America Is Trying To Align With Arab Countries To Isolate Syria And Iran While It Desecrates Their Holy Quran By Burning It!
The growing racist, xenophobic, and anti-Islamic feelings may be responsible for the burning of the Holy Koran in Afghanistan, which is not an isolated incidence. There were alleged incidences of the American soldiers urinating on the Holy Koran in the Guantanamo prison. However, the recent incidence of burning the Holy Koran is bound to create much bigger problems for America.
By Dr. Sawraj Singh
Even though racism, xenophobia, and anti-Islamic feelings have been brewing in America for a long time, yet recently, these feelings have started growing immensely. One big reason for this is that this is the election year, and in the Republican primary, anti-China chauvinism has become a major issue. However, the anti-China hysteria promoted by the Republican candidates is not only inciting anti-China sentiments, but are inciting sentiments against all of the minorities amongst the white majority.
These racist, xenophobic, and anti-Islamic feelings may be responsible for the burning of the Holy Koran in Afghanistan, which is not an isolated incidence. There were alleged incidences of the American soldiers urinating on the Holy Koran in the Guantanamo prison. However, the recent incidence of burning the Holy Koran is bound to create much bigger problems for America.
On one hand, America is trying to align with the Arab countries to isolate Syria and Iran. Yet on the other hand, it is giving the impression of a society where anti-Islamic sentiments are rising. The New Jersey police have been keeping a special eye on the Muslims. This further proves that America suffers from very deep anti-Islamic prejudice and hatred. Such acts will further make it difficult for the treacherous and traitorous Arab league, which has become a lackey and the fifth column of American imperialism. How are these sold-out leaders of the Arab league going to justify their alliance with a country which has so much hatred for Muslims and Islam? I am sure the population will turn against these traitors.
In Afghanistan, America is trying to ally with the moderate elements among the Taliban and turn them against the extremist or anti-American elements. However, burning the Holy Koran will make it extremely difficult for the Americans to now align with any section of the Taliban, or any other section of the Islamic groups.
Not only the Muslims, but the Sikhs and Hindus have also become victims of prejudices. There have been incidences where their religious sentiments have been hurt, whether by poking fun at Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) or by the Graffiti on the Gurudwara Sahib in Michigan. Many times, the Hindu Gods have been the objects of ridicule. In 1999, the Southern Baptist Convention released 30,000 copies of a Hindu Prayer guide shortly before Diwali. The prayer guide arrogantly stated, amongst other bigoted and shameful assertions, that Hindus “are lost in the hopeless darkness of Hinduism,” and argued that they should be converted to Christianity.
Recently, there was another incident which showed the growing racial tensions in America. Ezequiel Garcia, a Latino immigrant officer in Los Angeles, California, shot and wounded Kevin Kozak, a white senior officer. Then, he was killed by a white officer in turn. Everyone will agree that this was a big tragedy. However, projecting the white officer who shot and killed Mr. Garcia as a hero and feeling jubilant will only inflame the Latino community, and widen the racial division. The loss of any human life is a sad and tragic event, and we should not express any kind of jubilation over such tragedies.
Inciting racial hatred in California has historically resulted in very serious and dangerous outcomes. The Watts, California incident in the 1960s, and the Rodney King incident are evidence of how horrific the situations can become if minority communities feel that they have been denied justice, and redress the injustice by using violence.
On August 11, 1965, the African American community, who had been suffering for years from being unfairly treated and targeted by police and receiving inadequate public services, angrily protested the arrest of a black youth. The rioting, in the course of just five days, resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, 3,438 arrests, and over $40 million dollars in property damage. To control the rioting, the California National Guard had to be brought in, Martial Law was declared, and a curfew was placed over South Central Los Angeles. Most of the property damage was confined to white-owned businesses. The entire incident was investigated by the McCone Commission, which was headed by John A. McCone, who was a former CIA Director. The McCone Commission released a 101-page report titled, Violence in the City—An End or a Beginning?: A Report by the Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots, 1965. The report concluded that the root causes of the riots were high unemployment, poor schools, and other inferior living conditions for the African American community living in Watts.
On March 3, 1991, a bystander videotaped Rodney King being brutally beaten by four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officers, while other police officers looked on and did nothing to intervene and stop them. The videotape’s airing on news channels across the world put pressure on the government to investigate the officers. After the incident, the four officers were tried in a state court in California. On April 29, 1992, three officers were acquitted, while the jury failed to reach a verdict for the fourth. After the verdict was announced, riots broke out in Los Angeles. The U.S. Army, the Marines, and the National Guard were brought in to restore order. By the time the rioting was controlled, 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, over 7,000 fires, and 3,100 businesses were damaged, resulting in approximately $1 billion in financial losses. Due to the violence and property damage suffered, particularly by the state of California, a Federal court re-opened the cases of the four officers. Two of the officers were found guilty and sent to prison, while the other two were acquitted.
America should face and accept the reality that the days of western domination and the American era are over, the unipolar world order and the American hegemony have ended, and the world is ready to enter the next phase; that is, a multipolar world, where different centers of power will co-exist on the principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
In this new world order, America can only get its proper and a respectable status by accepting and tolerating its diversity. America should accept the reality of it being a multipolar and a multireligious society. America should also learn to live in a world where it no longer can dictate terms to the others, and will be treated like the others. America should give up the illusion of being the haven for the exceptional and chosen people. The Americans are not the exceptional people, not the chosen people, but are like the other people. It is true that they are living in a land which is blessed by nature with super-abundance of resources. However, genetically, historically or culturally, there is no evidence to prove their superiority over the other people. Instead of arrogance, they should learn the fact that humility is the greatest virtue. Humility and knowledge go together, while arrogance leads to ignorance.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
