UK £2 Issue 192, Year 4 February 10, 2019 EU €2.50 www.thearabweekly.com A murder Debating Pope’s in Karbala Arab visit to

migration the UAE Pages 5-6, 21

Page 5 Page 16 Pages 4,6 Iran facing its ‘biggest crisis’ 40 years after revolution ► Some observers say more unrest could spread and further shake the regime. Thomas Seibert leader of the revolution of betray- terror” and a “corrupt dictator- al. He told Reuters that Khomeini ship” in his State of the Union had committed himself to dem- speech February 5. Istanbul ocratic principles and human Tehran’s efforts to cushion the rights during his exile but ignored effects of the US sanctions have s Iran marks the 40th those promises after his return. only been partially successful. anniversary of Ayatol- “For me it was a very, very bitter Suspected Iranian terror plots lah Ruhollah Khomeini’s moment,” Banisadr said, adding against dissidents in Europe un- A revolution, the Islamic that Iran was a “dictatorship” to- dermined efforts by the Iranian Republic is caught in the most day. government to shield its relations serious crisis of its history and Since Trump’s sanctions kicked with EU counties that oppose could face collapse if it avoids in last year, workers, including Trump’s decision but are wary of fundamental reforms, observers truck drivers, farmers and mer- Iranian activities within their bor- said. chants, have carried out sporadic ders. “Today the country is facing the protests against economic hard- As a result, the economic pro- biggest pressure and economic ships. The demonstrations have gress that Rohani had hoped for sanctions in the past 40 years,” occasionally led to confrontations has not materialised. A currency Iranian President‌ Hassan Rohani with security forces. crisis, a private sector stifled by said during a ceremony at the Opposition to the United States, state enterprises or companies shrine of Khomeini. called the “Great Satan” by Irani- with links to the military, a wob- an officials, has been a tenet of the bly banking sector and a scarcity Iran’s vow to export its Islamic Republic since its incep- of foreign investment block de- tion. Many Iranians were wary of velopment. The International dynasty-toppling revolution the Americans because of the US Monetary Fund is expecting the deepened the confrontation coup against Iranian Prime Min- Iranian economy to contract 3.6% with the West and ister Mohammed Mossadegh in this year. adversaries among the 1953 and because of Washington’s Some observers say more un- monarchies and autocratic support for the shah and alleged rest could spread and further governments in the region. US help for a possible counter- shake the regime. “There is a po- revolution that led to the seizing tential for a working-class move- Rohani blamed sanctions re- of the US Embassy in Tehran in ment that could put pressure imposed by US President Donald 1979 and the hostage crisis that on the government in unprec- Trump, who was attempting to lasted until January 1981. Diplo- edented ways,” said Arash Azizi, force Tehran to agree to tighter matic relations remain cut. a New York-based writer on Ira- rules for its nuclear programme, Iran’s vow to export its dynasty- nian affairs. “There is a tradition for the difficulties. “The Islamic toppling revolution deepened the for this: In 1979, the deadly strike system should not be blamed,” he confrontation with the West and against the shah regime came added. adversaries among the monar- from protesting oil workers.” Many Iranians beg to differ. chies and other governments in Farhang Jahanpour, an Iranian When Khomeini returned from the region. Support for Hezbollah academic and member of Kellogg exile in France on February 1, in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels College at the University of Ox- 1979, he vowed to build a just or- in Yemen demonstrated to other ford, said the regime will have to players that Tehran was bent on der based on Islamic values. Ten tackle key underlying problems if Ayatollah’s shadow. Iranian women pray in front of a poster of days later, the government of establishing a “Shia Crescent” it wants to survive. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran. (AFP) Shah Reza Pahlavi collapsed. from Iran via Iraq and Syria to- “The Iranian political and reli- However, 40 years on, disillu- wards the Mediterranean. gious establishment must make sionment has set in and many Ira- The nuclear deal of 2015 allowed some drastic changes in its ideol- perience of the Soviet Union and that had to change. “Iran’s young nians complain about economic Iran to emerge from international ogy, system of government and other revolutions that collapsed generation does not need clerical mismanagement, corruption and isolation but Trump’s announce- domestic and foreign policies if because they failed to respond to guardians,” he said. an unresponsive political system ment last May withdrawing from it hopes to escape major social the demands of their people,” he in a country of 80 million people the agreement meant that sanc- upheaval leading to the possible added. Thomas Seibert is an that sits on some of the world’s tions designed to cripple Tehran’s collapse of the system,” Jahan- Jahanpour singled out the “ve- Arab Weekly correspondent. richest oil and gas reserves. vital oil exports returned with a pour wrote in an analysis for the layat-e faqih or the guardianship Abolhassan Banisadr, Khomei- vengeance. Trump called Iran the foreign policy blog LobeLog. of the clerics,” a core principle Debating 40th anniversary of ni’s first president, accused the “world’s leading state sponsor of “Iran should learn from the ex- of Khomeini’s system, as an area the Iranian revolution: Page 2 A Beirut cafe that offers coffee, tea and empathy Samar Kadi where they can have direct con- move around the tables carrying tact with people. the trays but, after the training, I “They are usually working be- could do it easily,” said Elie. Beirut hind the scene on artisanal and “Here it is the most friendly handicrafts but we never see them and homely atmosphere. I am so gonist Coffee Shop is a selling their own products directly happy to talk to people daily, take special cafe. Tables do to the public,” he said. care of their order and see that not have numbers but Open since mid-December, Ago- they got what they want,” said A coloured signs. Custom- nist Coffee Shop is gaining popu- Dolore. ers tick their order on the menu larity to the surprise and delight In addition to coffee and em- and mention their table’s colour of its owner. pathy, Agonist serves tea, juice to facilitate identification. Ago- “The reaction of the public is and smoothies along with home- nist is the first in Lebanon run by very positive,” Hage said. made desserts baked by the coffee a team of employees with special Hage collaborated with the Leb- shop’s chef. needs. anese Down Syndrome Associa- The word “agonist” is a medical “I tried to get some funding or tion in recruiting workers. His staff term about parts of the body that sponsorship without success. includes 12 employees. They have work in unity and cause a positive People were sceptical about the participated in a 3-month training reaction. Since the official open- feasibility of the project and did programme to prepare them for ing December 16, the coffee shop Creating opportunities. Wassim el-Hage surrounded by some of his not want to take risks,” said Was- the job. They work 6-hour shifts has been nothing but a true posi- staff at Beirut’s Agonist coffee shop. (Beirut’s Agonist) sim el-Hage, owner of Agonist and there are usually four people tive agonist, Hage said. Cafe. working per shift. A physiotherapist, Hage is fa- “Their disabilities are of differ- and understand what is requested energetic as they welcome guests Samar Kadi is The Arab Weekly miliar with the capacities of peo- ent types and degrees. Some can of them,” Hage said. and show them to their tables. Travel and Society section editor. ple with disabilities and decided interact better than others but Elie and Dolore have Down syn- “I never worked as a waiter. Egypt’s cultural cafes: Page 20 to offer them a place to work they all have the capacity to grasp drome. They are all smiles and At first, it was difficult for me to 2 February 10, 2019 Cover Story Iran’s Revolution Anniversary Nothing to celebrate about Iran’s revolution

Dystopian nightmare. A group Ali Alfoneh of Iranian paramilitary Basij forces re-enact a s the regime in Tehran riot situation commemorates the during 40th anniversary of training in the revolution and north-eastern establishment of the Tehran. (AP) Islamic Republic, is thereA really much to celebrate? Rather than realising utopian dreams, the revolution and its af- termath have created a dystopian nightmare. The regime sits atop a system that restricts freedom of expression. It is constantly at odds with adversaries near and far and is economically and ideologically bankrupt. Take the Iranian economy. On February 1, 1979, the day of his return to Iran from exile, Ayatol- lah Ruhollah Khomeini delivered a speech that promised Iranians Compare Iran’s economy with “The Rich Kids of Tehran,” a popu- resources to finance foreign adven- “free water, free electricity and free that of Turkey and South Korea and lar Instagram account, provides a tures in Syria and to prop up the bus service.” He assured the Irani- the poor performance of the Islamic window into the decadent lives of Lebanese Hezbollah as well as Shia an public: “We not only secure your Republic becomes very apparent. the sons and daughters of the rul- communities across the Middle world but also your afterworld.” Forty years ago, Iran’s economy was ing elites of the Islamic Republic. East. No one has returned from the slightly larger than that of neigh- They light Havana cigars with $100 However, Shia communities grave to tell us about the after- bouring Turkey and was almost bills and show off their designer are not always welcoming to the world but it is painfully clear that double that of South Korea. Today, handbags and jewellery. They holi- Islamic Republic’s attempts to Khomeini and his successors soon Turkey’s nominal GDP is twice that day on idyllic islands and drinking intervene in their affairs. Such forgot the more worldly promises. of Iran and South Korea’s economy and partying are privileges of the meddling makes them vulnerable By 2018, a study by economist is seven times as big. few. to accusations of constituting an Hamid Raghfar revealed a dismal A recent Atlantic Council paper There are no such indulgences Iranian “fifth column” in Sunni picture. It said 33% of Iran’s popu- further showed the dismal slide of for the middle class and certainly majority states. lation — nearly 26 million people Iranians’ per capita income since not for the downtrodden, whose There is perhaps one reason to — live in absolute poverty, and the revolution. In 1980, Iran’s nom- cause the Islamic Republic claims rejoice at the 40th anniversary of 6% — 5 million people — cannot inal GDP per capita was $2,374; in to advance. Arrest and imprison- the revolution in Iran. Four dec- afford adequate food. The numbers Turkey it was $2,169 and in South ment are their lot, not only if they ades on, establishing a so-called were confirmed by Parviz Fattah, Korea $1,711. In 2018, Iran’s nomi- are caught breaking the written Islamic Republic is no longer a president of the Imam Khomeini nal GDP per capita was $4,838; in and unwritten laws of the Islamic utopian dream for Iranians. They Relief Committee, which provides Turkey it was $11,125 and in South Republic but also if they demand have experienced its economic and needy Iranians with food and Korea, $32,774. their rights. ideological bankruptcy, its unfree- other necessities. Iran’s economic woes are Those rights include the free- dom and need for foreign conflicts compounded by its conflicts with dom to vote the candidate of their first-hand. Those Iranians have regional adversaries Saudi Arabia choice into public office and de- nothing to celebrate but a lesson Rather than realising utopian and Israel and with distant ones, mand their salary, which govern- learnt at great cost. dreams, the revolution and such as the United States. Unilat- ment agencies have not paid for eral American sanctions further months. Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at its aftermath have created a complicate the situation. Iran is engaged in exporting its the Arab Gulf States Institute in dystopian nightmare. Not all Iranians suffer, however. model abroad, using scarce Washington. 40 years ago, Shariat-Madari warned me against Khomeini’s intent

nity of the Iranian nation and the journalists but also the relentless French President Valery Giscard big Islamic Revolution and speaks machinations it used for 40 years to Forty years d’Estaing personally warned the to our people with respect, we will persecute men and women for their after the shah that Khomeini, then living Claude Salhani be ready to accept the repentance opinions or their reporting,” said breaking of and pontificating in a villa out- and return of the United States, Reporters Without Borders Secre- diplomatic side Paris, was “becoming noisy” even though it has oppressed us for tary-General Christophe Deloire. links between and that, if the shah chose to act, many years,” Rohani said. During the 8-year war with Iraq, French security forces “would Requesting an apology from the the Iranians had young boys walk Iran and the look the other way.” This is from ranians will mark the 40th an- United States is a nonstarter. While in front of the regular fighting force US, there is a French politician who was close niversary of the Islamic Revo- Iranians may feel the United States to clear landmines. In exchange for little hope of to then-Prime Minister Jacques lution on February 11. Some and others sinned during the shah which the boys were promised a seeing positive Chirac. On both occasions the shah will celebrate. Others will years by backing the monarch, place in paradise. change in declined to act, saying Khomeini mourn, weeping for a country including support to the dreaded These horrendous abominations relations. “does not worry us.” that has become the enfant SAVAK secret police, the West really happened, they are not folk- Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Iterrible of the Middle East. harbours equal resentment towards lore stories made up to discredit the Shariat-Madari disagreed with Forty years after the breaking of the current regime for its support regime. On a visit to the front lines Khomeini but he needed to do so diplomatic links between Iran and of terrorism, not least the car bomb at the time, we were shown some of discretely. Caught between the the United States there is little hope attacks against US Marines and these young lads who had been fed shah’s security forces, which had of seeing positive change in rela- French paratroopers in Lebanon in the belief of a glorious afterlife. surrounded the holy city of Qom, tions. Indeed, quite the contrary is 1983. From the start of the Islamic and the cunningness of Khomeini’s happening. What is particularly perplex- Revolution, it was clear to some — people, a rare moderate such as Speaking to foreign diplomats, ing about the mullah-ocracy is its though not enough — that Ayatollah Shariat-Madari was an exception. Iranian President Hassan Rohani two-faced approach to its politics Ruhollah Khomeini had embarked During the early days of the revo- said negotiations with the United and policies. They accuse the West on a path permeated by hatred and lution, I entered Qom for a covert States would be possible if it “re- of transgressions, yet Iran has the evil and that the revolution was be- meeting with Shariat-Madari. We pents” and ends hostile policies region’s record for violating human coming as villainous as the regime spent several hours conversing in towards his country. rights, from the use of torture to the it had replaced. Arabic, so there was no room for Relations between Washington detention of journalists. There were warning signs that misunderstanding due to transla- and Tehran, already at a thorny In the first 40 years in power, were overlooked by all, starting tion. stage, have plunged further since 860 journalists have been arrested with the shah, who was lied to by During the conversation, he US President Donald Trump in Iran, leaked files published by his inner circle about the stability outlined what Khomeini would do reimposed sanctions on Iran after Reporters Without Borders stated. and the reliability of the army and domestically as well as regionally withdrawing from a historic nuclear At least four were executed. the security forces. and internationally. It sounded deal. Iranian authorities maintained A recent Netflix documentary on ominous and, at first, I couldn’t “If America repents and reverses secret files of some 1.7 million the inner workings of the Mossad, understand why he was sharing its previous approach… apologises records of judicial procedures and, the Israeli secret service, revealed this information with me because for its past interferences in Iran, although people’s professions were that even Mossad operatives sta- I had assumed him to be on the recognises the greatness and dig- not listed, Reporters Without Bor- tioned in Iran at the time failed to Khomeini team. In fact, I believe he ders said researchers compiled and predict what was to come. was sending out a warning, rather verified the names of 860 journal- The chief Israeli resident spy in a plea. True, the United States did ists or citizen-journalists who had Tehran at the time said the main True, the United States did sup- support the shah but if anyone been arrested or imprisoned. reason for their shortcoming and port the shah but if anyone owes “The very existence of this file their inability to see the coming an apology it is the current regime owes an apology it is the current and its millions of entries show storm was because they were so in Iran that should apologise to the regime in Iran that should not only the scale of the Ira- tight with the shah’s intelligence international community. nian regime’s mendacity for years services that they feared initiating apologise to the international when claiming that its jails were contact with the opposition would Claude Salhani is a regular community. holding no political prisoners or jeopardise their situation. columnist for The Arab Weekly. February 10, 2019 3 Spotlight Countering Iran’s Influence Yemen prisoner exchange talks falter

Saleh Baidhani The Houthi militia, in a February 7 posting on its website, said the meet- ing had failed. Aden Abdul Qader Murtada, leader of the Houthi delegation, told Thom- N-sponsored prisoner ex- son Reuters that “if the other side change negotiations in Jor- remains in its intransigent posi- dan between Iran-allied tion of denying the presence of our U Houthi rebels and the inter- prisoners, the talks will drag on for nationally recognised government months.” are not yielding positive results, a The new head of the UN mission source said. tasked with overseeing the cease- Representatives of the govern- fire in Hodeidah, retired Danish ment of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Lieutenant-General Michael Lolles- Mansour Hadi and the Houthi militia gaard, had his first meetings Febru- met in the presence of UN Special ary 3-6 with warring factions. This Envoy Martin Griffiths to discuss a resulted in the Houthis and the Yem- potential prisoner trade, which was eni government agreeing to a rede- one of the issues agreed to in Decem- ployment of forces from Hodeidah. ber during talks in Sweden. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric A source, who spoke on condition said Lollesgaard “tabled a proposal of anonymity, said the talks failed that proved acceptable, in princi- because the Houthis refused to con- ple… pending further consultations duct a comprehensive exchange pro- by the parties with their respective cess in accordance with the agree- leaders.” ment. Dujarric was referencing Lolles- gaard’s predecessor, retired Dutch Whether Lollesgaard’s Major-General Patrick Cammaert, who had been heading the mission mission can continue after a truce between pro-govern- its positive direction is ment and Saudi-led coalition forces not known. and the Houthis went into effect mid-December. A challenging mission. New head of the UN mission tasked with overseeing the ceasefire in The source said the Houthis were Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah tel- Hodeidah, Lieutenant-General Michael Anker Lollesgaard (C), talks to UN staffers upon his arrival at trying to fragment the process and evision reported that Lollesgaard Sana’a airport, February 5. (Reuters) had only agreed on 10% of the names replaced Cammaert after Cammaert included in the initial list submitted. “failed to implement what had been sour Saleh said the problem is the news website. of the Central Bank of Yemen head- The source quoted the head of agreed on during the Stockholm conduct of the militias and the lack The report said a taxation court in quarters from Sana’a to Aden in the government delegation in the consultations.” of international consensus that em- Sana’a, which is still under Houthi September 2016, two years after the prisoners’ committee, Hadi Heig, as Dujarric said the UN monitoring phasises the importance of commit- control, handed MTN verdicts that Houthi rebels and their allies took saying the government presented an team would meet again with war- ting to what has been agreed to by allowed the seizure of millions of control of the capital. A statement integrated vision on the exchange of ring factions “within the next week, both sides. dollars in funds belonging to the by the Yemeni Foreign Ministry in prisoners and said it had the support with the aim of finalising details for The departure of African mo- company. 2018 accused the Houthis of looting of International Committee of the redeployments.” bile phone operator MTN from the MTN was ordered to submit to the funds from oil revenues, taxes, char- Red Cross representatives attending Whether Lollesgaard’s mission Yemeni market appears imminent Houthi tax authority revenues de- itable donations and customs fees. It the meeting. can continue its positive direction is because the Houthi militia’s “sys- posited at the Yemeni Commercial said that the Houthis took $6 billion Griffiths had said he hoped the not known; however, analysts said tematic looting” of MTN was un- Bank, the TeleYemen company and in 2017 alone. meetings in Amman would “finalise some factors might be beyond UN der the pretext of collecting taxes, seven currency exchange compa- the list of prisoners and detainees to control. unidentified sources told the pro- nies. Saleh Baidhani is an Arab Weekly be released and exchanged.” Yemeni political researcher Man- southern separatist Aden al-Ghad Hadi announced the relocation contributor in Yemen. Viewpoint How can Arabs contain Iran’s influence in Syria?

yria’s Arab neighbours are complicate trade and investment for Sabahat Khan leading new efforts to re- Syria. engage Damascus driven In contrast, although Europe ef- by a series of inter-linked fectively continues to tie potential economic and strategic assistance in Syria’s rebuilding to motivations. Damascus getting a credible political SSyrian President Bashar Assad, process under way, some European whose reign increasingly looks set to countries are quietly reopening continue, said the cost of rebuilding diplomatic missions. Stemming Syria would be approximately $400 the flow of refugees and ensuring billion. Some observers estimated Syria’s recent progress can continue the cost to be even more but, in any are important interests for Europe case, it represents an enormous and deep reservations about Assad’s figure that will need to be bankrolled credibility or future must be bal- largely from international support anced against these. and assistance over the next decade Similarly, the moderate Arab bloc at least. has not explicitly tied assistance In terms of immediate needs, Syria for Syria’s rebuilding to its nascent requires tens of billions of dollars political process or demanded that for recovering its agricultural sector, Damascus make a dramatic regional food availability and for basic utili- realignment. ties, such as housing, electricity and Nevertheless, a political exchange transport. that accommodates mutual interests With Russia unable to take on the Holding the prize. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad and expectations between Damascus task of sponsoring Syria’s rebuilding Zarif (R) laughs as he welcomes his Syrian counterpart Walid and its Arab neighbours is both logi- by itself and Iran’s growing economic Muallem for their meeting in Tehran, February 5. (AP) cal and entirely feasible. difficulties in the face of US sanc- Damascus will have taken note of tions, Syria must look at renewing its Syria’s conflict may be nearing its and set up businesses. Separately, and want to avoid Iraq’s experience partnerships in the region. endgame but Damascus remains there remain millions of families of Iranian influence and its pro- China is being courted to play a more internationally isolated than who have struggled for survival as tracted efforts to preserve independ- central role in rebuilding key ele- ever. they paid the humanitarian cost ence by pushing back against undue ments of Syria’s national infrastruc- In that context, Syria’s rebuilding of becoming displaced by violent encroachments into its affairs by ture but there is a growing realisa- poses an even more serious test for conflict. Tehran. tion that the role of Syria’s Arab Damascus. The scars of Syria’s civil In both cases, Syria’s ties with its For Damascus, as it became for neighbours has a strategic dimen- war on its society and its neighbours Arab neighbours are underpinned Baghdad, having independent, con- sion attached to it that will prove will remain for many years. by shared interests in terms of social structive and progressive ties with decisive. Avoiding significant delay in and economic factors in addition to its neighbours is a critical national Between the moderate Arab bloc starting rebuilding and ensuring cultural ones like these. interest that should not be held hos- led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the the effort is spread uniformly rather Considering its geostrategic loca- tage or blocked. For Damascus, as it United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bah- than focused on territories without tion as well, modern-day Syria has As such, the emerging scenario rain and Kuwait collectively offer a significant opposition support or been a historical gateway at the where Syria moves to an endgame became for Baghdad, significant resource pool for Da- sympathies will be critical to Damas- crossroads between Europe and the with its civil war in 2019 provides having independent, mascus to tap into. Indeed, reports cus in winning back those who have Gulf as well as Eurasia and North an opportunity to rebuild not only suggest a proposed package from the been or could now become further Africa. An economically vibrant Syria its infrastructure and economic sec- constructive and bloc involves manpower and equip- alienated. would aim to reap the dividends of tors but also strategic relationships progressive ties with ment from Egypt and Jordan, with Millions of Syrians have taken its geography as well as its climate with key neighbours to support its its neighbours is a financial backing and oversight from refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and topography — a possibility that re-emergence as a functioning inde- the Gulf. Iraq and Syria, as well as significant is enabled by the extent and scope of pendent nation-state. critical national Any rapprochement could prove numbers in Gulf countries, since the its foreign relations. interest that should a strategic coup for Damascus — outbreak of violence in 2011. The United States may be ready- Sabahat Khan is based in Dubai and as well as Moscow — considering The Syrian diaspora has become ing a new wave of sanctions against maintains a cross-disciplinary focus not be held hostage political gains generated beyond the integrated in key hubs around the Syria, partly driven by its intense ri- in international security, defence or blocked. economic ones. region, many having moved wealth valry with Russia, that would further policy and strategic issues. 4 February 10, 2019 Spotlghit Pope’s Visit to the UAE Pope Francis makes historic visit to UAE

