How To Defeat Perverted And Violent Islamic Fundamentalism

By Alan Hart

February 21, 2015 "ICH" - If perverted and violent Islamic fundamentalism (PVIF) in all of its manifestations is to be contained and defeated there’s one thing above all others that must happen: Western leaders, starting with President Barack Obama, must open their minds to the fact that consequences have causes and then address the causes.

There are two main and related causes of PVIF.

(1) American-led Western foreign policy for the Arab and wider Muslim world, including its double standard as demonstrated by refusal to call and hold Israel to account for its defiance of international law and rejection of the Palestinian claim for justice.

(2) The corruption, authoritarianism and repression of most if not all Arab and other Muslim regimes. In most cases they are regimes supported/endorsed by American-led Western foreign policy.

1 and 2 cause or provoke Muslim hurt, humiliation, anger and the despair of no hope. Generally speaking, these feelings do not of themselves turn Muslims into killers and terrorists or even supporters of those who do the killing and/or order it. The real problem is the exploitation and manipulation of these feelings by deluded or mad preachers and other self-styled leaders who misinterpret and pervert Islam for their own purposes.

Regarding 1 above, there are some commentators who assert that American-led Western foreign policy created Al-Qaeda and so-called “Islamic State” [formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria – ISIS – and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – ISIL]. I think a more accurate summary statement of what happened is that American-led Western foreign policy created the environment and the conditions in which PVIF could emerge and grow.

Professor Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics put it this way:

Between 2003 and 2010, the power vacuum and armed resistance triggered by the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, as well as the dismantling of Saddam Hussein’s former ruling Baath party and the Iraqi army, provided a fertile terrain for Al-Qaeda’s growth and an opportunity to infiltrate the increasingly fragile body politic.

He added, and I agree with him, that ISIS is “a manifestation of the breakdown of state institutions, dismal socio-economic conditions and the spread of sectarian fires in the region”.

The view of John Feffer, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, on events, with which I also agree, is that “ISIS is decidedly a homegrown product of the turmoil that has engulfed two states: Iraq since the US invasion in 2003 and Syria since the aborted Arab Spring uprising that began in 2011”.
I stand by the view I expressed when President George W. Bush had a premature political ejaculation and claimed victory in Iraq. I wrote at the time that he and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair were the best recruiting sergeants for violent Islamic fundamentalism. (The question arising is did they know what they were doing – I mean were they committed to the neo-conservative agenda and wanting to create an enemy, or were they just ignorant and stupid?)
Regarding (2) above, with words President Obama himself has gone some way to acknowledging that the corruption, authoritarianism and repression of Arab and other Muslim regimes is one of the main causes of the rise and growth of PVIF.
In an editorial for the Los Angeles Times the day before the opening in Washington DC of the three-day summit on combating extremism, he wrote:

Groups like al Qaeda and ISIL exploit the anger that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption leave them with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today’s youth something better.

Governments that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies. Those efforts must be matched by economic, educational and entrepreneurial development so people have hope for a life of dignity.

Unfortunately, they were only words. And the question I would put to Obama is this. Can you name me one Arab country in which citizens can address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies?
An honest reply would be “NO!”

If President Obama and other Western leaders were prepared to get to grips with the causes of PVIF instead of addressing only its consequences, there are two things they could do to vastly improve the prospects of containing and defeating it.

One would be to use their influence with leverage as necessary to persuade Arab leaders that it really is time for authoritarianism to give way to democracy. If Arab leaders agreed (no matter how reluctantly), this would rob PVIF of its most persuasive argument: that the Arab and other Muslim masses have nothing to gain from politics and non-violent demands for change.

The other would be to use as necessary the leverage they have to cause Israel to end its defiance of international law. The double standard of Western foreign policy which allows Israel to commit crimes with impunity is the cancer at the heart of international affairs. If it was cured a major cause of Arab and other Muslim hurt, humiliation and anger would be removed, and that would make closing the vast majority of Arab and other Muslim hearts and minds to PVIF propaganda a mission possible.

The above should not be taken to mean or imply that I have more than the smallest amount of hope that Western leaders will have the good sense to come to grips with the main causes of PVIF. I am only saying what I think could happen if they did.

Alan Hart has been engaged with events in the Middle East and their global consequences and terrifying implications – the possibility of a Clash of Civilisations, Judeo-Christian v Islamic, and, along the way, another great turning against the Jews – for nearly 40 years ...http://www.alanhart.net/

Fatah: Recognition of Palestine requires more than lip service

 Christof Lehmann

The spokesman for the Palestinian Al-Fatah movement and member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, Dr. Jamal Nazzal, arrived on his first visit to Denmark on Saturday, January 24, 2014. Dr. Nazzal’s visit renews hopes that Denmark will follow its Scandinavian neighbors Norway and Sweden with regard to a recognition of Palestine. He stressed, however, that a recognition of Palestine requires more than lip-service and that there is an urgent need for the establishment of a Palestinian State and initiatives to end Israel’s occupation and impunity.

Asked during a telephone conversation whether his first visit to Denmark could suggests that there were initiatives towards a Danish recognition of Palestine, the Fatah envoy to Europe replied that Fatah, of course, hopes that talks with colleagues in Denmark and at the United Nations would help facilitate a recognition of the Palestinian State and a change in Danish policy. Both Norway and Sweden have recognized Palestine, leading especially to tensions in Israeli – Swedish relations and the recent cancellation of Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström’s visit to Tel Aviv in January. A spokesman of Sweden’s Foreign Ministry noted that Wallström canceled the visit due to scheduling difficulties but that he wouldn’t exactly describe Israeli – Swedish relations as “the best”. Prior to the cancellation, Wallström commented on the Israeli government, saying:

“It is unacceptable how they have been talking about us and everybody else… It has irritated not only us, but also the Americans and everyone involved with them right now.”

