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In this, the first of a two-part series, DR QURAYSHA ISMAIL SOOLIMAN explains why we should understand the role the emerging Arab leadership in the current Gaza crisis averting blame.
STOP blaming the new, younger Arab leaders for Gaza, for Palestine, for the weakened state of the Ummah. It is a collective blame. We all carry this burden.
The perceived inaction from Arab states regarding the Gaza genocide stems from ingrained, colonised thought processes marked by divide-and-rule tactics. Many of us remain ensnared in this trap, clouding our critical thinking with media noise. We are emotionally caught between spirituality and reality, between politics and religion. Failure to recognise the superiority of one’s tradition and values has resulted in Arab nations – and Muslims by default – being ridiculed, ostracised and bombed to oblivion at the drop of a hat. All the while, resources have been stolen and barbaric states like the US and Israel have been emboldened in their villainy. It also made Muslim nations turn on other Muslim nations. It’s time to silence the noise, foster critical thinking and understand the realm of realpolitik.
Why have Arab states displayed considerable restraint in taking what we understand to be decisive actions since October 7? To comprehend this, one must delve into the behaviour of states, alliances and their historical contexts. The adage ‘follow the money’ and inquire ‘who benefits’ remains pertinent advice for truth-seekers. Recognising that political elites prioritise personal gain over the masses’ needs serves as ample evidence that, globally, these elites are self-serving, neglecting the interests of the people.
Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, the US and other warmongering, racist states sought a new adversary to legitimise the military-industrial complex, a lucrative source of income for political elites and their cadres. If one thought that cadre benefits were an ANC problem, it was time to school oneself. With the absence of the communist threat, Muslims became the most accessible and convenient target for racist agendas.
Many Muslim-majority countries possess abundant resources, yet their leaders lacked a coherent vision for their populations. Regrettably, many of these leaders had forsaken their rich cultural traditions for morally questionable Western values, undermining the inherent strength of their societies. If I can explain it simply it would be the equivalent of a verse in Surah Baqarah: ‘Do you exchange what is better for what is worse?’ (Surah Baqarah, 2:61). This sentiment was recently reiterated by Qatar’s Sheikha Moza bint Nassir, in her remarks at the second edition of the Renaissance of Arabic Language Forum when she said, ‘It saddens me when I hear foreign jargon from our children and sometimes between parents and children. It is as if we are telling them to embrace alienation. What do you want with a language whose speakers are falling behind other civilisations and who are worn out by wars?’
In Western nations where entertainment and exceptionalism have dulled critical thinking, the narrative of invading Muslim-majority lands under the guise of promoting democracy and liberating oppressed women finds fertile ground. It’s worth noting that over 23 years, three successive American presidents – Clinton, Bush and Obama – initiated military actions in nine Muslim countries, resulting in the deaths of more than six million civilians. Meanwhile, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has amounted to nearly 65 000 tons of explosives, equating to approximately 28 kilograms for every man, woman and child in the region. This is the everyday history of these terrorists. Yet the Muslims are called the terrorists. Hamas is called ‘terrorist.’
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Again, for clarity, let it be known that the majority of the international community, including the UN does NOT consider Hamas to be a terrorist organisation. In addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings on the status of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, Ma Xinmin, China’s Foreign Ministry’s legal adviser, speaking on behalf of China, said that the Palestinians have a right to resistance under international law, ‘including armed struggle’, which ‘in this context, is distinguished from acts of terrorism’.
Addressing CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani affirmed unwavering support for all Palestinians and explicitly declared that Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian people and that Qatar does not deem Hamas a terrorist organisation. It is the gangsters and bullies within the international system of states who endorse each other’s lies and pat each other on the back for killing Muslims and black people or stirring conflict in the global South. Nothing changes. They revel in murder. The antagonism carried by the western elite for Islam is a long, old story. This animosity has developed along the same lines as Afrophobia and anti-black hatred making the propaganda of dehumanisation easier.
