A car bomb blast in Iraq

Iraq lost her status of a peaceful country when it was attacked and occupied by the US forces in 2003 in the name of war on terror. Thereafter Iraq has remained as one of the most dangerous places in the world to live or even to visit. Despite tall claims of the US led coalition against terrorism the country is still grappling with the menace of widespread suicide car bomb blasts that have ravaged the country to its limit. The number of civilians that became the victim of terrorist attacks is 4644 killed and many more wounded. This situation is likely to persist till the time the US forces remain in the country and Iraq is not given complete independence to run her affairs according to the wishes of the people. The invasion of Iraq by the US and aftermath has widened the gulf between the Sunni and Shi’a Muslim sects thereby showing an enhanced rate of terrorist attacks on the opponents.

Somalia

The 2^nd most dangerous country in the world is Somalia as per the GPI 2011. One of the poorest country in Africa and torn by internal strife and tribal infighting Somalia is politically unstable since 1991. About 20 % of the country’s population became homeless in the wake of internal conflicts during 2010. This situation has paved the way for terrorist groups like Al-Shabab and the pirates to take roots in the country and operate with impunity. A large number of people and vessels belonging to different nations and moving in the sea have been kidnapped for ransom.

Afghanistan

An Afghan victim of war

Afghanistan ranks the 3^rd most dangerous country in the world. Like Iraq this country also saw an onslaught of the US coalition for a fight against terror. To what extent the terrorism has been eliminated is a debatable point but Afghanistan has not seen any moment of peace after it was attacked in 2001. The illogical fighting between NATO and the Taliban also engulfs the innocent civilians that numbered 2400 in 2009. The collateral damage to life and property is colossal. The Taliban have not yet been harnessed despite full efforts of the US and NATO. When they attack the foreign forces a large number of civilians are also killed.

Unfortunately the US policy-makers only see the situation in Afghanistan through a ‘military periscope’ and tend to overlook the other aspects of bringing a lasting peace. The situation is likely to continue till the US makes a drastic policy shift in accordance with the ground political and social realities.

Sudan

Sudan is the 4th most dangerous country. The most bitter aspect of turmoil in Sudan has been Darfur. The infighting, famine and epidemics have taken a toll of more than 0.3 million people over the past seven years. Still there is let up within sight. The ethnic strife has been the most troubling aspect in Sudan that has resulted in genocide and displacement of huge population. The secession of Southern Sudan as an independent state has not yet reduced the agonies of the people.

Pakistan

Being the 5th most dangerous country Pakistan never had cordial relations with her arch rival neighbor India. The disputed territory of Kashmir has caused four wars between the two countries that are now nuclear powers as well. The decision of former President Gen Pervez Musharaf to participate in the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan has done colossal damage to the country with 35000 people losing their lives (including 5000 military and security personnel) and $ 69 billion loss to economy over the past 10 years.

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Washington was born to a farm family on 22 February 1732 in Westmoreland County Virginia. He mostly educated himself by extensive reading of geography, military history and agriculture. After studying mathematics and surveying he joined an expedition to western Virginia at the age of 16. In 1749 he became the official surveyor of Culpepper County.

Washington’s first direct military experience came with his appointment as a major in the Virginia colonial militia. In 1754 Washington led a small expedition into the Ohio River on behalf of the governor of Virginia to demand that the French withdraw from the British-claimed territory. The French attacked his company, forced its surrender and sent it back to eastern Virginia.

Washington resigned his commission but then rejoined the militia in 1755 as a lieutenant colonel and aide to British general Edward Braddock. Back in the Ohio once more, Washington was with the British column when the French and their Indian allies sprung an ambush, killing Braddock. Washington took charge of the withdrawal and led the survivors to safety. As a reward Washington was promoted to colonel, and when the Seven Year’s War between Britain and France was formally declared in May 1756, he took command of the western Virginia frontier.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon in 1758 at the end of war and was elected to the House of Burgesse where he served for next 17 years. He openly opposed the increasing British repression of the American colonies. Shortly after the American Revolutionary War began in 1775 with the battles at Lexington and Concord, Washington appeared before the Continental Congress dressed in his militia uniform offering his services. He was unanimously appointed as commander of the Continental army.

