US commits serious crimes of violating human rights in the Middle East and beyond

3. Create "clash of civilizations" and abuse imprisonment and torture, violating freedom of religion and human dignity

Showing no respect for the diversity of civilizations, the United States has been hostile to Islamic civilization, destroyed the historical and cultural heritage of the Middle East, imprisoned and tortured Muslims recklessly, and seriously violated the basic human rights of people in the Middle East and other places.

First, the United States has spread the "Islamic threat theory" around the world. It has advocated the superiority of Western and Christian civilization, despised non-Western civilization, and stigmatized Islamic civilization by labelling it as "backward," "terror" and "violent."

Using the 9/11 incident as an excuse, the United States has hyped up the "Islamic threat theory" in the world, deliberately misled or even incited people to be hostile to Islam and discriminate against Muslims, and provoked a "clash of civilizations," mobilizing public opinion and inventing a pretext to justify its global war on terror.

The "Islamophobia" created by the United States was once widespread in the country and other Western nations, seriously damaging the national dignity and international image of Islamic countries and violating the personal freedom and freedom of religious belief of Muslims.

Obstructed by the United States, the legitimate national rights and legitimate demands of the Palestinian people have long remained unresolved, not to mention peace, development and human rights.

Second, the United States has ruined the cultural heritage of the ancient civilization in the Middle East. The United States has pursued Western-centrism and advocated the "democratic peace theory" and "democratic transformation theory," disregarding the long history and splendor of the Middle Eastern civilizations.

After the US military launched the Iraq War, its military actions directly caused regime change, social unrest and prolonged conflicts. Worse still, during the US invasion and occupation, Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, was once plunged into a state of anarchy, and the Iraq Museum, which is listed by UNESCO as one of the top 11 museums in the world, was plundered of 170,000 artifacts featuring the essence of ancient art and civilization of Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and other historical stages in the region. Human civilization were tragically destroyed.

Under international law, such as Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, and the Geneva Convention, the occupant is required to maintain social order in the occupied area.

However, after occupying Baghdad, the US military, under the excuse of not being a police officer, refused to take timely measures and avoided its obligation under international law to maintain social order. This led to the biggest case of cultural destruction in human history, and its harm was so profound that it completely ran counter to the modern civilized world.

The deputy director of the museum was outspoken in his accusation in 2003 that the US military was responsible for what had happened.

In addition, the United States has suppressed, insulted and bullied Middle Eastern countries, undermining the cultural confidence of the nations and their people, and destroying the national pride and self-confidence of the Middle Eastern people.

Third, prisoner abuse and torture seriously undermined Muslims' right to human dignity. Since the United States launched its global war on terrorism, prisoner abuse scandals against Muslims have been heard all the time.

According to a report from the Costs of War Project at Brown University, following the 9/11 attack, the United States orchestrated a system of black sites in at least 54 countries and regions worldwide under the guise of "anti-terrorism," involving hundreds of thousands of people, including Muslims, women and children.

As early as 2003, the US military, in serious violation of international human rights law, blatantly abused detainees at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, many of whom were detained without just cause, resulting in a large number of deaths.

In addition, the United States established Guantanamo Bay detention camp to lock up a total of nearly 780 "terrorists" from the Middle East and elsewhere total, many of whom have been held without bringing any criminal charge.

More than 30 people, old and frail, remain in the prison, who are deprived of liberty for long periods of time and subjected to endless mental and physical torture.

In addition to widespread abuse and torture at Guantanamo, US personnel have tortured prisoners by desecrating the Quran and violating Islamic beliefs, including throwing the Quran into toilets, tearing to pieces or burning the Quran under the guise of searching for weapons, and having female guards spy on naked prisoners in bathrooms, which sparked collective protests and even caused mass suicides among the detainees.

In September 2021, the US prison and prisoner abuse practices at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan were exposed by the media. Evidence from the International Criminal Court investigation revealed that US forces in Afghanistan ignored international justice and trampled on international norms, and inflicted "torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual abuse" on detainees for a long time, including putting at least 30 prisoners in a cage, leaving tortured prisoners to die in concealed areas, parading naked prisoners with blindfolds, among others.

The humiliating and cruel treatment of prisoners by the US military constitutes a grave violation of their fundamental right to human dignity and of the US obligation under international human rights law to prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Facts show that the United States has seriously violated the basic human rights of local people in the Middle East and other places, causing permanent damage and irreparable losses to countries and people in the region. The nature of American hegemony and the barbarity, cruelty and perniciousness of its power politics have been completely exposed, and the people of the world have a better understanding of the hypocrisy and deception of the American democracy and the American human rights.