Richard D. Molfese
The Palestinian Conflict: Brought to you by the Arab League.
The term unite is to put together to form a single unit. That “unity” is
the quality or state of being made one: Unification is the resulting singleness
of effect or symmetry and consistency of style and character (Merriam-Webster
The Arab League is not a union of Arab States working for unification toward Arab solidarity or peace. It is rather a fragmented group of power, status and wealth seekers trying to keep what they have and dumbing down their neighbors. Since 1947, these statesmen are always vying to elevate themselves in the eyes of the Arab people, while they negotiate with Western and Soviet governments secretly for economic gains. These Arab leaders have created obstacles in their unification process for their personal gain. So they do not care that their talk is cheapened when, as states, they show their elitism against their neighbors, or when they flaunt their wealth on poor nations. The reigning Monarchs and Arab leaders claim their intellect and birthright justifies their positions as leaders.
I am not writing about the many injustices that have occurred to the Arab people. I will not coddle the Arabs and say they are poor, unintelligent people. That would not be a true statement. I want to point out that the Middle East Arabs and their descendants, in the history of the world, were considered teachers and scholars who taught the world many things. In fact although the Arabs never fully realized their renaissance, their achievements in navigation and medicine, brought the world out of the dark ages.
I will attempt to explore the history of the Arabs and many of the obstacles, that I see, as self inflicted. I will offer an amateur solution to discord in the Middle East. I will focus on the Palestinians, who I believe they are made to bleed to keep all Arabs consciously united through their pain, while the Arab leaders keep the people’s focus away from what they do. I see the parallel of the American Indian and their reservation lands they were shipped off to, as the Palestinian refugee camps are walled prisons for an indigenous people.
I would mention the Kurds also, but they have somehow denied the partitioning of outside influences, and have grown. Though they are still without a real bordered homeland they do have much land in which they can roam freely. I try to understand why America is looked at as the real evil and make suggestions of the future of the Middle East and peace.
The Arab League is fragmented by the boundaries and agendas, of their individual state mentality. The Arabs talk of peace and unity but negotiate alone. It is this individuality that prevents the Arab League from being cohesive and standing as one voice. Furthermore, the Arab League states align themselves with the United States or Russia either for monetary gain, status or power usually undermining the Arab position. The Arabs themselves place economic and social barriers between their people. The haves, do not want to give, to the have nots. Further separation occurs in the Arab community, from intellectual superiority, money, degrees in devotion to Islam and history of the people themselves. Yes, even in Islam racism does exist. To try and understand the vast differences we must look at the geography of the Middle East.
Arab lands are vast and range some 5,000 miles and encompass some 5.25 million square miles. The lands border on the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Arab territory in Africa is 72% with the remaining 28% in Asia. While the region is dominated by dry climatic conditions, it is the natural land bridge from Asia to Africa and to Indonesia. The Arabs have enjoyed so many different cultures mingled into their past, their minds are torn between the individual state they are, and the Arab unity for which they long to have. Contrary to popular belief, relatively few Arab countries possess petroleum and natural gas resources. They are mainly agricultural and have other natural resources: including iron-ore, lead, phosphate, cobalt and manganese. These stats were on the Middle East New web site. The harshness of the desert and the oppressive heat has kept development of the Middle East down and to a minimum. Water is a scarce resource and well regulated by governments. The Middle East is a gate way three continents and largely desert and barren rock. The temperature swings can range from 32 degrees at night to 130 degrees with a 12 hour period. The climate drives the people, restricting activities by day, slowing the region and the people down.
The Arabs are an old people, with a rich past. It is the complex nature of their past which keeps the Arabs on different agendas, and a willingness to negotiate separately. The Middle East is where man first organized into a settled form of society, cultivating grain and raising livestock, establishing cities and promoting diverse skills and occupations. The Middle East is where the rich and complex cultures of ancient Egypt, Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia and Phoenicia civilizations began and flourished. The Arabic language developed during this time and spread through the centuries, until, the appearance of Islam. This is where the language acquired the form in which it is known today. Arab poets of the pre-Islamic, or Jahiliyyah period, had developed a language of amazing richness and flexibility, despite the fact that many were desert bedouins (nomads) with little or no formal education. For the most part, their poetry was transmitted and preserved orally throughout the Middle East. The Arabic language was then, as it is now, easily capable of creating new words and terminology in order to adapt to the demands of new scientific and artistic discoveries. The civilizations that thrived in the Middle East brought to the world discoveries about the human body and how blood flows. The study of Astronomy was improved and many heavenly bodies were attributed to the Arab Astronomers. The Arabs taught the world to navigate by using the stars. The Arabs were very religious but progressive in their studies. Unfortunately they were never to realize their renaissance and be credited with their discoveries. The Ottoman Empire would bring on a new era to the Arabs.
