Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi
Was it a palace of imagination? Was this the reason why it fell apart? High hopes for change in the Arab world that sprang up with demands for change seem to be vanishing day by day. Wars, conflicts, destruction and prisons have increased in number. Counter-revolutions have won many of the battles, and the victim at the end is democracy.
The malaise is inherent, rooted in the Arab countries, and not imported from abroad. It is the outcome of a conflict that started thousands of years ago over power, control and the denigration of the other. It is a malaise hindering the growth of the sapling of democracy in the Arab desert.
The virus of tyranny has spread through the Arab body. The individual has become guided, consciously or unconsciously, to be loyal to certain figures, whether they are political, tribal or religious. In tyrannical societies, tyrants trample on all the principles and values of society. The tyrants’ actions and decisions become a model and the ultimate truth.
The society praising, fawning on and putting up photos of the tyrant has become a daily practice, and the group that survived underground and in prisons is required to do the same. Everyone without exception is required to glorify and bless what the president, emir or leader does. No wonder that hypocrisy, insincerity and lying have become the bonds that link society to power and the figures on top of the power pyramid.
The Arab scene is depressing. Even basic international norms of human rights are absent, and so are freedom, security, private property rights, and law as the mechanism that organises relations among members of society, guarantees their individual and collective rights and ensures equality among them.
Despite all this, we have faith that the future will be better.
Was it a palace of imagination? Was this the reason why it fell apart? High hopes for change in the Arab world that sprang up with demands for change seem to be vanishing day by day. Wars, conflicts, destruction and prisons have increased in number. Counter-revolutions have won many of the battles, and the victim at the end is democracy.
The malaise is inherent, rooted in the Arab countries, and not imported from abroad. It is the outcome of a conflict that started thousands of years ago over power, control and the denigration of the other. It is a malaise hindering the growth of the sapling of democracy in the Arab desert.
The virus of tyranny has spread through the Arab body. The individual has become guided, consciously or unconsciously, to be loyal to certain figures, whether they are political, tribal or religious. In tyrannical societies, tyrants trample on all the principles and values of society. The tyrants’ actions and decisions become a model and the ultimate truth.
The society praising, fawning on and putting up photos of the tyrant has become a daily practice, and the group that survived underground and in prisons is required to do the same. Everyone without exception is required to glorify and bless what the president, emir or leader does. No wonder that hypocrisy, insincerity and lying have become the bonds that link society to power and the figures on top of the power pyramid.
The Arab scene is depressing. Even basic international norms of human rights are absent, and so are freedom, security, private property rights, and law as the mechanism that organises relations among members of society, guarantees their individual and collective rights and ensures equality among them.
Despite all this, we have faith that the future will be better.
