The Islamic State organization, with its own flag and now with propaganda of its own gold and silver currency, is baffling the world with its successes in the Middle East and attempts to take over the other terror organizations like the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Despite barbaric actions exhibited on television like beheading of innocent civilians and those who do not subscribe to their ideology, destruction of civilized artifacts, heritage buildings, art works and paintings, women being used as fighters trophies and sex slaves, educated men, women and professionals from advanced societies and even good and affluent families are joining this organization reportedly in hundreds!
I have been listening to debates and witnesses who have escaped after capture or permitted living with them. Since times immemorial, human nature has prevailed and we owe our progress mostly to rebels, “mad” scientists, and such people! Our present systemic world order with nuclear bombs, vast armies, hordes of forced migrants, environmental pollution and suffering/starving millions demands drastic change. There are many who are disturbed with the rich getting richer and cornering most of the advantages including protection by the law. The image of the Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkey beach has shocked the world. The European nations are wondering how to cope with the millions of refugees and migrants, pregnant women and children who risk everything to escape their governments or militants and Jihadists! Powerful nation’s lord it over the others controlling the world order and finances. We are systematically corrupting, polluting and destroying nature and all its creatures. Recall the Hippies and the Vietnam War? The cry was ‘Make love not war’.
The ISIS phenomena are a backlash to the exploitive and degenerating expanding concrete jungle civilization of today ravaging mother earth with excuse of disguised development. A hypocritical world where deceit and crime abound within a deeply embedded system that is impossible to change in the normal course. The world is controlled by governments which itself are considered by some as a sort of mafia. The government, its police and enforcement directorate are corrupted by and large by organized crime syndicates dealing in drugs, human trafficking, gambling, hit men and every sort of crime. The government has become a huge organization, a millstone around the people’s neck, whichever government comes to power! All they do is control you in many ways, make you run from pillar to post and make you work, pay increasing taxes, dish out permissions and NoCs on own hard earned money or land and in fact permit you to work to earn their living! For example governments increase their own salaries, DA and perks to counter price rise thus pushing prices higher for the common man who has to manage. OROP is difficult for the armed forces, but under NFU enhancing own benefits whilst politician’s getting pensions for just five years service with increasing extravagant VIP privileges is not! There are so many other absurdities and injustices strangling your freedom and making you a slave to the established system. They take you for granted and a ride with permanent vote bank politics and emotive issues like proliferation of reservations based on castes and religion! Like VIPs and VVIPs we have designated dalits, maha dalits and so on.
ISIS does not manufacture guns and ammunition and yet have sophisticated weapons and communication equipment. The arms dealers and wheeler dealers, smugglers and crooks from the developed world are probably laughing their way to the banks! Besides psychopaths and adventure seekers, highly competent educated men and women from Australia, USA, Britain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Indonesia etc are known to have joined ISIS. Like the Biblical Old Testament, which is written for those days and times, the Koran quoted by ISIS as dogma is for those medieval times! Unless the UNO is able to get all the Security Council members onto the same page and all nations are forced to sit at the round table to discuss and agree how to change the present world order, we will continue the present mad spiral to God knows where! The Chinese might exhibited during World War 2 celebrations, Japan militarizing, North Korea belligerence, Israel/Palestine/Iran etc added to the Middle East powder keg may blow up anytime!
America is the big Devil because without understanding the internal dynamics of the Middle East they opened another front by invading Iran to depose of Saddam Hussein instead of finishing Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in Afghanistan first. The Sunnis were removed from power and there was no force to keep the balance with belligerent Shias and other tribal leaders. Trying to impose western style democracy was never going to work and into this entire confused vacuum stepped the ISIS. The enemy’s enemy is my friend and that is why the vast Sunni majority tolerate the ISIS and bow to their dictates, not coming in their way or even helping them. A learned Islamic scholar stated that the only way ISIS could be destroyed is if the Sunnis can be persuaded to get together and decide to ask the UNO for help to eliminate and reconquer their land and dignity of their religion. Unless a reformed United Nations can guarantee peace and justice for all, ISIS going from strength to strength may probably trigger commencement of a third world war or an apocalypse.
(The author is a retired naval officer resident in Porvorim.)