Caline Malek and those most in need.” Through the document, they de- clared what they described as “the Abu Dhabi adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the groundbreaking mass was code of conduct; reciprocal under- said before an estimated standing as the method and stand- 180,000 people in Abu ard,” stressing their commitment to A Dhabi by Roman Catholic religious freedom. Pope Francis. The event was the The declaration pointed out the first of its kind in the Arabian Pen- need to protect the rights of women, insula. children, the elderly, the weak, the Mass is the central ritual in the disabled and the oppressed. Catholic Church where the Eucha- It is seen as a “breath of fresh air” rist is consecrated and distributed. to people of goodwill, said Bishop As part of the UAE’s “Year of Tol- Miguel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of erance,” the Ministry of Human the Pontifical Council for Interre- Resources and Emiratisation an- ligious Dialogue, who told Emirati nounced a public holiday February state news agency WAM that the fu- 6 for private sector workers and ture of humanity passes through the gave away tickets to the mass. The promotion of a culture of dialogue. government provided about 1,000 “The signing of the document buses to transport people from vari- in Abu Dhabi is an appeal, which ous emirates. means that there exists today “I am visiting [the UAE] as a a wounded humanity,” he said. brother in order to write a page “Therefore, it is an appeal to people of dialogue together and to travel of goodwill but also a duty for every paths of peace together,” Pope Fran- being that we must absolutely seek cis said ahead of his trip. mutual ways of collaboration and The location of the mass — Zayed knowledge. It was a historical mo- Sports Stadium near Sheikh Zayed ment to witness.” Grand Mosque — was said to have Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh symbolic meaning in reinforcing Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan A new chapter. Pope Francis (L) shakes hands with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin the UAE’s commitment to tolerance allocated land on Saadiyat Island to Zayed al-Nahyan (R) ahead of boarding his plane, February 5. (AFP) and ensuring that one’s religious be- build a landmark under the name of liefs can flourish in a country that “Abrahamic Family Home” in com- embraces diversity and encourages memoration of the pope’s visit and message to the region and the world Rudolf Bahri, a 35-year-old Leb- said. “I have more confidence to call multiple faiths to co-exist side by his meeting with the grand imam, as that ‘yes, it is possible.’ Pope Francis anese-French in Dubai, said the this place home, knowing they are side. well as the declaration. wants to lead by example and show pope’s visit was a major step for the opening up more and more and ac- As part of his 3-day visit to the The landmark is to symbolise the the world that we can possibly win entire region towards tolerance and cepting other religions and beliefs. UAE — the first by a Catholic pope co-existence and human fraternity against war and terrorism if we fight the unity that has been promoted It’s just another sign that gives me to the Arabian Peninsula — Francis by people from various ethnicities, together,” Flour said. for many years among all living in confidence for the future of my two joined al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed nationalities and beliefs in the Unit- He said the United Arab Emirates the Middle East. children, growing and living in the el-Tayeb in appealing for the world ed Arab Emirates. was a leading country in that regard, “As a Christian Maronite from UAE.” to come together and promote the There are an estimated 1 million expressing hope that it would con- the region, I am proud to live in a Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, concept of human fraternity. Catholics living in the Emirates, in- tinue to demonstrate that such a country that protects my family,” he UAE vice-president, prime minister A document — “Human Frater- cluding Jean-Baptiste Flour, 33, who feat is achievable. and ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mo- nity for World Peace and Living To- was among those who attended the “There are many Catholics in the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince hammed presented Francis with the gether” — stated that “faith leads a pope’s mass. UAE who have massively contribut- Sheikh Mohammed bin original document signed in 1963 by believer to see in the other a brother “As a Christian, I feel blessed to ed to building the country over the Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, the rul- or sister to be supported and loved. welcome our pope,” said Flour, who past two decades. They are here be- Zayed al-Nahyan allocated er of Abu Dhabi from 1928-66, grant- Through faith in God… believers are is from France and whose 5-year- cause they know they can practice land on Saadiyat Island to ing land to build the first Catholic called to express this human frater- old son, Cyprien, received Francis’s their religion freely,” Flour added. build a landmark under the church in Abu Dhabi. nity by safeguarding creation and blessing when he placed his hands “This visit was certainly a first name of “Abrahamic Family the entire universe and supporting on his head. and small step but hopefully a giant Home” in commemoration Caline Malek is an Arab Weekly all persons, especially the poorest “The visit sends a very strong leap for mankind.” of the pope’s visit. contributor in Abu Dhabi. Viewpoint Pope’s visit to the UAE a watershed event

ope Francis’s visit to the Francis knows that the vio- country. the extreme right and populism. United Arab Emirates lence that his predecessor saw in This joint workshop opens an- If ethnic, religious and social may bring some sanity Islam occupied a foggy phase in other space to fight terrorism be- diversity has been a characteristic Mohamad Kawas and balance in the in- the history of Christianity. The yond security and military mecha- feature of the UAE since its found- ternational and regional Middle Ages were known for their nisms. If the origin of terrorism ing, Francis preached the values landscapes and the fanaticism and extremism and the was an unenlightened ideology of the UAE as a human experience Pway they are managed. The pope Inquisition was a service to them. focused on the past, the treatment that ought to be replicated every- arrived in Abu Dhabi carrying high The Roman Catholic Church has of the disease requires emptying where else. hopes for a region that has been been accused of collusion with its jurisprudential, theological and The pope noted the magnitude invaded by injustice, violence, Nazism and its renaissance in the ideological reservoirs. of the changes throughout the destruction and terrorism. world. If the church gets rid of its Since the whole world — Muslim region towards the elimination of To get an idea about the tremen- impurities, then the glass of the and Christian alike — and per- fundamentalism and extremism dous depth of the event, look at church’s windows in this area is haps even the Muslim more than and a return to moderation. Fran- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the clear and does not permit throw- the Christian one, has suffered cis knows how much the model of venue for the momentous meeting ing stones at other religions. tremendously from terrorism, it is this moderate Islam has become of “Human Fraternity.” In the meeting between Vatican time for the Vatican and al-Azhar solidly anchored in the region fol- Francis’s decision to visit the and al-Azhar leaders, there was to cultivate common spiritual lowing the major transformation UAE was a wise one. In the long enough evidence that should have fields that have long been neglect- in Saudi Arabia. history of the Catholic papacy, his drawn the attention of reform- ed by the rules of the 21st century. The kingdom has entered an era was the first visit by a pope to the ists in the Islamic world — and in The pope made the trip to a of social modernity that touches Arabian Gulf region. al-Azhar in particular — to the fact country where about 200 nation- the culture of the individual, of The Emirates’ decision to host that the church, too, had to purify alities coexist with their different the family and of the institutions him was also wise. As the world its texts of passages no longer languages, dialects, music, smells, of the state. Saudi Arabia is mov- experiences an onslaught of big- consistent with the values and religions and traditions. The UAE’s ing from the radical era of Saudi oted and populist slogans, calling rules of modernity. It engaged in a population is predominantly expa- revivalism to an era that the Sau- for closing borders and building painful internal debate that led to triate, including 1 million Chris- dis did not dream of years ago. walls between peoples, the UAE modernisation. tians, living the experience of The papal visit to the Arabian event, in its joint Christian and The Vatican has been eliminat- migration according to the vision Peninsula came within the context Muslim spiritual dimensions, ing a legacy of ideas not suitable of the people of the UAE in a rare of this transformation. From the stands as a turning point that can for present times. It has become experiment in tolerance, modera- Emirates, the pope was knocking be relied upon to block the flow of an advocate of the modern values tion and acceptance of the other. on the doors of the land of the these evil currents. of humanity in its systems of In the UAE, churches have Muslim prophecy. So, nobody will For the pope to meet for the governance, respect for human grown just as mosques have and find it unusual and unbecoming if fourth time with al-Azhar Grand rights and democracy and a firm the temples have been built in a the highest representative of the Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb stance against Nazism, fascism variety of ways. This has become Christian faith lands one day, and and to meet with members of the and racism. the nature of the country. The soon, in the heart of the land of Council of Muslim Sages indicate It seemed that standing up to UAE has become a model that Islam. that Christians and Muslims have these evils has become a shared represents a counterpoint to the Pope Francis knows this and has Francis knows that helped ease the tensions that had responsibility between the Chris- currents that thrive in the world concluded that the region rejects the violence that his affected the relationship between tian Church and contemporary against immigration and immi- terrorism, that the tale of ter- predecessor saw in the Vatican and Islam under for- Islam. It also appeared that Islam grants. rorism is woven by shady inter- mer Pope Benedict XVI. in the world has an official address The papal visit to the UAE is a national agendas and their evil Islam occupied a The current pope’s assessment and a supreme reference repre- befitting response to US President agencies and not by the celestial foggy phase in the swept away any previous hasty sented by al-Azhar in Egypt. This Donald Trump’s wall on his coun- books and devout believers. and superficial negative evalua- is a striking sign that today’s Islam try’s border with Mexico. In Abu history of tion of the history of Islam and its is not represented by any other Dhabi, Francis preached values Mohamad Kawas is a Lebanese Christianity. role in human civilisation. institution in any other Islamic that are under threat by the rise of writer. February 10, 2019 5 Spotlight Mashdhub’s Assassination Slain Iraqi novelist criticised foreign meddling, militias

Qassim Abdul-Zahra eral novels and short story collec- tions that won local and regional awards. He wrote extensively Baghdad about Karbala’s history and cul- ture and about Iraq’s once-thriving raqi novelist Alaa Mashdhub Jewish minority. was a secular civil society ac- “In his writings, he spoke out tivist who used his bike to get against corruption and criticised I around Karbala’s infamous neighbouring countries for their traffic and road closures. He was intervention in Iraqi affairs. Eve- also an outspoken critic of foreign ryone knows Iran and Turkey are interference in Iraq and political present in Iraq, this is not a secret,” meddling by powerful Iran-backed said his brother. militias. The US Embassy in Iraq offered Mashdhub was gunned down condolences to Mashdhub’s family February 2 in the Shia holy city by and friends, calling it a “senseless unknown assailants who silenced act of violence.” him with 13 bullets as he rode his While the motive for Mashdhub’s bicycle home. killing is not known, Qassim Mash- Mashdhub’s killing was the latest dhub and others on social media assassination targeting prominent speculate that a Facebook post, in Iraqi figures, including activists which Alaa Mashdhub wrote about linked to the protest movement the late Iranian Supreme Leader in Basra as well as a former beauty Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, queen and social media celebrity. may have been the trigger for his The killings raised fears of a return killing. to attacks on prominent figures In the posting, Mashdhub wrote that plagued the country at the about the street in Karbala where height of its sectarian strife. Khomeini lived for nearly 13 years “They killed us by killing Alaa before he travelled to France, criti- but we’ll keep him alive through cising the Iranian leader for turn- his pen,” said Qassim Mashdhub, ing against the country that hosted Alaa Mashdhub’s brother. him for so long. “I expect that those who assas- Qassim Mashdhub, sinated him are the militias who Alaa Mashdhub’s brother did not appreciate Alaa’s writings,” A silenced voice. Iraqi writers and intellectuals shout slogans and raise banners showing the portrait Qassim Mashdhub said. He added of slain novelist Alaa Mashdhub in Baghdad’s central Tahrir square, February 6. (AFP) “In his writings, he spoke that, a week before he died, Alaa out against corruption and Mashdhub told his family he felt criticised neighbouring he was being monitored and ex- and triggered criticism of security The militias were integral to carried by colleagues along a main countries for their intervention pressed concern that he would be forces for failing to protect people. Iraq’s war against the Islamic State road in Karbala, amid calls of “Al- in Iraqi affairs. Everyone knows killed. “We will uncover the perpetrators but with the war declared won, at- lahu Akbar.” Iran and Turkey are present in On the evening of February 2, before the government does,” Qas- tention turned to Iraq’s high un- “The cultural scene has lost one Iraq, this is not a secret.” Alaa Mashdhub attended an event sim Mashdhub said. employment and decaying infra- of its special authors and creators,” at a cultural centre during which None of the assailants in last structure. Many resent the militias Iraqi Culture and Tourism Minister Iraq is still recovering from its attendees discussed the Iraqi foot- year’s assassinations has been ap- for what they see as rampant cor- Abdul Amir al-Hamdani said in a fight against the Islamic State and ball team’s performance at Asian prehended. ruption and meddling. statement. riots have repeatedly broken out in Cup games in the United Arab On September 25, Soad al-Ali, a On February 3, Mashdhub’s cof- PEN America, an NGO support- southern regions over authorities’ Emirates. Nawfal al-Hamadani, a prominent activist in Basra who fin, draped in an Iraqi flag, was ing freedom of expression, said the failure to provide basic services. member of the city’s union of writ- had organised protests demand- assassination of Mashdhub was a No group claimed responsibility ers, said Mashdhub left early, say- ing better services and jobs and “horrific attack on creative expres- for killing Mashdhub or the other ing he wanted to get home. decried the growing influence of No group claimed sion in Iraq.” victims but suspicion in some of A short while later, he was inter- Iran-backed Shia militias in the responsibility for killing “Holding the perpetrators of cepted by a gunman on a motor- the cases has fallen on Shia mi- area, was killed. Beauty queen Mashdhub or the other this heinous crime accountable is litias, some of which are backed cycle who shot him from behind, and social media star Tara Fares, of paramount importance in pre- by Iran, collectively known as the knocking him from his bike. The 22, was shot at the wheel of her victims but suspicion in serving freedom of expression and Popular Mobilisation Forces. gunmen shot him 12 more times, car on a busy Baghdad street dur- some of the cases has a vibrant cultural and civic life in Alaa Mashdhub, 51, was a father killing him, Qassim Mashdhub ing the day. Two well-known fe- fallen on Shia militias, Iraq,” it said in a statement. to three boys and a girl. He pub- said. male beauty experts were also some of which are lished 20 books, including sev- The killing shocked many in Iraq killed last year. backed by Iran. (The Associated Press) Viewpoint Iraqi intellectuals alone in the face of assassinations

hat ties together public and the street assassins the killings of carrying out these sentences are Kamel Shaya in well-known. The state, however, Farouk Yousef 2008 and Alaa has no desire to pursue them or Mashdhub in stop them from carrying out their 2019 is the web heinous crimes. Wof a crime that is unlikely to be It would not be speculative to unwoven soon. say that a corrupt state would be Intellectuals in the Land of the the first to benefit from silencing Two Rivers find themselves sur- intellectuals and that this is the rounded by gangs of professional goal of these assassinations. Noth- killers watching every breath they ing in the successive Iraqi govern- take and waiting, with a finger on ments’ treatment of intellectuals the trigger, for the first word of since 2003 indicates their accept- truth that might come out of their ance of any of the deeds of the mouths. few brave ones who dared place That word would be a death sen- themselves in the line of fire. tence, pre-issued against culture If the state has turned a blind and intellectuals in a country run eye at times, it is because it knows over by radical fundamentalist that those few have placed them- parties. selves in a suicidal labyrinth that For them, intellectuals are their A blow to free expression. Friends and relatives of Alaa Mashdhub will lead to their doom. most dangerous enemy, whose light candles at his assassination site in Karbala, February 5. (AP) The state is fully responsible for mere existence exposes their the deterioration of the humani- obscurantist projects of spreading tarian situation of Iraqi intellectu- ignorance, impoverishment, cor- because the militias have over- in this campaign. als. The latter are caught between ruption, death and hatred. powered Iraqi society and severed Mashdhub, a novelist and film the hard place of isolation, fear Thus, the assassination of it from modernity represented by studies professor, was assassinat- and oppression and the rock of Mashdhub in front of his home in the intellectuals. ed on a busy street with a heavy militias ready to strike them at any Karbala in the dead of night takes Despite Shaya being a high-level security presence in the middle moment. on a doubly symbolic character. state official, Iraqi security ser- of Karbala. This is indicative of an The responsibility for the kill- On the one hand, it is a message vices have failed to find his killers. overt complicity between security ing of Mashdhub lies not only of excessive violence and cruelty His killing was not haphazard. It services and the assassins, who with the militias that summarily sent by Iranian militias to Iraqi was the signal of the beginning of belong to a militia that overtly executed him but also with a state intellectuals to observe a humili- an assassination campaign target- threatens anyone questioning incapable of protecting society, as ating silence if they fear for their ing Iraqi intellectuals and political Iranian hegemony over Iraq with well as with society itself, which With the death of lives. activists who publicly opposed death. has left its fate in the hands of a On the other hand, it is an the project of a theocratic corrupt The Iraqi government’s con- bunch of gangsters. Mashdhub, Iraq unequivocal demonstration of state in Iraq carried out by parties demnation of the incident is only With the death of Mashdhub, has become poorer the state of isolation Iraqi intel- in power under the auspices of an attempt to mislead and shirk Iraq has become poorer in imagi- lectuals find themselves in as they Iranian supervision and protected responsibility. nation and integrity. in imagination desperately search for protection by sectarian militias. The killing of The list of causes leading to and integrity. that nobody seems able to offer Mashdhub is but the most recent extrajudicial killings has become Farouk Yousef is an Iraqi writer. 6 February 10, 2019 Opinion

Editorial Pope Francis’s visit to the UAE y any standard, the visit by Roman Catholic Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates February 3-5 was a historic event. It was historic in the sense of it being the first such a visit by any Roman Catholic pope to the BArabian Peninsula. The visit swept away the obsolete notion that the region was unwelcom- ing to other value systems. The public mass celebrated by the pope in Abu Dhabi was full of potent symbolism. As described by the Associated Press, the event attracted nearly 180,000 people and “drew Catholics from 100 countries, including the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Uganda and Lebanon, reflecting the range of nationali- ties drawn to the Emirates’ promise of jobs, safety and tolerance.” The visit provided an occasion for interfaith dialogue with spiritual figures of various religious denominations, including imams, muftis, ministers, rabbis, swamis, Zoroastrian and Sikh leaders, able to sit down and talk. © Yaser Ahmed for The Arab Weekly The dialogue represented, as the pope noted when he returned to Rome, a rejection of the “temptation to see a clash between Christian Remembering King Hussein of Jordan civilisation and the Islamic one and even to consider religions as a source of conflict.” The overriding message was that of peace. Khairallah Khairallah Pope Francis and al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb led the way in their comments and in King Hussein bin Talal, who died 20 years ago, built a real state out of the “human fraternity” document they signed. nothing and in extremely complex and difficult circumstances. “We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and wenty years ago, ian cause. While other Arab lead- taking a clear stand against extremism, nor must they incite violence or the King Hussein bin ers had only bombastic speeches Saddam Hussein’s invasion of shedding of blood,” said the document. Talal passed away. to offer the Palestinian cause, Kuwait in the summer of 1990. The In a region mired in violent strife and blood- It is difficult to let King Hussein gave his country late Jordanian monarch had his shed, the message could only resonate with the this anniversary pass and his people to the Palestinians. own considerations in the absence many communities that are in crisis. without remembering Despite it all, the West Bank and of public awareness of the con- Francis pointed out “the time has come” for Tthis great man who not only laid Jerusalem were lost to the Israeli sequences of starting a war with humanity to promote “the capacity for recon- the foundations for the institu- occupiers. Israel or of avoiding condemning ciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete tions of the Jordanian state but King Hussein’s biography con- the crimes of the Iraqi regime in paths of peace.” also believed in the principles of centrates the tragedy of the Arab Kuwait. He warned that, unless people of different modernity and development. Orient, which is paying the price Putting these two major events religions came together to promote “concrete He was a rare breed in our Arab of not listening to him almost half aside, King Hussein was always paths of peace,” the future of humanity itself world, which was ruled only by a century ago. It is enough hon- farsighted. He was able at some would be in doubt. lust for power at any price. Until ours for the late king that Jordan point to surpass the crimes of a Tayeb had the merit of sending out a message the end of his days, King Hussein became, during his rule, a haven gang of ignorant Iraqi Army offic- of inclusiveness at a fraught time. Extremists, remained true to his ambition for every Arab who needed a place ers when they staged a coup on with their truncated visions of the world, are of creating a modern Jordanian to live because of either Israeli ag- July 14, 1958, and killed members trying to exclude — if not annihilate — people of state. At the end of the king’s life, gression or demographic pressure of the Hashemite family in Iraq. He a different faith or even those whose interpreta- power was transferred smoothly inside the Palestinian territories. surpassed the 1970 clashes with tion of the same faith is at variance with their to Hussein’s eldest son, King Ab- Hussein bin Talal became king the Palestinians, even though the fanatical narrative. dullah II, highlighting the solidity of Jordan at the age of 17 in 1952 latter had assassinated Wasfi Tal, The story of religious minorities in the Middle of Jordanian institutions. and served until his death Febru- one of the most prominent Jorda- East — murdered, abused and displaced — illus- We can only bow in respect to ary 7, 1999. He shouldered a heavy nian figures. trates the evils of this fanatical tendency to a man who built a modern state load of responsibilities and vicis- King Hussein was also a man of exclude anyone who is different. without resorting to repressive situdes, too heavy for a normal the street. Had he not been a real The pope’s visit and the warm welcome he practices that characterised most human being to bear. leader, he wouldn’t have taken was given sent a reassuring signal to the Middle rulers in the Arab Mashriq coun- As king, Hussein did his best to the decision to disengage from the East’s minorities. They have disproportionately tries from the 1950s until today. uphold the principles of human- West Bank in 1988 and thus draw suffered violence and displacement as a result Hussein bin Talal saved Jordan ity in all his actions. He tried to the borders of an independent of the Islamic State’s onslaught. from many disasters and saved connect Jordanians and the Arabs Palestinian state. Setting the tone for the way religious minori- the Palestinians from themselves. in general with their future. King King Hussein was a realist. He ties should be treated in the region, Tayeb told He saved them at a certain stage Hussein was certainly not happy played the most prominent role Muslims: “Continue to embrace your brothers when the option of an alternative when, in 1970, he had to expel in bringing Egypt back to the Arab the Christian citizens everywhere, for they are homeland for the Palestinians was armed Palestinian guerrillas from League when he restored relations our partners in our nation.” being promoted. Israel tried hard Jordan to save his throne and his with it in 1985. Most other Arab In his words, there was implicit criticism of to push that option but King Hus- country and avoid providing a countries waited for the 1987 Am- the propensity of a large segment of Muslim sein squashed it. King Abdullah II free service to Israel. The Palestin- man summit to take the same path. diasporas in Europe and the United States to has continued his father’s project ian guerrillas had gone beyond King Hussein created a role for look for seclusion in cultural and religious and led the Hashemite kingdom the limits of decency and tried Jordan in the region. That role is ghettoes. to safer waters despite the new to touch all the kingdom’s state alive today and will soon be evi- Tayeb spoke with wisdom and clarity of challenges and risks facing his institutions. denced and tested by events in the purpose contrasting with the confrontational kingdom today. King Hussein was not just an region, especially in Syria. tone of demagogues on all sides. He called on The Middle East and the Arab exceptional king by his humane King Hussein restored parlia- Muslims to integrate their host nations in the world did not do justice to King qualities. He was a bold and brave mentary life in Jordan at a time West and to respect their laws. Hussein when he was alive but man. He was a real leader. On the when the Cold War was ending. In He stood up against the advocates of jihadist the late king was vindicated after two occasions when he followed 1994, he signed a peace agreement violence as he highlighted the sanctity of life in his death. His good memory is on the popular demands expressed with Israel and established the Islam. everybody’s mind. on the streets of Amman, Jordan definitive borders of the Hash- He also chastised those in the West inclined to King Hussein lived for his paid a heavy price. emite kingdom of Jordan. Before exploit the bloody misdeeds of the few to country and in the service of his The first time was when the that, he strongly supported Iraq stereotype the entire Muslim community. country and the service of what, kingdom was forced to get in its 1980-88 war with Iran. The Much of the credit for making this ecumenical until recently, was known as the involved in the 1967 war and the late king realised early the threat encounter possible must go to the pope’s Arabs’ first cause — the Palestin- second was when Jordan avoided of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s Emirati hosts, who are celebrating 2019 as a Iran to Arabs in general and to the “Year of Tolerance.” They deserve credit for Arab social fabric in particular. having the courage to host leaders of all faiths There are certainly many more and setting the tone of the needed interfaith achievements by the late King debate for the whole region. Hussein of Jordan than what writ- The signing ceremony for “the human Paying ers could mention on this 20th fraternity” document was attended by more homage. anniversary of his early departure. than 400 religious figures and UAE leaders, Jordanian Quite obviously, it is impossible to including UAE Vice-President Sheikh Moham- King ignore the role of this man in mak- med bin Rashid al-Maktoum and Abu Dhabi Abdullah ing the history of the Arab Levant. Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed II visits the A comparison between Jordan al-Nahyan. tomb of King today and the sorry end of Syria is The Abu Dhabi dialogue has highlighted the Hussein in enough to conclude that Hussein Arab and Muslim world’s commitment to the Amman on bin Talal built a real state out of cause of peace and religious coexistence even if the 20th nothing and in extremely complex there is little doubt that building bridges across anniversary and difficult circumstances. religious and sectarian divides will be an uphill of his passing, battle for decades to come. February 7. Khairallah Khairallah is a (AFP) Lebanese writer. February 10, 2019 7 Opinion

