Sorry Ben, I disagree. No civilisation can compare to the continual carnage and destruction caused by the western so called civilisation - NONE! Until we deal with this issue there is no chance for anyone in this world. When will the west at least admit to these facts? Saying others did it is also no excuse. The west is in no position to take the morale high ground nor point the finger. It has lost the war of minds, hearts and spirits centuries ago and is becoming a beacon for immorality; my Christian friends words that many agree with. All ithe west is seeking to do is remove its own labels and stick them on some else. Globally intellectuals are moving to Islam – I don’t need static’s for this as I live in the west and see it every week. Truth will always override lies, because lies are by nature deficient. Every action taken by the west has been done on lies (war on terror, Iraq), greed (Colonialism, world resourses - oil) & arrogance (WW1..) – do we need anymore facts!?

Shah, London, UK

Thank you for bringing to light the long ignored double standard of Muslim countries. Africans are slaughtered, raped, and sold to slavery, in Darfur, South Sudan, and in Mauritania because Muslims think the savagery they inflict on those defenseless communities is sanctioned by their religion. Realities are that Muslims in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, and in all of the members of the IOC treat their minorities with savagery and brutalities. Human right in Islamic societies is incompatible with real Islam. The only lesson that Muslims can teach non-Muslims is to be cognizant that the more they perpetrate violence against their defenseless minorities, and the more we witness the orgies of rape, plunder and wholesale killings, the more they teach us that Islam has nothing to offer to humanity but those that are endorsed and practiced by its adherents, the members of the IOC.

Tseggai Isaac, Rolla, Missouri, USA

If we want to arouse the will to act over Darfur, all we need to do is figure out a way to convert the Janjaweed to Christianity. I'm sure the Islamic countries would take notice if it were Christians massacring Muslims.

C. H. Oakley, Toronto, Canada

Um, sorry Shah, it's not. Every civilisation in the world has done things that are wrong. That includes Islamic ones and that is not an excuse for what is happening in Darfur. Humans and civilisations evolve and move on from the past. Islamic states have done evil things the same way Christian and secular states have done and if they are to move on then they need to prevent or stop these atrocities. That goes for every nation on the planet.

Ben, York,

The Darfur conflict has nothing to do with Arab, non Arab, black or white. This is loaded information from the people who have the power and vested interest in the ocean of oil that region has. This is identical to the situation in Iraq - guess who is exploiting that situation and has created divides leading to extreme bloodshed?These people have lived together for centries without this kind of imposed horror. Question I have about these people who says they (Muslims) should do some soul searching. When will the west do this. They have massacre the North Americans, enslaved, rape and murder hundreds of millions of Africians, over 65 million people killed in world war 1/2, killed 6 millions Jews, dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanees, now they are terrorising Iraq and are working hard to start WW 3. When will they (west) do some ' soul searching'. The west conscience should be burning a hole in their brains or maybe it has and there is nothing left to burn! Is this true?

Shah, London, UK

I think one of the problems is that, as you say, there is much talk of what the West must do to save Darfur, and too little of how did this come about, who was responsible, and why wasn’t it prevented. If the West is setting itself up as a grandiose controller of general foreign relations - as one might see it presently in Iraq - it isn’t doing much of a job. It seems to be constantly, shamelessly admitting to it’s incompetence, by a saving action after an event. It cannot possibly be the case that these events in Darfur could not have been prevented, whether by the OIC or otherwise. Foreign policy needs to change from it’s present ex post approach to ex ante.

Henry Percy, London, UK

Typical of the chronic blindness that is paralyzing the muslims worldwide. It is always easier to point a finger at the west and the rest of the world for their calamities. Take a honest soul searching look at what's happening from within.

Sean, Port Moody, BC

I totally agree with A Thomson, London, UK and at the same time I do invite dear Mr Usman Ali from London to look deeper before deciding on who is right and who is wrong...
AND I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO SEE MY OWN COMMENTS POSTED(that I sent the newspaper this morning). I WANT TO TO READ OTHER READERS' VIEWS ON MY COMMENTS...

Ebrahim, Ardebil, Iran

Why is the UN incapable of standing up to the tyranny of the third world?

Cleo, London, England

Give muslims a break.

As with so many current press articles, the writer attempts set up a false dichotomy - between a ruthless murdering barbarian branded 'muslim' & peacable western type who can't wait for the UN to stop the killing.

This is so wide of the mark that I can't believe that anyone buys it. Wherever there is oil and pliable government, history tells us you can rely on the western big hitters to support the removal of anyone who stands in the way of its exploitation.

