The preparations for the United States' planned military operation
against Iraq are moving full-speed ahead. It seems that unless something
happens to reduce the tension between the United States and Iraq, there
will be war in the Middle East. Inevitably, that war will cost the
lives of tens of thousands of people and will lead to the deaths of
innocent civilians. Many soldiers from the U.S. and Iraqi armies will be
killed, and their families will suffer terribly. Unless war is
prevented, great harm will be wreaked on the economies of the countries
in the region, of which Turkey is a part, and particularly that of Iraq.
Poverty and all the difficulties that stem from it will increase.
There is no doubt that the prevention of this approaching disaster,
the avoidance of war and the finding of a peaceful solution, is the
hope and desire of every person of good conscience. In fact, many
individuals and civil society organizations all over the world are today
saying "No to war" and encouraging their own governments to take
initiatives to prevent such a clash. A wide community and many opinion
formers within the United States maintain that the problem needs to be
resolved by peaceful means.
Yet all these demands for peace need to be backed up by a concrete
solution. Let us first briefly examine the present situation with a view
to finding such a solution.
1. It is clear that following the September 11
terrorist attacks, the United States entered a state of alarm, declared
war on terrorism and those administrations it perceived as being
connected to it, and is totally determined on the issue.
2. After the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the
main target in this war was set out as Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
Even if there is room for debate whether Saddam Hussein really has built
nuclear or chemical weapons, that regime is now firmly on the U.S.
administration's black list, and it does not appear possible that this
can change.
3. Unless there is a radical change in the present
situation, the United States will strike at Iraq. The decision has long
since been taken.
What is noteworthy here is the fact that the United States has gone
on the offensive not against Iraq but against Saddam Hussein's regime
in that country. As President Bush and other officials have repeatedly
stressed, Saddam's administration has to come to an end. For that
reason, the most realistic formula to preventing war is for
Saddam's administration to end before the war starts. The only way for
that to happen is for Saddam Hussein to step down before the onset of
war.
Saddam Hussein Must Step Down From Power
In order for this formula to come about, the United States and the
international community have to put forward a plan that is acceptable to
Saddam Hussein. There is one point in particular that must not be
ignored: that is the fact that Saddam Hussein has a wife and children, a
family. In all probability he is not at all happy with the situation
facing his country and people. Yet he may be unable to arrive at a
healthy decision on account of concerns for his own and his family's
safety. For that reason, if that safety is guaranteed, then it is clear
that Saddam Hussein will have no wish to see a terrible slaughter that
will cost tens of thousands of Arab lives. In that light, the following
elements must be included in the plan that needs to be put to Saddam
Hussein:
1. Saddam Hussein must be allowed to leave Iraq and settle in a friendly Arab country,
in security and with certain assets. It must be guaranteed that he will
be able to spend the rest of his life in comfort in that Arab country
2. Following Saddam Hussein's abdication, a technocratic government
consisting of moderate and independent figures must be set up in Iraq.
That government must react positively to the international community's
demands for disarmament, and must seek a solution to the urgent problems
facing the country. The embargo and sanctions against Iraq must be
lifted, and with assistance from the international community a
regeneration programme must quickly be initiated. The suffering of the
Iraqi people, who have lived in terrible misery and poverty ever since
the 1980s, must be brought to an end as a matter of urgency.
3. The necessary legal and institutional changes must be brought in to allow Iraq to become a democratic state of law.
A constitutional order that respects the rights of all ethnic and
religious groups living in the country, and that allows them to live
together under one roof in peace in security must be established. Later
still, free elections must be held, and Iraq must take its place in the world as a respected member of the community of nations.
If Saddam Hussein takes the common sense approach and prevents war
by stepping down, then he will have done the people of Iraq one of the
greatest services possible, and will go down in history as a hero. We
need to be aware that according to Islam, the greatest heroism lies in
winning the "Great Jihad" (Jihad al-Nafs), in other words in
conquering one's own desires. Power is a desire that is hard for many
people to forsake. A leader who foregoes power for the sake of the
safety and happiness of his people thus wins that "Great Jihad" and
behaves in the most honorable manner possible.
For this reason:
We Call on Saddam Hussein:
If you step down from power and leave Iraq, you will have prevented
a war that would cost the lives of thousands, tens of thousands of
Iraqis.
Babies and defenseless women and old people who would otherwise
have died under the bombs will be saved. Your cities will not be razed
and your country will not be ruined. You will prevent the people of Iraq
from suffering a terrible disaster for the sake of a war that cannot
possibly be won.
Please make that sacrifice... Then the world will regard you not as
a leader who led his people to death and suffering, but as one who gave
up everything for their sake.
Even more importantly, there is no doubt that such behavior will
please God. In the Qur'an, God reveals that saving just one person from
death is as much a good deed as saving all of mankind:
...If someone kills another person-unless it is in
retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth-it
is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to
another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind... (Qur'an, 5:32)
If you allow the war to be prevented, you will have saved not one life but thousands.
We must not forget that the outbreak of war on earth is displeasing
to God. We are told in the Qur'an that war is a great evil, that it
represents corruption, and that God does not love corruption. (Qur'an,
5:64) In another verse, God calls all people to peace:
O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do
not follow in the footsteps of Satan. He is an outright enemy to you.
(Qur'an, 2:208)
In short, supporting peace and bringing it about is a great duty of all Muslims.
We Call on the U.S. Administration
The divine principles that should guide the Iraqi administration must do the same for the U.S. administration.
President Bush is a religious man. He has frequently and sincerely
stated his belief in God and the Bible, the Christians' holy book. For
that reason, we believe that he, and all religious people in the
administration, will carefully consider those passages from the Bible
that command peace amongst men.
