When the National Dialogue was taking place in Al-Jouf, some incidents occurred which sent a clear message that the event was far from achieving its goals of civilized debates and dialogues. Verbal assaults and other violent behaviors that occurred during educational and cultural activities are unacceptable. We have spent many years organizing national dialogues and trying to convince and persuade a certain group of people to value the necessity of civilized discourse in order to express opposing viewpoints.
It is convenient for the National Dialogue to form a committee or an organization with members from different levels of society to deal with the violence which has recently spread in many educational and cultural activities. Its role is to have access to those violent people and have a transparent open discussion with them. Approaching and debating with them wisely should make them feel safe to share the real reasons behind their violent attitude.
We would like to find out whether their vicious assaults are individual attitudes that a group of people practice as a result of temporary irrational responses. Or do they actually organize and plan these kinds of attacks using their devotees’ energy and sympathy? In other words, would violence against dialogue recur in other events and conferences? Does this type of behavior have a patterned formula or does it represent bizarre cases that we should not pay much attention to?
Let us look back at what has happened in 2006. Violence and assaults happened at the International Book Fair in Riyadh in November. A number of lecturers encountered violent incidents during summer vacations. Sheikh Al-Obeikan, Dr. Hamza Al-Mizani and Qenan Al-Ghamdi also experienced violence but with different reactions and for different reasons. The one common trait among these incidents was trying to shut the speaker up forcefully and violently.
That’s why I’m saying we must know who these people are who have a pattern they act upon. Do they belong to a certain age group? Do they belong to a special intellectual or political group? What are the motives that produce their violent behavior? Are they marginalized by society and so want to prove their effectiveness and think violence is their only method of showing their identity? Or are they selfish, domineering people who don’t want anyone but them lecture the audience without interference?
I wish we could have honest answers from these people so that we could understand their motives and aims of using violence against dialogue. Maybe an anonymous survey or questionnaire would be a proper method of acquiring accurate answers from them.
We have to give them the chance to express their wants and needs. No matter how negative and violent their thoughts, knowing them will give us the chance to analyze the reasons that led them to this type of behavior. We want to know how these people think. Does it bother them to see others speak of thoughts that are the opposite of what they have in their minds? Were they brought up to reject the knowledge and sciences and refuse anything unfamiliar to them and preserve only what they want to hear? Have they reached a level of understanding where they know the ultimate truth and don’t need anything that is different? Or are they simple-minded people who don’t have any special philosophy or agenda against knowledge but are driven by others to practice violence?
Dr. Al-Gothami gave an amazing example of dealing with these people and listening to their opinions last week. He gave them the chance to say what they wanted. However, the circumstances and the organizers didn’t allow him to sit with a larger number of the audience. I truly wish that they had been given the chance to express themselves and their demands whether through writing, talking or even shouting.
If we could take one step forward in getting to know these people, maybe we could help them overcome the psychological problems that urged them to use violence in dealing with life’s events. My hope is that the National Dialogue will take serious action in forming a specialized committee to study and analyze this attitude according to proper scientific programs. Violence shouldn’t be neglected and must be treated. Verbal assault is a result of deep and complicated issues within each person. It’s not strange for verbal assaults to become battering, bombing, and murdering. It’s one of the important duties of the National Dialogue to look into the matter and deal with cases that need to be diagnosed, analyzed, and treated today before it is too late.
— Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan is a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh. ([email protected])
