Former UK MP George Galloway recently wrote:
“The Kurds are used by whoever picks them up. The Kurds have allowed themselves to be used against Iraq, against Iran, Turkey and Syria. There’s a word for this behaviour and it isn’t a pleasant one.”
I came across this post entirely by accident, as I have never regarded George Galloway as someone worth following.
What is remarkable is not that he defends the governments of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, but that he chooses to blame the victims rather than the states that occupied Kurdistan, denied the Kurdish Nation its identity, criminalized the Kurdish language and culture, and committed decades of massacres, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against the Kurdish people.
The Kurds did not “allow themselves to be used.” Like every Nation denied its fundamental rights, they have sought international support wherever they could find it. That is what oppressed Nations have done throughout history.
The tragedy is that parts of the old ideological left have become so consumed by hostility toward the West that they instinctively side with almost any regime opposing it, even when those regimes have oppressed entire Nations, including the Kurdish Nation.
That mindset has not only failed the Kurdish Nation; it has also contributed to many of the intellectual and political crises confronting Europe today. For that reason, I expected nothing better from George Galloway.
@georgegalloway@masrourbarzani@qubadjt@DavidLammy@aliciakearns
Once again, Donald Trump has repeated the claim that weapons allegedly intended for Iranian protesters were delivered to the Kurds, who then kept the weapons instead of passing them on. This accusation is not only unsupported by credible evidence but also unfair to a nation that has been among the West’s most reliable allies in the Middle East.
His administration, members of the U.S. Congress, and America’s allies in Europe and the region were well aware of the realities on the ground. Yet Trump chose to promote a narrative that placed blame on the Kurds.
The Kurdish nation has repeatedly sacrificed for regional security and has stood at the forefront of the fight against extremism. If there is a historical debt to be discussed, it is not one owed by the Kurds to the West. Rather, the United States and Europe owe a debt to the Kurdish nation, whose right to self-determination has long been denied, in part because of the borders imposed on the Middle East during the colonial era.
The Kurds are not indebted to the West. If anything, history suggests the opposite.
Europe’s established political parties and traditional elites have failed to grasp the true depth of the crises confronting Europe today. Their inability to seriously address the growing economic, social, cultural, and security challenges facing European nations and to defend the very values upon which Europe was built, has contributed to the dangerous rise of racism, extremism, and political polarization across the continent.
Europe now needs courageous, honest, and visionary leadership capable of restoring public trust, safeguarding democratic values, strengthening social cohesion, and securing long-term stability for future generations.
The occupiers of Kurdistan were able to dominate the land for centuries because they first succeeded in occupying the Kurdish mind. Therefore, before the homeland of the Kurds can be liberated, the Kurdish mind itself must be freed. From the liberation of the mind comes the liberation of the great homeland of the Kurds.
Islam and Muslims are not the same phenomenon as political Islamism. Yet much of the European political establishment continues to treat them as one and the same. This is one of the greatest strategic and intellectual failures of modern Europe. The current European approach to Muslim communities often ends up serving the interests of Islamism rather than the interests of ordinary Muslims. And the first victims of this confusion are Muslims themselves, who increasingly face public suspicion, social tension, and political backlash because Europe refuses to distinguish between a faith and an ideological political movement.
The results of the recent UK local elections should serve as a serious warning to all of Europe. A growing public reaction is emerging across the West, driven by failed policies, denial of reality, and the inability of political elites to confront the crisis honestly.
Europe must wake up. If European leaders continue to pursue naïve and self-destructive policies, both Europe and the wider Western world will pay the price for the political blindness of their establishment.
ت��في مؤخرًا كاتبٌ وباحثٌ كورديّ في جنوب كوردستان، عُرف بانتقاداته للحركات الإسلامية. غير أنّه، بدلًا من إتاحة لحظةٍ من الكرامة والاحترام والتأمّل، أطلقت بعض الأوساط الإسلامية حملةً لتشويه سمعته وتحريف إرثه. إنّ مثل هذا السلوك يتعارض بوضوح مع القيم الثقافية الكوردية ومع الحسّ الأخلاقي في المجتمع المسلم الكوردي، حيث يُمنح الموتى الاحترام حتى في أوقات الخلاف العميق.
