There's absolutely no conflict between being loyal to one’s religion and being loyal to one’s country. There is also no contradiction between being united, being patriotic and being proud as Muslims and honoring the land we live in and end up being buried in.
Therefore, we must be careful when we’re thinking, planning or working to fix a huge problem and bridge a big gap between us and the country because of different misconceptions. Mistakes have led us to feel alienated from our country and its values from the moment we’re born until we die.
And those who misunderstand the concept of being loyal to one’s country confuse what’s physical with what’s spiritual, political, ethical, social and humanitarian. The relationship between a human being and God is different from the one between a human being and his country. Therefore, we can’t discuss any form of ranking in defining the nature of one’s patriotism. We have already been unfair to our country. Some turned against the country and there’s nothing worse than feeling that one’s thoughts and beliefs are above his country.
People who underestimate and insult the dignity of their country and violate it for ideological, materialistic reasons, or for political gain, are criminals and don’t deserve to live. The country must ditch these people whether they are in war zones or secret shelters. We must not hesitate in honoring our country. We must also realize that sacrificing for the sake of one’s country or doing anything to serve its best interest is a duty and a responsibility.
It makes me wonder sometimes about the hesitation of certain educational sectors to instill this reality in the minds of successive generations. We also hesitate to insist on singing the national anthem every morning in our schools and on special occasions.
Patriotism is of great value, and it is something that our children must absorb the moment they are born. We also must adopt and practice it in our daily routines and personal lives.
How I wish civil society institutions in this country would adopt this concept as a priority. Respecting an individual’s dignity, ensuring his rights, protecting his values and honoring his loyalty to the country and the nation is part of a bigger responsibility. If only we were able to accomplish that and individuals felt — since their childhood and until they died — that their dignity, rights and ambitions were their country’s, that their lives were valueless without their country and the financial and educational and social fortunes they had achieved would never have come to them if it wasn’t for living in a great country that provided all the means and resources that enabled them to become a valuable individuals.
I honestly wish that the financial and business sectors would adopt this concept especially when it comes to one’s savings and investment outside the country. I also wish that we could convey the same concept to certain sectors and institutions that should be bolstering one’s loyalty to the country, including the youth and sports. We must divert the intense feelings of love and admiration that many Saudis have toward a certain football club and transform it into love of their entire country represented in national team players.
I wish we could emphasize loyalty to this country in every citizen, making it an absolute priority to accomplish this mission.
When we persuade people to prioritize this country’s safety and security we’re blocking the spread of terrorism. We would also be preventing other negative social behaviors from spreading such as bribery, theft and the covering up of errors.
And my last wish would be to implement patriotism into our educational curriculums and other cultural and political arenas.
Let us try to find new ways of thinking, how to be different and how to come together, openly discussing opinions and ideas through civil society institutions, TV channels and future political institutions.
