The Neo-Liberal Arabs: How a Daring Elite is Shaping the Arab World

Neo liberalism has emerged in the Arab World since the 1990's and among its prominent figures we can state Fouad Ajami, Walid Phares, Shaker Naboulsi, Kenaan Mekiya and Nabil Sharafeddine. It emerged as a reaction to Arab ntionalism, to the Islamic revival, to the seiries of the Arab defeats in the Arab-Israeli wars, to the bad situation of the Arab World economically, socially and culturally, and to the lack of freedoms and human rights in Arabic-speaking middle-eastern countries. The main ideas of the neo-liberal Arab thinkers are: the seperation between state and religion, the disdain for Nasser and for Arab nationalism, realpolitik, the ideological disagreement with Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and the adoption of free-market democracy. The most famous media outlet of the neo-liberals is Elaph, a news website launched in 2001 in London. The neo-lib thinkers have impacted the Arab World. It is Kenaan Makiya who said to George W. Bush that the Iraqis will receive the American soldiers with roses, thus encouraging him to declare the war. Fouad Ajami was also a main proponent for the war. They saw in the invasion of Iraq a historic opportunity to spread democracy and liberal values in Iraq and-if the domino effect works- in neighboring states.

The Arabic Language Can Disappear

Arabic is one of the most ancient languages in the world and it is still a living one. This privilege does not give it immunity from disappearance. Most Arabic Muslims think that Arabic is an eternal language because The Qur'an stated that the Muslim holy scriptures will be conserved for eternity. Also, Prophet Muhammad said that the language of the dwellers of the Garden of Eden would be Arabic. The Qur'an can be preserved but Arabic language may disappear. Latin, for example is a dead language but many chef-d'oeuvres were written in Latin and are still preserved. Khalil Gibran stated in his book The New and the Marvellous that Arabic would face the same fate of Latin; it would disintegrate into many languages. The local dialects would emerge and replace it. Although it may be true that Gibran's prophecy was not fulfilled, one cannot deny that Arabic is in need for revitalization. Said Akl want far to promote for the Latinization of the Lebanese-Arabic letters. We find the latter process in Turkish, Kurdish, and in other languages. The Arab Christians have produced wonderful poetry, novels and dictionaries because they stripped Arabic from its sacredness. The Arabic Muslims have to do the same thing. The Arabic language's relation to The Qur'an is a blessing and an obstacle at the same time. Muslims have a tendency not to change Arabic or add new words because in their subconscious mind it is related to something sacred.

What Does Gamal Mubarak Want?

It seems that the chapter of inheriting the presidency will not be closed in the Arab World as many rumors stated that Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president's Hosni Mubarak, is willing to submit his candidacy to the presidential election of 2011. Gamal Mubarak and his father have been denying the succession scenario but Gamal is doing his best to boost his credentials as the best successor for Mubarak. He is currently the General Secretary of the Policy Committee which is the third most powerful position in the party and the starting point for most of the government’s actions. In addition, he has embarked in an Obama-style strategy to gather supporters; he previously made an open debate on Facebook and he constantly polishes his image. Gamal Mubarak is a handsome, intelligent and well-educated young man with an experience in politics and business. What do you want more? Are all those qualities and expertise not enough?! It seems that he is the perfect fit for the position but its genealogy that may prevent him. He is the son of Hosni Mubarak. Many factions in the Egyptian opposition categorically disagree with the attempts of the succession as they do not want to be ruled by another Mubarak. Gamal Mubarak is taking regular and consistent steps to become the de-facto president of Egypt and if he fails in his quest, then he will become a kingmaker or an indispensable figure in the Egyptian politics for the years to come. It's wise to recall the citation that says don't look at someone's words but look at his deeds.

The Muslims Are the Jews of the 21st Century

After the 9/11 Attacks, Muslims are facing a serious crisis in the West and in Europe in particular. Switzerland's ban on new minarets is an example of many decisions that are not in favor of Islam. France has prevented Muslim women from wearing the hijab in public institutions and the Prophet was ridiculized in a Danish cartoon. Why all these attacks on Islam and why now?

