War of evils
The two Islamist militant movements, Hamas and Hizbollah, along with Israeli government are responsible for a new human catastrophe in their region

August 2, 2006
iranian.com

It is true, the both Islamists movements fight to push back Israel from the occupied territories, but meanwhile sow seeds of Islamism in these territories. They do not only intend to free their region from the Israeli occupation, but also intend to stablish an Islamic state, a similar repetion of the Iranian model: free the country from the Shah’s dictatorship then put it under the yoke of Islam. 

Although, Palestine has been long a symbol of heroic resistance, a history of fair combat against the aggression of zionism, today, Hamas portrays another image of it, an image of jiad, Islamist intolerance and an image of terror and suicide bombings,  all of  which twist the historical facts and fair cause of Palestinia people.

Despite that the Islamic revolution of Khomeini failed, the Islamic radicalism of which it was a projection, continues to be an aggressive ideology and imposes problems for the entire region. What now bothers all Palestine-loving people is the future of this land. In other words, an eventual military victory of Islamists in Palestine is a serious alarm for democracy, peace, social justice and international acceptance of Palestine.  The international community must help Palestine to attend its deserved rights of independence and freedom, while rejecting and isolating Hamas. 

The problem of this region is not one or another part, but both parts; neither can Zionist aggressors nor Islamist jihadists garantee peace and co-existence. The two antagonistic poles have different charges and sacred altars. Hamas’s dream is  the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic republic in its place. It regards the territory of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an inalienable” Islamic waghf”,  Islamic assets, which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims.

Zionism considers this area as their sacred homeland, where supposedly the early Jewish nation originated over 3,200 years ago. Zionism is another fundamentalist and extremist ideology of the region. It claims all the region to the Land of Israel, ignoring the rights of many vibrant communities who have been living there during the last 3000 years.

The Islamic republic, proposed by Hamas is not for the sake of the suffering Palestinian people, but rather is rooted in a blind faith; the faith which is now largely rejected by a growing majority of Iranians.

Their Islamic republic” refers to the model of the IRI that all seats of a ruling state in an Islamic territory should be occupied by Muslims and by no others. This claim of leadership, or exclusive rights to absolute power, as a legacy of the past Islamic Caliphate, is the goal of any Islamic political movement.

Hamas was founded in 1987 in Gaza by both Shaikh Ahmad Jassin and started its existence with its jihadist attacks against both military and civil targets in Israel

Hamas’s emergence is not only a consequence of the rise of Islamism linked to the Iranian revolution, but also a related reaction to the deep frustration of Palestinians who were disappointed from the West. This frustration is characterises by the continued postponement in the resolution of Palestinian conflicts, American foreign policies in their absolute support for the aggressive policies of Israel in its occupation of "Islamic” territories, corrupt local authorities.

Though Hamas is a Sunni organisation, but is a protegé of the IRI; it follows a strict charter which is not different from IRI’s official policy towards Israel. According to this charter the State of Israel must be wiped off the region and replaced with an Islamic republic.  Futhermopre, Hamas will not accept any non-Islamic state in Palestine.

The Islamist, wherever they are, guided or inspired by the IRI, stage the question of state at the middle of their battleground. The legitimacy of such a state cannot be ignored. Therefore in the case of Palestinian independence, the PLO or any non-Islamist political force will not be for Hamas in the legitimate position to govern.

Hamas opposes any peace process with Israel; it regards such a process a  "betrayal of God's will". This is its fundamental difference with the PLO which in 1988 recognised Israel's sovereignty,

The second protegé of the IRI in this region is Hezbollah. It was formed in 1982 by the IRI’s officials and the Revolutionary Guards Corps. It was to import the “Islamic” revolution of Iran in the region. The movement was logistically helped to fight Israeli occupation following the 1982 Lebanan war. Hizbollah's ideology is based on the Shiite Islam, specifically in the concept of "Willayat-e-Faqih" put forth by Shiite Islam in Iran.

