One Arab World

Before you start please read the previous post "Arab Nationalism: A Concise History by Mr. Kirk H. Sowell"

I have difficulty with Kirks opening line "Nationalism is an invention of the modern world, and a European invention, later exported around the world.", unless "Nationalism", as he puts it, is rooted in unification. I also do not believe Pan Arabism should be considered a synonym for Arab Nationalism. The world "nationalism" is too closely associated with patriotism. That is not what Pan Arabism is about. Pan Arabism is nothing more than a necessity to the economic, political, and cultural survival of the Arab People in an increasingly competitive world.

To be clear I believe Pan Arabism should be a term meant to reflect "The geopolitical unification of what is widely understood as "The Arab World" into an entity with a united front"

This concept is rooted in actions that date back much farther than the Treaty of Westphalia. This concept is rooted in two things. The first is the innate alliance of man in the face of a common threat. The second; the natural growth of mans common aspirations throughout history, or rather the growth of what the term "common" delineates. Hand in hand they have both lead to the swelling of sovereignty, tolerance, and the definition of ethnicity, or whatever the binding factor is.

The progression has gone from two families of nomads, to villages, to city-states, to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt or the alliance of the ancient Greeks. The progression then continued into conquests of foreign lands to the apex of the Roman Empire. It moved onward to imperialism, colonialism, and federations. Then the word "United" started cropping up. There was a "U" in everything; UN, US, EU. We have reached the point in history were we are dealing with Blocs.

Are we headed to a unified world with common aspersions and goals? Are we headed towards what the kids at Harvard Sq. are handing out fliers for? Global Socialism? Let us not forget the first motivating factor, so until the aliens invade, I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm getting off track, back to business.

Size does matter. Look at our success stories (as rare as they are), Dubai for example. As I am sure many of you know the city state of Dubai an emirate of the United Arab Emirates (there's that word again) is setting up for regional economic and touristic dominance (something very humbling for an Egyptian to write.) None the less, how do you suppose it will fare, even under the best case scenario, against another up and coming economy… say China?

Every Arab country has an enormous amount of problems. From poverty, to lack of education, resources (we lack what we need and we have too much of what everyone else would "kill" for) and finance. We are further away than most think. The state of Massachusetts spends almost ten times more in state spending than all of Egypt does. Even if these problems are miraculously altered we would still not have enough for self determination. We would still be prone to bullying and, hence, political instability. In our region "political instability" is just another way of saying terrorism.

Now consider this as a microcosm. Sudan has enough farm land, if properly irrigated to feed all of Egypt. Egypt, coincidentally, as enough man power and technical skill to irrigate Sudan. The billions of savings on Tushka? Priceless. (Sorry it won't happen again)

Now look once again at our main problems as Arab countries; poverty, lack of education, resources, and finance? If you look at the Arab world at whole you'll see we have enough resources, finance, and technical skill to handle our poverty and lack of education.

Egypt is the number one importer of wheat in the world. Iraq has the potential to become the number nine exporter of wheat by displacing neighboring Turkey for the position. The number of foreign (i.e. Indian or South Asian) employees the Gulf countries hire is more than the total unemployment number in the majority of the north African counties combined.   

Beyond the economic restructuring is the political ramifications. For example, had the Arab world acted on a unified front by not allowing the United States to use their bases and airspace there would probably not have been an Iraq war. Or perhaps it would have been a necessary internal removal of a corrupt government. Either way it would have saved thousands of lives, our dignity, and our sovereignty.

We are moving forward though. Throughout history change was hard to see coming. Steps like the GCC, the Egyptian-Jordanian pipeline, and the Arab League of Nations, however small, inconsistent, and strained, are steps none the less. The reform that is sweeping the Arab world, brought about by better or worse, will hopefully lay the foundation for change.

As we find ourselves once again on the verge of a paradigm shift let us work hard, and together, to avoid another generation or two of humiliation.

Karim Elsahy

I have been in correspondence with a self proclaimed "Arabist", published writer, and specialist in Middle Eastern affairs Mr. Kirk H. Sowell. Before I leap into why I feel a united Arab front is the only means to our dignity in the world I feel "A Concise History" on Arab Nationalism is in order. As I feel that Mr. Kirk H. Sowell did a better job doing just that than I possibly could hope to accomplish and because I am a procrastinator by nature I have reposted his post here as it was a bit hard to find on his site. (He tends to post about ten pages a day, so nothing is as it was) Click on "Read More" below to read his post. Enjoy.

Karim Elsahy

My younger brother, who lived here in Boston also, is leaving today for good. He's going to Egypt. He left many opportunities behind him. He left an opportunity to transfer to Harvard or Georgetown. He left the cleanliness and the peace of mind. He decided to transfer to Cairo University instead were he will finish dual degrees in Law and Political Science.

