Reza Hossein Borr
The security forces of Iran attacked a mosque and a religious school at three o'clock in the morning today, 27 August 2008, arrested the students and staff and destroyed the mosque and the religious school in the North East of Baluchistan, Iran. The security forces used several bulldozers and tractors to completely destroy the building of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad, a suburb of the city of Zabol. Nobody knows what has happened to the students, teachers and staff of the school and the mosque. The people who witnessed this morning operations observed that the students and teachers were very frightened. The security forces began beating them as soon as they attacked the school and bundled them into secure police cars as they were crying and screaming. The attack happened at a time that all of the students and staff were sleeping. There was not any warning by the police or security forces about the destruction of the mosque and the school.
The Iranian authorities destroyed another mosque about a year ago in the northern part of Iran and its Imam and staff were arrested and thrown into prison. Several mosques which belonged to the Sunnis of Iran have been destroyed since the emergence of the Shia fanatic Republic of Iran. There are 15 to 20 million Sunnis in Iran. They have been discriminated against systematically. Molana Ahamad Narouee, the deputy director of the main theological school in Zahedan was arrested two weeks ago. The security forces have demanded that the religious school must expel all foreign students who are studying at the school. According to the head of the school a small number of students from the Central Asian republics are studying in the school. But they have been denied students visas. There are hundreds of Shia students from the Central Asian republics who are studying in different Shia theological schools of Iran.
Fifteen thousand foreign students are studying in the Iranian Shia schools. The Iranian regime has given them scholarship and pays for their families too. These students learn the Iranian version of Shia which believes the Sunnis are infidels. The students will return back to their home countries with very strong radical, militant and anti-Sunni studies which will create enormous divisions between the Sunnis and Shia population of Islamic countries.
Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque was destroyed once before and the people had to relocate it. The religious leaders of Baluchistan and Iran protested against destruction of the Sunni mosques but so far the Iranian regime has continued its policy of destroying Sunni mosques in different parts of Iran while it is building new Shia mosques in Sunni dominated villages and cities. The Irna news agency reported on 25th of August that the government has sent 600 Shia missionaries to the Sunni dominated areas of Baluchistan to convert the Sunnis in Islam as if the Sunnis are not Moslems. The way they have trained these missionaries indicate that they clearly believe that the Sunnis are not Moslems and they must be converted into Shiism which is the real Islam. The process of Shiaeezation of the Sunnis began from the beginning of Islamic Republic but so far the regime has very little success in converting the Sunnis into Shiism, yet the financial rewards that the Iranian regime is providing for the newly-converted Moslems
( Shia) have been very tempting as some of the Afghani and Pakistani Shias have gone to Iran and claimed to be Baluch Sunnis and they were ready to have the honour of becoming Moslems (Shia). The Shia fanatic regime pays thousands of dollars to the newly converted Shias to persuade them to convert their relatives and children. Consequently some bloody disputes have happened among the members of the same family who have refused to change their religion.
The destruction of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad will not be the last onslaught of the Shia regime on the Sunnis of Iran. The Iranian constitution allows diversity of religion and respects the performance of religious duties but the Iranian regime ignores its own constitution and arrests religious leaders, destroys the Sunni schools and mosques. In reaction to the systematic Shia offensive on the Baluch and other Sunnis of Iran, the process of intensification of religious feelings in Sunnis are widening and deepening all over ran. As the Iranian regime defines itself as the lawful and legitimate heritage of Islam, the Iranian Sunnis have responded by identifying themselves as true Moslems.
The Iranian Sunnis were usually secular minded people but the Shia aggression has turned them into Sunni political militants. Lack of support by the international community and Islamic countries have pushed the Sunni Muslims of Iran towards the only sources of support that are available and they are Taleban and Alqaedah. The international community could have supported the Sunnis of Iran to move them away from Taleban and Alqaedah but it seems that there is a concerted effort to allow the Islamic Shia regime of Iran to continue the oppression of the Sunnis. There was some news that some young Iranian Sunnis who have been disappointed by the Islamic and Arab governments have become sympathetic to Taleban. The majority of the people who live in the Eastern part of Iran are Sunnis and when they become sympathetic to Taleban, the movement of Taleban and Alqaedah members and the power of their manoeuvres in the region become more dynamic and widespread. The pressure by the government on the Sunnis is so brutal that the Sunnis feel desperate for any kind of help which relieves some of the pressures on them. The Sunni governments and countries so far have refused to help them directly as the Iranian regime is widely supporting the Shias of all countries, or exerting some practical pressure on the Iranian regime to stop further discrimination and pressure on them.
The international community must use all United Nations Conventions and human rights charters which allow freedom of worship to exert pressure on the Iranian regime to halt the destruction of Sunni mosques and media onslaught on Sunni principles. The Iranian Sunnis witness everyday unbearable offences against the Sunni principles of Islam. The intensification of pressure on Sunnis would have severe consequences, not only for Iran and Iranians but also for international community when the patience of Sunnis ran out and a religious war between the two sects of Islam may begin. At the same time when the pressure becomes unbearable on the Sunnis of Iran they may look for separation from Iran as their locations are located near the borders of Iran with other countries.
The Iranian government, the Shia population of Iran and the opposition groups of Iran, Iranian intellectuals, journalists and human rights activists will be responsible for any civil or religious war in Iran or for any separatist movement that maybe created in Iran if they do not stop the regime from further execution of the Sunni leaders and destruction of their schools, mosques and violations of their rights. The political, social and cultural discrimination against the Sunnis would have added consequences in which the Sunni people of Iran will lose any hope for a better life in Iran. Those Iranian who choose silence over the brutal oppression of the Iranian nationalities and Sunnis will be responsible for any civil war that might follow as the consequence of these repressive policies.
Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email:www.sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
An open letter to Mr Asif Zardari
Reza Hossein Borr
If you know what will happen to you after you become the president, you have to look at the fate of those who have become president before you. What happened to them will happen to you. There is no exception in history of Pakistan. Pakistan swallows its Presidents and Prime Ministers. If you want to be hanged like your father in law, if you want to be killed in an aeroplane crash like general Zia, If you want to have the disgraceful fate of General Musharaf, then become the president or Prime Minister.
I am writing this letter to you because your father was a good friend of mine. When he used to come to London he visited me regularly. He loved Persian poetry and I arranged for some of my great Persian poets to meet him in my home and read poem for him. I also met you once when I and your father arranged a meeting between you and your wife and a great Iranian friend of mine that I cannot name. And you are a Baluch and I don't want a Baluch statesman to go in history as a disgraced leader. Stupidity is not monopolized only by other nations. All of us had a share of it. But this is pure stupidity.
People want to become rich because they see the rich people enjoying life. If people love to become celebrity, it is because they see that the celebrities enjoy enormous popularity, wealth and fame. You have all of these things now without being accountable. You enjoy fame and power and you are not accountable to anybody. Why anybody should change this exceptional privilege? You are like a king with authorities and without responsibilities. At the same time, you have the authority to make things happen and appoint other people to do things and when they do not succeed, you can bring them down and make them accountable. This is a position that can happen really in history. The Gandhis are enjoying the same status. It seems that they have understood and the importance of respect and dignity.
If you want to go into a profession, first look at those who have gone in that profession before you and what has happened to them. Surely you do not want to happen to you what has already happened to previous president and prime ministers. Mr Zardari, your future is quite clear. It will be the same as of Bhutto, General Zia and General Musharaf. It would not be any different unless a miracle happens. You have acted like a statesman after the death of your wife, Mr Zardari. You have shown that you have the capacity to learn many lessons from the history of Pakistan but if you accept to become the president of Pakistan, You would prove that you have not learnt anything from the history and you deserve to become another victim of your ignorance. Ambition without skills can kill.
