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18 March 2011 By
Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D. "What one misses in
Arab and Palestinian culture is a moral and
intellectual standard by which truth and falsehood can
be distinguished and according to which intellectuals
act regardless of profit or patronage." "We Palestinians
must still reconcile ourselves with our history, and
with the perhaps futile sacrifices of the past
century. And we must restore Palestine to its place
not simply as a small piece of territory between the
Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River but an idea
that for years galvanized the Arab world into thinking
about and fighting for social justice, democracy, and
a different kind of future than the one that has been
imposed on it by force and by an absence of Arab
will." (Edward W. Said, Peace and its Discontents,
1996) Palestine is one but
Palestinians are "scattered like seeds" describes the
distinguish professor of comparative cultures and
civilizations - Dr. Shaw Dallal, the portrait of
Palestinian lives ruined by the global politics of the
few. When people are dispersed by force of political
violence, they encounter insurmountable challenges and
seem to build–up the momentum for unity of ideas and
ideals and strive with strength of faith for a just
cause and survival under tormenting conditions as
persist in Palestine for over 60 years after the
establishment of the State of Israel. The Jewish
homeland in Palestine is outcome of the British-
American complacency to avoid accountability for the
centuries of conscious persecutions of the Jews in
Europe. There was a culture of anti-Jewish religious
metaphor across the European world that spilled over
to America while Europeans migrated to the new world.
Ironically, Arabs are the only people and civilization
that enjoys a history of extending human dignity and
equal treatment to Jewish people in their homes and
hearts. Today, Arabs are the victims of Israeli
intransigence and cruelty in Palestine. They live
under barbed culture as did the Jews under the Nazis.
Perhaps, Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe could
not think to free themselves from the past except to
sustain the Nazi culture of human atrocities and
reshape Palestine with barbed wires walls and check
points to reinvent the insanity of Nazism. What a
strange co-incident of human history? Nobody wants to
learn from the lesson of history. Would this course of
human ignorance favor the Jewish people and the State
of Israel? Would Jews be more secure by depriving the
Palestinians of their inborn right to freedom- an
independent State of Palestine? When darkness
prevails, people and nation seem to lose the sense of
direction. For ages, the capitalist Europeans-American
fought ideological wars against communist Russia and
China. Today, they eagerly and desperately trying to
bridge the historical gulfs often seem unbridgeable.
American economic survival depends on the I.O.U notes
of trillion of dollars from the Chinese. History is
not fixed nor is the destiny of people. Jews should
know better as they have gone through various critical
junctures in their life cycle- it is the enlightened
foresight that can envisage the future for the
Arab-Israeli co-existence, not the warfare of the
past. The oil exporting
Arabs are authoritarian and patriotic of tribal life
but not ignorant as the Western news media perceives
in its deliberate visualization of the Muslim people.
Their faith, culture and human values are as credible
as one could imagine in the Western human norms and
values. Arab people have a history of civilization
unparallel in global affairs. It is just that in the
politically incorrect Western news media articulated
culture; some are incapable of learning and rational
understanding of the facts of life as they did when
they disliked Russians and Chinese. Recognizing the
rights and dignity of the people of Palestine does not
mean a negation or challenge to the Jewish people and
their freedom from exploitation. The global community
has come to realize that enough is enough and now is
the time to come to consensus for the making of an
independent State of Palestine and ensure a durable
peace and a new culture of people to people
co-existence in the Middle East. Increasing number of
world leaders and countries are offering recognition
to the State of Palestine with capital in East
Jerusalem. This is natural and logical understanding
of the facts of human life. This proposition is
nothing new or absurd but a reflection of social and
religious history of the Arab Middle East. Moses and
Jews contain more references, detailed pages and
authentic illustrations in the Al-Qura'an than any
other Divine revelation including the Torah and Bible.
Muslims respect Jesus and Moses as Prophets of Islam –
a continuity of prophethood from Adam to Mohammad. If
the Jews living in Israel would like to embrace
Judaism as the real object of their faith instead of
politically indoctrinated Zionism, well that does not
offend the Arab culture or challenge Islam. In their
daily prayers and recitation of the Al-Qura'an, they
know and believe in Judaism as the Divine religion.
