Upon my return from Dubai last week I fell ill with a terrible flu. An Egyptian friend of mine visited me to see how I was doing and as sometimes happens in these situations, we began to discuss the new citizenship and naturalization laws that are expected soon.
He said: “The new law will never be issued and if it is will not be different from the current one.”
I said: “And why not?”
He said: “Israel and the US will never allow it!”
I said: “And what on earth have they got to do with it?”
He said: “Israel and therefore the US plans to keep Arab countries deprived of local expertise by encouraging them to immigrate to the US. This will keep Arab countries in a state of dependency on outside help and expertise and will add to the US’ already rich human resources. The US has always used judicious immigration policies as a way to maintain its competitiveness by attracting the best minds from all over the world.
“Saudi Arabia could, by pursuing similar enlightened policies, become a major attraction for the best and brightest minds in the Arab and Islamic world, who would love to settle and live here as loyal citizens if only they were given a chance.
“Think about it: You would rapidly be able to acquire expertise in any field of science you want from agriculture to rocket science; in the field of medicine you could become the home of the most eminent physicians in the Muslim world. Think of the opportunities that would open up to you with this rapid enrichment of your national expertise with eager new and highly trained citizens.
“The Americans will never allow it!”
At this point I was feeling rather poorly and I begged my friend to continue this fascinating discussion at another time.
So, after praying for my speedy recovery, he left.
I lay back wracked by the fever and began to think about what he said. It would indeed be a great pity if the authors of the new law did not make use of the opportunity available to us; if they passed on a chance to acquire expertise with which to build our country and strengthen it even more and to help keep Muslim expertise within the Muslim world rather than let it slip out to the benefit of others, some of whom are even our enemies.
But I do not share my Egyptian friend’s suspicion of Israel and its influence in the formulation of the current law; in my opinion, if this law is issued in a form which renders it ultimately useless, it will be more likely due to those in the bureaucracy who are anxious to complete their seaside villa or buy a new sports car for their son’s graduation and who therefore will want a system like the one we have now, which is based more on extortion than national interest.
After writing these lines I will be going back to bed, but I would like to leave you with a question to answer for yourselves.
Do you believe that when the new law is issued and turns out to be just as useless as the current one, will that be due to a Zionist plot or our own incompetent and corrupt officials?
