INTRODUCTION
If we examine the history of mankind, through evolution, the path Man followed, is scattered with corpses and splashed with blood. The ancient Man, genetically being a social animal, formed tribes and settled together for defending and supporting each other, during thick and thin. However, violence, blood thirst and desire to rule other tribes made a trail of battles and wars in the long history of Mankind. The world had witnessed years of Crucifix War, World Wars l and ll, including a nuclear holocaust in Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Rivers of blood flew in different continents of this world. If you see the last 70 years, it’s the most peaceful period in the checkered history of Man. However, this is also the period in which International/ religious terrorism raised its evil head and started gobbling innocent lives, in the name of religious hatred and God.
History of Terrorism
Many historians of Anthropology, believe that ‘radical Islamism’ is the product of Western interference and colonisation on the Muslim world. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. In 1830 the French captured Algeria. A decade later the British annexed Yemen. In 1881, the French took over Tunisia and a year later the English took over Egypt. In 1911 Russia annexed Persia while Italy captured Tripoli- eventually leading to the creation of Libya. In 1912, the French captured Morocco. A groundswell of resentment against the West and Christianity was only natural. By the time colonisation eventually died, these Muslim countries were plundered and looted by the invaders. A mass immigration of Muslims followed into the lands of their erstwhile colonial masters in search of livelihood. But immigration was accompanied by social exclusion and second grade citizens status. The dissatisfied immigrants became fertile hunting ground for radical imams with a convoluted agenda.
The impact of the Muslim Brotherhood added fuel to fire. It emerged in 1928 in Egypt, seeking to islamize societies and compel governments in Muslim countries to adhere to Sharia. Several terror groups such as the Hamas, Jamaat al-Islamiyya, and Al-Qaeda are affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact the brotherhood has spawned some of the world’s most notorious terrorists.
Then to make matters worse, the British allowed the Jews to settle in Palestine. The state of Israel was born in 1948. The Muslim world felt humiliated when a united front of Arab armies lost a bitter war to the newly created country of only 6,00,000 Jews. That’s how Muslim resentment peaked.
The truth points out to a totally different source of ‘radical Islam’- the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1938 changed the equation forever. Until then, Wahhabism – the rigid and fanatical form of Islam- couldn’t draw its fangs out. The huge inflow of money from the oil wells was used to keep the conservative elements of the Saudi state happy. More than ten Billion dollars were invested in Islamic charities and foundations that carried a stark and intolerant version of Islam to nooks and corners of the world. The Saudi Sheikh turned radical Islam leader Osama Bin Laden, is a classical example of this period.
The overthrow of the Shah of Iran as a fallout of the 1979 revolution also gave impetus to Islamists around the world. Iran became the world’s first modern Islamic Republic and their new leader- Ayatollah Khomeini, ensured that Sharia become the law of the land.
Consequences of the Cold War, in accelerating radical Islamist ideology cannot be ignored. The Americans used Jihad as a tool to get Arab and Afghan fighters to bleed the Soviets, out of Afghanistan. Billions of CIA dollars were poured into Mujahedeen groups through Pakistan’s Inter- Services Intelligence(ISI). Even Osama bin Laden and his outfit, was initially supported by CIA. When the Soviets were defeated, the holy warriors looked for new wars to fight.
CONCLUSION
American’s myopic vision propped up dictators in the Middle East and toppled them later, during the ‘Arab Spring rebellions’. While dictators such as Hosni Mubarak, Saddam Hussein, Bashar al- Assad and Muammar Gaddafi were ruthless leaders, they kept Islamists in check and prevented outright Islamization of their countries.
They were the proverbial lid on a can of worms. The lid got removed and out came the most deadly terrorist organisation – ISIS. They spread like wildfire and establish a Caliphate – capturing sizeable portions of Iraq and Syria. If we understood this macabre drama, we will realise that America was mostly responsible for the mess now being created in the Muslim world. The terror then spread to India too, by state sponsoring of radical groups by Pakistan. The finance, of course, came indirectly from United States. Today the entire world is engulfed in the terrorist threat and European countries are subjected to repeated terrorist suicide bomb attacks. It’s high time all sensible world countries join hands to save the world, from this fast spreading cancer.
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