Blood Bros: Arabs and Muslims

The Arab worlds whimsy over ISIS has allowed other players to step in.

- Shyam Bhatia

The terror attacks in Paris and the apparent bombing of the Russian charter flight over the egyptian Sinai have once again exposed the confusion of the Arabs and Muslims when it comes to the Islamic State (ISIS) and the Syrian crisis. Although ISIS has killed more Muslims than Christians, Jews and others over the past few years, most Arab and Islamic countries still have their heads buried in the sand and continue to pretend that the radical Islamists are a problem of the West alone. Sadly, modern history has shown how all too often they look to the West to resolve their internal crises. Today, the only Arabs and Muslims actively engaged in the war on Islamic State and its affiliates are Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Iraqi government, Iran, and its Lebanese proxy, hezbollah.

Another exception comes in the shape of Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, who recently recap­tured Sinjar from ISIS, following similar earlier successes in Kobani and Kirkuk. Of course, it comes with a price tag attached. The Kurds hope their military successes will bring them closer to realising their dream of an independent Kurdistan, incor­porating parts of Syria, Iraq, Armenia and, most importantly, Turkey.