By John Ballard
A couple days ago someone noted that one hundred days have passed since Muhammad Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor in a final gesture of outrage and frustration, set himself on fire.
The riots and demonstrations that have swept through Tunisia during the past 10 days also began with a small incident. Twenty-six-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi, living in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, had a university degree but no work. To earn some money he took to selling fruit and vegetables in the street without a licence. When the authorities stopped him and confiscated his produce, he was so angry that he set himself on fire.
Rioting followed and security forces sealed off the town. On Wednesday, another jobless young man in Sidi Bouzid climbed an electricity pole, shouted "no for misery, no for unemployment", then touched the wires and electrocuted himself.
On Friday, rioters in Menzel Bouzaiene set fire to police cars, a railway locomotive, the local headquarters of the ruling party and a police station. After being attacked with Molotov cocktails, the police shot back, killing a teenage protester.
By Saturday, the protests had reached the capital, Tunis � and a second demonstration took place there yesterday.
I learned of the event from Kal.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
As this is the first 100 days of the Arab Spring, it's a good time to pause and look around. Several links have caught my eye this week reflecting a complexity and diversity of events in the Arab world that most analysts and observers tend to overlook. I'm not wise enought to pull them all together with some grand, commentary and as a student of history I am skeptical of anyone who claims to do so. That said, here in no particular order are the links I have in mind.
?Fresh on my mind are protests in Bahrain about which I just posted.
When I went to You Tube to get the embed code for the CNN snip I noticed the first comment left at the site was a condemnation
...you alkhawajas are not slaves & have not been treated as slaves in Bahrain, maybe you mean you are slaves to your Iranian masters & funding?....If only? your father had not tried to overthrow the legitimate govt thru illegitimate means back in early 80's, maybe u would have had a less biased perspective...
From what I gather, this was posted by someone favoring a constitutional monarchy. The comment referred to past uprisings in Bahrain described in this short clip from Wikipedia.
Even before Iran's revolution in 1979, there was a noticeable conservative trend growing, with the traditional abaya being donned by women in preference to the then popular mini-skirt. But it was the political earthquake represented by the Shah's fall that changed the dynamics of Bahrain's politics. The prelude and aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 encouraged Shia Islamist dissent across the Middle East. Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran immediately saw their co-religionists in Bahrain, who had grown more conscious of their own religious identity during this period, as prime agents to export the revolution. The failure of the Left to offer a political or philosophical challenge to the Islamists allowed them quickly to dominate the avenues of dissent.
In 1981, an Iranian front organisation, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain attempted a coup d'�t through a plan involving the assassination of Bahrain's leadership and an Islamist uprising. The aim was to install a clerical leadership with Iraqi cleric Hadi al-Mudarrisi as supreme leader, but the coup was detected after a tip off from a friendly intelligence source.
The failed coup and the outbreak of the Iran�Iraq War led to the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council which Bahrain joined with Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The sense of regional uncertainty was further heightened when Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait followed by the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
The family clearly has more than one generation of political and human rights activism experience. I post this not to claim any expertise but to point out that events there are not as two-dimensional as they appear from this distance.Those who speak carelessly of "regime change," citing the elimination of Saddam Hussain as an illustration of what a wonderful development it has been for Iraq, are usually ignorant of the fact that Iraq was a Shiite majority held in political check by a Sunni minority, and the democratically elected modern Iraq, with Shiites now in charge, is a close cousin in the faith to iran.
The Sunni-Shiite divide is too complex for all but the experts among non-Muslims to fully understand. And even among so-called "experts" there is plenty of confusion and lack of agreement to go around.
It is a mistake to presume all Shiites are in the same camp, however. Not only was there a long and bloody war between Iran and Iraq (back when Saddam was a US ally) but according to Vali Nasr, whose book I have been studying for some time, internal divisions among Shia clerics have been sharp, with one Ayatollah Khoi (I'm using Nasr's spelling) whose residence, support and influence in Iraq being a key factor (vis-a-vis Khomeini) in the split between the two countries resulting in a war.
?The second Arab renaissance by Jean-Pierre Filiu (FP Magazine)
...this democratic uprising is also an irresistible renaissance, the victory of a generation that decided to claim control over its own destiny. And this modern renaissance carries alongside it the unfulfilled promises and the liberating energy of the first Arab renaissance, the Nahda, opened by Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in 1798 and concluded by World War II.