Though Hezbollah is considered by the West as a terrorist organisation, it is a recognised political party in Lebanon, where it has now two ministers in the government. However, the govenment rejects its slogans "God is the target, the Prophet is  the model, the Koran the constitution, jihad is the path and death for the sake of God is the loftiest of the wishes”.

Hezbollah's strength is enhanced by the military and financial backing of the IRI. Terror is its principal weapon and Islamism its only ideology. It follows a jihadist Islamist ideology dictated by IRI’s officials. The movement claims that its goal is not to establish an Islamic state in Lebanon. But the claim can be a tactic to divert Lebanese from the catastrophal results of such a regime in Iran, which happens to be its sponsor.

The double standards of such allegations show that in the case of Lebanan, Hezbollah has realised that Lebanon is the only Arab country which has not been very affected by Islam. The mejority of Lebanese have no close ties with Islamism and are horrified by the advent of the clerics who imposed  an Islamic regime in Iran. The country has been long a touristic paradise with all non-Islamic entertainments and a secular way of life.

Lebanon with only 40 percent Shiites is not an ideal cradle of an Islamist regime.Hamas has taken this fact into consideration; therefore, an Islamic republic, on the IRI’s model, as the ideal and eventual form of state is not officially demanded. However, Hamas claims that an Islamic republic requires the consent of the people, and since Lebanon remains a religiously and ideologically heterogeneous society, their political platform favours the introduction of an Islamic government in Lebanon by peaceful democratic means

All trilateral parts of conflict, Hamas, Hezbollah and Zionism, reject constantly peaceful solutions. All of them believe that Palestine is a consecrated land for their future generations and only so it must exist until Judgement Day. All of them are at the height of their radicalism. In such a perspective the vicious spiral of violence can hardly be stopped.

The solutions are in the hands of democratic and secular forces which are marginalised and ignored by the international community. A peaceful co-existence of all peoples in the region can be only garanteed when the democrats and seculars are the main leaders of all sides.

There are over 3000 different religions and denominations; they certainly cannot all be the only solution for human problems. Regarding objective problems, objective solutions can be raised from sifting through human wisdom. This can be our moral and logic common thread. This is valid for Palestine, Iran, Iraq and wherever religion replaces the human wisdom with a non-human wisdom.

On the front of non-human wisdom, in the border between Syria and Lebanonmany thousand families from ravaged areas of Lebanon are still making their way across the border. According to UN figures, more than 140,000 Lebanese, 1,000 Palestinians and 20,000 other foreign nationals have crossed into Syria since fighting began. The influx continues, while Israeli bombardment targets civilians. Israel carries out more and more raids, killing more and more civilians.

There are 350,000-400,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, the majority of who live in refugee camps. They are not very welcome in pro-Iranian Syrian. Yet, despite the unfolding humanitarian crisis, despite all these atrocities, there is no an immediate perspective of ceasefire.

It is clear that Israel is implicitly authorised by the US to continue its operations. The strategy would be to eliminate Hezbollah from southern Lebanon or this is perhaps a front of an ultimate war against the IRI. Perhaps we are at the beginning of a new war in the Middle East, a war of evils.

Now, the least the international community can do is to stop fighting in Lebanon immediately; lack of an international consensus can be interpreted as a green light to continue the hostilities. Among western countries, the role of France is relatively more important than the US or England -- which normally speak on behalf of Israel. Germany is blasted by its history, therefore cannot really challenge Israel. China and Russia have never learnt to integrate human right or human dignity in their policies.

In the first step, Israel’s offensive and bombing civilians in Lebanon and also Hezbollah’s attacks on civilians must be unconditionally stopped. A UN resolution is immediately necessary to end the violence.

In the second step, the international community must make aggressors pay for the damaged infrastructures and civil casualties.

In the third step, Hezbollah and Israeli government must be condemned by a UN resolution for their aggressive attitude.

In the fourth step,UN peacekeepers in the region must be reinforced with more effective control.

A reasonable peace can only achieved when the democratised and secularised solutions are in the centre of dialogue and when Hamas, Zionism and Hezbollah are not the decision makers. Comment