By Mahboob Khawaja, PhD;
Mankind is Being Traumatized and Losing its Hopes for Peace and a Sustainable Future
The trajectory of peace and war between Russia, Ukraine, and the West reflects the pursuit of unbridled ambitions and insane geopolitics at the height of cheap military triumphs and fame. The egoistic class of leaders operating global institutions claims “success” by raping the earth, destruction of human habitats, and bellicose chauvinism without any accountability. The unending war quickly became an economic warfare – accelerated weapons sales to warring parties and money making. The Transcend Media Service – Norway (8/21/23), reports that the “top 5 US weapon contractors made US$196B in 2022.” These inept leaders lack humanitarian consciousness and are well paid and well-fed to have distorted the criterion of fundamental human values, morality if any, and standards of honesty. They solely rely on making bogus statements of peace and conflict for public consumption. It is evidence of tragic abnormality and much evil in 21st-century global affairs – an amassed collection of unthinkable junk history. If the leaders were honest, they should have faced the current challenges. If President Putin and President Erdogan (Turkey) could meet in Sochi to discuss the grain deal and prospects for peacemaking, indeed, if the US, NATO, and the EU wanted to resolve conflict and make peace they could open a dialogue with Russia and China.
The ongoing war in Ukraine and its wide range of global ripple effects – from the supply of gas and oil, grain deals, collaborative ventures in peaceful dialogue, and the lingering suspicion of the threat of tactical nuclear weapons – all echo the degradation of human values and soul, exhibit intellectual failure, universal chaos and socioeconomic miseries of innumerable multitude. Time and history are not going to wait for the insane outrages and phony statements on human death and destruction. Unless we take this challenge in this time and the opportunity to make a change for the best of all mankind.
We should not wait for the end game to watch global leadership fail but being the People of Reason call for the formulation of a worldwide forum of peace and unity and to plan for peace and conflict resolution between Ukraine and Russia and elsewhere in the world.
The Imperative of A Meeting of Minds: Conflicts, the Earth and Human Consciousness
Rational conflict analysis and the search for peace involve listening and learning from divergent viewpoints and finding a common ground of reasoning without necessarily agreeing to halt the warfare. This shows effective communication and enlightened leadership traits. Modern technologically advanced wars kill people; destroy the Earth and its systematic working, human habitats. Its ripple impacts entrap future generations in psychological and intellectual captivity and dehumanization. Strangely enough, none of the Western leaders – be it the US, NATO or the EU had fostered a vision for a dialogue with Russia and China or to forge understanding for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Could we, humankind, count the blessings of God to maintain life for millions and billions of years on this planet? All things exist in a mathematical order, whether we recognize it or deny it. So strange, we know all about other material things and scientific-technological developments but we are ignorant and arrogant to learn about our own origin and existence on a living planet. Are we human beings intelligent enough to know about our own existence and Purpose of Life? How could we imagine peace and harmony among ourselves when we bomb and destroy each other with weapons of destruction as if we were not humankind but some kind of animal without any sense of rational thinking? The Earth is a living entity and is meant for us – human beings. The Divine warning (Chapter 7: 56: The Qur’an), is self-explanatory:
Do no mischief on the Earth after it hath been set in order, but call on God with fear and longing in hearts
For the Mercy of God is always near to those who do good.
In all ages, people and nations claiming to be the most powerful were transgressors manipulating the Earth and humanity were destroyed by the Laws of God – natural causes. Have you not walked on the Earth to learn how the most powerful nations of the past were destroyed by the Will of God? Ask the Divine Revelations. We, the People, live in a splendid Universe in which planet Earth floats ordained by the commands of God. We are moral beings, unlike animals that possess the eyes, ears and other senses but cannot draw logical conclusions from their senses. There is a moral sense of spirituality and humanity to co-exist in harmony with the rest of all the creations on this Earth. This TRUST is explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an, Chapter 33: 72: “We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth; And the mountains but they refused; To undertake it, being afraid thereof: But man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and foolish.”
Have you ever thought about how the day-night alternates systematically to serve mankind?
“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day – There are indeed Signs for men of understanding.” (3: 190). Do you know who else other than God determined the Earth’s spinning at 1670 km per hour? Who else than God ordained it to orbit the sun at 107,000 km per hour? And who else than God made it to spin at 28,437 km per hour at the equator? (New Scientist). Be aware that earth average distance to the Sun is about 93 million miles (105 million km); the distance of the Moon from the Earth is currently 384,821 km equivalent to 0.002572 Astronomical Units and if the distance between the Earth-Sun and the Earth-moon were ever to change, there will be no sign of life, human civilizations or habitats left on Earth. You as a human being, as One Humanity, have one origin – why can’t we co-exist in peace and harmony?
It is God Who has created you from dust; Then from a sperm-drop,
Then from a leech-like clot; Then He does get you out (into the light)
As a child: then lets you (grow and) reach your age of full strength; then lets you become old,
Though of you there are, some who die before;
And lets you reach a Term appointed; in order that ye
May learn wisdom. (Chapter 40: 67: The Qur’an)
Are Global Leaders Ignorant of People’s Aspirations for Peace?
If the Russian, American, Ukrainian, and NATO leaders are honest, proactive, and accountable to the global community, they would urgently offer new creative strategic thinking to cope with the multiple layers of political conflicts and humanitarian crises and to find peaceful and workable solutions away from the entrenched political box of the few global warmongers. Recently, this author proposed a strategic framework of dialogue for peace to global leaders to resolve the conflict in multiple articles: Conflict Beyond Reason A Dialogue to End the War is Desperately Needed and Global Conflict Management: Why Can’t Russia, NATO, the EU,-and Ukraine Make Peace?
The challenging truth arising from the emerging conflicts and leadership failures calls for the rejection of the violent assumptions of militarization and egoistic triumphs by genocidal acts. We, the People of global humanity, ask conscientious leaders to listen to the voices of reason for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and stop the acceleration of military confrontations on all fronts. Caitlin Johnstone, an Australian critical thinker, and a housewife spells out a prevalent scenario: (Always Opposing Past Wars But Never The Present One., 8/30/23): One day it will be permissible to say in mainstream circles that it was wrong for the US empire to deliberately provoke the war in Ukraine and keep it going as long as possible to bleed Russia, but it’s taboo to say that now, because the empire hasn’t yet accomplished all its goals in Ukraine.
Despite the sketchy illusions of freedom, democracy, human rights, liberty, and justice, we are encroached, stuffed, and at terrible risk of annihilation more by errors of judgment than a planned scheme of things by Man against Man.
[Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and is the author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Germany, 12/2019. He regularly writes for Tribune International, Australia]
