People with great empires seldom forget their history or their historical enemies. President Putin of Russia has recently demonstrated this admirably with his comments and actions over Ukraine and NATO.

Having helped confine the Soviet Union to the history books, the United States turned its attention to political movements in the Muslim world attempting to free their countries from Western hegemony. Under the guise of the War on Terror, the US has spent the last 20 years dealing with the rise of what became known as the green peril of political Islam, replacing the menace of the red peril of Soviet Communism

The United States became bogged down in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and in subverting the Arab Spring to restore the old order, which they have done successfully. All the while China was rising and became an economic powerhouse. Whilst the United States has been successful elsewhere it failed with its strategy in Afghanistan and against Iran (another country trying to revive past glories).  The hasty US retreat from Afghanistan last year to focus on the Chinese threat left its image as a superpower in tatters. Whilst the US started another propaganda Cold War against the latest red menace of China, it took its eye off the ball. It missed the rise of a new Russian empire. The United States is now a wounded and drained empire staring at its own abyss, whilst its main rivals are on the rise dreaming of great empires once more.

President Xi Jinping has completely transformed a decaying Chinese Communism replacing it with Socialism with “Chinese characteristics” since he came to power in 2012. Inspiring the Han Chinese people with talk of the great Chinese civilizations of the past and recalling past humiliations by Europeans with the aid of Japan.  He now wants to reunite all Chinese people under a new empire, most notably wanting to take back Taiwan.

Meanwhile, President Putin and Russia have been on a roll.  Having dealt with the threat of independence from the Caucasus, Georgia, and Crimea. Putin has also placed Russia firmly in the Middle East in Syria and Iraq. He is backing another people looking to revive past glories through the creation of Greater Serbia. The Serbs in Bosnia have taken on the project, and it is only a matter of time before it is delivered, and the Bosnian Muslims are at risk of becoming a historical memory.  China is also backing Serbia. Russian tentacles have spread throughout Africa in Libya and Mali (where the French have recently been left defeated by Russian mercenaries).

In the 21^st century, we are witnessing the rise of great power blocs or empires once more. Beyond Russia and China, the European Union has created a bloc that is expanding eastwards (a large historical European Christian bloc that excludes NATO Muslim member Turkey).

In India, the mask of secular democracy has been removed, and we are now able to see the ruling BJP looking to and succeeding in reviving a great Hindu civilization and empire of the past. It was always heading that way but we were deluded by secularism and democracy.

And where are the Muslims in all this? Nowhere. The truth is if you are not part of a power bloc, or a power bloc on your own in the contemporary world, then you will just become someone else’s meal ticket. Muslim countries face war and economic sanctions or destitution. Muslims in Europe are being targeted. In China, Russia, and India large Muslim minorities are being persecuted without any real political power to resist.  India has the largest Muslim minority in the world of 200 million who are on the brink of genocide, seemingly powerless to prevent the inevitable. This is the greatest looming catastrophe facing the Ummah and we are oblivious to it.

Whilst Allah is the ultimate protector, political power in the world matters. Whether as a Muslim minority or Muslim majority we must become organised to generate and project political power. We must rise to become a great Islamic civilisation once more.  If we don’t the future looks grim for Muslims. History matters and we should learn from it, all these rising powers hardly have a history of tolerance towards Islam and Muslims, we should know what to expect.

The Soviet Union was in fact just an ideological mask for Russian supremacy and Empire. Just as democracy was an ideological mask for the US Empire.  President Putin has now revealed the true face of the Russian Empire and if he takes Ukraine and the US is powerless to prevent it, then he will have in the process consigned the US to a becoming an empire of the past. How ironic then that Russia is putting a nail in the coffin of the USA, and the common link between the demise of the Soviet Empire and the US empire in Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires.

Sadly, Muslims seem to be the only ones who have faith and hope in democracy, or communism or socialism to protect them. Take off the masks and you see that the only law and order that matters in this world is raw naked power, it always has been that way.

“The believers are allies of one another” (Al Quran)