INDIVIDUAL verse STATE TERRORIM

                                            INDIVIDUAL TERRORISM VERSES STATE TERRORISM

                                                                        By: Kassim Ahmad

                                                                              8 June, 2017

                                                            

   Of late there have been outbreaks of terrorism in many places. One can date it from the famous knock down of the twin towers in the U.S known as 9/11. The latest were in Manchester in Great Britain. Incidently, note this term "Great Britain". Confessedly, Britain is the home of Shakesphere and Isaac Newton -- two great names. But who termed it great? Going back in history, when Arab-Islam was the the Number One Power in the world for eight centuries contributing brilliantly to world civilization and culture, Baghdad was called the capital of the world.

   Medieval Europe sat at the feet of Baghdad to learn for three centuries before its Renaissance. Most Western historians conspired to erase this brilliant contribution of Islam to world civilization. To refute this, read Robert Briffault The Making of Humanity  and Gordon Saturn's four-volumn History of Science.

   Most Western countries were colonialist. The first wave of colonialism was Portuguese and Spanish; the followed by the second wave of Dutch, French, German and British. Was there a good side to European colonialism, meaning to awaken sleeping peoples? No. For example, the great Malay 15th to 16th trading port of Malacca was visited by more than 80 nations -- that must comprise all the nations of the world at that time. Malay the lingua fanca. Was there any need for it to be congured by the Portuguese, except to colonize and steal its riches?

   To day the Muslim nations everywhere are the inheritors of our once great civilization. We remember how we were colonized by European powers. Should we not be angry at how we were treated by the West? Has anyone count the cost in lives and property of European colonialism? I expect the cost is beyond count. It is too large. This is their current reason for the so-called "terrorist" attacks at Western cities.

   Of course the world cannot go on in this way. But can we blame the besieged Muslim alone? What about the colonial powers? Must they not be responsible too? We have to be candid. The colonial powers must apologize openly to the colonized peoples and pay token compensation, and two sides can come to and amicable solution, and thereby usher in a truly peaceful world administered in a truly democratic deliberative way without the so-called five nuclear-armed superpowers dictating upon us all!

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KASSIM AHMAD is a Malaysia author. His website is   INDIVIDUAL