The History of Mistrust
The Middle East trauma during the 20th century can be traced back to the events surrounding World War 1. At that time several changes in the Ottoman Empire’s rule of the Middle East occurred. It was shortly after the Young Turk coup of 1908, that the Ottoman Empire abandoned their pluralistic and pan Islamic policies. The Ottoman Empire started to follow a policy of secular Turkish nationalism. The formerly cosmopolitan and tolerant Ottoman Empire began to blatantly discriminate against non-Turkish inhabitants. Arabs in particular were faced with political, cultural and linguistic persecution. During this time, Arab nationalistic groups in Syria, Iraq and Arabia began to rally behind the Hashemite banner of Abdullah and Faisal; sons of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, King of the Arabs. It was Sharif Hussein bin Ali dream, to establish a unified Arab state, stretching from Aleppo (Syria) to Aden (Yemen). The state would be founded on the ancient traditions and culture of the Arab people upholding of Islamic ideals and full protection and inclusion of ethnic and religious minorities. The Arabs saw their opportunity when the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers against the Allies. Sharif Hussein bin Ali started the Great Arab Revolt, trusting British Officials who promised to support a unified kingdom for the Arabs. The Arabs were not to get their independent and unified state. The British made conflicting promises with their wartime Allies. The French, Russians and British all had their own agendas and parceled out the land. Further complications arose when Lord Rothschild, called Britain to support a Jewish home in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was considered by Arabs as a deceitful move by Britain to steal Palestine away. (The Royal Hashemite Court, “Jordan History – The Great Arab Revolt.”)
I associate the episode in the history of the Middle East to the French, English and the new American’s treatment of the Native American. The great powers of the time negotiated treaties with Native Americans, which they had no intention of honoring. Nor, could the Arabs or Indian, see the deceit, in the men, they were dealing with. The land belonged to, or was apart of the larger tribe; usually the people on the land were sub tribes, either conquered by, or under the protection of a greater tribe. The similarities are in that the Arabs and Native Americans were treated as inferior and so treaties made with them could be broken. Even though some Arab leaders of the day had the foresight to see the worldview, the ruling powers used them and then discounted them. The grand picture of the world powers was to control trade with India and Africa, so the Middle East was the grand passage they could not let go. So, the English, French and Russians did not trust the Arabs to govern themselves and wanted to divide them so they could never pose a significant threat to trade routes. The common thread was Arab belief and Islam which kept a loose confederacy to apply pressure against the occupiers.
Islamic History and Law
The Middle East was also the birth place of the three great monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The followers of those faiths lived in harmony throughout the centuries in the same land; each considered themselves the people of one God. The Arabic term Islam literally means "surrender," or "submission." Islam's believers, accept surrender to the will of Allah. Allah is viewed as a unique God--creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. Muhammad, it is claimed, was the last of the great prophets which included Adam, Noah, Moses, Jesus and some others. The basic belief of Islam is expressed in the shahadah, the Muslim confession of faith, "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God." The Islamic doctrine of God, expressed in the Qur'an is rigorously monotheistic: God is one and unique; he has no partner or equal. Muslims believe although Allah's presence is everywhere, he does not imbue into anything or anyone. He is the sole Creator, and sustainer of the universe, wherein every creature knows his lordship and unity. According to the Qur'an, God created two apparently parallel species, man and jinn. Man was created from clay and the jinn were created from fire. The jinn are endowed with reason and responsibility but are more prone to evil than man. The Qur'an is primarily directed at man, and is self described as the guide for the human race. Despite man's lofty position, the Qur'an describes human nature as frail and faltering, a view share by the two other religions. Man is viewed as rebellious, arrogant and full of pride. The cardinal sin of man, is mans likeness in aspiring to God and thereby violating the unity of God. True faith (identified as iman), consists of belief in the immaculate Divine Unity and Islam is in one's submission to the Divine will. There are three different sects that follow, to different degrees; Islam thought their basic beliefs are the same.
