Though violence has dropped in Iraq, insurgents have continued to target security forces and civilians. There are many factors causing this instability in Iraq, in particular external and internal forces fighting for their own interests.
The rise of terrorism in Iraq came in the aftermath of the US-led invasion in 2003. A few weeks later, the US administration appointed a governing council to run the country along sectarian lines and affiliations. The sectarian-based composition of this council resulted in destabilizing the traditional balance of power in the country, causing tensions to boil over and leading to civil war.
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu spoke to Arab News on the violence in Iraq while condemning the indiscriminate and senseless massacres in the country. He said sectarian strife has succeeded in diverting the attention of the Iraqi people away from resisting foreign occupation, causing rampant devastation and leaving tens of thousands of people dead, while many holy mosques and places of worship were destroyed and desecrated. Here are excerpts from the interview:
The OIC played a role in ending that cycle of violence before with the Makkah Document. Why do you think the violence has returned?
At the peak of this mayhem, the OIC was quick to denounce this wanton destruction, and reacted with a view to stemming these acts of merciless vendetta and put an end to the sectarian strife. The OIC was able to successfully act as mediator between the high religious authorities of these two factions. A meeting was convened in the holy city of Makkah in 2006, assembling Muslim high authorities and Iraqi Shiite and Sunni scholars to agree on the "Makkah Covenant on Iraq", a document that was put together under the guidance of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy.
The document clarifies the position of Islamic teachings and jurisprudence regarding the sectarian killings in Iraq. It clearly showed Islam's prohibition of the killing of Muslims outside the realm of law. This covenant was widely circulated among Sunni and Shiite mosques in Iraq and was effective in drastically reducing the violence in Iraq. This result was an important factor in countering the brutal activities of local insurgents in Iraq.
Despite this, the state of law and order in Iraq today is still a cause for concern, even though the overall situation is much better than in the past. As mentioned before, what is remarkable is the absence of sectarian strife that once claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens. The recent violence could be due to the settling of political feuds among Iraqi political leaders as the country heads toward crucial elections and the eventual withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. Acts of resistance against occupation led by extremist groups also remain unabated and could be behind the terrible attacks that took place in the last few months.
Terrorists who commit such murderous acts, whether in Iraq or Somalia or Pakistan, are killing fellow Muslims and claim to be doing this in the name of Islam, which is affecting the image of Islam and Muslims and perhaps contributing to the rise of Islamophobic incidents in the West. Considering that the OIC is at the forefront of combating Islamophobia, what is it doing in countering the negative effect of these terrorist acts on the perception of Islam?
Today, in hindsight, one can notice that the fighting taking place in countries like Iraq, Somalia and Pakistan is not really conducted in the name of Islam but rather in accordance to the narrow interests of the warring parties. This development has vindicated our firm opinion that the Muslim population refuses any accusation linking the sectarian fighting or killing outside the realm of law with the teachings of Islam.
It is repugnant that some of the perpetrators of terrorist activities still claim to be committing their crimes in the name of Islam, the religion of peace, mercy and compassion. The perpetrators of these acts, put together, constitute just a tiny minority of misguided elements who have been indoctrinated by some fringe groups of fanatics and extremists with narrow political agendas bent on violence and criminality in total contradiction with mainstream Islam.
In an attempt to have a recognizable and solid premise and an identity anchor, they claim that they act in the name of Islam.
But the Western media continues to highlight the fact that groups or individuals who commit terrorist acts are Muslim in an attempt to associate these acts with Islam.
When Western media outlets link these terrorist acts with Islam, not only do they fall into the hands of those perpetrators, but they also bestow upon them a recognition they do not have or deserve, thus encouraging and glorifying them. This is why we have constantly called upon the Western media not to link Islam with any terrorist act and to join us in denying these criminals any recognition or consideration.
In the same vein, the OIC and its affiliated organs exert great efforts in disseminating the principles of moderation and tolerance in all Muslim communities while engaging in a restless campaign of sensitization to discredit and devalue the baseless claims held by the fanatics and extremists.
In this context, we, in the OIC, appreciate the initiative of the US administration under President George Bush, which circulated instructions to all US federal institutions and authorities banning any links between Islam and derogatory expressions such as terrorism or fascism.
But what do you think of the recent flight security measures against 14 Muslim countries in the aftermath of the attempted airline suicide bombing in the US?
I'm disappointed because these profiling measures confirm the discriminatory attitude toward Muslims. Although these measures are meant to reassure Americans of their safety, they will not be effective, and will only increase the frustration and indignation of Muslims as well of fellow travelers toward Muslims. I think in order to effectively fight terrorism what is needed by the US is an addressing of the root causes of terrorism — political grievance, backwardness, underdevelopment and lack of good governance — not the symptoms. This is what we have always called for.
