Coming of the Crowds

My voice rings out, this time, from Damascus

It rings out from the house of my mother and father

Nizar Qabbani

Morally speaking, I do not think that we can really disconnect ourselves from politics - but the problem with politics is the disconnect between the perceptions of those who lead and those whom they claim to serve. I believe that my cynicism can be applied universally to all politics, though increasingly and rather specifically the Syrian leader, Bashar Al Assad has not recognised the winds of change in the neighbourhood.  What we appear to be witnessing is a repeat situation of the type leadership that is guided by its own ego and vanity whilst Syria continues to tumble downwards in an erratic free fall. It is true that the world covertly intervenes by offering moral support to the Free Syrian Army and many regional and international saboteurs are likely to hijack the process with the likely scenario that the said leadership will fail to act on the inevitable and will continue to attempt to quell opposition voices with armed brutality. Few, who see clearly, would choose to go to war with their own people, so ultimately Bashar Al Assad's actions appear to spell fatality. At this stage, Allah knows best of course, but it seems that the moral responsibility seems to be with the crowds and not those in power, be that the regime or those intervening. Real power, as witnessed by the Arab Spring and its continuing after effects, lies with the people.

Thinking about the region, we only need to cast some thought back to when Saddam Hussain was ousted after years of resistance and the euphoria that ensued after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak etc. The headlines were typically jubilant - another 'fallen dictator'; 'victory to the people'; 'freedom' and a 'new beginning'. There was a strong sentiment amongst the people of these places that led them to rebellion and in the background the media has had a key role. Whilst the media is drawn to the suffering to make its headlines; foreign political movers and shakers make mileage out of this. Again, the morality of those within politics is sometimes up for question.

Significantly, post the celebrations, many revolutions are followed by a period of public disorder and shaky security. How long this goes on for and how long the international political goodwill towards the revolutionaries lasts varies. In general, the track record is not optimistic. Even after successive fallen governments across the middle east and beyond; we still question whether the world is safer and people are more prosperous as a result. Often the corruption of a few within a police state, is replaced by a break-down/free for all by the masses.

What now happens in Syria over the coming period remains yet to be seen. It is Ramadhan - and technically a month of peace when Muslims should put down their arms and focus on the spiritual. 

Game Over/Start

Game Over

The images of jubilation surrounding Colonel Gaddafi's death has me feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Not that I am a supporter, a sympathiser or in anyway connected to Libya. The truth is it is for the Libyans to decide who runs their country and for them to define how they fit within the the Arab world and the global community. My feelings stem from what I see as the hypocrisy of the attitudes of the external forces who have a hand in Gaddafi's demise. When the mob and not the law decides who lives and dies, and the West looks on and applauds, I feel a sense of deep regret. 

Gaddafi's legacy will remain mixed.  His beginnings were reportedly fairly humble and he came to embody a revolutionary zeal when he assumed power in 1969. This included an unprecedented rise in Libyan living standards during his leadership - the highest in Africa -  though somewhere during the course of his 42 years in power, passion and reality parted and he was increasingly seen as disconnected and at times brutal. That lack of grip on reality perhaps proved fatal because there was clearly a time for him to step away.

There is always wisdom in some thoughtful modesty.

Start

Right now Libya is in the hands of the National Transitional Council - they represent the 'new' Libya, but of course, Gaddafi had been on the run for several weeks before he was lynched. The civil war that led to the circumstances around his killing has occurred under the 'watch' of the NTC with the support of foreign players. This perhaps is the part that causes most discomfort. 

Once the jubilation over Gaddafi's death is over, what next? Will Libya find peace with itself after a national election? Or will it become another in a long list of countries where factions jostle to undermine one another? Civil war may not happen at all, but the evidence from around the world has proved that violent ends to dictators do not necessarily pave the way to stability. The rebellion in Libya remember, is still armed. Even in the more peaceful transition towards post-Mubarak Egypt, some of the hope and promises are yet to materialise.

And so the Arab Spring claims yet another. In the end Allah wills what Allah wills but what of Gaddafi? Friend or foe? Jubilation or mourning? 

I can't help feeling that if we are ready to 'celebrate' the deaths of 'dictators' because of the misery they cause, what of people who are styled as 'democrats' but equally responsible for misery and destruction? Aren't they in the frame as well? There were many who supported, but U-turned when it suited them. When it comes to lives lost and blood spilt as result of their actions, Gaddafi is not on his own. There are very few who are truly clean.

Arabian Spring: Storm in the Desert

Background: Desert Storm and Shifting Sands

The desert landscape whilst breath-taking and awe-inspiring is rather bitter, bleak and prone to change. The winds blow one way and huge sand formations - dunes, shift. To be out in the desert when this occurs is challenging - fixed points no longer appear to be where they were and for those not versed in the art of desert survival, the disorientation and the lack of being able to mark out your navigation points to safety, can mean incumbent disaster.

The point is, whilst we may be nostalgic about, and sometimes at pains at, how things are, sometimes radical shifts occur. This means it's not the same any-more and in the midst of change, we have to navigate our  own unique ways through to betterment and safety. Whilst the changing nature of the desert makes it less predictable, the constructs of society are more within human control. It is perhaps easier, to find pathways in society than it is in the desert. We can shape, change and build, in a way that we can't tame nature. 

As I write, we are living in the midst of significant shifting of sands. The Arab World is demanding change. What we see in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Jordan, in Yemen, in Saudi Arabia, in Libya, in Bahrain, in Algeria - over and over, is the demand for change. Today, thousands of  people in Bahrain have entered Pearl Square - the tanks and the security forces are in direct conflict with the crowds. In Libya too, anti-government protesters are out in the streets and there appears to be little stopping of opposition movements across the region.

Living in the UAE, the tides of unrest and the storms within the Arabian landscape, are felt ever more powerfully here. The nature of the protest movements and how they have spread his interests me as a student of Digital Technologies and Communication. The political and social dimensions are important to me as a Muslim too. Governments are watching and waiting to see how this unfolds.

 
continued in the next posting

Fall of the Pharaoh: Umm Al Dunya

Umm Al Dunya

 

And so the Pharoah in Egypt falls after a 30 year grip on power. I may be forgiven for referring to Hosni Mubarak as a Pharoah, but see a Pharoah, was NOT just a despotic Emperor King who was considered a deity. The word Pharoah referred to a Great House. Does the Great House still hold power? When a House falls, crushed by the weight of its age and ruin, another one can be built in its place. But in Egypt do we see a  rebuilding or another Pharaoh King moving into the Great House? Right now the military has moved in so not much changes; later, perhaps, the old house can be demolished and a new one built by the will of the people.

The Egyptians call their country Umm Al Dunya - Mother of the World.  An ancient cradle of civilisation, social order, technology and writing. There will be many who in years to come will look back at how in 2011 the Egyptian Pharaoh of Old was brought down by a technology and social media of new - Twitter/Blogger/Facebook and the like. Now here's where I do get to see close up what is happening - I know people and have spoken with them, both in person and through electronic communications that this Egyptian revolution is an e-revolution of a kind.

I wonder about the transferability of the UAE model - it's a "minus democracy" model that isn't perfect, but evidently people coming in see prosperity, internationalism, relative freedom and hope. In many ways this is what the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions were about right? Hope itself? That, I pray, is the message that the people in our Arab neighbourhood carry in the months and years to come.