إنه لمؤشرٌ مقلق أن يبلغ تيارٌ سياسي واسع في المجتمع حدًّا لا يسمح فيه بتشييع شخصيةٍ متوفاة في هدوءٍ وسلام. والأشدّ إثارةً للقلق هو ما يكشفه ذلك عن الحالة الراهنة للمجتمع؛ ففي لحظةٍ تاريخيةٍ حرجة، وبدلًا من الانصراف إلى بناء المستقبل، يجد نفسه مضطرًا إلى تذكير تيارٍ سياسي مؤثّر بأبسط قاعدة: أن الموت يقتضي التحفّظ، وأن الحداد يستحقّ الاحترام.
Recently, a Kurdish intellectual in South Kurdistan, known for his criticism of Islamist movements, passed away. Yet instead of allowing a moment of dignity and reflection, certain Islamist circles launched a campaign to slander his name and distort his legacy. Such conduct stands in clear contradiction to Kurdish cultural values and to the moral sensibilities of Kurdish Muslim society, where, even in times of deep disagreement, the dead are granted respect.
It is a troubling sign when a political trend reaches a point at which it cannot allow a deceased figure to be mourned in peace. More distressing still is what this reveals about the present condition of society: at a critical moment in its history, rather than focusing on building the future, it finds itself having to remind a powerful political current of a most basic norm, that death demands restraint, and mourning deserves respect.
For over a century, the West, especially Europe, has owed an unpaid debt to the Kurds of the Middle East. When colonial powers redrew the region and created modern nation-states, they left Kurdistan divided across four countries, denying the Kurds their political unity. That injustice has never been addressed. It is time for the West to recognise its responsibility and support the Kurds and all communities living in Kurdistan, in their legitimate right to self-determination and statehood.
I strongly condemn today’s hostile attack on the Peshmerga forces, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a number of our brave fighters. I pray that the martyrs rest in eternal peace, and I wish a swift recovery to all those who were wounded.
This despicable crime, committed by the occupiers of Kurdistan, once again proves a fundamental truth: regardless of the Kurdish position toward the conflicts and wars of the Middle East, the occupiers continue to view the Kurdish nation as an enemy.
This reality requires that the Kurds, and all Kurdish political parties, confront the challenges of this critical moment with a unified national vision, and adopt a firm and resolute stance against the aggression and hostility of the occupiers.
Today we celebrate Eid al-Fitr—a moment not only of joy, but of meaning. It marks the renewal of discipline, gratitude, and our responsibility toward one another. May this day remind us of the dignity of every human being and the values that unite us beyond all divisions. Eid Mubarak to all.
Thirty-eight years ago, the Kurdish town of Halabja, in Southern Kurdistan, was subjected to a brutal chemical weapons attack by Saddam Hussein’s regime. In a single day, more than five thousand innocent civilians, men, women, and children, were murdered in one of the most horrific crimes in modern human history. Halabja stands today not only as a symbol of Kurdish suffering, but also of Kurdish resistance, resilience, and enduring dignity. We remember the victims with deep reverence, honor their memory, and renew our commitment to justice and to confronting the darkest chapters of human history. Halabja must never be forgotten, and humanity must ensure that such crimes are never allowed to happen again.
For decades, whenever a regional crisis erupts in the Middle East, officials rush to defend the existing borders, often invoking the specter of a Kurdish state.
Yet this reaction exposes an uncomfortable truth: the current map of the region was drawn at the expense of Kurdish self-determination.
History rarely preserves political arrangements built upon denied rights. Sooner or later, these unresolved questions return, and the Kurdish nation’s rightful place among the nations will have to be addressed.
After hundreds of years, a historic opportunity has emerged for the Kurds to become political actors rather than pieces to be played; to be subjects of their own destiny rather than objects of others’ designs; to be sovereign rather than subordinated. The moment has arrived, whether it is seized or squandered will define the Kurdish future.
The Kurds are one of the major nations of the Middle East, yet their homeland was divided by Western colonial powers across four states. The West therefore carries an unpaid historical debt to the Kurdish nation, a debt that cannot be settled except through the recognition of an independent Kurdistan and the restoration of full Kurdish sovereignty over their historical homeland.
Thank you Anthony @StoicViper for this clear and principled statement. Recognising the Kurds as a fundamental part of the Middle East—and affirming their right to identity and inclusion—is both morally sound and politically necessary. Such clarity is deeply appreciated by the Kurdish nation.
The Kurds cannot be ignored in any settlement that is to emerge in the Middle East. The Kurds are a fundamental part of that region. No longer can the Kurdish people and their identity be denied or ignored.