When you got married to Benazir Bhutto everybody said that you won a lottery. I did not agree with them. At that time the Bhuttos were abandoned by their friends. It did not seem that Bhuttos can bounce back. Yet, you took a great risk in marrying Benazir Bhutto. You helped her recover herself from the betrayals of friends and foes. When she became the Prime Minister, there were a lot of rumours that you got involved in large-scale corruption. You are the only person who knows whether those charges were true or not. If you were rightly charged, you paid for them when you were thrown into prison for a long time.
Maybe prison was the place where you learnt to become wise. Now when a lot of people flatter you, recall the days that you were in prison. Prison is still there. If you do not want to go back to the prison do not do what you did before. When people are in power they forget that their power will end one day. Surely you know that very well. You know the Baluch leader Akbar Khan Bugti. You know that he was a controversial figure. He did many things in his life but in the last days of his life he realised how well to die. Many people know how to live but most of them do not know how to die to achieve lasting life. Akbar Khan Bugti turned himself into a national hero when he refused high positions and went for justice and equality. It was the seeking of justice that made him eternally great, not seeking of high position.
It is your turn now, Mr Zardari. You have a chance to make history. But more than that, you can make yourself a great part of history. Kingmakers are more important than kings.
Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: www.sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com
If you know what will happen to you after you become the president, you have to look at the fate of those who have become president before you. What happened to them will happen to you. There is no exception in history of Pakistan. Pakistan swallows its Presidents and Prime Ministers. If you want to be hanged like your father in law, if you want to be killed in an aeroplane crash like general Zia, If you want to have the disgraceful fate of General Musharaf, then become the president or Prime Minister.
I am writing this letter to you because your father was a good friend of mine. When he used to come to London he visited me regularly. He loved Persian poetry and I arranged for some of my great Persian poets to meet him in my home and read poem for him. I also met you once when I and your father arranged a meeting between you and your wife and a great Iranian friend of mine that I cannot name. And you are a Baluch and I don't want a Baluch statesman to go in history as a disgraced leader. Stupidity is not monopolized only by other nations. All of us had a share of it. But this is pure stupidity.
People want to become rich because they see the rich people enjoying life. If people love to become celebrity, it is because they see that the celebrities enjoy enormous popularity, wealth and fame. You have all of these things now without being accountable. You enjoy fame and power and you are not accountable to anybody. Why anybody should change this exceptional privilege? You are like a king with authorities and without responsibilities. At the same time, you have the authority to make things happen and appoint other people to do things and when they do not succeed, you can bring them down and make them accountable. This is a position that can happen really in history. The Gandhis are enjoying the same status. It seems that they have understood and the importance of respect and dignity.
If you want to go into a profession, first look at those who have gone in that profession before you and what has happened to them. Surely you do not want to happen to you what has already happened to previous president and prime ministers. Mr Zardari, your future is quite clear. It will be the same as of Bhutto, General Zia and General Musharaf. It would not be any different unless a miracle happens. You have acted like a statesman after the death of your wife, Mr Zardari. You have shown that you have the capacity to learn many lessons from the history of Pakistan but if you accept to become the president of Pakistan, You would prove that you have not learnt anything from the history and you deserve to become another victim of your ignorance. Ambition without skills can kill.
When you got married to Benazir Bhutto everybody said that you won a lottery. I did not agree with them. At that time the Bhuttos were abandoned by their friends. It did not seem that Bhuttos can bounce back. Yet, you took a great risk in marrying Benazir Bhutto. You helped her recover herself from the betrayals of friends and foes. When she became the Prime Minister, there were a lot of rumours that you got involved in large-scale corruption. You are the only person who knows whether those charges were true or not. If you were rightly charged, you paid for them when you were thrown into prison for a long time.
Maybe prison was the place where you learnt to become wise. Now when a lot of people flatter you, recall the days that you were in prison. Prison is still there. If you do not want to go back to the prison do not do what you did before. When people are in power they forget that their power will end one day. Surely you know that very well. You know the Baluch leader Akbar Khan Bugti. You know that he was a controversial figure. He did many things in his life but in the last days of his life he realised how well to die. Many people know how to live but most of them do not know how to die to achieve lasting life. Akbar Khan Bugti turned himself into a national hero when he refused high positions and went for justice and equality. It was the seeking of justice that made him eternally great, not seeking of high position.
It is your turn now, Mr Zardari. You have a chance to make history. But more than that, you can make yourself a great part of history. Kingmakers are more important than kings.
Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: www.sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com
The destruction of another Sunni mosque in Iran and its consequences
Reza Hossein Borr
The security forces of Iran attacked a mosque and a religious school at three o'clock in the morning today, 27 August 2008, arrested the students and staff and destroyed the mosque and the religious school in the North East of Baluchistan, Iran. The security forces used several bulldozers and tractors to completely destroy the building of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad, a suburb of the city of Zabol. Nobody knows what has happened to the students, teachers and staff of the school and the mosque. The people who witnessed this morning operations observed that the students and teachers were very frightened. The security forces began beating them as soon as they attacked the school and bundled them into secure police cars as they were crying and screaming. The attack happened at a time that all of the students and staff were sleeping. There was not any warning by the police or security forces about the destruction of the mosque and the school.
The Iranian authorities destroyed another mosque about a year ago in the northern part of Iran and its Imam and staff were arrested and thrown into prison. Several mosques which belonged to the Sunnis of Iran have been destroyed since the emergence of the Shia fanatic Republic of Iran. There are 15 to 20 million Sunnis in Iran. They have been discriminated against systematically. Molana Ahamad Narouee, the deputy director of the main theological school in Zahedan was arrested two weeks ago. The security forces have demanded that the religious school must expel all foreign students who are studying at the school. According to the head of the school a small number of students from the Central Asian republics are studying in the school. But they have been denied students visas. There are hundreds of Shia students from the Central Asian republics who are studying in different Shia theological schools of Iran.
Fifteen thousand foreign students are studying in the Iranian Shia schools. The Iranian regime has given them scholarship and pays for their families too. These students learn the Iranian version of Shia which believes the Sunnis are infidels. The students will return back to their home countries with very strong radical, militant and anti-Sunni studies which will create enormous divisions between the Sunnis and Shia population of Islamic countries.
Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque was destroyed once before and the people had to relocate it. The religious leaders of Baluchistan and Iran protested against destruction of the Sunni mosques but so far the Iranian regime has continued its policy of destroying Sunni mosques in different parts of Iran while it is building new Shia mosques in Sunni dominated villages and cities. The Irna news agency reported on 25th of August that the government has sent 600 Shia missionaries to the Sunni dominated areas of Baluchistan to convert the Sunnis in Islam as if the Sunnis are not Moslems. The way they have trained these missionaries indicate that they clearly believe that the Sunnis are not Moslems and they must be converted into Shiism which is the real Islam. The process of Shiaeezation of the Sunnis began from the beginning of Islamic Republic but so far the regime has very little success in converting the Sunnis into Shiism, yet the financial rewards that the Iranian regime is providing for the newly-converted Moslems
( Shia) have been very tempting as some of the Afghani and Pakistani Shias have gone to Iran and claimed to be Baluch Sunnis and they were ready to have the honour of becoming Moslems (Shia). The Shia fanatic regime pays thousands of dollars to the newly converted Shias to persuade them to convert their relatives and children. Consequently some bloody disputes have happened among the members of the same family who have refused to change their religion.
The destruction of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad will not be the last onslaught of the Shia regime on the Sunnis of Iran. The Iranian constitution allows diversity of religion and respects the performance of religious duties but the Iranian regime ignores its own constitution and arrests religious leaders, destroys the Sunni schools and mosques. In reaction to the systematic Shia offensive on the Baluch and other Sunnis of Iran, the process of intensification of religious feelings in Sunnis are widening and deepening all over ran. As the Iranian regime defines itself as the lawful and legitimate heritage of Islam, the Iranian Sunnis have responded by identifying themselves as true Moslems.
