'We Understand Islam'

By Joseph El-Khoury

Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad’s desperate efforts to portray his movement as moderate and mainstream felt a tad rehearsed, triggering sniggers from other panel members during an Aljazeera English debate on the latest events in Gaza.

The heavy fighting over the weekend pitted Palestinian security forces, essentially under Hamas control, against a relative newcomer on the Islamist scene, known as the ‘Jund Ansar Allah’ or ‘Soldiers of the supporters of God’. This Salafi organisation of a few hundred members and apparently linked to the kidnapping of BBC Journalist Alan Johnston a few years ago, had been growing steadily and recruiting aggressively among the disaffected youth in the impoverished city of Rafah in Southern Gaza. As part of his diatribe Mr Hamad declared: ’These guys don’t understand Islam, We understand Islam’; an accusation that ironically had been levelled at them by Fatah in the past. Similarly he claims that his organisation never forces its beliefs on others, while the reality in Gaza reveals a systematic islamization of society organised by Hamas since it took over control of the district.

Only a few weeks earlier we read press releases indicating that Female lawyers were instructed to wear the veil while conducting official court business. Other reports suggest that Hamas is no longer content of focusing its task on fighting the Israelis but is determined to remodel Gazan life according to its religious and moral principles. Realistically, the movement doesn’t really have much choice, having dug itself into a hole by evicting Fatah to the West Bank and failed to emulate Hezbollah in the latest Gaza war, it is limited to capitalising on its religious platform.

Obviously they are not responsible for every brand of Islamism within Palestinian society, but on this account had so far only been rivalled by Islamic Jihad, a much more elitist organisation with no limited grass root support. In addition, any discerning observer with basic understanding of political Islam, will be aware of the radical differences between organisations such as Hamas (and Hezbollah) on one hand and the Global Jihadists of Al Qaeda. Their lumping together by the Western media only mirrors Israeli propaganda which equates between Palestinian resistance to occupation (regardless of how misguided and counterproductive) and the delusional behaviour of a group of religious fanatics. It is easy to forget that the West used military force in Iraq to bring to power political parties that would find themselves to the Right of Hamas ideologically, but what is ‘Kosher’ in Iraq is ‘Haram’ in Palestine.

Nonetheless, it is Hamas, aided by the Israeli blockade, which bears a large part of responsibility for creating an atmosphere where Islam could be used as a political tool in settling disputes and labelling opponents. A number of commentators have highlighted the rehabilitating benefit for the militants of having dealt a deadly blow to those who dared be more ‘Muslim’ than them. Others feel that this is not the last we will hear from the Salafis and that the appalling human situation in the strip has the potential to breed further unbridled fanaticism.

Down and Dirty in Jeddah

By Joseph El-Khoury

Sex is the ultimate taboo in any society. It is the subject that mesmerises audiences from Amsterdam to Tokyo passing through...Jeddah.

