By Ghana, a secular communist in an article dated August 5th 2005.
Before the degeneration
of Soviet socialism: Lets take a step back in time
to the 1980s [1] when the global struggle was between the forces of
reaction, imperialism, and the forces of progress, socialism. Afghanistan
had the first progressive government in its history that was bringing
education, health, and social progress, including the emancipation of
women, to all its people.
The forces of reaction
including the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] and
the Pakistan Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] agency are
engaged in actively supporting the forces of clerico fascism in
Afghanistan, soon to result in the world’s most barbaric theocracy under
the Taliban. Osama Bin Laden is hailed as a freedom fighter and given
technical and military support after the Soviet Union has been asked by
the Afghan government to come to its assistance because of Imperialist
aggression. The Taliban and al Qaeda are conceived by Wahabi Saudi Islamic
feudalism, born in the arms of a Pakistani military dictatorship, and
given sustenance by US led Western Imperialism.
After the fall of the Afghan
government we see the emergence of Taliban
rule with the support of al Qaeda. The West initially is not unhappy. It
feels its economic, political and military interests in the region will be
progressed.
The rest is recent history:
The invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 gives
the US the pretext to secure decades of oil and a strategic presence. The
Taliban is toppled. Al Qaeda is severely injured but not fatally. Indeed
globally support for the amorphous al Qaeda increases. From Afghanistan
they disappear only to re-emerge fomenting terrorism in Kashmir and
Chechnya.
The West wants a permanent
military presence in the region. The invasion
of oil rich Iraq results in an Iraqi based al Qaeda for the first time.
Recruits are flooding across the borders to Iraq. The genie is now most
definitely out of the bottle. The pandora’s box of fundamentalism has
been
opened and shows little sign of closing.
Those of us that warned
about the consequences of Imperialist intervention
and the consequent growth of Islamic fundamentalism have been proven
correct. Al Qaeda, which has never been an organisation in the traditional
sense of the word now has an ever increasing loose coalition of terrorist
cells worldwide intent on the creation of the ‘Caliphate’ or the
‘Khilafah’.
Inaction and collusion
in the United Kingdom: Over the past decade we
have seen the growth of Islamic fundamentalist organisations and ideas on
our doorstep. Groups like Hizb-ut-tahrir [HUT] and Al Muhajiroun have
openly called for the killing of Jews, Hindus and homosexuals; and
violence against women. Anti Semitism has often been cloaked in the
rhetoric of Anti Zionism. Over the period decisions not to prosecute have
been based on ‘political’ rather than legal or moral consideration.
Flirting with fundamentalism
has become commonplace: Nationally the only
organisation which has been willing to challenge and confront
fundamentalism consistently has been the Indian Workers Association
(GB), primarily because of its communist secular tradition. In addition
the London based Friends of Afghanistan and the Afro Asian Peoples
Solidarity Organisation have also maintained principled opposition to the
forces of Islamism because of its progressive secular leadership. Over
the decade most of the organisations in the Asian and Black communities
have been noticeable by their silence on the activities of
fundamentalists, whether Muslim, Hindu or Sikh. The activities of the
Nation of Islam, Shiv Sena and the Sikh Youth Federation have largely
been met with a deafening silence.
There have been double
standards on the issue of Zionism and Palestine.
Many Zionists have been happy to condemn Islamic fundamentalist groups
while tacitly condoning the protracted genocide against the Palestinian.
Islamists condemn Israeli genocide while supporting Islamist theocracy
everywhere on the planet.
Some of my own personal
memories of collusion in the not too distant past
highlight what I am talking about:-
At the height of the inter
communal conflict in India in the 1992 after
the Ayodhya temple incident which led to the worst religious riots in
decades and the killing of at least 3000 mainly Indian Muslims, there were
also violent incidents in Britain. As a member of a London voluntary
sector organisation at the time it was decided that we should respond
politically. Urgent meetings were held, local organisations were called
and mailed, and press releases were issued. I personally contacted an East
London monitoring organisation whose response was stunning ‘We’re
keeping our heads down on this one’.
Working for a different
London community organisation in the mid 1990’s
I advised the present Mayor of London that he was being conned into
speaking at a ‘front’ meeting for HUT. He rejected my advice and
supporting documentation and proceeded to speak on the same platform as
Omar Bakri Mohammed who was the leader of HUT (later leader of Al
Muhajiroun). Bakri had already called the Holocaust ‘a fabrication’.
HUT
had already regularly called for the killing of Jews and homosexuals and
the beating of women. Decisions in the past not to prosecute have been
based on political rather than legal or moral considerations.
Around the same time as the above Civil Liberties groups and politicians
were campaigning for fanatics like Masari (Saudi fundamentalist), the Anti
Racist Alliance invited Bakri to speak at a rally on the Asylum and
Immigration Bill.