For instance, the Gospel according to St. Matthew says, "Blessed are the peacemakers." (Matthew, 5: 9)
The following quotations command all Christians to love their
enemies, pray for their improvement, to be forgiving and not to seek
revenge:
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew, 5: 44)
If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with
all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves… If your enemy is hungry, feed
him; if he is thirsty, give him drink. (Romans, 12: 18-20)
There are also passages in the Old Testament, the guide for both
Christians and Jews, that command peace amongst men. One such passage
reads, "by the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. 7 When a man's
ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with
him." (Proverbs, 16: 6-7) In other words, he who follows God's path forgives his enemies.
President Bush is sincerely devoted to the moral values of the Holy
Book. His words in his address to the nation on September 11, 2002, "Our
deepest national conviction is that every life is precious, because
every life is the gift of a Creator who intended us to live in liberty
and equality." are a clear statement of this. The entire world
hopes that he will bring his common sense and conscience to bear on the
subject of the Iraq in the most effective manner.
If there is war between Iraq and the United States, many innocent
people will die. Innocent Iraqi children, women and old people will die
under the bombs, or be crippled and suffer, and a whole nation will
drown in pain. The Iraqi Army will suffer terrible casualties, and those
dead soldiers will leave orphans and widows behind them. The American
Army will also suffer casualties, leaving weeping families in their
wake, and American servicemen will be condemned to all sorts of sorrows,
thousands of miles from home, in a land they do not know.
How and why should anyone choose disaster when there is a peaceful way?
No to a War of Pride
The element that needs to be observed if peace is to be established is the positive, rather than negative use of psychological factors.
If, for example, America uses language that provokes Saddam Hussein and
causes Iraqi disarmament to become a matter of pride for Saddam
Hussein, the problem will continue to escalate. Many wars of pride have broken out in the past. There must not be another.
On the other hand, it is a terrible mistake for certain circles to
use the kind of language that will provoke president Bush and the U.S.
administration and thus prepare the groundwork for a question of pride.
Neither President Bush, nor the current administration nor the American
state have any need to engage in a show of power or determination. The
calming down of emotions heightened by the mutual use of provocative
statements and the adoption of a rational approach by both sides are of
great importance to a solution.
The Baghdad regime, on the other hand, must understand and respect the United States' sensitivities.
America was subjected to the world's worst ever terrorist attack on
September 11, 2001, in which thousands of innocent Americans lost their
lives. America is perfectly justified in finding the perpetrators of
this attack, bringing them to justice, and preventing any repetition of
similar terrorist incidents. For that reason, no government must take
any action that provokes alarm in the United States, but must
wholeheartedly help eliminate existing concerns. If the United States is
concerned that Iraq might support various terrorist actions in the near
future or pose a threat to the United States and its allies in the
region by producing chemical and nuclear weapons, then Iraq needs to do
all in its power to do away with those concerns. Iraq will not be
diminished by proving it is not involved in a threatening activity.
Quite the opposite. It will earn the appreciation and confidence of the
international community and its neighbors.
What Will Happen if War Cannot Be Prevented?
If war cannot be prevented by means of the formula we have put
forward here or by some other means, then the ensuing developments will
be most unfortunate:
1) Deaths: If a wide-ranging operation begins as
planned, this will inevitably lead to a great many deaths. Iraqi troops,
Iraqi civilians and American troops will die, and others will be
crippled.
2) The Destruction of Iraq: It appears inescapable
that a land and air operation against Baghdad will result in serious
physical damage to the city and other settlements of strategic
importance. The Iraqi economy is already in collapse, and a strike
against the capital and important facilities will wreak the kind of
damage it will take decades to put right.
3) The Danger of Civil War: If the Baghdad regime
is overthrown, a struggle for power will begin between the different
religious and ethnic minorities in the country, and that might lead, in
turn, to a bloody civil war. The repetition in Iraq of the civil war in
Lebanon during the 1970s and '80s, which caused so much bloodshed, is a
disaster that looks likely to be repeated.
4) The Fragmentation of Iraq: Another likely
development after the war is the fragmentation of Iraq in a framework of
ethnic and religious minorities. Such a fragmentation would lead to
fighting between those minorities and also give rise to exceedingly
powerless, poor and uncontrolled tiny states, which would inevitably
fall into anarchy and chaos. Furthermore, these tiny states that would
probably emerge could also have the effect of destabilizing Iraq's
neighbors. This is what gives rise to Turkey's justified concern in the
face of the danger represented by a Kurdish state in Northern Iraq. Not
just Turkey, but other neighboring and Gulf states, such as Iran, Syria
and Jordan would also be harmed by the confusion in Iraq.
5) Economic Difficulties in the Region: It is
estimated that in the 11 years since the 1991 Gulf War, Turkey has
suffered an economic loss of more than $100 billion. A new war would put
an end to commercial life in the region and deal a deadly blow to
tourism, and there would be recession and losses in all other sectors of
the economy.
6) Increased Danger of a "Clash of Civilizations."
A potential war between Iraq and the United States would represent an
opportunity for those who wish to encourage a bloody conflict between
the Western and Islamic civilizations. Protests against the war will
come from all over the Islamic world, and that will serve the purposes
of the scenario aimed at bringing the United States against the Islamic
world. A peaceful solution in the face of this problem will lead the way
to the world peace and security necessary for the "Peace of Civilizations."
Our hope is the prevention of a war in Iraq, a solution to the
problem without bloodshed, and the Middle East becoming a region where
peace and friendship prevail over conflict.
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