he start of the popular uprisings in 2011 - the Arab spring - raised expectations again, not of Arab unity, but of something that would still come close to meeting popular aspirations.
Source/Credit: BBC News
By Gerald Butt | March 24, 2014
The world has learned to expect rhetoric aplenty, but little of substance from Arab summits - and the one scheduled for Kuwait on 25-26 March will be no exception.
Indeed, expectations are, if anything, even lower than in the past.
This latest heads-of-state meeting, like all previous ones, is being convened by the Arab League, which was established nearly 70 years ago to foster mutual co-ordination in order to achieve "the close co-operation of the member-states".
In the euphoria of that post-colonial independence era much more than co-operation seemed possible.
Millions of Arabs dreamed of smashing down the border fences erected by the British and French colonists to achieve unity from Morocco in the west to the Gulf states in the east.
All the ingredients seemed to be there as energetic young leaders took power: shared religion, language, history and culture - and a craving for a return of Arab self-esteem.
But surely today it can be no more than a handful of starry-eyed idealists who still cling to the dream of Arab unity.
Half a century or more of inter-government jealousy, rivalry and war have long buried that dream in the minds of most Arabs.
The start of the popular uprisings in 2011 - the Arab spring - raised expectations again, not of Arab unity, but of something that would still come close to meeting popular aspirations.
The overpowering urge to remove dictators from power was driven to a large extent by that same desire for dignity and self-esteem.
[more ... ]
Read original post here: Middle East: The deep discord bedevilling the Arab world
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.