A storm has been brewing over the closure of the offices of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) in Saudi Arabia following the personal on screen revelations of a Saudi citizen. Given the LBC’s obsession with ratings and the delivery of a competitive product in the murky world of Arab Satellite Broadcasting, it is no surprise that they chose to milk the subject of sex through their bold talk show ‘A7mar bel Khatt El 3areed’( Red in bold writing) fronted by a babyfaced rising star, Malek Maktabi. Having started as a propaganda tool for the Christian Lebanese militias in the mid-1980s, over the years, LBC has gradually shed any ambition of being a political messenger and has focused instead on winning the broader Arab market, where political debates (even in other countries) disturb and upset. The problem with that approach is that no debate on social issues can be apolitical, since the two are inextricably linked. Policies are dictated by society and in turn dictate social behaviour. The process is open and transparent in democratic societies but not in the Arab world. Debating sexual behaviour, domestic violence or religious beliefs is not only a challenge to patriarchal tradition and the moral authorities of the realm, but one step away from asking tough questions on the state of the economy, human rights and foreign policy. Individual liberties and political freedom go hand in hand; a fact that Arab regimes, may they be presidential dictatorships or religious monarchies, are very aware of and actively counteract. The means of control will vary from secular Damascus to conservative Khartoum and so far have proven successful. That said, it is no surprise that it was the Saudis who proved most sensitive to the sexual adventures of one of their compatriots. Religious dogma and politics are one in Saudi Arabia where the ruling family’s claim to power since their ascendance in the first part of the 20th century is inseparable from the domination of the militant group of Islamists known as the Wahhabis. Furthermore, the culprit is the LBC, a network with an ex-Christian identity now mostly owned by Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, a Saud himself but not part of the ruling inner circle. Confronted with this explosive cocktail mix, the tenants of the moral order and political stability in the Kingdom had no choice but to act. The rhetoric on ‘negative cultural influences’ and ‘habits that are foreign to Saudi society’ were brought out for the benefit of the masses, who are unlikely to witness the excesses of their rulers in the clubs of London or the Casinos of Monte-Carlo.

Malek Maktabi will most likely be asked to down tune his program to less threatening topics, making it virtually unwatchable. May we suggest covering the Palestinian-Israeli for a change? At least we all agree we support the Palestinians, or is that denial as well?

The Politics of Recycling

By Joseph El-Khoury

Recycling is thriving in Lebanon...from the recycling of old tunes by the 4cats and other mediocre leather clad divas to the recycling of slogans, images and political discourse. As ever, the Palme D’Or goes to Lord Joumblat, the Darth Vader of the Druze Mountain who has been delivering a well choreographed performance over the past few weeks. The cherry on top came in the form a speech, more like a confession, full of reference to Arabism and Socialism. The flirtation with neo conservatism ends in a half baked Mea Culpa only two months after the historical electoral battle for the soul of Lebanon. I will not dwell on the Beyk’s socialist credentials, having covered them in a previous post. But I will point out that Arabism or Arab nationalist rhetoric has proven many times before to be the real opium of the secular people in Lebanon. In its name reform and revolution have been incited and scuppered. Joumblatt again proves that his behaviour is born out of tradition: Talk the talk and (in the absence of accountability) you won’t have to walk to walk. He leaves orphans behind as his conciliation tour covers the Iranian embassy and the headquarters of the Syrian Nationalists: The leftist idealists, fans of the late Samir Kassir and George Hawi, who are still unable to cut the umbilical cord inherited from the alliances of the 60s and 70s. Something tells me that they will fail to recognise that this final twist is an opportunity to grow up and mature as a political entity independent from the sponsorship of the Druze chieftain.

But recycling is not only a Druze hobby. The liberal economists of the clan in power have again sold us a summer of opportunities and rejuvenation. They are supported in their efforts by CNN, Paris Match and other foreign media reports excited over a Beirut soaking in sweat rather than blood. The realities of a divided, corrupt and impoverished country are set aside in favour of short clips revealing the hedonism of a Sky Bar or the opulence of a Baalbeck festival. What we are not reminded of is that Lebanon earned its reputation as the Switzerland of the east as the winds of civil strife were blowing from the countryside and that 1974 was an exceptional year for tourism. A year later, AK47s had replaced saxophones as a background symphony.

Not wanting to be left behind, the Kataeb are making a comeback. An essential player on the political scene until the 1980s, their rebranding as a measured yet militant defender of Christian interests under a Gemayel (Sami, not Nadim who is condemned to play a second hand role until he grows a personality) is a well timed move as the Aounist movement loses steam for lack of imagination.

And the mother of all recycling tunes is the ‘special relation with Syria’ to which all of the above adhere. The race is on to Damascus, literary funded by Saudi money, to kneel again at the emperor’s feet.

I wish we would all stick to glass, cardboard and paper. Recycling in politics is actually damaging to the environment.