Washington took command of the Continental army formed from various colonial militia at the siege of Boston in July 1775. He occupied the unguarded Dorchester Heights, armed the high ground with cannons and shelled the British occupiers of Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city by ship in March 1776. He then arrived in New York city to thwart an attempt by the British forces to divide the colonies along Hudson River but soon evacuated due to inferiority of his force. He retreated to Pennsylvania with just 3000 demoralized troops. A British force of 34000 was waiting for spring season to mop up the remaining rebels. However in a daring attack Washington crossed the ice-filled Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and engaged the British Hessian mercenary garrison at Trenton. He captured 900 enemy soldiers, and defeated another small British unit at Princeton on 2 January.

Despite a considerable raise in morale Washington was not in a position to fight and defeat the British forces in an open combat. He wanted to prolong the war so that the enemy is tired of huge expenditures and also some other formidable enemy may rise against them. He knew that as long as he maintains an army in the field the USA will exist. In 1777 Washington made an effort to defend the capital at Philadelphia and sent part of his army to upstate New York to stop a British invasion from Canada. He also won the battle at Saratoga due to excellent selection of subordinate commander and devolution of authority.

During the summer of 1778 French declared war on Britain and began providing support to the American rebels. Washington remained patient maintained a stalemate in the North while his trust-worthy commander Greene fought series of battles in the Carolinas. After two years Greene forced the British to withdraw to the Yorktown peninsula of Virginia. Washington then turned south and with the support of French fleet at sea and 7000 army he invested and accepted surrender of the British army on 19 October 1781.

Yorktown victory was a decisive episode of American Revolution. Though the war continued till 1783, Washington became the first president of the USA in 1789. During his two terms in the office he established many procedures of a democratic government that are relevant even today. He refused to run for a third term and retired to Mount Vernon where he died on 14 December 1799 at the age of 67.

While his stature today results more from his role as president than as a general, Washington was nevertheless as accomplished military leader. He simultaneously maintained an army in the field against a far superior enemy, kept a divisive Congress and population satisfied and solicited military support from other countries.

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Capital city of Changan in Old China

Military and political reverses did not impede the expansion of Chinese culture and political institution to all her neighboring states. Those most directly affected were Korea under Chinese rule from 668 to 676 and a vassal state after 1392, Japan and Southeast Asia, though in the later region, where they came into contact with Indian and Islamic influence, they were largely confined to north Vietnam. In South-East Asia the small temple states of the 9^th to 12^th centuries (Prambanan, Angkor, Pagan), established under Hindu and Buddhist influence, gave way after the 13^th century to new political centers like Ava, Pegu, Phnom Penh, while in Vietnam, where Chinese attempts at re-conquest failed, a new kingdom of Dai Viet arose. But behind the fluctuating political fortunes the outstanding fact was the formative influence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism; their assimilation defined the distinctive character of South-East Asian civilization.

In Japan the Chinese influence was more direct as early as AD 645 the whole administration had been remodeled on the pattern of T’ang China. The two capitals, Nara (710) and Kyoto (794) were copied from the T’ang capital of Changan, and Buddhism was introduced from China. But after 1192 the bureaucratic state was displaced by a feudalized society, until finally between 1467 and 1590, the country broke up into a series of warring Diamyo clans. It was the work of Oda Nobunaga (1534-82) and Hideyoshi Toyotoml (1535-98) to bring the anarchy under control. This paved the way for Yokugawa Shogunate which gave Japan 250 years of internal peace and prosperity.

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History of Prosperity of The T’ang and the Ming dynasties in China.