The Iranian Sunnis were usually secular minded people but the Shia aggression has turned them into Sunni political militants. Lack of support by the international community and Islamic countries have pushed the Sunni Muslims of Iran towards the only sources of support that are available and they are Taleban and Alqaedah. The international community could have supported the Sunnis of Iran to move them away from Taleban and Alqaedah but it seems that there is a concerted effort to allow the Islamic Shia regime of Iran to continue the oppression of the Sunnis. There was some news that some young Iranian Sunnis who have been disappointed by the Islamic and Arab governments have become sympathetic to Taleban. The majority of the people who live in the Eastern part of Iran are Sunnis and when they become sympathetic to Taleban, the movement of Taleban and Alqaedah members and the power of their manoeuvres in the region become more dynamic and widespread. The pressure by the government on the Sunnis is so brutal that the Sunnis feel desperate for any kind of help which relieves some of the pressures on them. The Sunni governments and countries so far have refused to help them directly as the Iranian regime is widely supporting the Shias of all countries, or exerting some practical pressure on the Iranian regime to stop further discrimination and pressure on them.
The international community must use all United Nations Conventions and human rights charters which allow freedom of worship to exert pressure on the Iranian regime to halt the destruction of Sunni mosques and media onslaught on Sunni principles. The Iranian Sunnis witness everyday unbearable offences against the Sunni principles of Islam. The intensification of pressure on Sunnis would have severe consequences, not only for Iran and Iranians but also for international community when the patience of Sunnis ran out and a religious war between the two sects of Islam may begin. At the same time when the pressure becomes unbearable on the Sunnis of Iran they may look for separation from Iran as their locations are located near the borders of Iran with other countries.
The Iranian government, the Shia population of Iran and the opposition groups of Iran, Iranian intellectuals, journalists and human rights activists will be responsible for any civil or religious war in Iran or for any separatist movement that maybe created in Iran if they do not stop the regime from further execution of the Sunni leaders and destruction of their schools, mosques and violations of their rights. The political, social and cultural discrimination against the Sunnis would have added consequences in which the Sunni people of Iran will lose any hope for a better life in Iran. Those Iranian who choose silence over the brutal oppression of the Iranian nationalities and Sunnis will be responsible for any civil war that might follow as the consequence of these repressive policies.
Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email:www.sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com
The security forces of Iran attacked a mosque and a religious school at three o'clock in the morning today, 27 August 2008, arrested the students and staff and destroyed the mosque and the religious school in the North East of Baluchistan, Iran. The security forces used several bulldozers and tractors to completely destroy the building of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad, a suburb of the city of Zabol. Nobody knows what has happened to the students, teachers and staff of the school and the mosque. The people who witnessed this morning operations observed that the students and teachers were very frightened. The security forces began beating them as soon as they attacked the school and bundled them into secure police cars as they were crying and screaming. The attack happened at a time that all of the students and staff were sleeping. There was not any warning by the police or security forces about the destruction of the mosque and the school.
The Iranian authorities destroyed another mosque about a year ago in the northern part of Iran and its Imam and staff were arrested and thrown into prison. Several mosques which belonged to the Sunnis of Iran have been destroyed since the emergence of the Shia fanatic Republic of Iran. There are 15 to 20 million Sunnis in Iran. They have been discriminated against systematically. Molana Ahamad Narouee, the deputy director of the main theological school in Zahedan was arrested two weeks ago. The security forces have demanded that the religious school must expel all foreign students who are studying at the school. According to the head of the school a small number of students from the Central Asian republics are studying in the school. But they have been denied students visas. There are hundreds of Shia students from the Central Asian republics who are studying in different Shia theological schools of Iran.
Fifteen thousand foreign students are studying in the Iranian Shia schools. The Iranian regime has given them scholarship and pays for their families too. These students learn the Iranian version of Shia which believes the Sunnis are infidels. The students will return back to their home countries with very strong radical, militant and anti-Sunni studies which will create enormous divisions between the Sunnis and Shia population of Islamic countries.
Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque was destroyed once before and the people had to relocate it. The religious leaders of Baluchistan and Iran protested against destruction of the Sunni mosques but so far the Iranian regime has continued its policy of destroying Sunni mosques in different parts of Iran while it is building new Shia mosques in Sunni dominated villages and cities. The Irna news agency reported on 25th of August that the government has sent 600 Shia missionaries to the Sunni dominated areas of Baluchistan to convert the Sunnis in Islam as if the Sunnis are not Moslems. The way they have trained these missionaries indicate that they clearly believe that the Sunnis are not Moslems and they must be converted into Shiism which is the real Islam. The process of Shiaeezation of the Sunnis began from the beginning of Islamic Republic but so far the regime has very little success in converting the Sunnis into Shiism, yet the financial rewards that the Iranian regime is providing for the newly-converted Moslems
( Shia) have been very tempting as some of the Afghani and Pakistani Shias have gone to Iran and claimed to be Baluch Sunnis and they were ready to have the honour of becoming Moslems (Shia). The Shia fanatic regime pays thousands of dollars to the newly converted Shias to persuade them to convert their relatives and children. Consequently some bloody disputes have happened among the members of the same family who have refused to change their religion.
The destruction of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad will not be the last onslaught of the Shia regime on the Sunnis of Iran. The Iranian constitution allows diversity of religion and respects the performance of religious duties but the Iranian regime ignores its own constitution and arrests religious leaders, destroys the Sunni schools and mosques. In reaction to the systematic Shia offensive on the Baluch and other Sunnis of Iran, the process of intensification of religious feelings in Sunnis are widening and deepening all over ran. As the Iranian regime defines itself as the lawful and legitimate heritage of Islam, the Iranian Sunnis have responded by identifying themselves as true Moslems.
The Iranian Sunnis were usually secular minded people but the Shia aggression has turned them into Sunni political militants. Lack of support by the international community and Islamic countries have pushed the Sunni Muslims of Iran towards the only sources of support that are available and they are Taleban and Alqaedah. The international community could have supported the Sunnis of Iran to move them away from Taleban and Alqaedah but it seems that there is a concerted effort to allow the Islamic Shia regime of Iran to continue the oppression of the Sunnis. There was some news that some young Iranian Sunnis who have been disappointed by the Islamic and Arab governments have become sympathetic to Taleban. The majority of the people who live in the Eastern part of Iran are Sunnis and when they become sympathetic to Taleban, the movement of Taleban and Alqaedah members and the power of their manoeuvres in the region become more dynamic and widespread. The pressure by the government on the Sunnis is so brutal that the Sunnis feel desperate for any kind of help which relieves some of the pressures on them. The Sunni governments and countries so far have refused to help them directly as the Iranian regime is widely supporting the Shias of all countries, or exerting some practical pressure on the Iranian regime to stop further discrimination and pressure on them.
The international community must use all United Nations Conventions and human rights charters which allow freedom of worship to exert pressure on the Iranian regime to halt the destruction of Sunni mosques and media onslaught on Sunni principles. The Iranian Sunnis witness everyday unbearable offences against the Sunni principles of Islam. The intensification of pressure on Sunnis would have severe consequences, not only for Iran and Iranians but also for international community when the patience of Sunnis ran out and a religious war between the two sects of Islam may begin. At the same time when the pressure becomes unbearable on the Sunnis of Iran they may look for separation from Iran as their locations are located near the borders of Iran with other countries.
The Iranian government, the Shia population of Iran and the opposition groups of Iran, Iranian intellectuals, journalists and human rights activists will be responsible for any civil or religious war in Iran or for any separatist movement that maybe created in Iran if they do not stop the regime from further execution of the Sunni leaders and destruction of their schools, mosques and violations of their rights. The political, social and cultural discrimination against the Sunnis would have added consequences in which the Sunni people of Iran will lose any hope for a better life in Iran. Those Iranian who choose silence over the brutal oppression of the Iranian nationalities and Sunnis will be responsible for any civil war that might follow as the consequence of these repressive policies.
Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email:www.sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Can power shift to powerless nations?