France’s Muslim paradox Published by Al Arab Francis Ghilès Publishing House Reconciling those who wish to create an Islam of France and those who Publisher want to retain control over existing institutions is a tough call. and Group Executive Editor Haitham El-Zobaidi, PhD rance has the largest High stakes. to train imams and taxing halal Editor-in-Chief number of Muslims People pray businesses. The aim of keeping in the Western world, at the Grand state and religion separate while Oussama Romdhani primarily because of Mosque of encouraging the integration of emigration from its Saint-Denis French Muslims into French former North African near Paris. society is in the interest of all Managing Editor Fcolonies, which goes back to the (AFP) French people, irrespective of Iman Zayat beginning of the last century. their religion. Estimates of the number of Reconciling those who wish Deputy Managing Editor Muslims in France range from 4.5 to create an Islam of France and and Online Editor million (the official figure) to 6 those who want to retain control Mamoon Alabbasi million. One-eighth of the overall over existing institutions is a French population between 18 tough call. Algeria and Morocco Senior Editor and 50 years of age consider are traditional rivals. The Federa- John Hendel themselves Muslims. The major- tion of French Muslims is chaper- ity belong to the Sunni denomi- oned by Morocco and the Muslim Chief Copy Editor nation. World League; the Grand Mosque Richard Pretorius In 2012, the Interior Minis- in Paris is controlled by Algeria; try estimated the number of tinguishing between citizens on serious obstacles. The secularism the Union of Islamic Organisa- Copy Editor mosques at around 2,500 but grounds of race or religion. The concept forbids French authori- tions in France is influenced by Stephen Quillen a report by the Senate in 2016 media are free to publish what ties from using public funds to the Muslim Brotherhood. New- put that figure at approximately they want. build mosques. comers such as Turkey and Saudi East/West Section Editor 3,000. As for the number of Thus, L’Express ran an article Any suggested change to the Arabia see proselytising as a form Mark Habeeb imams, nobody really knows. In a year ago stating that Morocco 1905 law provokes vocal opposi- of soft diplomacy. Sunni Islam, anyone can volun- was “a factory of French imams” tion from certain people, notably By asking those countries and Gulf Section Editor teer to lead prayers. and said that three-quarters of intellectuals, while others argue Tunisia to send imams — the Mohammed Alkhereiji However, the country is short the imams practising in France that financial accountability of need is particularly high during of imams so it imports them are foreigners. the mosques must, for obvious Ramadan — France is walking Society and Travel from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia — Articles in other publications reasons of security, be better into an ideological trap that only Sections Editor the home countries of the main suggest Turkey’s consulates controlled. encourages the spread of political Samar Kadi Muslim immigrant communities keep a close eye on 250 mosques Money must be found to build Islam. — Turkey and Saudi Arabia. and the estimated 250 imams new mosques, the state must Other Muslim organisations Contributing Editor France thus welcomes imams seconded from Turkey. The exact know where it comes from and criticise Karoui’s ideas as being Rashmee Roshan Lall whose credentials are vetted by number of mosques is not known the appointment of imams must akin to the “colonial administra- foreign governments. In private since many are improvised in be transparent. Why has the tion of Islam” but that suggests French security officials ac- large housing complexes. state failed to help set up schools they owe allegiance to their Senior Correspondents knowledge that security consid- The state does not pay imams where imams can be trained in country of origin in North Africa Mahmud el-Shafey (London) erations lie behind this policy but nor does it know how many are accordance with the laws that rather than France. Algeria’s and Morocco’s “exper- practising and can only guess govern France? It bears saying that among Lamine Ghanmi (Tunis) tise” in this matter is subject to the number of mosques. Surely, Proposals along these lines French men and women of North Thomas Seibert (Istanbul) caution if only because they are there must be a better way of have been made by Hakim African origin, many — a major- Thomas Frank (Washington) not democracies. Nor do their managing Islam in France other el-Karoui, a former banker, in a ity maybe — have no liking or political agendas necessarily than by such lack of account- report titled “The Islamist Fac- respect for these organisations. Regular Columnists coincide with French interests. ability that sits uncomfortably tory,” not a very felicitous form They may deplore the Islamo- Claude Salhani What is more, the presence of with recent acts of terrorism and of words. They are controversial phobic nature of some debates Yavuz Baydar such imams reinforces the com- the official policy of encouraging not least among some of the in the media but practise their munalism of certain Muslims integration of the diverse groups bodies that “represent” Muslims, religion in private and are well Correspondents in France and opens them to within French borders. such as the French Council of the integrated socially and economi- international manipulation. Squaring the circle has proved Muslim Faith. cally. Saad Guerraoui (Casablanca) It is important to point out impossible. France’s rigid version Karoui suggested strict super- Dunia El-Zobaidi (London) that key statistics are estimates, of state secularism and the 1905 vision of external and informal Francis Ghilès is an associate Roua Khlifi (Tunis) no more. A law dating to 1872 law that mandates the separa- funds collected in mosques, fellow at the Barcelona Centre for prohibits the census from dis- tion of church and state present creating an independent fund International Affairs. Chief Designer Marwen el-Hmedi

Designers Militias besiege and oppress Iraqis Ibrahim Ben Bechir Bahira al-Sheikhly Hanen Jebali The militias in Iraq are Iranian in terms of design, training, funding, goals and objectives. Contact editor at: [email protected] ike their Iranian mas- defend Iraq. In an instant, Khomeini’s famous statement dulaziz al-Hakim, entered Iraqi ters, leaders of the Mashdhub became a martyr for about having to “drink from a territory and reached a camp sectarian militias in freedom, beauty, the oppressed poisoned cup.” belonging to the Jalal Talabani Iraq like to boast that masses and his fellow country- The Iraqi militias were then party. The Badr militia factions they and the “Iraqi men’s right to decent living. attached to Tehran’s Office of were reorganised and given people and the peo- Assuming Tehran might wage International Liberation Move- the mission of supporting the Al Arab Publishing House Lple of the resistance” will fight a war on Washington, it would ments headed by Sayed Mehdi US military effort in coordina- Quadrant Building the US forces on Iraqi soil, just need to enlist the help of all Hashemi, who was executed tion with the Kurdistan Union 177-179 Hammersmith Road as they had fought the Islamic its tools, that is to say, its loyal because he exposed the secret militia under the supervision of London W6 8BS State, and that they will kick parties and militias. It did so relations between Tehran and Jalal Talabani. out all occupiers from Iraq. in Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain and Washington. As for the Dawa Party, However, the Iraqi people, Yemen, even though it is aware When the first Gulf War broke Khomeini, after the overthrow who suffer from the lack of that those who betray their out in September 1980, Iran of the shah, encouraged all Tel: (+44) 20 7602 3999 basic services — courtesy of the country cannot be trusted. commissioned Iraqi militia members of the party to go to Fax: (+44) 20 7602 8778 country’s corrupt political class The Iranian regime of the elements to carry out assassina- Iran to establish four leader- — poverty and unemployment, velayat-e faqih has been erod- tions and sabotage inside Iraq ships with the same objectives are not duped by the militias’ ing from within for quite some during the 1980-88 war years. but slightly different missions. infantile game. time so don’t be surprised if it During the war, the militias Iran set up training camps for US Publisher: To the militias’ slogans, crumbles suddenly and neither were turned into the so-called the party, including the Martyr The Arab Weekly USA LLC. Iraqis responded with com- its militias nor its mercenaries Badr Brigade under the leader- Sadr Camp in the suburbs of ments such as: “Bring home the would be able to protect it. ship of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Tehran. That camp remained [email protected] mujahideen of Rafha, on whom The militias in Iraq are Irani- and then Mahmoud Hashemi the largest gathering of Dawa [email protected] you spend tens of billions of an in terms of design, training, Shahroudi. Party members in Iran until dollars a month to fight the funding, goals and objectives. On April 6, 1981, Iraqi sectar- 1981 and trained 7,000 fighters Tel: 248-679-6624 Americans” or “Why don’t you Al-Hashed al-Shaabi is Iranian ian parties, at their conference to conduct secret operations go and fight yourselves? We’re in spirit and loyalty. Its fighters in Tehran, pledged allegiance inside Iraq for the benefit of staying right here.” There have were meant to be the nucleus of to Khomeini as their imam, Iranian intelligence. been many calls made for Iraqis an Islamic Revolutionary Guard wali and supreme leader. They As soon as the US occupation not to leave their homes in the Corps — a la Iran — whose mis- adopted the project of the forces entered Iraq in 2003, the event of clashes between US sion is to cut off Iraq and attach absolute rule of velayat-e faqih Dawa Party issued sectarian forces and pro-Iranian militias. it to the rule of velayat-e faqih. and declared their participation statements filled with unprec- Subscription & Advertising: In truth, the militias, grouped And why not because most reli- in the war fronts against Iraq. edented hatred. Looting of [email protected] under the banner of Al-Hashed gious parties in Iraq are pushing The most prominent figures of state institutions in Iraq were Tel : (+44) 020 3667 7249 al-Shaabi, were established to in that direction? these were Muhammad Baqir supposedly planned by the besiege the Iraqis, rob them of The first Iraqi militia was al-Hakim, the Dawa Party and Dawa Party. their freedom, humiliate them established in Iran in February the Islamic Action Organisation. No one in Iraq is listening to Mohamed Al Mufti and assassinate those who 1980 under the supervision Iranian terrorist actions the music played by Iran and its Marketing & Advertising oppose the Iranian presence in of the Islamic Revolutionary against Iraq have never ceased militiamen. Every true Iraqi de- Manager Iraq. Guard Corps. That was a few since the beginning of the spises these militias, which will The latest proof of that was months before Iran launched its Iranian revolution. During end up devouring each other. Direct: (+44) 20 8742 9262 the assassination of novelist war against Iraq, which ended the US-led invasion of Iraq, www.alarab.co.uk and university professor Alaa with the Iranian Supreme the Badr Brigade, led by Hadi Bahira al-Sheikhly is an Iraqi Mashdhub because he dared Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah al-Amiri and directed by Ab- writer. 8 February 10, 2019 News & Analysis Syria Turkey rejects US plan to leave Syrian safe zone to Western powers

Thomas Seibert massed on the border. Some ob- servers say the Turkish president is using the issue to win over voters Istanbul ahead of the March 31 local elec- tions. s Turkey prepared for For all the rhetorical bluster a summit on Syria with from Ankara, there is little action Russia and Iran, Turkish on the ground. Turkish Foreign A President Recep Tayyip Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Erdogan said his country wanted during a visit to Washington that sole control over a proposed buffer talks by Turkey and the United zone in northern Syria, rejecting a States about the future administra- plan by the United States for a mul- tion of Manbij had sped up. He also tinational force to police the area. said there was little clarity on de- Speaking at a meeting of law- tails of the planned US withdrawal makers of his ruling Justice and from Syria and the creation of a Development Party February 5 safe zone. in Ankara, Erdogan lashed out at “No concrete ideas on the safe what he viewed as foot-dragging zone have emerged yet. We are dis- by the United States. cussing this with Russians as well and trying to coordinate it with the Americans,” he said, adding a The United States supports warning to the United States that the idea of a buffer zone in a buffer zone should not be used principle but does not want to shield the YPG from Turkey. “It Turkey to be in full control. is important what we understand from a safe zone. If what is under- He said Turkey would send stood or desired is a buffer zone its soldiers to occupy the Syrian that will protect the terrorists, we city of Manbij if the United States are against it,” he said. would not ensure that the Kurdish Turkey says the area of Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units autonomy in north-eastern Syria (YPG) withdrew from the area violates the rights of other groups quickly. Ankara regards the YPG, a in the area. Ankara wants to create crucial ally of the United States in a 30km-deep “safe zone” along its the fight against the Islamic State, southern border to push back the as a terrorist organisation. YPG. Upping pressure. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at his ruling Justice and “If terrorists are not withdrawn The United States supports the Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, February 5. (AP) from Manbij in a couple of weeks, idea of a buffer zone in principle our patience will run out,” Erdogan but does not want Turkey to be in said in the televised speech. He re- full control. providing logistical help, is unac- Bashar Assad on the international man, Ibrahim Kalin, insisted that peated a warning of a wider Turk- The Wall Street Journal reported ceptable.” stage, confirmed that Turkey had the contacts, mainly between ish military intervention in north- in January that Washington was He said there was no example for “low-level” contacts with the Syr- intelligence services of the two eastern Syria once the US troops trying to get Western partners, a safe zone successfully adminis- ian government. countries, did not amount to a for- leave the country. such as Australia, France and the tered by “international powers.” mal recognition of the regime in “If a system of self-rule for the United Kingdom, to patrol the The Turkish president said Turkish Damascus. people of the region cannot be stretch of Syrian territory along troops would be welcomed by lo- Erdogan has been warning During a meeting with Erdogan established within a few months the Turkish border after US troops cals in Syria: “They trust us.” of a new Turkish in January in Moscow, Putin urged with Turkish support, again, our leave the area. Washington is con- Erdogan’s latest statement on intervention into Syria since Turkey to step up cooperation with patience will run out,” Erdogan cerned that Turkey will attack Turkey’s claim to the possible buff- late last year but has not the Assad government to stabilise said. “In other words, in that case the YPG once US troops are with- er zone came as he prepared for a given the goahead to troops north-eastern Syria with the help we will have the right to imple- drawn. meeting with Russian President massed on the border. of a 1998 agreement calling for a ment our own plans.” In his speech, Erdogan said the Vladimir Putin and Iranian Presi- joint fight against the separatist Erdogan has been warning of US plan was not an option. “I re- dent Hassan Rohani February 14 in “Even if it’s your enemy, you will Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). The a new Turkish intervention into peat: Any proposal except a mod- Sochi, Russia. not entirely break ties in case you target of Turkey’s planned inter- Syria since late last year but has el for a safe zone under Turkish Erdogan, one of the most out- might need them,” Erdogan told vention in Syria, the YPG, is the not given the goahead to troops control, with other countries just spoken foes of Syrian President state broadcaster TRT. His spokes- PKK’s Syrian affiliate. ISIS intent on resurgence in Syria as US takes back seat

James Snell ary 16 in Manbij, Syria, that killed The US withdrawal from Syria four Americans and ten fighters af- would likely present a situation sim- filiated with the US-allied Syrian ilar to what many consider the be- Oxford Democratic Forces on the heels of a ginning of ISIS’s resurgence in Iraq. broader campaign of violence. Arterbury said: “If concerted ef- he central justification “The group retains some limited forts are not made to further pros- for US President Donald freedom of movement in the rural ecute the group, as well as address Trump’s demand that the Homs desert. It’s through such de- the conditions in which it arose, it T United States evacuates its sert sanctuaries, as well as its sleep- could use these remaining forces military presence from Syria is that er cell networks, that the group as a springboard for regrouping. Its the Islamic State (ISIS) has been de- maintains dangerous capabilities activities in western Iraq show that feated. Superficially, and compared stretching from Syria into western this may already be occurring.” to what came before, this argument Iraq,” Arterbury said. may not initially appear outlandish. In Iraq, despite the state’s decla- ISIS retains the capacity to ISIS declared its “caliphate” after ration of victory, ISIS and its affili- a series of lightning conquests of ated organisations commit acts of commit violent acts worthy large stretches of territory in Iraq terrorism and intimidation, notably of its terrorist past, and Syria. At its height, millions around Hawija, which was captured exploiting ungoverned lived under ISIS’s black flag. from ISIS in mid-2017. spaces in both countries to ISIS’s domain is much reduced. Michael Pregent, a senior fellow retain influence and Its Iraqi and Syrian capitals fell to The calm before the storm. A Syrian national flag flutters next to at the Hudson Institute, said that, capacity. the global coalition in 2017. Thou- ISIS slogan at a roundabout where executions were carried out by far from having brought ISIS to the sands of its fighters have been killed jihadists in the city of Palmyra. (Reuters) brink of defeat, “the US ISIS cam- The Americans’ withdrawal from and captured in a losing campaign paign has simply reset the condi- Syria would allow ISIS a space it will to defend the caliphate’s physical tions that led to ISIS to begin with eagerly fill. As in Iraq, policymakers existence. bounds but that it had begun a ter- the capacity to commit violent acts in Iraq and the president’s decision must deal with a situation in which Contrary to the terror group’s ror infrastructure that spanned the worthy of its terrorist past, exploit- to leave Syria will result in an ISIS the terror group perpetuates a cam- propaganda, its dominion is no globe. It has operations, fancifully ing ungoverned spaces in both resurgence there ahead of the 2020 paign of violence to undermine the longer “remaining and expanding.” termed “wilayats” (provinces), in countries to retain influence and elections.” Iraq state and all sides in the Syrian All that remains of ISIS’s hold- lands as far from Syria as the Phil- capacity. Pregent noted the warning of US conflict, subverting the possibility ings in Iraq and Syria is a series of ippines and West Africa. Terrorist John Arterbury, a Middle East Director of National Intelligence of functioning mainstream politics villages on the bank of the Syrian acts undertaken in ISIS’s name have analyst, noted: “The battle against Dan Coats, who sized up ISIS’s ca- divorced from violence. Euphrates. Little wonder, then, that been committed across the planet. ISIS is at a potential inflexion point pacity by saying the group is intent “Ten-year-old Americans will world leaders, including former Reducing ISIS’s caliphate to rub- as it loses its last villages in eastern on resurging and commands thou- be fighting in Iraq as 20-year-olds Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ble discredits the physical basis of Syria. Despite this territorial loss, sands of fighters in Iraq and Syria. against the next iteration of ISIS and and some of the world’s military its global reach and counteracts its however, ISIS still retains lethal ca- “ISIS will seek to exploit Sunni al-Qaeda, as well as against [Iranian men, have declared ISIS effectively more overheated propaganda but pabilities in Syria. grievances, societal instability and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] defeated. its global reach will remain unless “The group likely has clandestine stretched security forces to regain proxies who continue to grow in However, this analysis is not en- specifically and painstakingly dis- networks stretching from the far territory in Iraq and Syria in the long strength and capability,” said Pre- tirely correct nor is it convincing. mantled. east to Idlib in the west, capable of term,” said Coats. gent. ISIS’s claim from the beginning Though swathes of Iraq and Syr- [improvised explosive device] IED “All of the underlying dynamics “All is not well in Iraq and Syria.” was not just that it had created a na- ia are no longer coloured in black production and targeted killings.” that led to ISIS are arguably worse tion occupying fixed geographical on maps of the region, ISIS retains ISIS claimed a bombing Janu- in 2019 than in 2014,” Pregent said. James Snell is a British journalist. February 10, 2019 9 Spotlight Syria’s Reconstruction When can Syria’s rebuilding begin?

Sabahat Khan

Dubai

he coming year is expected to mark further progress in reducing violence as Syria T moves towards an endgame and Syrian President Bashar Presi- dent Assad will remain at the helm for the foreseeable future despite widespread concerns of his cred- ibility and decisions through Syria’s descent into chaos. However, with Syria seeing in- creased stabilisation and improved security, international focus has in- creasingly been shifting to rebuild- ing the war-torn country. Damascus has been staging trade fairs, international flights into Syria are restarting and diplomats are re- turning with directives to re-estab- lish trade and secure opportunities to assist in Syria’s rebuilding. Since the conflict in Syria began almost eight years ago, more than half its pre-war population of ap- proximately 23 million have fled their homes — nearly 7 million are displaced internally and another 6 million fled abroad. The United Nations estimates that more than two-thirds of Syria’s remaining population is dependent A shifting focus. Syrian men work on reconstructing a damaged building in Raqqa. (AFP) on humanitarian assistance for sur- vival. Food production and avail- ability are at record lows. The Unit- about rebuilding Syria as prema- from the lucrative contracts avail- Protection Act, already passed by influence Tehran has over Damas- ed Nations’ Food and Agriculture ture, considering that Israel’s ef- able in Syria. the US House of Representatives cus in the short-term. Organisation said the agricultural forts to contain Iranian influence The Friends of Syria group, which and sent to the US Senate, may soon The fact that Iran’s struggling sector, which accounts for almost in Syria are becoming more in- includes the United States, the mean sanctions for foreign compa- economy — apparently facing its one-quarter of Syria’s GDP, needs tense militarily and that Turkey’s United Kingdom and Canada, has nies or individuals doing business most difficult conditions in four $16 billion to recover. impending moves against Kurdish declared it will withhold $10 billion with the Syrian government or its decades, as Iranian President Has- Large parts of Syria’s major cit- militias are likely to be iron-fisted. in pledged assistance until the pro- front companies. san Rohani said in his speech on the ies and infrastructure lie in ruins. However, most of those confronta- cess of a political transition “away The possibility of wider US sanc- Iranian revolution’s anniversary — Gas, electricity and road networks tions are likely to take place largely from Assad” becomes evident. tions will complicate emerging constrains Tehran’s ability to invest need to be rebuilt. As many as one- away from Syria’s largest urban Arab efforts to re-engage Syria. significantly in Syria at this stage in-five houses was damaged during centres and commercial hubs. Arab countries have thrown their and creates advantages for Syria’s the war and the United Nations esti- Syria has survived the worst of Rebuilding Syria will support behind proposals to Da- Arab neighbours interested in forg- mated that $48 billion was urgently the conflict that has engrossed it be a costly and prolonged mascus comprising manpower and ing new partnerships. needed for investment in housing since 2011 and, while considerable effort — and it will involve equipment from Jordan and Egypt Analysts said the United States stocks alone. political uncertainty remains, ten- lots of money from lots of and financial backing from the Gulf. would be wise to avoid sanction- Rebuilding Syria will be a costly tative efforts at rebuilding are un- partners. Regional Arab countries say the ing Arab contractors doing business and prolonged effort — and it will der way. rebuilding of Syria offers a timely in Syria because that would help need considerable international as- China — Syria’s largest trading opportunity to reactivate political counterbalance Iranian influence sistance in the form of aid, grants partner — has been a priority focus As such, the United States has ties and economic cooperation that and profits there. and loans. for Damascus as it courts investors effectively ruled out any foresee- are mutually beneficial and could The next year is pivotal for In December, Assad suggested and contractors for megaprojects. able role in rebuilding Syria. Wash- offer strategic gains to all sides, Syria and its neighbours in set- that the cost of rebuilding Syria Syria has signed approximately $2 ington’s sanctions list features properly managed. ting the tone for how cooperation would be at least $400 billion, billion worth of reconstruction pro- hundreds of Syrian officials, busi- There is hope that a diplomatic and collaboration may work and much higher than the $250 billion jects in the past year with Chinese nessmen and companies that US reset with Syria backed with new how skilfully competing interests estimated by UN Special Envoy for partners. With Europeans staying citizens have been barred from do- economic partnerships could help can be balanced by international Syria Staffan de Mistura last year. away in terms of trade and invest- ing business with for years. Syria’s reintegration into the Arab stakeholders as Syria’s rebuilding Some observers may view talk ment, China could gain the most Now the Caesar Syria Civilian fold or at least counterbalance the takes off.

