It is not an overstatement to say that the Middle East is a mess. Before we start, though, we need to remember that there are conflicts and disasters across the world, and often they go unmentioned because they are not in places of interest to the superpowers.
For now, let us focus on what is happening in this region. I’ll leave the in-depth political and historical analyses to the experts, and focus on what is being said on the ground and among regular people who, like me, are baffled by this ever-growing cancer of death and hate that seems to be engulfing the region.
“Crisis” has almost become synonymous with the Middle East.
It seems that every time we turn around, there is a new group of refugees fleeing for their lives, either from bombardment, as in Gaza, or from armed militants like the Islamic State fighters better known in the Arab world as “Daaesh”.
People are becoming refugees in their own countries, running from one place to the other, displaced several times, losing family members along the way. It has been horrible, and continues to be horrible, for hundreds of thousands of citizens across Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Libya. It spilt over into Lebanon as hundreds had to flee their homes as battles raged on in the north. And it is not over in Lebanon, with the return of conspiracy theories as well as “civil war” rhetoric that exacerbates an already overwhelmed and overheated state.
There are so many armed groups these days that you can lose count. They get confused with each other when they are reported about and are misnamed or renamed.
But because many of them are on social media, it is like we are all sitting back, watching a movie where the bad guys are winning, posting photos of themselves killing and grinning to the camera. But the climax is yet to happen as we wait for a “hero” to show up and save the day.
The extremists – both the religious extremists and those who denounce all religion – are taking up the spotlight while the moderate voices remain quiet on the sidelines.
But you can hear them in shisha places and cafes, talking about the crisis. Most are fearful about where the Middle East is heading as groups like the Islamic State take over villages and cities, killing and pillaging, destroying homes as well as cultures and heritage on their way.
I always like to listen to the elders, as they have probably seen it all.
“It has happened before,” said one elderly Druze sheikh I met on my recent trip. He spoke of previous wars on the same lands. “The only difference is that you actually get to see it as it happens due to social media.”
Elders from other religions and sects were at the same meeting, and they all agreed: “We are always fighting, and we don’t even know why and what for.”
One of the more dramatic effects is the regularity with which families report members going missing, only for them to be found in conflict zones “doing jihad”.
Countries around the world have been trying to stop these overzealous, often very young Muslim citizens who have never even been to the Middle East. What is dangerous is to view it somehow as a “Sunni versus everyone else” war. In reality, groups like the Islamic State will kill just about anyone to create a “caliphate”.
The latest news is about a poor mother who discovered that her 10- and 11-year-old sons were taken by her Saudi ex-husband to join Islamist militants in Syria. He told her to count them as "birds in heaven". I can't even imagine her shock as she saw an Instagram photo of them taken in Turkey on their way to war.
They were pictured holding weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and a grenade. Do these children know who they will be fighting and why?
The bottom line is that we can’t just sit back and discuss issues like this in cafes; we have to take a more active role in weakening terrorists. Perhaps we should start by deactivating their social media, so they can’t get their message through.
Fighting back has to start somewhere.
rghazal@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @Arabianmau
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
FIGHT%20CARD
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The%20trailblazers
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The five pillars of Islam
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
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- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
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Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
