بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Divide in America Deepens
https://www.al-waie.org/archives/article/19625
(Translated)
Al-Waie Magazine, Issue 460 - 461
Thirty-ninth year, Jumada al-Ula - Jumada al-Akhira 1446 AH corresponding to December - January 2025
Bilal Al-Ajili
America was initially a European colony, under British influence until the revolution broke out in 1775 against British colonialism, led by George Washington. In 1776 in Philadelphia, the independence of the colonies was declared at the conference, under the ambit of the United States and an independent state was founded. Then it began to grow until it became a major power.
America adopted a policy of protectionism in the Western hemisphere by adopting the Monroe Doctrine, a statement announced by US President James Monroe in a message he delivered to the US Congress on December 2, 1823. The Monroe Doctrine called for guaranteeing the independence of all countries in the Western hemisphere against European interference with the aim of oppressing them, or interfering in determining their fate. The Monroe Doctrine also indicates that European Americans may not be considered subjects of colonies of any European powers in the future.
Accordingly, US foreign policy was based on protecting the Western hemisphere from other countries in the world, and for this reason it relied on the balance of power between European countries. Its political and military actions were confined to the Western hemisphere and did not go beyond it except to occupy the Philippines because of Japan. America feared Japan and was satisfied with that alone. What it did in the Western hemisphere was to extend its authority over South America and the islands located there.
It drew up a special policy towards Europe, which had four major powers, Germany, France, England and Russia. The conflict between these countries had intensified. America was fueling this conflict and sought to create a balance of power between the European countries so that no one country could dominate Europe. It adopted and embraced England, and supported it in the policy of balance of power in Europe. It stood with every European country that another country wanted to swallow. Germany, first and foremost, and Russia, secondly, frightened America. Just one of them could control all of Europe. Therefore, America entered the First World War against Germany in 1917, then returned to its isolation in the Western hemisphere until World War II.
After World War II, Western European countries emerged with their ribs broken, whilst Eastern Europe was taken over by Russia. The Soviet Union grew as a military power and as a state that carried the communist ideology. It became a threat to the balance of power in Europe. On the other hand, China emerged as a communist state. These two factors motivated America to enter the world stage in 1947, and to participate with other countries in world politics and management. As a result, the pattern of American policy changed. It began to build military alliances, such as NATO to confront the Warsaw Pact. It established bilateral, tripartite and quadruple military alliances to ensure its interests. It established the Group of Seven (G-7) to control financial and economic policies in the world, and made the US dollar the global reserve currency. All of this enabled it to control the world and ensure its status and influence.
American division and the emergence of neoconservatives:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the United States became the leading state, without a competitor and dominated world politics to this day. It witnessed the first apparent division between Republicans and Democrats in 2001 when George W. Bush assumed the presidency and the neoconservatives, including Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, the Vice President, and Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, came to power and exploited the events of 9/11/2001 to wage war on Islam, under the pretext of “fighting terrorism.” They resurrected the old colonialist method to eliminate old colonialism itself, by occupying Afghanistan and Iraq, and threatening Syria with intervention.
George W. Bush announced the American vision in the era of neoconservatives, proclaiming, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” Bush Jr. dropped the policy of participation adopted by Democratic President Bill Clinton and followed a policy of unilateralism. This prompted European countries and Russia to unite against America. This was clearly evident during the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, where France, Germany and Russia played a pivotal role in confronting America. This caused America trouble in Iraq. It almost came out with broken ribs, if it were not for the treacherous rulers in Egypt, Syria and the Gulf who rescued it from its predicament. The neoconservatives’ policy was shattered in the face of the fierce resistance it encountered in Iraq, which led to their defeat in the presidential elections and the arrival of the Democratic President Obama to power in 2008. Obama restored the policy of participation, and tried to fix the bad image that the neo-conservatives had painted of American policy in the world, which was exposed by the violations of Bagram prison in Afghanistan, and Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Trump’s arrival and the deepening of division:
This policy did not last long, as the Republicans returned to power again in 2016 to seize the reins of American leadership, through President Donald Trump. Trump adopted the policy of “America First” based on giving priority to American interests, reducing foreign aid, and expecting greater contributions from other countries to international security, so that America would return to its isolationism.
A noticeable shift appeared in American policy, as it adopted bilateral dealings instead of multilateral ones. This was with the aim of concluding deals that are considered directly beneficial to it. America withdrew from international agreements. In fact, the Trump administration withdrew from eight international agreements:
1- The Trans-Pacific Partnership in January 2017, noting that the agreement was harmful to American workers.
2- The Paris Agreement in June 2017, when Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, citing its negative impact on the American economy.
3- UNESCO in October 2017, criticizing it for bias against the Jewish entity!
4- Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018, re-imposing sanctions on Iran.
5- The United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2018, claiming hypocrisy and bias against the Jewish entity.