When the Israeli PM Netanyahu speaks of a new "Jewish
State" doctrine instead of the established Zionist
State of Israel, it is a political myth in search of
escape from the prevalent realities on the ground, not
the God- revealed religion of Moses to be
indoctrinated. Politicians pretend and act like
puppets on stage when face unknown challenges and
their motives demand such a stage setting. Perhaps,
the knowledge-based Jewish Rabies should break the
silence and share perception on the making of a truly
Jewish State. Politicians change but the Divine
religion to Moses is known to the Rabies. It will
support Islam and people will live together in peace
with complete submission to One God- the God of
Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. Nobody can speak
with certainty about Netanyahu's religious beliefs or
political priorities as they keep on changing from one
extreme to another. Perhaps, some of the Arabian and
Islamic scholars should break the silence and help
guide the divided political actors, how the message of
Islam could restore human dignity, peace and
reconciliation between the Arabs and Jews without
jeopardizing anybody's standing in global affairs.
Once the invaders know Islam, they will embrace it
only if it is presented in a logical manner. The in-house
skirmishes between various groups asserting control
did little to support the cause of freedom. Some of
the Palestinian neo-colonial leaders should encourage
the new generation of educated and competent people to
assume leadership for building a new future on equal
terms with Israel. Whether Arafat and Abbas, few of
them for too long were subservient to the Israeli
supremacy and supporting their agendas for continued
occupation, not freedom from the chains of occupation
and exploitation. Palestinians need unity of thought
and action as one people. Their division represents
absurdity, not intelligent outlook to the purpose of
freedom from the Israeli occupation. Late Professor
Edward Said ("Who is in charge of the Past and the
Future"), makes the point: "We acquired a modern
political identity by virtue of that struggle, which
is very far from over. Today our sense of our history
and past should fuller, more critical, more
insightful, not less. Above all, it should be written
by us, not the American Secretary of State, nor the
Israeli government. If we do not take charge of our
history what future, if any, will be left for us to
think about and implement?" Whether it is Fatah or
Hamas, they should see the interest of the people, not
the rudimentary flip-flop of the old tribal warfare.
Their strength lies in their purpose of being rational
people to make ways for the future generation to live
in peace. Palestinian leaders should focus on the goal
not on discard and declare the independence without
any waiting. MJ Rosenberg, in his most recent article
("US: Recognize State of Palestine In 2011"-ICH,
01/20/2011) notes: "The
best alternative is a U.S.-brokered settlement that
would establish a State of Palestine, with contiguous
borders, alongside Israel. East Jerusalem would be the
Palestinian capital. In exchange, Israel would get the
two things it has always insisted are the only demands
it makes of the Arabs: secure, recognized borders and
security guarantees from the United States. (The
security of the Palestinian state would also be
guaranteed." The proactive
initiatives rest with the visionary leaders on both
sides of the barbed wire. To see things beyond the
obvious, not just for today but for tomorrow and day
after tomorrow, in the near future and for distant
future to be built on mutual recognition, equality and
freedom. Holocaust was engineered against the Jews by
the Europeans not by the Arabs. The Arab civilization
is remarkably unique and credible to claim that Jews
have been living amidst their culture and in
co-existence for centuries. The concept of state
without people is void. Only Hitler and Mussolini
could have been flattered by the absolutism of the
state doctrine. The current Israeli PM Netanhou talks
of peace and con-existence with Palestinians but
defies logic when it comes to action in the same
spirit. In one sided glorification of the state of
Israel another strand can be traced out in Netanhou's
mindset and that is interwoven emotions of hatred and
fear of the unknown if an equal State of Palestine
will come into being. Palestinians are the victims of
perpetuated fear against their culture and freedom.
