What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.
By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEUS Defense Secretary James Mattis (center), during his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman (not pictured) in Saudi Arabia(photo credit: REUTERS)What happened to Iraqi solidarity with Palestine? Al-Mada, Iraq, May 3I still remember when, as a child, I noticed my father listening to the radio and crying. I didn’t dare ask him what had happened, but my mother later explained that he was crying for Palestine, which was being dishonored by European foreigners who invaded it.My father wasn’t crying alone. All of Iraq’s notable politicians, authors, poets and intellectuals were crying with him. I remember the days when the Iraqi radio opened its news broadcasts with a prayer for Palestine.I remember hearing stories of brave Iraqi men who fought alongside their Arab brethren in the Arab Legion. I remember the days when Iraqis viewed Palestine as an integral part of their nation; when Iraqi parties included Palestine in their political platforms. I vividly recall reading and hearing about Palestine and Jerusalem in our day-to-day lives.But then something changed. I am not quite sure what happened, but Iraqis became consumed with themselves. The deep solidarity between the people of Iraq and those of Palestine disappeared. Palestinian refugees who lived in Iraq were all of a sudden discriminated against, as the laws enacted to protect them were at once repealed. Since then, Iraqis stopped caring.I haven’t read a single world, for example, about the recent hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.I haven’t seen any show of solidarity towards the daily struggle of Palestinians living under brutal occupation.We, like many others in the Arab world, have simply turned our backs to those who relied on us the most.– Abd al-Latif SaduniDeath penalty statistics: what is overlooked Al-Okaz, Saudi Arabia, May 4I recently stumbled upon an Amnesty International report that surveyed the number of executions carried out worldwide. The two leading countries on the list, China and Iran, totaled more executions than the rest of the list combined. Other countries that “starred” on the death-penalty statistics were Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Sudan. The United States ranked 27th on the list.This definitely portrays Washington in a good light: as a country of over 300 million people, it ranks relatively low on this scale. But we must ask ourselves what factors are left out of these statistics. Americans might be safe from execution, but they experience, for example, one of the highest rates of homicide. Just as I am writing these lines I am reading reports of shootings in two American cities. Police brutality, as we all know, results in the death of dozens of innocent blacks in American cities.More importantly, these death-penalty statistics completely ignore the United States’ military activity abroad. How do we factor in America’s attacks on Syrian hospitals, which result in the killing of dozens of civilians? Iraq? Afghanistan? How do we take into consideration the hundreds of asylum seekers sent back to their death by American immigration authorities? What about Washington’s support of Israel, totaling more $3.8 billion annually just in sales? These actions are no less brutal than a firing squad or a lethal injection, yet we do not hold the United States accountable for them. Had we factored them in, I have a strong feeling that we would see the US at the very top of the list.Americans pride themselves on living in the world’s strongest democracy. However, they uphold the world to one standard, and themselves to another. This sounds neither moral nor democratic to me.– Jihad al-HazenThe inherent flaw with outlawing the Brotherhood Al-Shorouq, Egypt, May 3More and more Western countries have begun weighing in on the question of whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.This would entail adding the organization and its figureheads to an international terrorist watch list and forbidding their operations abroad.Leading this discussion in the international arena is the United States, whose president, Donald Trump, has been one of the biggest advocates of outlawing the Brotherhood. Some Arab regimes have also been toying with the idea. However, there is an inherent flaw with the idea of outlawing the Brotherhood – one that revolves around a basic misunderstanding of the movement.Like many other movements in the world, the Brotherhood is exactly that: a movement. It is not an organization. It is not a bureaucracy. Rather, it is an ideological current, championed by millions around the Arab world. Just like we cannot outlaw Salafism, we cannot outlaw the Brotherhood. Yes, Brotherhood colloquiums do take place from time to time. But those attending such gatherings, whether international or local, belong to a wide array of organizations. They range from civil society organizations to Islamist ones.One cannot ban or outlaw all of them.The reality is that the Muslim Brotherhood has become more of a school of thought than anything else, and there is no tangible way of stopping its spread, whether we like admitting it or not. Muslims are not a monolithic entity, and neither is the Brotherhood.There is nuance and difference that one can only witness on the ground, not on paper. Thus, this entire debate really has nothing to do with terrorism or a security threat. It is about marginalizing certain political players while empowering others.– Yasser al-ZaatraTrump’s Middle East priorities Asharq Al-Awsat, London, May 5The recent announcement that US President Trump will embark on his first state visit at the end of the month shows the new president’s priorities. Even more telling is the fact that his first stop is going to be Saudi Arabia.American priorities have significantly changed under the new administration, and Trump views Riyadh as a strategic American ally. The key to solving almost any American issue in the Middle East lies with Riyadh. In Syria, Riyadh already proposed a solution that would limit Assad’s power while establishing a peaceful transition of power in the country. This solution was even accepted by Russian officials.In Yemen, Riyadh has been fighting the Houthi militias and working to contain Iranian-backed rebel groups in the region. It is the ultimate power fighting to block the spread of Iranian influence in the Middle East. In Egypt, Riyadh has extended immeasurable investments and loans to help stabilize the Egyptian economy and fight the spread of Islamist terrorist groups in the Sinai Peninsula.Today, more than ever before, Riyadh’s and Washington’s interests almost perfectly overlap. Trump is aware of this crucial alliance, and he is making his new agenda very clear. By beginning his Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia, he is sending a clear message to his foes and allies as one: the path to any challenge in the Middle East begins with Riyadh.This is a major change of policy from Obama’s presidency; one that treats Saudi Arabia with the respect it has deserved for years.– Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed
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