FULLER’S “WHAT IF” APPROACH TO CREATE NEW HISTORY OF ARAB WORLD
Introduction
Fuller query what can be used to best explain the conflict in civilizations that western advocates filled with Christian enthusiasm who marches under the popes blessings to “liberate the Holy Lands from the infidel Muslims” quoted from Fullers book entitled “a world without Islam” and he goes onwards to argue from the same book that “religion was really the backdrop, the popular narrative, the justification of what was a powerful geopolitical move by the West”. Therefore if the Ottoman Turks were Christians they would have not been attacked which is illustrated in the following quote from the same book “Greek Byzantium, a rich and weakened state” and “little more than pious pretext for imperial expansion” depicting that if Tamils were Buddhists then the history of the Arab world would take a different context.
The religious fundamentals are divine oriented even though religion is human implicating that there is the difference in doctrines relating to communion with aspects of Buddha and other forms of worship which consist of rituals, superstition, paraphernalia and myths. This ideology assists in providing explanations for why same doctrines of religions can be misused in various contexts. Many individuals from the west ignore its influence in of the Middle East over several centuries. The Arab rebellion against the direction is a result of the domination of politics, cultural expansion and economic influences oriented to colonialism and imperialistic influences. Concurring with history, Fuller considers the activists were early signs of imperialist power in western politics, even if Muslims did not occupy the Middle East. For Muslims denial about Jesus as the ultimate prophet is against the belief of Muslims. According to Islam, Jesus was taken to heaven alive by God and was not a subject to crucifixion.
In 1950 and 1960 the Arab nationalism was considered a force against the west interest because Mosaddegh was elected as Iran’s prime minister, he was overthrown through a coup in 1953 which was supported by British and American Intelligence. Britain and United States offered support to the Islam Brotherhood which was opposing Nasser of Egypt. And in recent context, the west has supported Muslim groups based in Afghanistan in their quest to overcome the Red Army. Currently, Muslim fraternity is linked with terrorism; Fuller states that “Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslim” even though the United States supported Afghanistan fight through terrorist attacks against the Soviet army.
In the Palestine and Israel conflict, Islam was not the origin of the conflict and Muslims consider Israel to be the puppet of the west and was situated in the Middle East to conquer and dominate the region. Muslims living in the direction is deeply rooted in Islam which offers focus, vigour and strength which complicate the scenario but do not generate the challenges. Therefore the waste of Islamic energy plus associated curiosity has resulted in limiting creative thinking in Muslim ideologies related to civilisation. Majority of leaders in the Arab world are not subject of elections and do not pursue western oriented policies hence the west are dormant about human and civil rights in these states. Fuller argues that because of the historical accounts there is the possibility of a conflict unless earth receives an external attack from aliens.