The history of popular revolutions has been horrifying if we look over our shoulders at Russia, China, and Germany, but you can't help but hope that Tunisia starts a domino effect in the Muslim world. Fear has kept the West, and the U.S. especially, on the side of brutal reactionary rule in countries where the alternative -- fanatical fundamentalism -- was even more fearful. No image frightened the average American more than the Arab street portrayed on TV, an angry mob ready to hate us without provocation. But behind those outraged young men lie real grievances that run very deep.
The fact is that repression fuels terrorism. The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, was ignited by the Mubarak regime's opposition, following a pattern all too familiar from Iran: a ruler who seems "just like us" placates the West while at home his secret police quash opponents without restraint. The total absence of freedom can't be called the American way by any stretch of the imagination, yet when the U.S. is the supplier of money and arms to these reactionary governments, what conclusion can the ordinary citizen reach? The U.S. is seen as the enemy of freedom. Our policy has paid for stability at all costs. Blinded for decades by anti-communism, along with an addiction to cheap oil, we tolerated oppressive rulers whose stink rose to high heaven.
Now there's a chance for change -- if we stop being so afraid. It is very likely that the mullahs in every country will rise in power, as they have in Iran and Iraq. Religious fundamentalism, as much as one dislikes it, has been the last hope for people living in degraded conditions while a tiny elite scrapes off the country's wealth. The real answer to Islamic fundamentalism is an open, free, modern society, where education is given outside the religious schools that are currently the only option for poor Arab children. What feeds our fear? Substitute al-Qaeda for communism and we have a new version of Reagan's great Satan. There's no substitute in place for our country's oil addiction. Our oil consumption and dependency is going stronger than the days in the seventies when OPEC tripled the price of oil. With both the economic and religious influences in place, the powers that be are shaking at the prospects of widespread revolution in the Arab World.
So it's heartening that President Obama came out in support of the uprising in Tunisia. This is in keeping with his attempts, since the day he was elected, to reverse the shameful fear-mongering of the Bush administration. Whatever hard knocks he is taking, Obama is right to claim that the bulk of the deficit, not to mention two wars and an outrageous favoritism shown to the rich, as well as to the religious right, all occurred on Bush's watch. I am as nervous about the Arab street as anyone. But where else can we turn if these oppressed societies are to breathe fresh air and enjoy the freedoms that all people deserve?
These guys still don’t get it. The BN government, the police, the royals and the media which publish their lies. All these guys believe that if you threaten and use the power of the state’s institutions, Malaysians will be intimidated and cowed into silence.
It may work for a year, maybe a decade but not forever. In time, the excesses of the system and the corruption and the abuse of power and the failed propaganda will be too much for Malaysians. And then the system nurtured and protected by the government and their cronies will crumble. Even before the fall of the dictator in Tunisia, this was the way of the world.
Plus, God or Allah or the Supreme Being never allows the cruel and wicked to have their way indefinitely.
So the powers-that-be and the discredited Utusan Malaysia believe they are winning the fight by getting the Sri Muda assemblyman charged with sedition. They probably believe that this will strike fear into Malaysians and stop them from questioning and criticising the royals, a man-made institution with many warts.
I hope Malaysians are not cowed. I believe they will not be cowed. A great number of Malaysians are God-fearing people. Not Sultan or BN-fearing but God-fearing people. The great religions have many things in common and this includes standing up to tyranny, protecting the weak, zero tolerance towards corruption and belief in One God.
People who are God-fearing cannot put other human beings on the same pedestal as God. It is blasphemous to do that. And yet this is what the self-serving Umno and its mainstream media want Malaysians to do: put the royals on the same plane as the Almighty. Royals who engage in every activity under the sun!
If the government leaders and royals want to be spared criticism and attacks, then they must be straight as arrows. Now we in Malaysia know that the moral compass is weak with the governing class. They enrich and empower themselves. And they want to perpetuate their hold on power and wealth. And they will do anything to stay in power.
It is up to God-fearing Malaysians to hold them accountable every day, no matter what the cost to our personal liberty. The ISA is man-made and so is the Sedition Act but allowing evil and bad things to happen puts us on collision course with our faith.
The world as we know it has changed yet again. Over the course of the last few weeks we have witnessed massive organizing and protesting in the streets of Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and across the Middle East/Africa. As we watch the populous convene to collectively voice their discontent with government and other factions, it isn't difficult to see the power of conscientious objection manifesting itself one more time. It is the same message our great civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us here in the United States decades ago. In the last few hours, however, there have been clashes with pro-Mubarak forces and demonstrators, also reminiscent of people that disrupted the non-violent marches in the civil rights movement even in my time. The protesters should resist being provoked and not allow their peaceful non-violence protests that have won them worldwide attention and sympathy to be disrupted by provocateu
It's no secret that growing up, I extensively studied the teachings of Dr. King and the unprecedented manner in which he countered injustice and inequity with peace and intellectual discourse. Incorporating the ideas of nonviolent opposition carried out by Mahatma Gandhi in India, Dr. King utilized the strength of peaceful protests, sit-ins and assembly that galvanized a nation to acknowledge and rectify some of its iniquitous ways. Dr. King and Gandhi both believed in the right for all peoples to be treated as equal human beings and incorporated in all aspects of society -- including self-governance. After years of autocratic regimes in many countries, it comes as no surprise then that the citizenry are demanding a voice, demanding to be recognized and demanding inclusion. And they are doing it just like the great struggles of the past.
Following 23 years of virtually unchecked rule, Tunisia's President, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, stepped down last month after thousands marched and demanded his ouster. The anti-government demonstrations began in December, and despite small instances of skirmishes, the majority of this vocal opposition centered on peaceful protests. Observing the success in Tunisia, the people of Egypt quickly followed suit with their own mass rallies that even echoed many of the same chants of our own civil rights struggle translated into Arabic. Frustrated with a lack of opportunity and vying for a more democratic form of rule, these mostly young Egyptians organized via Twitter/Facebook, other technology and word-of-mouth. They created banners/signs and marched in the streets emphatically chanting their discontent. And they were successful in bringing the world's attention to some of their greatest grievances.
As President Mubarak appoints a new cabinet and states that he will not run for another term, in the country of Jordan, King Abdullah II has shifted his own administration. Amid rising discontent and demonstrations by the thousands, King Abdullah has called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Samir Rifai, and asked an ex-army general to form a new cabinet. The world has yet to see if the concessions of both Mubarak and Abdullah are enough to satisfy the desires of the people in their respective nations, but one thing is for certain -- real change has come to the entire region on the heels of non-violent protest taught to us by both Dr. King and Gandhi not so long ago.
We are once again witnessing history right before our very eyes, and witnessing the strength and power of nonviolent opposition in bringing about real results. Although tensions may be high in Egypt at the moment, we do not know who or what may be perpetrating the escalation and instability as yet. As we watch this continuously developing situation, we hope and pray that things will remain peaceful in delivering the will of the people in Egypt and the entire region -- just as they did on our very own soil.
No comments:
Post a Comment