Clarion of a Holy Crusade

How it all started?

        Human mind is very imaginative. It doesn’t like anything to be anything it doesn’t like! So when a seriously diminishing situation presents itself, it covets. We covet. We like to think about a perfect setting of the situation. We satisfy ourselves with a “good old times”. Most of us have a steaming cup of tea after that! But what if some people who don’t like tea, stand up to actualize that “good old times”? What if they don’t care about the realisability of “the good old times”? What if they have coffee instead??

       An idea takes birth. An idea of fundamentality. Resilient. Contagious. Dangerous. It develops a stress crack which wouldn’t heal with time as it should, forcing people to think (or not to). After a while most give up. But there is always a person (well, may be two) who wouldn’t! Abu Ayyub al-Masri didn’t; neither did Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. They didn’t like the existing system. They wanted a superior rule-a fundamental Islamic rule. The then existing Al-Qaida was too slow for them (now they are too violent for Al-Qaida!). they learnt from Al-Qaida’s mistakes and established an Organization turned Caliphate-recognized state  --- Al Dawla ai Islamiyye f’il Iraq w’al Sham.

        Translated roughly as the Islamic state of Iraq and Levant, the later part, most take to be Syria. The non-most claim Levant stands for regions of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and southern parts of Turkey, modeled after the Prophet’s caliphate(632—652 AD). ISIS took root in 2003 after the USA invasion of Iraq, but really gained traction in 2006 after a U.S. bombing raid took out al-Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

       After splitting from al-Qaida in Iraq, till date ISIL has conquered about a third of Syria and parts of Iraq including the city of Fallujah, potentially stale-mating the Syrian and American Governments with exceptional tactical brilliance. ISIS is more like conventional army using military tactics like assault rifles and grenades. Al-Qaida in comparison seems a bunch of hot-heads (with smart strategists). Let us not even consider the very high popularity of ISIS. In current position, ISIS can lay claim on a country or two, and still hide amongst their citizenry. In fact the ISIS managed to dodge the spotlight till the fall of Mosul.

Why a big deal?

       Back to basics now. The internet gives us definitions of caliphate as "an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph – i.e. "successor" – to Muhammad.  Conceptually, a caliphate represents a sovereign state of the entire Muslim faithful, ruled by a caliph under Islamic law (Sharia)."

643 AD

       It is the ultimate goal of all Muslim Fundamentalists, in a broad sense, and ISIS, in particular, to establish a global caliphate. This is not happening in a day or two and ISIS knows that. We know ISIS knows, when ISIS left Bagdad untouched because ISIS knew it couldn't dislodge the huge concentrations of Iraqi troops there — or hold a majority-Shia city that would never accept a Sunni ISIS. A brilliant maneuver it was! This kind of terrorism intends to rule the land by fear. From beheadings to summary executions to amputations to crucifixions, the terrorist group has become the most feared organization on globe right now.

2013-14 AD  (close enough)

         Noted, that most Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, offer only cursory lip service about counterterrorism. They fund militant groups. They arm them. They aid them. Why? The purpose of many seem to be the destruction of Israel. These nations hate the “Palestinians” and the only reason they aid the Palestinian cause is to gain access to the west bank. Once they do there is no stopping the attacks on Israel and Tel Aviv. Want more proof? Why didn’t King Abdullah of Jordan want any Bedouins on his side of Jordan river? Because he identified them as nothing but a drain of his resources. Why did Egypt refuse to let the Palestinians settle in the Sinai Peninsula after Israel's War of Independence in 1948 and banish them to the Gaza Strip I wonder? Just so you know, Sinai is as important to Egypt as your appendix is to you unless you are an awesome horse reading this article! Suddenly everyone is unusually threatened by ISIS. They behave like bowl-fish before earthquake. Classic example is of Saudi Arabia, in its first ever public service announcement about terrorism, saying that “ ISIS will be in Europe in a month and in America a month after that”! Did anyone else hear that?

           That is why ISIS  IS a big deal, that’s why!
                                                                                               ..............to be continued

Katyayani S

BITSMUN Society

 

Ebola: Today's Plague?

Have any of you played the game Plaque. Inc. before? That crazy game where we control a microbe of sorts and try to obliterate the world with it. Fun game to play, isn’t it. Well, for all those who love this game, you’re in luck, you get to see a live demonstration of the game on actual humans. But believe me, it’s not all that fun when you’re trying to save yourself from the microbe.

This Ebola strike has, like many other of its sister viruses, has started in Africa. I wonder what Saharan magic they use to create these stuff. And this time, it’s worse than the previous. Infecting even one person in a country is enough to leave their people shivering in July. I suppose Thomas Duncan, the Liberian who injected Ebola into USA, must have been one of the most feared men in the country when he was still alive, though it wasn’t his fault at all.

Map of infected regions in West Africa. The dark red regions indicating more than 500 infected cases.

The worst part about the virus is its incubation period. It can infect you and you might not realise it for even 3 weeks and more than 70% of the infected die. The virus transmits through bodily fluids, so no eating your friend’s ice cream. Even with the assistance of the European nations, the western African nations have been unable to control the virus, and without a cure or a vaccine, can it get any worse.

A chart showing the growth of Ebola in the world in 2014

I am sure this news can get very frightening, and you have a good reason to do so. The place near the hospital where Duncan was treated has turned into a ghost town. Parking lots deserted, streets empty, and doctor appointments, cancelled. But all said and done, the virus is still infecting more people every day.

Now, we have a frightful situation, what do we do? We can stop the infection from spreading. I know, I know, almost every single post of Ebola on every news channel tells you the same thing. But that is because it is important. We can take a clear example of Nigeria and the other western African countries which have been affected. As of October 20, Nigeria has been declared Ebola free, with just 8 people diagnosed with the disease. The Nigerians responded quickly and effectively, eliminating the disease. I believe that such a response is necessary, and all countries, especially densely populated countries like India must take necessary precautions.

Basic precautions like avoiding the bodily fluids of the infected and using proper protective gear near the infected must be taken. Also, any case of a person showing relevant symptoms must be reported immediately. This is a must for everyone out there, because Ebola has the potential to wipe out entire nations if left untreated.

Hemanth Chenna

BITSMUN Society