member states- Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. Currently, the

Transcription

1 Chair: Neha Rana

2 Introduction to the League of Arab States The League of Arab States is a regional body created in 1945 by the original six member states- Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. Currently, the league is comprised of twenty two Arab nations. The LAS promotes interaction and cooperation between member states regarding common interests and issues in order to ensure economic, social, political, and cultural growth within the Arab world.

3 Topic 1: Distortion of Islam Introduction The rise of radical groups such as Daesh, Boko Haram, and Al Qaeda has led to widespread misinterpretation of Islam, which in turn has caused these groups to react in extreme and violent ways. The misconstruction of Islam by western media has subverted the opinion of many westerners into believing that Islam is not a religion of peace, but rather violence. It is important for the members of the League of Arab States to project the true principles of Islam to not only westerns, but to their own populations, specifically the youth who have been often the victim of recruitment by radical terrorist groups. Background Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world. Extremists groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, and several others have instilled fear amongst the citizens of the Arab community as well as the rest of the global community by using violence and brutal methods of torture. Daesh, commonly referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is one of the largest known radical terrorist organizations in history In a February 2016 US Defense Department report, Daesh was stated to have recruited an estimated 20,000-25,000 fighters. According to an investigation led by the Associated Press attempting to determine how knowledgeable the recruits were of Sharia- the fundamental religious concept of Islam, namely its law (Coulson). Seventy percent of the recruits claimed to only have basic knowledge of Islam, which was the lowest possible choice. Around twenty-five percent were listed as having an intermediate knowledge of Sharia, and a mere five perfect perceived themselves to be experts of Islam. Only five recruits claimed they had memorized the Qur an.

4 The majority of recruits of the aforementioned radical terrorist organizations, who typically have very little knowledge of Islam and Sharia law, have been coerced into believing that these acts of jihad are representative of the true principles of Islam and the words of Allah, transcribed by Prophet Muhammad. These fighters believe they are following the holy words of Allah causing them to commit heinous, violent acts such as the murdering of innocent civilians, recruitment of children as young as six years of age, and so on, without realizing the beliefs that were instilled in them were in fact false. Although there are many misinterpretations of the religion Islam, the true principles held by the vast majority of its followers and high profile clerics is that Islam is a religion of peace. Additionally, when translated into Arabic, Islam s literal definition translates into submission or surrender. Islam is originally derived from the Arabic root word salaam which translates into peace and safety. Similarly to Islam, other religions such as Christianity and Judaism use the concept of surrendering to God. A long life filled with happiness and prosperity came along with Hebrews obeying God s commands. Likewise, in Christianity, when followers surrender themselves to God, they are putting their trust in the hands of God who they believe is capable of protecting their life from all evils. On September 11th, 2001, the world as we knew it changed forever. The threat of terror that was once always considered an Arab issue became one of international significance. The War on Terror was not only a war fought by Arab countries but now also by western nations such as the United States of America and United Kingdom. While it is no secret that members of the League of Arab States, despite strong condemnation, have in the past and are likely to continue to, fund terrorist organizations,

5 this body must not let these heinous attacks conducted by terrorists perverse the true ideology of Islam in an effort to not only protect the lives of each nation s own citizens, but also to those around the world. In a proclamation a few short days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then- U.S. President George W. Bush stated that the face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don t represent peace. They represent evil and war. Questions to Consider 1. How does this committee help project the true meaning of Islam to the Arab world and rest of the international community in order to prevent recruitment, xenophobia, and islamophobia fostered by terrorist organizations? 2. Is it integral that the member states of the LAS are truly united in order to win the war on terror? 3. Should the LAS continue to turn a blind eye in regards to countries funding known terrorist organizations and affiliates?

6 Topic 2: The Fight against Terror in the Middle East Introduction While the War against Terror can be argued to be one of the most pressing issues facing the modern international community, now more than ever the war against terror has been of greater importance in the Middle East with groups such as Daesh and Al Qaeda emerging stronger than ever and to an unprecedented territorial size. However, these radical extremist organizations are not the only problem- Arab League member states such as Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are all facing problems with internal political legitimacy as conflict has erupted within their respective borders. These acts of violence, as well as intervention by third-party superpowers such as the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia in these conflicts, are causing the economies of many members of the League of Arab States to degenerate, and are preventing the growth of their political, social, and environmental systems. Background Anti-government demonstrations led by the Free Syrian Army started back in March of Although these acts against the government started off as simple, peaceful protests, the rebels acted out against the government s aggressive outbursts by using methods of violence and brutality. This quickly began the influx of Syrian refugees mainly entering nations such as Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and others, but around one million have requested asylum in European countries (UNHCR). According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are currently around 4,800,000 registered Syrian refugees. An estimated 53% are children under the age of 18. The internal conflict within Syria along with the lack of internal legitimacy for the Iraqi government created a power vacuum allowing Daesh to prosper and flourish.