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Because of the diversity of existing pattern of local government, it is difficult to find a common definition for all forms of the local politics. Countries differ in the extent to which local politics are autonomous in relation to the national government, in the degree to which local government controls economic and other aspects of life, within the territorial limits of its jurisdiction, in the internal organization of the local politics, the size of local subdivisions and so on. Nevertheless the basic characteristic of local politics is that it consists of political activities (1) conducted within territorially delimited units of sub-national administration and (2) directed at meeting the needs of such communities.

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   “And the messengers of God who were sent before thee were all (men) who ate food and walked through the streets..” (25:20)

The Holy Quran also mentions how the unbelievers would raise objections to Muhammad (PBUH) as being a messenger of God:

“And they (the non-believers) say: what sort of a messenger of God is this, who eats  food and walks through the streets (as we do)?” (25:7)

The messengers of God enjoyed the most exalted status amongst the mankind. Still they were human beings. They themselves bowed down before God (Allah) and never asked or made others to bow down before themselves. The Quran says:

“it is not (possible) that a man, to whom is given the Book (revelation) and the Wisdom and the office of a messenger of God that he should afterwards have said to mankind: Be slave to me instead of God.” (3:78)

Against this background provided by the Holy Quran as described above, the nations in the past started ‘Prophet Worship’ out of their intense affection with their respective messenger of God. The Holy Quran has clarified and distinguished the status of God and Prophet. A prophet is the highest rank only after God. Even the Muslim ‘Kalima’ which forms the basis of Muslim belief runs a follows:

“There is no sovereign accept Allah (God) and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (God).”

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English Mastiff

These are considered as the heaviest dog breed in the world. They can weigh between 110 to 343 Ibs and are about 25 to 36 inches tall. In 1989 an English Mastiff named Zobra broke the record of being the heaviest and tallest dog with a weight of 343 Ibs and a nose to tail length of 8 feet. It looked like a small donkey. Another dog, Hercules weighed 282 Ibs in 2001 and made a record.

Neapolitan Mastiff.

This species are bold and dependable friends of man. Their length varies between 26 and 31 inches and weight is around 170 Ibs

Irish Wolfhound.

The tallest dog breed is Irish Wolfhound. With superb size, speed and wit they are ideally suited for hunting wild boars and wolves. They have strong muscular bodies and can be as tall as 7 feet with a weight of between 90 to 150 Ibs. Surprisingly Irish Wolfhound are quite passive and submissive in nature.

Great Dane.

These are the holder of the title of tallest dog as per the Guinness Book of World Record. The dog with name Giant George is from Arizona that holds the present title with 250-Ibs weight and 43 inches of length. It eats 110 Ibs of food in a month. A large size bed has been placed in the house.

St. Bernard.

A St. Bernard dog, Benedictime is the holder of record for the heaviest dog in the world with a weight of 357 Ibs. St. Bernard dogs are famous for   their boldness and intelligence and are extensively used in rescue missions. The average weight varies between 140 to 220 Ibs and height is between 27 to 35 inches.

Newfoundland.

These dogs are the considered to be the most robust of all the dog breed, at times crossing even the Great Dane, Mastiff and Irish Wolfhound. Some of this species weigh over 200 Ibs.

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“And We made them (the messengers) leaders, guides by Our command and We sent them inspiration to lead a profitable way of life, to follow closely the Divine laws and provide nourishment to humanity; and they constantly serve Us (and Us only).” (21:73)

Like other human beings, the messengers of God were themselves dependent on God:

“Moses said: O my Lord! Truly I am in (desperate) need of my profitable things that thou dost send me.”

The messengers had no power over any good or harm to themselves:

“Say: I have no power over any profit or loss to myself except as according to the law of Allah.” (7:188)

The messengers of God were the first to believe in what was revealed to them and they were bound to act on the Divine guidance as much as the other believers. They entirely and whole heartedly submitted to the will of God so that there was not a slightest possibility of their disobedience to the Divine command. Yet if there was even a minutest oversight of the commands of God by His messengers , they were placed at par with other human beings as far as law of requital and their personal responsibility was concerned. The Quran had clarified this point:

“And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst have inclined to them a little. In that case We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life and an equal portion after death: and moreover thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us.” (17:74-75).