The Kharijis sect believed that the basis of rule was righteous character and piety, any Muslim, irrespective of race creed or color could become ruler, provided he or she satisfies the conditions of piety. This is in contrast to the claims of the Shi'ah that the ruler must belong to the family of the Prophet, and in contrast to the Sunnis that the head of state must belong to the Prophet's tribe. Sunni political theory is essentially a product of circumstance-an after-the-fact rationalization of historical developments. So, between the Shi'ah legitimism that restricts rule to Ali's family, and the Kharji democratic beliefs, Sunnis holds to the position that the rule belongs to the Quraysh (the Prophet's tribe), the condition that actually existed. The Sunni sect embraces the principle of toleration, making it possible for diverse sects to recognize and coexist with one another. Sunni theologians place emphasis on divine omnipotence at the expense of the freedom and efficacy of the human will. The Sunnites support the concept that "Muslims must obey even a tyrannical ruler." While the Islamic community throughout the world is united by the two essential beliefs in (1) the Oneness of God and (2) the divine mission of His Prophet, there developed shortly after Muhammad's death a debate within the Islamic community over who should succeed the Prophet as leader of the faithful. This debate split the community into Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. It is important to remember, however, that on fundamental issues, Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims are in basic agreement since they both draw on the Qur'an and the Shari'ah, body of Islamic Law. Even in their religious views they have unique sects that further fracture, an Arab unity.
Islamic Law and Reform
The Law covered the vast range of the Middle East and held in check all the tribes that roamed within, for centuries. Islamic Law (Shari’a) is swift, brutal and severe, is considered barbaric by Westerns. The inequality toward women has been a catalyst for, the world to request reforms be made to Islamic Law. During the early 20th century, the Western powers came in and brought their form of government and punishment the degrees of Shari’a followed have changed. Today, Arabs are split between following the Shari’a as it has been for centuries and reforming it to reduce the harshness. The Arabs are worried that if there is a change to Shari’a it will become slow and ineffective, as they perceive Western Law to be. Though Arabs would want Shari’a, without the harsh barbaric punishment, i.e. stoning, beheading etc., to be their law, there is still a separation in the degrees of Shari’a adherence within the Arab world. Scholars are trying to reform Shari’a to use more modern techniques in judgment of wrongdoing, such as DNA testing. The Arab states that follow British and French common law and those that wish to keep the Shari’a in its original form add to the separation of the Arab peoples. Wahbabism: which is the extreme form of Islam is practiced in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria further threatens the stability of the region, through intolerance for other beliefs.
The Arab League
Since the creation of the Arab states from 1909 to the present, the Arab Leaders have always been guided by their own national agenda. They have rarely remained cohesive and usually fight among themselves. The Arabs are distracted from a focused unity because of their separate agreements. The Arab League of Nations created in 1945, was a compromise that recognized the sovereignty of each Arab state. In 1945, the Arabs had put forth many proposals for a unification plan: “Fertile Crescent Unity,” “Greater Syria,” and “the Arab Federation.” these plans were not to survive. It was the Arab League’s promise to help its member nations but none would sacrifice their prerogatives of sovereignty, which the Arab League charter upheld. Article 8 of the charter upheld the principle of non-intervention: “Each member state shall respect the systems of governments established in the other member state and regard them as the exclusive concern of those states. Each shall pledge to abstain from any action calculated to change established systems of government. (12)” This portion of the Arab’s League charter, which embodies 20 Articles and 3 annexed provisions, points to its greatest weakness. The Arab state can justify its actions to advance its own ambitions under the greater Arab cause. Presently, there are 22 states in the Arab League. The Arabs are further fragmented by their separate agreements with each other. The United Arab Republic which was a political union of Egypt and Syria formed in 1958 and lasted until 1971. This agreement was the initial step toward creating a pan-Arab union, the republic abolished Syrian and Egyptian citizenship. The Arabs were to live in “Arab Territory”. The Arab Maghreb Union was established in 1989 to promote cooperation between and integration among the Arab states of North Africa. The cohesion of the Arabs is ever fractured by their constant search for commitment between each other.