It is not coincidental that Netanyahu wrote a book in 1995 stating that ‘if the West doesn’t wake up to the suicidal nature of militant Islam, then the next thing you will see is the militant Islamists bringing down the World Trade Centre’. Lo and behold! 9/11 happened six years later. This started a string of attacks and wars on Muslim lands. For decades he has been war-mongering, constantly inviting the American Congress, with its Zionist politicians, to attack Iran, Iraq and Libya. In an interview in 1982 he said, ‘If you take away the Soviet Union and its chief proxy the PLO, international terrorism would collapse.’ In 2002 he said, ‘If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I can guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.’ In 2002 he also said, ‘I would like to see a regime change in Iran just as I would like to see in Iraq.’ When asked in 2002 if there were any other nations that the United States should launch pre-emptive attacks against, he said ‘The answer is a categorical yes.’ Then he mentioned Iran, Iraq and Libya. In 2015 he again called on his minions in the US Congress to ‘stop Iran’.
In the geopolitical landscape, Gaddafi and Saddam have fallen, leaving only the Iranian leadership standing. Over the past five months, a consistent narrative has emerged, echoing concerns about Iran’s influence in various regions – be it Syria, Yemen or Iraq. The discourse, urging military interventions, has resurfaced with a familiar pattern of shifting the ensuing costs to Arab states.
Nations like Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria and Turkey have criticised the immoral and illegal siege on Gaza. Collaborating with other Muslim states, they have actively contributed to Gaza’s reconstruction after Israeli incursions. Qatar alone has reportedly invested over one billion dollars in salaries, infrastructure, healthcare and education within the past decade. Turkey, Malaysia and Iran have also increased financial support for Gaza. Israel kills, bombs, destroys; the Arabs clean up, rebuild. Not anymore. Drawing parallels to Germany’s reparations post-Holocaust, it is argued that Israel should compensate Palestinians for the damages caused. It is time for Israel to pay the Palestinians. And no, the Arabs are not going to fix this mess. The US-backed apartheid state did it and the US and Israel must make reparations. This goes for any of the racist European states who supply arms to Israel knowing full well that the occupation is illegal and that the ICJ has indicated provisional measures because it is ‘plausible’ that a genocide in Gaza is happening. These sentiments have been repeated by many states giving evidence at the ICJ on Israel’s belligerent occupation of Palestine.
If the consensus to hold Israel accountable, impose sanctions, expel Israel from the UN and dismantle the occupation is not reached through International Law which governs all state parties, the Arab states will forever have to deal with the demon in their midst. The wicked Zionists murder children, rape women and young girls whilst IOF snipers kill young Palestinians going to school. Sadly, the Arab, African and Muslim voice on its own is not enough. It will only carry weight when the Europeans affirm the equality and dignity of all. The UN is still a racist system. Statements only have weight when the white man utters them. That is why going the international law route is strategic. Playing this dirty war game according to Israel and the US’s ‘rules-based system’ would be an all-out defeat and Arabs would constantly be picking up the pieces, whilst paedophiles and riffraff coming from all over Europe steal more Palestinian land. These are the squatters. They are criminals. The US and Israel are also criminal.
The US has been implicated in the theft of Syrian oil, as well as oil from Iraq and Libya. The appropriation of funds and resources from Iran and Afghanistan, frozen under sanctions, is attributed to the US. Reports on social media echo a similar narrative for Israel, where soldiers steal from homes and institutions they are bombing in Gaza. Against this backdrop of gangsterism, manipulation and pervasive propaganda promoting virulent Islamophobia, the new young Arab leaders have had to make difficult choices. Regrettably, past mistakes have strapped the new young Arab leaders into this toxic environment specifically because of their predecessors’ short-sightedness in fixing their currencies to the US dollar and the trade of oil in dollars instead of their currencies – what is known as the petrodollar. Wealthy nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait can be impoverished if their assets and bank accounts are frozen and sanctioned. These leaders have studied the violence of Western barbarity and the ugliness of the racist political elite who insult them, mock their culture, humiliate their women, kill their children and disrespect their tradition.
It is essential to grasp the depth of depravity exhibited by the political elite of both Israel and the US. Their readiness to instigate further conflicts in Arab regions, indiscriminately perpetrate violence and even contemplate the use of nuclear weapons underscores the urgent need for Arabs to forge a distinct path forward. Saying ‘Ja Baas’ [Yes, Boss] to these two miscreants is not an option. But how to exit this prison cage?
In part two we discuss why, in the aftermath of the Israeli attacks on Gaza post-October 7, the anticipated military responses from the Arab countries did not unfold as expected.
- Quraysha Ismail Sooliman is a NIHSS post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria.