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The 'other gods' always act as curtains between the man and Divine message

The Divine laws given to mankind through the messengers of God were meant to create a direct relationship between God and man without any intermediary. Thus when we are reading the Quran, we are in fact personally in contact with god receiving His prescribed guidance. But the forces of exploitation always intervened between God and man. Such forces in the words of Quran are called ‘other gods’. Any law-making authority whose laws are contrary to or exceed the limits prescribed by the revealed fundamental principles, is described by the Holy Quran as ‘other gods’.

“ Or have they chosen gods from the earth; can they (false gods) cause the living objects to arise from the non-living? If they were in the heavens and the earth other gods besides God, there would have been disorder and confusion in both. But glory to God, the Lord of the throne of authority, (He is high) above what they attribute to Him.” (21:21-22)

Such other gods always intervened between man and God, and their whims and wishes acted as curtains between man and the light of divine message. The rays of light make it possible for us to distinguish the features and the exact location of objects around us. That is why the Quran itself is termed as Light:

“Surely the light has come to you from Allah in all forms of a perspicuous book.” (5:15)

The intermediaries between God and man always turned the divine message into an adulterated and unreal one. They mystified the human vision and stupefied the human intellect. With the appearance of the Quran, all these veils of the darkness disappeared and the curtains which stood between man and God, through ages were raised one by one. But again with the passage of time, the followers of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) turning to the footsteps of earlier nations, forsook the Divine message and the curtains once more fell and isolated man from God in human affairs. It is of utmost importance to explain the true nature of these attractive, ornamental and yet deceitful curtains which have kept the divine message hidden from the eyes of mankind through ages, and which ultimately turned the Muslims to follow the footsteps of earlier nations and forget the final and complete code of life given to them through the last messenger of God, Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

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The Concept of Jihad in Islam-Part II.

The Concept of Jihad in Islam-Part III.

The Hajj (Annual Congregation of Islam) at Mecca (Saudi Arabia).

The Birth of Christianity.

Public representatives always resist declaration of their true assets

In the early Islamic history the first ever person who gave the concept of accountability of the government functionaries and getting their assets declared / recorded was Hazrat Umar Farooq (May Allah pleased with him). Any governor prior to being appointed was asked to declare his assets. The personal assets of judges (Qazis) and ambassadors (safeers) were also noted and kept in the official record for evaluation and comparison in the future. No wonders the Justice of Farooq or ‘Adl-e-Farooqi’ has become a proverb in literature.

A good example will be set by any political party in a country who makes it compulsory for all government and non government functionaries, prominent figures, professionals and celebrities to declare their ‘original and real’  assets. These assets have to be closely and regularly monitored by an autonomous body on following lines:

-          What is the justification of assets?

-          How have been they made?

-          Was the source of income lawful?

-          Are the assets in consonance with the source of income?

-          What has been the increase in assets over a period of time?

-          Is this increase justified?

-          Has the tax been paid according to the actual value of assets?

-          In the case of any ambiguity / dubious nature of assets and income, what action has been taken according to law?

As is evident no corrupt government will ever take this aspect seriously and will never do it in future. For corrupt political parties and rulers accumulation of assets by fair or unfair means is meaningless. For honest and those who want to do something good for society the lust for wealth and its accumulation beyond need is the root cause of all ills of the society. This weakness of human nature ie accumulation of wealth, has been severely condemned in almost all the religious scriptures including the Holy Quran.

It is recommended that an independent body should be made for investigation of assets of the politicians in every country. All scientific methods should be applied to gather the information. The persons nominated for this task should have good experience in investigation and should be honest and free of corruption. They should have an impeccable character which must not bend in favor of illegal accumulation of wealth. This information should then be collated, sifted, analyzed, filtered and transformed into reliable intelligence. Inputs from media, civil society and other sources may be obtained with guarantees of unanimity.

