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How to Help the Middle East

Sep 8, 2016 Ishac Diwan

With the Middle East seemingly being sucked deeper into a vortex of permanent conflict, it is easy to believe that dictators and religious bigots will rule it forever. But the vast majority of people in the region want legitimate states that uphold the rule of law, protect civic rights, and promote coexistence among communities.

BEIRUT – In Lebanon today, all the symptoms of the Middle East’s current turmoil are visible. Newly arrived refugees from Syria and Iraq are joining Palestinian refugees who have long been here. The country hasn’t had a president for two years, as rival political factions, reflecting the rising enmity between their Iranian and Saudi Arabian backers, are weakening domestic governance. Political corruption runs rampant. The garbage doesn’t always get picked up.

But Lebanon also shows signs of resilience. Investors and entrepreneurs are taking risks to start new businesses. Civil-society groups are proposing and implementing useful initiatives. Refugees are going to school. Political enemies are collaborating to minimize security risks, and religious leaders advocate coexistence and tolerance.

Lebanon’s resilience owes much to the memory of its painful civil war (1975-1990). By contrast, the rest of the region’s experiences – which involve a long history of autocratic governance and neglect of long-simmering grievances – have fanned the flames of conflict. Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are now riven by war. Meanwhile, the Palestinians’ worsening plight is still a perennial grievance on the Arab and Muslim street. In this maelstrom, new radical groups with transnational agendas are blossoming.

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Educating Syria’s Refugee Children
Icare/ZumaPress

Educating Syria’s Refugee Children

Elias Bou Saab urges the international community to support Lebanon’s effort to educate Syrian refugee children.

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The Silent Arab Majority Must Speak Up
NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Silent Arab Majority Must Speak Up

Ishac Diwan reports that young people, in particular, have embraced a more liberal mindset.

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j. von Hettlingen Sep 9, 2016

Ishac Diwan urges the international community to help the Middle East, and "creates conditions for viable political settlements in Syria and Iraq." His advice is quite simple - "to de-escalate tensions and find compromises." What makes it unattainable is that such a settlement involves many players - national, rgional and global - "and each country has its own agenda."
The conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen reflect the nature of proxy wars, because domestic warring parties are backed by regional actors - Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a custodian of the Sunni Islam, Saudi Arabia sees the Shia Islam in Iran as heresy. Sunni and Shia have been bitter rivals since the two sects of Islam split in the 7th Century. But the proxy warfare in Syria reaches a global level when Russia and the US have joined the fray, backing opposite sides in the war. Under circumstances it will be difficult for "national actors to have space to find solutions," because their zero-sum mindset prevails, making concession appear as a weakness.
The author says two other major regional players - Israel and Turkey - have to get their act together to resolve decades long conflicts, and deal with "the status of the Palestinians and Kurds." How realistic is it, given Israel and Turkey defend their national interests tooth and nail, kicking the can down the road. Israel under the current far-right government won't cede land to the Palestinians and rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state. Turkey under the authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not let the Kurds break away and declare the southeastern Anatolian region as part of the "Greater Kurdistan."
It is not inappropriate to compare Syria to Lebanon, which has "all the symptoms of the Middle East’s current turmoil". Apart from having the same multi-ethnic and sectarian fabrics, the two countries came under French mandate in the 1920s and gained independence in the 1940s. And the two countries are seen by Arab nationalists as one and the same, although they have different political structures. A post-Assad Syria might resemble the current state in Lebanon - political paralysis; rival factions "reflecting the rising enmity between their Iranian and Saudi Arabian backers, /that weaken/ domestic governance."
Despite its fragility Lebanon "also shows signs of resilience," after "its painful civil war (1975-1990)." The author points out how Lebanon begins to attract Investors and entrepreneurs. The civil society seems thriving, political enemies cooperate and seek to "minimize security risks," religious leaders preach for tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Most of all "refugees are going to school."
The fear is that the war in Syria could drag on for another decade, and would outshine Lebanon's in terms of its multi-layered nature - national, regional and global. The author says "addressing problems that have remained unsolved for decades is a tall order, but inaction is no longer affordable. And none of the major fault lines of the Middle East can be resolved in isolation anymore." He says many in the Middle East reject the notion that "dictators or religious bigots could impose any stability." In fact a poll showed that a majority of the people "want to be governed by legitimate states that uphold the rule of law, protect civic rights, and promote coexistence among communities. This is a worthy goal that will require compromise and reconciliation at all levels" - national, regional and global. Ultimately "the goal must be to reach a grand bargain that takes into account the major issues dividing the region."
It is not wishful thinking, but the region needs fundamental reforms - most of all the separation of religion from politics, in order to ease sectarian tensions between the two sects of Shia and Sunni Islam. Perhaps we might only see it happen in a century.
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Michael Public Sep 8, 2016

As long as there is oil under the sand you will never have peace in your land.
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