Viewpoint Iran eyes share in Syria’s reconstruction

s Syria begins post- three months later, said: “Recon- itself part of the “private sector.” sosi-ye Omran va Maskan-e Iran, Ali Alfoneh war reconstruction, struction of Syria will take several Articles began appearing in the a subsidiary of the Foundation regional powers are years and cost $300 billion-$400 international media about the of the Oppressed (Bonyad-e Mo- trying to get a share billion at the very least… The IRGC’s future participation in stazafan), which is a “charitable” of projects that Islamic Republic must be com- Syria. On December 19, an Iranian organisation and Iran’s second secure what they pensated for its expenditure in official spoke in an interview largest economic enterprise after covetA most. Iranian Vice-Pres- Syria and the Syrians are ready to with the Iranian Labour News the state-owned National Iranian ident Eshaq Jahangiri’s recent compensate Iran with Syria’s oil, Agency. Amir Amini, planning Oil Company. Saba Battery, also visit to Damascus at the head of a gas and phosphate mines.” and resource management in Damascus, is involved in Iran’s senior economic delegation must Iran’s bid to rebuild Syria was deputy at the Ministry of Roads defence industry. There was Melli be seen in this light. initially challenged by Russia, and Urban Planning, emphasised Sakhteman Company (Sherkat-e A share of the reconstruction which signed a memorandum of the role of Iran’s “private sector” Melli-ye Sakhteman), ostensibly projects would mean a chunk of understanding with Damascus in the post-war reconstruction of a private sector company that the many billions of dollars esti- to shoulder the entire burden of Syria. has energetically tried to engage mated to be part of the funding. post-war reconstruction. Moscow Evidence has yet to emerge in the construction of airports in It would also mean consolidating indicated that Iranian companies about the existence of a vibrant Iraq. the foothold in Syria. could serve as subcontractors to private sector in Iran, let alone Other participants at the Da- Jahangiri’s January 28 visit, Russian ones. its involvement in Syria’s recon- mascus Fair were Day Company however, did not happen in Infuriated by Moscow’s attempt struction, but there is plenty of (Sherkat-e Dey) and General a vacuum. Iranian political, to secure a monopoly, the IRGC evidence of the engagement in Mechanic Company (Sherkat-e military and business leaders pressured Damascus to engage Syria of state or IRGC-controlled General Mekanik). Both are sub- have for some time prepared for Iranian companies as well. Syrian companies. contractors to the IRGC’s Khatam engagement in the Syrian market. officials subsequently cautiously One indicator was the Da- al-Anbia Construction Base. Also On December 13, 2017, Brig- welcomed Iran’s role, alongside mascus International Fair last present was Nojan Rad Company, adier-General Abdollah Ebad- that of Russia. September. It hosted 54 Iranian whose public relations director, Allahi, then chief commander of For example, last August, companies. Mohammad-Reza Arash Shahdadi, produced an Iran’s largest contracting com- Syrian Minister of Housing and Khanzadeh, head of the Iran account of the fair in a blog post. pany, declared his readiness to Construction Hussein Arnous pavilion at the fair, was widely So did the Ghasem Iran Company, take part in the post-war recon- agreed to outsource the build- interviewed by the Iranian and which trades in food and medi- The economic arms of struction of Syria. The company, ing of “30,000 housing units in Syrian media. Other than the cine. the IRGC appear to Khatam al-Anbia Construction Damascus, Aleppo and Homs [to] automobile manufacturer SAIPA, All in all, the economic arms of Base, happens to be the engineer- Iran’s private sector.” He said this Khanzadeh did not name any the IRGC appear to have ensured have ensured a place ing corps of the Islamic Revolu- at a meeting with an economic other Iranian companies exhibit- a place for themselves in Syria for themselves in tionary Guard Corps (IRGC). delegation from Iran and pre- ing in Damascus. alongside Russian companies. Major-General Yahya-Rahim sumably felt it unnecessary to Television footage helps identi- That’s the case at least right now Syria alongside Safavi, military adviser to mention that Khatam al-Anbia fy some of the participants. There until Moscow makes its next Russian companies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Construction Base considers was Sherkat-e Madar-e Takhas- chess move. 10 February 10, 2019 News & Analysis Egypt Rifts emerge over Egyptian MPs move to extend presidential terms

Hassan Abdel Zaher (“Complete the Journey”). “Four years are far from enough,” Badr said. Cairo Sisi became president in 2014 when Egypt was near bankruptcy he Egyptian parliament and dealing with terrorism. He has started the process of has since restored Egypt’s regional amending the 2014 consti- standing and provided greater se- T tution to extend presiden- curity, although terrorism remains tial term limits. a problem in some areas, including Approximately 155 members the Sinai Peninsula. of the 596-seat parliament have Sisi also instituted huge develop- signed a petition for the legislature ment and infrastructure projects, to debate proposed amendments to including building a new capital on the constitution that could lead to the outskirts of Cairo and prioritis- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al- ing Egypt’s energy industry, ending Sisi remain in his post beyond 2022, power shortages that had afflicted when his second term in office ends. the country. “Amending the constitution is To afford these programmes a necessary matter now,” said MP Cairo has had to pursue a stringent A clock reset? Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks at the parliament meeting hall in Cairo, Mahmoud Badr, one of the peti- plan of economic reform, including last June. (AFP) tion’s signatories. “The 2014 con- slashing fuel, electricity and water stitution was drafted in exceptional subsidies along with liberalisation constitution and potentially giving is then up to the people to decide a return of an upper chamber of circumstances but now things have of the exchange rate of the Egyptian Sisi more time in power whether these amendments should parliament and a quota of 25% for changed.” pound. “The legitimacy of the president be made.” women MPs in what would become Article 140 of Egypt’s 2014 con- The reforms hit Egypt’s middle is conditional on his respect to the If the constitutional amend- the lower house of parliament. stitution states: “The President of classes with many worried about constitution that brought him to ments are approved by two-thirds The proposed amendments the Republic is to be elected for a the rise in commodity prices and office,” said former diplomat and of MPs, the changes would then be would allow the president to select period of four calendar years, com- fearing which subsidies could be novelist Ezzedine Choukri Fishere put before the Egyptian people in a the head of the constitutional court mencing on the day the term of his cut next. in a blog post. “Violations by the national referendum, perhaps this and the leaders of judicial bodies predecessor ends. The President The proposed extension of the president against the constitution summer. and appoint the public prosecutor. may only be re-elected once.” presidential term is uniting the destroy the basis of his legitimacy.” They would ban the trial of civilians The proposal in parliament opposition and heralding a poten- Opposition MP Ahmed Tantawi, Approximately 155 in military courts unless they are would extend presidential terms to tially lengthy struggle for protect- a member of the independent 25/30 accused of attacking military facili- six years and reportedly includes ing what many view as the biggest parliamentary coalition that takes members of the 596-seat ties, equipment or personnel. a “transitional clause” that would achievement of the 2011 revolu- its name from the January 25, 2011, parliament have signed a The 155 lawmakers who signed reset the clock on Sisi’s presidency, tion, which ousted autocrat Hosni and June 30, 2013, revolutions that petition for the legislature petitions calling for amending the potentially allowing him to remain Mubarak, namely limiting Egypt’s ousted presidents Mubarak and to debate proposed constitution make up more than in power until 2034. presidents’ time in office. Muhammad Morsi, said the group amendments to the 20% of parliament required for pro- Those advocating the change Mubarak, who became president would vote against the amend- constitution. posed amendments to be debated say Sisi’s mission in the presi- when Anwar Sadat was assassinat- ments. by the legislature. dency is far from accomplished. ed in 1981, spent three decades in “We will use all tools available Apart from extending the presi- Supporters of the president the presidency. to us in parliament to do this and dential term, the proposed amend- Hassan Abdel Zaher is a took to social media with the Several NGOs have signed a state- will ask other MPs to vote against ments include the introduction Cairo-based contributor to hashtag “Kamill al-Meshwar” ment in opposition to changing the the amendments,” Tantawi said. “It of the office job of vice-president, The Arab Weekly. Scepticism high in Cairo after Palestinian factions’ call for unity

Ahmed Megahid “Palestinian reconciliation will strengthen the Palestinian posi- tion, whether it comes to peace Cairo talks with Israel or when it comes to the Palestinian pursuit for UN alestinian organisations statehood recognition later this Hamas and Islamic Jihad year,” said Tarek Fahmi, a political called for restoring national science professor at Cairo Univer- P unity and ending inter-Pal- sity. estinian rifts following meetings Egypt has expressed concern in Cairo with Egyptian officials that violence between Gaza’s fac- but few observers say divisions tions and Israel could spill into the between Fatah and Hamas will be Sinai Peninsula. resolved soon. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad On the sidelines of talks with representatives meeting in Cairo Egyptian intelligence officials in called for a national unity govern- Cairo, representatives of Hamas ment in the Palestinian territories. and Islamic Jihad stressed the im- They added, in a statement issued portance of continuing protests at February 5, that the national unity the border with Israel. government should oversee elec- Hamas and Islamic Jihad rep- tions in the Palestinians territories resentatives, including the head and get the Palestinian house in of the Hamas Politburo Ismail order. Hanieyh, had several rounds of Cairo is expected to host another talks with Egyptian officials -re round of Palestinian reconciliation garding a ceasefire with Israel and talks in a few weeks. mending fences with the West There is little confidence that talks between rival Palestinian fac- Bank-ruling faction Fatah of Pales- At a critical juncture. Head of the Hamas Politburo Ismail Hanieyh speaks in Gaza City, February 1. tinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Mahmoud Naser) tions will produce tangible results The talks came at a time of high because the groups seem to be tension between Abbas’s Palestin- drifting further apart and trade ac- ian Authority (PA) and Gaza’s fac- tions against a branch of the Islam- sure Hamas into honouring terms Hamas spokesman Sami Abu cusations over the collapsed deal. tions and of increasing violence on ic State in Sinai. of previous reconciliation talks in Zuhri criticised Abbas, saying that Hamas, Palestinian analysts said, Gaza’s border with Israel. The Gaza factions’ representa- Cairo, including the handover of more than 5,000 civil servants in would not move ahead with any se- They also took place ahead of tives said they were especially con- Gaza’s administration to his au- Gaza were being affected. rious reconciliation effort as long as various international meetings cerned about measures by Abbas thority. However, the tactics have “This is a crime against human- it has other options. to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli in recent months, including failure failed and some observers said ity,” Abu Zuhri posted on Twitter “This is true so long as the group conflict, including a US-sponsored to pay the salaries of thousands of they even made matters worse. February 6. “We condemn the si- has regional sponsors that finance meeting this month in Poland Pal- Gazan civil servants. lence of donor countries at the use it and help it stay in power,” said estinian round-table discussion “President Abbas needs to recon- of their funds for inhuman pur- Palestinian political analyst Osama February 13 in Moscow. sider the punitive action he is tak- Representatives of the poses.” Shaath. “It is in full control of eve- Representatives of the two Pal- ing against the residents of Gaza,” Egypt, which has been the host rything inside Gaza and hampers estinian factions called on Egypt said Gaza-based political analyst two Palestinian factions for several rounds of talks between the reconciliation by refusing the to help reduce the suffering of Osama Amer. “These residents are called on Egypt to help Palestinian factions, said that se- handover of the territory’s admin- Gazans, including keeping the Ra- badly in need of help to overcome reduce the suffering of curing inter-Palestinian agreement istration to the PA.” fah border crossing open. the very tough challenges they are Gazans, including is a vital step towards restarting the Egypt intermittently seals the facing.” keeping the Rafah border peace-making process with the Is- Ahmed Megahid is an Egyptian crossing as part of military opera- Abbas has been trying to pres- crossing open. raelis. reporter in Cairo. February 10, 2019 11 News & Analysis Lebanon

Viewpoint Lebanon’s uphill battle Lebanon’s bet on against corruption ministerial statement to delay the inevitable

Bassil, Lebanese President disarm it, it needs the state to Michel Aoun’s son-in-law and hide behind and, more impor- political heir, suggests that the tantly, to allow its main Chris- Makram Rabah former cabinet’s method of tian allies Aoun and Bassil to act loosely dispensing with public as a political fig leaf. funds and allocating public Equally important is the he formation of the contracts while bypassing clause related to the Syrian Lebanese govern- proper procedures will continue, refugees, one that both Hezbol- A stubborn problem. Vice-president of the Lebanese Transparency ment was an arduous snubbing any real reform. lah and Bassil will fully use to Association (LTA) Mosbah Majzoub (C) announcing the CPI ranking of process that took The essential problem with bolster Syrian President Bashar Lebanon. (Lebanese Transparency Association) nine months to the Hariri government’s state- Assad’s regime and help it complete and culmi- ment goes beyond its inability to normalise relations with both Tnated in a supposed settlement fight corruption but rather that Lebanon and the Arab world. Samar Kadi ion granted the ministry $3.1 mil- that pleased all sides. it avoids facing the challenges of The statement maintains that lion to speed up reforms. While the 30-member cabinet Hezbollah’s weapons and the Lebanese state would work Lebanon formed a government has technically begun its boundless regional expansion towards the Syrian refugees’ Beirut January 31 after more than eight ministerial duties, constitution- and the Syrian refugee crisis. “safe return” while refraining months of deadlock but the post ally, it needs to receive a vote of Surely, there is nothing new from stating that the refugees ebanon’s shameful grade of anti-corruption minister was confidence, one that is theoreti- about the debate over Hezbollah would have to voluntarily do so of 28 over 100 has not abolished in the new administra- cally cast by the 128-member weapons nor is this pickle easy or that their return hinges on a “ changed for the sixth tion. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad parliament on the cabinet’s to resolve. However, Hariri has political settlement to the Syrian Lconsecutive year,” Mos- Hariri said parliament was working “Ministerial Statement,” which shown a very lax attitude in conflict. bah Majzoub, vice-president of the on new anti-corruption legislation, maps out its plan of action. confronting Iran’s proxies and Hezbollah and Bassil have Lebanese Transparency Associa- recognising, nonetheless, that Leb- This statement, which their Lebanese Christian allies, both repeatedly used xenopho- tion (LTA) said in announcing the anon had difficulty in implement- involved parties said seems to be jeopardising Lebanon’s standing bic tactics to expedite the return results of the Transparency Inter- ing anti-corruption regulations. a mere technicality, will serve to regionally. of the Syrian refugees and national’s “Corruption Perceptions Parliament enacted laws to circumvent the thorny issues claimed that the Assad regime Index 2018.” strengthen transparency. These in- that the country faces, particu- has won the conflict and thus Lebanon ranked 138th globally clude legislation protecting whis- larly Hezbollah’s weapons and there is no impediment to the on the index of 180 countries and tle-blowers, strengthening trans- Lebanon’s relationship vis-a-vis The ministerial immediate return of all refugees 13th among 22 Arab countries. The parency in the petroleum sector regional conflicts and the statement will join in Lebanon to safe areas in Syria. low score was largely blamed on and access to information of public country’s ties with the Assad Consequently, the insistence political corruption and conflicts of institutions. However, those laws regime in Syria. thousands of other to include the Russian refugee interests, said Majzoub. have not been implemented. Instead, the government papers and decrees repatriation plan, one that is “These figures are addressed to “The same applies to the Integ- platform will try to overcompen- that serve as plagued with unrealistic goals all the Lebanese, be they politi- rity and Anti-corruption Commis- sate by stressing socio-economic and lacks the required funds to cians, officials, public servants or sion, which is yet to be established reforms urgently needed for reminders of achieve it, serves as a vehicle to regular citizens. It is an alarm call though it is essential for the proper Lebanon to receive the $11 Lebanon’s many empower Assad and provide him for all to join forces in the long and application of the laws,” Majzoub billion in pledges made last April with fresh conscripts to repopu- open battle of fighting corruption said. at the CEDRE conference and to missed late his decrepit army. and establishing the state of law,” “We need these laws, even if they promise to find solutions to opportunities to Whatever the cabinet’s he said. are not effective immediately, be- crises of electricity and waste achieve statehood. statement and its empty prom- Majzoub noted that Lebanon’s cause we have to start somewhere. management. ises turn out to be, what is 2018 ranking improved from However, we should increase pres- Despite this somewhat certain is that Iran and Syria’s 143rd place in 2017 but only “be- sure to activate them and we all optimistic outlook surrounding With most Gulf countries fully allies will stop at nothing to cause other countries slipped on must be involved: the media, the the cabinet formation and the convinced of Hezbollah hegem- consolidate their hold over the the chart” and not as the result of civil society associations and the projected ministerial statement, ony over the Lebanese state, a state, ensuring that Lebanon and improvement in the corruption- public.” Lebanese Prime Minister Saad rehashing of the previous its economy descend into chaos. plagued country. The less corrupt “Almost 90% of public procure- Hariri, as well as the Lebanese ministerial statement and Above all, this ministerial a country is deemed, the closer its ment and tenders are being ar- state, cannot overcome the imparting on Hezbollah any statement will join thousands of ranking is to zero. ranged through consensus and bar- many challenges they face by form of political legitimacy can other papers and decrees that Corruption in Lebanon perme- ter without going through official hiding behind a half-baked only bode ill for Lebanon and its serve as reminders of Lebanon’s ates all levels of society, as re- channels of the tenders’ office. We statement that delays the fragile economy. many missed opportunities to flected by the country’s global and have to expose such practices and inevitable. Hariri genuinely believes that achieve statehood. regional average performances raise our voice to make a differ- Hariri’s cabinet is free to a smart manipulation of the scores in most governance areas. ence,” Majzoub added. preach about reform as much as Arabic language and pure Makram Rabah is a lecturer at Political parties, public administra- A shadow report by LTA, which is it desires but the reality remains semantics can please Hezbollah the American University of tion, the parliament and the police the Lebanese chapter of Transpar- that most of the parties in power and protect what remains of the Beirut and author of “A Campus are perceived as the most corrupt ency International, said Lebanon are implicated in corruption in state’s sovereignty. at War: Student Politics at the institutions of the country. has an almost complete anti-cor- one form or another. Hariri’s While Hezbollah appears American University of Beirut, Bribery, nepotism and other ruption legal framework but it is “sacred alliance” with Gebran unconcerned with any calls to 1967-1975.” malpractices persist in the public undermined by several gaps. sector with grave ramifications on For instance, political parties the economy and society at large. and individual candidates are not Corruption is considered a ma- required to disclose campaign fi- jor reason for continuing poverty nancial statements or identify and is an obstacle to development campaign donors and accounts of and prosperity. political parties are not subject to Lebanon established a Ministry independent scrutiny. of Combating Corruption in 2016 Although the illicit enrichment to introduce reforms but political law applies to all public servants, instability and government disrup- it suffers from a weak monitoring tions have slowed its work, anti- system that could detect fluctua- corruption Minister Nicolas Tueni tions in public servants’ wealth. said. The fiscal system lacks transpar- “We have started from scratch ency because of constraints in legal with zero capacities. Nonetheless, aspects regarding accessibility or we devised a national anti-corrup- disclosure of the accounts held by tion strategy in cooperation with high-level politicians and their af- the Ministry of Administrative De- filiates and that financial informa- velopment,” Tueni said. “The draft tion is not accessible by the public. law for the establishment of the Also, Lebanon’s confessional anti-corruption agency is ready power-sharing system fuels pa- for voting in parliament. The blue- tronage networks and clientelism, print for (a new) illicit enrichment which undermine the country’s law is under discussion and I have governance system. presented a draft law to centralise Drastic reforms to create a more public tenders.” transparent and accountable pub- “However, the caretaker govern- lic sector capable of prosecuting ment is not entitled to start imple- wrongdoers are needed if Lebanon menting the national anti-corrup- wishes to receive international tion strategy. We need a functional financial support pledged at last government and I am confident year’s CEDRE conference, attract that progress will be made in 2019 foreign investment, protect finan- Same old debate. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (C) heads a meeting to discuss the ministerial with the new government,” Tueni cial integrity and mitigate reputa- statement at the governmental palace in Beirut, February 6. (Reuters) said, adding that the European Un- tional risks, officials said. 12 February 10, 2019 News & Analysis Maghreb Retired Algerian general faces tough road on election trail

Lamine Ghanmi telligence officer, was moved from Algiers to a remote area in the south. Tunis Salah signed a military order five days after Ghediri announced his lgerian presidential candi- candidacy banning soldiers and of- date Ali Ghediri’s stamina ficers from having any role in the and fortitude are being elections. A tested on the pre-cam- El Watan, Algeria’s most influ- paign trail as he faces resistance ential newspaper, reported that 13 from the powerful military-backed active army colonels and lieuten- government. ant-colonels had been detained on Ghediri, on January 19, became Salah’s orders after they contacted the first person to officially an- Ghediri to express support. nounce his candidacy for Algeria’s “Such a move will go down in his- presidential elections in April. tory as unprecedented in the age He outlined a bold electoral plat- of the internet,” El Watan’s article, form and positioned himself as headlined “The heavy-hand of Gaid the main challenger to the incum- Salah,” read. bent government amid what he Ghediri was also stopped by a calls political timidity among other road barricade February 7 when he contenders. tried to reach the opposition Social Democratic Movement party to pay tribute to its deceased leader Ha- Ghediri distinguished mid Farhi. himself from many other Ghediri published three open let- presidential aspirants with ters arguing against Algerian Presi- bold statements against dent Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s re-elec- the military tion. He said Algerians need a new, establishment. strong and honest leader to take command and guide the country. Ghediri, a 64-year-old former Ghediri distinguished himself Running against the system? Algerian presidential candidate Ali Ghediri leaves after a news army general, defied repeated from many other presidential aspir- conference in Algiers, January 27. (AFP) warnings from Army Chief of Staff ants with bold statements against Ahmed Gaid Salah to steer clear of the military establishment. He’s the April 18 elections. Local media the only candidate to promise to re- figures like reform-minded former relatively young, with diplomas on social media in reaction to a pos- referred to the warnings as an “un- form the military. Prime Minister Mouloud Ham- and management experience,” said sible fifth term in office for Boutef- precedented artillery barrage from “There’s a huge surge within the rouche, are staying away from the Djabi. He also stated that Ghediri lika. Taguara (the Defence Ministry)” Algerian society for a change,” said race. They argue that “no candidate is not the exception and that the “History will condemn us for our but Ghediri said he knows running Algerian sociologist Nacer Djabi. can beat Bouteflika.” number is going to increase. silence. The re-election will con- for president will be an obstacle “The current environment out- “They could be the solution to firm our failure as a nation,” wrote course. “I’m ready for it,” he said. side Algeria also calls for things to the crisis of political elites,” Djabi another citizen. Ghediri was barred from attend- change here.” 13 active army colonels said citing the examples of Israel, Soufiane Djilali, head of the op- ing the funeral February 6 of his Algeria has been ruled by vet- and lieutenant-colonels Russia and South America. position Jil Jadid party, said, “The former defence boss Abdelmalek eran independence fighters before. had been detained on Bouteflika, in power since 1999, fifth mandate will be the last drop Guenaizia. His spokeswoman said Bouteflika, 81 and Salah, 79, are Salah’s orders after they is widely popular but his apparent that will cause the vase of anger to Ghediri found the road outside his from that generation. contacted Ghediri to health problems have raised ques- overflow.” campaign headquarters barricaded “If the elections fail to deliver express support. tions about his ability to continue “They want to make us believe by three trucks. “He was told that a change to the current establish- to serve. Four main parties, includ- that Algeria needs Bouteflika, al- the three vehicles were broken ment in 2019, the result will be cri- Analysts said the alternative to ing the National Liberation Front, though the man can do nothing for down,” the spokeswoman said. sis,” Djabi said. Algeria’s apparent political impasse have planned a rally to read out a himself,” he added. “Behind him, She later said a man who was However, candidates with cre- could come from retired military letter from Bouteflika announcing a tribe of interests will continue to likely from security services told dentials that could potentially men like Ghediri. his candidacy, though. enjoy privileges.” him that authorities did not want bring about change, whether from “Ghediri is part of the first gen- “I’m ashamed of my country. We him to be at Guenaizia’s burial. pro-democracy parties like the So- eration of retired high-ranking of- have become the laughing stock of Lamine Ghanmi is an Arab Weekly His brother, a senior military in- cialist Forces Front or independent ficers who are very qualified and the world,” said an Algerian citizen correspondent in Tunis. Sarraj throws a wrench in Haftar’s southern plans

