Daily Times

Last week people mourned the passing away of Charles Kennedy in the UK, Tariq Aziz in Iraq and Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hanooti in Virginia. They came into prominence on their own merits and influenced the lives of people by their thoughts and actions.

The people of the UK, like some other countries, have fallen hostage to the two party system. They are made to choose either the Labour Party or the Conservative Party. When the governance of the party in power falls short of the expectations of the electorate, the party is voted out. But, in the process, people are made to accept the other party that might be equally, if not more, disconcerting to the electorate. In other words, in the UK, while the ruling party is voted out, by default, the party in waiting comes to power. In this type of electoral gambit, the wishes of the people are seldom reflected. Under the dynamic leadership of Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the third alternative for the electorate. Kennedy opposed the populist and somewhat opportunistic pledges of the Labour Party though it appeared progressive and attractive to the working class as well as to the youth. But he could also foresee the regressive and incongruous vision of the Conservative Party. Kennedy therefore retrofitted the Liberal Democrats, capturing the aspirations of the progressive and visionary population of his country. His speeches in parliament reflected what his electorate wanted to hear from a visionary politician.

Kennedy was not a renegade; he was a charismatic politician who could feel the pulse of the people. He could anticipate the foreboding regarding the involvement in the Iraq invasion. Under his leadership the Liberal Democrats opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq. Kennedy could read the minds of the thousands in the streets demanding the government to abstain from an unjust invasion and he brilliantly echoed their sentiments in parliament. His prediction that the divisive war would haunt Tony Blair came true. The former prime minister is still despised for dragging the country into an unjust war that consequently unsettled the region. Kennedy’s political brinkmanship was rewarded in 2005 when his party won 62 seats in the House of Commons, an outstanding outcome after 80 years. His refusal to be a coalition partner with the Conservatives in 2010 brought an electoral debacle for his party. This is the price Kennedy was not afraid to accept for the commitment to the principles he stood for.

Kennedy was born in Scotland in 1959 and studied politics at Glasgow University. He won a Fulbright scholarship and studied at Indiana University in the US. Kennedy was elected to parliament at 23 and 15 years later became the leader of the Liberal Democrats. His fondness for alcohol turned addictive, robbed him of his party leadership in 2006 and killed him nine years later. Kennedy will be long remembered for his political sagacity. With Kennedy’s death a moderate voice in the UK has been extinguished.

As Iraq’s foreign minister and then the deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz witnessed the tumultuous relations his country had with Iran, Kuwait and the US. The 1975 Algiers Agreement had drawn the border between Iran and Iraq at the midstream of the Shat-al Arab, called for termination of arming the Kurds on the other side of the border and expulsion of Ayatollah Khomeini from Najaf, defusing the tension between the two neighbours for five years. Following Khomeini’s return to Tehran in the aftermath of the uprising against the Shah in 1979, President Saddam invaded Iran. The Iraqi army captured Fao Island south of Shat-al Arab. The Iranian army confronted the aggression. The war lasted for eight years with casualties of million lives on each side. The US provided weapons to both but ensured denial of victory to either against the other. As Iraq’s foreign minister, Aziz played a significant role in promoting relations with the US, only to be fractured when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The US-led coalition liberated Kuwait the following year and Iraq came under international sanctions. Aziz made an emotional argument in the UN for sanctions to be relaxed. He complained that the sanctions had robbed Iraqi children of their toys. In response, the UN approved the Oil For Food Programme in 1996 to provide humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

Aziz, a Christian by faith, met the Pope prior to the 2003 US invasion and tried to make the case that the US-led war against Iraq would be perceived by Muslims as an assault on their faith and would have terrible consequences. He argued that if European countries participate in the war it would be interpreted as a crusade against Islam. Aziz prevailed upon the Turkish government against granting a corridor to attack Iraq from the north. After the invasion, Aziz was arrested, tried on several counts of murder and was sentenced to death. He was not executed but remained imprisoned. It was unclear how much influence Aziz had on Saddam. During the period in between two wars, Aziz could not make a rapprochement with hostile neighbour Kuwait nor finish tension with the Kurds in northern Iraq. Aziz told the court that he had advised against the occupation of Kuwait as it would bring the US to war against Iraq but the ultimate decision rested with Saddam. He characterized the invasion as unlawful since inspectors did not find evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Aziz died in prison on June 5. He was 79.

Hanooti, one of the greatest Islamic scholars in North America, came into prominence by dint of his profound knowledge of the Quran and the hadith. At 10, Hanooti together with his family was expelled from Palestine in 1948 as his homeland now formed part of Israel. He studied at a madrassa (seminary) in Baghdad affiliated with Al-Azhar University. His father was a scholar and became his teacher both at home and in the madrassa. Following his graduation, Hanooti became the imam of a mosque in Baghdad where he taught for ten years. He migrated to the US about 20 years ago and committed himself to the Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH) Islamic Centre, Virginia.

The Safety Net Programne for vulnerable families was promoted by Hanooti at the DAH. He strongly believed that the spirit of Islam transcended boundaries of families, neighbourhood and religion and that people in need, regardless of faith, must be helped. Hanooti was a strong advocate of inter-faith harmony and leaders of other faiths were routinely invited to the DAH during Ramzan. He was a scholar of international repute but remained accessible to people to respond to their queries. Hanooti has been a member of the North America Fiqah Council for some time. He died of cardiac arrest on June 4. In Hanooti’s death, the community lost a comrade and great friend.

The writer is a former official of the United Nations