Omar Khadr – Why the Hatred?

In July 7, 2017, the Canadian Ministry of Justice settled their legal case with Omar Khadr with a formal apology and an amount of $10 million. Khadr, a Canadian citizen who had migrated with his family to Afghanistan in 1998, and had been found fighting alongside the Afghan insurgency against US occupation, was illegally detained at Bagram Air base in Afghanistan, and eventually in the infamous Guantanamo Bay. He was held without a trial, and subject to sleep deprivation, forced nudity, painful contortion, and forced self-urination. He was threatened with gang rape, humiliation and the risk of being sent to a US black site for more extensive torture. After spending more than a decade in Guantanamo, he was released to a Canadian prison after being compelled to sign a confession, and then finally acquitted and reached settlement in Canada. 

Unprincipled Aggression

Unprincipled and opportunistic politicians have been quick to condemn the settlement and demonize Khadr as a response to this development. Andrew Scheer, the leader of the Conservative Party, called the settlement “disgusting” and commented that Omar should feel privileged that he has been resettled into Canada. Xenophobic media outlets and nationalist figures have stoked this sentiment, to the effect that the majority of Canadians are against the Khadr settlement. Perhaps most notably, Layne Morris, who was part of the attack that captured Khadr, and Tabitha Speer, the widow of a US combat medic who was killed in the same attack (allegedly by Khadr, though this is unproven) have been outspoken in their demonization of Khadr as a terrorist, and have demanded that Khadr pays damages. In the words of Layne Morris:

“There is a simple way to make things right. All he has to do is sign that cheque over to Tabitha Speer and I am sure he'll feel better. His conscience will be clear…It won't bring her husband back, but it certainly will honour his memory and he can at least feel for the rest of his life that he's at least tried to make amends for the horrific crimes he has committed”

The irony is perhaps lost on the Canadian public. A soldier for the US army, who was involved in its illegal attack (see next section for why US can’t claim this was done in self-defense) on Afghanistan (that has killed over 26,000 people) is questioning the conscience of a young man who was resisting occupation in his adopted homeland. Two Americans are demanding restitution from a Canadian citizen who was illegally captured, wrongfully detained and systemically brutalized by the US war machine. A family that is living in privilege is demanding compensation from a victim of torture. What kind of reasoning could justify this savagery?

Unprecedented Hatred

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that what happened to Omar “deprive[d] him of his right to liberty and security of the person, guaranteed by the Charter of Rights,  not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.” 

Yet members of the Canadian political establishment continue to challenge that assessment. Why is this unprecedented?

In normal circumstances, when the Supreme Court decides on a matter, the political class accepts the decision even when it disagrees. When the courts decided that same-sex marriage was legal in Canada, the major political parties acquiesced. When the courts decided that what happened to the Ab0original people was cultural genocide, even the xenophobic politicians refused to question this assessment, and the Harper government even apologized to the indigenous communities for the residential school controversy.

Yet, when it comes to Khadr, the assessment of the court has been publically challenged, and even labeled “a legal opinion” by those who oppose its decision. This demonstrates the deep hatred that is fostered, nurtured and developed in the Capitalist nations against Islam as a way of life; a hatred that knows little precedent. It is through the prism of this hatred that Canadians see a man like Omar Khadr, who has lost the prime of his youth to confinement and torture for the crime of resisting the US war machine, and feel apprehension as opposed to sympathy. They view him with a hostility that is unprecedented even for an enemy combatant. In the Second World War, when German prisoners of war were detained in rural Alberta, they were kept in such stellar conditions that local newspapers mentioned how most Nazi soldiers were actually gaining weight in prison.

The Capitalist Empire

Anger and hostility is a natural byproduct of examining the Khadr situation, but it is being misdirected. The anger should be direct at the United States military establishment that, out of its own strategic interest, armed, funded and managed a group of Mujahideen who put their lives on the line to liberate Afghanistan from Soviet influence, only to find themselves being pitted against each other by their US war masters.

Hostility should be directed towards the Capitalist colonial powers, who after using the Ummah in Afghanistan to achieve its end of weakening the Soviet Union, watched and took sides in a hopeless civil war that was designed to weaken the self-determination of the Muslims in Afghanistan. It was these powers who then helped establish the Taliban so that they could pacify the region with a government that they knew they could control.

And when the Taliban extended their control to almost the entire country, it was these same detestable colonial powers who blamed the Taliban government for a crime they did not commit (aiding AL-Qaeda in committing 9/11), refused to negotiate with them when they tried to hand over Bin Laden – only demanding some evidence of his guilt in return – annihilating their government through and illegal war and plunging the country into chaos.

It is essential to acknowledge that the Taliban did not attack the US, did not aid AL-Qaeda in carrying an attack, and was willing to negotiate the extradition of Al-Qaeda operatives. Given these facts, the US war in Afghanistan does not meet the standards of self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter. Thus, it is illegal according to International Law for the US to have unilaterally attacked Afghanistan.

It is in this context that Omar Khadr is found, in a compound in Afghanistan, resisting an illegal occupation by the United States. One does not need to agree with his tactics or life choices to understand who the real culprit is in this situation. It is clear to see the devastating impact that the interference of the Capitalist colonial powers in the Muslim lands can have on the lives of both a young man and an entire country.

But imperialism is integral to the Capitalist way of life. It is how Capitalist colonial powers spread their ideology, and how they force compliance on those who choose to resist it.  

Why Islam

As has been mentioned, the hatred for Omar is unprecedented, not because of anything he has done, but because of what he represents. In the minds of the imperialist elite, and coded into their   propaganda, there is the deep seated fear of the Islamic way of life challenging the assumptions and resisting the agendas of greed and control of the Capitalist ruling class.

The Capitalist elite know that Islam has values and systems that correctly address the individual and collective problems of society. Yet these values and systems are based on revelation on the Most Wise and Just Creator, not the whims and biases of an elite ruling class; a ruling class who is hostile to changing the systems of oppression and self-interest that they currently benefit from.  

In order to distract the citizen from the failures and the oppression of the Capitalist systems, the Capitalist colonial powers spare no expense at vilifying, criminalizing and intimidating the Muslim community in their midst, and bringing violence and destruction to the Muslim lands. It is this campaign of vilification that allows the Capitalist colonial powers to intervene in the affairs of Muslims overseas, destabilize and plunder entire economies of the Muslim lands, and still convince their citizens that it is the Muslims who are willful and violent.

It is an obligation for the Muslims to challenge this campaign of vilification and butchery. We must work collectively to challenge the imperialist agenda of the Capitalist colonial powers, to expose its brutality, deceitfulness and hypocrisy, and to partner with principled and conscious members of Canadian society to let our voice and our narrative be heard.

It is also time for the Muslims to realize that there is no protection from the savagery of imperialism except though the revival of the Khilafah state, which the Prophet (saw) described as a shield for this Ummah. Muslims must realize that the return of the Khilafah state is a mercy for both Muslims and non-Muslims, as it will implement the just systems of Islam. We must organize collectively to take on the task of demanding a return to the Islamic way of life in the Muslim lands.

And do not weaken in pursuit of the enemy. If you should be suffering - so are they suffering as you are suffering, but you expect from Allah that which they expect not. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

 [8:24-26]