The devastating twin blasts in Mogadishu, capital of war-torn Somalia, October 14, caused more than 250 deaths and injured more than 300 innocent citizens. Among the dead at least 130 had burned beyond recognition. This brings to mind the sorry state of affairs prevailing in the Muslim world which has destabilised the Ummah and pushed it into an inferno, deliverance from which appears to be extremely difficult.
Country after country has been facing a series of man-made disasters, conflicts and wars. Afghanistan is trying to rise from ashes. Algeria still mourns its 11 lakh sons who laid down their lives for gaining freedom from French colonial chains. Iran still remembers what America did to it and is still doing. Libya still remembers the dictatorship of Ghaddafi and worst death and destruction brought by the intervention of the so-called democratic powers of the west. Egyptians continuously taste the bitter fruits of American sponsored and Saudi supported authoritarian rule of Gen. Sisi. And the Ikhwan cadres who for the first time introduced democracy in Egypt are continuously suffering behind the bars in Sisian jails, facing cruel prosecutors and suffering from arbitrary judgments of state imposed judges. Egyptian dispensation has the dubious distinction of killing thousands and jailing tens of thousands of Ikhwan cadres and sympathisers.
Add to this the hopelessly prolonging sufferings of the poorest Arab country Yemen which has a population of 28 million. Recent reports indicate that a quarter of Yemen’s population is starving. Up to now the war has devoured more than 10,000 citizens. About half a million children under the age of five are severely malnourished. More than 2000 people, majority of them children, have died of cholera in the past six months. Other diseases are continuously taking toll of precious human lives, especially the poor and the children. The arms blockade by their big brother Saudi Arabia has in a way affected the shipment of food and medicine and other lifesaving essential commodities. Remember that this poorest of Arab countries imports almost 80 per cent of food from the outside world.
The worldwide Muslim Ummah, which makes one-fourth of humanity, is bewildered as to when its leaders will come back to the path of sanity and set their house in order. Will they be hurtling madly on the path of destruction and suicide in instalments? With such leadership the Ummah does not require external enemies. The need of the hour is to stop blaming others and reform ourselves.