Where is Arab secularism heading?

Five years after I wrote this post, I come back to it with sadness, disappointment and maybe anger.

The same Western ignorance and arrogance drove Turkey, the only Muslim majority country that is secular into existential crisis and into the hands of Putin. 
Turkey is the model of how Islam can coexist with democracy. 
Turkey is a NATO ally the US relied heavily on all through the Cold War. 
Turkey is the country where I saw a couple kissing in the street aside people coming out of a Mosque during Friday prayers, and nobody looked or has any reaction of refusal.

Today Syria is a tragedy of mythological proportions. Millions of refugees flooded into Europe, preparing the ground for Brexit and threatening the human rights values that held the EU together. The Russian Czar is promoting extreme right presidential candidates in Europe and all over the world after meddling in US elections that brought Trump to reside in the White House.

Today Amnesty international warns that 

''Toxic political rhetoric with echoes of 1930s hate speech is stirring up violence worldwide – including in the UK and US.
Have we forgotten that human rights protections were created after the mass atrocities of the second world war as a way of making sure that ‘never again’ actually meant ‘never again’?”

On the Arab scene, in Egypt Sisi is given free hand to quell dissent with an iron hand because he is supposedly fighting terrorism.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah is given a free hand in his trend of destruction of the only democratic country in the Arab world because according to Obama, they are important in the fight against terrorism.
In Tunisia where the revolution succeeded, the country is struggling under economic dire conditions. And we do not see any efforts from the ''West'' to give assistance. 

They just spend billions on airstrikes to fight terrorism while the roots of terrorism are as again the report of Amnesty International says

“Ultimately, the charge that human rights is a project of the elite rings hollow,” the report said. “People’s instincts for freedom and justice do not simply wither away.”

Will anyone hear when we say that fighting terrorism takes roots in justice and hope; not brute force.
Arab secularism is a movement totally neglected by the ''West''. 
Entrenched racism prevails as if we can hear a murmur saying '' these people are not fit to govern themselves dictators are more safe''

I cannot except say again
It is high time for those who believe in freedom and secularism in the Arab world to start neglecting what the “West” does or wants. It is time they stop looking for hand-outs. They need to assume their responsibilities, organize themselves in political frameworks with a clear strategy that unites them towards a clear goal, and work hard on reaching this goal.

I know that it is difficult because of the never ending sporadic brutal meddling. Didn't Putin say that Assad was about to collapse and this is why they interfered military. We all saw the brutal bombing of rebel-held east Aleppo and nobody raise a finger to halt it.

But there is no other solution, human rights and the value of humanity are failing.

I honestly cannot understand the actions and strategy of the so called “West”. It might be pure stupid arrogance or it might be the fulfillment of the conspiracy theories that abound around the Arab world. Whatever the roots of their actions, they actively contribute to the assassination of Arab secularism.

And yes, there is something called Arab secularism. Most Arab populations are eager for freedom, tolerance, the rule of law, and the pursuit of happiness. The so called “West” frowns on such statements. I often hear the argument “Arab and Islamic cultures cannot sustain democracy. The problem is inherent to their culture of violence”. It is sadly a deep belief of many.

A funny small but very relevant example is that a friend of mine living in the UK received a card on the occasion of Eid Fitr. He is a member of the atheist society. His name is Khalil and in the eyes of one of the UK parties that are trying to show their tolerance he is definitely a practicing Muslim. How can a Middle Easter be something else? Their ignorance makes them also assume that Khalil is a Muslim name as many Pakistanis are called Khalil. They do not know that Khalil is a name more widely used by Arab Christians than Arab Muslims. They assumed he is Muslim and being Muslim he cannot be a non-practitioner as the Arab race has religious fundamentalism etched in their genes.

It is the same cliché strategy and lack of understanding that guides them to support the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt neglecting the 30 million persons who took the streets against the soft coup of Mursi while supporting Assad military dictatorship in Syria that is actively backed by the Iranian Shia Muslim fundamentalist state. They forgot that the Syrian revolution started with thousands of people taking to the streets chanting for freedom and a secular modern state. These same people are today air bombed by the regime while suffering the horrific actions of a minority of Muslim extremists. They are oblivious of equally horrific actions perpetrated by Iranian backed extremists. They are oblivious of the fact that Sunni and Shia extremism are the two sides of the same coin. They do not understand that those who are suffering today are the majority of the people that do not believe in violence but are driven into the clutches of fundamentalists. The logic of it is not clear to me and to many others.

