The Arab Identity... Caught In between Alienation and Extremism
For the first time in its contemporary post-independence history, our Arab region is witnessing a new, unfortunate development: Arab states resorting to non-Arab powers to mediate in their disputes instead of, as expected, asking any Arab organization or state.
That
began with Turkey s mediation in negotiations between Israel and Syria, then
between Syria and Iraq. Later on, Iran mediated between these two Arab states.
Interestingly,
the issue which escalated steadily was the Iraqi government s accusation
against Syria of facilitating the movement of extremists across the border between
the two countries. Despite the escalation, not a single Arab country attempted
to intervene. Unfortunately, calls for continuing the negotiations between the
two parties came from France and the USA. What are the implications of such
international and regional developments for our Arab region?
No
doubt, the main implication is the absence of influential Arab powers from the
Arab arena, giving way to foreign powers. Furthermore, it affirms Arabs
admission of their failure to resolve regional Arab problems since Saddam
Hussein s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990. However, the more obvious
implication is he implicit meaning of this noticeable development, which is a
sign of the diminishing of the Arab identity which lost its raison d être and
basic values. Another implication is that the Arabs loss of their sense of
identity has led to the loss of the institutions of joint Arab action, mainly
the Arab League, of their credibility. The League was supposed to be the main
agency created to resolve pending Iraq-Syria problems and any controversy
between any two member states.
Though
looking an incidental political issue, it is in fact the product of long
cultural changes which this region has undergone in recent decades, not ruling
out the deliberate intentions of Western powers very keen to weaken the Arab
identity and replace it with Western culture in the long run. In point of fact,
this is one of the key ideas drawn by all colonial powers in an attempt to
obliterate the identity of the indigenous people in any colony. A good example
is the USA in its early attempts to establish its state on the ruins of native
Americans. The original plan was to eradicate all signs of their traditional
culture and thus undermine their sense of identity and assimilate them into the
new community.
Let
s consider the signs of the gradual loss of the Arab identity in recent years,
including neglecting Arabic at all levels, starting from school which is now
witnessing some sort of imposing a certain foreign language as the language of
the future, learning and high culture, and even a means of providing good
employment opportunities and securing children s future. This is not confined
to private schools but extends to importing international schools and foreign
universities to be major educational centres everywhere in the Arab World. Most
if not all of these universities seek to promote all aspects of Western culture
in the Arab communities where they are established.
Foreign
Languages and our civilization values
It
goes without saying that we are not against learning foreign languages per se,
but against their promotion at the expense of our mother tongue, obliterating
our cultural identity or losing our Arabic language, which is the repository of
our memory, culture, identity, values and heritage. However, undermining the
Arabic language is not limited to the concept of foreign education but has also
become a media target practised by Arab media organizations in radio and TV
commercials in which a colloquial language rather than classical Arabic is
used. It is also noted that there is an increasing number of Arab satellite
channels which seem to compete in imposing their respective local dialects
instead of classical Arabic. Furthermore, some private Arab channels news coverage
is given in their local dialects, and some Western and Turkish TV drama serials
are subtitled in local dialects.
Even
the local press in a number of Arab countries use a colloquial language along
with classical Arabic, apparently in an attempt to create an alternative
language in each Arab country in place of classical Arabic, the language of the
whole of Arab and Islamic culture, despite the fact that experiments show that
classical Arabic is readily comprehensible to all, being the language taught to
all at school and the language of the Holy Quran. As it is a rich language in
terms of aesthetics and rhetoric, famous Arab singers, such as Abdel Wahhab,
Farid Alatrash, Asmahan, Umm Kalthoum and Fairouz, succeeded in carrying it in
the form of poems to the feelings of people, even the illiterate who memorized
them and enjoyed their words and meanings.
The
Arab countries will not achieve any progress or development unless they make a
genuine effort to restore the Arab identity through cultural plans and strategies
on the part of Arab media authorities. Arab satellite channel officials should
also be aware of the importance of Arabic as a major factor of public
awareness.
