Our attempt to explain the reality around us neither justifies nor consecrates it. Rather, it is only a necessary instrument that can enable us to better deal with it, its causes and consequences, and its impact on our lives. Consequently, our description of diversity in our region and of the rising ethnic tension in it is only meant to make sense of it and to enable us to better deal with it and with the challenges it poses for all of us.
Nationalism, Baathism, Islamism, whateverism, etc. Indeed, the various isms that have swe
pt across the region in the late 90th and early 20th Centuries onward have been nothing but a betrayal of its amazing ethnic diversity and all the intermixing that has been taking place for centuries.
What we need is something new, a new idea of who we are, a new conception, no matter how vague, that can allow us to celebrate our differences and turn them into a source of strength rather than trouble and internecine warfare and mayhem. WE need to knit ourselves again into new fabric that can be reinserted back into the civilized world, for all our sakes.
Beware the clerics even when they come bearing victory – for the price is always too high for this worldly life.
Diversity in our region creates certain dynamics that are simply too comp
lex to be tackled through some facile generalizations. In this regard, and while Arabs across the region and the world seem to stand in solidarity with Hezbollah, the Bedouins in Israel seem to have a different opinion on this matter. Indeed, the Bedouins seem to “bitterly resent Hezbollah,” since of its Katyusha rockets tend to fall at them. Also, and contrary to how many Arabs feel with regard to the US, the Bedouins of Israel “don't think the U.S. is engaged in a war against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere. They think Arab anger around the world can be laid at the feet of dictators who spread misinformation to distract people from inept rule.”
Conversely, many members of the Coptic community in Egypt seem to sympathize with Hezbollah and its cause. According to Bishop Rafic Gris, the spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, “[a]ll Arabs must be proud of Hizbullah's gallantry."
On the other hand, events in Iraq have shown that while one part of the country could lie in shambles, another could be considered as an “example of success.” In this regards, the Intelligencer wonders in reference to Iraqi Kurdistan: “Did you know there is a vast region of Iraq where no U.S. troops have been killed, enemy terrorist activity has been negligible, there are few U.S. troops deployed, it is safe for Westerners to walk the streets, new business investment is taking off and there is a stable, democratic government providing more than adequately for the regions security?”
Although, one has to note here the seriousness of the growing linguistic divide separating the Kurds form the rest of the Iraqi population.
A somewhat similar situation might be observed in Thailand. For while the southern parts of the country continue to witness an Islamic insurrection fueled in part by the deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, Muslim communities in the northern parts of the country, which have a different ethnic and national mix than their southern co-religionists, seem to be well-integrated with the rest of the population.
For their part, the Turkmen of Afghanistan are still having integration problems in the post-Taliban political system, adding another layer of complexity to the fragile situation in the country.
The problems of the Indonesian province of Aceh, on the other hand, have been further complicated when the provincial government adopted Sharia Law as the official law of the land. Indeed, this article in NY Times notes: “[a]cross this most religious of Indonesia’s 
provinces, brown uniformed policemen in black wagons enforce Shariah, or Islamic law. They haul unmarried couples into precincts and arrest people for drinking or gambling. Increasingly, many of the cases are pushed to the ultimate conclusion, public canings at mosques in front of pumped-up crowds.”
So, and as the region continues to struggle with the problems emanating from its diversity, its ongoing identity crisis, the aftershocks of the introduction of modernity into its folds, and fro deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and foreign dabbling, turmoil rather than wealth is the only thing that the region seems to be capable of generating at this stage. How long this will last depends heavily on the ability of the various peoples of the region to develop more pragmatic approaches to governance, development and “national priorities.” Indeed, a long-term vision for the development of the region, coupled with the necessary political will, is needed in order to prevent its continuing implosion.
The continued influx of refugees from Lebanon into Syria is adding more pressure on t
hat country's economy already burdened by its having to cope with over 1 million Iraqi refugees. Could situation lead to an unexpected eruption of hostilities? A serious clash between Iraqi refugees and local residents has already taken place a few weeks ago in the poor suburb of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus. Authorities seemed to have been caught off-guard and their reaction was not as swift as one would expect from a police state. But then, Syriais becoming an increasingly fragile country, and a number of clashes between its various sectarian and ethnic groups have already taken place over the last few years. A pattern might indeed be emerging and the situation could take a nasty turn in the not so distant future.
Indeed, and as thi
s article by Lee Smith illustrates, we need to focus on the real issues in our beleaguered part of the world, namely: the problems and challenges posed by our intricate ethnic and religious diversity and the enduing communal modes of belonging and organization in our midst. The potential for violence posed by our continuing neglect to seriously address these issues is rising by the day as more and more radical forces rush to fill in the vacuum left by the reticence of the moderates. The chances for peacebuilding development and enlightenment are practically non-existing in this climate and this could only spell disaster sooner than we’d like to think.
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