In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatahu
 

 

Mores of occupation

By Sharique Naeem

British Prime Minister, Palmerston’s letter of October 9, 1857 to Lord Canning, the then ‘Viceroy of India’ (The Canning Papers) stated: “Every civil building connected with Mohammedan tradition should be leveled to the ground without regard to antiquarian veneration or artistic predilection”.

Since then, not much seems to have changed, in the attitude of the occupiers, when it comes to dealing with monuments of religious importance of the oppressed masses. In the ongoing colonial occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the coalition troops seem to be following the same course of action as outlined in the above statement.

During the assault on Falluja, some footage was taken of coalition battalions having a rest in the ruins of the historical city mosque. Moreover, the recent disturbing ‘chain of events’ of destruction of religious shrines in Iraq, such as al-Askari Mosque in Samara also reflects the utter disregard for the local heritage shown by the occupiers.

The civilized world in general, cannot continue to be oblivious of the carnage that the occupiers are creating in the name of exporting their capitalist ideology. And the Muslim world in particular, must unite under the umbrella of Caliphate, in order to put up an effective shield against this aggression.

 The Nation (20^th March 2006)