The Palestinian Issue
The Arabs are searching for a binding coalition to unite them as a nation, and the Palestinians have been used to keep the memory alive. My belief is that the Israeli and Palestinian conflict was a joint debacle in which Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Britain and France all played a major role. The subjugation of the Palestinians by Arabs was far more damaging and demeaning in the worldview then what the Israelis have done. After Britain, France and Russia split the Middle East, the Palestinians who had settled all over the land, were separated. Their lands were diminished and now called by other names. “The land called Israel and Palestine is a small, (10,000 square miles at present) land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. During its long history, its area, population and ownership varied greatly. The present state of Israel formally occupies all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean ocean, bounded by Egypt in the south, Lebanon in the north, with Syria (larger border area) and Jordan in the East. The recognized borders of Israel constitute about 78% of the land. The remainder is divided between land occupied by Israel since the 1967, 6-day war and the autonomous regions under the control of the Palestinian autonomy. The Gaza strip occupies an additional 141 square miles south of Israel along the sea coast, and is mostly under the control of the Palestinian authority with small areas occupied by Israeli settlements(9).” Similarly the Native Americans found boundaries where none were before. Both the Palestinians and Native Americans believed that they were members in their respective communities. The Palestinians and Native Americans were angered, but did not mass in numbers, and so were dismissed as people who would fight for their lands. The lands where they settled were still theirs, or so they thought. Since the Palestinians were a roaming population, and they had had the largest free range. The Palestinian people had no leadership and were not organized as other Arab “states” was. They had worked side by side with Arabs and Jews alike, for generations. Now the Palestinians were to be partitioned off by their own people. “The Arab League, at the instigation of Haj Amin Al-Husseini, declared a war to rid Palestine of the Jews. In fact however, the Arab countries each had separate agendas. Abdullah, king of Jordan, had an informal and secret agreement with Israel, negotiated with Golda Meir, to annex the portions of Palestine allocated to the Palestinian state in the West Bank, and prevent formation of a Palestinian state. Syria wanted to annex the northern part of Palestine, including Jewish and Arab areas. (9).” In my opinion the Arab handling of the Palestinian plight caused more people to look away for such a long period of time.
Westerners and Americans are Devils
Why have the Arabs taken to a kind of Marxism that denounces Western capitalism and America as the most dangerous to their well being? What has America done to earn the Arab’s hatred? The Arabs have found it easy to believe that we have no morals and that we are imperialists. Yet our history shows that we have never been aggressive to the Middle East. The Russians ravaged Afghanistan for years, and have been looked at as allies, by the Arabs. The British, French and Italians have all controlled areas of the Middle East, yet they are looked at in a different light, evil but not as evil as America. In 1947, the partitioning of the Middle East was the master plan of the United Nations, the major powers were France, Germany and Russia. The announcement of the Israeli state brought immediate and swift Arab response. Five Arab states launched an attack. America stayed away, and Israel was saved by the Russians, who supplied the weapons that helped Israel beat off the attack. The fledgling Israeli State not only beat the invaders back, but took over land, the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Stripe from Saudi Arabia. In 1956 it was America that intervened forcefully to secure the withdrawal of Israel, British and French forces from Egypt. The Americans opened their country to Arabs for schooling, to live and we gave assistance to the Middle East. Yet the Middle East purchased weapons from Russia and continually denounced America.
The hatred of America is borne from our many religious beliefs; American ideology is evil, wasteful and godless. Any incident around the world can spark a protest in Middle Eastern country, weather or not, America had anything to do with the incident. The anger will be pointed at American Businesses or American Consulates. I believe that religion plays the major part in America’s portrayal as the aggressor in the Middle East. Our freedoms threaten the Arab way of life and the control he has over his destiny.
America is hated because it can buy into the Arab States and then dictate our human rights and freedoms to those peoples. We can introduce sanctions and policy to States that want their own autonomy. America looke to change what has been old and they want it done quickly. America does add obstacles to the unity and the Arab dream of autonomy. America must tread gently in the Middle East, suggest rather than force and build understanding rather than division. The Arabs are not quick to change and look for long enduring processes for peace. The Middle East is not fast food or 4 years terms, it will take a generation to gain trust, once the process starts. American must help without adding to the disunity of the Middle East.