Michel Cousins said one of his aims in moving the it had secured the neighbouring ever. The United Nations ensures A Tuareg and still considered a LNA into the Fezzan region was to Sharara field. It was poised to take that those remain with the Tripo- Qaddafi supporter, Kana was said secure and reopen the oilfield as the other major oil and gas field in li-based National Oil Corporation to have no more than 1,000 fight- Tunis well as eradicate militants and for- the area, El-Fil, protected by Tebu and the Central Bank of Libya. It ers under him. eign mercenaries based there. forces. Doing so would give Haftar would increase his political stature “Not even those [Tuareg fight- or more than a year, Libyan The LNA captured the strate- control of 90% of Libya’s oil pro- at home and in the international ers] at Sharara will follow him,” Field-Marshal Khalifa Haf- gically located, Tuareg-majority duction. arena. said one political analyst from Fez- tar has said that he would town of Ubari, 200km west of It would not give him control The LNA had swept past the zan. F take Tripoli and unite the Sabha, February 7 and announced over exports and oil income, how- Tebu-controlled checkpoint 17km country under a single leadership south of Sabha, taking the village but not by force. He would do so, of Ghudwa, which had been held Haftar’s tactic, having he said, only when he was wel- by Chadian opposition forces and secured the south, is to comed by the various forces con- other Chadian mercenaries, and move towards Tripoli, trolling the city. bombing the Tebu regional centre building on alliances in That seems a long way off. Haftar of Murzuk, 140km south-west of Zintan and other towns in has been banking on law and order Sabha. western Libya. in Tripoli totally breaking down Tebus accused the LNA of kill- and the capital’s people turning to ing civilians in the raid but the ef- The analysts were wrong. On his Libyan National Army (LNA) as fect of the advance was to force February 7, just hours after Kana the only force capable of restoring Chadian opposition forces using was appointed, his forces moved stability and security. southern Libya as a haven back into Ubari and attacked the LNA. That is the strategy that has been into Chad. As soon as they crossed The local hospital manager report- put into operation in recent weeks the border, they were attacked by ed eight dead and seven wounded in southern Libya. French Air Force jets. from both sides. Clashes were re- Haftar’s tactic, having secured A 40-vehicle column was hit just ported near the Sharara oilfield, the south, is to move towards Trip- inside Chad on February 3 and an- which local sources said the LNA oli, building on alliances in Zintan other 50-vehicle column bombed had not yet captured, despite its and other towns in western Libya. within days. It is not known if in- earlier claims. It had appeared everything was formation was shared between the However, it appeared that, while going to plan. The LNA moved French and Haftar’s forces but it the LNA had achieved much of into Sabha, where they were wel- was reported that the French had what it wanted in the south and comed by much of the population, been tracking the Chadians. it imposed a no-fly order over the and moved south deep into Tebu It seemed the LNA was going to region, this was not going to be territory, previously thought inac- be triumphant across the south the walk-over that earlier seemed cessible to it, and west towards the but the UN-supported Presiden- likely. Sharara oilfield. tial Council in Tripoli and headed Kana and his Tuareg forces ap- Sharara is Libya’s biggest oilfield by Fayez Sarraj looked to sabotage pear to be stronger than expected but has been closed since early Haftar’s advance. and, in the deep south, the Tebus, December because of protests by It was announced that a pro- incensed at the raid on Murzuk, Petroleum Facilities Guards over Presidential Council Zintani force are likely to rally their forces for a salary payments and by the Fezzan was being sent to secure Sharara counter-attack. Rage Movement, whose members and then, the same day Ubari was It looks as though Sarraj’s move had concluded that closing it was taken by the LNA, Sarraj appoint- to undermine Haftar’s southern the only way to make authorities ed former Qaddafi-era General Ali advance has succeeded, at least for pay attention to the dire situation Kana to be military commander of the moment. in southern Libya. the Sabha region. The appropriately named Sha- Eyes on oil production. Forces loyal to Libyan Field-Marshal The consensus among political Michel Cousins is a contributor rara — “spark” in Arabic — had trig- Khalifa Haftar patrol in downtown Sabha, the biggest city in analysts and activists across Libya to The Arab Weekly on Libyan gered the LNA advance. Haftar had southern Libya, February 6. (AFP) was that it was too little, too late. issues. February 10, 2019 13 Spotlight ‘Quranic School’ Scandal Madrasa of horrors shocks Tunisia into realising it faces a problem

Lamine Ghanmi Minister Youssef Chahed vowed to The issue released bottled-up an- prosecute the school’s owner and ger of many Tunisians, political par- others responsible for the abuses. ties and liberal elites against Islam- Tunis “Tunisia is a civil state. It does not ists and attempts at radicalisation in accept the brainwashing of children society. hat seemed like an ex- or their exploitation in any form,” One particular issue for concern tremist-style madrasa Chahed said after visiting the chil- was the uncertainty whether there in central Tunisia was dren, who had been transferred to a were other similar schools in Tuni- W closed after it was sus- shelter near Tunis. sia. MP Sahbi Ben Fredj, whose bloc pected of subjecting children to Psychologists and educators at backs the Chahed government, said mistreatment, sexual abuse and ex- the shelter provided medical and after meeting with the children: tremist indoctrination. psychological assistance for the “Senior officials told me that dozens The government, political par- children, who said they had been of schools similar to Regueb’s exist ties and the public expressed shock taught to avoid material pleasure across Tunisia in working-class and when learning of the alleged horrors and undergo hardship training to wealthy areas in many cities.” taking place at the self-professed prepare for the “hard time,” which He asked: “Why did local authori- Quranic school through a report by was understood to mean jihad. ties, whether they are government an independent Tunisian television “They are all famished. They representatives, heads of police and channel. pounced on the food as if they had national guards and intelligence offi- Hidden-camera footage broad- never eaten,” said Lilia Bouguira, a cials, look the other way when those cast by El Hiwar Ettounsi television doctor who visited the children. responsible for Regueb’s school showed the school, near the village Bouguira said the students told were recruiting and brainwashing of Regueb in rural Sidi Bouzid prov- her: “They gave us rotten food filled children from almost all the regions ince, housed children and adults in with earthworms to prepare us for of the country?” inappropriate conditions. ‘the hard time,’ as the sheikh told “That school was a real terrorist It was not clear what the school us.” training centre: brainwashing, isola- was teaching but there was suspi- The “sheikh” is the owner of the tion from society, family and edu- cion the students were exposed to a school whose house next to the cation system environments, para- radicalisation process. school reportedly had luxuries rare military training and ideological Targeting children’s minds. A 2017 file picture shows a Tunisian It was later disclosed that nine in Regueb, including a swimming radicalisation. Why didn’t the au- child attending an event at the headquartersn of the radical students had been sexually abused pool, internet access and other mod- thorities react during all this time?” Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir. (AFP) at the school and that dozens of ern technology. He and other deputies said the children were forced to work at con- “Making calluses hardens the state might be too late to save chil- struction and farm sites and kept heart” is part of the narrative repeat- dren under the sway of radical Islam jihadist Salafism?” we see that our children are lured to in grossly unsanitary conditions as ed by radical Islamist leaders and in Tunisia. “In Tunisia, we have yet to draw be fodder for wars that ruin nations part of survivalist training. Some of preachers as they prepare young fol- MP Houda Slim said she asked a line between religious conserva- and destroy the humanity of human the children were said to have con- lowers for so-called holy wars. one of the children why they were tism at the root of political Islam on beings.” tracted disease or infestation, in- Many Tunisians said what sur- in bare feet and the boy answered: the one hand and radical Islam that Leaders of the Islamist Ennahda cluding scabies and lice. prised them most was the reaction “Only a few days remain before we leads to violence and terrorism on Movement, part of Chahed’s coali- Mehiar Hammadi, the govern- of the children’s parents, who urged climb the mountains.” the other,” he said. tion government, denounced the ment’s official in charge of child authorities to return them to the “Mountains” is a term for jihad school for failing to respect the law protection, told a parliamentary madrasa, claiming the “government among radical Islamists in Tunisia. but urged more Islamic education at committee that the children suf- has kidnapped our children.” Jihadist groups, such as al-Qaeda Hidden-camera footage state schools. fered “many abuses” and had been Female relatives of the children, and Islamic affiliates, have been ac- showed the school housed “What we experience now with deprived of an ordinary childhood. protesting separately from male tive in the mountains and rugged ar- children and adults in such schools is the result of the blow “They have blisters on their feet relatives, held a sign reading: “Only eas in north-western Tunisia. inappropriate conditions. dealt to the Zitouna mosque,” said soles from beatings. They have been good comes from learning the Political analyst Zied Krichen said Ennahda leader Abdellatif Mekki. also forced to do heavy farming Quran.” the main question the case brought “We have not succeeded in think- He was referring to the education work,” Hammadi said. The children’s relatives com- up was: “Is the Regueb school an ing out how to seriously fight ex- system that was replaced as part of The government fired the gover- plained that the school’s saga isolated case or are we in the pres- tremism, not only on the security reforms by Tunisian President Ha- nor of Sidi Bouzid province and an- showed that Muslims in Tunisia are ence of dozens or perhaps hun- level but in the social, cultural and bib Bourguiba and continued by his other local official. Tunisian Prime becoming a minority. dreds of such schools spreading ideological aspects, especially when successor Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Viewpoint Cult-like ‘Quranic school’ exposed in Tunisia

fierce debate has supposed to be learning about school.” By doing so, they hope to efforts to infiltrate it by those with taken hold in Tunisia, Islam and its spiritual values. legitimise it in the minds of an agenda. pitting two rival The scandal drew fierce outcry Tunisians who naturally respect However, if the so-called Quranic Iman Zayat camps against each throughout the country, with most the Quran and Islam. Ironically, by school in Regueb is not a cult, it can other: defenders of assailing the institution and the referring to the school as a only be described as a jihadist human rights and state for failing to protect the “madrasa,” its defenders are training camp. While this may Islamists,A both so-called moderates children. However, some Islamists effectively conceding that it is, by shock many in Tunisia, it is time we lashed out at Belloumi, accusing nature, illegal. come to terms with the existence of and fundamentalists. The debate was set in motion by a him of being a “snitch” by alerting With this clarified, let us examine such radical elements, especially television programme titled “Four “secular authorities” to the illicit what was really happening in after the terror attacks that have Truths,” presented by Tunisian activity. Regueb. Should this so-called taken place since the 2010-11 journalist Hamza Belloumi on the Amid this war of words, the most school be characterised as a cult, uprising. privately owned Elhiwar Ettounsi important question was left led by a demented guru, or a If one of these institutions exists, channel. The episode featured unanswered: Why was the state jihadist training camp where it is likely there are others. Jihad- controversial issues that have been unable to fulfil its responsibility to children and young people were ists almost always operate in in the news, such as illegal poach- protect the most vulnerable in our being prepped to conduct terror coordination, meaning that ing by Qatari hunters and wide- society? attacks? Or was it some combina- structures affiliated with the spread corruption within Tunisia’s We must obviously condemn and tion? Regueb camp could be lurking vehicle inspection services. hold to account those who were The so-called Quranic school, led throughout the country. Tunisian The last segment, however, involved and complicit in running by self-styled imam Farouk Zribi, authorities, therefore, should be shocked viewers. It detailed an this so-called Quranic school. Even bears many of the hallmarks of a vigilant in getting to the bottom of investigative report into a bizarre more, there is a need to crack down cult. It is in a remote area, far from who is behind this institution and “Quranic” school in the rural on all institutions of this nature public scrutiny. Its members — whether there are affiliates. central Tunisian town of Regueb, that may be operating under the many underage — are isolated and Ultimately, whether the Regueb where dozens of children were radar. indoctrinated with extremist institution is a jihadist camp or being housed and indoctrinated We must also put to rest absurd beliefs while being subjected to some sort of a religious cult, we with extremist ideas. claims advanced by some Islamists severe exploitation and abuse. The need more than condemnation. We The report — confirmed by an that the institution was nothing parents of the children caught up in need action. We need to actively official investigation — said 42 more than a legitimate Quranic this nightmare have staunchly work to protect children from such children aged 10-18 and 27 adults school and that the journalist was a defended its leader. dangerous environments and between the ages of 18-35 lived at “snitch” by exposing its abuses. If this is indeed a cult, like the provide care and rehabilitation to the premises in conditions that First, we should note that one led by David Koresh in the those rescued from them. were grossly unsafe and unsani- Quranic schools, or madrasas, as United States in the 1980s and If Belloumi is, as some Islamists tary. There they were taught per definition, are outlawed in 1990s, how should we rid the say, “a snitch to the secular authori- religious precepts by figures who Tunisia. Only katateeb (traditional country of it and potentially ties,” we should all join him in were unqualified, unlicensed and schools) legally operate under the connected institutions? Is there exposing the radical threats facing often abusive. supervision of the Ministry of really a difference between Eastern our country. The horror only begins there. Religious Affairs. The difference and Western cults? As a journalist, Belloumi simply When not being inculcated with between these two types of To combat the problem, Tunisia did his job: He investigated and Whether the Regueb extremist ideas, the children were “schools” is night and day. While must enact pointed legislation that reported on the dire situation in institution is a subjected to forced labour on madrasas teach Islamic theology prohibits extremist religious Regueb in a professional and jihadist camp or some construction and farm sites, and religious law, katateeb teach centres from operating under the ethical manner. He and his partners reports said. Many were found to Quranic recitation and certain basic guise of civic associations, as well at “Four Truths” deserve credit for sort of a religious cult, have contracted asthma, scabies Islamic rituals to children. as work to expose individuals, daring to speak out about what we need more than and lice because of the horrific Most Tunisians do not under- political parties or financiers that others have long feared to. conditions. At least nine children stand this distinction, which is why support such activities. Tunisia condemnation. We reportedly suffered sexual abuse at Islamists have tried to frame the should work to improve the quality Iman Zayat is the Managing Editor need action. the institution, where they were institution in Regueb as a “Quranic of its education system and counter of The Arab Weekly. 14 February 10, 2019 News & Analysis Palestine Israel Interview Palestinians have ‘no alternative but non-violence’

charity and the main supporter of “We are also establishing a the Israeli settlers in Hebron. playground for children, the only “I do more sumoud [Arabic for playground in H2 [The 1997 Sharmila Devi “resilience”] projects supporting Hebron Protocol divided the city Palestinians on the ground by into two sectors: H1, controlled by establishing women’s groups, the Palestinian Authority and H2, ssa Amro is a Palestinian training women about advocacy, roughly 20% of the city, adminis- human rights activist from about how to start their own tered by Israel.]” the West Bank city of business so they will have what I TAW: Is non-violent protest Hebron. He is the founder of call a ‘freedom economy,’ which is gaining support among Palestin- several organisations that not dependent on anyone. ian youth? use non-violent means to “We choose women because IA: “Unfortunately, the Palestin- protest the Israeli occupa- women are stronger and they ians are almost destroyed and Ition. One of these is Youth Against know how to help their families. disappointed by the situation they Settlements. We do a lot of training for women, are living in. The jobless rate He has been arrested numerous give them languages, we train among young Palestinians in times by the Israeli military. Amro them about international law, Hebron is… creating a catastrophe won a recent ruling of unlawful about their rights because as for everyone. It’s a big deal after arrest and a claim for compensa- Palestinians we live under Israeli you get your degree to end up tion but criminal charges are military law so you should know unemployed and so you lose all pending. your rights very well to protect your dreams in your early life. Amro was arrested by the yourself. “The huge amount of violence Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2017 “We also do a lot of advocacy from the Israeli soldiers and after denouncing the detention of work among Jewish groups settlers is making the Palestinians ‘Sumoud’ projects. Palestinian human rights activist Issa Amro. (Courtesy of Issa Amro) a journalist critical of the Pales- around the world. We try to open angry. I try, try hard to convince tinian leadership. He faces their eyes about the situation in them that non-violent resistance imprisonment by the PA for his Hebron, about the situation in the is the best tool to end the occupa- someone to challenge the system not the only one in the world, dissent. Palestinian territories in general, tion. I think we don’t have any and challenge the difficulties. many human rights defenders In 2009, he was given the One about Palestinian narratives and other alternative. It’s the only way “I have been arrested many, give their lives for their own World Media award for the how they should come to see with and we need some time to do it. many times by the Israelis and people.” “Shooting Back” project in which their own eyes. We try to target “The people do love us. My they might decide my sentence by TAW: Are you optimistic? cameras were distributed to celebrities, bring them on tours of friends tell me ‘Issa, we like what the end of this year. I don’t like to IA: “[US President Donald] Palestinians to document human the city and we also ask Israelis to you are doing, we hope to do what be reminded about the seven days Trump is making everyone aware rights violations by Israeli come and see. you are doing but it has a very I spent in a Palestinian torture there is something wrong. I’ve soldiers and settlers. He has won high price.’ There is a huge price cell. The Palestinian arrest read a lot of history and no the support of prominent organi- for participating in resistance affected me a lot and made me oppressor stays forever. Israeli sations and individuals, including “I have been arrested against the occupation because angry about my government, solidarity is not increasing, it’s US Senator Bernie Sanders, an the occupation doesn’t distin- which should support me and decreasing, but I can say that independent from Vermont. Amro many, many times by guish between different kinds of back me up. [It hasn’t] dropped Jewish solidarity is increasing so spoke to The Arab Weekly in the Israelis and they resistance — all resistance accord- the charges. At any time they we work more with Jewish groups London via telephone from might decide my ing to military law is illegal. So I could activate the file and I could all over the world. As the situation Hebron. could be in jail for one to ten years be in a Palestinian jail for one year. gets worse, the more we need to The Arab Weekly (TAW): What sentence by the end for resisting peacefully.” “There is a high price, you can’t be active and smart and this is the current focus of your work? of this year.” TAW: What gives you the have a normal life because of that means it will be solved so I’m very Issa Amro (IA): “Last year, I courage to continue? but let me say that I’m very proud optimistic about the future.” started another organisation IA: “I get it from the victims of myself, very proud of all called the Hebron Freedom Fund Palestinian human who see me as their supporter, as Palestinian and international Sharmila Devi is a former British working for peace and justice. The rights activist the person they call when they human rights defenders who are correspondent in the Middle East main idea is to oppose the Hebron Issa Amro need help, this is what makes me giving their lives for peace, for and writes on political and social Fund, which is an American do more. The people need justice and for human rights. I’m issues in the region.

Viewpoint A Palestinian dialogue of the deaf istening to discussions judicial body. It was, as usual, just them. To avoid having to go to the devoid of any figures or forces, at in the context of a personal decision by this great toilet, because there are none home and abroad, qualified to be Palestinian affairs is democratic man, an unjustified available, women refrain from in the government, except those Adli Sadeq very much like watch- decision taken on the background eating or drinking. from the inner circle of the PA ing a dialogue of the of his many personal conflicts. The following evening, Pales- president. deaf. Neither the Unfortunately, the man’s decision tinians are allowed to cross to the We are treated to great dis- Llanguage nor the content had any affects families that have nothing other side and ride 200km to El course about democracy, consen- relation to reality, assuming of to do with disagreeing with his Arish where they have to spend sus, strategy and necessity but it’s course that wasn’t the intended opinions and views. the night. The third day is all part of the dialogue of the deaf. purpose. In the other camp, as a high- devoted to the procedure of cross- There is repeated talk about the Such is the nature of the level Hamas delegation engaged ing at Rafah. necessity of this thing and the dialogue between the two in discussions in Cairo, Hamas We are talking about negotia- necessity of that thing. It makes Palestinian authorities in Ramal- issued a statement that had tions that could have taken 2 one wonder why the speakers do lah and in Gaza. They neither nothing to offer the Palestinian minutes between any Palestinian not ask themselves the elemen- listen to themselves nor to each people to alleviate their suffering, delegation and the Egyptian side. tary question of why they do not other. not even a glimmer of hope These negotiations should have act on this necessity. We heard two statements, one announcing the end of their been the easiest to complete since After talking about these read by the Palestinian Authority ordeal. there is no justification for necessities, they see no contradic- president at a news conference The Hamas leadership could making life miserable for Palestin- tion in saying that the eventual with his Austrian counterpart in have started resolving insignifi- ian travellers. There was no president of the new government Ramallah and the second by the cant points that do not require justification for closing off the big must come from Fatah’s central Hamas leadership after meetings much effort but no. Neither bridge that travellers used to committee because “one of the in Cairo. Hamas officials nor their Egyptian cross to the other side of the elements of confronting the In the first case, Palestinian counterparts were concerned canal. current phase and its challenges is President Mahmoud Abbas said: with clearing the atmosphere As far as we know, the terrorists the existence of an election- “Democracy is our way to restore between the Palestinian rivals have been defeated and, even if a related government.” Where is the stability and the unity of the land and sweeping away the negative small number of them remain at logical connection here? and the people, alleviate the aspects to end the suffering of the large, it doesn’t justify closing Furthermore, nobody can suffering of our people in the Palestinians. major strategic roads. explain the usefulness of talking Gaza Strip and support our people Instead, both sides focused on When you look at the distance about “the need for a strategic in Jerusalem.” security relations and neglected covered and the time it takes for vision among the factions of the Here, Abbas is picturing himself to consider their social dimen- Palestinian travellers to cover that Palestine Liberation Organisation as the champion of unadulterated sions. Perhaps the best illustra- distance, it boggles the mind. It is to end the state of division,” when democracy, fighting a noble and tion of this neglect, and the least as if the point was to avoid this need has existed in plain difficult battle. By what he says, complicated one, are measures creating favourable conditions for sight for decades and none of the democracy is his only means of regarding transit to Gaza from the constructive Palestinian-Egyptian rival parties acted on it. restoring stability and the unity of Egyptian territory. For their trip relations and tightening the trap It’s all useless and meaningless the land and the people. back to Gaza, Palestinian families around terrorists. talk, serving only to waste time We are treated to He overlooked the fact that, as in Egypt must assemble at 10pm It is possible to look at the and obfuscate the real issues he was speaking, measures that at specific points in eastern Cairo non-significant talk from all while the Palestinian reality great discourse he had decided went into effect to take buses to the ferry ports on parties from this angle: There is deteriorates. Talk is cheap and is about democracy, with dire consequences for social the Suez Canal, which take them nothing to indicate any positive not about to cease, while people’s consensus, strategy stability in the Palestinian to the east side. progress in the negotiations. They lives are being strangled out of territories. There, after a bus ride that are a kind of dialogue of the deaf. them. In Palestinian affairs, and necessity but Abbas decided to stop the requires an hour-and-a-half at the In the other Palestinian camp, dialogue of the deaf remains the it’s all part of the salaries paid to more than 5,000 most, people pile up on the banks there are those who talk about master of the situation. families, with just one decision of the canal for about another 24 forming a Palestinian government dialogue of the that hasn’t been reviewed or hours, waiting in cars and buses, within their context, as if the Adli Sadeq is a Palestinian writer deaf. approved by any political or with no services available to whole of the Palestinian people is and political analyst. February 10, 2019 15 News & Analysis Turkey More symbolism than substance as Turkey and Greece vow to avert crises Thomas Seibert another source of friction. Greece says the number of refugees cross- ing from Turkey is rising despite Istanbul Ankara’s pledge under a 2016 deal with the European Union to stem aced with potentially ex- the flow. Erdogan, whose country plosive political conflicts houses more than 3 million Syr- over issues ranging from gas ians, used a news conference with F exploration in the eastern Tsipras to accuse the European Un- Mediterranean to minority rights, ion of not meeting its obligations, neighbours Turkey and Greece such as accepting up to 72,000 refu- vowed to keep talking to each other gees from Turkey. but failed to make substantial pro- Asked for a response to Erdogan’s gress on outstanding problems. statement, an EU official insisted In a visit to Turkey that was heavy the refugee agreement “contin- on symbolism, Greek Prime Minis- ues to deliver thanks to the close ter Alexis Tsipras met with Turkish cooperation between the EU and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to its member states and Turkey.” EU stress that “communication chan- members have taken over nearly nels are open” between the two 20,000 Syrian refugees from Tur- countries, which share a history of key, said the official, who declined tension and distrust. to be identified. Turkey’s troubled relations with “No issue has been resolved but Greece have complicated Ankara’s at least we have a dialogue,” said EU bid and overshadowed the row Dimitrios Triantaphyllou, direc- over the Mediterranean island of tor of the Centre for International Cyprus, which has been divided and European Studies at Istanbul’s between the internationally recog- Kadir Has University, in summing nised Greek south and the breaka- up the Tsipras visit way Turkish north for more than Both Erdogan and Tsipras four decades. The two NATO part- stressed their readiness to engage ners came close to war in 1996 in further talks, even if their meet- when an unresolved territorial dis- ing in Ankara did not produce new pute in the Aegean escalated. agreements. “We believe every They also disagree over gas ex- problem could be resolved through Keeping it civil. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (AFP) ploration plans near Cyprus. An- dialogue,” Erdogan said at the news at the end of a joint news conference in Ankara, February 5. kara is concerned the exploitation conference. Tsipras said “more of reserves would deprive Turkish concrete steps” could follow in the minister to visit the Orthodox semi- Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader halls will once again ring with the Cypriots of their share of the is- future. nary of Halki near Istanbul, which of 300 million Orthodox Christians happy laughter of students.” land’s offshore resources and wants Atmospherics during the visit has been closed for nearly 50 years. worldwide. For Tsipras, a left-wing atheist, a suspension of exploration until a were much better than during Er- The decision by Turkey to keep the trip to the island of Heybeliada solution is found to the Cyprus is- dogan’s trip to Athens in Decem- the seminary shuttered has been Erdogan and Tsipras near Istanbul, where the school is sue. Turkey is also concerned about ber 2017, the first visit by a Turk- a major stumbling block in ties be- stressed their readiness to situated, was a political god-send. Cyprus and Greece cooperating ish president to Greece in 65 years. tween Ankara and Athens and be- engage in further talks, “That was a visit for the home front with Egypt and Israel in developing Erdogan shocked his hosts by sug- tween Turkey and the European even if their meeting in back in Greece,” Triantaphyllou gesting that a 1923 treaty serving said. gas fields. Union. Erdogan said the school can Ankara did not produce Shortly before Tsipras’s arrival as the cornerstone of bilateral re- be reopened only in return for im- Tsipras, who narrowly won a con- in Ankara on February 5, Erdog- lations should be “modernised,” provements in the legal situation new agreements. fidence vote in parliament in Ath- an’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said triggering Greek fears of territorial of the Turkish-Muslim minority in Bartholomew, 78, and a Halki ens in January, is facing elections Turkey would not allow a “fait ac- claims by Turkey. Greece. alumnus, welcomed Tsipras’s visit this year. “His message was: We compli” in the eastern Mediterra- This time, Erdogan said a “politi- Because the seminary has not as highly significant and said he stand behind the patriarch and we nean and would defend “equal and cian’s job is not to win enemies but been able to provide the Orthodox prayed for a reopening of the school will keep the dialogue going within fair” sharing of the resources. In friends” and Tsipras praised the Church in Turkey with new clerics soon. Tsipras agreed. “Next time I Greek-Turkish relations,” Trianta- his meeting with Tsipras, Erdogan fact that he could pick up the phone since 1971, most priests and bishops come I hope we reopen the school phyllou said. criticised Greece’s refusal to extra- and talk to Erdogan whenever there in what used to be Constantinople with Erdogan,” he said. “The mi- Erdogan, by allowing the visit to dite eight Turkish soldiers accused was a need to address a crisis. are well into their 70s or 80s. The norities in Greece and Turkey are Halki, was telling Turkey’s religious of having been involved in a coup The goodwill expressed by both situation is a serious problem for no reason for conflict but are here minorities: “We are with you,” Tri- attempt in 2016. sides led Tsipras, on February 6, be- the Ecumenical Patriarchate of to build bridges. I want to believe antaphyllou added. Erdogan is fac- The European refugee crisis is coming the first sitting Greek prime Constantinople, seat of Patriarch we are near the day when these ing local elections in March.