Can power shift to powerless nations?
Reza Hossein Borr, London, 20.7.08
Do the powerless remain powerless forever? Do the helpless remain helpless forever? Do the nations who do not have their own governments will remain stateless forever? Do the powerful remain powerful what so ever? Do the strong remain strong forever? If this is the case, what has happened to the Persian Empire? What happened to the Pharaohs of Egypt? What happened to the Roman Empire? What happened to Islamic Empire? What happened to Mongolian Empire? What happened to the Ottoman Empire? What happened to the British Empire? What happened to the Austrian Empire? What happened to the German Empire? What happened to the Soviet Union? What happened to Yugoslavia?
These powerful Empires seemed invincible at the peak of their time. But all of them are gone and they are part of history. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was a Persian Empire looking at the present situation of Iran. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was ever a Roman Empire looking at the present situation of Italy and Greece. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was once the Mongolia Empire that ruled half of the world. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that some nomadic Arabs from the centre of Saudi Arabia had demolished two of the greatest empires of the world. This is the case with the rest.
More important than all, nobody believed that one small country like the United Kingdom could form an Empire that the sun did not set in it. And yet it happened. Nobody could believe that one State of Israel could defeat 22 Arab countries and 300 million people. But that's what happened. At the same time, nobody could believe that the same State of Israel was defeated and frustrated by the small organization of Hezbollah.
The fact of history is that power shifts from one country to another country and from one nation to another nation. One nation which is great today will be impoverished tomorrow and a poor country of today will become a great country of tomorrow. This is the rule of history. If it is understood by the countries that are powerful now they will act in a way that when they lose power they will be treated more humanely. The way today the great powers are treating the small nations will be remembered if not by all but by the oppressed nations. It is the oppression that creates intensive feelings for building power from within. This inbuilt and self-built drive for accumulating power becomes more intensive when the oppression on them becomes more extensive.
The Israelis state never dreamed that one day it would be frustrated by the smart strategies of a small organization that has accumulated power from within and without. The Hezbollah members have been suppressed and oppressed for centuries. They have been humiliated by many governments and rulers. They have been subject of discrimination and destruction. They have always been waiting for the right moment to grab to recover their strength, to rule out submission and generate sufficient sustainable ambition in themselves to create conditions in which they can stand firm in the face of an enemy which looked invincible. They could not convince anybody before they engaged in the war of attrition that they could last for 33 days instead of five or seven days. At the end, the Israelis did not achieve their objectives and were not able to destroy Hezbollah and its capabilities as their defined objectives.
It is true that Hezbollah received enormous support from different countries but it had unlimited inner strength too. The same case is true of Israel. When the Arab states could not defeat Israel, the Arab people did. Israel defeated Arab governments, not the Arab people. The Hezbollah opted for a people's war, for a war that people wanted to fight. In the war against the people, it is difficult to succeed. When you oppress people, you press them to summon their oppressed powers and open their horizon to new prospects. The globalization has spread power and divided it among different peoples and governments. Power is not concentrated anymore in one place and in one centre; it is generated everywhere. Because of their sheer persistent devotions and dedications, some people can acquire power through knowledge and skills. The fortunate thing is nobody can stop anybody from acquiring skills and knowledge for achieving a goal if there is sufficient drive behind it. Having knowledge is power but applying it with skill and wisdom makes it invincible.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Milosevic of Yugoslavia concentrated the state powers in his own hand and in the hands of state of Serbia. He never thought that he could be defeated by an assembly of nations. Several nations seceded from Yugoslavia one after another just because Serbia could not understand that what was powerless now may be powerful tomorrow. It is true that the world is extremely ruthless and merciless; but at the same time the world has become smaller than ever and globalization has put people near each other. They can feel each other now. The people and the governments of the world could remain silent if the powerful dictators begin to exert ruthless genocide and ethnic cleansing in certain areas of the world but if the target nations can continue their resistance long enough, there will be other people and other nations who withstand and support them. Yugoslavian government never thought that one day the American and European aeroplanes and armies would bombard its bases; yet they did as the international community observed unbelievable resistance of the peoples who had decided to pursue freedom.
When the British decided to politically occupy India, Britain had 10 million populations and India had about 100 million populations. The British technology empowered the British soldiers to defeat the Indian army and destroy their freedom and independence. Two hundred years later, India is emerging as a prosperous, strong and powerful nation. The fragmented India lost war against a very small but powerful country. Now the power is shifting from America and Europe to Asia where it was originally developed. To be able to compete with India and China, the European small but powerful countries decided to create European Union. They are expanding that regularly and continuously but yet, its population is less than India and its power is likely to be less than India in the next decades.
To enable themselves to continue their power, European countries are seeking alliance with other countries. The French president's initiative for forming Mediterranean Union is a great example. There are 44 countries that have borders with Mediterranean Sea. They have both similarities and differences with the European Union but they are closest to European Union geographically, historically and culturally. There are already millions of people from Mediterranean area who are living in Europe, building a possible bridge for the extension of European Union into Mediterranean Union.
Instead of all these initiatives, nothing is certain of the future. The weak countries of Asia are becoming aware of their identity and historical background. They are searching their souls in history to look for new guidelines and searchlights for their newly found power of emergence. Search for power is essential when your survival is at stake. The people, who are finding themselves at the brink of extinction, can invigorate now their will for seeking new strategies which can make them successful in retaining not only their identity but also getting the opportunity for a comprehensive resurrection.
The Baluch people like the Kurds have been subject of ruthless policies by several governments whose only point of similarity is their desire and will for breaking the will of these people for self-government. The more the Baluch and Kurds receive oppression, the more they become determined for searching for new ways of acquiring sufficient power to press for their national rights. A nation cannot allow itself to gradually disappear from the face of the earth because its enemies have forced them into that situation. Every people, every individual and every class now have different viable options for fighting constructively to regain its lawful rights. As the oppression spreads, more individual become aware of their oppressed status and seek new ways of asserting themselves in international community. Whatever the ruthlessness of the oppressive governments may be, the determination of the oppressed will double and triple to rise over the capabilities of the opponents.
The powerful will not retain their power forever. The powerless will not remain powerless forever. Power shifts from one country to another country and from one person another. The ruthless governments make the powerless feel the intensity of pressure. The intensity of pressure forms the scale and volume of will for actions. As the pressure becomes more intense, the natural resources of the oppressed for survival open up widely and flow in all directions to attract support and substantiate reasons for survival.
Intensity of the oppression also brings with it the intensity for personal, tribal and national awareness in the oppressed and forces them to know the ingredients in their identity that bring oppression. These phenomena will move the oppressed beyond the limits of consciousness that has been imposed on them. The new level of consciousness begins to grow. Along with the consciousness, a series of higher level of instincts wake-up to generate the kind of skills that are needed at the crucial times in life. The intensity of will for survival along with the extensivity of skills takes the individual or nations to a new level of creativity in which solutions begin to flow. The moments of death and life may happen for one individual in normal conditions very rarely but the moments of life and death are the most generative moments in life and happen in the life of the oppressed regularly and therefore, multiply his thinking and action power to a level where success becomes inevitable.
Nations like Baluch, Kurd, Pashtun, Chechen and few other nations are going through this extremely generative moment and process of life and death. This is the reason that we see the Pashtun nationalists employ Islam as a cover and a shield for promoting their nationalistic ideas of having their independent state. The intensity of oppression has created the intensity in the ideology they have brought in to rescue themselves. Intensity in the feelings of Islamism is directly related to the pressure on them from different sides. If we look at the history of Taleban and Alqaedah in the region of Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, you will see that the people of the region increased extremism of Islam to match the pressure coming from the West and the governments of the region. At the beginning, Alqaedah and Taleban movement were limited to a small region. No doubt it has spread in a wide region in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main soldiers of Taleban are the Pashtun, the Baluch who look at Islam as their way of salvation. Radical Islam is roaming in the region which has major problems beyond Islam.
