The first kind of its war, the world had ever seen before, was started by states based on the creed of Capitalism. World War 1, was called as the Great Game. A Game, in between which a plan was meticulously put forth to achieve, what the Imperial west had tried for centuries in vain, i.e. to put an end to the Caliphate.
In 1916 the French and the British governments colluded in secret Sykes-Picot Agreement. This agreement divided the lands of the Ottoman Caliphate, in respective spheres of influence which were to be controlled by Western States. 3rd March, 1924 was the tragic day, on which centuries of Islamic rule, came to a fatal end, as the Caliphate was abolished in Turkey. The impact and significance of this was such that Lord Curzon, stated “The situation now is that Turkey is dead and ... because we have destroyed its moral strength, the Caliphate and Islam.”.
Today, 88 years later his words still resonate. Turkey, was once the seat of the Caliphate, and ruled with honor and dignity. Today it finds itself squabbling with issues, from offshore gas dispute, to losses suffered on Flotilla. It may boast about its infrastructure of relatively stable economy, but it’s far from being near to the historical status it once had due to the Caliphate. The Nation-state model, enforced upon the Muslim lands has kept the Muslims week, gripped with conflict, and dependent on the west, while its resources are exploited. Today, we find Turkey in conflict with Kurds, and turmoil in Pakistan as a result of war on terror. Afghanistan and Iraq are occupied. US Drones continue to cause civilian carnage in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. In the recent Muslim awakening, termed as the Arab Spring, we find that the same imperial capitalist countries, which for decades stood with tyrants, cunningly pretend to be with the masses once the fall of the tyrant is found to be inevitable, as we saw in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt The Irony today is that while Muslim armies of various countries have served countless missions for the United Nations, however they are not being mobilized for the protection of Muslims from occupiers or from the planted dictators.
This irony is not coincidental, but a result of the nation state model which has kept the giant called Muslim Ummah, shackled. Today, as we witness the fall of long standing dictators, that were planted to enforce a nation state model, it is only natural to expect that the political landscape of the north African states and middle-east will revert to the political construct that existed before these nation states were crafted, i.e the Caliphate.
SHARIQUE NAEEM,
Lahore, March 3.