Viewpoint Nothing new under the Aegean sun hat to make of Tsipras as a minor, inexperienced Tsipras knows this but wants the the latter point, Tsipras does not Greek Prime figure. At times, this has led to the international community to take have much to offer other than Minister Alexis use of patronising language. responsibility for reasons to do reassurance. Tsipras’s Febru- During this visit, the Turkish with political survival. It is unknown whether this will Yavuz Baydar ary 5 visit to president had less on the agenda What’s more, regarding Cyprus have any effect on Ankara’s tactical Turkey? On the than Tsipras. Erdogan continued to and the eastern Mediterranean in stance. One positive signal for Wsurface, it seemed impressive but insist on the extradition of Turkish general, Tsipras definitely felt reaching a common understanding observers were left with the feeling soldiers who sought asylum in stronger than his counterpart. emerged: Turkish Defence Minister it was much ado about nothing. Greece after the 2016 attempted Greece, along with Israel, Egypt, Hulusi Akar invited his counter- Overall, it mattered more to coup. He was met with the stern Cyprus, Italy, Jordan and the part, Evangelos Apostolakis, to go Tsipras than to his host, Turkish but polite response: rule of law Palestinian territories, is part of the deeper into bilateral defence President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. must be abided by. so-called East Mediterranean Gas issues. Until recently, both men Tsipras met with Patriarch of The public exchanges on Cyprus Forum, which excludes Turkey. were top military officers. The Constantinople Bartholomew I, the showed that the issue remains on The United States, apparently hope is that they will find a leader of Orthodox Christianity. He the backburner. Erdogan offered weary of the discord with its NATO common language towards a became the first sitting Greek Tsipras old Turkish wine (or grape ally, Turkey, has been fast advanc- moratorium on the dogfights and prime minister in 90 years to visit juice) in a new bottle. Both sides ing efforts to build a separate increased cooperation on refugee the Halki seminary, the theological would ignore the intermediary role security structure in the eastern flows. school that was once the fount of of the United Nations and the Mediterranean with Greece, Much depends on Erdogan. He Greek learning in the region. European Union and instead Cyprus and Egypt. This is meant to knows he is losing leverage on Tsipras also had some attractive should set up bilateral exploratory secure the energy corridor, push issues to do with the eastern photo opportunities in the Hagia commissions, which would work trade and intensify anti-terrorism Mediterranean. It may be very hard Sophia, once a Greek Orthodox towards a final settlement on the cooperation. Athens hopes the for him to lower the decibel level Christian cathedral and now island. project materialises this year. on his anti-Greek rhetoric because converted into a museum. Both Was this a deliberately empty For the Greek prime minister, he has yet to pass the final thresh- spots were symbolic of the Greek gesture? It’s hard to tell. However, this visit had only one urgent old into ruling as absolute leader. presence in Asia Minor. Tsipras, it was an offer Tsipras could dimension: to decrease tensions in If, as predicted, Erdogan’s Justice who faces an election, must have immediately refuse. He subtly indi- the Aegean Sea. Aegean border and Development Party wins the hoped the headlines would leave cated that with Cyprus a member issues leave a lot of room for local polls, there will be no fellow Greeks at home with a sense of the European Union, the provocations and feed nationalism elections in Turkey until 2022. Only of pride. modality of a settlement process on both sides, especially the after the local elections March 31 If, as predicted, He probably hoped for more. The for the divided island is not to be Turkish. then will it become somewhat clear Erdogan’s Justice visit was meant to distract Greece tampered with. This stance barely Under pressure at home, what Erdogan plans to do. and Development from a venomous public debate on conceals the fact that even the Erdogan has always kept the For the moment though, Tsipras’s the deal with Macedonia about its Greek side — Athens, not Nicosia Greece card up his sleeve. In visit was an anti-climax — nothing Party wins the local name. Whether Tsipras finds some — is on the point of accepting a forthcoming local elections, new under the Aegean sun. polls, there will be relief at home remains to be seen. solution. Erdogan’s irredentist approach has What the visit has left Erdogan Both sides on the divided island not only covered threats to invade Yavuz Baydar is a Turkish no elections in with is easy: not much at all. He would be very loosely tied to each Syria but the reclaiming of some journalist and regular columnist Turkey until 2022. does not hide the fact he sees other and administered separately. Aegean islets and rocks as well. On for The Arab Weekly. 16 February 10, 2019 Debate Migration

Migrant sons of migrants or citizen sons of migrants?

way of life. One cannot blame them, Haitham however, for most of them were El-Zobaidi uprooted from their villages and towns and were not ready for such drastic changes. Satellite n discussing the issue of channels first then the internet migration from the Arab contributed to creating an world to the West, one illusion of communication and dimension is usually communion with the homeland missing. Migration, whether through a daily media bombard- forced or voluntary, is a ment of channels and news sites. Imovement of people across The media onslaught grew geography to a new location or stronger because of social media country. and smartphones with free One picks up his family and instant messaging apps. moves away from his country In Western countries, you can Growing malaise. Tunisian doctors and residents demonstrate against new government regulations. (Reuters) only to find a strange world easily find an Arab family living waiting for him. This new world among Arab neighbours and might turn out to be easy and which has never spoken to a simple but it can also be difficult Western person, except for an The Arab world’s new wave of migrants and alienating. In all cases, immigration official or welfare immigrants need to adapt to the officer through an interpreter. businessmen to seek new lives training a medical doctor in new reality. They would only know a few abroad. Some with more success Germany amounts to $325,584 on Is this what is happening with dozen words of the language of Oussama than others. average; 3,300 German doctors Arab immigrants to the West? It the host country and would buy Romdhani Even where there is no war are said to have gone to Switzer- was indeed so for some time. only products from so-called raging, a growing number of land during the last five years, During the 1960s and 1970s, Islamic grocery stores. They professionals and skilled workers which means an aggregate cost of generations of migrants chose would not know anything about eyond its politically across the Arab world are seeking more than $1 billion. voluntary migration, generally the government structure in the charged fear of Arab to leave their home countries. What specifically drives for economic rather than politi- country where they live, except and Muslim migra- Surveys indicate their percent- university-trained cadres and cal reasons. It can be said they perhaps for the name of the tion, the West is, age ranges between 20%-40%, mid-career professionals in the were, and still are, the most prime minister. ironically, welcoming which is a sizeable number by Arab world to seek the departure adapted to the reality of living in The only news they hear would of competent cadres any stretch of the imagination. gates of international airports? the West. be tragedies befalling relatives Bwho are, in increasing numbers, This trend is more and more Why aren’t people with relatively They settled, with whatever back home. Some of them might leaving the Middle East and visible in most parts of the Arab promising careers not held back money and memories they had save some of their welfare North Africa. world, except for the Arabian anymore by emotional attach- with them, in societies with cheques for the purpose of Faced with ageing populations Gulf. ment to family and country or by different value systems but sending money to needy people and pressed to meet shortfalls in In North Africa, surveys show, the prospect of social stability? which they considered better for back home or, paradoxically, certain professions, European age is not a determining factor in Some Arab professionals are them. It wasn’t better in absolute saving it to build a home or countries and the United States seeking migration. Gallup said: attracted by better pay and terms, considering that those establish a business when they are adjusting regulations and “The similarities in the migration working conditions abroad. societies were Western ones and return. legislative texts to accommodate desires of younger and older Other incentives offered by we were oriental but they seemed Religion and rituals — and mid-career professionals and adults in MENA suggest there are Europe and the United States as a better option for the immigrant nothing else — are the focus of young talents looking for greener multiple factors beyond age that part of “targeted migration” who had to choose between East their lives in the West. Their pastures away from home. affect the desire to move.” programmes, such as “talent and West and settled on what he children are bewildered since Like other ageing European The higher the level of aca- visas” and “fast-track naturalisa- deemed best. By doing so, he they speak the language of their countries, Germany grapples demic training and professional tion” processes, are a draw. decided for himself and his new country but still think like with a projected manpower experience, the less pertinent is With economic, social and children. their parents. Instead of integrat- deficit. A recent report stated the age factor. political uncertainties at home, ing or at least trying to adapt, that it could face a shortfall of 1.8 Real-life migration trends especially in countries facing they become increasingly million skilled workers by 2020. confirm the relatively new instability and stalled growth, isolated and Western host This new generation of skilled tendency among mid-career the exit option is seen by many In Western countries, societies become increasingly migrants is joining the ranks of professionals in the region to cadres as a safe alternative for you can easily find an suspicious of them. large segments of Arab popula- leave. The trend seems to be them and their children. Migration is a historical fact. tions, including a sizeable bulk of more pronounced in Tunisia, Unstructured social transfor- Arab family living People’s movements since young and ill-educated masses, Algeria and Morocco. mations come with their share of among Arab ancient times are all forms of that yearn to emigrate. “Salaries, working conditions uncertainties. With their percep- neighbours and migration. The Islamic conquests A recent Gallup poll said the are bad and, above all, there is no tion of old value systems and were a form of migration and so migration option is perceived as appreciation of doctors,” hierarchical orders collapsing, which has never were the Christian crusades, the way out for 21% of the Mohamed Yousfi, head of the senior cadres do not see them- spoken to a Western Western colonisation or the population of the region. The Algerian specialised doctors’ selves fitting in anymore or enslavement of blacks in planta- percentage is even higher in the union told Agence France-Presse. receiving the respect they person. tions. ranks of young people. Among all In other countries of North deserve. The immigrant bundles with aspirants to emigration, 42% of Africa and the Middle East, With chronic budget deficits, The 1980s generation of him his memories and habits and respondents said they would like things are not that different. cash-strapped MENA countries immigrants constituted a turning sets off, willingly or unwillingly, to go to Europe and 18% to North In Tunisia, published statistics find it hard to allocate the point from those who accepted to towards the unknown. He could America. There are those, in show that an average of 200-300 needed budgets that public assimilate to those who refused become the master of the new smaller numbers, who would specialised doctors and more hospitals, research labs and to do so. Because of the growing land or a mere labourer there. He resettle in Saudi Arabia and the than 1,000 engineers leave the universities require. Unsatisfac- problems in the East, an increas- could kill the people he finds or United Arab Emirates, if they had country each year. This is tory working conditions add to ing number of people left their be shackled on arrival. But a choice. fuelling concern among Tuni- the grievances of disgruntled countries and families in search migration, traditionally, was Unemployment coupled with sians that the country could professionals. of a secure and decent living. based on settlement and the the ardour or youth used to be suffer a serious deficit in medical Leaving home brings relief It is possible to put one’s finger establishment of new communi- the main driver of emigration, doctors and engineers in certain from the daily grind and offers a on the biggest effort made by the ties with different values that whatever the means — makeshift specialisations, such as com- respite from the deep wariness 1980s generation to adapt. Their may combine the old and the boats, tourism visa overstays, puter engineering. A recent Pew about what the future holds. life outside the home was new. The most important aspect arranged marriages and even survey showed 81% of Tunisians Underneath it all, there is a devoted to work but at home they of migration is psychological religious conversions. said they consider outmigration crisis of confidence and hope. tried to mimic the habits and stability, despite the personal For young would-be migrants, as a “big problem.” When majorities in the Arab memories they had left behind. tragedies embedded in the leaving home was motivated by world believe their countries are This cultural schizophrenia is process. the search for a job, any job. “going in the wrong direction,” apparent in their children, who Acclimatisation is necessary as There were not — and still are not the rest is details. have become, linguistically and long as there is room for choice. — enough opportunities, consid- With their perception All of this contains a risk of behaviourally, a hybrid between Today’s migrant is fortunate in ering the high level of unemploy- of old value systems double jeopardy for women. East and West. Their psychologi- some respects because he goes to ment generated by the popula- Under the effects of the conserv- cal link to the homeland was not communities that live in relative tion bulge and slow economic and hierarchical ative mores of the region’s broken but it is not solid enough security and that helps him to growth at home. orders collapsing, societies, women are less to fully attract them back to it. meet the minimum of his needs Today, the search is more and motivated to emigrate. The Migrants of the 1990s and and requirements, allowing him more for better jobs, not any senior cadres do not Gallup survey shows that 16% of beyond behaved in their host to recover some of his dignity. It jobs. The reason is the high see themselves fitting the women against 25% of the countries with the belief that is a chance for a new beginning, if percentage of graduate unem- in anymore or men share the desire of leaving they were expelled and displaced not for the parents, then for their ployment. The problem is their home countries. from their countries of origin. For children. They are like new plants estimated at no less than 30% in receiving the respect Women seem less prone to them, welfare cheques came in a new land and they need to North Africa. This rate, the they deserve. leaving despite the fact that before work; news from the accept the land if they want the highest in the world, is due, female university graduates homeland was more important land to accept them. international financial institu- outnumber male graduates but than understanding what was Our children, especially those tions say, to the mismatch Considering the time and cost are less likely to find a job at happening in the new homeland; born in the West, have a crucial between educational training of training a senior cadre or home than their male colleagues. living in Arab and Muslim ghettos choice to make: either be immi- and the job market. All too often, skilled worker, there is reason for The women staying behind was preferred to living and grants descending from immi- the diploma is no indicator of concern for a struggling Arab might be the guarantors of coexisting with society with all grants or be citizens descending skill and no guarantor of profes- country such as Tunisia and continued life as we know it at its segments; and adhering to from immigrants. sional abilities sought by many others. home. They could be the next traditions and religious rituals employers. Even richer nations show generation to emigrate. was more important than Dr Haitham El-Zobaidi is an Iraqi War and displacement in unease. Germany, for instance, is understanding what is acceptable writer based in London. He is the strife-stricken countries, espe- unhappy these days about Oussama Romdhani is and what is not in a Western Executive Editor of Al Arab cially Syria and Iraq, force Switzerland attracting hundreds Editor-in-Chief of society with a different Publishing Group. doctors, teachers, engineers and of its doctors. The cost of The Arab Weekly. February 10, 2019 17 News & Analysis East West Salvadoran of Palestinian descent elected president

Noah Habeeb “We want to debate but with a guar- antee of impartiality,” explaining that he had initially accepted the New York invitation to debate before with- drawing to protest rules that he n a shock to the two-party sys- believed were negotiated with the tem that has ruled El Salvador ARENA candidate and without his since the end of the civil war in campaign’s input. I 1992, Salvadorans elected Nay- Bukele often engaged with voters ib Bukele president on February 3. through social media. At his first Bukele, son of a Palestinian fa- appearance after winning the elec- ther, was once part of the left-wing tion, Bukele strolled to the podium Farabundo Martí National Libera- and, before saying a word, took a tion Front (FMLN) party but was selfie of himself and the crowd to expelled for criticising it. He ran for raucous applause. president through the centre-right Bukele’s victory is a significant party Grand Alliance for National fissure for a political culture in El Unity after his New Ideas Move- Salvador steeped in the legacy of ment was ruled ineligible for the civil war. Both major Salvadoran election. parties map onto the two sides that Bukele won 53% of the vote in an fought in the war between the US- election free of violence or signifi- backed right-wing government and cant disruption. He joins a long lin- leftist guerrillas. eage of Arab Americans who have As president, Bukele will face is- served in high-ranking government sues of security in the face of ram- positions in Latin America. pant gang violence, corruption, In a region where people of Arab which he has promised to tackle, descent quietly dominate public and the economy in a country life, Bukele’s victory over the FMLN where nearly one-third of the pop- and the right-wing Nationalist Re- ulation lives in poverty. publican Alliance (ARENA) is far Bukele’s victory shows a tenden- more remarkable than his ancestry. cy towards populism in the region Youngest president. Nayib Bukele (C), of the Grand Alliance for National Unity, his wife Gabriela and At 37, Bukele is the youngest and away from existing parties. Vice-president candidate Felix Ulloa wave to supporters in San Salvador, February 3. (AP) person elected to the Salvadoran Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidency in the modern era and known as AMLO, a left-wing leader the youngest elected leader in Latin with a populist style, won the presi- ian immigrants. Former Columbian Antonio Saca, who was sentenced Bukele has not spoken frequently America today. Juan Guaido, who dency in Mexico last year through President Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala to 10 years in prison on corruption of his Palestinian ancestors nor has has declared himself president of his newly formed National Regen- was the son of a Lebanese immi- charges in September 2018, is also he commented on the plight of the Venezuela with the recognition eration Movement. In Brazil, right- grant father and consecutive presi- a descendant of Palestinian immi- Palestinian people. of the United States and many EU wing populist outsider Jair Bolson- dents of Ecuador — Abdala Bucaram grants. When he ran for president El Salvador has a strong relation- countries, is 35. aro won the presidency last year. (1996-97) and Jamil Mahuad (1998- in 2004, his opponent, Schafik ship with Israel, which supported On the campaign trail, Bukele, When Bukele is inaugurated 2000) — were of Arab descent. Handal, was also a Palestinian Sal- the government during the civil former mayor of San Salvador, June 1, he will join a sizeable list of vadoran. war. Until 2006, El Salvador main- wore his signature leather jacket, Arab Americans who have led Latin The Palestinian community in tained its embassy in Jerusalem. blue jeans and occasionally a white American countries. Nayib Bukele, 37, won 53% El Salvador totals 60,000-100,000, However, after the United States baseball cap but he didn’t campaign Former Brazilian President of the vote in an election a small minority community in a moved its embassy to Jerusalem in that much. Michel Temer, who finished his free of violence or country of more than 6 million. 2018, El Salvador opted to keep its Bukele choose not to participate term last December, is the son of significant disruption. Most are from families that emi- embassy in Tel Aviv. in a televised debate after polls Lebanese immigrants. Former Ar- grated from Jerusalem and Bethle- showed him in the lead, leaving an gentine President Carlos Menem, Bukele is not the first president hem during Ottoman times at the Noah Habeeb is a writer in empty seat on the debate stage. who served through nearly the en- of El Salvador of Arab descent. beginning of the 20th century, as New York who has researched In a Facebook post, Bukele wrote: tirety of the 1990s, is the son of Syr- Former Salvadoran President Elias did Bukele’s grandparents. Arab-American communities. Viewpoint Why new US Muslim congresswomen hit a raw nerve with some

erhaps it was to be ex- tilt of much of the Democratic pected that the two Mus- leadership could pose problems for lim Democrats elected Omar and Tlaib. Both women have Tom Regan in the 2018 US midterms signalled strong support for the would be subject to at- Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions tacks by the American movement, which has been de- Pfar right. After all, the likes of Fox nounced by both Pelosi and Senate News, Rush Limbaugh and Pam Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Geller see all Muslims as terrorists- Such condemnation has often been in-waiting. So, too, Rashida Tlaib delivered in front of large pro- from Michigan and Ilhan Omar Israeli groups such as the American from Minnesota, both new mem- Israel Public Affairs Committee. bers of the US Congress. It will be interesting to see how Anti-Muslim, right-wing fervour far the Democratic leadership will grew in intensity after US House let the two new congresswomen of Representatives Speaker Nancy express their views on this issue, Pelosi announced a change in especially if it begins to threaten House rules to permit members of possible fundraising sources. Congress to wear religious head- So far, their positions have gear in the chamber. This so that not seemed to hurt them in the Omar could wear her customary In the crosshairs. Ilhan Omar (L) and Rashida Tlaib in Washington. (AP) Democratic Party. Omar will sit on hijab. This led to a conservative an important committee and Pelosi commentator complaining the appointed Tlaib to the influential Democrats were trying to turn lation about Graham’s sexuality. Tlaib generated more right-wing Oversight and Government Reform the US Congress into an “Islamic Omar denied the allegation and heat when she was photographed Committee. The main investiga- Republic.” hit back at critics who accused her at an event with a pro-Hamas Pal- tive committee in the House of Omar has come under scru- of homophobia. She noted their estine activist. Again, Tlaib didn’t Representatives, it has the power to tiny from the right for a Twitter sudden silence at the US Supreme apologise, telling her critics via investigate Trump. posting from 2012 during a clash Court’s decision that day to uphold Twitter that, yes, she is a Palestin- It’s also important to note that between Hamas and Israel. “Israel the Trump administration’s ban ian and a Muslim and to “get over Tlaib and Omar are among a has hypnotised the world” while on transgender individuals in the i t .” new group of progressive female doing “evil,” she tweeted. After her military. A Republican representative from Democrats elected in 2018. The election, far-right columnists and Omar has had her victories, Texas attacked Tlaib’s plans to lead group includes New York’s Alexan- Republican politicians called her however. She signed a deal worth a congressional group to the Pales- dria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest remarks anti-Semitic. Omar has an estimated $250,000 to write her tinian territories. Tlaib has said she woman ever elected to Congress apologised, saying she was refer- life story and Pelosi has assigned wanted her fellow representatives and a member along with Tlaib of ring to the Israeli government and her to the House Foreign Affairs to have a realistic view of Palestin- the Government Oversight Com- military, not to the Jewish faith. Committee. ians’ lives under Israeli occupation, mittee. She also got into hot water when Tlaib has also attracted negative rather than one manipulated by the It may help Omar and Tlaib that she accused US Senator Lindsey media coverage, most of it from the Israeli government. members of the group support each Graham, a Republican from South right-wing media. On the first day The Texas congressman, how- other publicly. When Tlaib was at- Carolina, of being “compromised” of the new Congress, Tlaib used an ever, said her trip was a waste of tacked for using the expletive about because of his flip-flops on US expletive when discussing Trump’s taxpayer money and “detrimental Trump, one of the first to defend President Donald Trump. Dur- possible impeachment. She refused to the United States’ relationship her was Ocasio-Cortez. It’s been a ing the 2016 Republican primary, to apologise for the profanity. Soon with Israel.” Tlaib once again stood It’s been a controversial but Graham strongly opposed Trump’s after, a Florida Republican politi- her ground, noting that the Texas consequential start in Congress for controversial but candidacy but of late has been one cian made headlines when she representative had a history of sup- Tlaib and Omar. consequential start of Trump’s most outspoken sup- posted an Islamophobic message porting anti-Muslim initiatives and porters. Right-wing commentators about Tlaib and said that one day that his statement was filled with Tom Regan is a regular contributor in Congress for attacked Omar, alleging that her Tlaib would try to blow up the “lies and falsehoods.” to The Arab Weekly and a columnist Tlaib and Omar. remarks hinted at long-held specu- Capitol. Even so, the largely pro-Israel at factsandopinion.com. 18 February 10, 2019 Economy

