The UK Independent newspaper recently carried two stories that when read individually should give Australian and British readers serious cause for concern. But when read together should give readers even greater cause for concern. Both stories describe the behaviour of Muslims in our modern world.
The first story reports on the destruction of the ancient library in Mosul, where it has been reported Isis has destroyed ( TT here ) more than 100,000 manuscripts, maps, documents, and books some of which were registered on the UNESCO rarities list.
Passersby and students attempted to stop the obscurantists’ destruction of priceless artefacts and Ottoman history … but to no avail. Other culturally significant buildings in the ancient city of Mosul have also been attacked including Christian Churches, non-Sunni shrines, monasteries and other libraries containing priceless books, manuscripts and ancient cultural treasures, many of which are believed to be finding their way onto the black antiquities market both in Europe and America.
The second story covered by The Independent relates to the impending execution in Saudi Arabia of a man sentenced to death for abandoning Islam … his crime that of apostasy.
Apostasy is not the only so-called religious crime that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Anyone found guilty of sorcery, blasphemy and idolatry can be (and have been) beheaded. On this occasion an unnamed man tore up a copy of the Koran and then beat the pages with his shoe. The man had filmed his attack and posted it on social media (clearly not a wise thing to do) but in the 21st century should such an act result in his execution?
It has been reported that seven people died in Saudi Arabia in the first two week of this year alone; 87 were executed in 2014. Executions are carried out in public for both religious and criminal crimes. At least one man – Raif Badawi – is currently being flogged in public at the rate of fifty lashes a week ( TT here ). Badawi has been sentenced to ten years in jail and one thousand lashes for “insulting Islam through electronic channels and going beyond the realm of obedience” (whatever that means). Badawi had been – prior to his arrest – campaigning online via his blog for free speech in Saudi Arabia.
Together the two stories, for me at least, exemplify the intellectual, political and moral chasm that lies between those of us who have set our political and moral compasses using science and reason; we who rightly or wrongly see ourselves as the heirs of the enlightenment.
And as such we are about as far removed for the followers of an absolutist religion be that the so called Caliphate or in the autocratic-kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We reject the ideas and beliefs that are central to both and the behaviour that flows from them. But we in the West are trapped by our own behaviour. We condemn with all our might and military strength the barbarism of Isis while we tip toe around the barbarism of the Saudi state.
So is it fair or reasonable to expect Australian, British or any Muslim leader or believer in a Western Democracy to attack Isis or Saudi Arabia for defending their shared faith?
To answer my own question I think it is fair and I think it is a reasonable request of our Muslim leaders to do so. Barbarism should have no place in the 21st century; there is no excuse for it. There can be no argument in its favour.
But for the West, if it is to be taken seriously by Muslims, we must condemn all acts of barbarism equally, not just those of Isis. The public executions and floggings in Saudi Arabia for so-called crimes against religion must also be vehemently condemned.
Arguably it has been the West’s ability to play both ends against the middle to our political and economic advantage especially when it comes to Israel and oil that got us into the labyrinthine mess in the first place.
And until we learn to play fair why should we ask or demand that anyone else play fair?
*Bazzabee is known to the Editor
