The Gulf Crisis and New World Order — Page 65
The Gulf Crisis & The New World Order converted these into a religious frenzy, and the hatred that was thus generated was all attributed to the religion of Islam. As human beings you do have the right to fight those nations who attack your national interests. But, by switching an ordinary political war into an Islamic Jihad (holy-war), without any justification, they give the West an additional opportunity to attack Islam as a religion, whereas previously they attacked only the Islamic world. They now tell the whole world that the real disease is Islam and not Israel. The West does not consider its own injustices, but portrays Islam as a religion which breeds crookedness. Also, they contend that Islam is an unjust religion which spreads prejudiced thought and trace all the related maladies to the Muslim way of thinking. For instance, the turmoil in Iran that followed the departure of the Shah, consisted of totally un-Islamic reactions which were not even remotely connected with Islam; but if it had have been presented in secular terms then the world could have been pacified to a considerable extent that they were taking revenge after decades of continued oppression. The world would have understood it to some extent, if they had said that 'we are helpless to stem the tide of this violent reaction. That, behind this reaction lie centuries of injustice and hatred for the monarchy. That, our reaction is similar to the reaction of a weak man, overcome with rage, that when he gets hold of a brick, he hurls it at his opponent, oblivious of the repercussions or the fury of his stronger opponent. • Instead of presenting this state of affairs with righteousness, truthfulness and in a straightforward way, according to the teachings of Islam, which would have provided them with great benefits, the Muslim countries once again faltered and provided the West with an opportunity to attack Islam. It was as if the Muslims had first invited the West to attack their body and them beckoned them to attach their very soul! They presented the Islamic teachings in such an unjust way, by twisting and confounding it, that all intelligent people in the world knew that it was not a religious reaction. However, the intelligentsia felt that if the Muslims persist in calling this reaction a "religious reaction", then they will have no alternative but to criticize their religion and tell the world that it is their crooked religion which is to be blamed and not our own way of thinking. 65