He figured if he truly wanted to help his people he would have to do so from there. To my Arab readership who will genuinely appreciate the magnitude of his convictions; this is amongst the bravest acts of selflessness I have ever seen, and I am humbled. Let him be a lesson to us. Let's stop complaining and pointing fingers. Let's rise to the occasion and act. Let us follow our convictions with courage, face our problems, and not rest till their amended. Let us deserve our Arab pride.

Karim Elsahy

I have taken a tip from a new friend (check out his site at orientalismegypt.blogspot.com) and have decided to throw in excerpts of my masters' thesis in architecture to cover up some writers block. My thesis was "A Seventy Five Year Urban Peace Plan for the Status of Jerusalem." Grand aye. Through it I hoped to document a real solution for the issue of Jerusalem (arguably the most enigmatic of the many problems found in the Middle East fiasco) so that in a fantastic circumstance of peace the idea would be there on a shelf ready to go.

I had big names on my committee including renowned architect Moshe Safdie (who stubbornly refused to sign, but we did have some fabulous arguments) and its been viewed by some interesting people such as Michael Terazi (Harvard Law graduate and chief advisor on litigation to the Negotiations Department of the PLO) Accompanying the thesis was a 25 minute documentary on the history, issues, and solution to Jerusalem that I need to find a way to make available online (I have a mini-div copy if anyone has a decent solution). Please forgive some of the outdated material; it is three years old, and my rambling.

Architecture is the quintessential representation of a civilization. Style and types readily identify their origins; pyramids are Egyptian, skyscrapers are American, gothic is Christian and so forth. Architecture is also a luxury. We architects are not the master builders of centuries past, and homes now come ready made. No, we are required only when the basic needs of the people are met. This is why civilizations are judged by their architecture. The architecture is the civilization's pinnacle and is attained only after everything else is sustained. True architecture is proof of our greatness and of our sheer existence. Like planting trees, we must also leave our buildings for newer generations; it is our responsibility as architects. 

As architecture shines for tomorrow, it is politics that moves today. Politicians cumulatively determine our lives and its course. Everything from the most mundane traffic law to whether or not we will be sent of to war to die. Most important, though, it is our politics that will determine whether or not we will be remembered and why. And if we do manage to achieve greatness through our politics it will fall on the architects to represent us.

The question of Palestine is a difficult one. The initial United Nations partition of the land of Palestine called for the segmentation of the land into a Jewish state and an Arab one. The Jewish state successfully developed into the nation of Israel. The Palestinian one has been in limbo since. Three main obstacles face the development of a Palestinian nation and subsequently a lasting peace in the region. The "right of return" (the right of the Palestinians that fled the fighting in 1949 and their descendants to return to their homeland), and establishment of the borders of the Palestinian state (calling for the relocation of many Israeli settlements from within the confines of the West Bank and Gaza into Israel proper) are the first two. The third and most controversial is the status of the city of Jerusalem. Throughout all the peace initiatives this has been the largest obstacle as the other two have more closely reached a satisfactory state of compromise (with Israel consenting to a marginal number of returned refugees with due compensation and the resubmission of nearly 94% of the occupied lands).

The status of Jerusalem has not been as well addressed because of the lack of foresight by the United Nations to designate it in its initial solution. Defining it as an international city giving no party control was the source of most of the turmoil. Jerusalem is claimed by both parties to be its respective capital. Combined with its historical and religious importance to all factions involved, the current status of Jerusalem is likely to fail. Jerusalem is the source of the problem, and I hope to offer a solution that would be deemed satisfactory by both parties.  As architecture dictates spatial arrangements and politics determines positioning I feel this particular problem could never succeed without the full and equal incorporation of the two.

Karim Elsahy

I am no movie critic, but there is something about the movie Kingdom of Heaven I would like to discuss. You see I am an architect, and a central theme and moral underwritten throughout the film is one I realized in building. Not any building, but some… the important ones. There is philosophy I believe in that states that we as architects build nothing. We design space, but space is nothing; a void. How can you design nothing and get paid for it.

Practically speaking we define the enclosure; the housing…fine. Then in essence the facility itself was already there. As soon as the important people that make decisions got together and decided "We will have a museum at 5^th and 38^th" and the masses concurred, we had a museum. The only thing left to do was shelter and define it. That is the meaning of the soul of a building; its essence, its function. Nowhere is this more evident than in a religious building, particularly I find, in a mosque. In a mosque the structure itself is perpetually limited, but that doesn't matter. The mosque is not bound by the lines the zoning comities draw - or the property line on which it stands. A mosques boundary is defined by the extent into the street or garden the latest person to arrive is praying; constantly in flux. As long as we all agree upon this space being a mosque, it is. The structure is irrelevant. With this theme I return to the movie.

