Executioners or Abolitionists

Thousands of Muslim institutions and leaders, the great majority of the world's billion or more Muslims, have unequivocally condemned the hateful and violent ideologies that kill innocents and violate the dignity of all humanity.

According to Islam there are five basic values for humanity, which are advised to be protected every time. Islam declares all people equal in terms of human values, and all individuals are equal before the Islamic code of law.

• International aid group ‘Doctors Without Borders’ said its field survey has found at least 6700 Rohingya Muslims were killed between August and September in a crackdown by Burma's security forces.
• The United Nations' humanitarian aid official in Yemen has said that the civilian death toll in the nearly two-year conflict has reached 10,000, with 40,000 others wounded. Figures released in a periodic update issued in August by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with input from other aid agencies in Yemen, estimated the civilian death toll as of April 2017 at 8,053, with more than 45,000 injured, but the real figures could be much higher.
• The UN estimate is that up to April of last year, about 400,000 people have died, including civilians, combatants in support of President Bashar Assad's regime and militia members.
• More than 40,000 civilians were killed in the devastating battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Isis, according to intelligence reports revealed exclusively to The Independent – a death toll far higher than previous estimates.
• During the war in Afghanistan (2001–present), over 31,000 civilian deaths due to war-related violence have been documented; 29,900 civilians have been wounded. Over 111,000 Afghans, including civilians, soldiers and militants, are estimated to have been killed in the conflict.
• Saudi Arabia's executions, 2014-2017. ? 438 executions in under four years – 123 per year.
• Iran has executed at least 230 people, since January 2016, .

A recent poll published by the BBC suggested the majority of Brits don't think Islam is compatible with Western values. The reason many so-called Islamic countries have gone backwards socially or politically is a direct consequence of failing to faithfully follow Islamic injunctions.

From an Islamic perspective, the purpose of human life is to worship God, by leading this worldly life in harmony with the Divine Will, and thereby achieve peace in this world, and everlasting success in the life of the hereafter.

Human rights in Muslim-majority countries have been a hot-button issue for many decades. International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) such as Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) consistently find human rights violations in Muslim-majority countries.

Today, the concept of nationalism among Muslim populations is generally secondary and perhaps has become an irrelevant concept in the Muslim world. In contrast, allegiance to a nation-state and to law and order is considered an essential component of survival and socioeconomic success in the more developed countries.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are at loggerheads. They have long been rivals, but it's all recently got a lot more tense. The two powerful neighbors seem to be locked in a fierce struggle for regional dominance.

The decades-old feud between them is exacerbated by religious differences. They each follow one of the two main sects in Islam - Iran is largely Shia Muslim, while Saudi Arabia sees itself as the leading Sunni Muslim power.

In the past 15 years in particular, the differences between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been sharpened by a series of events. The strategic rivalry has been heating up because Iran is in many ways winning the regional struggle.

In Syria, Iranian (and Russian) support for President Bashar al-Assad has largely routed rebel group groups backed by Saudi Arabia.

There are also external forces at play. Saudi Arabia has been emboldened by support from the Trump administration while Israel, which sees Iran as a mortal threat, is in a sense "backing" the Saudi effort to contain Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are not directly fighting but they are engaged in a variety of proxy wars around the region. Neither is really geared up for a direct war with the other but one successful rocket attack on the Saudi capital from Yemen could upset the apple cart. One obvious area where they could come into direct conflict is in the waters of the Gulf, where they face each other across a maritime border.

But here too fighting could risk a much broader conflict. For the US and other Western powers, freedom of navigation in the Gulf is essential and any conflict that sought to block the waterway - vital for international shipping and oil transportation - could easily draw in US naval and air forces.

The Saudi leadership increasingly sees Iran as an existential threat and the crown prince seems willing to take whatever action he sees necessary, wherever he deems it necessary, to confront Tehran's rising influence. The danger is that Saudi Arabia's new activism is fast making it a further source of volatility in the region.

The Middle East is sitting on a knife edge after Saudi Arabia sent chilling warnings to Iran.

Noteworthy that none of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has signed the ‘UN Convention on Refugees’ which has governed international law on asylum since World War Two. The convention defines the status of refugees and the duties and rights of governments. While, Iran is a state party to the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

• Supporters of the Arab nations claim they have donated generously in aid, but United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) accounts show Saudi Arabia has offered just $11million.
• That compares with Britain's $307million (making it the second highest donor) and the U.S.' contribution of close to $400million.
• Only Kuwait bucks the regional trend, with $194million committed to help.
• The Gulf states combined have provided in total around $600million through charitable organisations and individual donations.
• The Arab League's ministerial committee on Syria has agreed to offer $100million in aid to Syrian refugees, 
• Meanwhile, The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations have been reportedly working with Bangladesh’s government to solve the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Bottom line, do Islamic Nations really value or care about the lives of Muslims?

Food for thought!