Thus Spoke My Eccentric Friend (3/5): Rejecting Progress

JK: Winds of Change.NET's Cairo correspondent Tarek Heggy (see his Winds article archive) says "This essay shows how an overwhelming number of contemporary Arabs are isolated from reality. This isolation is a function of outdated political, educational & media systems." This segment follows Part 1: "Dreams of the Arabs" and Part 2: "A Word in the Palestinian Ear".

Thus Spoke My Eccentric Friend
by Tarek Heggy in Cairo, Egypt

When we were young Leftists in the second half of the Sixties, a peculiar friend of us became, amongst our group, known as "our eccentric friend" – was an exceptionally well-read Marxist. His world changed on June 5th, 1967, however, and he migrated to an adamant denial of all ideologies and a belief in "science and progress." During the past year, I began to put in writing his enthusiastic outpourings during our discussions, and the resulting article contains some of his observations taken down in the course of four meetings that took place within last month (August, 2004).

Part 3: Rejecting Progress

My eccentric friend joined our circle almost beside himself with anger. Even before he was seated he announced that he would not be holding forth or volunteering his views on the miserable truths that were only too obvious in our region. "All I shall do today," he said, "is raise a few questions that I suggest you go home and think about." He gave us no time to comment on this new method of his, but plunged straight into a volley of queries:

"It has become almost mandatory amongst our intellectuals to begin any discourse by attacking the United States. It is almost as if they wish to appease their audiences by denouncing the US and its policies, and even expressing the hope that the US should fail in whatever it sets out to do. This "playing it safe" or policy of appeasement is a typical attribute of the Arab and Muslim character, where people make a point of saying what they think will mollify others (whether rulers or ordinary people) and thus guarantee their own safety.

"This conciliatory attitude is the natural outcome of a long history of tyranny and repression, evidenced at its worst in the brutal slaughter by the Caliphs of anyone who dared refuse their sovereignty (Yazid Ibn Muawya's murder of Al Hussein is a classic example) or sheer psychopathic bloodthirstiness (take Haroun Al Raschid's murder of his brother-in-law and all his relatives, or Al Maamoun's brutal violence towards anyone who opposed him even in philosophical issues). I tell you, my friends, hatred of the west is nothing more than hatred of progress in any form.

Progress is a phenomenon that belongs to humanity as a whole; it cannot be classified as eastern or western; as Muslim or Jewish or Christian; it is neither European nor Arab nor Chinese: it is the outcome of accumulated human endeavor. However, the driving force or catalyst that sets the process in motion is, at present, the West. Accordingly, a total rejection of the West is tantamount to a rejection of progress in all its forms.

I can understand that an over-imaginative Islamist might treasure the unfounded belief that he and his like could provide an alternative (while in actual fact he lives in a state of complete dependency on the fruits of western civilization), but for others to do so is beyond belief. My only explanation is rooted in psychological factors that I do not wish to enter into, to avoid causing further distress. I would simply like to remind you of our conversation a few days ago concerning our colleague H.T., whose only crime was that he was that he far excelled his peers, as you unanimously agreed."

Before we could say a word, my eccentric friend threw another question our way:

"What led the majority of rulers in our region to react the way they did towards the proposed reforms suggested by the Americans and the Europeans? Why on earth did they incite public opinion in their respective countries (needless to say, via their civil servants in the media) against these reforms? Only the Leftist writer Mohamed Salmawy was brave enough to say that he had read them and found no cause for concern. How could some rulers be so misguided?

Syria, for example, will eventually have to carry out the four things it was asked to do: close its borders with Iraq to would-be terrorists who enter Iraq via Syria; withdraw its army from Lebanon; expel Khaled Mashal and all leaders of Palestinian organizations similar to his; and refrain from using Hezbullah instead of the Syrian army, which we all know is happening. Syria will ultimately have to comply. So why do it in the future at a horrendous cost, when it can do so now within an agreement that is to its benefit? Later on, Syria will stand to lose rather than gain, and will be giving, not taking.

And why can't Yasser Arafat understand that he has no choice but to become an honorary leader of the Palestinians and let someone like Mahmoud Abou Mazen or Mohamed Rahlan take over the leadership of the Palestinian Administration, or else undoubtedly perish? He has two, and only two, options, yet he still cannot understand the provisions of today's world."

My eccentric friend paused for breath, took a sip of tea, and resumed his never-ending questions:

"Pray tell me, what exactly are the objectives of the satellite channel that I call Al Mareera ("the bitter" – my eccentric friend was, of course, referring to Al Jazeera)?

It is a weird mix of high technology coupled with a deliberate mental, intellectual and psychological assault on the minds of the Arab masses, whom I need hardly add are only too receptive to this insidious form of destructive ideology. This channel adds fuel to the fire on a daily basis, while implementing a deliberate, studied transformation of Osama Ben Laden and his accomplices, and of the Iraqi terrorists (who kill their fellow Iraqis along with Turks, Egyptians, and Pakistanis and who demand ransoms in return for setting their hostages free) into heroic figures! Yes, this Al Mareera channel actually portrays these villains as heroes!

A few days ago, one of their presenters, Jomana Namur, could not contain her gleeful joy as the screen showed a number of Palestinians dancing and passing round sweets on September 11, 2001, after they had heard of the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York! How could the minds of the masses be left to the mercy of a presenter whose behavior may be likened to that of a savage wild cat driven by animal instincts and devoid of reason, logic or common sense?! This Jomana Namur is a typical personification of the savage, barbaric, tribal mindset that celebrated gleefully the day Anwar Sadat – indisputably the most sensible Arab ruler of the twentieth century – was brutally assassinated."

Before he left us, he flung one last question at us:

"Whom do you think will win the presidential elections in the United States in two months' time? Let me tell you now that George Bush will wipe out John Kerry with an overwhelming victory of at least 7% (a high percentage for the US), and all those who think and function under the same logic as Jomana Namur might as well know that they have another four years of frustration ahead of them! [JK: Well, he was half right - it was 3%, but their frustration certainly came to pass.]"

Next - Part 4: MI-6's Intelligence Failure

For more of Tarek Heggy's writtings in English, please visit www.t-heggy-site-contents.org and for Tarek Heggy's writings in French please visit www.metransparent.com/authors/french/tarek_heggy.htm.