This "liberal age of the Arab thought", as Albert Hourani entitled his seminal book about the Nahda a half-century ago, was indeed the intellectual and political response to this French revolutionary challenge, which was simultaneously both an external military aggression and a spur to cultural progress. The Ottoman Empire was so shocked by such a blow that it let two modernizing dynasties launch, under its nominal leadership, their own reformist programs in Tunisia and Egypt, which were already at the vanguard. The ensuing spread of Arabic printing led dozens of newspapers to publish not only challenging ideas and information, but also a much more accessible language, something that is echoed today by satellite pan-Arab channels. Today's "Facebook kids" were in the nineteenth century the cosmopolite strata of young and older graduates, often at odds with their religious hierarchies (whether Muslim or Christian), while the Arab diaspora in Europe and America was already supporting their audacious calls for change.
We've been here before. Dip into history and discover the meanings of Intifada and Nahda. I have a feeling neither word has any good English equivalent which is why both are cited in this article. A central idea, not all that different from pre-revolutionary European political notions, is that the interests of the ruler are mostly congruent with those of his subjects. And the exploitation of subjects eventually leads to trouble. Compare this.
This Arab Nahda is smashing the once-prevailing sentiment that what is good for the ruler should be good for the country. The Tunisian and the Egyptian armies valued loyalty to their country over obedience to their ruler, thereby forcing presidents Ben Ali and Mubarak to step down.
?While the Saudi elite looks nervously abroad, a revolution is happening
The gap between the Saudi regime's conservative ideology and modern urban reality has fed discontent across society
This heading speaks for itself. No need for me or anyone to point to what is obvious.
?Gulf media find their red line in uprisings: Bahrain
For viewers watching protests spread across the region, the excitement stopped abruptly in Bahrain. Scant coverage was given to protests in the Gulf Cooperation Council member and to the ensuing crackdown by its Sunni rulers, who called in Saudi and Emirati troops in March under a regional defence pact.
Protests in Oman and Saudi Arabia have also received scant attention in recent months.
"Bahrain does not exist as far as Al Jazeera is concerned, and they have avoided inviting Bahraini or Omani or Saudi critics of those regimes," said As'ad AbuKhalil, politics professor at California State University.
"Most glaringly, Al Jazeera does not allow one view that is critical of Bahraini repression to appear on the air. The GCC has closed ranks and Qatar may be rewarded with the coveted post of secretary-general of the Arab League."
Despite a wealth of material, there were no stirring montages featuring comments by protesters or scenes of violence against activists in Bahrain. Al Jazeera has produced such segments to accompany Egyptian and Tunisian coverage.
I am among the most avid fans of Al Jazeera but like most media there is a limit to its purview. That impressive news stream still has to pay the rent in Qatar. Need anyone say more?
?Italian peace activist killed in Gaza
Lest we toss Al Jazeera aside, here is a recent report receiving scant attention and even less understanding outside the region.
This is a dramatic case of a terrorist organization (Hamas) confronting a case of domestic terrorism of their own and not of their making!
The implications are huge.
Read this closely.
Hamas officials have said they found the body of an Italian peace activist based in Gaza who was kidnapped by armed assailants.
The officials said Hamas police stormed an apartment in Gaza Strip belonging to a member of the group that released a video of the activist, identified as Vittorio Arrigoni.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, strongly condemned the murder as he conveyed his condolences to Arrigoni's family.
"This heinous crime is far from the traditions of our people, who are struggling for freedom and independence," he said.
Abbas added that the role of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) - which Arrigoni was a part of - in defending Palestinian rights was highly valued.
Earlier in a statement, the Hamas interior ministry said the man was killed shortly after he was abducted at midday on Thursday.
Ehab al-Ghussein, ministry spokesman, said he was killed "in an awful way." He said the kidnappers planned from the beginning to kill him, not to trade him for captives.
A ministry statement denounced the killing as "a crime that does not reflect the values, morals, religion and customs" of the people of Gaza.
An Italian doctor was on his way from Israel to examine the body, a Hamas official said.
In Rome, the Italian foreign ministry condemned what it called a "barbaric murder" and a "vile and irrational gesture of violence on the part of extremists indifferent to the value of a human life."
After a clash early on Friday hours of his abduction, Hamas police found the body of the peace campaigner. It was not immediately clear how he died.