The film, about the crusaders second attempt of Jerusalem, ends with the hero Christian protector of Jerusalem (Orlando Bloom) dealing terms of surrender to Sallah El Din. When they come to terms as they are parting ways when the knight asks Sallah El Din "What does Jerusalem mean to you?" the reply was "Nothing….Everything"…Perfect! Talk of the religious layering of Jerusalem, Muslim on top of Christian on top of Jewish could have given way to the most beautiful of symbolic metaphors; the mesh of it all! Instead we have returned dangerously close to idolatry, each wilding his sign, his crescent or his star, protecting his symbol (when they are nothing but rocks, irrelevant, old, and crumbling) and condemning all else to hell. It is called the holy LAND people.

Karim Elsahy

I do not advocate denying President Mubarak another round at the helm. I certainly am not for the removal of the emergency law! Are you serious? Our version of the Patriot Act was not coincidentally born of the same matter. As sad a state as it is our environment cannot afford, nor it dare, tolerate tolerance. How can it? Democracy is not a form of government, a philosophy, or an institution. Democracy with all the freedoms and rights associated is a luxury. As the Americans are learning, a luxury seldom few can afford.

Salutes to Ayman Nour and Kafaya, for their courage and convictions however misguided, its all patriotism to me. The president is not going anywhere though, and neither are his laws. Let us for once look at the cause not the consequence. Let us deserve to live proudly! We can start by letting it be known that these sons of bitch's that are trying to rape our homeland will not be tolerated. These misguided Neanderthals! Succeeding in nothing but the fostering of more grief…economically, physiologically. One random act is enough. That's what makes it so unbearably impossible. Years of constraint and stagnation sacrificed by a pipe bomb a two year old with internet could build and the idiot that would wielded it.

Stability is the ultimate yet largely unattainable goal in our region. The days of Nasser and Sadat's radical changes are not for today. Stability is manifested in President Hosny Mubarak and that's why he would get my "vote".

But Ayman has gotten things shaken, and since no nations' internal movements are in harmony, it is reassuring to see the course towards our elusive change in motion. Let us just hope we can afford it.

Karim Elsahy

We are a group with political backgrounds. We are Arabs, more specifically Egyptians. We are developing a new Pan-Arab party that is pushing a new form of government for a united Arab World. We have developed and are still currently developing the legislation that would define such a government. Our home is www.OneArabWorld.org (under development) but we've chosen to blog to get help and input refining and structuring our ideas, hence www.onearabworld.blog.com. 

Karim Elsahy

We are all Arabs. We are not all Muslim and many of us are of divergent, though perpetually intersecting, histories. We are Pharos and Philistines, Moors and Bedouins, Phoenicians and Mesopotamians. We are African, Asian, and sometimes European.  We have conquered and concurred, we were golden and we were low.

Tomas Friedman gave an interesting foreigners perspective when choosing to separate the subject matter of his book "Arab and Jew". The Jews were easy, the all fell under an easily classifiable category; religious affiliation, they were all Jews. Everyone else in the equation was their yang; Arabs. Drues, Christian, Muslim and Philistines, Bedouin, Oriental, Phoenicians, and all. Like a great unspoken federation the term Arab was not withheld for the Gulf Arabs exclusively but used in a monolithic association of the people of the region. From Spain to China.

Together we form one of the most significant blocs in the world. Our geopolitical structure, natural resource, and historic importance are unparalleled. We also form a trading bloc larger the United Sates and one to rival the European Union by means of population. We enjoy, as a bloc, the lowest non-political crime rate in the world and a culture exquisitely unique, all under the workings of one language.
 

We are also arguably the worlds most distraught, polarized, and segmented people. How are we capable of failing to unify so many times when others have come together complicitly and overcome much larger differences under significantly less external threat?

Though I am one that prefers the comfort of my own blame, I can easily state in good conscience that the state we are currently facing was, in large, brought about by external figures. Our only failing was being in the natural decline of our civilization when the French and the British decided to become God. The days of brute, ugly force and subtle, cheeky power are gone. Though we face obvious external threats, and some would argue modern day imperialism, we are physiologically slaves no more.

We are the first generation of free Arabs in centuries. Evidence of this is still not blindingly obvious, but archeologically there. We do not share the depressingly fateful and forlorn views of our parents and their incapacity to dream. This is why I idolize President Gamal Abdel Nasser. His faults were as great as his charisma and he was no administrator or general; he was our messiah come to liberate our bodies from western imperialism and in this facet the extent of his success will not be fully comprehended for generations to come.
   

The shackles of the mind, however, are longer lasting. More daunting is their apparent ability to infuse genetically. We have come apart from Western Europe but as is evident in even the most patriotic or simple Arab; the bind is as new love. This inferiority complex is parallel to the descendants of American slaves, passing down a self-induced and inflicted degradation generation by generation from mother to daughter. This gives courage as precedence, for today's African Americans are seemingly on the path to spiritual independence, however slow it may seem.

We dream and we know many have before. We dream of our independence and the power of self confidence. We know many have failed and many will assume we will as well but we are steadfast, reliant and comforted with the solidarity of the dreams of our people. The dreams of one Arab world.

Karim Elsahy