The assets of ruling political party their office bearers and elected representatives should be among the first to be declared, recorded and made public. Leaders who shun the lust of gathering surplus money are the one who can make their people prosperous. This is also a yardstick to gauge the prosperity of a nation. If the leaders of that nation live a simple life void of pomp and show and tailor their needs according to their hard-earned income only, the country and her people will be prosperous. On contrary wherever the leaders live like kings and princes, their bank accounts swelling with every passing day, their assets being multiplies in the country and abroad and their residences / motorcades look like the imperial palaces and processions, the country and the nation will be lacking in all basic amenities of life. The country will always have a begging bowl in the hand and will be forced to live under financial and diplomatic slavery of the powerful countries.

The underlying principle is that when a person becomes a politician he/she is no more a private person. His / her life or death,  good or bad deeds, poverty or affluence and even the spoken / written words become the property of the nation and ought to be put under strict scrutiny. This is because all these traits of a politician are going to affect the nation favorably or adversely. So the accountability of politicians should get top priority in the scheme of things. Same is applicable to all the ex bureaucrat (civil and military), judges, businessmen, landlords and other professional who venture into the arena of politics. With the foregoing premise it should not be construed that every one other than the politicians are at liberty to rob the country and accumulate their assets out of proportion to their legal income. Even the international players and other celebrities should also be asked to declare their assets as these people assume the status of an ‘ambassador’ of the country and their deeds can bring good or bad name to their country.

The corrupt politicians have gone clever enough to devise ways and means to hide their ill gotten money. One of the common techniques is to transfer most of the assets in the names of wife, children, grandchildren, parents and even brothers/sisters in some cases. Same technique is adopted by feudal lords to protect their huge tracts of land from the land reforms. The independent body established for this purpose should be smart enough to look for all such eventualities for an effective and across the board exercise.

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Map of the Ottoman Empire

By the time that Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66) succeeded to the throne, the Ottoman empire was one of the world’s leading power, comparable with Ming China or Charles V’s empire in the west, but now two other empires arose to share pre-eminence in the Muslim world. The one was the Mughal empire founded by Babur in 1526 and consolidated by his grandson Akbar 1556-1605). The other was Persia which had been in a state of chaos ever since it was overrun by Timur. Here in 1500 a fanatical Shi’a sect, Ismail Safavi, seized Tabriz crown himself as Shah Ismail I and quickly reunited the country. Safavid Persia reached its peak under Abbas I (1587-1629) by which time the three Muslim empires controlled a whole belt of territory from the frontiers of Austria and Morocco to the borders of China, the foothills of Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. But their divisions rivalries particularly the clash between Sunnite Turkey and Shi’ite Persia drove a wedge into the Muslim world, comparable to the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants in western Europe. Shi’ism had originated centuries earlier over the question of the true succession to the Prophet Mohammad, but wider issues of political and religious nature were also involved.

In Persia a resurgent nationalism certainly played a part. The Safavids were the first native Persian dynasty since Sasanian times and Ismail I’s decision to make Shi’ism the Persia’s state religion was a challenge to the orthodox Turkish sultan. The Ottoman reaction was swift. In 1514 Ismail’s armies were defeated near Tabriz. In 1516 to prevent the heresy from spreading, Syria and Egypt were taken over. These successes enabled Suleiman to resume his advance in Europe.  After the battle of Muh’acs in 1526, Hungary was overrun and Vienna was besieged in 1529. But Persia remained a thorn in the Ottoman side. The long wars against the Safavids between 1534 and 1619 were not the only reason for the Muslim decline which became apparent after 1560, but they certainly hastened it. This was a great age of Islamic art and architecture, particularly in Persia and India. But in a changing world Islam remained static. All three Muslim empires were essentially land-based whereas now hegemony was passed to the sea; and to the people s on the fringe-the Dutch, the French, the English- who knew how to master and exploit the sea power.

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