What constitutes the greatest threat to stability in the Middle East?

The Tharwa Community wants to give you the chance to express yourself on topics of importance and relevance to the future of the Middle East and international politics. For this reason, we are launching this simple service meant to help you share your views and opinions upon the latest and most critical developments in the region. We hope this service will help us further our mission to increase intercommunication between people from this region and the world.

The approach is very simple. To the right you will find a simple poll that you can take, and in the comment section you can take some time, if you will, to explain and justify your answer and debate your point of view with other commenters. The only condition to maintain a civil dialogue and refrain from making any kind of slurs.

This week’s topic: What, in your opinion, constitutes the greatest threat to stability in the Middle East?

Comments

[Anonymous]

Judging by the data cited in the three Arab Development Reports that have been issued so far, the Middle East, with its high unemployment and illiteracy rates, inadequate educational systems, low-skill workforce, lack of R&D investments, corruption, and authoritarian rule is a region simply fated to collapse sooner or later. American policies and Israeli reaction might be speeding things up, but they are not the real underlying cause for ME troubles. It’s tough, I know, but the people of the ME have to own up to their responsibility in the making of their current misery.

[Kolya]

It would be nice if the data for this poll could be sorted geographically by IP address. I would bet that from middle eastern IP addresses (except Israel) the winners would be US interventionism and Israeli aggression. From the US and Israel it would be Iranian ambitions and Islamist movements. From Europe I would guess equal parts all of the above options but with US interventionism and Israeli aggression being the winners.

[Doubting Thomas]

Tribalism: both of the literal kind and the sort based on sect and ethnicity.

Political Islam: both of the Muslim Brotherhood and its clones (Hamas, PIJ, Mujahideen Shura Council, Taliban, etc.) and the Shi'ite kind (IRGC, Mahdi Army, SCIRI, Dawa, Hezbollah.)

[ghassan karam]

Why don't we round up the usual suspects: Westerm Imperialism; American Capitalism; Global Zionism and Universal hatred of Arabs just to name a few. But Nah,on a second thought,it is the preoccupation with all of the above that has kept the Arab masses in chains by maintaining a stunted politically developed structure of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes.Add to the mix radical Islam, the new global threat to stability, and a refusal of serious introspection (call it victimology) and voila you have a collection of undemocratic statesruled by Presidents for life with no concern to the rights of the rights of the individual.

I am not a big fan of simplification because more often than not it leads to a great emphasis on surface phenomenon when these phenomenon are no more than a reflection of something more deeper and more intricate but not as easy to classify. However if I am to get into the spirit and play the game I would have to single out three main reasons for instability in the Middle East:
(1) Unenlightened political leadership
(2) Radical Islamic ideology
(3) Unenlightened citizenry (tribalism).

[ES]

I agree with Ghassan's comment. I can safely say that most of our problems are direct results of bad and irresponsible leadership. I'd say that Yemen is the perfect example of Middle Eastern backwardness, mostly because all 3 exist on a large scale.

Our best solution? Education, more level-headed medias, respect of civil rights, and the elimination of radical Muslims and its aggressive supporters (not through death or further violence, though.) But for example, it should be against the law for corrupt Imams to continue inciting hatred and preaching violence. And their form of "activism" should be limited, too.

I think it's rediculous to assume that by the introduction of democracy, these issues will disappear. They won't, if anything, they might even escalate. For democracy to succeed within a nation, we need education first, and we need the government to respect our human rights and freedom of speech and expression. After people prove that they can handle the responsibility, then we can take it a step further by officially introducing democracy.

But that's rather difficult to achieve. No leader wants to be stripped from his powers in this region. However, that's no excuse for us civilians to stay silent. We'll fight the corruption our way.

[Alex]

Ghassan, I'll agree with you here too ... but I'll add/modify to it:

1) Anyone who believes that God favors his/her religion, and that God will automatically send all the others to hell and therefore their lives on earth are not that valuable anyway.

2) All those who do not know how to handle power ...it seems that whoever "wins" in the Middle East (Israel, the Islamists, Arab leaders) they start behaving as if there is no limit to their power.

3) the not-very-enlightened Westerners and their bizarre plans for the Middle East.

4) All those who think they are enlightened, but in reality they are dwelling in darkness, just like the rest of them.

5) Revenge seekers. It seems everywhere you look in the Middle East, there is a pair of countries or parties exchanging turns of taking revenge from each other.

6) Selfishness … the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. AND no Arab Billionaire (so far) offering to give away some of his dear billions to charity... why can’t they do what Bill Gates and Warren Buffett did?

7) Extremism in everything. Those who are in the center are attacked from both extremes for not being passionate enough, for not being patriotic enough … You can’t get respect for being calm and in control of your actions.

[One Man]

My heart, sympathy and liberal attitude are closing to the Arab, Islamic, Middle Eastern, plight. The leadership in that area of the world have decided that they would rather kill or be killed. I don't think they have much concern for my life and my plight. They are not wishing me a good life. May the children of Abrahams first born get the respect they deserve. I have to go to work now, good-by.

[jodetoad]

From the outside looking in, it looks as though fantasy figures are enacting some stage tragedy. Leaders are authoritarian, religious figures use archaic statements to urge gargantuan conflict, the resistance is noble. Individuals are idolized, or demonized. Causes are heroic. Martyrs are glorified.

Where is the reality? Where is the mundane? Do people really see life this way? Why does it all have to be larger than life?
Is the public to take sides, cheering the better actor? Does the public not realize they are being manipulated yet again?

If the viewers and actors can't perceive shades of gray, and forget everybody puts their pants on the same way, the stage is set for ongoing tragedy. No one can compromise, no on can give in, no one can change their ways. Sophocles. Inflexibility is the threat to stability. Life is change.

Next question: what price is stability worth? Is maintaining the status quo really such a great idea? Change requires risk.

[olajumoke jenyo]

From my own point of view, the cause of violence and instability in the middle east is as a result of these three :-
a. islamist movement
b.political islam
c. radical islam idoelogy entwin with tribalism