Abraham Accord is being discussed for peace in the Middle East (ME). Descendants of Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham) A.S. are being brought on the same page by the powers to be. Recognition of Israel is being sought before the long agreed two-state agreement (Israel, Palestine) is implemented, the ME is being cleansed to ensure long-term survival of the Jewish state. Most Arab neighbours of Israel have either been destroyed or tamed to accept the new reality.
In principle, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is willing to recognize Israel if the two-state agreement is implemented in letter and spirit. Our battered Palestinian brothers have already agreed to the Vienna understanding. The dissenting states (Iraq, Syria) have been pummelled into submission only Iran remains defiant. Once the accord has been signed by most Muslim countries, Iran will have to make the tough choice. Will it sign on it, is the big question.
There is a famous quotation, “The fault lies in our stars”. Unfortunately, in the Ummah the fault lies with our leaders. At the start of the new millennium while visiting the USA, someone asked me about the man of the 20th century. It was an interesting thought for those who will live through two centuries (20th and 21st). On reviewing the major events of the ending century, I picked up two finalists from a list of twenty outstanding personalities.
Impact was chosen as the criteria. Finally, I decided in favour of the Chinese revolutionary leader Chairman Mao Tse Tung who laid the foundations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the unstoppable future superpower of the world. I placed Imam Ruhollah Khomeini as the runner-up. Khomeini liberated his country from the clutches of the Western-imposed royalty. It was a period of change, conflicts and revolutions.
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was led by Vladimir Lenin. The USSR (The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) emerged on the world map. It dominated the world as Superpower till its demise in the year 1991. The Chinese Revolution has kept its course to dominate the globe while the Iranian Revolution continues to struggle but refuses to submit against all odds and pressures.
PRC is preparing to dominate a major part of this millennium while Imam Khomeini’s concept of Islamic Republics has been stalled for the time being, but it is bound to catch up sooner or later with major changes in leadership in the Ummah with the fall of Shahs and Shahinshah’s who have impeded the progress of their own nations. I see a major resurgence in the Muslim World by the middle of this century.
The purpose of the Abraham Accord is to secure the state of Israel on one hand and ensure status-quo in the ME on the other to keep the Ummah in the dark ages under repressive regimes which remain subservient to the Western powers. A Palestinian State will be a force to be reckoned with in the ME. Even under occupation the Palestine National Authority is under elected leadership.
Mahmoud Abbas is the President who was preceded by Yasser Arafat, the un-disputed leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin agreed for the creation of two states to live side by side. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 while Arafat lost his life in 2004 under mysterious circumstances.
PLO started as a liberating force but was later convinced to come to the negotiating table for a peaceful settlement. That peace still eludes them. While Israel continues to expand in defiance of international laws the Palestinians continue to languish in their own land.
Khomeini believed in a black and white world. He was against any compromise on the basics. When Iraq was pumped to attack Iran in 1980 soon after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranians fought back with valour. The war continued for eight years. Iraq badly failed in its objective, the borders remained unchanged.
Iraq failed to take control of Shatt al-Arab but the spread of the revolution in the ME was contained. After the death of the leader in 1989, Iran started to look inwards for growth and development. However, anti-US and Israel chants are heard in the mosques after prayers. Airports have inscriptions saying, ‘Israel has no right to exist ‘.
Most Iranians believe it as a matter of faith that the Jewish State was condemned for all times to come as the Jews cannot be trusted. Iran considers itself to be an Islamic Republic where elections are regularly held for the President and the parliament (Majlis). It has withstood all pressures from the West and has pursued its own independent foreign policy. Spread of Islam remains its mission without the division of sects and prejudices.
The Abraham Accord should only be considered once the two-state principle has been implemented in letter and spirit with the creation of independent states existing side by side. Once our Palestinian brothers are fully settled the accord will make sense but not before that.
Iran may also consider signing the accord at that juncture but certainly it will not sign before that. Resistance to the accord will grow with clear divisions in the Ummah, which should be avoided.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is an ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation; email: fmaliks@hotmail.com