It is high time for those who believe in freedom and secularism in the Arab world to start neglecting what the “West” does or wants. It is time they stop looking for hand-outs. They need to assume their responsibilities, organize themselves in political frameworks with a clear strategy that unites them towards a clear goal, and work hard on reaching this goal.

Sporadic burst of actions and engaging in victimization complaints will lead nowhere.

Lebanon is waiting for Godot

It’s been a while I am suffering from writer’s block due to the irrational madness engulfing Lebanon where populism prevails on the media and the political scene.

Today the idiocy reached a peak that made me angry.

A Turkish airlines pilot was kidnapped on the airport road which is under strict army control since last year the President of the republic committed the army to keep the airport road safe. Even a child knows that the de facto force that side by side with the army controls this road is Hezbollah and its array of local allies that are directly linked to Assad security apparatus.

What made me angry are the irresponsible Lebanese official statements and the apathy of the so called vibrant Lebanese civil society.

A number of Lebanese Shia supposedly pilgrims were kidnapped inside Syria by Sunni extremists who declared that the kidnaped were members of Hezbollah. The families of the kidnapped formed a group that constantly point fingers at the Turkish government as responsible for the kidnapping while denying that the actions of the extremist Sunni group is in anyway related to the Hezbollah involvement in fighting aside the Assad regime.

The Lebanese media has been following up the story relaying the point of view of the so called “families of the Aaazaz kidnapped” as is without any effort to make some background research or to state facts as they are. Even the 14^th of March media who is supposed to be represent a faction that is on the other end of the political polarization is afraid to look as if they are supporting the kidnappers so they support the fallacy of holding Turkey accountable for a kidnapping that happened in Syria and that is part of a Sunni versus Shia extremists’ war.

The same applies to the Lebanese government who has been negotiating the release of the Lebanese kidnapped with the Turkish government without involving Hezbollah who is part of the government and who supposedly has close ties with the Assad regime. Let’s note here that the Iranians kidnapped in Syria were released after the Assad regime accepted the conditions of the Sunni extremist group holding them. A Kafkaesque scene!

The “families of the Aaazaz kidnapped” group closed last year the airport road and this winter occupied Turkish institutions in Lebanon holding hostages. The Lebanese official government did not arrest any person in connection with these illegal actions that are not part of peaceful protest and demonstrations. Everybody in the country is afraid to seem taking position against the Shia community.

Today I heard the Minister of Interior who is a decent person mentioning the “Aazaz kidnapped” each and every time he mentioned the Turkish kidnapped pilot! Please Mr. Charbel, pay attention to what you say. You are dealing with an international crisis and not a situation “a la Libanaise”, where one can say whatever he wants without checks and balances!

In addition, I noticed that radio talk shows today did not give any importance to the kidnapping event!

As to the civil society and the Lebanese who just like to have fun, there is a clear puzzling non concern and laissez faire attitude. No real buzz on social media and no salon discussions.

Aren’t they aware that:

¼    There are today around 500 Turkish tourists in Lebanon. Their departure is a loss to an already damaged tourist sector.

¼    The kidnapping of the Turkish pilot validates the decision of the Gulf Countries’ decision of warning their citizens from coming to Lebanon. An action that ruined the summer touristic season.

¼    Turkish airlines offered good prices with excellent service for all those travelling to destinations to which there is no direct flight from Beirut. If they stop their flight it will complicate more travelling from Beirut which is already complicate due to low traffic to the world.

¼    Turkey is the last country to allow entry for Lebanese without visa. If they opt to cancel this measure it will mean total lock on Lebanese passport holders. No place to go if you do not plan two months in advance.

And much more……I could go on for pages and pages.

Why aren’t the Lebanese reacting to the absurdity of the situation?

All of Lebanon seems to have morphed into Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot!