I really enjoyed reading a recent article in Arab News titled “We Can and We Will,” and I agree with the approach of not blaming all our misfortune and economic weakness on Israel. I would like to add some other observations that I, as a young Saudi man, have made in past years.
I would like to start by saying that thinking negatively while considering issues never benefits one striving to work hard and build, no matter what the justifications. Every great idea is built on a dream — not on a nightmare. We teach young people to do what’s right by pointing out their good actions and not waiting to criticize the wrong ones — or at least we should. A person starts building a house when he first sees or imagines what the house will look like on completion.
I truly believe that this dream does not exist for most Arabs and Muslims at this time. I guess what supports extremists and will continue to do so is the lack of a dream by moderate Muslims and at the same time a strong dream existing in extremists minds. Their dream is very clear as far as I see, and it’s freeing the land of Islam from the Jews and building a new Islamic empire. That would be enough of a dream for me — if I thought the way they did. Their dream sounds very optimistic. Although the tool used is simply destructive and immoral, it still captures the hearts of most Muslims, and maybe it should — given the current mindset.
That’s where I think the problem really lies. They have a dream with no tools, and Arab countries have the tools with no dream. What I mean by a dream is simply having the vision of how Arab and Islamic countries would look like if they were to live in peace and dignity, being positive toward life, their countries and all the people around the world regardless of their identity.
In past years the media was used to foment bitter emotions in the hearts of most people around the Arab and Islamic world. Maybe most people from the Arab and Islamic world were so frustrated by what had happened that they turned sadness into its own entity and the only tool to condemn the Israeli invasion.
The only problem is that negative emotions consume a person’s heart and blocks his or her mind, ultimately killing any hope for a bright future. That’s why I believe we are still being so consumed and remain weak as people and countries. If you’ve listened to some parts of the media through all these hard years, the only messages sent were ones of sadness, hopelessness and conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, most of the major media channels are still doing the same today. We’ve absorbed all these negative sentiments for 50 years, and where has it taken the Arab countries? We’ve gone from being weak to being weaker, and rage has been turned into destruction by terrorist organizations.
If we were to learn from the past, I see that negativity and bitterness only destroy those who feel it. By choosing to deal with our own problems before dealing with others, we can build our needed dream as a people and a country.
I like the saying: “When you point your finger at someone, you have three fingers pointing back at you on the same hand.” In addition to educational and social reforms some countries must carry out, the media should play a major role in paving the road to change ahead. Changing the tone could be a start. Avoid all talk about conspiracy theories. This kind of talk has benefited no one for the past 50 years and only blocked people’s minds. Religious leaders should see the peaceful light at the end of the tunnel — all believers must see that — and express that to the people. Where there is a will there is a way, and when we have that dream or positive vision, we are going to have the will, and hopefully use it to find the way. We can, and we will. But until we do, our problems will remain unresolved.
(Fargad Al-Madhi works at Riyadh’s King Abdul Aziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs.)