Sorry to be so cynical, but it really is this predictable.

http://www.afrol.com/articles/13921

gordong156, MK, UK

I agree with charles lewin saying that the arabs were into slavery but when the prophet ( 14 centuries ago) came he totally abolished slavery which is not the case of the portugese and spanish and some other nations and also made everyone equal be it black , white ,brown or red .
Your comments are appalling and ill-founded reading a book MR baines from a biographer doesnt make you expert in a subject its rather looking at things with an open perspective and mind and not with prejudice that will make your mind comprehand issues.

The concept of " by piety and good action" doesnt mean that the person is superior and equipped to judge , what it actually means by the prophet (pbuh) is that you are all the same no matter what color or ethnicity or race except by your deeds and actions which you will required to answer to in the after life.

emma, London,

Calling up the question of Islam in the case of Darfur is quite wrong. Islam has nothing to do with it. The problem in Sudan is the "Arab" identity of the people from the north, from Khartoum. Although they look identical to the Darfuris or the Christians from the South, they see themselves as Arabs. I have known this problem since when I was a student. It is an ethnic and not a religious problem.

In any case I don't see much confirmation here that genocide is actually taking place. The methodology used for calculating the excess deaths in Darfur has been specifically condemned by both Tony Blair and the US government. Of course what they were condemning was its use in Iraq; but if it is not right in Iraq, then it is not right in Darfur either. I happen to believe that the methodology is right both for Iraq and Darfur. But we do need a bit of confirmation, instead of a blanket condemnation of a supposed genocide of which we have few details, other than anecdotal, and fewer statistics.

Alexander, Paris, France

With the suspected arming of Darfur rebels via Chad by western powers known for their strategic meddling, the Muslim states are probably wise to be cautious about inviting the same western powers' political arm (UN) to take over rule of another Muslim nation for the New Empire. Sound far fetched? Relative peace under Muslim rule in Somalia wasn't welcomed, so much so that the "harbouring Al Quaida" rouse was wheeled out and in went the gunships. Every country that isn't a part of the New Empire is torn apart by foreign intervention until it either falls in line under a friendly dictator or the UN steps in to support one. Please look past the obvious before writing these smug pieces.

A Thomson, London, UK

I am a muslim and I totally agree with this article, why do muslims carry out massive protests when cartoons of the prophet are drawn, but are silent when their fellow muslims are massacring each other as well as other innocent people, for example Al Qaeda and the situation in Darfur.

In response to the post by Ted Baines, I would say that if you read any book about the life of the Prophet, you would find that he treated all races, including black people, equally, he did not discriminate between them. He fought against the strong prejudices that existed at the time, including the prejudices against black people.

Usman Ali, London, UK

Here is what Muhammad really said, from page 651 of the first and most authoritative biography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq. Note there is no mention of white or black nor of Arab and non-Arab. A Guillaume translated from Arabic. It was published by the Oxford Press. The Sudanese Arabs may indeed be doing what Muhammad would have done to the Africans.

"Know that every Muslim is a Muslim's brother, and that Muslims are brethren. It is only lawful to take from a brother what he gives you willingly, so wrong not yourselves. O God, have I not told you?"

Present day Arabs have added the bit about Arabs and non-Arabs and whites and blacks to make it look as if Muhammad did not discriminate based on skin color.

Ted Baines, New York, USA

Long before Portugal, Spain and Britain got involved with the African slave trade, the Arabs were well entrenched in the business of enslaving Africans. Is it any wonder the black people of Darfur are treated like chattel? Old sentiments die hard.

Charles Lewin, Helsinki,

"except by piety and good action"
Here is the problem. The concept that because an individual follows laid down ways of living, he is then superior and equipped to judge, punish, or ignore the plight of, lesser, less pious creatures. Zero empathy in other words.

Edward Johns, Lannion, France

All true, but incomplete. It is not just in Darfur that Muslims are killing Muslims, though on a much smaller scale. In Iraq, despite the large occupying force's efforts, Muslims are still responsible for much violence and murder. In the recent past there has been green-on-green killing in several north African states, in Palestine, in sub-Saharan Africa. It doesn't matter what the Prophet said: if they want to kill, so they will. Muslims are no better than Christians. Jesus blessed the peacemakers, but it didn't stop centuries of war between Christian nations. In practice dogma always gives way to self-interest. If we really want to stop these atrocities I don't think the religious perspective will help much. Try practical incentives. Carrots and sticks, not fine words, make the donkey go.

