June 10, 2005
Quantum Note
Winds of Change (III)
Even if nothing else happens, the sheer economic cost of the American occupation of Iraq is unsustainable: $177 million per day, which comes to $7.375 million per hour or $122,916.60 per minute. Digitally displayed on a billboard in Times Square, these numbers become significant when viewed in the context of a yawning federal deficit and the daily casualties. No doubt, it is possible for the large economic base of America to sustain the cost of occupation for another year or two, especially if the undisclosed amount of Iraqi oil being shipped to America shoulders some of these expenses, but such a costly occupation cannot be sustained for a longer period. Thus, with the passing of every day, American administration is becoming more desperate to find a “local solution” that would allow it to remove its soldiers from the scene. This is why now the training of Iraqi security forces has become America’s top priority.
But this new Iraqi army can never do what Saddam Hussein’s ill-equipped and ill-trained but ruthless men were doing to their own citizens; the winds of change that have blown over Iraq during the last two years have irrevocably altered the dynamics of oppression in that land. Iraqis have seen so much blood and suffering during these two years that they are no more afraid and this liberating current is bound to strengthen new and emerging groups inspired by the vision of Islam. Thus, in the final analysis, the American invasion of Iraq may well prove to be a blessing in disguise just like the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century.
The vision of hope presented in this series of articles is, however, grounded in a much deeper historical reality than the outcome of a single occupation: after three hundred years of silent suffering, the entire Muslim world is now undergoing a major restructuring of its intellectual, social, political and economic fabric and one of the most important aspects of this change is the appearance of a new generation of men and women who are discovering their religion at a much deeper level; it is this experiential discovery that is bound to produce important changes in these societies.
These changes are yet to take any concrete form, but Muslim history is ripe with examples of sharp turns: many a time, decaying polities have suddenly become vibrant and often a charismatic leader is able to reverse the tide. This happens because Muslims are generally moved by the example of living men and women rather than abstract ideas and cold, systematic, and methodological guidelines provided by institutions. All revolutionary changes in Muslim societies throughout the last fourteen hundred years have taken place in this manner. What appears inexplicable to the outsiders is, therefore, perfectly explicable when viewed from within: the sudden appearance of a Sulahuddin Ayubi or a Khomeini on the scene resulting in a fundamental change in the society is actually a process very well grounded in the psyche of Muslim people.
Thus, in spite of the present gloom, the possibility of a new fundamental change in the Muslim world cannot be dismissed as wishful thinking. And this time around, it will be a much broader change, spanning a large geographical area and involving millions of people. The rapid shrinking of distances due to technological developments have made it possible for people to know and participate in events in almost real time. Thus the current reawakening of Muslim people is not a local phenomenon.
Those who have dreamt of a century dominated by America know this. Therefore Islam and Muslims have become their obsession. They know that the only thing standing in the way of their dream are the beliefs of 1.4 billion Muslims who are now undergoing a transformative change at a very basic level of their existence. They know that millions of young men and women are rediscovering the message of the revealed Book and unlike the generation of their parents, they are not content with merely reciting the text, without understanding the meaning, and therefore, their efforts are directed at this generation. In a maddening rush, they come up with “solution” after “solution” for this “problem”. They start radio and TV channels, they flood the markets of these lands with pornographic material; they support repressive rulers who ruthlessly kill their citizens (recall Andijan), but nothing seems to work.
The West’s obsession with Islam has now become like that of the Quraysh of Makkah; they could neither leave the message of Islam nor accept it. And just like them, the West is now faced with an unearthly text that it can desecrate as it wills, but a text nevertheless which it cannot obliterate. It is the power of this message that has made them powerless. It is the force that moves the heart that has made all the technological advances and power of weapons meaningless, as is being proven in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Indeed, Muslims are on the march, one more time and this time around, their movement is not local. There are numerous emerging epicenters of this new movement in the Muslim people, a movement that has never been so powerful since the seventeenth century. The entire populace of Central Asia, which used to be the hub of a most noble mystical tradition and home of scholars, is now reawakening to the message of Islam. That entire region, with a powerful epicenter in Chechanya, may very well be the frontier of an Islamic revolution that would overthrow the existing world order. The vast oil and gas resources of that region along with the nobility of these people has the potential of generating a new civilization of Islam. Likewise, in spite of the decaying and decadent Gulf States and the internally weak Arabia, there is hope in other regions of the Middle East. Indeed, one can say with sufficient confidence that a new world order is in the making. The internal power and strength of Islam, preserved in the incorruptible Book, is the only coherent and sound belief system left in a world ripe with strife and suffering. It is not surprising, therefore, that in spite of everything against it, this message of Islam has survived and is once again producing a yet silent and dimly visible, but unmistakable social, political and intellectual revolution.
(Concluded)
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