7 Further exacerbating the situation is the stateless nation of Kurdistan which controls territory in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. For the past year, news networks and different platforms of social media have been engulfed with reports regarding the Syrian refugee crisis, the internal conflict in Iraq, and the rise of extremist terrorist organizations such as Daesh. Although these are critical issues, the crisis in Yemen has failed to be noticed by many in the international community. The two main sides to the crisis in Yemen are President Abdu Rabbu Mansur Hadi alongside the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels. President Hadi was forced to resign from office and flee Yemen s capital, Sana a, in February by the Houthi rebels. The Houthis are a Shiite movement who are being aided and supported by Iran. President Hadi currently has the full support of Saudi Arabia, in order to counter the efforts made by the Iranian government, a regional geopolitical and religious rival. There has been much disagreement, and therefore controversy, among experts in political science and international relations regarding whether or not the Houthis can be defined as a terrorist organization, or simply another Shiite-led movement. Due to the internal conflict in Yemen and the lack of a strong government security force, Al Qaeda has been able to successfully gain territory in southern Yemen and establish strongholds. The terrorist organization has been able to attack Yemeni government buildings and break one of their top leaders out of prison. Both President Hadi and the Houthi rebels are opposed by Al Qaeda, which can therefore be viewed as a third-party in this conflict. Having a terrorist group such as Al Qaeda involved in such a delicate situation makes the condition of this crisis even more perilous than it already is.

8 Certain countries in the Middle East, including but not limited to Saudi Arabia and Iran, have allowed terrorist organizations to find refuge in their countries, or have funded and supported terrorist activities for the country s own political gain. This method of terrorism is known as state-sponsored terrorism. While terrorist organizations and state-sponsored terrorism destabilizes the Middle East and prevents its growth, third-party intervention by nation-states in conflicts in the Middle East tend to be an unpredictable variable, whether that intervention is militaristic or diplomatic. Research by Stanford professor Nir Halevy has shown that third-party interveners tend to not act on purely altruistic motives. Third-parties tend to intervene due to strategic reasons if there is a high chance of a benefit for the third-party itself. Opponents of third-party interventions tend to rise to main points- that ethnic conflicts are too intense for effective intervention and such actions in internal conflicts violates the sovereignty of the targeted nation. Questions to Consider 1. How should the LAS as a body deal with the internal conflicts in Yemen and Syria? 2. When should third-party intervention be attempted or avoided? 3. If third-party intervention be attempted, what kind of intervention should be used?

9 Bibliography Topic 1 Goodstein, Laurie. "Scholars Call Attacks a Distortion of Islam." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 30 Sept Web. 4 Aug Stern, Jessica. "How Terrorist Hijacked Islam." USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc., 30 Sept Web. 7 Aug Mirza, Imam. "The Perception of Islam and Muslims in the Media and the Responsibility of European Muslims Towards the Media." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 12 Aug "Security Council Presidential Statement Seeks Counter-Terrorism Committee Proposal for International Framework to Curb Incitement, Recruitment."United Nations. United Nations, 11 May Web. 11 Aug Mallin, Alexander. "President Obama Hosts UN Summit on ISIS, Violent Extremism." ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 Sept Web. 2 Aug Batrawy, Aya, Paisley Dodds, and Lori Hinnant. "'Islam for Dummies': IS Recruits Have Poor Grasp of Faith." AP The Big Story. N.p., 15 Aug Web. 15 Aug Tomlinson, Lucas. "Size of ISIS Army 'remains the Same' since Last Year, US Official Says Fox News." Fox News. FOX News Network, 04 Feb Web. 15 Aug Pennington, Rosemary. "What Is The Meaning Of The Word Islam?" Muslim Voices RSS. N.p., 1 Oct Web. 11 Aug Topic 2 "Quick Facts: What You Need to Know about the Syria Crisis." Mercy Corps. N.p., 18 Aug Web. 18 Aug "UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response." United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. N.p., 16 Aug Web. 18 Aug "Yemen Crisis: Who Is Fighting Whom?" BBC News. N.p., 26 Mar Web. 8 Aug "Countries That Sponsor and Accept Terrorist Presence." Terrorism Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug

10 Crocker, Chester. ""Lessons on Intervention"" Conflict Research Consortium. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Aug