Saleem Qamar Butt
‘Moral Sense’ is defined as the ability to distinguish between right and wrong; people with a functioning moral sense receive a clear impression of wrongness when they witness it. Other terms for this virtue include ‘moral compass’ and ‘conscience’. ‘Moral sense theory’ is a concept in moral epistemology and meta-ethics concerning the discovery of moral truths. The Quranic verses on moral practices and good character state, “And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good,”… “Indeed, Allah commands you to uphold justice and to be kind,”… “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression,”… and “The reward of the good is nothing but good.” The Islamic Shari’a describes practical values that promote the ethics and morals of Islam, which include kindness (to people and animals), charity, forgiveness, honesty, patience, justice, respecting parents and elders, keeping promises, controlling one’s anger, love of God and those whom God loves, love of His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and love of believers.
It is widely believed that it is the moral sense that distinguishes a human being from a non-human. Nevertheless, in countries and societies not closely associated with any specific religion, adherence to morality is comparatively better, e.g., Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Scandinavian countries. This may lead to the rather controversial notion that culture, being older than religion, facilitates adherence to cultural moral values more smoothly than religious values, which are often marred by sectarian splits and divisive interpretations.
The human race seems to have forgotten the horrors of two immoral World Wars. Unending military conflicts have persisted over the past 100 years to sustain the new world order that emerged from the ashes of World War II. It is horrifying to see the world once again teetering on the brink of nuclear war in Eurasia. Any remaining sense of ‘international justice’ is shattered by total inertia in halting the worst genocide in Palestine (with the risk of expansion), as the world rushes precipitately into the rapidly advancing technocracy. These are just three of the more noticeable threats; however, quite ironically, the majority of the human population yawns while scrolling through various chat groups and TV channels mostly peddling anxiety, immorality, and tainted truths.
The demise of morality and international conscience is a stark reality, repeatedly confirmed by intense military conflicts waged globally to plunder wealth and natural resources and expand spheres of influence. Regime changes through other means are a comparatively cheaper and swifter way of achieving similar objectives—nevertheless, all on false pretexts by the debauched international hegemons. The geopolitics of elite insanity has brought the world dangerously close to Armageddon while these elites continue to view it as the realisation of their ‘greater so-and-so’ dreams. The collective loss of morality reigns supreme, as witnessed since 1914, especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa during the two World Wars, the Vietnam and Korean wars, the repeated invasion of Afghanistan, the annihilation of Iraq, Libya, and now in Syria and Palestine. Most unfortunately, like the defunct League of Nations, the United Nations, as a whole, alongside the ICJ and OIC, has been a bystander, inert in the face of the worst genocide. This inaction has turned the globe into a lawless jungle, totally devoid of moral sense. Adding insult to injury, the demoniac global elite barefacedly lectures the victims on lofty morals and democratic values, while the weaker nations take solace in meaningless joint military exercises—like a monkey doctor.
The situation on the inner fronts in many Muslim-majority countries, including our beloved Pakistan, is equally dire. The ever-powerful ruling elite fails to see the appalling ground realities, living in a make-believe world, unable to fathom the intensity of internal and external threats amidst a loss of public faith. They continue to indulge in dangerous denials, unbridled corruption, promotion of mediocrity-based nepotism, and hypocrisy, supported by self-satisfaction through flattery. Hate speeches and unparliamentary rhetoric by politicians—many incapable of fairly winning even a local councillor seat—and their hired guns keep adding fuel to the fire on the political scene. This further exposes their shallow intellects and sullied characters. The end product is a house divided, prone to internal and external exploitation.
Major international and national events are driven by the global and national power elite, which operate with insanity. While the elite remain largely hidden from view, their equally insane or submissively obedient agents in international organisations, governments, media, think tanks, corporations, and non-governmental organisations carry out their fiendish will. At present, this includes driving the world to the brink of nuclear war, against a backdrop of rapidly advancing technocracy and genocide in Gaza. Countries like Pakistan suffer partly due to self-created mayhem and partly as a fallout of shifting sands on global geopolitical and security fronts. What and who will bell the cat is anyone’s guess.
The writer is a retired senior army officer with experience in international relations, military diplomacy and analysis of geo-political and strategic security issues.
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