March 20 , 2015
Power Imbalance
The rousing ovation received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he addressed a joint session of the US Congress sends a number of mixed messages.
It reconfirms, first, the unfettered access enjoyed by Israel in the power corridors of Washington. Second, it displays how a foreign leader can have more of a sway than a US President.
The joys of freedom of expression are routinely celebrated. But would a Western leader gently interrupt Netanyahu – in the midst of the quest to blackball Iran’s nuclear program – to publicly remind of Israel’s own nuclear arsenal?
It underlines, too, the utter lack of stature and leverage of any Muslim leader to pull off something equivalent to it in the West, despite the vast size and scope of resources in the Muslim world.
It is this power imbalance and disparity that feeds radicalization.
Muslim state and society have yet to foster an attitude of excellence. It enfeebles the competitive spirit. A standard narrative of victimhood has only helped perpetuate a passive response to challenges.
I read somewhere that “it is not what you gather but what you scatter” that tells what kind of life you have lived. Thus far, contemporary Muslim elites have shown an unseemly talent for worshipping wealth while, at the same time, revealing an underlying predisposition to scatter the seeds of despair and pettiness. It is that which is making segments of the marginalized youth vulnerable to becoming an easy quarry for nefarious recruitment. Whom they see as protectors turn out to be predators.
Attempts to relinquish all vestiges of shame and self-respect have not and will not quash Iqbal’s concept of Khudi.
The existing crisis presents an opportunity. An individual who doesn’t succumb can make an inspirational difference. A case in point has been that of a brave young Muslim American woman, Samantha Elauf, who took her case of religious discrimination all the way to the US Supreme Court, which recently heard arguments on it. According to knowledgeable court observers, she is likely to win. If so, it would validate a landmark blow against the forces of anti-Muslim bigotry.
Also remarkable was the sense of outrage expressed by some US Congressmen over Netanyahu’s address, which connects with his March 17 faltering election campaign in Israel. Congressman Jared Huffman of California accused Netanyahu of war-mongering, saying: “This is a prime minister who has never seen a war that he didn’t want the US to fight.” And Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky said that “it was fear-mongering at its ultimate.”
Notably missing during the 40-minute address of the Israeli Prime Minister was even a single reference to the word ‘Palestine.’ The question is whether it was by design or by accident.
Globally or regionally, any attempts to divert attention away from the key geopolitical flashpoints of Palestine and Kashmir shall flounder.
Pro-Israeli cheerleaders in Washington would do well to watch a significant new documentary, “The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid.” It depicts how the last President of apartheid South Africa saw light, and negotiated an end to apartheid, thereby averting a catastrophe for his people.
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