Collusion was not limited
to Islamic fundamentalist groups. Similar
succour was given to Hindu and Sikh fundamentalists. Advani, the BJP Hindu
fundamentalist leader, recently charged with offences relating to the
massacre of Muslims in 1992, was guest speaker with Michael Howard, then
Home Secretary, at the opening of the Hindu Temple in Neasden. Chohal
(Sikh fundamendalist leader) was also supported by civil liberties
campaigners and politicians.
Undoubtedly there was the
simple European (including the most of the left)
ignorance of the issues around Communalism, Fundamentalism and Clerico
Fascism. Europeans were, and still largely are largely ill educated when
it comes to this issue. If they were not ignorant they either didn’t have
the balls to confront this phenomenon and/or they were petrified at being
labelled racist in some way because most of the fundamentalists were
‘people of colour’. Didn’t they realise that fascism (not
in the
classical Marxist definition of the term) can have different faces and
traditions. Let’s be clear that fascism can be based on religion as well
as race and class. The ‘Final Solution’ of Clerico Fascism is the
persecution, slaughter and genocide of racial and religious minorities,
the elimination of liberals, socialists and communists, and the total
oppression of women. In this country politicians by and large have looked
to short term electoral considerations first without any real longer term
view of Clerico Fascism.
The Muslim Communities:
If we just look at the development of Islamic
fundamentalism in this country we need to look at the role of many Mosques
and Islamic centres in turning a blind eye to the activities of
fundamentalists whether leafleting or publicising meetings and other
activities. There has been a lack of political will at best in confronting
this cancer, leaving many of their young people vulnerable to these
predators. Children have been sent back to Pakistan for ‘education’
in
Madrassas. Many Madrassas, as now acknowledged by even the Pakistani
military dictatorship, have been turning impressionable young men into
fanatics, ready to terrorise from Kashmir to Kennington. In addition, how
many young men have been Talibanised by their visits to Afghanistan?
Since the bombings in London
we have seen Blair meet with Muslim
‘leaders’, the same Muslim leaders who have dismally failed to provide
any
leadership against fundamentalism and are totally disconnected and
alienated from their young people. Many of these characters have
historically been involved in the divisive, sectarian politics of
religion. This was a totally cosmetic exercise.
Education: The government
continues to approve the dramatic increase in
religion-based schools. What sort of message is this sending out? Instead
of pandering to religious bigotry and the fact that Jews and Christians
already had state funded schools, by approving Muslim, Sikh and Hindu
Schools, the response should have been to send a clear message out by
ceasing state assistance to all religion based schools. We are looking at
the development of the new Madrassas and religious apartheid. This will be
a particularly pernicious development in areas where housing apartheid has
already ghettoised different communities. This is playing into the hands
of the far right and state racism.
Perhaps this is motivated
by Blair’s Catholic beliefs [2], as evidenced by
his wholly inappropriate appointment of Ruth Kelly a Catholic
fundamentalist as Education Secretary. The issue of Christian
fundamentalism in secularist clothing is perhaps an issue for another day
and a discussion on ‘Bush, Blair and Berlusconi and the clash of
civilisations’.
You reap what you sow.
Imperialism sowed the seeds of the multi headed
amorphous hydra al Qaeda with their support for Bin Laden against the only
progressive government in Afghanistan’s history. Palestine, Iraq and
Afghanistan again now are acting as recruiting agents for Al Qaeda. I’m
sure many of us on the secular left would like to stand on the sidelines
and watch Imperialism and Fundamentalism attempt to destroy each other.
The British state will become increasingly oppressive. There will be more
innocent victims; of the fundamentalists and the state. Unfortunately we
are now caught in the crossfire. We have to take stand against both.
This cartoon was first published more than 20 years ago in Labour Herald. (Editor Ken Livingston) following cuts to council subsidies and services - Money which could have been used to defend services in Britain was diverted by the Thatcher Government in the 1980s to support the reactionary warlords of the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan
1. The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan [PDPA] in December 1978 signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union leading to support from the USSR. Resistance to the USSR was led by the Mujahadeen; with massive financial, military and political support from the USA and to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom. [see article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Afghanistan] and [The Anglo-American support apparatus behind the Afghan Mujahideen at http://www.juancole.com/2005/08/fisking-war-on-terror-once-upon-time.html and http://farmrunoff.blogspot.com/2005/08/afghanistan-spectral-apparitions.html ]. A ten year ended in February 1989 with a victory for the Mujahadeen and its western backed supporters.
2. Although Blair regularly
attends Catholic Mass with his wife Cherie and their four children, all of whom
are Catholics, it is worth pointing out that Blair remains an Anglican.