Volume 1, No 4, Fall 1991

Middle East Peace Conference

Last month a giant step was taken in the Middle East politics to secure the future of the state of Israel: So called "Middle East Peace Conference" between the state of Israel and the Arab states in the region was held in Madrid, Spain. The US administration--with little help from the Soviets--managed to convene the Arabs and Jews for peace talks and became the "champion of peace" in an attempt to polish its Gulf War tainted image.

The host country, Spain, has historical significance for both Arabs and Jews. During the 15th century, Muslims in Spain were subjected to mass destruction and complete wipe-out. Jews had the same bitter experience in the following century. It is hard to tell whether the Arab delegation had any thoughts or aspirations of this historical fact before going to the conference. Yet, the Jews remembered their bitter experience in Spain and let the world hear about it through the media.

The delegations at the conference are far from representing the people of Middle East. The Arab delegation represents the tyrannic leaders who are after securing their own thrones whereas the Jewish delegation represents one of the most radical, racist, intolerant and oppressive state on the face of the earth. The Palestinian delegation is composed of one Christian, one ex-communist and one secular which do not represent the Muslim people of Palestine.

If continues, the peace conference may bring security for the State of Israel and legitimacy for its injustices; however, it will not bring peace to the region because people of the region are not represented in the conference properly. All the divisions, new arrangements and agreements in the Middle East throughout the near history are created against the will of the people. This peace conference may bring nothing but one more artificial injunction. Since it is important for the industrialized states to secure the oil flow, and for the local tyrants is to secure their ruling power, the people became less and less important and suffered a lot.

Despite its apparent unwillingness, the state of Israel seems to benefit the most from this conference. While negotiations for the conference were taking place, the settlements in the occupied land continued, almost all the preconditions of the terrorist Shamir's government for the conference were accepted. Even the Soviet Union formally recognized Israel. The conference opened a door for bilateral negotiations so that Israel can deal with individual Arab states easily. United the Arab states could not stand; divided they will perish.

The problem of Palestine is not the only one in the world for the Muslims but it is the most significant one. It is also an indicator for the Muslims Ummah's current state. If that sacred place is under occupation, if non-Muslims are bargaining on it, the Muslims of the region are represented by some ex-communists, leftists, atheists, seculars and Christians, the entire Ummah is in a very poor state. As it was stated by the Khalifah Sultan Abdulhamid and repeated in the last communique of the Hamas, Palestine is the land of all Muslims. The responsibility of taking it back rests upon the entire Ummah.

Muslims need a voice to speak for them. The Iranian revolution rose expectations and hopes, but the dirty politics and wars reduced the influence and credibility of Iran a lot. The struggle in Afghanistan was put on a chaotic track that is hard to stabilize. The so-called champions of democracy were kept dead silent when the Islamic movement was crushed in Algeria. Without a state and a Khilafah the Muslims are powerless in huge numbers. Recent events remind us once more that, the problems facing the Ummah cannot be solved without following the Book of Allah and the Traditions of His Prophet.