بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Islam is the Only Vaccine Against America’s Liberal Order
News:
The US has been accused of redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use. Mr. Geisel said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an “act of modern piracy”, urging the Trump administration to adhere to international trading rules. [1] “This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners,” the minister said. “Even in times of global crisis, there should be no wild-west methods.” [2]
Comment:
The covid19 crisis underlines just how far America is prepared act to secure vital personal protective equipment (PPE) and combat the virus back home. The Trump administration has justified its aggressive stance citing the Defense Production Act. The Act forces American firms to provide more medical supplies to meet domestic demand. The same act was used to intercept 3M masks bound for Germany, America’s staunchest ally in Europe. Earlier, the Trump administration provoked anger in Berlin, when Trump sought to buy a German company working on a vaccine for covid19 [3]. Other European nations have bitterly complained about Americans outbidding them to purchase scarce PPE resources.
The whole episode questions whether the transatlantic relationship has a future in a post covid19 world. Prior to the covid19 crisis, relations between America and Europe were fraught at the best of times. Concerns over America’s commitment to European security, numerous trade disputes, differences over climate change and foreign policy have gradually eroded confidence in the seventy-five year old relationship.
In the post covid19 world, the above fault lines underpinned by domestic support will lead to the retrenchment of supply chains and the relocation of multinationals within domestic shores. The return to an overt form of mercantilism combined with hyper-nationalism will spell an end to the much-coveted postwar liberal order. Multilateralism will give way to unilateralism, multi-polarity will subdue to American exceptionalism, and globalization will fade into oblivion.
The intensity of covid19 will accelerate the deconstruction of the post war liberal order that America had painstakingly put together over the past seven decades. The new world order that will emerge is likely to resemble a pre-1945 world consisting of different geopolitical centers where bilateral relations reign supreme.
As the world transitions to a post covid19 political order, there is no need for the Muslim world to remain a silent spectator. On the contrary, the Muslim Ummah can be at the forefront of defining this new political order only if it rallies together to re-establish the Caliphate (Khilafah). The Caliphate will mould the emerging political order based upon the justice of Islam the only effective vaccine against the perils of the liberal secular order.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Abdul Majeed Bhatti
#كورونا | #Covid19 | #Korona
References:
[1, 2] The BBC (2020). No, COVID-19 Coronavirus Was Not Bioengineered. Here’s The Research That Debunks That Idea. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52161995 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2020].
[3] The Guardian (2020). Coronavirus: anger in Germany at report Trump seeking exclusive vaccine deal. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/not-for-sale-anger-in-germany-at-report-trump-seeking-exclusive-coronavirus-vaccine-deal [Accessed 6 Apr. 2020].