If the oppression of the Baluch and Pashtun continues, radicalism and extremism in Islam and nationalism will continue to grow to match the forces of the other side. Islam is not any more an objective and the struggle against the West and the governments of region is not a jihad against the infidels. It is their liberation movement that is seeking the liberation of some nations that are spearheading Islamic movement as the goal although it is for accomplishing other tasks beyond Islamic principles.
Keeping in mind that power shifts, the shifting of power requires certain tools and means. These tools and means are employed to attain some objectives that are not clearly defined in the public field. The idea is to do something but to achieve something else which is not publicised. What is publicised is an objective which is acceptable to the wider range of people who can help in materialising the hidden agenda. If they use the original goal and promote it, it is unlikely that they will receive international support. Certainly the cause of the people of Pashtun, Kurd or Baluch is not the concern of many nations. Talking about Baluch oppression and nationalism obviously will not give them the natural response that they expect from the people of region. The Pashtuns use another effective mechanism which has already been deeply felt in the hearts and minds of millions of people and it is Islam. They are using Islam to acquire national independence.
The Taleban were seeking the support of the regional governments to promote Islamic radicalism as a tool for liberation of Pashtunistan. When they did not receive positive responses from the governments of the region, they directly resorted to the masses and what was very dear to masses and that was Islam. If the governments could not support, the people could; and therefore now these are the Moslems all over the world that are challenging support for the Taleban and Alqaedah.
The Afghans used Islam to capture India and rule it for several centuries. They have employed Islam also for capturing Central Asia territories and ruling them. It has worked in the past and it may work now and in the future. The perseverance is the key word.
Reza Hossein Borr is a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: balochfront@aol.com
Reza Hossein Borr, London, 20.7.08
Do the powerless remain powerless forever? Do the helpless remain helpless forever? Do the nations who do not have their own governments will remain stateless forever? Do the powerful remain powerful what so ever? Do the strong remain strong forever? If this is the case, what has happened to the Persian Empire? What happened to the Pharaohs of Egypt? What happened to the Roman Empire? What happened to Islamic Empire? What happened to Mongolian Empire? What happened to the Ottoman Empire? What happened to the British Empire? What happened to the Austrian Empire? What happened to the German Empire? What happened to the Soviet Union? What happened to Yugoslavia?
These powerful Empires seemed invincible at the peak of their time. But all of them are gone and they are part of history. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was a Persian Empire looking at the present situation of Iran. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was ever a Roman Empire looking at the present situation of Italy and Greece. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that there was once the Mongolia Empire that ruled half of the world. If it was not written in the books, nobody could believe that some nomadic Arabs from the centre of Saudi Arabia had demolished two of the greatest empires of the world. This is the case with the rest.
More important than all, nobody believed that one small country like the United Kingdom could form an Empire that the sun did not set in it. And yet it happened. Nobody could believe that one State of Israel could defeat 22 Arab countries and 300 million people. But that's what happened. At the same time, nobody could believe that the same State of Israel was defeated and frustrated by the small organization of Hezbollah.
The fact of history is that power shifts from one country to another country and from one nation to another nation. One nation which is great today will be impoverished tomorrow and a poor country of today will become a great country of tomorrow. This is the rule of history. If it is understood by the countries that are powerful now they will act in a way that when they lose power they will be treated more humanely. The way today the great powers are treating the small nations will be remembered if not by all but by the oppressed nations. It is the oppression that creates intensive feelings for building power from within. This inbuilt and self-built drive for accumulating power becomes more intensive when the oppression on them becomes more extensive.
The Israelis state never dreamed that one day it would be frustrated by the smart strategies of a small organization that has accumulated power from within and without. The Hezbollah members have been suppressed and oppressed for centuries. They have been humiliated by many governments and rulers. They have been subject of discrimination and destruction. They have always been waiting for the right moment to grab to recover their strength, to rule out submission and generate sufficient sustainable ambition in themselves to create conditions in which they can stand firm in the face of an enemy which looked invincible. They could not convince anybody before they engaged in the war of attrition that they could last for 33 days instead of five or seven days. At the end, the Israelis did not achieve their objectives and were not able to destroy Hezbollah and its capabilities as their defined objectives.
It is true that Hezbollah received enormous support from different countries but it had unlimited inner strength too. The same case is true of Israel. When the Arab states could not defeat Israel, the Arab people did. Israel defeated Arab governments, not the Arab people. The Hezbollah opted for a people's war, for a war that people wanted to fight. In the war against the people, it is difficult to succeed. When you oppress people, you press them to summon their oppressed powers and open their horizon to new prospects. The globalization has spread power and divided it among different peoples and governments. Power is not concentrated anymore in one place and in one centre; it is generated everywhere. Because of their sheer persistent devotions and dedications, some people can acquire power through knowledge and skills. The fortunate thing is nobody can stop anybody from acquiring skills and knowledge for achieving a goal if there is sufficient drive behind it. Having knowledge is power but applying it with skill and wisdom makes it invincible.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Milosevic of Yugoslavia concentrated the state powers in his own hand and in the hands of state of Serbia. He never thought that he could be defeated by an assembly of nations. Several nations seceded from Yugoslavia one after another just because Serbia could not understand that what was powerless now may be powerful tomorrow. It is true that the world is extremely ruthless and merciless; but at the same time the world has become smaller than ever and globalization has put people near each other. They can feel each other now. The people and the governments of the world could remain silent if the powerful dictators begin to exert ruthless genocide and ethnic cleansing in certain areas of the world but if the target nations can continue their resistance long enough, there will be other people and other nations who withstand and support them. Yugoslavian government never thought that one day the American and European aeroplanes and armies would bombard its bases; yet they did as the international community observed unbelievable resistance of the peoples who had decided to pursue freedom.
When the British decided to politically occupy India, Britain had 10 million populations and India had about 100 million populations. The British technology empowered the British soldiers to defeat the Indian army and destroy their freedom and independence. Two hundred years later, India is emerging as a prosperous, strong and powerful nation. The fragmented India lost war against a very small but powerful country. Now the power is shifting from America and Europe to Asia where it was originally developed. To be able to compete with India and China, the European small but powerful countries decided to create European Union. They are expanding that regularly and continuously but yet, its population is less than India and its power is likely to be less than India in the next decades.
To enable themselves to continue their power, European countries are seeking alliance with other countries. The French president's initiative for forming Mediterranean Union is a great example. There are 44 countries that have borders with Mediterranean Sea. They have both similarities and differences with the European Union but they are closest to European Union geographically, historically and culturally. There are already millions of people from Mediterranean area who are living in Europe, building a possible bridge for the extension of European Union into Mediterranean Union.
Instead of all these initiatives, nothing is certain of the future. The weak countries of Asia are becoming aware of their identity and historical background. They are searching their souls in history to look for new guidelines and searchlights for their newly found power of emergence. Search for power is essential when your survival is at stake. The people, who are finding themselves at the brink of extinction, can invigorate now their will for seeking new strategies which can make them successful in retaining not only their identity but also getting the opportunity for a comprehensive resurrection.
The Baluch people like the Kurds have been subject of ruthless policies by several governments whose only point of similarity is their desire and will for breaking the will of these people for self-government. The more the Baluch and Kurds receive oppression, the more they become determined for searching for new ways of acquiring sufficient power to press for their national rights. A nation cannot allow itself to gradually disappear from the face of the earth because its enemies have forced them into that situation. Every people, every individual and every class now have different viable options for fighting constructively to regain its lawful rights. As the oppression spreads, more individual become aware of their oppressed status and seek new ways of asserting themselves in international community. Whatever the ruthlessness of the oppressive governments may be, the determination of the oppressed will double and triple to rise over the capabilities of the opponents.
The powerful will not retain their power forever. The powerless will not remain powerless forever. Power shifts from one country to another country and from one person another. The ruthless governments make the powerless feel the intensity of pressure. The intensity of pressure forms the scale and volume of will for actions. As the pressure becomes more intense, the natural resources of the oppressed for survival open up widely and flow in all directions to attract support and substantiate reasons for survival.
Intensity of the oppression also brings with it the intensity for personal, tribal and national awareness in the oppressed and forces them to know the ingredients in their identity that bring oppression. These phenomena will move the oppressed beyond the limits of consciousness that has been imposed on them. The new level of consciousness begins to grow. Along with the consciousness, a series of higher level of instincts wake-up to generate the kind of skills that are needed at the crucial times in life. The intensity of will for survival along with the extensivity of skills takes the individual or nations to a new level of creativity in which solutions begin to flow. The moments of death and life may happen for one individual in normal conditions very rarely but the moments of life and death are the most generative moments in life and happen in the life of the oppressed regularly and therefore, multiply his thinking and action power to a level where success becomes inevitable.
Nations like Baluch, Kurd, Pashtun, Chechen and few other nations are going through this extremely generative moment and process of life and death. This is the reason that we see the Pashtun nationalists employ Islam as a cover and a shield for promoting their nationalistic ideas of having their independent state. The intensity of oppression has created the intensity in the ideology they have brought in to rescue themselves. Intensity in the feelings of Islamism is directly related to the pressure on them from different sides. If we look at the history of Taleban and Alqaedah in the region of Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, you will see that the people of the region increased extremism of Islam to match the pressure coming from the West and the governments of the region. At the beginning, Alqaedah and Taleban movement were limited to a small region. No doubt it has spread in a wide region in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main soldiers of Taleban are the Pashtun, the Baluch who look at Islam as their way of salvation. Radical Islam is roaming in the region which has major problems beyond Islam.
If the oppression of the Baluch and Pashtun continues, radicalism and extremism in Islam and nationalism will continue to grow to match the forces of the other side. Islam is not any more an objective and the struggle against the West and the governments of region is not a jihad against the infidels. It is their liberation movement that is seeking the liberation of some nations that are spearheading Islamic movement as the goal although it is for accomplishing other tasks beyond Islamic principles.
Keeping in mind that power shifts, the shifting of power requires certain tools and means. These tools and means are employed to attain some objectives that are not clearly defined in the public field. The idea is to do something but to achieve something else which is not publicised. What is publicised is an objective which is acceptable to the wider range of people who can help in materialising the hidden agenda. If they use the original goal and promote it, it is unlikely that they will receive international support. Certainly the cause of the people of Pashtun, Kurd or Baluch is not the concern of many nations. Talking about Baluch oppression and nationalism obviously will not give them the natural response that they expect from the people of region. The Pashtuns use another effective mechanism which has already been deeply felt in the hearts and minds of millions of people and it is Islam. They are using Islam to acquire national independence.
The Taleban were seeking the support of the regional governments to promote Islamic radicalism as a tool for liberation of Pashtunistan. When they did not receive positive responses from the governments of the region, they directly resorted to the masses and what was very dear to masses and that was Islam. If the governments could not support, the people could; and therefore now these are the Moslems all over the world that are challenging support for the Taleban and Alqaedah.
The Afghans used Islam to capture India and rule it for several centuries. They have employed Islam also for capturing Central Asia territories and ruling them. It has worked in the past and it may work now and in the future. The perseverance is the key word.
Reza Hossein Borr is a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: balochfront@aol.com
Acceptable defined goals and unacceptable hidden agendas
Acceptable defined goals and unacceptable hidden agendas
Reza Hossein Borr
The heaviness of the burden of Kurdish massacres in the last several decades has inflicted heavy pains on the conscience of many people in the world and specifically the Western intellectuals and leaders. The sufferings of the Kurds have caused enormous debate in the governments, think tanks, universities and media. Millions of people shared their sufferings but few people took their cause seriously.
The massacres of Kurds by Saddam Hussein infuriated the Western world and they decided to support them through the Shah of Iran. The main supporter of Kurdish cause was the US after Iraq was pushed by Saddam Hussein in the Soviet Union camp. Iran and Iraq were allied closely to two hostile camps of capitalism and communism. To punish Saddam Hussein, the US, the West and the Shah of Iran used the Kurdish cause to destabilise Iraq of Saddam Hussein. To counter this action, Saddam Hussein began to support Iranian dissidents including the Arabs, the Baluch and the leftist groups of Iran. Supporting the dissidents from both sides was costly and therefore, the Shah of Iran decided to reach an agreement with Saddam Hussein and signed Algiers agreement abandoning the Kurds.
According to many analysts today, that was the cause of the fall of the Shah of Iran and later that of Saddam Hussein. A considerable number of intellectuals and leaders across the world could not see that the fate of the stateless nation of Kurd dropped from the international agenda. As the Shah of Iran was the main supporter of the Kurds and the main initiator of Algiers agreement he was identified as the main source of abandoning the Kurds. The Shah's policies for improving his relationship with the Arabs were also identified as a blow to very close relationships between Iran and Israel. Some analysts believe that the plan for removing the Shah of Iran was hatched in that time to open the way for a sustainable campaign for the creation of a Kurdish state and bringing a regime in Iran which infuriated Arab countries. The conscience of the world was not ready to see more massacres of Kurds.
The defined goal of the Kurds was having their own independent state but that was not even conceivable when all countries of the region opposed it vigorously as creation of such a state meant the disintegration of several major regional powers. The Western world led by the US reached this conclusion that the Kurds would continue to fight and be massacre until they build their own state. Supporting them was not an easy task as Turkey and Iran were two main allies of the West in the region. After the fall of the Shah and the emergence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the war between Iran and Iraq, Halabcha was bombarded with chemical weapons which resulted into the sudden death of more than 5,000 innocent Kurds. This incident created a new will and determination in the Western world that Saddam Hussein must be removed and a new state must be created but again no country in the region was prepared to see the fall of Saddam Hussein and the creation of a new state.
This is when a new strategy was designed which had honorable and admirable defined goals which were accepted by the international community but had another unacceptable by-product and that was the creation of a Kurdish state. The United States of America and the West knew that the countries of the region and specifically Turkey would not allow the creation of a new Kurdish state. The Arab countries were totally against that state too. Iran opposed it too. The West therefore had to design a new policy in which developing and establishing democracy in the Middle East was placed at the top of the agenda. International community also supported the idea of democracy for the Middle East. A large number of people in the region accepted the policy of democracy and welcomed it. All the governments of the region opposed it unanimously. Some of the Arab governments knew that if democracy is established in the region all of the present regimes will be removed from the power although they were close allies of United States of America. Some of them argued that if the secular governments of the Middle East are removed, the Islamic extremists will take over as they did in Iran. For different reasons, all of them oppose it.
Regardless of the opposition of the governments of the Middle East, the US and its allies decided to forward this policy as it was not really the main objective but the outcome was something completely different. They began identifying different countries that could be a model of democracy. Iraq was identified as a good example for spreading democracy. But in fact Iran was, not Iraq; if the outcome was democracy. At this stage nobody believed that the idea of turning Iraq as a model of democracy was intended to create a Kurdish state in which the Kurds would not be massacred anymore again.
The defined goals of establishing democracy was acceptable by the Iraqi people and international community but the creation of a Kurdish state was acceptable neither for the countries that had considerable Kurdish population nor for the Arab countries. The West decided to go forward, not mentioning the Kurds in their defined goals. The objective was establishing democracy, and the target was Saddam. The unacceptable outcome which could not be defined and promoted in the region was the creation of a Kurdish state. Today the state of Kurdistan is a reality as it is the state of Israel. The dictators in the area are against them but the US is ready to go to any length to protect them. To achieve your goals, you must have the mind of a sophisticated strategist that understands the realities of the ground and turn them in your favor. There are no bad conditions if you learn how to manipulate them.
The idea of an acceptable defined goal and unacceptable hidden agenda has been adopted by many in history including the Pashtuns. The Pashtuns and the Taleban never talked about the creation of a new state of Pashtunistan. They knew if they talk about Pashtunistan it means the disintegration of Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan. Two countries were not likely to be destroyed to create a new country. That was neither acceptable internationally nor regionally as all countries in the region have various ethnic population that want independence.
The Pashtuns shrewdly defined themselves as Taleban Moslem to advance Islam as the saviour of the people in the region. The international support began to come in for Muslims who were fighting against the infidels.
The goals that face popular resistance are not usually announced and have never been announced fully publically throughout history. An ambitious person who wants power and privilege cannot gain power unless he uses an ideology or religion. The Islamic Republic of Iran is using religion to retain power and privilege. They have equalized Islam to themselves. If they give up Islam nobody will accept an Ayatollah as undisputed leader of any country. The more attractive they describe Islam, the more attractive they become. There have been thousands of Gods and there have been at least 120,000 prophets. All of them were created and used in order to enable certain people to acquire power and privilege. Just nobody can gain power and privilege directly without using an acceptable medium. The medium could be different in different ages and places. For some it was religion; for another group it was an ideology and now it is democracy. But shrewd people always can find it justifiable to get what they want using something attractive.
But that is the strategy of the shrewd ones. The less shrewd ones and the more straightforward people define and promote their goals openly even if they are opposed by the public. They have a right to do so but they make things extremely difficult for themselves. The defined goals could be easily falsified and vilified by those who do not like them. The Islamic Republic of Iran even can vilify the most acceptable principle which is human rights. The Americans and the West vilify Taleban as totally unacceptable way of living and fighting. The Taleban vilified democracy as the tool used by the West to dominate the East and Islamic countries and disrupt their cultural system.
It seems the shrewd politicians and campaigners have found the strategy of disguising their real intentions in popular, admirable and acceptable goals. They see the goals as the destination and they use different roles, roads and tools for reaching them. It doesn't make a difference which route they take and which tools they use. The important thing is the destination. If the Pashtuns want to have an independent state they use the kind of tools and roads which are acceptable to a large number of people and bring the world to a conclusion by which their goal is realised without even being defined publicly. When the American general Mullen suggested that there must be a referendum in North West Frontier province of Pakistan to see whether the Pashtuns want an independent state or be part of Pakistan, this was a conclusion that the Americans reached quite naturally after they find out that they are unable to stablise the region. That was a conclusion that was reached as the consequence of the developments that are happening in the region. The West and Americans are looking for a solution that can stabilise the whole region. They use the most effective weapons and forces but they could not stabilise it in their favour. They financed Pakistan army to suppress Alqaeda and Taleban but Pakistan army could not achieve that. The natural conclusion is quite clear: if the Pakistan army, if the Afghan army and if the American army and other countries are not able to eliminate the Taleban directly with their military forces, there must be another way of achieving the goal even if it is hard to use or acceptable by the other countries in the region: a viable self-determination for Pashtuns. The right of self-determination has never been mentioned by the Pashtuns or Taleban. Surely they know about it but since publicising and promoting it does not work in the region they have completely ignored it.
At the same time, the Baluch people in Pakistan have been fighting openly for decades for their right to self-determination. Nobody supports them. Nobody promotes their cause and nobody takes this idea to international organizations. The right to self-determination has been created and defined by the United Nations. It has been accepted at some stages in history by many countries. It can be used if the international circumstances moved in that direction. The cases of old parts of Yugoslavia are good examples but in case of Baloch, it did not attract any support. It just does not appeal to the people of the region to stir interest. Islam is just stronger than justice, fairness and rights.
As the Americans did not define and promoted publicly the creation of the state of Kurdistan, they practically facilitated its creation and as the Talebans and mainly Pashtuns never talked about the right to self-determination of Pashtunistan or the creation of the Pashtun state, but what they did practically brought the Americans and the West to this conclusion that the creation of a Pashtun state is a viable solution for resolving the matter of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in the region. None of these two goals were publicly defined and promoted. Even some Pashtun politicians and organizations opposed the idea of an independent state to conceal their intention more than before. This was another very effective decision by the Pashtuns and Pashtun leaders. They would not give any reasonable and acceptable excuse to Pakistan authorities to oppress them; thus they also retained the support of the Moslems and Taleban from different countries.
Why they should oppose the opportunity of right to self-determination made by American general Mullen at this definitive moment? The answer is very clear. They are not strong enough to impose their will yet. Pakistan's internal policies have not yet reached the breaking point. Pakistani politicians and Punjabis and the establishment have not yet proved their total incompetence in managing the country. The country is directed by the establishment in that direction anyway. The Punjabis have not yet realised that they will be better off in their own independent state as the present situation will move regularly and gradually to a point where the establishment realizes that the end has come. The breakup possibly would be like the Soviet Union when there is no any whole for holding different units together at the cost of destroying each other completely. It is a long way to that point and therefore the Pashtuns will be wise to increase their Islamic activities under the pretext of Taleban and Talebanise the whole country in order to create a situation where and when it is not manageable. That will be the natural direction of movement of the events which will bring in the evidently hidden agenda of an independent Pashtunistan. The first outcome of having an independent state would be achieved even though it would be very restrictive Islamic country but eventually and gradually evolves towards more freedom and democracy. The first things first. And the first and the best thing is the preservation of Pashtun's identity and entity as it has been already secured.
There are partial players in the breaking of Pakistan and the creation of the state of Pashtunistan. What will break up Pakistan is the incompetence of the establishment and its greed for monopoly of power and resources; its total opposition to justice and equality. As prophet Mohammad said, “A country will remain and survive with infidelity but will not survive with oppression."
Reza Hossein Borr is a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: balochfront@aol.com www.rezaa.com
Reza Hossein Borr
The heaviness of the burden of Kurdish massacres in the last several decades has inflicted heavy pains on the conscience of many people in the world and specifically the Western intellectuals and leaders. The sufferings of the Kurds have caused enormous debate in the governments, think tanks, universities and media. Millions of people shared their sufferings but few people took their cause seriously.
The massacres of Kurds by Saddam Hussein infuriated the Western world and they decided to support them through the Shah of Iran. The main supporter of Kurdish cause was the US after Iraq was pushed by Saddam Hussein in the Soviet Union camp. Iran and Iraq were allied closely to two hostile camps of capitalism and communism. To punish Saddam Hussein, the US, the West and the Shah of Iran used the Kurdish cause to destabilise Iraq of Saddam Hussein. To counter this action, Saddam Hussein began to support Iranian dissidents including the Arabs, the Baluch and the leftist groups of Iran. Supporting the dissidents from both sides was costly and therefore, the Shah of Iran decided to reach an agreement with Saddam Hussein and signed Algiers agreement abandoning the Kurds.
According to many analysts today, that was the cause of the fall of the Shah of Iran and later that of Saddam Hussein. A considerable number of intellectuals and leaders across the world could not see that the fate of the stateless nation of Kurd dropped from the international agenda. As the Shah of Iran was the main supporter of the Kurds and the main initiator of Algiers agreement he was identified as the main source of abandoning the Kurds. The Shah's policies for improving his relationship with the Arabs were also identified as a blow to very close relationships between Iran and Israel. Some analysts believe that the plan for removing the Shah of Iran was hatched in that time to open the way for a sustainable campaign for the creation of a Kurdish state and bringing a regime in Iran which infuriated Arab countries. The conscience of the world was not ready to see more massacres of Kurds.
The defined goal of the Kurds was having their own independent state but that was not even conceivable when all countries of the region opposed it vigorously as creation of such a state meant the disintegration of several major regional powers. The Western world led by the US reached this conclusion that the Kurds would continue to fight and be massacre until they build their own state. Supporting them was not an easy task as Turkey and Iran were two main allies of the West in the region. After the fall of the Shah and the emergence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the war between Iran and Iraq, Halabcha was bombarded with chemical weapons which resulted into the sudden death of more than 5,000 innocent Kurds. This incident created a new will and determination in the Western world that Saddam Hussein must be removed and a new state must be created but again no country in the region was prepared to see the fall of Saddam Hussein and the creation of a new state.