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said: "Hamas has rounded up a lot of Salafi members since this news came out to try and get more information but at this stage they have told us that there has only been one confirmed arrest."
"Hamas is very keen to say that the security situation in Gaza is solid. It's been really pushing home the message that Hamas is in control and that Gaza is safe," she said.
Foreign aid workers said Arrigoni was an activist with the pro-Palestinian ISM, and also worked as a journalist and writer.
Most readers will scan the headline and dismiss the matter with the same carelessness that they might skip another detail of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hell, most people don't know Hamas from Abbas or the Palestinian Authority from Fatah. But the significance of this incident is clear.
Hamas, famously labeled a terrorist organization by the Western and Israeli media, did not come by that designation by accident. But the organization also did not win an election in Gaza in 2006 by accident. Hamas, under the tutelage of the Muslim Brotherhood, did for the people of Gaza what the other political party (Fatah) failed to do. Working deliberately over several years Hamas won (and continues to hold) the support and respect of many Palestinians including many in the West Bank Go read the Wikipedia section "Social Welfare Wing" for a description of it's extra-political, non-military work.
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My intent here is not to argue any particular point of view but to point to how complex the political situation is in the Arab world. I find this last link especially poignant.
In the shadow of a largely non-violent wave of political protests that has done more in a hundred days than all the terrorism and violence of several decades, Hamas -- one of the most high-profile of terrorist groups, second perhaps only to Al Qaeda -- may be trying to catch the wave and ride it to political legitimacy. And just at this critical moment what should happen but extreme elements within their own ranks (Salafists) go an kill somebody respectable! This has to be a real oh-shit moment for the Hamas leadership.
A few days ago I heard a radio report that some of the rebels in Libya, having pushed well past the non-violence stage, are contemplating suicide missions in their dedication to overthrowing Qaddafi. Very sad. And aside from reporting what I heard, no comment from me other than it is another indication that events now unfolding across the Arab world are far from simple to understand and far from finished. If a hundred days has resulted in this much diversity of results, imagine what a year will bring.
I'm rooting for the Turkish model. But that's still a long way off.
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ADDENDUM, April 17
I notice a bit of traffic.
Welcome, Agonist readers.
As though the other links were not confusing enough, today I came across yet another by Nir Rosen thanks to a Vali Nasr tweet. This may be more significant than all the others together. Somewhat longish and with references to names, movements and terms with which most readers are not familiar. Doing more homework and background reading is the best advice I can offer because there are no crib notes to a big picture.
?Prospects for the Sectarian Terrain (Part 1) by Nir Rosen
With consummate skill Nir Rosen draws a frightening parallel between pre-WWII European antisemitism and Arab/Sunni attitudes about non-Arab Shiites.
On 22 March, Sha�lan Sharif wrote an article in the spirit of Jonathan Swift�s �A Modest Proposal,� in al-Akhbar, the Arab world�s leading leftist newspaper. Sharif compared �the Jewish question� in pre holocaust Europe to the �Shiite question� of today. Jews were accused of conspiring against Europe, and against mankind throughout the ages, like rats carrying the plague, according to the Nazis. Just as Jews could not be trusted so too Shiites were accused of taqiyya, or dissimulation to conceal their �true intentions�.
While Sharif�s analogy might sound extreme, he was correct in observing an increase of hatred of Shiites throughout the Sunni Arab world. While there was never perfect harmony, there is also no history of civil war between Sunnis and Shiites until the American invasion of Iraq, nor anything resembling the international mobilization of sectarianism through media and statements of politicians and clerics. But since the American occupation of Iraq created a bloody civil war, relations between Sunnis and Shiites in the region have deteriorated to the point where if you meet a stranger the first thing you want to find out if he is Sunni or Shiite. Since the Saudi invasion of Bahrain, tensions on this issue have escalated more than ever before.
No way to parse this reading. My post is already too long.
The reader will have to go to the link for the rest. It willl take a few minutes more, but the time will be well spent.
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At the tisk of sounding crass, I feel perfectly justified when I say the ill-advised adventures in Iraq (and Afghanistan, for that matter) and obdurate blindness to the ongoing occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians, especially in Gaza but in Lebanon and the West Bank as well, have created a lot of shit in that part of the world. And for what?
Imagine how different the last 100 days would have been had the United States been less ham-fisted with foreign policy.
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