Dr. Syed Saifuddin Ahmad
Former US President Jimmy Carter (1924—2024) died a couple of weeks back after literally making a century. This 39th President of the USA will be remembered more for what he did after his one term in office (1977–1981). Son of a peanut farmer in Georgia, he joined his father’s farm after a brief, stellar stint in the Navy. He grew up in a house where there was no piped water supply or electricity. First, he became a senator, then the Governor of Georgia. As we know, America is a huge country with 50 states. When he decided to run for the Presidency, many people did not know him; "Jimmy who?" became a popular phrase in the press.
At that time, the USA was traumatized by the Watergate Scandal; people were looking for an honest president, a man of integrity. His presidential term was mired by the hostage crisis in Iran and the failed Tabas rescue mission, where 8 American soldiers lost their lives. The only great achievement was a peace deal between Israel and Egypt. Egypt got the Sinai Peninsula back. Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Carter was a close friend of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. He made him a U.S. ambassador-at-large. A great pioneer of renewable energy, he installed solar panels at the White House. Unfortunately, those panels were dismantled by his successor, Ronald Reagan. After his retirement from politics, he dedicated his life to serving the homeless and the cause of true democracy, fair elections, etc.
He was an observer in an Israeli election and saw firsthand how the Palestinians were treated by the Israeli soldiers. He witnessed the relentless land-grabbing by the Jewish settlers. He protested and also wrote a book on Palestine. He was called an anti-Semite for exposing the truth about Zionist intentions. Here, we should not confuse Zionism with Judaism. There are many Jews around the world who condemn Netanyahu’s ongoing carnage in Gaza under the open approval of the USA. No Muslim can condone the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. But so far, what Israel did and continues to do has earned the title of genocide. The ICC has declared the perpetrators as war criminals.
President Carter openly appealed to both the Democrats and Republicans to take a bipartisan approach to bring peace to the occupied lands. He requested the politicians to deny the influence of the powerful American-Israeli Jewish organizations to work for genuine peace in the holy lands.
In his personal life, Carter remained a humble man, flew economy class, drove a very old car, and lived in a modest house worth less than $200k. He was always faithful to the love and inspiration of his life, his wife Rosalynn, who died a few years earlier--an ideal couple who lived more than 70 years together. The world has lost a great man, a true believer in altruism.
Dr. Syed Saifuddin Ahmad is a psychiatrist
based in Sydney, Australia. He is also
a noted Islamic scholar.
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