Questions that haunt on the 9/11 anniversary

While a large part of the world appears preoccupied with radical Islam and its impact on the world, it is an irony to note that the worst victims of radical Islam are the Muslims themselves.

At the height of the rise of ISIS in Iraq and neighbouring countries, a non-Muslim friend called in bewilderment and exclaimed that the ISIS executioner was also reciting the name of Allah while the man he executed was also reciting the name of Allah. Why were Muslims killing Muslims, he wondered.

I had no answer. It was sad and shocking enough to see Muslims killing fellow Muslims in the name of God. More than two million Muslims have been killed and several countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Yemen and Libya have virtually been destroyed. They are unlikely to recover their lost glory in a hurry or at least in our lifetime. The West Asian countries too are suffering because they are in a race to buy arms from the West and spending a lot more on weaponry than on looking after the welfare of citizens.

What I can’t comprehend is how these Radical Islamic terrorist groups ISIS/Al Shabab/ Boko Haram etc. get their funding from. How is the supply of most modern weaponry sustained? How are the supplies being replenished? The cost would surely be huge and such supplies can only be made under state or international protection of some kind?

The G-8 and G-20 countries have tackling radical Islam at the top of their agenda but are they also not the countries which seem to be supplying arms to these terror groups? It is unbelievable that the Taliban or al-Qaeda have set up overnight factories to manufacture rocket launchers.

The US war on terror has been going on for the last 17 years since 9/11. But while the situation has arguably become worse, the super powers seem unable to restore peace, arousing suspicion whether they are really interested in peace.

The world should be asking the leaders about the source of arms and money of the terror groups. Millions of people have died and the vast majority of them happen to be Muslims. But there is no answer to this one crucial question.

Is it just a process to facilitate the G-8 to sell their arms and keep the arms trade alive? Why is it is taking the most powerful nations so many decades to figure out the sources and turn off the tap?

Even after the UK Government initiated an inquiry on the Iraq War and the Chilcot report was tabled, none of the so called evolved societies/countries has bothered to follow up on the findings of this report and take them to their logical conclusion.

Do radical Islamic organisations have so much money, arms, manpower and technology that they are giving the most powerful and developed countries of the world a run for their money? How come they became so strong over such a short period of time?

The Americans carry out the trial of The Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) targeting hundred plus innocent civilians in the dark of the night and far away from their own land. Nobody questions why they do not conduct the trial on their own soil or for a change try this experiment over North Korea?

(The author is spokesperson of All India Meat & Livestock Exporters’ Association)