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xiphiasToday, US Sec. of State Colin Powell presented the US's case for Why to Attack Iraq to the UN Security council. Then, all the other members got a chance to speak.
Basically, all the other people made essentially the same speech: thanks, Sec. Powell for talking to us, sorry about the Columbia, glad you're doing this through the UN, sure, we should probably smack down Iraq, we should wait for Dr. Blix to say we should.
But the Pakistani foreign minister made a very interesting and telling statement:
There's a lot in there. I just want to focus on one word -- "inter-civilizational".
By using that word, Prime Minister Jamali is stating that Iraq and Pakistan are part of one civilization, and the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and so forth, are part of another one. While Pakistan, at this point, is willing to go along with forcing Iraq to comply with UN Security Council resolutions, he is saying, we shouldn't try to push them too far: fundamentally, in the long term, they're on Iraq's side. Iraq and Pakistan are both dar al-Islam; that's an entirely separate civilization from dar al-Harb.
After all, that's the idea of Pakistan as a country: they split off from India because they're part of the Ummah, and India is not. And a lot of Pakistanis view Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb as inevitably in conflict, someday.
Basically, all the other people made essentially the same speech: thanks, Sec. Powell for talking to us, sorry about the Columbia, glad you're doing this through the UN, sure, we should probably smack down Iraq, we should wait for Dr. Blix to say we should.
But the Pakistani foreign minister made a very interesting and telling statement:
Mr. President, in a statement issued this morning in Islamabad, the prime minister of Pakistan, Mir Zafarullah Jamali, stated, and I quote, "The Muslim Ummah, from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific, is deeply worried that war may break out, and its implications not only for the people of Iraq but for the future stability and polity of the Islamic countries. At this time, the need for inter-civilizational harmony has never been greater."
There's a lot in there. I just want to focus on one word -- "inter-civilizational".
By using that word, Prime Minister Jamali is stating that Iraq and Pakistan are part of one civilization, and the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and so forth, are part of another one. While Pakistan, at this point, is willing to go along with forcing Iraq to comply with UN Security Council resolutions, he is saying, we shouldn't try to push them too far: fundamentally, in the long term, they're on Iraq's side. Iraq and Pakistan are both dar al-Islam; that's an entirely separate civilization from dar al-Harb.
After all, that's the idea of Pakistan as a country: they split off from India because they're part of the Ummah, and India is not. And a lot of Pakistanis view Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb as inevitably in conflict, someday.
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Date: 2003-02-06 05:32 am (UTC)Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones who do. Of course, you weren't saying they were, but I thought this bore mentioning. It's deeply, dreadfully saddening, all of it.
A.