The Arab world can not find a common ground under which to unite. The Arabs look for binding issues to unify them and want to model their union after the European Union. One rallying point for them has been the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, however, history and circumstances indicate that Arab disunity, and in-fighting are contributing factors to the Palestinian situation. Will the Arab League realize a unity and lasting peace, and settle the Palestinian conflict within the framework of the Arab League? The Arabs are separated from one another by their leaders, their beliefs and their states. They have to overcome these separations, internal to their pan-Arab community in order to thrive. Still, there is a separation that transcends the Arab community and separates them from the rest of the world. The Arabs have been nocturnal people because of the heat of the day. Their eyes were filed with stars and they traveled in the cool of the night. They were intimate with the night sky and became great navigators. From the date of Muhammad's flight, called the hijrah, Muslims begin their calendar---AH (Anno Hegirae) 287 is the same as AD (Anno Domini) 900. Their calendar, more accurate, was based on the moon and the stars. The Arabs have a space and time separation from the rest of the non-Arab world, due to their climate and religious beliefs. They have negotiated separately, looking to better their tribe, but not the entire Arab community. Arab time is different form the rest of the world in that their priorities are different from Non – Arabs. If they are Muslim this adds to the distance between non-Arabs and Arabs. Arabs view life and war differently; the Middle East has a cultural history of waging war without major battles. “In contrast to the usual manner of European warfare, which he terms “face to face,” Keegan depicts the early Arab armies in the Islamic era as masters of evasion, delay, and indirection. Examining Arab warfare in this century leads to the conclusion that the Arabs remain more successful in insurgent, or political, warfare – what T.E. Lawrence termed “winning wars without battles.” The Arabs foster insurrection by aiding in the Palestinian conflict. They have kicked out the Palestinians and taken their lands throughout the Middle East. The Arabs are pushing the hand of war by corralling the Palestinians into a dead-end and blaming the Israelis as the only perpetrators. Ultimately the control of the Middle East means money and power: this is also the vision of the Arabs from extremists to the elite. The Palestinians, like the Native Americans, are being reduced to reservations or camps in land, once theirs.
The Arab world must redefine their borders with one another, to gain cohesive structure; there should be no boundaries between the Arab states. Arabs must achieve their autonomy as a whole, supporting each other throughout the Middle Eastern lands. As united lands they can better support those states that have fewer natural resources, and create an infrastructure that will allow the entire Middle East to flourish and grow, water being the largest resource needed to conquer the desert conditions. The Shari’a can be reformed a little at a time within the Arab community’s time frame and the Islamic religion would still flourish with tolerance of others.
The Arabs must overcome their differences: politically, intellectually and religiously. They should use their rich history to bind themselves in a community. The vastness of the Middle East requires the Arabs to trust each other in order to unify and control. The talk of an Arab nation may not be out of reach for the Middle East with the conclusion to the Palestinian struggle. Until the Arabs look at themselves as a nation of brothers no matter what the history and without borders made up by outsiders from the past. The unity they are seeking will not be in their grasp.
Israel should return to their pre-1967 borders. Israel and Jerusalem should become international property --protected by the world and open to all. The Israelis must work with the Palestinians to foster a working relationship to promote a growing economy with industry and agricultural sectors. The Palestinians must be productive, have business opportunities and make money. The establishment of a medical and education program for all should be a priority. The bond between Israelis and Palestinians must be one of mutual protection and respect, where the new state flourishes independently.
The Arab League must support and give land to the Palestinians. Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, in particular, must be substantial land donators. The Arab League must assist with infrastructure and water distribution projects to benefit them both. The must be a development of roads and rails to assist in trade, between the Palestinians and the Arab League. The Arabs in the Middle East states and countries must recognize Israel and Palestine. The Palestinian people must own their land and have a universal Passport to travel to all the lands of the Middle East without fear. If the Palestinians are given Statehood that flourishes, the world, especially the third world nations, will be given hope and focus. The entire world would benefit from such a long-term, flourishing peace.
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