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The age of reckoning by Abid Ullah Jan The US would call an end to its “war on terrorism” the moment its leadership understand two things: one, the real reason that made their hearts abodes of terror and two, the Anglo saying, "payback will be hell". Ours is an age of reckoning. That thought leads immediately to the gruesome events the world watches today in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Chechnya, Kashmir and across Africa. The spreading challenge is to make the facts match, for in too many places they do not. And what we discover in one case after another is that no society can go forward until this reconciliation is accomplished through addressing grievances or making the aggressors pay back. Contrary to what most astute American analysts anticipated when the Berlin Wall collapsed a decade ago, the Cold War's end has brought no eternal peace to their heart. To the contrary there is a resurgence of conflicts with the unyielding demands that the past be reopened -- and injustices dealt with properly. Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are examples which further swell terror in the hearts of world-controllers in Washington, believing they can use might to avoid justice and extract obedience without giving due heed to reality. The United States has a historic opportunity and a special role to play in the unfreezing of history for correcting wrongs around the world -- not in every case, but certainly in many. But Americans face a special challenge, too. Though hardly aware of it, they live with a phenomenon we can neatly term "history without memory". They have an imaginary great notion of their place in the last century; it is contained in a “sweeping tale” of Cold War heroism. It is not only altogether inaccurate, the rendering is also woefully short of human detail -- the facts, events and consequences that reside in human memory. Their history is especially weak when it comes to what their government did to others in the Cold War's name before 1990 and for global dominance afterwards. It is not a habit that the US will easily break. Only when it does, though, will other nations fully succeed in escaping their opposite problem, the problem of "memory without history". Only when they are able to redress their grievances, fill in their national narratives -- rewriting them to match their lived recollections -- will they be able to begin that most necessary of acts: the act of forgetting. There are no signs that the US is ready for reconciliation. Thus, terrorism will keep on haunting Western, particularly American, leadership for the foreseeable future, because terror lies in their heart, not in the seemingly impossible-to-find weapons of mass destruction of Saddam Hussain or suicide bombers of Osama bin Laden. Those who have met Osama bin Laden would agree to the tremendous amount of peace in his eyes, words and attitude despite the fact that the world’s greatest power is after him. In comparison, fear in the eyes and facial gestures of the most powerful men, Bush and Blair, is so overwhelming that few would find them sensible if found alone in the street. One wonders if they can ever have a good night sleep in their “peaceful” palaces as compared to Osama’s shack at the mercy of Coalition bombers. It is very important to note that there are valid reasons for the never-ending-terror in the heart of those who can destroy the whole planet many times over. Interestingly, their fear is not imaginary. It is real. Political scientists and international relations specialists may not like it, but we have reached a stage of human history where such phenomenon can no more be explained without referring to Qur’an and Hadith. Events of this century have already started crossing all limits of secular explanations. The jingoist American leaders now need to refer to Qur’an to understand the reason for the terror in their heart and to avoid payback. At no less than 92 occasions, the Qur’an says, “fear Allah”. It repeats “Fear Him” 17 times and Allah directly addresses human beings: “Fear me” at least 10 times. Qur’anic verses such as “fear not men but fear me” (5:54) and “fear me and me alone” (2:41) are so straightforward that no amount of “fundamentalism” or “moderatism” can confuse their meaning. It needs no believer of the Muslim faith to understand that when men start fearing men, no amount of weapons, no amount of detentions in Guatanamo Bay, no amount of mindless bombing, killings and an unlimited war on terrorism can ever bring peace to their hearts. The question then arises: “What scares them in the first place?” It is the fear of payback. It is natural. In nature all things are double, one against another -- tit for tat; an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth; blood for blood; love for love -- give and it shall be given to you. The unjust are scared of the payback for the injustice they still support and stand for. The hypocritical US policy towards Iraq and Israel is an example that needs no explanation. The Qur’an, however, explains the cause of their terror: “We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the fire, and evil is the abode of the unjust” (03:151). The unjust need no Qaddafi, Osama or Saddam to scare them. Nature no more destroys whole nations for their sins. Now the unjust would bring about their doom with their own hands. “… And they thought their fortress would defend them from Allah! But Allah’s (torment) reached them from a place whereof they expected it not, and He cast in their hearts so that they destroyed their dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see)” (Qur’an 59:02). Someone must tell if Bush and his Company are doing anything other than hastening fall of the US Empire. Our injustices are overmastered and characterized above our will by the law of nature. Say (to the disbelievers): “Tell me if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly, or openly, will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (the unjust people)?” (Qur’an 6:47). Learning from history is not just so we can put it right in the history books, it's about making real amends today. If we can't do anything to prevent the past, at least we can do justice to rectify the present. Otherwise, the conditions that were created by the US and its Allies past would continue to dominate their relations with those impacted by the past. Furthermore, today is just as much history as yesterday. It's just a question of whether the so-called world leaders have the courage to face up to the responsibilities. Justice is not a four letter word. It means accountability. That accountability can only happen if we have the strength to accept the real verdict of history. As the 21st century proceeds, which society can claim to desire anything different -- anything other than a good grade in history and a forward gaze? But resolving issues with force is unacceptable to everyone. It is like covering an unclean wound: it festers and will not heal until it is tended to. The challenge to avoid terror and wars lies precisely in learning to do justice, however difficult that may be. There is no alternative other than payback, which will be hell. Concluded
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