Arguably, when two national entities exist side by
side and treat each other with respect, they develop
trust and accountability for mutual survival. Leaders
lead and leaders talk openly and learn from the
complex situations and difficult circumstances
stalling the human change and progress. Those with a
picture of the future will survive, others will remain
prisoners in the depth of human ignorance and self-
imposed failure. Israelis with strong
institutionalized capacity of thinking and actions do
enjoy the freedom of alternatives, not so with the oil
producing Arab elite. They follow one-track box and
often without thinking of their own national
interests. Their global image in policy making and
behaviors carries no weight for the future. When the
Arabs were committed to Islam as a system of life,
they were people enriched with originality of thinking
and proactive vision of success for the future, not
just for the self but for the whole of mankind. But
the borrowed oil-based economic prosperity has
destroyed the Arab cultures and values, not just the
originality of things for the good of humanity but
transformed them into captives of illusions without
reality. The Arab rulers are subservient to the policy
dictates of the Western masters, not accountable to
the interests of the people they govern. If they were
intelligent and energetic in new thinking with strong
presence in global politics, they could have evolved
new institutions and offered help to search for
feasible solutions to major political problems such as
Palestine, Kashmir and remaking of Muslim Ummah.
Recent political upsurge in Tunisia and the disgraced
fall down of Ben Ali should serve a warning to the
authoritarian Arab rulers. They need an inward eye and
thinking to serve the people, not the masters in
Washington or London. The former colonial
master of the Middle East, the British policy makers
are confused on matters of principles. Their interest
is derived from the unknown and often glued to
financial gains in playing the political cards.
Britain is no longer a superpower but shrinking to be
a colony of the US as it was during the Roman Empire.
They follow blindly the US lead in global affairs as
they did in Iraq and Afghanistan- fighting without a
cause and killing others and get killed. The US
leaders believe that war is the lifeline for the
economy and the big political-military-industrial
complex controlling the nerve of the US strategic
thinking and policies. They need wars, not peace. The
Middle East does not long for another war but peace
and co-existence for human well being and living
together. The US superpower role and influence is
redundant. It wants normalization of relationships
between the Arabs and Israel without solving the
problem of Palestine on its merits. Its foreign policy
is overwhelmingly one-sided to push for Israel's
interest first and not the balanced approach to pursue
a "peace process" for the establishment of an
independent State of Palestine with capital in East
Jerusalem. The latest Wikileaks documents spell out
how the Palestinian PLO leadership in negotiations
with Israel and the US compromised the right of
self-determination and abandoned the goal of
Palestinian freedom for personal greed and stupidity.
Palestinian people must develop new and educated
leadership with vision and integrity for the future.
Arabs despite being rich in banking and buildings are
weak and need moral and intellectual strength that oil
pitched dollar cannot buy. To subside the primitive
neo-colonial rulers in their immobile palaces, the
Arab world as a whole desperately needs new public
institutions, new thinking and new educated and
proactive intelligent people in public governance who
could cope with the challenges of the 21st century
innovative political thinking and global interactive
communication. Listening and learning is much part of
the leadership trait as it is rational substance for
effective leadership. Are the oil producing Arab
rulers listening to the voices of REASON? A decade
earlier when this author proposed to one influential
Arab foreign minister to establish a university of
security, peace and conflict management that it will
help cultivate their institutionalized capacity
building to deal with global issues including
Palestine and strengthen their capability in public
institutions. Strangely enough, his reply was that we
have the best experts from USA and Europe to advise
us. Surely, Allah does not guide the ignorant and
wicked. The Al-Qura'an clarifies the truth that
"intelligent people always readily accept advice." Are
there any Arab leaders looking for intelligent advice
and guidance to reconnect themselves with the
aspirations of the masses? Why do the Arabs and
Palestinian leaders failed to make progress in global
conflict resolution? Late Professor Edward W. Said
puts it in a nutshell: "we must all take the blame in
colossal failure." (Peace and its Discontents). The
Israelis were smart to cherish the White House Peace
handshake between Yasir Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin but
the Palestinian gained nothing out of the so called
Oslo peace process. President Obama appears
enthusiastic to proclaim from the UN Assembly that by
next year, there should be two states having
membership of the UN, beside Israel an independent
State of Palestine. This is an idea, not a devised
formal plan of the US government. In 2012, political
campaigns will build up momentum for the next
presidential race in the US. The US politics survives
on Jewish financial contributions as will Obama and
the Democratic Party to get re-elected. One fails to
understand, who will think pragmatically to enhance
the cause of freedom for Palestine? The oil rich Arabs
have no leadership, no vision for the future, nor
presence in the US policy making corridors. They are
overwhelmed with erecting tallest buildings made of
dust across the Arabian gulf region. The big thinking
behind the tall edifice does not change the political
scale in Washington nor frighten anybody. Dust is
dust, it does not change its originality. They lack
institutions and inward foresight and will to assign
priority to the freedom of Palestine. Hardly any Arab
leaders can communicate openly to the informed global
community. Some Arabs are wasting time and
opportunities to buy obsolete US weaponry worth of $60
billion or more but it will not raise eyebrows to
influence the Arab status-quo in the Middle East
strategic construct dominated by Israel. What Israeli
and America need is an intellectual and political
challenge that the naïve Arab rulers cannot imagine.