In
addition, a key role is played by Arab children s channels which air Western
children s films and cartoons subtitled in classical Arabic, which enriches and
fosters children s language. But this role will be an individual effort unless
it is combined with the set of elements which raise Arab youth s awareness of
their identity, such as well-produced, exciting documentaries on leading
cultural, literary, arts and music icons, as well as ancient and contemporary
Arab history. This role is played by the state, in view of its huge costs. Such
programmes are no longer just luxury or entertainment but a necessity at this
stage as one among many factors which should stress the Arab identity so that
the youth are certain of their ability to restore their countries power through
their efforts and activities and culture which reflect their specificity and
Arab cultural heritage which is rich in honourable effort in all areas.
Such
loss of the Arab identity is also reflected in official correspondence at a
number of financial institutions and banks and even government agencies where
the official language Arabic- is replaced with foreign languages, especially
English, despite the fact that countries today are keen to preserve their
original languages, resist any attempt to replace them in official
correspondence, and plan large budgets to spread their languages all over the
world. A good example is the Francophonie and France s role.
Cultural
defects
Another
phenomenon is the youth s use of a special language combining Latin and Arabic
characters in communication on mobiles and computers and in blogs, most of
which use a local dialect or a completely invented language in which some young
men and women communicate and express their belonging to a specific age group and
lifestyle in the absence of government plans intended to protect the national
identity and fix its language and cultural values in the hearts and minds of
the younger generation.
At
another level, some Arab countries, such as Lebanon and Egypt, depend heavily
on foreign currencies, such as the euro and the dollar, in transactions at the
expense of their local currencies, which is an implicit recognition of the
power of the countries which issue those currencies, and a sign of the absence
of the state and its prestige. Even in architecture, most Arab countries have
obliterated their heritage and replaced it with a modern style, Americanized
high rise towers, which do not suit Arab culture, environment, climate or the
needs, customs, traditions and lifestyle of the inhabitants at home or work.
These
signs have been extensively discussed during the last few decades; however, all
words of warning by visionary people have fallen on deaf ears, and thus we are
currently suffering from the harsh realities.
Colonialism
and the Arab identity
In
the light of these realities, it is natural that our current conditions have a
negative impact on the key concepts and values on which joint Arab action is
based and its institutions established as bodies subject to the Arab states
which are untied in Arab Islamic identity with all its cultural and
civilization heritage. Consequently, these affairs have been neglected at
bilateral and regional levels, in addition to the marked retreat in the role of
the Arab League which all but ceased to manage any central Arab affair, dispute
or issue. This reflects on all other political institutions engaged in joint
Arab action or the process of development at pan-Arab level.
Colonialism
in its old crude form attempted to control the entire region and its resources,
wealth and raw materials, and when the peoples of the region rose against it,
the Arab and developing countries doubled their efforts to restore the last
educational and development reforms and infrastructure.
They
also attempted to introduce new industries and manage their wealth efficiently.
But the old colonial powers didn’t t just stand there in the face of such
progress and tried to halt it in its infancy through indirect domination,
mainly economic, supporting ethnic and sectarian separatist movements (Iraq,
Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen, Morocco and Algeria) and providing them with weapons to
come into armed conflicts and in turn hinder and foil any development.
As
a matter of fact, we can clearly see the West s attempts to change the
character of the region since wars were waged against Arab countries, starting
from the 1967 war and defeat, to the American occupation of Iraq. Soon
afterwards the West s plan unfolded: the partition of Iraq, provoking sectarian
strife between Sunnis and Shiites, stirring up hatred between Arabs and Kurds
which made the latter insist on separation from Iraq.
It
is also clear that the regional powers, such as Turkey and Iran, which mediate
between Arab countries, eventually play such a role following their own agendas
in the region, while the Arabs offer themselves as scapegoats and refuse to
draw up any strategic future plans to restore their prestige, power and unity
and thus become a major power capable of defending their existence and future.
