Even if the latest Hamas attacks on Israel are accepted as inhuman, they surely constitute a response to the much larger inhuman acts incessantly perpetrated against them for more than 70 years.
Dr Javed Jamil | Clarion India
FOR the West and Israel, any violence against them is terrorism, worthy of the highest condemnation and “evil”. But hugely bigger violence committed by them is only “rightful reprisal” or a “collateral damage”.
According to a Jewish Virtual Library website report, since the beginning of the Israel-Palestinian conflict till 2021, around 24,000 Israelis/Jews and around 94,000 Arabs/Palestinians have been killed. Other sources indicate a much higher difference in respective casualties. This is despite the fact that the Jews were the ones to capture Palestinian lands with the active connivance of America, Britain, France and Germany. Today, even the Indian government and the mainstream media are labelling Hamas fighters as terrorists instead of being called freedom fighters.
Even if the latest Hamas attacks are accepted as inhuman, they surely constitute a response to the much larger inhuman acts incessantly perpetrated against them for more than 70 years. I believe that every death of an innocent should be condemned, but let us condemn every side as many times as many innocents it has killed.
Now, coming to the West. Led by America, the West claims itself to be the “civilised world” just because of its superior technology and military power; and through these, they have been trying to dominate the whole world. But the truth is that they have used their developments, money power, and political clout in bringing death and destruction everywhere. The Western countries were the major killers in the two world wars.
In a jiffy, the West and the United States described 9/11 as an act of terror by Al-Qaeda. The men who actually carried out the act, whoever they were, perished with the planes. The man who was declared responsible for this was killed in an isolated attack 11 years later in Pakistan. In the meantime, America killed more than 70,000 people in Afghanistan and more than a million people in Iraq. Another two million are said to have perished as the after-effects of the long war. All these were innocent people, and Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. Even claims about Iraq’s nuclear plans were proved unfounded. But still, America and its allies would continue to be called “civilised”. The five superpowers have been responsible for the overwhelming majority of the deaths in wars during the last 120 years. But still, they are termed as “peace-loving nations.
Not only outside, Western countries are full of violence inside too. They are among the top countries in terms of murderous assaults, rapes, suicides and abortions by choice. The family system is totally broken, and more than half of their children are born out of wedlock with most living in single-parent families. This is despite their advancement in science and technology and health infrastructure and the so-called advanced legal system. Even during the recent Covid pandemic, America suffered the most, with more than a million deaths. What a civilisation! Now, barbaric is technically called “civilised”. The “civilised” world is interested more in the growth of its economy and military power than in saving the lives of the people.
And there is hardly any evidence that their behaviour will change in the near future unless some divine powers intervene. What will ultimately happen to the Israel-Palestine conflict is still hard to predict. We can only hope that the villains realise their follies and that peace returns to all.
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Dr Javed Jamil is an eminent Islamic scholar and author. The views expressed here are author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily subscribe to them.
