who reigned until 1707) the Mughal Empire spanned nearly the entirety of the Indian subcontinent.
Our history is richer than any treasure. US continuing to underwrite the war does not therefore mean Palestine will cease. The US is weak financially and has a deteriorating army. It is under attack in Syria and Iraq. Yemen has joined the fray. Israel’s own army is small and inexperienced. On the flip side, President Erdogan has described Hamas as a liberation group fighting to protect Palestinian lands. Turkey has a huge army of ferocious fighters that could be deployed if necessary. Pakistan will inevitably provide nuclear warheads if the Muslim world is threatened. A handful of both nations’ air force pilots could police Palestinian skies and push back the Israelis with little effort.
If Eygpt’s hand was forced, it would gain Turkey’s support. Troop numbers would dwarf the Americans and Israelis. Iran has an enormous arsenal of missiles and rockets aimed at Israel. China and Russia have aligned interests with Iran. North African states would doubtless join any counter offensive.
The US is not ‘indispensable’ as Madeline Albright once claimed. It has permitted Israel to put its very existence at risk either in the current conflict, or certainly, next time round. As Qatar’s Emir wisely proclaimed, enough is enough. His words were profound and should be heeded.
Akhtar Raja is a British lawyer based in London and Principal of Quist Solicitors.