The Europeans -of course not all of them- are fearing from Eurabia: the state in which Europe becomes Arabized and Islamized. Bernard Lewis said that in 25 years Europe will be predominantly inhabited by Muslims. The whole world has adopted the Western style of life so why this scare? The immigrants from Muslim countries and their descendents can change the European identity and universalize it but they represent an important brainpower in the age of fierce economic and scientific competition. Also, according to the Arab Labor Organization, 450 thousand Arabic engineers, physicians and researchers had immigrated to the developed world in the last decade. It's a scientific exodus. The state in Europe is not that bleak as they are "exploiting" an army of experts, a brain trust of hundreds of thousands of people. As Europeans are fearing from the Islamization of Europe, they are trying to devoice the Muslims, their citizens! The minaret represents the voice of the muezzin, they are silencing that voice not for religious reasons but for political and cultural ones. If Europe follows this intolerant course, Arabian Gulf countries will be more liberal than the European ones. If you walk in Dubai, you will see women wearing the burqa and others wearing the miniskirt.

We can understand the fears from the Muslim immigrants but those citizens have contributed a lot to the European progress. Europe is betraying its ideals; tolerance and human rights are pillars of its societies.

How to Preserve the Diasporas' Identities?

Diasporas are growing everywhere; their numbers are accelarating. Many of the members of those diasporas are fearing to lose their identities and their roots. I understand those fears but many measures can be taken to preserve those weakening identities. Language is an essential part of one's identity and culture and a lot of third-generation immigrants are not speaking a single word of the language of their fathers . They, later, deplore the loss of their identity. Parents should speak at home the language of their fathers in order for the kids to be accustomed with that language or accent. Also, the names of the newly-born babies should be related to the culture of the original identity, thus society becomes multicultural and diverse. History has proven that multi-ethnic societies are stronger than the mono-ethnic ones. The interaction between those ethnicities is a source of creativity. The diasporas should also worship the religion of their ancestors and venerate the saints of their original lands. For Christian Lebanese who are outside Lebanon, it is Our Lady of Lebanon which should be venerated. Frequent visits to the fathers' land are also encouraged in order for the new generations to know where do they originated from. Parents ought to instill in their children and grandchildren the notion that they should be proud of their origins. Grouping a certain diaspora in institutions and associations is a unifying factor for the immigrants and their descendents. The diasporas should be treated by their original states as full citizens and they should be granted citizenships, the right to vote and seats in the parliaments. An emphasis can be put on the original cuisine and on media related to the ancestors' land. Maintaining the diasporas' identities is a burning issue but previously-given clues can be very helpful.

Identity or No Identity?

Identity has undergone a tremendeous change. Today, we don't see a homogeneous identity but it's rather heterogeneous and hybrid. Since the waves of immigration from Europe and other parts of the world to the New World, we have started talking about identity as doubled. Also, the Old World itself is no longer homogeneous; it's becoming more and more multicultural. The partisans of globalization say that time has come to talk about the world citizen and demographic realities on the ground stand by their idea. The evolution of international traffic has accelerated people's immigration thus identity has changed. We are more and more talking about the roots, the descent and the origin. Identity is more hyphenated than it was in the past. Hyphenated adjectives like Italian-American or Algerian-French are present everywhere. Besides, we started talking about multiple citizenships and not only two; Monica Seles and Carlos Ghosn are perfect examples of this multiplicity. For globalists the one-citizenship age is falling apart. For nationalists, it's still strong. We cannot control human migration because it's a natural human phenomenon. It's not an artificial one. One of the chracheteristics of the human being is to move, to settle and to resettle and history has proven that.

Leadership at the Time of No Leadership

The notion of leadership has undergone many changes throughout the ages. Nowadays, we don't have the type of leaders like the prophets and Alexander the Great. We don't have lands to conquer and monotheistic religions to preach but we have markets to conquer and minds to reach. Thus, the vision of the leaders has changed. Also, we don't have a crisis of leadership as the number of leaders is mushrooming and the margin of maneuver is lessening. The leaders who want to be remembered by history should explore new fields in order to be innovative and pioneering.