The Syrian civil war is a disease and groups like ISIS are its symptoms, according to Iranian- American political scientist Majid Rafizadeh who says the best option to tackle it is UN sending a coalition of forces under its R2P law to take control of Syria and stop the bloodshed.
He argues that the underlying reason behind the emergence of ISIS and other radical groups is the Syrian conflict and prior foreign intervention which tipped the balance of power in the region.
"Without tackling the disease, the symptoms will not be alleviated. Currently, it seems too late to act. But the best option is to deploy the UN law of R2P, The Responsibility to Protect, in which the UN will send a coalition of forces to take control of Syria and stop the bloodshed," the Harvard University scholar, who has recently come out with a book titled "A God Who Hates Women," told PTI.
He says "unfortunately the gap between Russia and US in the UN Security Council is too deep to bridge" although a cease-fire brokered by these two countries brought relative calm to parts of Syria for the first time in years yesterday.
According to Rafizadeh, there are four concentric circles of tensions which are happening simultaneously in case of the Syrian or other Middle Eastern conflicts.
"The first is domestic tension, where thousands of rebels groups are fighting each other and the government. Neither side is surrendering anytime soon. The second one is the regional cold war between Iran, Hezbollah, other Shiite groups on one side supporting Assad, and Arab countries in the Gulf supporting the opposition, on the other side.
"The third is the international stalemate between US, Western countries on the one hand, and Russia and China on the other hand. The fourth which make the Syrian conflict unique is the emergence of global armed groups, global Jihadist groups, such the Islamic States. All these circles are interacting with each other in Syria."
"A God Who Hates Women," published by Fingerprint, is a real-life account based on the life of Rafizadeh's mother, Amira and provides a valuable insight into the kinds of oppression that women face in war-torn countries.
Once he came to the US, many journalists, politicians, scholars and people whom he met encouraged him to write a book about his life story once they got to know him.
"In addition, my experience in life and my academic
background (the courses I took several years ago in my PhD or masters programs, about human rights and feminism) led me in this direction," he says.
Rafizadeh is originally from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria, recently moved to the US and became a US citizen. He is also a policy analyst, public speaker, best-selling author, business advisor and leading expert and commentator on US foreign policy and Middle East.
The title of his book "illustrates the intersection between religion, male-dominated societies, and women's rights."
"I have been asked about the word 'God'. The word 'God' refers to the religion of Islam, its legal codes regarding women, and Muslim men who use this 'God' to justify their violence against women. In the book, I explain that how words of 'God' in Quran clearly provide the platform (powerful platform with specific legal code) for men to subjugate and dehumanise women," he says.
Asked how his childhood experiences shaped his future in politics and human rights advocacy, he says, seeing how people were being abused and harassed on a daily basis shaped how he looks at the world. Also, growing up in both the Persian and Arab world gave him a unique perspective about the social, political and cultural landscapes of both Arab and Persian, Sunni and Shia, and Muslim and non-Muslims communities.
"As you know, there are some deep-rooted tensions between Arabs and Persian. A marriage between an Arab and Persian is very rare. So, I think I was lucky enough to have an Iranian and Syrian parents and grew up in both societies and saw the differences first hand," he says.
On problems he faced being an Iranian-Syrian, he says the first thing that comes to his mind is being subject to constant racism with the level of racism in Iran much higher than that of Arabs.
"The second thing was racism in Europe before I came to the US and became a US citizen. Before becoming naturalised, I was not allowed to get on the plane, by mostly German officers (as well as sometimes security forces from Arab countries), although I had a valid visa and I was travelling to speak at or work for some of the most significant and largest institutions in the world such as the UN, ICRC, and the Diplomatic Academic of Vienna.
"I would get back home humiliated and had to get another ticket or had to have my visa reissued if it had expired," he recalls.
