Inzamam Qasim Silachi
US President John F Kennedy once said “One who controls the Middle East will control the world.”
Middle East was once jewel in the crown of the world. Now, it has turned into a cobweb of wars, conflicts, bloodshed and has become a hotbed for terrorist organizations. Currently, the world faces grave threats to the security and peace emerging from Middle East. Has Middle East always remained a breeding ground for terrorism? The conflicts and instability is sprouting out due to Lack of genuine leadership.
The region has paramount religious, political, social and economic significance. Middle East had been centre of civilizations and major religions and diverse ethnic communities. The religions like Islam, Judaism and Christianity, with high number of adherents, originated from the lap of the Middle East. It has high quantity of oil reservoirs, mineral resources. The central trade routes of the world like Strait of Hormuz, Bab-ul-Mandeb and Suez Canal pass through Middle East. These trade routes connect different continents like Africa, Asia and Europe. The straits are also mandatory for navigation of the ships. Every Middle Eastern country is surrounded by water which increases its importance for trade. It is also an amalgamation of Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds and Azeris and many other small ethnic groups. The political system of Middle East is autocratic, despotic and comprising of megalomaniac monarchs. The rulers of these countries got legitimacy from religion. Resultantly, democracy and people representation failed to prevail in the region.
The pivotal role was played by the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Hafez-ul-Hassan, Saddam Hussain, Yasir Arafat and Muammar Al-Gaddafi. They solely worked to promote Arab nationalism. The leaders fought wars with Israel on many times to mitigate the miseries of Palestinians. Gamal Nasser was playing a vanguard role in the whole arena. Israel was given a temporary check on trampling the right of Palestinians. The anti-west element was highly entrenched in their minds so that they expelled westerners from their countries. Yasir Arafat was known as “father of Palestinian nation”.
The all leaders are applauded for bringing political and security stability in Middle East. They were crowned at that time for bringing up Arab nationalism by inculcating the ideas of democracy. Unfortunately, the power corrupted them to the core. They started interfering in the affairs of other countries. The unneeded intervention in the affairs of each other led the leaders to part their ways from each other. The gulf of leadership further aggravated the political and security situation. After coming to power, most of the leaders made blunders and threw their nations at the verge of devastation. Egypt had fallen at the mercy of America only because of the radical policies and bloodiest wars with Israel. Libya was completely pulverized by the west only to remove Muammar Qaddafi. America declared war on Iraq only to avenge Saddam Hussain.
After fall, all leaders of the Middle East were divided on the basis of sectarianism, religion, regional and global rivalry. The “Arab Spring (2011)”, which emerged from Tunisia, engulfed the whole region. The Arab Spring proved to be the final straw on the camel’s back. After the fall of regimes, every country is in state of war. Non-state actors found this region as breeding ground. Syria has been fighting a civil war while threatening its own existence. Yemen is on the brink of biggest humanitarian crises. Egypt, which was once guiding principle of Middle East, has become a place which is unsecure for minorities. Iraq, after Saddam Hussain, has turned into a training centre of Non-state actors.
Similarly, Iran and Saudi rivalry, on the other hand, are providing freedom to world powers to interfere. The Palestinians are being massacred in the hands of Israelis. The most damage to the Palestinian cause is done by the Arabs themselves. The Middle Eastern countries have locked their horns with each other, and stability seems a far cry. Once Premier of Israel Golda Mier Said “Israelis are not enemies of Arabs, but Arabs are enemies of themselves”.
Writer hails from Sibi and pursuing BS in International Relations from QAU, Islamabad.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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