Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa’s mission to restore peace in Iraq which is sinking into the quagmire of sectarian war, undoubtedly comes at an appropriate time. His assistant Ahmad Ben Helly has already visited the war-torn country to prepare the ground for the secretary-general’s visit.
The pressing need for the initiative is being felt as the situation is fast deteriorating and threatens to poison the cordial relations between other countries in the region. The Iraqi interior minister’s recent remarks on Saudi Arabia and Saudi foreign minister’s statement about the Iranian intervention in Iraq have all been warning signals.
A close observer of the scene cannot fail to notice that the Iraqi developments are now reported with sectarian (Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd) overtones. All talk about the political future of the country now takes on a communal color.
The Arab League’s initiative is welcome to the international community, especially the United States, the main occupying force there. The league views this as a golden opportunity to mend fences with Iraq and stop the criticism from Baghdad that the pan-Arab body has been indifferent to the Iraqi developments.
There are some factors that make Amr Moussa eminently suitable to discuss and settle an issue that is very close to the Arab heart. He is very popular with the ordinary people in the Arab world. He is popular because as Egypt’s foreign minister he used to champion the cause of Palestinians very strongly and criticize the inhuman Israeli practices in the occupied territories without mincing words. His popularity is such that he figures in some of the songs of Egyptian singer Shaaban Abdul Rahim. One of Abdul Rahim’s hit songs has the words “I hate Israel and love Amr Moussa.” The Time Magazine once described him as a personality commanding the highest degree of respect among the Arab people. Rumors have it that Shaaban Abdul Rahim’s songs have played a significant role in his being nominated to his present prestigious post. It is also said that his increasing criticism of Israel cost him his position as the foreign minister of one of the most important Arab countries.
The truth may lie somewhere between the emotional outbursts of the Arab public and the cool headedness of their leaders. However, Moussa has only increased his popularity in the Arab world. This popularity has to be exploited to bring peace and prosperity to the Iraqi people by making the league express the sentiments of the ordinary Arab people, not of the elites. It is all the more important because it is only the grass roots, the common people, who can break the impasse in Iraq. Simultaneously, Moussa can make the initiative an occasion for the Arab League to regain its prestige among the common people.
Arab civil societies have a major role to play in making Amr Moussa’s initiative a success. The most important is the cooperation and participation of tribes in his peace efforts. Tribal loyalties play an important role in Iraqi society. Tribal leaders can make or break any peace effort.
Other influential sections of the society including political parties, trade unions and voluntary organizations, intellectuals and writers should also mobilize support if the Arab League efforts are to bear fruit.
Let us hope all would work hard to convert the Arab League initiative into a popular Arab initiative to save Iraq.