Under Islam, the Arabs used to claim and enjoin moral
and intellectual superiority in dealing with enemies
and situations of conflict. They appear void of
reasoning. At a Middle Eastern university campus,
while this author was speaking on the current affairs,
a mention was made that "Arab prince live in palaces,
not with people." Among the audience some of the
ruling elite got allergic and nauseated. Consequently,
next time, the Arab embassy refused to issue the visit
visa. The superficial oil-based prosperity has
bewildered the Arab rulers to the extent that some
have become intolerable to any rational concerns. They
THINK of the self, not of the people or of the Muslim
Ummah. Would another jolt as was inflicted to Saddam
Hussein change the Arab thinking of the politics of
the palaces? Have they learned anything from the
ousted Ben Ali of Tunisia? He is not a victim of
anything except of his egoistic wrong thinking and a
dictator kept in office by the Western governments and
the IMF. There is a culture of pretension across the
Western political governance about human rights and
liberty. Nobody questioned Ben Ali while he was
decreeing anti-Islamic practices and torturing
political activists. All of sudden, the Western news
media opens up its closed circuits to Arabs activists,
Mr. Obama speaks out, so does Ban K Moon, the unheard
UN Secretary General on human right violations in
Tunisia and so many others. Were they dormant and deaf
in the past prior to the ousting of Ben Ali?
Palestinian leaders should not wait for anything to
happen out of the blue but organize themselves as one
people of UNITY striving to achieve national freedom
from Israeli occupation. They should plan to declare
the independent State of Palestine with capital in
East Jerusalem without delay. Otherwise, global
community would be as indifferent to that goal as they
have been throughout the history. The Palestinian
leadership should articulate initiatives to make it
happen. Let us share the vision of late Professor
Edward Said (Peace and its Discontents: Essays on
Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process, 1996), a
truly dedicated intellectual and warrior for the
freedom of Palestine: "I sincerely believe
in reconciliation between peoples and cultures in
collision, and have made it my life's work to try to
further that end. But true reconciliation cannot be
imposed, neither can it occur between cultures and
societies that are enormously uneven in power. The
kind of reconciliation that can bring real peace can
only occur between equals, between partners whose
independence, strength of purpose, and inner cohesion
allows them fully to understand and share with the
other." (Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja
specializes in global security, peace and conflict
resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western
comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of
several publications including: "Muslims and the West:
Quest for Change and Conflict Resolution", University
Press of America; How America Lost the War in Iraq and
Afghanistan and Mujahideen Won; To America and Canada
with Reason, VDM Publishers, 2009; "President Obama –
War is War, Not Peace", 2009; " Global Peace and
Conflict Management: How the Arabs-Israelis and the
West Duped the Humanity?" "The Arab People Look for
Peace and New Leadership.", and "President Obama and
the US Generals in Search of Navigational Change."
Comments are welcome at: kmahboob@yahoo.com) |