It is even possible to say that the emergence of modern democracy is historically connected with the formation of public opinion that was developed as a framework of reference against the authority of the church. In other words, if the gatherings you call people or public make a decision on a given subject, it is correct and should be complied with. There will be no need to resort to the wisdom of other authorities. When the US and Britain agreed to invade Iraq, Western public opinion displayed a strong reaction. Massive rallies were organized and 1 million people marched on the streets of London to protest the war. These people underlined that this would be an unfair occupation and that millions of innocent civilians would die in connection with the extensive use of weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, politicians and strong circles within state apparatuses did not hear the voices of the millions.
It soon became obvious that those who asserted the war would cost a lot of lives were right. A report by the British relief organization Oxfam refers to a growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq along with the deteriorating violence. According to the report, one-third of the Iraqis -- 8 million people -- need urgent help. Emergency help means that people are on the edge of death and devastation. In oil-rich Iraq, one out of every two Iraqis lives under the poverty line while 15 percent of the population suffers from extreme hunger and 70 percent does not have clean water. Oxfam especially draws attention to Iraqi children, of which 28 percent suffer from malnutrition and 92 percent have learning difficulties as they suffer from the traumas in connection with scenes of war, first-hand tragedies and violence. The war deteriorated the already bad circumstances resulting from the long embargo sanctioned since 1991.
The entire tragedy is based on the issue of security. In the absence of security, potable water, food, health and education services are prioritized. According to reports, security should not be a factor for failing to provide said services as some may be rendered to a limited extent even under the worst of conditions. But how? The report does not provide a satisfactory answer; it only says civil society organizations and local administrators should do more.
Let us leave Iraq aside and move to Afghanistan, which is still under occupation while more and more civilians are being killed here by NATO forces. The Afghans believe the NATO forces opted to punish the entire populace because they failed to repress the insurgency. In other words, they wanted to deliver this message to the insurgents: “You either give up on your rebellion or more civilians -- women, children and the elderly -- will die.” Of course nobody wants to believe this, but still civilian massacres take place. In consideration of the publicized massacres through news reports, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer noted that they planned on using less disruptive and destructive weapons to reduce the number of civilian deaths. This is actually a confession implying that the weapons used by NATO were the real cause of the large number of civilian casualties.
All these lead to one simple conclusion and basic perception. In the Islamic world, there is a belief that the Western powers deliberately and mercilessly massacred the Muslims. Taken together with the Islamophobia, this belief makes things worse. The only thing that should be done at this point is that Westerners should increase pressure on their governments and take action to protest against massacres and racist movements.