Cutting off or reducing water in the rivers which flow from those powers into
the Arab world is a flagrant example of such intervention, which is illegal
worldwide.
All
signs are that it is unlikely that the Arabs will realize such strategic plans
in the near future if the current cultural, political and economic signs of the
loss of the Arab identity continue. They will fail to achieve any progress in
facing such foreign plans to dominate the region unless they feel the need to
make every effort to restore and foster the Arab identity through pan-Arab
cultural projects and strategies. Arab ministries of education are certainly
largely responsible for developing the teaching of Arabic and arousing interest
in it, providing highly qualified teachers to simplify its grammar, as well as
for providing Arab youth with masterpieces of Arabic books on arts and science
to learn about Arabic scientific and literary heritage and rhetoric and restore
public confidence in Arab culture and civilization and human values.
A
major aspect of the way plans to obliterate the Arab identity achieve their
objectives is making the Arabs lose their confidence in their culture and
believe that no progress can be achieved unless they belong to more developed
cultures. Accordingly, Arab media and cultural organizations must stand against
such plans, stressing that progress does not mean abandoning our national
culture in favour of a Western one, for the Arabs, in fact, were the main
contributors to the Renaissance which was built on Arabs achievements in
science, mathematics, science, thought, philosophy, etc.
Fundamentalism
and the Arab identity
In
the meantime, it is necessary to differentiate between the restoration of the
Arab identity and the role played by such groups that claim to be
fundamentalist and argue that religious formalities and signs, like
headscarves, beard growth, hatred of life and the culture of indifference,
which these groups promote at the expense of the essentials, are the means for
restoring the sense of identity. Such a claim is in fact nothing but another
aspect of brainwashing the youth into accepting defeatist and suicidal ideas in
favour of political interests which undermine Arab societies. This is an
involuntary contribution to the success of smart Western plans started hundreds
of years ago to fragment Arab societies. This is far from reality and the
essence of religion, which stresses the value of reason and thinking as a sign
of knowledge and progress for all Muslims, and all religions promote learning
as well.
Almost
three decades of extremism and terrorism with innocent victims and allegations
that that was for the sake of religion have proved that that was against
religion, and the history of Islam, which most representatives of these
extremist movements claim to be their reference,
does
not contain any such signs. The only result of religious extremism which cells
for abandoning reality and retrogression, as widely seen around, did nothing
but incite sectarian strife which has reached a dangerous level, as seen
everywhere in the Arab world, which, like other signs in history, shows how
deep the identity crisis is.
Numerous
incidents in history show that sectarian strife, civil wars and terrorist acts
are the product of a crisis in common identity and disintegration of its basic
ingredients which should preserve the unity of society in terms of coexistence
of the ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, sectarian and regional origins of
its members and make it accept the system of government and the social
hierarchy arising from it. This is the common scene in every sectarian strife
in Arab Muslim societies and any other society, like Russia and Cambodia, which
indicates that this phenomenon is of the same type: an identity crisis, while
the extremist movements have slogans that are more acceptable to them.
The
mission of religion, particularly Islam, is unity and rejection of
fragmentation. It never clashes with knowledge or the factors of progress,
welfare, hard work as well as reasoning and the use of science and philosophy.
That s what we really need today in order to restore our Arab identity and in
turn our role as an influential power in the international community. This will
be possible once we deal with many of our domestic problems and crises,
particularly in view of the fact that we are living in an age whose main mark
is globalization, and, accordingly, the need to restore our identity is no
longer a delayed project but rather a matter of destiny. Without our identity,
our fate would be like that of other civilizations which disappeared because
they succumbed to the obliteration of their identity, leaving behind stories
about such weakness that makes peoples and civilizations fall and go unheeded.
Sulaiman
Al-Askary
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