As humanity, what we lived today is a result of our mistakes of yesterday. Our mistakes today are a precursor of that we will live tomorrow.
Two great world wars were lived at a time period which can fit into a human life. Millions of people lost their lives and millions were left crippled and helpless. We did not learn lessons from these wars. Great powers have been continuing to clash since the Cold War era. Terrorist organizations, covert operations, religions and ideologies became a war tool of these great powers.
Even 30 years ago, people were unaware of each other in the world. The relationships and agreements of countries in another corner of world were unknown. Today, the goings-on in the most remote corners of the world have been immediately heard and seen. Even the hidden relationships of countries have been deciphered. The people take a stand and become a party to an ideology according to their beliefs.
If a biological virus infects to a society, its spread can be prevented by keeping in quarantine. Ideological considerations also infect such as a virus but it can neither be controlled nor prevented. Today we are experiencing this case in point. Al Qaeda which was established against the Soviet Union yesterday and ISIL (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) which was established against the Iran, Iraq and Syria Shiite Alliance did not remain limited with their territories. The Islamic State Thought has spread to not only to Islamic lands but also to the whole world from Europe to the United States.
There are three major problems of the Islamic society of today which also affect the West and the world countries:
- The Political and Radical Islamism
- Muslim-Jewish Hostility
- The Sunni-Shiite Conflict
The Political and Radical Islamism perceives the religion of Islam as not only a faith and moral system but also as a political, judicial and economic system. Therefore, it either excludes modern methods or wavers between modernity and historical terms. Accordingly it sinks into despair in solving political, judicial and economic problems. Radical Islamism draws uncompromising limits and puts up high walls to protect its historical beliefs. It on the one hand builds castles based on the fundamental belief, on the other hand sets new conquest targets outside of their castles.
Muslim-Jewish Hostility is perhaps the most tragic dilemma of Middle Eastern societies. Islam and Judaism are two closest understanding of religious in terms of beliefs, traditions, costumes, sense of women and families and understanding of worship. However, Muslim-Jewish Hostility which emerged especially after the Second World War, has brought these two communities into the enemy to death. Jews who were ostracized and treated like a third class of people in European countries for centuries, think they will find peace in the Palestinian homeland. They could not able to establish peace with their uncle children – Arab community- here. Some of the western countries supported Jews and some of European countries lined up behind of Arabs. Christian – Muslim Hostility was forgotten and Jewish – Muslim Hostility began. While Middle Eastern societies were fighting with each other, powerful countries have continued their development.
The Sunni-Shiite Conflict was an old dispute based on historical reasons among the Muslims. Big conflicts haven’t been seen until 2000 between Sunnis and Shiites. They had lived in the same country, same neighborhood even in the same family as smoothly. In the new world order which came out after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen’s Shiite communities fell under the hegemony of Russia. Under these circumstances, the United States whose invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq failed, and its close allies, the United Kingdom, Israel and Saudi Arabia have organized a Sunni power against Shiite threat. The continual bombings in Sunni and Shiite cities uncoupled Sunni and Shiite communities. Sunni – Shia separation turned into major armed conflicts.
Essentially, if generally speaking, the political and economic interests of some powerful countries lie behind the most of the problems in the political and radical Islamism, Sunni – Shiite conflicts and Muslim – Jewish hostility. It is a fact that Islamic society are generally uneducated and conservative. However, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in peace in this land for at 500 years in different faith groups and denominations. Whenever the oil and underground resources appeared in this region, the differences were converted to the conflict and hostility.
No matter what religion, sectarian or national origin, the people of this region knows the culture of living together. Church, synagogue and mosques have been built almost side by side in the capital of Islamic countries or Jerusalem.
The last reason for conflicts and wars should be religion. The beliefs cannot be imposed by force. The faiths cannot be deleted by fighting or killing.
