The darkness is weaving its strings around our homes, walls, and hearts. It is surrounding us from the Ocean to the Gulf. Whose responsibility is it? Who?
Death has lost its way. Death is knocking the doors of children, youth, male & female, eldarly men and women. Who is opening the doors for death? Who?
Who is responsible for the killing, hanging, burning, rape and slaughter from vein to vein? Who?
Is it the Occupation? Colonialism? Poverty?
Is it Abu Jahel’s inherited culture? The policy of dictatorships? The policy of militarization? The absence of democracy? Muzzling the media? Religious extremism? Sectarianism? The paralysis of independent reasoning? Or is it a mix of all these reasons?
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Some people blame the popular uprisings against the Arab dictatorships, considering it as a Western conspiracy, questioning the uprisings’ motivations and considering the Arab countries unqualified for Democracy, and that the iron-fist dictatorships are indispensable to guarantee safety & security; adding that ISIS is the most important outcome of those uprisings.
I think that this judgement turns its back on the social & economic problems of the Arab peoples, which are getting worse every day. The problems which led to the public uprisings against the dictatorships that grew rich at the expense of its people, through robbery & burglary. The dictatorships who associated themselves with the Western policies in a demeaning political dependency, without having any concern about providing a decent living for their peoples; where millions are living in necropolises, among graves, slums & random houses, with inhuman living conditions. People are thrown into detention centers for the least significant reasons, where they face humiliation, offense & merciless torture. They have never been able to express their opinions or even breathe freely. This situation has accumulated rage among the Arab peoples until the spark of rage was initiated when the right moment came up. In Tunisia Bouazizi set himself on fire out of rage and despair, and hence the slogans that reflected the Arab people’s aspirations around the extended Arab homeland appeared: Bread, Liberty, and Social Justice. Under one collective slogan; all of the Arab uprising movements have gathered around this statement: “The People want to bring down the Regime”.
This slogan was not realized in most of the “Arab Spring” countries. The regime that is based on exploitation, injustice and tyranny was not brought down; even though the head of the regime was decapitated.
A social revolution was not realized alongside with the popular uprisings, nor were the popular uprisings accompanied by a cultural revolution. The counter-revolutionary forces took power & made sure to maintain the colonial powers and domination over the Arab countries. It didn’t provide any economic or social solutions to meet the demands of millions of Arabs; which in turn, made the realization of the dream of social justice seem to be so far away and hard to get, if not impossible in the first place.
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The terrorist madness that is happening now is beyond imagination. It raises a legitimate question, right before our eyes: How & using what tools can we confront terrorism? Would it be eradicated by waging airstrikes & artillery bombardments against the terrorist groups?
If we assumed that the airstrikes and ground raids have eradicated most of its members and weakened the rest of them; what guarantees that new terrorist groups under new names wouldn’t emerge?
How can we face the inhuman & monstrous acts that represent the ultimate manifestation of this thought? By using their weaponry & tools of burning, slaughter, crucifixion, stoning & rape? By religious debates? Although, it is acknowledged and assumptive, that their acts have nothing to do with religion. Or should we do that by eradicating the terrorism thought right from its roots?
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Many websites circulated religious, jurisprudential & political debates that revolved around the tolerance of Islam, and its innocence from these heinous & shameful acts. Ancient history was exhumed in search of relevant facts that approve or disapprove with the terrorist thought that claims to be following the example of the holy prophet or his companions. If that organization or other terrorist groups use religion for clear political purposes, which are a far cry from the tolerant and peaceful spirit of this religion, that will only be a wrong & useless gateway which takes to nowhere, and is not worthy of being busy with analyzing it. We better spend more time excluding religion from any unfruitful controversy which might only make things worse. Religion is for God; Homeland is for all.
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Why & how do many young people join such groups? Despite its cruelty, extremism & criminality? This is a huge question that requires a long & deep reflection. We have to face the economic, social & cultural challenges with much bravery & responsibility, in order to build societies that respect the human being, and the right to free and decent life, where citizens find health care in their homelands, where their mental & physical well-being are preserved.
We need to exploit out tremendous natural resources, energies & our unlimited capacities, to produce what nourishes us physically, intellectually & spiritually. We need to come up with production that we can export to get rid of the colonial dependency & cultural dependency.
When the Arab humans, men & women, find multiple job opportunities, where they can breathe freely and express their opinions freely, where they comply with rules and regulations without any kind of discrimination: racial, sectarian, doctrinal or sexual, where social justice is realized; the Arab human will be planted in his motherland to participate in building, innovation and renovation, where he/she will contribute in the human heritage. Only then; such groups will be a part of a past that no one will ever miss.