In all ages wicked men tried to plot
Against God’s Way, but they never
Succeeded and were covered with shame
In ways unexpected. The righteous see good in God’s Word, and their goal is the Good
Great teachers were sent to all nations, to warn against Evil
And guide to the Right. The penalty for Evil comes in many unexpected
Ways, for Evil is against Nature.
And all Nature proclaims God’s Glory
And humbly serves Him, the Lord Supreme.
(The Qur’an: 16: 26-50- condensed message).
By Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
Towards Critical Thinking of Time for Change, Peace and Future-Making
Despite the presence of global institutions of peace and security, so-called conscientious leadership, hallow claims of ending the ten months long “senseless” war, Pope Francis calls an immediate end to hostilities and catastrophic losses of human lives and habitats, the conflict goes on unabated between Russia, Ukraine and the West. The wide ranging spill-over impacts of the war are noticeable all over human consciousness resorting to fear, hatred, deaths and massive destructions of human civilizations. Time and history no matter how you define it, are not on our side as we the so called intelligent beings could not learn from the consequences of our own wrong thinking. The failure of global leadership to see the overwhelming interest of global mankind for peace is a driving impulse for war economies, egoistic interests and militarization. We realize that politics is a game of pretension and always remains problematic. Leaders hosting conferences for action-reaction military maneuvers are treacherous, cynical and deceitful in their ideas and ideals and to the public interests they claim to serve. Absolute power corrupt absolutely. Ignorance, indifference to human interests of sustenance, security and peaceful co-existence, and arrogance against the very mankind on whose existence the world enjoins all the attractions of lifelines, beauty and appreciation are at greater risk of extinction. But the 21st century leaders denied the inner eye of recognizing Time and the Nature of Things to mislead the humanity and make war a new normal of unthinkable consequences.
Today’s news media reports that President Putin is ready to negotiate for peace in Ukraine. At times, President Zellensky (Ukraine) also wanted to talk peace with President Putin. President Endogen (Turkey) had offered his good offices to arrange a meeting of minds for a ceasefire and peace –making at Istanbul. One wonders, why are the other US-NATO’s leaders silent to initiate a formal dialogue between the warring parties? We, The People of global humanity must call for an immediate halt to all war machines and lingering suspicion of one-sided military triumph.
The impulse and actions for cruelty and sadistic behavior are increasingly sending alarming trends for the present and future generations to be informed of explicit wickedness and resulting failure in global affairs. As humans, we are not thinking or moving towards unity of mankind to be at peace and harmony being the chief creation of God. Unless, we are overwhelmed philosophically to imagine being animals rather than intelligent humans populating the Earth.
People not Spared by Ballistic Missiles even on the Xmas Eve
We, the People witnessing a planned scheme of things to exterminate humanity with superior weapons hitting targeted civilian towns and daily bloodbath as a new normal. Have we not learned any lessons from the European nationalistic wars of First World War and the 2nd World War? We, the Humanity continue to argue if wars have become part of new normal – unknown and unthinkable to human civilizations and rational thinking. Across Ukraine, drones and ballistic missiles continued to hit targeted civilian habitats even on the Xmas Eve. How morally conscientious societies and leaders display immoral thoughts and behaviour when it comes to perpetuated animosity.
Military successes achieved by ruthlessness and viciousness lead to degeneration of human societies. After ten months, the advanced war machines continued to bombard human habitats, killing and displacement of millions of innocent civilians and making millions to flee to foreign lands. NATO and the EU trying to bridge the gaps of perceptions and strategic plans by sending weapons and money to boost Ukraine’s capacity to face the superior Russian machines and plans. The perpetuated chaos and nationalistic ideals of the few are leading to collapsed civilizations and resumption of dark ages. Could wars be ever the source of conflict resolution or peacemaking? No matter how time exists in a frozen intellect, Reason will haunt human thought if war is a prelude to peace-making. What are the so called intelligent leaders of NATO, America or the EU waiting for? Is America, the EU and NATO waiting and watching how Russia and Ukraine will end up in this cruel insanity of war? Or what advanced weaponry is being used by Russia to annihilate its neighbour? Is Ukraine a test ground for any futuristic planning and administration of more insane conflicts? Surely, men who are universally hated and feared are active in this embittered insanity – a revulsion against reason and against a helpless nation and people. Why the Russian, NATO and the EU leaders cannot meet face to face for a dialogue to ceasefire and peace-making? Do the political Advisors and war strategists lack rational thinking and education for peace-making?
Reasoning for the Imperatives of Peace and Conflict Resolution
Leaders of vision and intellectual solidarity could make the peace happen out of planned ideas and ideals. Recall that societal peace and harmony represent excellence of credible leadership supported by the masses. President Putin, President Zellensky, President Biden, and NATO must realize the humane urgency to agree for an immediate ceasefire and try to resolve the issues through peaceful dialogue and certainly not by conquest of Ukraine. When noble ideals are misinterpreted, it could drain out all the good qualities of people and leaders. Political reasoning is a shared enterprise within the global systems of governance to which America, Russia and NATO and the EU failed to observe. The sanctity of peace and values of human life will encompass open-mindedness and readiness to listen and learn from each other concerns and experience for peace, harmony and viable neighborly relationships. What if President Putin, President Biden and the EU leaders could meet in person and hold dialogue for peace-making and conflict resolution? The violent assumptions of NATO outreach to Eastern Europe and outrageous hypothesis of military confrontations will lead nowhere – certainly not to peace-making or conflict resolution. Who could gain in these mindless and extravagant ideas of power and military warfare – Certainly None?
America, Europe and NATO’s historic record is plagued with violence and extravagant ideas to have invaded and killed millions and millions across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Lacking rationality of a just war, they have killed and displaced millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria. Their claims of piety and credibility for the good are full of lingering suspicion and discard to be the office bearers of peace and security of the world. The need is urgent to foster a peaceful dialogue between Russia, Ukraine, America and NATO or else lack of rational imagination and action could destroy the national freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine.
While the leaders speak of freedom, sovereignty, peace and justice, they hardly comprehend the truth of its meaning. The unchallenging TRUTH arising from the emerging conflicts and leadership failure call for New Thinking and New People of ideas and ideals to reject the violent assumptions of militarization and egoistic triumphs by acts of genocidal plans. We the People of globe ask the global conscientious leaders to avoid the upcoming epicenter of cataclysm and listen to voices of reason for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, stop acceleration of military confrontations between Russia, NATO, America, the EU and others. At the edge of REASON, war is anti-human and anti-Nature.
Dr. Rudolf Hansel (“What is Truth, What is Lie? How to Reach Fellow Human Beings Intellectually and Emotionally”: Joining with them, empathising with them and appealing to them without coercion. Global Research: 12/08/22), attempts to make a logical conclusion:
Freedom does not mean the freedom of the rulers. They take the “freedom” to exploit people:………the world will only recover and humanity will only progress – history shows us this – if people associate on a voluntary basis; if they sit down together and think about how they can solve the problems together. Freedom in the sense of voluntariness is an essential part of man’s social nature. Misusing it can have serious consequences.
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and international affairs with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution, 2019.