Michael Bruce, Selby, U.K.

The article is a misrepresentation. The Muslim governemnts did virtually nothing to save the white Muslims of Bosnia and Kosovo from genocide. To potray Darfur as a racial conflict is absurd because the Sudanese Arabs themselves are black.

Ahmed Ali, London, UK,

This article is not surprising. There has been a tendency among Arab muslims to look down on their black brothers.

This trait extends to Islam as a whole. In Sudan, you have muslims killing fellow muslims and the West leading the charge to stop the conflict while muslim nations stand akimbo - ironic, isn't it?

Imagine the uproar in muslim states if the oppressors were christian. Would there be the same nonchalance?
Your guess is as good as mine

Adrian, London,

I fully endorse the views of Mr Adam on what he narrated in his write-up about the cold and ignoring attitude towards their fellow Muslims. I am certain that today Muslims would not be in such a miserable condition if their leaders and rulers were sincere to the cause of Islam and its teachings. Islam is being deemed a religion of terrorism due to activities of Al Qaeda and some other organizations but in fact Islam is the only religion that accommodates all the thoughts of other religions.
Being a Muslim, what the holy Bible [specially its original scripture] says and teaches its followers to live their lives, then I think I would not be wrong to call myself a perfect Christian. Yes, I am Muslim and Christian too.
I am not a true Muslim unless and until I do believe in the Holy Bible and Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him).
Last but not the least, most of us are not questioning that Islam war born at the birth of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) but in my view, Islam was born when Adam was born.

Barkatullah Marwat, Jabriya, Kuwait

While it is extremely refreshing to read an otherwise rarely expressed honest angle on Islamic doctrine by Adam LeBor in his piece on Darfur, the tragedy of the matter nonetheless remains extremely poignant.
The influential Muslim countries sadly do stray away from their basic religious tenets – at times outrageously so - and therein lies their own perpetual strife. One such example is their open and appalling persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for decades. Perhaps not as dramatic in its pace as the Darfur tragedy, their harassment has been a trickle of constant, relentless and shocking persecution that certainly calls for eloquent exposure by bold journalists like Adam LeBor.
However, as global events of recent years have unfolded brazen appetite for oil resources by the West, I cannot but help wonder if the paralysis of the ‘influential’ Muslim countries in the Darfur catastrophe is heavily backed and sanctioned by hidden powers.

Shermeen Butt, Somersham, UK

For whatever reason, we live in a time when any godless man who claims either to be a Muslim or to have discovered Islam can count on unquestioning support from billions of people worldwide.

The Muslim community, for its own sake as much as for any other reason, needs to learn to reject and disown these godless men. If the senior clerics refuse to do it because they have too many vested non-spiritual interests, then the junior clerics must. If they won't do it, the people must. Butt sooner or later, someone has got to take a stand to stop a great religion being destroyed from the inside out.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

After Darfur, how can the Muslim world possibly complain about Israels' treatment of the Palestinians? Or do different standards apply for non-Muslim countries?

robertson, london, uk

Ok... What about leaving if for the United States to sort things out? You, of course, know that Darfur sits on a big underground oil table, possibly the biggest in Africa and yes so much needed by the energy hungry West... What about making another invasion like the ones in Iraq or Afganistan? How would you like that? Do you really think the Sudanese government has started it? If so for what end? Maybe to exploit oil for the good of the West?!! No dear... go deeper and you will discover some hidden hands trying to divide and rule. Similar to the American/British/Israeli fabricated Shia Sunni rift in Iraq, which has made things so easy for them to devour this oil rich fertile land owning moslem country.
How many innocent people are getting killed under the very eyes of these 'librators' every passing day? Of course hundreds... Think of the number of innocent people killed since the infamous attack to Iraq. Plus 600,000... Ok go to another one into Darfur you will free them too!!!

Ebrahim, Ardebil, Iran

Whilst I concede that the media's attention is skewd towards Iraq, I feel it a weak assertion to suggest that a lack of action in Darfur is due to a lack of information.

Darfur is the biggest example of hypocrisy in the world today.

Genocide and misery is rife and yet still the rest of the world (Muslim and non-muslim) refuses to bring it to a halt.

