Not long after the “disintegration” of the Soviet Union in 1991, the former Prime Minister of the illegal state of Israel, Ehud Barak, once issued a statement saying that the West was safe from the ‘red’ danger of Communism, but the West was about to face the ‘green’ danger of Islam.
His position is consistent and it is repeated in other statements including in an interview with USA Today in 2017 where he asserted that the real threat and fear to the world is terrorism and not Russia.
Terrorism referred to here is Islamic radical groups including “Islamic conservative thought” from the Middle East which is spread around the world including to Muslims in the West where Islam and terrorism are deliberately encapsulated to form a narrative of threat and fear to the world community.
How fear of Islam is formed
After the establishment of the illegal state of Israel in 1948, there was no greater threat to it than the Islamic groups that were born especially after the first intifadah in 1988.
Before that, the Zionist regime of Israel did not feel threatened because one by one the Arab countries were successfully subjugated either through war or agreements that depended on them funded by the United States and Europe such as the Camp David agreement which successfully blocked the advance of the Egyptian army on the illegal state of Israel.
In addition to the support of strong financial and defense resources by the United States to the zionist regime of Israel until it was given the “green light” to build nuclear weapons to ensure that the illegal state of Israel becomes the strongest country in the Middle East.
But can nuclear weapons wipe out Islamic militant groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah?
The answer is of course no because these groups do not stand above the entity of a country.
Therefore something must be done to eliminate this danger and threat.
Whether coincidental or planned, shortly after the events of 9/11 in the United States, the former President of the United States, George W. Bush declared a War on Terror campaign targeting radical Islamic groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban by placing the blame on Islam is the cause because it contains the teachings of Jihad and war.
Immediately after that, one Islamic group after another was listed as a terrorist group including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah on the grounds that these groups committed violence against a sovereign country which is the illegal state of Israel.
As a result of that, the phenomenon of Islamophobia has spread so quickly like a fire that burns wood in all corners of the world, especially in Western countries, which are indirectly accepted by political parties, humanitarian and human rights organizations and NGOs that are Islamic-oriented. by being labeled as a terrorist organization or group.
At the same time, Muslims around the world, especially in Western countries, also suffer from Islamophobia.
They are criticized, blocked from freedom to practice Islamic teachings and even pressured and threatened just for practicing the way of life as demanded by Islam.
Tasawwur Islamophobia
Islamophobia is a feeling of fear and hatred towards Islam, resulting in hostility towards Muslims who adhere to the true teachings of Islam based on the Quran and Sunnah.
Islamophobia has now become an ideology that causes discrimination against Islam and its followers to the point of discriminating against organizations, political parties and countries that make Islam their agenda.
It is a phenomenon born from the perception played by the mass media that gives an unfair picture of Islam even to the point of instilling the understanding that Islam has different values from other cultures, especially from the West.
It gets worse when this attitude is supported by Western politicians whether left or right, religious figures, academics or artists.
The Muslim world still cannot forget the statement of Pope Benedict the 12th who labeled Prophet Muhammad SAW as a terrorist for spreading Islam with the sword.
So are the caricatures of Western artists who insult the Prophet Muhammad SAW and the teachings of Islam.
Eventually, this phenomenon formed into a narrative of hatred and determination in the West to reject Islam from all aspects so that it does not take root because there has been such a large spread of Islam in Europe and North America that has begun to frighten the West.
Islamophobia and its influence on the Islamic Political Movement
The War Against Terrorism and Islamophobia campaign not only targets Islamic radical groups, especially those that take an armed approach, but also the most affected are Islamic political movements that take a democratic approach throughout the Islamic World.
This is evident when some Islamic countries use this reason to take harsh measures against Islamic movements and their leaders.
The President of Egypt, Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi, for example, banned the Muslim Brotherhood and imprisoned many of its leaders without a fair trial.
The same thing happened to PAS in Malaysia when DAP created a bad perception of Perikatan Nasional in this GE where if Perikatan Nasional wins the GE and governs the country, Malaysia will be like Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban.
Why are Afghanistan and the Taliban portrayed and played by DAP?
Because Afghanistan and the Taliban are described as radical, extremist, a country that is destroyed, backward and has no future and that is the narrative and image played by the Western media to the world community.
One angle, the world community and the West did not see how the West “colonized” Afghanistan for 20 years, thousands of Afghans died as a result of the war from the colonization and hundreds of thousands who became refugees, starved, destroyed and various other bad consequences due to the West and the West. which actually destroyed Afghanistan.
However, when PAS speaks out to fight for the plight of Afghan citizens who are oppressed, oppressed and colonized in their own country, PAS is accused of being extremist and supporting the Taliban.
When PAS spoke out after the West withdrew from Afghanistan and congratulated the Afghan people for their struggle against Western colonialism, PAS was labeled as supporting the Taliban.
Similarly, when Muslims and the world community support the struggle of the Palestinian people and support the isolation of the Israeli Zionist regime due to their occupation of Palestine, it is attributed as support for terrorist and extreme behavior and support for terrorist groups, but groups such as Hamas and others are only fighting for independence and the fate of the Palestinian people.
Therefore, if examined more deeply, the main goal of this Islamophobia virus is to block the Islamic political movement that aims to change the jahiliyyah political system that exists today, which is deviated from the true guidance of Allah.
What PAS or the NATIONAL ALLIANCE brings to Malaysians is prosperity, justice, honesty, integrity, cleanliness and stable.
Not only for Malay Muslims but for all Malaysians without discriminating and marginalizing any religion, race and race.
Imagine if the country’s political system was successfully changed and driven as expected by the NATIONAL ALLIANCE, but the wish was not successful because the specter of Islamophobia that was played to some extent was successfully infiltrated into society.
There is no denying that this movement and campaign to scare Western society against Islam has been successfully spread all over the world including in Malaysia because the enemies of Islam have a lot of power and resources to do it, however, Islam is the light of God that cannot be eradicated at all.
This is evident from the development of Islam which has become the fastest-growing religion in all corners of the continent, especially in America and Europe, then it is true that God’s promise in the Al-Quran that the enemies of Islam cannot extinguish the light of Islam and this light will reach where the day reaches and night
Therefore, let’s continue to nurture the torch of Islam in the country for justice and equality for all.
Don’t continue to grieve and be sad, the struggle and the journey still have a light ahead.
Strengthen your determination and spirit and continue to pray to Allah SWT because only to Allah SWT we surrender and pray.
“Prosperous Malaysia”
YB DR. MUHAMMAD KHALIL ABDUL HADI
Chairman of the Central PAS International Affairs and External Relations Council
Batu Buruk Assemblyman