JEDDAH, 13 February 2006 — Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, confessed yesterday at the Jeddah Economic Forum that he is frustrated — frustrated at Arab policies, frustrated over the cultural conflicts of the day.

Moussa, renown for his sharp comments and a dedication to defending Arab nationalism, is popular not only in the Egyptian street but all over the Arab world. He said that living in the time of globalization means that the world belongs to all humans and they must live together in tolerance and respect. He explained that distinguishing between one culture and the other is normal, but distinguishing is one thing and feeling superior is another.

“Today is not a time of masters and slaves. Colonialism is over,” said Moussa. “The conflict among cultures is not just theories anymore.”

Moussa referred to the recent controversy over illustrations of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that were published in a Danish newspaper and elsewhere as “a dangerous and silly matter.”

He said the freedom of speech is a great principal that should not be subjected to such manipulations lest it loses its credibility. He issues the now common refrain that it is a double standard from some countries to allow anti-Islamic expressions while also having laws on the books that ban anti-Semitic expressions, such as Holocaust denial.

On the other hand, Moussa warned of the Muslim response to the cartoons, that it is showing “a dangerous progress” and all Muslims should be aware of the consequences of allowing protests to get out of hand, as they have in Lebanon, Syria and Afghanistan. He said that it is a mistake for Muslims to validate the Western provocateurs attempts to illustrate a conflict between East and West.

“We all share the same enemies,” said Moussa, listing them as poverty, terrorism, ignorance and disease.

Moussa outlined the Arab League’s attempts at promoting Arab culture in the West, citing events such as the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair where Arab culture was the main theme.

Moussa said that the problems facing the Arab world are primarily political and economical. He did not forget to mention the Palestinian cause and stressed that the demand for a just solution is a legal right and an imperative that will never fall to history without justice for the Palestinian people.

“The politics of force will never bring peace to the region but more catastrophes,” he said, concluding his talk by emphasizing the imminent need to resolve serious issues with not only the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also the war in Iraq, the crises in Sudan, and the ongoing anarchy in Somalia.