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This is with reference to the report “For Tony Blair, ‘radical’ Islam is a growing threat” (April 24).
I believe such reports should not be given space in esteemed publications like Arab News. The reason is that leaders like Tony Blair, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin will always find faults in Muslims without even taking into account the ground realities.
If Blair sees “radical” Islam as a growing threat then how does he perceive the Israeli mindset? Under the false pretext of security, Israel has always been torpedoing peace efforts. Israeli atrocities committed against poor Palestinians is an open secret but leaders like Blair and Obama continue supporting Israel.
As soon as they saw Hamas and PLO getting closer to reconciliation, these world leaders started to remind people that Hamas is a terrorist organization. They don’t utter a single word of condemnation against Israeli atrocities, construction of illegal settlements on Arab lands and the Zionist regime’s attempts to derail peace process. All these things are reported on a daily basis and can be verified by neutral sources. The so-called champions of world peace and human rights always try to portray Israel as a victim of Arab aggression and as country acting in “self-defense.”
As a matter of fact, the first act of terrorism was carried out by Israel in Egypt but if Palestinians raise their voices for their legitimate rights, they are branded as terrorists. This clearly shows that Israel and the West can do anything and get away with it.
I strongly believe that only a handful of Muslims have taken the path of violence — although condemnable — due to the injustices done to them. The West and its ally Israel should equally be blamed for the current situation.
Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, has assassinated several prominent political leaders who were opposed to Israel’s barbaric mindset. It is because of these double standard or should I say hypocrisy that the world particularly the Middle East has turned into a cauldron of chaos.

Anees Lokhande
Alkhobar