Four Muslim countries should have applied and would have been excellent candidates: Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. All four have the advantage of being traditional US allies, and would presumably have the US's blessing. Indonesia, a burgeoning democracy, which recently had a change of government through elections, is the world's most populous Muslim nation (220 million), with a population four-times that of permanent UNSC members Russia, Britain or France. A stalwart member of NATO and a democracy, Turkey has been a staunch ally of the US through thick and thin. Egypt is America's favourite Arab country which receives over 2 billion dollar of US aid annually. Egypt has the additional advantage of being located in Africa, a continent that is not represented among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. All the current permanent members of the UNSC belong to the nuclear club. If that is a criterion, Pakistan qualifies. As permanent members, India and Pakistan can fight over Kashmir with vetoes in the UNSC.

Columnists and letter writers in American newspapers openly echo the sentiment expressed by an American in The Times of New Jersey, on September 24, that President Bush has "ignited a religious conflict, one that threatens to engulf the world." On the same page of the daily the same day another American notes: "the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, is on videotape confirming to a British BBC reporter that the United States invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN Charter." In light of the fact that the world is in or about to enter a religious conflict, let us examine the religiosity of the five permanent, veto-exercising members of the UN Security Council: the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Four of the five (US, UK, France and Russia) represent predominantly Christian nations; China represents Buddhist/Confucian nations. The US, UK and France have always promoted the interests of the Jews and Israel. Russia (and increasingly the US, UK and France as well) has always promoted the interests of India, in Kashmir and elsewhere. Notice that none of the five permanent members ever protected the interest of the people representing the world's second largest religion, the Muslims. No wonder that 90 percent of the punitive UN sanctions are against Muslim nations, whereas, there are no punitive UN sanctions against the number one violator of UN resolutions, Israel!

United Nations Security Council sanctions have always been selective, and generally against the Muslims. When Israeli planes bombed and destroyed Iraq's nuclear facilities stealthily without declaring war in 1981, violating Jordan's air space in the process, the UNSC enacted no punitive sanctions against Israel. Iraq did not even receive compensation for the Israeli aggression. When Iraq committed aggression against Kuwait in 1990, not only were the Iraqis driven out of Kuwait by a coalition, UNSC enacted punitive sanctions that lasted over twelve years and destroyed the country's infrastructure, and resulted in the deaths of millions of Iraqi civilian men, women and children, according to UN's own reports. It is therefore no surprise that while Muslim Iran is being threatened with UN sanctions if it pursues the nuclear option, no questions are being asked of Jewish Israel for doing the same. When President Clinton came to the aid of the Bosnian Muslims (1995) and the Kosovar Muslims (1999) facing annihilation by the Serbs, he had to bypass UNSC because of the certain vetoes by Russia, the Serbs' ally.

What happens if the four new candidates do become permanent members? Out of nine permanent members, six will represent the Christians (the US, the UK, France, Russia, Brazil, Germany), two will represent the Buddhists/Confucians (China and Japan) and one (India) will represent the Hindus. Israel will then be backed by seven nations -- the US, the UK, France, India, Japan, Brazil and Germany. Once again, the world's second largest religious block, the Muslims, will be shut out of the backing of a single veto-exercising member of the UNSC. What astonishes the writer is that the Muslim world is so naï

ve and dumb about it! They are so meek and accepting of the punishment coming their way! They are too afraid to demand a share of the UNSC power that should be theirs for the asking because of the 1.3 billion Muslims they represent. Currently, three permanent UNSC members back Israel; none back the Muslims. If the four new applicants are successful, seven permanent members of the UNSC will support Israel; none will support the Muslims. The world's16 million Jews will have the backing of the seven permanent UNSC members, and the world's 1.3 billion Muslims will have none! If these facts do not get the attention of the world's Muslims, nothing will!

Let us not hear the bull about democracy being a prerequisite for permanent membership of the UNSC. The USSR was never a democracy; Putin's version of Russia's democracy looks more like a dictatorship. China has never been nor is currently a democracy.

Let us not forget that for over twenty years until 1971, the tiny dictatorship of Taiwan (Formosa) was a permanent member of UN Security Council representing China! The exercising of the veto in the United Nations Security Council is inherently an anti-democratic process. We have repeatedly seen the permanent members abuse this privilege to help themselves and their friends. Their behaviour is not going to improve; in fact, it is getting worse and more blatantly partisan. Ideally, the veto should be abolished in the UNSC and a two-thirds majority of the nations in the General Assembly should be necessary for binding resolutions. If the undemocratic veto is to exist at all in the United Nations Security Council, it should be exercised by four nations representing the world's four major religions: the US (Christianity), Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt or Pakistan (Muslims), China (Buddhists/Confucian) and India (Hindus). If the Muslims do not get a UNSC veto, after they suffer many more crippling and unjust sanctions at the hands of the UNSC, one day they will have to leave the UN. Action now by Muslim nations will save them much grief later.