Mataf nearly empty as entry to Makkah restricted to Hajj visa holders    Cinema revenues account for SR845.6 million in 2024 17 Saudi films among 504 films screened    Will US tariff hikes affect Saudi Arabia? Kingdom largely insulated as oil exports remain exempt and non-oil sectors gain a pricing edge    Expat arrested for immoral act at a massage center in Jazan    Saudi Transplant Congress discusses scientific advancements and innovations on organ donation and transplantation    Mawani and Alissa Universal Motors sign agreement worth SR300 million to establish Logistics Zone at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam    Al-Khereiji at BRICS: Saudi Arabia a reliable and neutral partner in endeavors for de-escalating tensions    Saudi market shows resilience in Q1 2025 despite global volatility: Report    Saudi Arabia urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions    Trump congratulates Canada's Carney as they agree to meet in 'near future'    Sánchez vows to uncover reasons behind massive Iberian power outage    Guterres warns two-state solution is 'near a point of no return'    Al Ahli stun Al Hilal to reach AFC Champions League Elite final    4 Chinese nationals arrested in Makkah for promoting fake Hajj campaigns    SR200,000 reward for each player of the Saudi club winning AFC Champions League title    William and Kate celebrate anniversary on Isle of Mull    HONOR KSA expands its presence with new flagship Experience Store in Riyadh HONOR's first flagship store in KSA provides visitors with a premium experience, exciting offers and free services    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The Predicament of the Minorities and the Majority as Well
Published in AL HAYAT on 29 - 02 - 2012

Since the beginning of the Arab action, and especially after it spread throughout Syria, voices from the Arab religious minorities started warning against the threat of the Islamists' rise to power, after their role emerged in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, then in Syria, and Iraq before that. This warning carried an underlying relief over the fact that the governments that were deterring the protests were protecting the minorities, even if these governments are tyrannical and dictatorial and are violating all forms of human and citizens' rights.
It is as though this warning only perceives two options: a tyrannical government that oppresses the Islamists or Islamists in power threatening the minorities. Some did not hesitate to take the first option, considering it features the protection of the minorities, namely the Christian one.
This predicament clearly emerged in Lebanon where minority sensitivities are the ones governing both the behavior and politics, thus revealing the archetypal position of the Arab minorities in the face of the changes unfolding in the Arab region, where the overwhelming Sunni majority is embracing the Islamic movements that are the source of fear and the extremist groups targeting the minorities.
On one hand, some considered that the Sunni ocean was afflicted with a historical stalemate that could not be revived, which is why it would be better for the minorities to coalesce in the face of that ocean. This was expressed in Lebanon via the Aounist movement's alliance with Hezbollah, while supported by the Syrian regime which is now also considered part of the Arab minorities.
On the other hand, some considered there was no room for these minorities in the confrontation with this Sunni ocean. Hence, the Druze historically acted as though part of the causes of the region and the friendship of the late leader Kamal Jumblatt with the Saudi command equaled that which he enjoyed with the Egyptian command, despite the major disputes that affected the relations between Riyadh and Cairo at the time. By doing so, he summoned the course adopted by another Druze, i.e. Shakib Arslan who became engaged in all the Arab causes, and that of a resistance fighter against French colonialism, i.e. Sultan al-Atrash. Today, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is bringing this course back to mind, via his positions toward the developments in Syria and his advice to the followers of his sect to join the majority and abstain from standing alongside the ruling minority.
In Lebanon also, a Christian leader, i.e. Samir Geagea, and after a political reassessment and critique which affected his former course during the civil war, is calling for alignment alongside the majority in Syria, even though this was based on the principle of solidarity with humanitarian causes related to general freedoms and rights. He considered – as he announced during his visit to Iraq a few weeks back – that the Islamists' arrival to power was not a threat in itself and that the Christians' involvement in the concerns of the majority would qualify them to enjoy citizenship rights, at a time when the tyrannical regimes are exercising their tyranny on everyone, including the Christians.
However, this predicament will continue as long as the majority in the countries of the Arab spring has not yet overcome the stage of reassuring the minorities with general terms which were never stipulated in the constitutional principles. Indeed, it is no longer enough to talk about the respect of the minorities' rights and the selection of a sample among them to place it in the forefront, as it previously happened in Iraq and is currently happening in Egypt. The respect of the minorities cannot be instated without the respect of human rights, total equality at the level of the rights and obligations and the constitutional confirmation of those rights. In other words, there must be a move toward an actual civil state on all levels.
So far, with the exception of general announcements here and there, the prevailing tendency is that the time has come to recover the historical persecution which affected the Islamists at the hands of the dictatorial regimes. Also in this context, the opposition in Syria – where the fears of the minorities are at their peak – did not offer any alternative enjoying credibility to lead the people away from their sectarian belonging and toward true citizenship.
This renders the predicament a double one, i.e. the predicament of a minority that is unable to find its position and that of a majority that has not yet established – once and for all – a civil state.


Clic here to read the story from its source.