This is when a new strategy was designed which had honorable and admirable defined goals which were accepted by the international community but had another unacceptable by-product and that was the creation of a Kurdish state. The United States of America and the West knew that the countries of the region and specifically Turkey would not allow the creation of a new Kurdish state. The Arab countries were totally against that state too. Iran opposed it too. The West therefore had to design a new policy in which developing and establishing democracy in the Middle East was placed at the top of the agenda. International community also supported the idea of democracy for the Middle East. A large number of people in the region accepted the policy of democracy and welcomed it. All the governments of the region opposed it unanimously. Some of the Arab governments knew that if democracy is established in the region all of the present regimes will be removed from the power although they were close allies of United States of America. Some of them argued that if the secular governments of the Middle East are removed, the Islamic extremists will take over as they did in Iran. For different reasons, all of them oppose it.
Regardless of the opposition of the governments of the Middle East, the US and its allies decided to forward this policy as it was not really the main objective but the outcome was something completely different. They began identifying different countries that could be a model of democracy. Iraq was identified as a good example for spreading democracy. But in fact Iran was, not Iraq; if the outcome was democracy. At this stage nobody believed that the idea of turning Iraq as a model of democracy was intended to create a Kurdish state in which the Kurds would not be massacred anymore again.
The defined goals of establishing democracy was acceptable by the Iraqi people and international community but the creation of a Kurdish state was acceptable neither for the countries that had considerable Kurdish population nor for the Arab countries. The West decided to go forward, not mentioning the Kurds in their defined goals. The objective was establishing democracy, and the target was Saddam. The unacceptable outcome which could not be defined and promoted in the region was the creation of a Kurdish state. Today the state of Kurdistan is a reality as it is the state of Israel. The dictators in the area are against them but the US is ready to go to any length to protect them. To achieve your goals, you must have the mind of a sophisticated strategist that understands the realities of the ground and turn them in your favor. There are no bad conditions if you learn how to manipulate them.
The idea of an acceptable defined goal and unacceptable hidden agenda has been adopted by many in history including the Pashtuns. The Pashtuns and the Taleban never talked about the creation of a new state of Pashtunistan. They knew if they talk about Pashtunistan it means the disintegration of Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan. Two countries were not likely to be destroyed to create a new country. That was neither acceptable internationally nor regionally as all countries in the region have various ethnic population that want independence.
The Pashtuns shrewdly defined themselves as Taleban Moslem to advance Islam as the saviour of the people in the region. The international support began to come in for Muslims who were fighting against the infidels.
The goals that face popular resistance are not usually announced and have never been announced fully publically throughout history. An ambitious person who wants power and privilege cannot gain power unless he uses an ideology or religion. The Islamic Republic of Iran is using religion to retain power and privilege. They have equalized Islam to themselves. If they give up Islam nobody will accept an Ayatollah as undisputed leader of any country. The more attractive they describe Islam, the more attractive they become. There have been thousands of Gods and there have been at least 120,000 prophets. All of them were created and used in order to enable certain people to acquire power and privilege. Just nobody can gain power and privilege directly without using an acceptable medium. The medium could be different in different ages and places. For some it was religion; for another group it was an ideology and now it is democracy. But shrewd people always can find it justifiable to get what they want using something attractive.
But that is the strategy of the shrewd ones. The less shrewd ones and the more straightforward people define and promote their goals openly even if they are opposed by the public. They have a right to do so but they make things extremely difficult for themselves. The defined goals could be easily falsified and vilified by those who do not like them. The Islamic Republic of Iran even can vilify the most acceptable principle which is human rights. The Americans and the West vilify Taleban as totally unacceptable way of living and fighting. The Taleban vilified democracy as the tool used by the West to dominate the East and Islamic countries and disrupt their cultural system.
It seems the shrewd politicians and campaigners have found the strategy of disguising their real intentions in popular, admirable and acceptable goals. They see the goals as the destination and they use different roles, roads and tools for reaching them. It doesn't make a difference which route they take and which tools they use. The important thing is the destination. If the Pashtuns want to have an independent state they use the kind of tools and roads which are acceptable to a large number of people and bring the world to a conclusion by which their goal is realised without even being defined publicly. When the American general Mullen suggested that there must be a referendum in North West Frontier province of Pakistan to see whether the Pashtuns want an independent state or be part of Pakistan, this was a conclusion that the Americans reached quite naturally after they find out that they are unable to stablise the region. That was a conclusion that was reached as the consequence of the developments that are happening in the region. The West and Americans are looking for a solution that can stabilise the whole region. They use the most effective weapons and forces but they could not stabilise it in their favour. They financed Pakistan army to suppress Alqaeda and Taleban but Pakistan army could not achieve that. The natural conclusion is quite clear: if the Pakistan army, if the Afghan army and if the American army and other countries are not able to eliminate the Taleban directly with their military forces, there must be another way of achieving the goal even if it is hard to use or acceptable by the other countries in the region: a viable self-determination for Pashtuns. The right of self-determination has never been mentioned by the Pashtuns or Taleban. Surely they know about it but since publicising and promoting it does not work in the region they have completely ignored it.
At the same time, the Baluch people in Pakistan have been fighting openly for decades for their right to self-determination. Nobody supports them. Nobody promotes their cause and nobody takes this idea to international organizations. The right to self-determination has been created and defined by the United Nations. It has been accepted at some stages in history by many countries. It can be used if the international circumstances moved in that direction. The cases of old parts of Yugoslavia are good examples but in case of Baloch, it did not attract any support. It just does not appeal to the people of the region to stir interest. Islam is just stronger than justice, fairness and rights.
As the Americans did not define and promoted publicly the creation of the state of Kurdistan, they practically facilitated its creation and as the Talebans and mainly Pashtuns never talked about the right to self-determination of Pashtunistan or the creation of the Pashtun state, but what they did practically brought the Americans and the West to this conclusion that the creation of a Pashtun state is a viable solution for resolving the matter of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in the region. None of these two goals were publicly defined and promoted. Even some Pashtun politicians and organizations opposed the idea of an independent state to conceal their intention more than before. This was another very effective decision by the Pashtuns and Pashtun leaders. They would not give any reasonable and acceptable excuse to Pakistan authorities to oppress them; thus they also retained the support of the Moslems and Taleban from different countries.
Why they should oppose the opportunity of right to self-determination made by American general Mullen at this definitive moment? The answer is very clear. They are not strong enough to impose their will yet. Pakistan's internal policies have not yet reached the breaking point. Pakistani politicians and Punjabis and the establishment have not yet proved their total incompetence in managing the country. The country is directed by the establishment in that direction anyway. The Punjabis have not yet realised that they will be better off in their own independent state as the present situation will move regularly and gradually to a point where the establishment realizes that the end has come. The breakup possibly would be like the Soviet Union when there is no any whole for holding different units together at the cost of destroying each other completely. It is a long way to that point and therefore the Pashtuns will be wise to increase their Islamic activities under the pretext of Taleban and Talebanise the whole country in order to create a situation where and when it is not manageable. That will be the natural direction of movement of the events which will bring in the evidently hidden agenda of an independent Pashtunistan. The first outcome of having an independent state would be achieved even though it would be very restrictive Islamic country but eventually and gradually evolves towards more freedom and democracy. The first things first. And the first and the best thing is the preservation of Pashtun's identity and entity as it has been already secured.
There are partial players in the breaking of Pakistan and the creation of the state of Pashtunistan. What will break up Pakistan is the incompetence of the establishment and its greed for monopoly of power and resources; its total opposition to justice and equality. As prophet Mohammad said, “A country will remain and survive with infidelity but will not survive with oppression."
Reza Hossein Borr is a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: balochfront@aol.com www.rezaa.com
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