Lakhdar Brahimi: The saying “Islam is the solution” bothers me and Algeria isn’t far from sedition among Sunnis and Shiites

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the veteran Algerian diplomat, condemned Thursday the conflicts and strife in the Arab world under the so-called banner of Islam, stressing that the region is the most productive of violence and terrorism, adding to this effect that the purported slogan “Islam is the solution” has become a cause for concern owing to its warped exploitation by the nefarious terrorist organizations headed by “Daesh” and “Al-Qaeda”.

The Honorable former Algerian Foreign Minister and international Mediator Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi was awarded the honorary doctorate and shield of the city of Oran (western Algeria) for his strenuous efforts in maintaining peace and security in several regions of the world and for his most successful diplomatic career. 

On the sidelines of this honor at the University of Oran, which was attended by numerous university teachers and students as well as politicians and representatives of local authorities, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi said he was deeply concerned about unfolding developments in the Arab and Muslim world, describing them as “the pressing concerns of our region in West Asia and North Africa” .

He pointed out that the purported saying “Islam is the solution” has become an issue that worries him because of its warped exploitation in damaging conflicts, violence and terrorism.

 “He also firmly condemned the recent sad events in Manchester, (Britain) and what is happening now in Iraq and Libya, plus the horrendous devastation suffered by Syria, stressing that the American military invasion was the cause of sabotage of some Arab countries such as Iraq and led to the stoking of sectarian and ethnic strife in the whole region, in addition to the adverse impact of the Iranian and Turkish military interventions there”, as he put it..

Mr. Brahimi stated in this connection that “our region is the most unstable and most productive region of violence, terrorism and internal or inter-State conflicts”.

He also pointed to the strife between the Sunnis and the Shiites, saying that “its beginning is known, but its end is still unknown,” as such a strife resulted in the displacement of 4 million people, mostly Sunnis in the Arab and Islamic world who immigrated to more stable areas of the world, he noted. 

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi further warned against the creeping fire of sedition among Sunnis and Shiites, stressing in this line that “Algeria is not immune from this ill-fated contingency as it is affected by all vexed issues that could occur in the entire region”.

“The fire of sedition will follow us,” he underlined, while calling on intellectuals and academics to closely study these burning topics and find remedial solutions urgently.