6- The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in August 2019, accusing Russia of non-compliance.
7- Treaty on Open Skies in May 2020, accusing Russia of violations.
8- The World Health Organization in July 2020, criticizing its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its alleged investigation into China.
Although America is ruled by deep state institutions such as the Pentagon, the State Department, and lobbyists from major corporations, influential capitalists, and others, a sharp division has been observed in its society for two decades. The division initially appeared at the institutional level and gradually reached the street. It reached its peak with Trump's defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 elections.
The Biden administration has followed a policy opposite to Trump's policy. America returned to the Paris Agreement, stopped withdrawing from the World Health Organization, and reaffirmed commitments to NATO and other international bodies. Biden relied on a less severe policy than his predecessor with leniency in his course. However, Biden has ignited several wars in the world such as the Russian-Ukrainian war and the war in Sudan and several coups in some countries. Yet, this is only in terms of differences in decisions and deals.
The first direct confrontation between the two parties and their supporters was when the US Congress was stormed in 2021, following Trump's loss in the elections, after Trump asked his supporters to come to Washington, DC, and challenge Congress, and Vice President Mike Pence, to force them to ignore the results of the presidential elections that took place in November and keep the presidency in his hands. Then the FBI stormed the home of former President Trump, confiscated several documents and put Trump on trial in an attempt to prevent him from running for the 2024 presidential elections. All of this angered his supporters and they threatened to kill a New York City judge. Trump threatened America with a dark fate, saying, “Our country is going to hell and is going to hell very fast.” This conflict escalated when the state of Texas declared a rebellion against the decisions of the Supreme Court, with twenty-five Republican states supporting the governor of Texas.
The American writer Malek Sharqawi said in an interview with in Arabic with Russia Today International (RT), that, “The civil war in America is on the verge of a spark, not the exit of Texas, but if Trump is prevented from entering the 2024 elections or assassinated, then there will be a civil war, a million weapons, as citizens in the southern and southwestern states are amassing weapons and ammunition in anticipation of the front when there is a civil war. Fox News reported that the New York City judge overseeing the “hush money” case paid by former US President Donald Trump received death threats and a security team was appointed for him.”
Presidential elections and fueling the conflict:
As the presidential elections approached, the conflict between the two parties and their supporters intensified with accusations and statements, which consecrated and deepened the division. According to an article in Asharq Al-Awsat on September 18, 2024, “A study found that nearly half of Republicans said they would not accept the results of the US presidential election if their candidate Donald Trump lost to his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, while some confirmed that they will not stand idly by and will take action to overturn the election result, according to the American newspaper USA Today.”
In contrast, the study conducted by the World Justice Project, which measured the strength of the rule of law in more than 100 countries, stated that about a quarter of Democrats said they would not accept the results if Harris lost, and some Democrats, who were fewer than Republicans, stated that they will take action to overturn the results.
According to the study, 46% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats stated that they would not accept the result if their candidate lost, and 14% of Republicans, compared to 11% of Democrats, stated that they would “take action.”
This division has affected institutions and the deep state. Energy companies and technology companies have become part of political decision-making in America due to their association with the two major parties. Thus, they are fueling the division that exists between them today. Economist Abdul Ghani Al-Kabbaj said in an article published on the Arabic website “Economy for You,” on November 13, 2020, “Major capitalist corporations control the economy, politics and society in America. The American people are being looted. The dominance of the power of money and major capitalist corporations is embodied in society. Every radical thought and awareness is being excluded and marginalized in society. Right-wing capitalist tendencies are also being encouraged. The Christian religion is being subordinated to capital. Progressive social movements that oppose the control of capital in the lives of Americans are being marginalized.”
This division between the right and the left has affected American foreign policy. The country’s foreign policy is a reflection of the domestic scene. This has projected the division in some foreign policies such as the Palestinian issue, the two-state solution, how to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, dealing with Iran and China, and other details that will differ if one or the other candidate wins. However, in terms of some policies, they do not differ, as absolute support for the Jews will remain, as will confronting the rise of China.
Conclusion
This division is not new to America. Its history has not been free of bloodshed and civil wars. As for Capitalism, it created a great difference between the states within the union, at the economic level, and did not address the racial divisions but rather deepened them. In addition, to the crisis of credibility of thought and ideology, all of this makes society in America disintegrated. These crises will not lower America from being the leading state in the world or lead to its collapse. However, this is evidence of its unsuitability to rule and lead the world. This is evidence of the necessity of finding an alternative to America, especially since Muslims have a civilized alternative capable of reforming the world and spreading justice and tranquility within it. This confirms the great responsibility that Muslims must assume to save the world from the burden of capitalism to the justice of Islam, Allah (swt) said,
[وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةٗ لِّلۡعَٰلَمِينَ] “And We have not sent you, O Muhammad, except as a mercy to the worlds.” [TMQ Surah al-Anbiyya 21:107]