Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Eng. Saleem Al Batayneh
As we witness the profound turmoil and bloodshed ravaging the Arab world, we are compelled to confront a profound question: How did this once unified and proud region succumb to disintegration, crumbling national security systems, and the erosion of its lands? Answering this question demands a reflection on the cultural and intellectual evolution of the Arab nation over centuries.
The crux of the issue reveals an Arab region struggling to establish itself, entangled in failed state dynamics, and entwined in foreign projects, held captive by regional and international pacts. Tyranny, corruption, and stifling individualism have hindered reform and progress, stifling freedom, criticism, and change. The stagnant political climate, coupled with poverty, widespread unemployment, and pervasive corruption, has left the economy in the hands of a privileged minority controlling critical economic decisions.
Contemplating the ongoing turmoil across Arab nations, from resolute Gaza to the troubled lands of the Levant, Baghdad, Egypt, and Tetouan, the horror of the situation defies explanation. The tragedies unfolding before our eyes threaten to destroy entire countries and displace their people, leaving us bereft of convincing answers to the question at hand.
The poignant verses of Nizar Qabbani, Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al-Qasim, and Al-Jawahiri that once echoed for the Arabs and Palestine now ring hollow. The Zionist agenda has become the unifying force between certain Arab regimes and the West, to the detriment of the region’s inhabitants. The pervasive shift has positioned Israel not as a besieged entity seeking survival, but as a central player with nations vying for its favor.
The Arab world’s struggle stands in stark contrast to the trajectories of other nations. Arab nations have failed to unite or assert their identity as cohesive entities, leaving them stranded on the platform of an uncertain station. History is now being drafted for them, with a stark distinction between a history shaped by the people and one imposed from outside. The landscape within Arab nations reflects a similar narrative, as the ground beneath them shifts with the winds of chaos.
The discord sown by the West and Israel, fostering disunity and weakness among the Arab people, represents a plan that was set in motion a century ago. The threads woven by Western thinkers found willing implementers in certain Arab regimes, leading to the unraveling of the countries once outlined in 1916. The Arab dream, a specter that has haunted our collective consciousness since childhood, now appears increasingly elusive, overshadowed by the grim realities that torment our present.
Here it is necessary to compare with similar events outside Arab geography. The Arabs, until today, have not been able to form a nation and achieve their existence, as happened to other nations, and the countries of the Arab East have fled from their present, leaving them standing on the platform of an unknown station, waiting for a future drawn for them from outside their history, and the distance has become. There is an enormous difference between a history that you create and a history that is created for you, and the scene inside the Arab countries is almost the same scene, whether from the inside or the outside, because the situation on the ground is still stirred by sand! Some crises, despite their bloodiness, are still in their infancy, and we have only seen the tip of the ice. What happened in Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Sudan will happen to others. The Arab situation is experiencing the worst challenge and is the most torn apart in relation to the global situation, and the Arab world will not emerge from its ordeal without political imagination, and this will not happen with the presence of those floating above the truth. It is customary to sentence to death anyone who bears witness to the truth. The West and Israel are well aware of the importance of pitting the Aws against the Khazraj by keeping the Arabs divided and weak. It is a plan that was born a hundred years ago, the threads of which were woven by a group of Western thinkers and the Arab regimes helped implement it. Currently, the maps of the countries that were formed in 1916 have been torn apart, and most of them have returned to the status of countries.
The article may seem extreme! But have we ever asked ourselves: What is the Arab dream? That dream that haunted us? Has it become an illusion that is difficult to reach? Since 1948, we have been hearing about the lost dream that has resided in our minds since childhood and settled in our school books, and the older we grow, the more we realize that we are living an impossible dream. Yes, our entire generation came out from the ocean to the Gulf demanding the liberation of Palestine. Perhaps our radio stations were filled with the songs of Fayrouz, Umm Kulthum, Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez and Shadia, so the Arabs’ anthem “My Homeland” became a silly joke. Baghdad was no longer the castle of lions as Umm Kulthum sang. ,,, Fayrouz’s sword was not famous, as Saeed Akl said! The Levant has become desolate and has lost its glory! Najd and Hijaz are trying to take away its sanctity! We were victorious lyrically, but we were defeated on the ground. Palestine disappeared from the circle of general Arab attention, and almost fell from memory.
Amidst this chaos, silence reigns, and our collective suffering and humiliation unfold before a passive audience. Arab nations find themselves mired in bloodshed, their structures reduced to ruins. The path to the future appears fraught with looming disasters, raising questions that remain unanswered. It is a time of reflection and reckoning, for those who bartered away Jerusalem and Baghdad will never be able to redeem Damascus.
Al Batayneh was a former member of the Jordanian Parliament.