Saudi Tadawul begins collaboration Briefs Turkish inflation with foreign index providers resumed rise in January

Jareer Elass New dynamic. Turkish inflation increased 1.06% An investor in January from December after walks past two months of slowdown, reaching Washington a screen an annual rate of 20.35%, driven by displaying higher food prices, official statistics audi Arabia’s equity and stock infor- indicated. debt markets are expecting mation at the The highest monthly increase to score large foreign in- Saudi Stock was recorded in food at 6.43%, the S vestment gains because of Exchange Turkish statistics office said. a boost from three major interna- (Tadawul) In recent months, Turkey has tional index providers. in Riyadh, been facing a sharp surge in its in- Steps in recent years by the Sau- June 29, 2016. flation rate, which hit a 15-year high di government to meet stringent (Reuters) in October at more than 25%. criteria required by other indexes The Turkish lira lost nearly 30% are likely to pay off for Riyadh of its value against the US dollar in when foreign portfolio invest- 2018. ments begin tapping into Saudi markets. (Agence France-Presse) A collaboration between the Saudi stock exchange and top index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) was recently introduced, providing Lebanon commits global investors with exposure to Saudi Arabia’s largest publicly to reforming state traded companies. Beginning in March, the Saudi stock market will be licensed for other index-linked change’s market capitalisation to stages, beginning in March and finances join FTSE Russell Emerging Mar- financial instruments, including more than $1 trillion by 2022. concluding in December. ket Index (EM), requiring equity mutual funds and derivatives. Saudi Arabia this year is to en- “Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in Lebanon’s new government ap- funds that benchmark themselves Tadawul CEO Khalid al-Hassan ter into three global benchmark the FTSE benchmark is the larg- proved a policy statement commit- against that index to buy Saudi said the index is “a significant step indexes — the FTSE Russell EM est event in the emerging mar- ting to reforms seen as critical to stocks. forward in facilitating the creation index, the MSCI EM index and the kets since 2001 and an important putting the heavily indebted state’s A flood of foreign investment of a derivatives market for Saudi J.P. Morgan EM government bond development for global inves- finances on a sustainable path. into the kingdom is exactly what Arabia and advancement of the Vi- indexes. These inclusions should tors,” said FTSE Russell CEO Mark A draft of the statement said the Riyadh wants as it pursues rein- sion 2030 Financial Sector Devel- have a dramatic and immediate Makepeace. government would initiate fast venting its oil-based economy, opment Programme.” effect on the Saudi financial land- MSCI, which changed its classifi- and effective reforms that could be particularly after seeing direct for- The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index is to scape, said Mohammed el-Kuwaiz, cation for Saudi Arabia to EM sta- “difficult and painful” to avoid a eign investment in the kingdom be rebalanced four times a year. A chairman of the Saudi securities tus last June, is expected to phase worsening of economic, financial drop by as much as 80% from 2016 total of 25-35 securities would be regulations agency, Capital Mar- the kingdom into its EM index in and social conditions. to 2017. included, changing according to kets Authority. two stages beginning this June. Lebanon has one of the highest One of the biggest beneficiar- market conditions. The MSCI EM index consists of 24 public debt-to-GDP ratios in the ies is likely to be the Saudi stock The index is believed to include countries reflecting 10% of world world, at around 150%. exchange — Tadawul — which such heavyweights as Saudi Basic A flood of foreign market capitalisation. The king- International donor institutions the Saudi government hopes to Industries Corporation (SABIC), investment into the dom’s entry into the MSCI emerg- and foreign governments want to strengthen and expand to play a National Commercial Bank, Sau- kingdom is exactly what ing market index could produce as see reforms before releasing some pivotal role in Riyadh’s privatisa- di mining firm Maaden and the Riyadh wants as it pursues much as $10 billion of “passive” $11 billion in financial assistance tion efforts, including the much- kingdom’s largest dairy company, reinventing its oil-based inflows into Saudi equities. pledged last year. anticipated initial public offering Almarai. The index will undoubt- economy. In October, J.P. Morgan an- of Saudi state oil firm Saudi Ara- edly add Saudi Aramco to the mix nounced that Saudi Arabia would (Reuters) mco. when the energy conglomerate’s “We believe it is going to change enter its EM government bond in- On January 30, MSCI and Tad- limited share sale occurs. the market quite markedly. We dexes in 2019, with Riyadh being awul established the tradable Regional investment bank EFG are actually quite excited to see phased in between January 31 and MSCI Tadawul 30 Index, which Hermes estimated that the king- how this will change the market September 30. The Saudi Finance includes the 30 largest securities dom’s inclusion into leading EM dynamic, increase the depth, in- Ministry issued a statement at that listed on the kingdom’s domestic indexes would propel total foreign crease institutionalisation,” Ku- time stating that its debt manage- IMF approves bourse. The index provides in- inflows of $30 billion-$45 billion waiz said at the World Economic ment office anticipated $11 billion vestors with a benchmark of the into Saudi Arabia, with approxi- Forum. of inflows into the country’s debt $2 billion loan kingdom’s largest liquid stocks mately $14 billion associated with He indicated that foreign inves- market as a result of Riyadh’s in- and serves as the basis for the “passive” index-linked funds. tors would ultimately be able to clusion in the J.P. Morgan indexes. instalment development of an index futures That can only be positive news for own more than 50% of Saudi com- contract listed on the Saudi stock the country’s domestic exchange. panies. Jareer Elass reports from for Egypt exchange, MSCI and Tadawul said. Hassan said one of the govern- The kingdom is to enter the Washington on energy issues The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index can ment’s goals is to double the ex- FTSE Russell EM index in several for The Arab Weekly. The International Monetary Fund board approved a $2 billion loan payment to Egypt, the latest in the country’s 3-year aid programme. Oman preparing for major economic reform The instalment brings the total paid to Cairo to about $10 billion since the loan deal was signed in Fatma Badri toured all Omani governorates and chairman of the main committee faced by the Omani judiciary, in- November 2016. interacted with all sectors of society, for Oman Vision 2040, said: “The cluding the process of enacting laws. such as institutions of higher educa- committee was keen on having all Discussion sessions during the (Agence France-Presse) Muscat tion, civil society, private sector in- sectors of the society and all the conference included agendas focus- stitutions and others,” Salemi said. governorates represented and con- ing on the role of the private sector he Oman Vision 2040 Na- Salemi headed the Economic and tributing in the preparation of the in Omani Vision 2040 and managing tional Conference, which Development Committee for Vision vision project as a key partner in the change and how to positively influ- concluded its work January 2040, through which Muscat hopes formulation of priorities and aspira- ence human behaviour. T 28, was an important plat- to reach an annual growth rate of tions.” A third session considered eco- World Bank urges form for finalising implementation about 6% of GDP by 2040, be among nomic cooperation and integration of an ambitious strategy. the top 20 countries in the world and its importance for realising the Omani officials and economists, economically and within the top ten Muscat is following the vision while another reviewed in- new Lebanese along with Arab and foreign experts, countries commercially. same path as its Gulf ternational best practices in design- government to discussed ideas that could develop The conference is among steps in neighbours in considering ing national visions and priorities. over the next two decades by defin- preparing the vision document. It the effects to its economy Talal al-Rahbi, deputy secretary- reform power ing Oman’s objectives and designing is to enhance community participa- in the last four years by general of the Supreme Council of implementation mechanisms. tion in the plan, discuss its features declining oil prices and Planning, said the main objectives sector Oman Vision 2040 would affect all and review international best prac- the need to diversify. of Vision 2040 were to double the aspects of life in Oman by diversify- tices to develop long-term strate- annual income of the Omani citi- Lebanon’s new government ing revenue and moving from de- gies. zens and to increase the contribu- should prioritise electricity reform pendence on energy exports while Related activities at the confer- He added that committees and tion of non-oil sectors to the GDP to after having spent months wran- strengthening the private sector in ence included an exhibition of de- task forces had begun to define as- 93%. gling over the cabinet make-up, the economy. velopment projects being imple- pects of the plan to create a frame- He pointed out that the plan aims World Bank and UN officials said, Muscat is following the same path mented in line with Omani Vision work to organise the work. Those to achieve a ratio of 10% of foreign seeking to address daily blackouts as its Gulf neighbours, especially 2040 to promote investment and bodies assessed the situation and investments to GDP and increase and massive costs to the state. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab improve conditions for private sec- began “preparing future scenarios the share of the local workforce in The government was formed Emirates, in considering the effects tor activities. based on a clear understanding of jobs created in the private sector to late January 31 and Prime Minister to its economy in the last four years A forum involved 350 young peo- the interdependence of social, eco- 42%. Saad Hariri said Lebanon needed by declining oil prices and the need ple from various Omani governo- nomic and cultural variables in the Rahbi said 22,000 people, includ- “bold reforms.” It has suffered to diversify. rates and 50 other Arab youths liv- sultanate with the engines of change ing from civil society institutions, years of low growth and has one Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem al- ing in Oman in proposing ideas and globally,” he said. governorates, municipal councils of the world’s biggest public debts Salemi, CEO of the Capital Market initiatives that can contribute to The first session addressed chal- and the government sector, partici- compared to the size of its econ- Authority, said the conference was achieving the vision’s goals. lenges, such as increased migration, pated directly in preparation of the omy. convened to review the vision docu- At the opening of the conference, facing the government and working vision. ment developed after three years Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Omani towards finding solutions to them. (Reuters) of study. “The draft document has minister of heritage and culture and The session reviewed challenges Fatma Badri is a Tunisian journalist. February 10, 2019 19 Economy Egypt hopes Suez Canal tunnels will jump-start Sinai’s development

Amr Emam Emara said. Sinai suffered neglect by the cen- tral government since its liberation Cairo from Israeli occupation in 1973. The 60,000-sq.km territory, which gypt is nearing completion shares borders with Israel and the of four tunnels expected Gaza Strip, has been fertile ground to revolutionise economic for extremism, including a branch E development in the Sinai of the Islamic State. by easing the movement of people Cairo has prioritised military and merchandise to the peninsula engagement in the peninsula with and increase trade with Arab Gulf an aggressive campaign to cut off states. militants operating there. The next Egypt has invested more than stage is to increase infrastructure $1 billion in building tunnels un- in the region and provide greater der the Suez Canal to connect the services for residents. Egyptian mainland with Sinai for In February 2018, Egypt un- Big plans. Labourers set up and fix a steel mesh at the site of a new twin-tube road tunnel under the first time. veiled a $15 billion development construction along the Suez Canal in Ismailia. (AFP) Construction began in June blueprint for Sinai, to which Saudi 2016, almost a year after Egypt dug Arabia, the United Arab Emirates a parallel channel to the Suez Ca- and Kuwait are contributing. China, India and Russia are among on the tunnels day and night. ful location of the Suez Canal area nal to allow two-way traffic in the Before construction of the tun- countries that have reserved space Egyptian economic planners and Sinai.” strategic maritime passageway. nels, vehicles headed to the Sinai in the region and planned major said they could not attract invest- Egypt is also yet to tap Sinai’s had to wait for hours on the west industrial zones there. ment to the Suez Canal region un- natural wealth. Economists said bank of the Suez Canal to be ferried Egypt wants to ease the move- less they developed the needed in- resources include phosphates, Egypt wants to ease the across the canal. ment of products manufactured frastructure to ease the movement manganese, iron ore, marble and movement of products “Agricultural crops travelling to in the Suez Canal region into Sinai of goods to markets in Africa, the uranium. The peninsula has thou- manufactured in the Suez Sinai used to rot before they could and then onward to Jordan, Syria Arab Peninsula or the Levant. sands of hectares of land that could Canal region into Sinai and reach their destination inside the and Iraq or to Saudi Arabia and be used for agriculture. then onward to Jordan, Syria peninsula,” Emara said. other Gulf countries. Apart from attracting invest- and Iraq or to Saudi Arabia The tunnels will shorten travel The four tunnels — two for vehi- Egypt has invested more ments and developing Sinai, Egypt cles and two for rail traffic — were and other Gulf countries. between the west bank of the Suez than $1 billion in building aspires to relocate millions of peo- Canal and the east bank to less to open last October but the inau- tunnels under the Suez ple from the densely populated than 20 minutes. guration was delayed by Egypt’s Canal to connect the Nile Delta and Valley to the Sinai The plan for connecting Si- Egypt bought four tunnel boring Armed Forces Engineering Author- Egyptian mainland with Peninsula. machines from Germany to con- ity, which supervises the tunnel nai with the Egyptian mainland Sinai for the first time. The relocation of citizens would through tunnels is part of Egypt’s struct the tunnels. The two tunnels construction, because the project speed up development in Sinai, strategy to turn the Suez Canal to be used by road vehicles, which slipped behind schedule. The tun- observers said. region and Sinai into the coun- start in the northern part of the nels will likely be inaugurated by “The cost of transport is a deter- “It will also put an end to the try’s next investment hub, said Suez Canal city of Ismailia, are ap- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah mining factor for the attraction of presence of the terrorists,” said Hesham Emara, a member of the proximately 4km long, mostly be- al-Sisi later this month or early in investments,” said Rashad Abdo, retired army General Mohamed al- Economic Affairs Committee in low the Suez Canal. They emerge March, local media reported. an economics professor at Helwan Shahawi. “Development is the best Egypt’s parliament. south of Port Said. The tunnels are being construct- University. “The presence of these counterterrorism strategy, in fact.” “Easing the movement of goods Intense work is under way in the ed by four major Egyptian con- tunnels will highlight the huge to and from Sinai is important for Suez Canal region to create a ma- struction companies. Hundreds of investment opportunity in the re- Amr Emam is a Cairo-based the execution of the strategy,” jor logistical and industrial hub. workers and engineers are working gion, especially with the wonder- contributor to The Arab Weekly. Iraqi oil and gas projects intersect with Iranian interests

Salam Sarhan Untapped mated annual revenue of about potential. $5 billion. An employee Also, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed London turns a an agreement with the China Na- valve at the tional Offshore Oil Corporation nalysts say US pressure Hammar to conduct a seismic survey of ar- on Iran accelerated efforts Mushrif eas adjacent to Iran and a maritime by the Iraqi government station inside area in the Arabian Gulf. A to end its dependence on the Zubair A backlash came from Iraqi po- Iranian gas supplies by developing oil and gas litical parties close to Iran refusing Akkas gas field in Anbar province. field, north of to abide by US sanctions. In the op- The move began with the with- Basra. (AFP) posite camp, Iraqi voices have de- drawal of the pro-Iranian forces of nounced Tehran’s influence over al-Hashed al-Shaabi from Akkas, Baghdad and demand compliance Iraq’s largest gas field, and hand- with US sanctions to safeguard the ing over its protection to the Iraqi country’s interests. Army and al-Hashed al-Ash’ari, Official data indicate that, in the which includes members of tribes last year, Iraq imported 154 million living near the field. cubic feet of natural gas from Iran US forces in Iraq also had a role in in addition to 1,300 megawatts of the move. In late January, the gas electricity. field was surveyed by a US force Data released by BP showed that belonging to the international alli- Iraq is buying Iranian gas at $11.23 ance to check on the deployment of per thousand cubic feet, compared the Iraqi Army and the tribal forces. to the $5.42 Germany pays for gas Confirmed natural gas reserves supplied from Russia and the $6.49 in the Akkas field, total 5.6 trillion paid by Kuwait to buy liquefied cubic metres. tersects Iranian interests, the Iraqi overlap with Iranian fields. over to foreign companies. natural gas from Iran. The Akkas field, in Qaim district Oil Ministry announced that the The move is reflective of a trend Last year, Royal Dutch Shell left Analysts point out that the Iraqi near the Syrian border, was discov- Basra Oil Company entered into an in the past two years of relying Majnoon, putting operations in the government is in a tight spot be- ered in 1992, along the Euphrates agreement with the state-owned on Iraqi cadres and companies to hands of the state-run Basra Oil cause it is aware that it cannot River. Confirmed natural gas re- Iraqi Drilling Company to dig 40 oil manage the country’s oil fields. Company. In June 2017, the Iraqi violate US sanctions, especially serves in the field total 5.6 trillion wells in the Majnoon oil field near government signed six contracts regarding dollar payments to Iran. cubic metres. Six wells had been Basha. The field’s reserves overlap with the Emirati Hilal Company The Iraqi parliament remains split drilled in the field before the Islam- with Iranian fields. Official data indicate that, and Chinese firms for the develop- into one bloc loyal to Tehran and ic State took control of it in 2014. The agreement will contribute to in the last year, Iraq ment of five fields bordering Iran. one opposed to its influence in Iraq. Iraqi forces retook the field in late increasing Majnoon’s production imported 154 million Analysts said Baghdad has only A report by the Washington In- 2017. from 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) cubic feet of natural gas recently begun catching up with stitute for Near East Policy stated In 2011, South Korea’s Kogas to 450,000 bpd by 2021, the minis- from Iran in addition to Iran’s extensive exploitation of that Iraq wastes about $2.5 billion signed a contract with the Iraqi try said in a statement. 1,300 megawatts of joint fields after a long period of in- a year burn up to 1.55 billion cubic government to develop the field The new wells add to the 40 Maj- electricity. tentional neglect imposed by Iraqi feet per day of gas from oil extrac- and was planning to produce 400 noon wells that Iraq and US compa- parties loyal to Iran. tion operations. This is equivalent million standard cubic feet a day ny Schlumberger agreed to develop Data from the Iranian Oil Minis- to ten times the volume of gas im- but production plans fell through in December. Thus, Iraq has en- Following the 2003 US-led inva- try indicate that production from ported from Iran. because of the war in the region. gaged in a broad move to exploit oil sion of Iraq, the management of the fields bordering Iraq amounts In another development that in- and gas resources whose reserves Iraqi oil and gas wealth was handed to about 300,000 bpd, with esti- Salam Sarhan is an Iraqi writer. 20 February 10, 2019 Society The paintbrush is replacing the shisha in Egypt’s cafes

Mohammed Abdul Hadi ing to serve shisha must provide appropriate conditions that pro- tect non-smoking customers from Cairo being exposed to second-hand smoke, such as air filtration de- ultural cafes are gaining vices and plastic or glass curtains popularity in Egypt fol- isolating smoking areas. Some de- lowing the government’s mand they be banned for the sake C campaign to fight smok- of public health. ing, which has led to cigarette Il Penello Ceramic, a cafe, res- prices increasing approximately taurant and painting studio rolled 680% in the past few years. Local into one place, is the upscale dis- authorities have cracked down on trict of Heliopolis in northern Cai- licensed and unlicensed cafes that ro. Customers choose from a se- offer shisha because they are con- lection of ceramic products, such sidered nuisances in neighbouring as tea and coffee mugs and dishes residential areas and violate envi- stacked on wooden shelves and ronmental and health regulations. draw and colour on them as they The Egyptian parliament ap- eat and drink. proved a bill banning the serving Rami Mahmoud, Il Penello Ce- of shisha in locales that serve food ramic’s manager, said the cafe’s or beverages to the general public slogan is “the brush fights the without obtaining a licence and hookah.” There is no room for paying a 10,000 Egyptian pounds smoking inside. The same hand ($555) fee. A bill requiring such that will hold the water pipe can businesses to close before mid- carry the brush and choose a ce- night is under consideration. ramic piece, ranging in price 65- 220 pounds ($2.30-$12.25), colour and varnish it and put it in an kiln Art cafes tend not to for it to become a piece of art that overlook some basic can be retrieved in four days. Smoke-free. A mother looks at her daughter’s work at the Il Penello Ceramic cafe in Heliopolis in elements of Cairo cafe Art cafes’ products and service northern Cairo. (Il Penello Ceramic) society, such as having cost no less than 35 pounds ($2) giant screens on which in addition to the ceramic pieces. important sports events By comparison, customers at tra- ple, children and their families. Giza, are trying to promote the Traditional cafe owners con- ditional cafes can stay as long as Sayyed said he wanted to pro- sciences. In December, Cilantro tend that those waging war on are shown. they wish for the price of a cup vide an atmosphere of freedom hosted a lecture on dinosaurs to shisha and its users are rich elites of tea, which will not exceed 3 and comfort for customers, like mark the discovery of the Egyp- who smoke both “hookahs and e- Artistic cafes support the gov- pounds (16 US cents). the feeling of being at home, and tian dinosaur Mansourasaurus. cigarettes” and do not care about ernment’s measures as incentive Mahmoud said his art cafe at- where patrons can paint, sing The cafe used the slogan “Drink the needs of the large public. Mo- to promote a reading and artistic tracts all age groups, from 5-year- or play thinking games, such as a beverage and get a fact” and hamed Ali, the owner of a tradi- culture. Traditional cafe owners olds to sexagenarians. The raw chess. Would-be artists find free dozens of natural sciences and tional cafe in the Western prov- complain their customers cannot materials used are imported and canvases and paint tubes and geology aficionados flocked to the ince in Egypt’s Delta, said the new afford the price hikes resulting are in line with Health Ministry’s singers can practice. lecture. regulations do not take into con- from the new requirements. This regulations. The Il Penello Ceram- Art cafes tend not to overlook sideration the difficult situation threatens their business and their ic Cafe offers an environment in some basic elements of Cairo Artistic cafes support the of small coffee shops in poorer establishments’ role for patrons to which high school and university cafe society, such as having gi- areas, where prices do not exceed find respite from cramped apart- students can read and study. It ant screens on which important government’s measures as 3 pounds. ments and life’s pressures. has no television screens and the sports events are shown, because incentive to promote a Traditional cafe owners also Authorities have been cracking lighting is controlled to create a this activity has evolved from be- reading and artistic warn that the trend is headed to- down on traditional cafes for a serene atmosphere. ing male-dominated to one that culture. wards the banning of shisha smok- variety of reasons. Many operate In the Maadi neighbourhood of is shared by the whole family. ing, even though it has become a without a licence or in violation southern Cairo, architect Fathi al- The cafes, however, do not serve Social media have contributed popular touristic draw. They argue of health regulations. Official data Sayyed recently opened Art Cafe. shisha or allow smoking and are to fostering positive publicity for that their cafes are not only places indicate that patrons of tradition- With its narrower space, it is a far selective of the kind of music the new types of cafes, helping serving drinks but also places for al cafes spend about $186 million cry from the traditional smoke- played. them avoid the fate of initiatives freedom and expression. a month in them. Smoking causes filled noisy cafe, with the constant Sayyed said his cafe dedicated such as that of the Kabinchi Cafe Downtown Cairo’s cafes serve as 170,000 deaths annually in Egypt clatter of dominos being slapped a wall to hanging customers’ art- in Heliopolis. It provided books an important base for intellectuals and the government spends about on wooden tables, backgammon work and the cafe has a yearly for customers to read but it failed eager to gather around a modest $167 million on treating smoking- players arguing and waiters con- exhibition of the varied works as a business model apparently drink and discuss all aspects of related diseases. stantly called to add charcoal to produced by its patrons, from por- because the owners relied on tra- life, from politics to economics. Non-traditional cafe owners shisha pipes. Art Cafe provides traits to expressionist and land- ditional methods of advertising, support the war on shisha smok- cultural and artistic content that scape paintings. with only a few posters around Mohammed Abdul Hadi is an ing. They argue that outlets wish- attracts a segment of young peo- Some cafes, such as Cilantro in the streets of the area. Egyptian writer.