Ian Whalley, Singapore, Singapore

Article misses the larger reality of how the global human rights or regime is percieved so differently in North and South. Just 2 pts.The report in question was not issued by the HRC but I think by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (OHCHR). For west OHCHR may be an angels with unblemished moral authority.Not so fast.It is like any other UN bureaucracy blaoted and highly politicised.It is so thoroughly staffed by westerners that it is a scandal. It is UNbody most unresponsive to member states since its budget from regular sources is minsicule and bulk comes from rich countries for specific programmes of their choice.it is not easy to find a nonwhite face in it.Staff is arrogant and at times racist.The darfur issue if approached through such reports frankly doesn’t strike a chord.Finally west's concern shall be easily understandable if for example it could adequately explain its inaction when in the heart of Europe in the closing years of 20 century million massacred

Ngoh, Beijing, China

As a muslim i blame the media for the lack of information about Darfur. becuase we do not know what is going on in there....

BBC, ITV, Al jazeera, CNN etc.... they all seem to be more intrestedin the vilonce in Iraq, and elsewhere.. and they have no reporters in Darfur to show the world what is happening in there.

Islam is a relgion of unity and peace, and will remain that way forever..

In Islam, there is no difference between black and white, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a nonArab over an Arab, etc....

abdul, Sudan,

Adam LeBor notes 'When do Muslim states deem the lives of fellow Muslims not worth saving? Answer: When they are black Africans'
What a really sad comment on Muslim nations of today ! It is especially poignant when one reflects on the beautiful sentiments expressed in the last sermon of the Holy Prophet Muhammad quoted by LeBor, and also recalls the fact that one of the Prophet's closest companions and earliest converts to Islam was the freed African slave , Bilal.
The only way the Muslim umma can unite together as one Muslim body, is under the leadership of Khalifat. This will allow them to selflessly pursue justice for all peoples, Muslim or not ,regarldless of colour.

Sarah Waseem, London, UK

Apparently Adam Lebor is not aware that there are are 20 Black Muslim countries in Africa Sudan is not the only one. Sudanese themselves are no whites they are as black a race as there could be. Trying to label colour as cause of Dafur is really far fetched.

Khalid Mian, London, UK

This article says what everyone knows, that Sudanese policy is to ethnically cleanse vast areas of black populations. Sudan is an Arab cultural state oppressing non Arab peoples who have the misfortune to be found inside its borders. It should have been split up years ago, it has oppressed the Souith now the East. This Arabisation is alas a policy being blurred into Islam in the minds of world Islamists. The West now fears to criticise anything Muslim, even genocide of Muslims by Arab Muslims. This stain on international affairs will not be wiped away for generations. It equates with the Nazi holocaust.

bnez, Homerton,

Thank you for bringing to light the long ignored double standard of Muslim countries. Africans are slaughtered, raped, and sold to slavery, in Darfur, South Sudan, and in Mauritania because Muslims think the savagery they inflict on those defenseless communities is sanctioned by their religion. I know what I am about to sate bellow is not widely held view. Realities are that Muslims in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and in all of the members of the IOC treat their minorities with savagery and brutalities. Human right in Islamic societies is incompatible with Islamic values. The only lesson that Muslims can teach non-Muslims is to be cognizant that their defective values so rooted in medieval practices will self-destruct. The more we witness the orgies of rape, plunder and wholesale killings, the more they teach us that Islam has nothing to offer to humanity but those that are endorsed by IOC and paracticed in Sudan.

Tseggai Isaac, Rolla, Missouri

why make this about black muslims only? the muslim world sits by why the same thing has happened in Kashmir for the last 20 years at the hands of the Indian government, the watched (some quietly supported) the Israeli assault on the defenceless Lebanese last summer, they also sat there while the US backed Ethiopians imposed a government on Somalia. How is this about colour or race?

When will people stop portraying these events in absolute terms the situation is never this simple. The Western powers after Afghanistan and Iraq have no credibility with anyone in the Muslim world. Is it any wonder no one is listening?

akram, London,

So, what a surprise, the UN was useless over Bosnia, and now Muslim countries can't be bothered with it. The failure in Darfur is at least as much about the UN's vacillation and cowardice as it is about the alleged racism of its neighbours.

I would have been interested to know how effective the West, that standard-bearing beacon of democracy, fair-play and effective international action has stacked up in Darfur. And why, Mr LeBor, should Muslims be expected to be more concerned about Muslims than anyone else? Or does that let you, a white, middleclass Western male, off the hook from having to care too much? One would have hoped that the sentiments expressed in the Prophet's last speech would have been shared by you, but apparently not.

Jim Curry, Wheaton Aston,

Spot on Adam.

timothy, philadelphia, usa