OPINION: High Time Muslims had Unfettered Control of their Resources

THE MUSLIM WEEKLY 2004
Is the House of Saud taking steps towards redemption in the eyes of the Muslim Ummah (Global Brotherhood) or have events forced their hand? Initially prompted by Bin Laden and latterly by the filtering into the public domain of their increasingly embarrassing rapport with the United States of America. It’s a prickly heat of a comment piece so I’ll try and add humour to the ingredients.

Many have made much of Osama’s detest of the Royals but the Saudi support of the Taleban pre-9/11 may assist us in understanding how the protagonists are at play. Their ideological similarities and diplomatic bonding were inevitably going to jolt that cosy, yet so hush hush US-Saudi joint venture. This was perhaps the first sign that they had turned a corner.

Hitherto, the Saudis had been perceived as lame ducks overlooking a docile populace that couldn’t even manufacture a box of matches even if you gave them the raw materials with a dummy’s guide. Where did that leave foreign policy vis a vis the Ummah?...location: Land of the Innocuous.

Anyway, back to the focus of my heading...Aah Doomsday.. an endless War of Terror in common parlance..or Qiyaamat as Muslims would describe it.

The John Motson’s and Alan Green’s of the geo-political field have filled many pages and airwaves with their commentary. I’m merely in the wannabee queue.
What sparked my attention was Crown Prince Abdullah’s tete-a-tete with Colin Powell last week. Muslim forces for Iraq! A quid pro quo with the Americans Coalition?.....surely not? I remember a few months ago when Alex Salmond (former leader of the Scottish National Party) gleaned on it but even he talked about it being under the aegis of the United Nations. Pardon me if I’m maladroit.....But this smacks of sheer frustration on the part of America and the rest of the ‘civilised community’ albeit a tad less so.

For those of you who dream of suggesting that I’m Anti-American, dream on......I’ve spent some time there and loved every minute of it. Nevertheless, I’d be reluctant to travel there again unless Larry King Live beckoned and Air France Concorde obliged!..No...seriously, I rang my friend the other day whose spending his Summer Holidays baking in Houston, Texas and he was telling me how people were sincerely pleasant and welcoming to him despite his Authentic Muslim look..and hey, I’m not surprised....the American public in the main is genuinely friendly......I remember Baltimore feeling exactly a million miles fron Burnley.

Which leads on to the point that over the years, I’ve felt that the gulf between the ruling elites and the common man (Mr.Marx’s Beourgoise and Ploretariat if you insist) has widened. The Bank of England in 1694 it is viciously argued, set the ‘gulf’ ball rolling and industrialisation rolled it down the hill where it gathered pace and now information technology has accelerated it beyond the realms of many.

Let’s get to the point; Muslim academics influenced by the inquisitive nature of our own Generation X have debated the relevance of the UN, Nato, IMF, World Bank to the Muslim World. The majority of the world population seeks world peace and Muslims appear increasingly eager to control their own affairs, be they political/economic/social (in their own land).

Frankly, Brute behaviour in Sudan is as reprehensible as American quasi-nuclear weapons in Afghanistan. Thus, hereby is my equation: Muslims rule their land totally independently of Non-Muslim interference + vice versa = A reasonable hope of global harmony (As a sweetener, Muslims should be willing, indeed Islam unconditionally commands them to be kind to their (global) neighbours. An example perhaps? How about a constant yet competitive supply of oil to the West in a post-OPEC World. n.b. The West, meanwhile would actively seek to produce alternative energy solutions with renewed vigour thereby decreasing their reliance on the Muslim World.

Atrocious ! Utopian ! or even Anarchic? I know.......Do we not witness possibly the most inhuman, barbaric, greedy, lustful, deadly epoch in the history of humankind? (Muslim or Non-Muslim- this would be the worst time to be partial). Surely an alternative is nigh?

Let’s Return to Crown Prince Abdullah (Who is essentially the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia). Now, although 1400 years of Muslim History has seen the balance of power change from region to region, the Hijaz (region where our Prophet Muhammed -pbuh- had his worldy abode), has invarioubly been focussed on whenever Muslims have analysed their global standing and probably never more acutely so than now.
Remember the Saudi Plan for Palestine? Despite the Prince being welcomed to a Texan Ranch, his host did little more than muse over the detail. (The Israel-Palestine issue; let’s not go there...I have an article to finish!)

Meanwhile, the Iraqi inferno rages on relentlessly with no sign of abating. Consequently, Uncle Sam has finally thrown himself backwards in his chair to listen intently about a scenario which could, with further elaboration, be an antithesis of how it went about reforming the pre-9/11 world.
Perhaps, doomsday is post-poned after-all.

Cautionary Note: It is apparent that many questions about the force remain unanswered, including its size and the type of tasks the force would be asked to fulfill. Nor is it clear whether Muslim countries would go along with the idea. Another issue is how such a force would relate to the existing U.S.-led coalition.