Mali… New Evidence Of Our Affliction: Once Again, The Problem Is Not Mali, Afghanistan, Or Yemen
21 February 2013By Mshari Al-Zaydi
The countries surrounding the Sahara have caught fire
with the arrival of fundamentalist groups and
trafficking gangs. Since ancient times, the Tuaregs,
Arabs, and other tribes have taken to this vast desert
landscape, with its scorching heat, arresting chill,
and formidable obstacles. Hence the Tuareg-Libyan
novelist Ibrahim al-Koni depicts this world in his
romantic and enticing descriptions throughout his many
novels, especially in my personal favourite, ?Gold
Dust.? The northern and southern edges of the Sahara
have transformed into a chaotic hotbed of
fundamentalist activity, including some groups
affiliated with al-Qaeda. These lands were already
experiencing by cultural and ethnic tensions before
the arrival of these groups, and its people struggled
to eke out a living. For countless ages Saharan Africa
has been a refuge for transitory peoples coming from
the north and the south, but now it is viewed by
international jihadists as a new base in which they
may build and grow because they flock to chaotic and
vulnerable places.
As for the authors and fundamentalist preachers
leading the media campaign which portrays Mali as a
new Jerusalem, they are recklessly and
irresponsibility adding to the litany of errors that
stretches back decades.
The people of Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Algeria,
Tunisia, Libya, Burkina Faso, and other Saharan
countries are not in need of bold jihadists,
well-drilled in making IEDs and wielding AK-47s. What
they need is development, security, and reliable food
supplies, and the chance to lead their lives in
safety.
France and other countries, especially in the West,
are not in the mood to intervene militarily after the
lessons of Afghanistan and Iraq. However the threat of
terrorism from Africa looms ever larger following
recent events, including the jihadist occupation of
the Sahara, and the repeated taking of European and
Japanese hostages. Moreover, large expatriate
communities from Saharan countries reside in Europe.
Some of the individuals in these communities empathise
with or actively participate in these armed
fundamentalist groups. These reasons and others drove
the French and European forces to intervene, with the
endorsement of some Arab countries, or at least with
their tacit approval.
Jihadists intend the Great Sahara to become the
western-most and third major theatre for global
jihadist groups, adding to the Afghani-Pakistani
mountains in the East and Yemen in the Near East.
The media campaigns undertaken by some fundamentalist
preachers and authors are not being taken seriously in
political circles. Their rhetoric is no different than
that which led Arab youth to the death fields of Iraq,
Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia.
Mali and its province of Azawad now echo with jihadist
sermons and propaganda, having been turned into the
new magnet for the militantly pious. Young men from
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and even
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and the Gulf will leave
for this country in the desert seeking to perform
jihad. Some will die and some will go on to become
career warriors, trying to recreate their experience
with jihad in this country or that. Thus the wheel of
death and deception will continue turning, and there
is no one with the courage to break this vicious
circle.
The root problem is not Mali, the French intervention,
the Liberation Front of Azawad, the Tuaregs, or the
Arabs, as their issues can be resolved with
negotiations and the passage of time. The root problem
lies in the hunger of our culture's troubled
individuals for jihad and righteous combat.
This is the flaw of our culture which our youth are
taught to embrace. Despite the disaster of September
11, 2001 and the subsequent losses suffered by the
Muslim world, no one learned from these mistakes. The
so-called ?Arab Spring' was supposed to mark the end
of puritanical rhetoric and the return of self-respect
to the Arab and Muslim peoples. But this turned out to
be merely the wishful thinking of charlatans amongst
the journalists and pundits in the Arab world who two
years ago applauded and cheered the Arab Spring, but
six months after the fact suddenly changed their
stance, warning against being swept up in the emotions
of revolution.
Truth is a harsh thing. It is our fear of criticising
the media and educational institutions and their
hypocrisy that makes us fall into the abyss time after
time.
After Mali there will be another crisis, with new
jihadists. Despite their appearances which suggest
tranquillity and a love of life, many young people
amongst us long for jihad and combat.
The great Sheik Mohammed Abduh, who passed away in
1905, argued that the problem has always lain in
education and social reform, not in politics. Sheik
Abduh renounced politics after his return from exile
in 1889, in agreement with the conditions laid by the
British in exchange for his return. He devoted himself
to education and social and religious reform. With
time, Sheik Mohammed Abduh built a great legacy, while
those who delved into politics grasped for fleeting
moments of influence.
This problem is deep-rooted and self-perpetuating. The
solution is not an expensive public relations
campaign, like the one undertaken by a group of
American Muslim activists, ?To redefine the word
?jihad,' which has been distorted by Islamist
militants and groups hostile to Islam.? The American
news channel CNN quoted Nihad Awad, executive director
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as
saying that the word ‘jihad' means ?Resistance for a
noble goal.? He added that the campaign will run ads
on 25 city buses in Chicago and will later expand to
buses in San Francisco. The same person, Nihad Awad,
has been running the same campaigns, aimed at the same
audience since the Sept. 11 attacks, and even before
then. The problem lies not in public relations and the
existence of some ?deviants' in the Muslim-Arab
community, as they like to describe them. The problem
is in the ?belt? which envelops the jihadists, for
these militant groups are products of the hard core of
the cultural, educational, and social layers which
surround them.
This line of argument angers many, and those who
endorse it are accused of many things, not least among
them of collaborating with the enemy. However, these
insults do not change the facts. Once again, the
problem is not Mali, Afghanistan, or Yemen. As the
wise say, the problem is rooted ?…in the minds, not in
parliament.? Men of knowledge, insight, and wisdom
have tried to ignite a lantern to lead us, but they
were unable to do so and were forced to carry their
flame with them to the hereafter; men like Sheik
Mohammed Abdo, who departed broken hearted, who the
Nile Poet Hafez Ibrahim elegised when he wrote: The
world of his era and of Islam wept The lantern in the
darkness, the dispeller of doubt.
A Saudi journalist and expert on Islamic movements
and Islamic fundamentalism as well as Saudi affairs.
Mshari is Asharq Al-Awsat's opinion page Editor, where
he also contributes a weekly column. Has worked for
the local Saudi press occupying several posts at Al -Madina
newspaper amongst others. He has been a guest on
numerous news and current affairs programs as an
expert on Islamic.
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EsinIslam.Com
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