11/11/1918 - the end of World War 1
For most people today, it doesn't mean much. For Muslims, it seems to mean even less. But the aftermath of WW1 has consquences we're still struggling with today.
Around here (Australia) and New Zealand, they remember the Battle of Gallipoli. A failed campaign by the Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps (ANZACs) to take a beach it what was then the Ottoman Empire. Muslims might say this is a good thing, they fought the Ottomans and lost. Muslims won the battle there, but lost the war, literally and in other less publicised ways.
One of the commanders of the Gallipoli campaign for the Ottomans was Mustapha Kemal Ataturk. He used the popularity he had gained for his succesful campaign to make himself leader of what was left of the Ottoman Empire, and established Turkey. He then set about making Turkey as secular as possible, effectively trying to erase its Islamic history, and any Islamic future it might have. This, in a country with 95%+ Muslims. I can practice Islam more freely in Australia and New Zealand than I can in Turkey.
Another character from then was Thomas Edward Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia). Under orders from the Arab Bureau (a British council in charge of strategy in the Arab world), he went and managed to set the various Arab tribes against the Turkish Ottoman Empire, with the promise that they would be in control of the entire region once victorious. The Arab Bureau used WW1 to cause internal revolt to break up the Ottoman Empire, in a more cost effective and timely manner. This played a big part in helping the Allied Forces to win WW1.
Obviously, T.E. Lawrence was very successful. After the Ottoman Empire fell, it left a massive power vacuum in the Middle East. The tribes began fighting with each other for land and national identity. New borders were drawn and imposed (Treaty of Lausanne [1923]), often without the population even knowing they were now in a different country. Some of these borders led to the Arab-Israeli conflict (Balfour Declaration [1917]), still a flashpoint of conflict in the region. There are still small disputes between the countries, especially about resources. So the reason they cannot do anything with a united front is because in the backrooms they are still arguing about resources like water, and do not trust the other with such an important resource.
The perfect example of the divide and rule principle.
That's all on a high political level. The human toll is much worse.
Best estimates say about 31.5 million soldiers were either killed, wounded or missing (I think by now we can assume the missing are dead). Civilian casualties are even harder to determine. Many died from Spanish flu or famine. Some countries had civil war erupt in the borders during the same time, and others (like the Ottoman Empire) commited genocide.
Remembrance day is meant to remember the soldiers, I choose to remember the civilians too. Alot of soldiers were also sent to the front, not even wanting to be in the army in the first place.
Recent attitudes towards soldiers involved in the wars in the middle east now has made me think about this. Some people applaud when soldiers are killed there. They also think it's not worth remembering these same countries soldiers from past conflicts.
I don't think this is the right attitude, especially if you live in one of their countries, and enjoy the benefits of living there. One of the benefits is their protection. If another nation invades Australia, the army will defend everyone in it, not just some. I think it's extremely ungrateful to cheer when their soldiers die. If this was a majority Muslim country with a Muslim government, and it was attacked, we're duty bound to protect everyone in our borders too. But if we have a portion of the population cheering when Muslim soldiers die, how would we view them?
This doesn't mean I support the troops completely. They're fighting wars now that are none of their business and are ill-concieved at best. I want those troops brought home. I won't cheer when they're killed, but I don't feel much sympathy for them either. They died doing their duty as they saw best, a good quality in anyone. Just because someone dies for something though, doesn't make it right.
The stance is probably seen as that of a fence sitter. It probably is. I feel that if people were a little more willing to jump over the 'fence' and look back, or look in the mirror, we'd go a long way to achieving peace. We might not even have a fence to sit on then.
Right now, I'm living in a country considered 'the enemy'. But I live a better life than I could in a 'friendly' country. Some respect should be shown to the people who helped build what I enjoy now. Respect, within the context of history, since they did achieve some of the comfort I enjoy at the expense of other Muslims. But Muslims should also remember how they contributed to their own downfall. Not all calamities are someone else's fault.
Lest we forget.
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