Topic 2: The global context of humanitarian relief
Rise of Militant Islam
Islamic fundamentalism basically argues that all laws should be based on the Word of God, as found in the Quran and Sunnah, and ideally governments should be working towards shuria and an Islamic state. Whilst Islamic fundamentalism is uncomfortable with elements of the secular world, there are varying degrees of militancy as to how this is expressed.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the largest pan-Islamic movement, was founded in 1928. Whilst banned in many Arabic countries, it enjoys the support of substantial percentage of the Muslim population, particularly the poor whom it supports by carrying out practical charitable work. Free elections in Algeria in 1992 were actually won by the Islamic party, but this election result was never ratified due to a crack-down on Islamic groups by the existing government in power. Hamas, which now holds power in Gaza, was formed in 1987 as an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the current (April 2011) jousting for political power in the Middle East, it will be interesting to see how Islamic parties will fare in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and the Yemen, should free and fair elections be held there in the months ahead.
The acclaimed Pakistani journalist and author, Ahmed Rashid, in his book, Jihad: The Rise of militant Islam in Central Asia, argues that this awakening of militant Islam in a number of Central Asian States in the early to middle 1990’s was due to the failure of the post Soviet Union governments there to adequately address such key issues as employment and good governance. Militant Islamic terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda (formed in 1996) grew out of earlier Afghan resistance groups, and from that time onwards (i.e. from the mid 1990’s) began to direct attacks against Western targets e.g. the bombing in 1998 of US embassies in both Tanzania and Kenya.
The situation in Arabic or Muslim countries in the Middle East, particularly in their relationships with Western countries, is complicated by two major factors:
- The State of Israel, formed in 1948, and then subsequently involved in a series of conflicts with Arab neighbours (in 1948; 1956; 1967; 1973; 1982 etc) is seen as been strongly supported by a number of Western powers, but particularly the US. In particular it is felt that the rights, aspirations and concerns of Palestinians once living within what are now Israel’s boundaries, are not addressed by the international community with the same degree of empathy and positive support.
- Few Middle Eastern Arabic or Moslem nations have strongly functioning democracies, but instead are either monarchies or basically one-major party authoritarian states. There is ire directed towards the West, which preaches democracy, but in practice has appeared hypocritical by not strongly supporting free and fair elections. Cynics and others would argue that Western countries have supported strong authoritarian governments as these are more likely to guarantee unhindered access of oil flowing out of the Arabian Gulf. This situation is currently evolving across much of North Africa and the Middle East, where since early 2011 there has been a rapidly movement towards Arab democratisation, this particularly affecting (as at April 2011) countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, the Yemen, Libya and Syria.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York in 2001, President George Bush Junior, supported by a bloc of western countries, subsequently declared a ‘War against Terror’, which led to the invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). In turn there were retaliatory militant Islamic terrorist attacks on Western civilian targets in Madrid, London, Bali, and Mumbai.
The situation in the Middle East is further complicated by the Sunni/Shi’ite divide, with the latter having its power-base firmly entrenched in Iran; a Shi’ite majority in Iraq; and influential proxy states such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980’s was a major conflict, with Wikileaks leaks during late 2010 indicating an ongoing underlying fear of a nuclear armed Iran from more conservative Arabic neighbours in the Arabian peninsular.
Over the past decade the ‘War on Terror’ has led to increased polarisation between some Western governments, and some parts of the Islamic World. This is perhaps highlighted most of all in Pakistan, where an increasingly fragile government has a growing proportion of its population expressing anti-Western sentiments, particularly as this ‘War on Terror’ spills over to its own territory, due to mainly US drone attacks on militant targets in NE Pakistan.
Most international NGOs are perceived as being Western in origin, and certainly most would espouse liberal, democratic values. A large minority of these NGOs are also recognised as having Christian origins, although the degree of active proselytisation by most of these, particularly for humanitarian work, is small.
 |
|
‘Aid', Chapter 6 in Keen’s Complex Emergencies, pages 116 to 148. This is a rather complex and detailed chapter and it will require some time set aside to read. If you have completed the Activities and Readings in the Study Guide up to this point, you will recognise some of the complex emergencies referred to by Keen. |
|