It is among others within the context of this current Scandinavian atmosphere with regard to Israel and Palestine that Dr. Jamal Nazzal visited the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Several prominent Palestinian legislators from various factions, including Fatah have repeatedly noted that the Norwegian brokered 1993 Oslo Accords were, for all intends and purposes, practically dead and buried. Statements in that regard were often made in the light of systematic Israeli violations of the Oslo Accords. To mention but a few, the continued and accelerated settlement policy, house demolitions, the violations of religious rights of Christian and Muslim communities in East Jerusalem, daily violence, the use of disproportionate military force, the usurpation of Palestinian water rights, the recent decision to withhold Palestinian tax revenues, and on and on.

Asked about his and Fatah’s official position with regard to the Oslo Accords, Dr. Nazzal replied that Palestine, as a State, is committed to adhering to all treaties which it has signed, including the Oslo Accords. He stressed that this was Palestine’s policy, regardless whether Israel violated treaties or international law or not.

Giving Israel Card Blanch for Violations of the Oslo Accords, International Law and UN Resolutions made Palestine walk away from two Decades of Negotiations.

Following up on his statement that Palestine was committed to adhering to the treaties it has signed as a State, Dr. Nazzal stressed that what was required was an end to the policy to give Israel card blanch with regard to its violations of the Oslo Accords, its violations of international law and UN Resolutions.

The Fatah spokesman in Europe stressed that it was this policy by certain nations to give Israel card blanch that ultimately forced Palestine to walk away from two decades of negotiations. Dr. Nazzal’s statement reflected the words of chief PLO and Palestinian Authority negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat. In 2014 Dr. Erekat stressed that Palestine’s situation has worsened since the 1993 Oslo Accords, adding that “We don’t need more peace talks, what we need is peace”.

ICC’s Preliminary Investigation a Step in the right Direction.

After the UN Security Council rejected the adoption of a Jordanian-sponsored Palestinian draft resolution that called for a fixed time-line for a full Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories in 2017, Palestine signed and acceded over 20 international treaties and conventions, including the Rome Statute. Earlier that month UN Secretary-General ban Kyi-moon stated that Palestine has UN Observer State status and that Palestine therefore would become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on January 1, 2015.

The Israeli government responded by withholding Palestinian tax revenues which it is collecting under the provisions of the Oslo Accords. Israel denounced the PLO and the Palestinian Authority for unilateral action and threatened with strong and decisive action” to protect Israeli officers and citizens.

Asked about Fatah’s position with regard to the fact that Israel has not made Israeli citizens libel to prosecution at the ICC, Dr. Jamal Nazzal responded that Palestine was aware of that fact. He added, however, that there have previously been special ad hoc tribunals like the ICTY. He said that Palestine, under any circumstances, considers it as a positive step that the ICC has launched a preliminary investigation. Moreover, he added, that one might consider the implications of the fact that many of the crimes which had been committed by Israelis had been committed within the territory of Palestine which has acceded to the Rome Statute and will become an ICC member on April 1.

U.S. Senate’s Decision to stop funding the PA counterproductive and collective Punishment.

In December the United States’ Senate adopted legislation to end the U.S.’ funding of the Palestinian Authority if Palestine accedes to the ICC and lodges suits against Israeli citizens. The legislation was crafted in such a manner that the White House could not override the bill, even if the administration of President Obama would have wanted to do so.

Asked about the legislation, Dr. Nazzal stressed that this legislation was counterproductive and a form of collective punishment of about 170,000 Palestinian public employees and their families who are dependent an the wages. Asked whether he thought that the legislation had been crafted to weaken a Palestinian unity government Dr. Nazzal replied:

“Palestinians are an intelligent people and they know what this legislation aims at and which forces were at work behind it”.

Recognizing Palestine requires more than Lip-Service.

The Fatah spokesman in Europe stressed that Fatah and Palestine appreciate the recent wave of recognitions of Palestine by certain European countries. He added, however, that a recognition per se was insufficient and that recognizing Palestine and solving the decades-long conflict required more than lip-service.

Dr. Nazzal stressed the urgent need for a UN Security Council Resolution that puts an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other concrete, tangible steps. What is needed, he said, is to send unequivocal messages to Israel which convey that non-compliance with international law will have tangible, economic and political consequences.

The Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the Radicalization of Palestinian Arab and European Youths.

Dr. Nazzal noted that six decades of Israeli occupation has resulted in the radicalization of the Palestinian youths. Moreover, he added, the occupation has also contributed to the radicalization of young people throughout the Arab world as well as young people in Europe and beyond.

Radical Islamist organizations, including Hamas, Egypt’s and the International Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Islamist terrorist organizations have in part been cause by this radicalization process caused by Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Dr. Nazzal added that it was particularly noteworthy that the majority of the most radical of these organizations never targeted Israel, while they are primarily targeting those Palestinian factions and those Arab States which have a pro Pan-Arab policy that builds on national sovereignty. Dr. Nazzal concluded that it is a well-established fact that Israel has supported such radical Islamist movements to weaken the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and any Arab States which oppose Israel’s regional ambitions.

Dr. Christof Lehmann an independent political consultant on conflict and conflict resolution and the founder and editor in chief of nsnbc, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.