Opinion Editorials, February 2012

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, February 20, 2012

“...the UN emerged chiefly as a result of an agreement among the great powers led at that time by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. They concluded that the founding of a world organization was in the interests of their respective states. One should ask why they concluded this and then set those reasons alongside the idealism.”-- Mark Mazower

The recent double veto by Russia and China against the UN resolution calling for Assad’s removal has attracted much international criticism and has again exposed the role of the UN as a colonial tool for helping major powers to protect their interests in the Muslim world. The latest tussle at the UN is in many ways, a re-run of the Iraq vote in 2003 and demonstrates vividly the division of major powers on safeguarding their material interests in Syria.  Back then, Russia and France vetoed Anglo-American efforts to seek international legitimacy for their invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam’s regime. This time, China and Russia have joined forces to secure their strategic interests through the prolongation of Assad’s regime, while America, France and Britain are vehemently opposed. Both camps are exploiting ‘humanitarian’ language to conceal their ulterior motives and justify their respective positions at the UN.  However, the saddest aspect to this continuing saga is the unstinting support offered to the undemocratic UN by the rulers of the Muslim world. Somehow these rulers believe that by seeking UN legitimacy and by beseeching major powers, the problems of the Muslim Ummah (nation) can be resolved. Yet, history teaches us the exact opposite.

Since the birth of the UN in 1945, it has been used by the great powers to cement their hegemony all over the world. No people have suffered more at the hands of the UN than the Muslim Ummah.  The West have used the UN to divide the Muslim lands such as the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan, dismemberment of Bosnia and the separation of East Timor from Indonesia. Furthermore, the UN is used by the America to plunge a dagger deep into the heart of the Ummah by creating Israel in 1948, and supporting its existence by issuing 58 vetoes since 1972.

On the behest of Western powers, the UN has played a pivotal role in isolating Muslims from each other. In the 1990s severe sanctions were imposed against Iraq, Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan. These sanctions led to the death of millions of Muslims. When asked on 60minutes about the death of half a million Iraqi children. The US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said,” I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it.” Furthermore, the West used the UN to justify the invasion of Somalia, and the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Other major powers possess a notorious record of killing Muslims by making a mockery of the UN. The UN has done little to stop the killing fields of Chechnya, or the indiscriminate massacre of Muslims in East Turkmenistan (Xinjiang province in China). Both Russia and China have repeatedly prevented the UN from investigating such atrocities.

Given the UN's criminal record against the Muslim world, its hostile efforts to suppress Muslim unity and its inability to restrain American hegemony, it is unimaginable why the rulers of the Muslim world blindly submit to the UN and hold it in such great esteem. Any sane ruler with a modicum of common sense should have realised by now that severing ties with the UN would give them a better chance of fighting imperialism and protecting the honour of the Muslim Ummah.

Today, the bitter irony is that while the rulers of the Muslim world pledge their loyalty to the UN, major powers realise UN's limitations and still pursue their nefarious agenda to subdue the global Islamic revival. In the case of Syria - America and Britain (just as they did in 2003 in Iraq) are exploring alternative means of bringing down Assad’s regime. They have solicited the support of Qatar and Turkey to protect their interests in Syria.

The only source of protection from the aggression of major powers and their instrument of international tyranny— the UN—is in the emergence of a powerful Islamic State. In actual fact, it was the Ottoman Caliphate's march towards Europe that spurred European nations to conclude the Treaty of Westphalia and international law was born. The Ottoman Caliphate stood firm against international law with such resoluteness, that for many years it was able to demand warring countries to sign up to peace treaties on its terms and without surrendering the Ummah's resources, or compromising Islamic values. 

Abid Mustafa is a political commentator who specializes on Muslim affairs and global issues

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah & ccun.org.

editor@aljazeerah.info & editor@ccun.org