A space for artists. Paintings on New experience. Arwa Turra stands next to her painting during a display at Art Cafe in Maadi.(Art Cafe) workshop with Egyptian artist Mina Isaac at Art Cafe in Maadi. (Art Cafe) February 10, 2019 21 Society Arab Mosques Restoration of al-Nuri mosque sends a message

Ahmed Gamal Safeguarding world heritage. Cairo A view of the destroyed he United Arab Emirates is Great Mosque helping rebuild the Great of al-Nuri Mosque of al-Nuri and its in Mosul. (AFP) T landmark minaret known as al-Hadba — “the hunchback” — in Mosul, Iraq. The famous monument was destroyed during battles that pushed the Islamic State (ISIS) out of the city. The initiative comes as part of the Emirates’ efforts to help Iraq restore its most important archaeological monuments, which were defaced by terrorism. The United Arab Emirates struck an agreement with Iraq and UNESCO — in cooperation with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property — to reconstruct the al-Nuri mosque and its “hunch- back” minaret. The project, the larg- est of its kind in Iraq, will cost $50.4 million. The project extends to Iraqis — and the world — the message that Mosul and Iraq can reappropriate Islam’s moderate values instead of the fanaticism and intellectual, re- why the UAE seeks to rebuild this complish the work required for the reminder of ISIS’s crimes. Al-Nuri mosque was destroyed in ligious and cultural extremism pro- historical and cultural monument,” bases of the mosque to be restored, He pointed out that the project June 2017. The Iraqi Army accused moted by extremist organisations. Kaabi said. for the minaret to sound with the would be implemented with the ISIS of setting off bombs in the com- The project includes recreating She stressed that the project car- voice of truth again and for this his- help of about 1,000 workers and plex, which, in 2014, was the site of the mosque’s distinctive minaret ries a message of coexistence in a torical monument to play its leading with coordination at the highest lev- a public appearance by ISIS leader and annex buildings that were de- multifaith and multicultural society role as a witness to human civilisa- el with the UAE and UNESCO. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during ISIS’s stroyed when ISIS controlled the and coincides with the UAE declara- tion and an eternal global heritage declaration of the establishment of city. Infrastructure around the tion of 2019 as a Year of Tolerance. that time cannot erase,” she said. its caliphate. mosque and its historic gardens will Rebuilding the mosque, Kaabi Abubaker Kanaan, director of Rebuilding the mosque Al-Nuri mosque, on the eastern also be rehabilitated. said, highlighted the UAE’s role in the Sunni Waqf in Iraq’s Nineveh highlights the UAE’s role side of Mosul and famous for its A memorial building containing safeguarding world heritage and in province said the Great Mosque in safeguarding world east-facing convex minaret, is one artefacts of mosques and cultural, preserving cultural assets through of al-Nuri is — having been built heritage and in preserving of Iraq’s most historic mosques. It social and educational spaces for the adoption of sustainable initia- nearly 850 years ago — one of the cultural assets through was originally built by Nur ad-Din the benefit of the Mosul community tives guaranteeing the rights of fu- oldest mosques in the country and the adoption of in the 12th century. Its most recent will be erected. ture generations to archaeological holds a special place in the hearts of sustainable initiatives. restoration, prior to the destruction Noura bint Mohammed al-Kaabi, and heritage sites. all Iraqis. by ISIS, was in 1944. Emirati minister of Culture and “The UAE has a history of safe- Kanaan added that the mosque Mosul needs at least $2 billion in Knowledge Development, said the guarding world heritage and this was distinguished by its 55-metre Musab Jassem, director of the reconstruction aid, the Iraqi govern- Emirates’ initiative is a strong mes- strategic step embodies the partner- tall humpback minaret that was Nineveh Antiquities Department, ment estimates. In addition to help- sage meant to promote tolerance ship between the UAE and UNESCO decorated with unique ornamenta- said the UAE’s offer to finance the ing with the work on the mosque, and eradicate terrorism. in reconstructing this very impor- tion reflecting Iraqi history. reconstruction of al-Nuri mosque UNESCO is spearheading efforts to “The scenes of al-Nuri mosque, tant historic landmark,” Kaabi said, Hossam al-Din al-Abbar, a mem- was a pioneering and important step restore the Mosul market, the cen- after being damaged by Islamic State adding that al-Nuri mosque is a ber of the Nineveh Provincial Coun- for the people of Mosul. tral library of Medina University, terrorism, have caused pain for all, landmark for all humanity. cil, said reconstruction of the mina- He said the “hunchback” mina- two churches and a Yazidi temple. especially the people of Mosul, who “We look forward to cooperating ret would match the same ancient ret, in particular, has been consid- lost a landmark that represents the with our Iraqi brothers, UNESCO and archaeological style but keep what ered a symbol for Mosul throughout Ahmed Gamal is an Egyptian spirit of their ancient city. That is all our partners in this project to ac- remains of the base untouched as a history. writer. Viewpoint Factoring in security, economics in building mosques in Egypt gyptian President Building the mosque at the centre suffered from having mosques be- as photo-shooting locations. The Mohammed Abdul Hadi Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has of the new administrative city is ing controlled by political Islamic distinctive and ornate architectural officially inaugurated al- an Islamic concept. The mosque is groups. Mosques have served as style of the halls has made them Fattah al-Aleem Mosque in the middle of a huge area from the rallying point for pro-Muslim very popular. and the Coptic Orthodox which radiate the main avenues of Brotherhood demonstrators, who As having expensive wedding Cathedral of Nativity the city, which is expected to ac- often clashed violently with the parties in fancy halls became wide- Ein the new administrative capital, commodate 6.5 million inhabitants. security forces and with ordinary spread, building attractive banquet 45km east of Cairo. The ceremonies A security source said the pur- citizens. halls next to mosques became a took place amid heightened secu- pose of the security institutions, In Egypt, it is difficult to separate worthwhile investment. The new rity measures, following the death the army and police is to have these politics and building mosques. security mosques, therefore, attract of a police officer who was trying mosques and events halls attached During the socialist era under all social classes, especially celebri- to defuse an explosive device near to them serve as communication former President Gamal Abdel ties and businessmen, who prefer a church in Cairo. Sisi was accom- bridges with different social classes Nasser, Egyptian Islamists accused them for their enormous capacity, panied by Palestinian Authority and a platform for disseminating the state of being anti-Muslim. their discreteness and their secured President Mahmoud Abbas, who Islamic teachings of moderation Their accusations were swept access. was on an official visit to Cairo. and tolerance. away by Nasser’s mosque-building Rashad Abdu, an economist and Egyptian security institutions’ Egyptian security institutions campaign. It was the largest such chairman of the Egyptian Forum building of mosques, with their continue to expand their policy campaign in the history of Egypt. for Strategic Studies, said this distinctive architectural designs, of building mosques in high-end In addition to the then existing lucrative activity coincided with is raising questions about the mo- neighbourhoods and guarding 11,000 mosques, 10,000 new ones the economic thinking of post- tives. After all, official statistics them with huge gates and iron were erected. revolution governments. Ministries indicate there were 102,186 large fences. For the first time, Egyptians President Anwar Sadat, who are encouraged to supplement their mosques and 30,623 small ones in are witnessing the establishment called himself the Faithful Presi- state budgets with revenue-gener- Egypt at the end of 2017. of fortified mosques. They are also dent, was also keen on building ating ventures. Some are trying to give politi- building gigantic banquet halls to mosques. He was, however, more Security measures in the security cal dimensions to the building of handle thousands of people at a interested in expanding major Sufi mosques are quite strict. Beverages mosques and connecting them time. mosques, such as Sayed al-Badawi in metal cans or glass bottles are with the security forces. The pur- The security source pointed out Mosque in Tanta, and in attending disallowed. Only paper- or carton- pose, they say, is to break claims by that “the mosques established religious celebrations there. Former wrapped food is allowed. Abdu said extremist organisations that there by the security institutions are President Hosni Mubarak preferred ministries in Egypt began compet- The new security is an inherited animosity between in new areas where there are not to build small mosques and used ing to reduce financial dependence mosques attract all worshippers and some state institu- enough mosques and thus serve them as portals for employment on the state. social classes, tions. The latter wish to pass the the need of the local population. opportunities. Providing services, such as message that they are not trying The security measures inside and It is possible that the new secu- hosting celebrations, is particu- especially celebrities to trap worshippers but they do in the vicinity of the mosques rity mosques in Egypt have been larly attractive to them because and businessmen, encourage them and provide them are necessitated by the presence designed with the closed communi- it does not involve great financial with places of worship. among worshippers of top security ties or compounds in mind. About risk and does not require a large who prefer them for That hypothesis can be applied officials and celebrities who insist one-third of the area was reserved labour force or expensive produc- their enormous to al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque, be- on using the banquet facilities for for a park and there were plenty of tion tools. The Egyptian Ministry capacity, their lieved to be the largest in the Mid- their events. The security measures parking spaces. Wedding ceremo- of Antiquities has even taken the dle East and which was constructed are also connected to the state’s nies in the adjacent banquet halls unprecedented step of allow- discreteness and their under the supervision of the war on terrorism.” are accessible to guests only and ing concerts next to Islamic and secured access. Egyptian Army Corps of Engineers. Egyptian security forces have the surrounding areas often serve pharaonic monuments. 22 February 10, 2019 Culture

Iraqi women artists face many obstacles, receive little support

Oumayma Omar to take part in such a major event, preciated nor sustainable,” Alabadi in addition to the limitations placed said. on participation criteria that include She downplayed the effect of the Baghdad age and experience.” security and economic situation in Sabti, a celebrated painter who Iraq on artistic performance, say- or more than a decade, Iraq’s has been a pillar of Iraq’s art scene ing: “Despite the fact we are living rich history of art has been for decades, said that there are many in very difficult conditions and our undermined and overshad- women artists who are preparing to country is still under occupation, it F owed by politics, war and burst on the scene “like a tsunami.” should not affect creativity but, on destruction. The art scene suffered “We have many young and tal- the contrary, arts and culture con- as collectors fled the country and ented female artists, much more stitute a safe haven for artists and artists who could afford it followed than in the past. Some have already writers.” suit. been able to carve a niche for them- Contributions by Iraqi women ex- However, on entering the hall selves on the arts scene, surpassing tend past the fine arts to other gen- of the Iraqi Plastic Artists Society well-known artists and this is a great res, including theatre and drama, in Baghdad’s Mansour neighbour- achievement for Iraqi culture,” he said actress and director Awatef hood, one is amazed by the quality, said. Naeem. quantity and diversity of artwork The society is planning an ex- “There are many reasons for that, available in the country today. hibition for women artists only in including the demotion of culture in The society revived its annual art March. Iraq in general and the absence of exhibition in 2008 to help rebuild “There are as many as 420 women cultural awareness among women,” the country’s shattered cultural engaged in different branches of fine she said. scene. Baghdad’s biggest cultural arts today, a big number compared “However, the main reason is the event was suspended after the US- to the ‘80s of the last century when rise of social conservatism and relig- led invasion in 2003. The works we had 70 female artists, among iosity which imposed strong restric- of approximately 160 artists were whom only 30 could excel and es- tions on women’s participation in showcased at this year’s exhibition. tablish a name for themselves,” Sab- cultural activities, especially drama ti said. “Artistic competition is very and theatre.” harsh at present, which shows that For her latest stage production Contributions by Iraqi the art movement is regaining mo- — “The Slaves of Baghdad,” which women extend past the fine mentum and moving forward.” she said was inspired by the Is- arts to other genres, Painter Yusra Alabadi, who was lamic State’s enslaving of women including theatre and among the few female artists fea- — Naeem recruited some actresses In the spotlight. A painting by Yusra Alabadi on display at the drama, said actress and tured in the show, said obstacles who agreed to participate with- annual exhibition of the Iraqi Plastic Artists Society in Baghdad. director Awatef Naeem. before the art scene in Iraq were im- out remuneration. “This shows (Oumayma Omar) mense, even though the Iraqi Plastic that Iraqi actresses are commit- That nearly 90% of the work on Arts Society and the Academy of ted to their art, are respectful and display was by male artists points to Fine Arts boast thousands of mem- want to have a presence on the of art open in Baghdad, said the art galleries closed their doors for good. the poor female representation on bers and students nationwide. cultural scene despite the many market dried up after the 2003 inva- Under Saddam, art was publicly the Iraqi arts scene. “Women’s contributions have challenges,” she said. sion that toppled Saddam Hussein funded, though within strict politi- “Only 17 women artists featured dwindled on the cultural arena be- “Drama production, as well, has and the outbreak of sectarian vio- cal constraints. in the show. Their participation was cause they have lost the feeling of been undermined and almost halted lence and insurgency. Now, for the artists, there are few- very low compared to last year’s,” belonging as well as creativity. Some for several years to the exception of Wealthy and middle-class Iraqis er constraints but less support. said society President Qasim Sabti. 50% of those who claim to be artistic a few TV series which would only who once bought art moved away; “This is not due to the lack of Iraqi are trying to imitate others and they employ a handful of actresses.” Western diplomats who bought local Oumayma Omar, based in Baghdad, women’s artistic capacities or tal- eventually slip into repetition and Sabti, who is also the owner of Ha- works disappeared into the Green is a contributor to the Culture and ents but because many are not ready redundancy, which is neither ap- war Gallery, one of the last bastions Zone and nearly all the Saddam-era Society section of The Arab Weekly.

Viewpoint Glorifying criminals deeply rooted in Arab popular culture

folk heroes. A critical examina- whose territory was between Wasit better chances to be accepted by the have always needed heroes who tion of the heroes and their deeds, and Basra during the era of the general public, even it is illogical would do what they couldn’t do however, reveals that many of Buyid dynasty. Other famous his- but the public is not interested in themselves and who would realise Mustafa Abid these celebrated characters were torical rogues were Ibn Marwan and logic or common sense when it finds their wishes. The bigger the injus- criminals. Official narratives in Arab Ibn Fouladh. room for the adage “the enemy of tices people experience, the greater countries condemn in the strongest In addition to the figures who my enemy is my friend,” So who- their desire for a hero is, a hero who terms “popular” criminal figures but survived in Arab cultural heritage, ever is opposed to the authorities is would save them and restore the this condemnation does not seem each Arab country also has its own right and a national hero. virtue of the lost social justice. He to affect the popular view of those criminal heroes celebrated in folk Egyptian novelist Ibrahim Ab- insisted that, when a real hero turns figures. tales and fantasies. Mansour said delmajid said that idolising violent out to be impossible to find, people Unfortunately, this unnatural this cultural aspect deserves further figures and outlaws, in a place would invent one to keep their reality is made worse by the aggres- research into the characteristics of like Egypt for example, is because hopes alive. he Arab collective sive propensity of works of fiction, peoples and societies. He pointed there has always been a centralised There are those who say that memory is filled with theatre and cinema to turn these out that there is greater interest in authority in the country and it was some governments have played a characters who are glori- criminals into myths and present the Arab world in the phenomenon always oppressive. So people find it role in focusing people’s attention fied in folk tales but who them as models to emulate. of outlaws and criminals, especially easy to sympathise with those who on violent figures and characters were originally thieves Some pointed out that even great if they are endowed with brute force run circles around the authorities, to keep the population motivated, and criminals. writers accommodate public taste in and daring. even if they were criminals. especially following the wave of TThe phenomenon of glorifying this domain. Egypt’s great novel- Overall, widespread injustices achieving national independence in and creating fake heroes in Arab ist Naguib Mahfouz recorded the and their pervasiveness in Arab Arab countries. However, the trend folk tales was critically examined in exploits of these folk heroes in “Al- Glorifying criminals history were a major reason behind continued to exist at the level of a series of books. The authors raised Harafish” and portrayed an outlaw contributes to the people’s refusal to accept the official the state institutions. The stories of the question of why Arab societies from the 1960s named Mahmoud charges against criminals, regardless Khalid Ibn al-Waleed, Oqba Ibn Nafi’ refuse to look at such characters as Suleiman as a mythical hero who creation of a culture of their crimes. and other military conquerors and evil and cannot see the evil of their was a victim of treachery and be- of violence. Radhia Taher, professor of literary leaders are taught and glorified in deeds. trayal in “The Thief and the Dogs.” criticism at Badji Mokhtar Universi- Arab schools. Among the works that touched on The phenomenon is common- Some experts pointed out that ty in Annaba, Algeria, said the main Glorifying criminals contrib- that are “The Blood of the Mam- place in many Arab countries, popular fascination with thieves reason criminals are glorified is utes to the creation of a culture luks” by Walid Fikri, Ibrahim Ad- prompting Ashraf Mansour, profes- and criminals is universal and cuts the growth of the ideological trend of violence. Hani Sabri, sociology nan’s “The History of False History” sor of philosophy at the University across all peoples and cultures. The based on the glorification of war. professor at Suez Canal University and “A Moment of History: 30 Tales of Alexandria to say that “the depth story of Robin Hood during the Mid- Taher claimed that pre-Islamic in eastern Cairo, said that creat- from Arab Times” by Mohamed of penetration of this attribute in dle Ages in Europe is one example. concepts provide the ideational ing and glorifying rogue heroes Mansi Qandil. The topic has been Arab society contributed to the Mansour also brought up the West’s framework of Arab culture. The best promotes delinquency by turning it the subject of discussions on social growth of terrorism.” fascination with fictional gentleman proof of that is the continuing cel- into heroic acts. media and cultural seminars. The issue becomes clear when thief Arsene Lupin even though he ebration of the poetry of pre-Islamic He said a large part of the charac- Why do outlaws become folk leg- we consider the number of out- was fundamentally an outlaw. poets such as Amr ibn Kulthum, teristics of the culture of violence ends and what is the secret behind laws who were turned into noble In Egyptian popular culture, Antara ibn Shaddad and Imru in society is because of prevailing perpetuating the popular heritage heroes by the folklore machine. many thieves and cutthroats be- al-Qais, which excels at glorifying values in popular cultures that about bandits, freaks, scammers One of these was the famous thief came beloved models, like Hamido vengeance and murder. glorify acts of violence as heroic and and violent men and even weaving of Baghdad who went by the name the “Bully” in Alexandria and Upper Taher added that the political rename acts of theft and lawlessness fairy tales around them? of Ibn Hamdi and in other versions Egypt. tyranny that prevailed through Arab as recapturing one’s rights. Some critics made the link by the name of Ahmed al-Danf. It is Explanations for why some crimi- history helped in making people Sabri pointed out that there is between cultural roots and what reported that this criminal robbed nals are idolised in popular culture look at killers and criminals as an urgent need for the institutions is happening today in terms of only the rich. With the poor, he was vary. Some people, especially in the heroes, because anyone who chal- concerned with culture in the Arab violence, extremism and vandal- kind and generous. Arab world, insist that the common lenges the authorities becomes a world to review the folklore of ism. Social acceptance of these fake Still in Baghdad, there was also folk do not trust authorities and hero and thieves who steal from the each country and redirect people’s heroes and the refusal of communi- the notorious Ali al-Zubeiq, who therefore tend to reject official ver- rich to give to the poor are friends of attentions to other types of histori- ties to condemn them serve as an apparently lived during the Abbasid sions of the activities and personali- the people. cal figures who were true models of encouraging factor in spawning gen- caliphate and was loved by people ties of famous criminals. Egyptian novelist Nasser Iraq creativity and scientific excellence. erations of killers and terrorists. for his heroism. However, the prince It seems that any version that is asserted that a quick look at human Each Arab country has its own of thieves was Imran bin Shaheen contrary to the official narrative has history would reveal that people Mustafa Abid is an Egyptian writer. February 10, 2019 23 Culture Interview Talking with Moroccan novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun

Mokhles Sghaier

ahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer, poet and thinker who lives in France and writes in French about issues pertaining to Tthe lives of Arabs and Muslims in their countries of origin and in Europe and about their travels and migration, which are fraught with death, racism and loss. In 1987, the creator of the novel “La Nuit Sacree” (“Sacred Night”) was awarded the Goncourt Prize. He is also the recipient of several other awards, including the 2004 International Dublin Literary Award and the 2011 Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize, which promotes peaceful coexistence between Christian and Muslim cultures. Ben Jelloun’s works have been translated into 47 languages and he is one of the most read Arab intellectuals in the West.

Al-Jadid (AJ): In your novel “Partir” (“Leaving Tangier”), A witness to his times. Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun in Paris. (AFP) one of the protagonists won- ders: “Why all of this obsession with leaving Morocco?” Casablanca, you recently affects what we write. If I lived should take care of the Muslims noted that this country deals published an autobiographical in China or Japan, I would who are living within its bor- with minorities using a logic of Tahar Ben Jelloun (TBJ): novel titled “La Punition” (“The certainly be affected by the ders. Isn’t this a difficult task? integration, which generates a (pointing to the sea) “Morocco Punishment”). Why did you situation and the things there. kind of tension and violence and was and still is the first country wait all this time to record your “Let us recall Mahmoud TBJ: “I’ll go even further than rejection of the other. suffering this phenomenon on a prison experience and how Darwish. He is a great poet, not that by saying that the Muslim daily basis. Therefore, all could you keep the pain and the because he is a Palestinian, for community in Europe has yet to TBJ: “I think that the policy of countries concerned with migra- details of that experience inside that is his identity, but his be accepted before we can talk integration did not work in tion waves and displacement you? poetry challenged and sur- about paying serious attention France because the immigrant must assume their responsibil- passed this identity. If he had to their conditions. It is Europe’s who comes from abroad does ity to stop this bleeding. A TBJ: “Here we are talking limited himself to writing about responsibility first, as much as it not need to integrate in the first radical and final solution to the about what has become known the Nakba and the pain of the is the responsibility of Muslims place and he considers himself phenomenon must be found. as the ‘years of lead’ in Morocco. Palestinian cause, he would themselves. only as a transient. His children, We had demonstrated in have remained just a local poet “For example, the Jews living however, are not immigrants but Casablanca to protest the state but he became a Universalist in France are highly organised. Europeans, even though they of education in the country and and one of the most important They have their own representa- are not accepted as 100% “I remember how we were subjected to bloody poets of the 20th century. tive who represents them and European. This is how we came my parents’ and violence. I was arrested along “His identity as a Palestinian speaks on their behalf, while the to a situation where the second my grandparents’ with a group of students cannot be confused with his Muslims are not organised at all. and third generations from because of our membership in enormous capacity as a poet but To each his own version of migrant parents were not Islam was the National Union of Moroccan without the tragedy of Palestine, Islam: This one has a Turkish recognised as French like the beautiful, serene Students. I was accused of being Mahmoud Darwish would not Islam while the other has a others. This state of rejection is the mastermind of these have been a world-class poet.” Moroccan Islam or a Senegalese one of the causes of social and peaceful. peaceful demonstrations. Islam. They don’t have one tension.” Nowadays, some “Personally, I was often AJ: How can we convince the representative speaking on their people have turned accused by some of being a West that a noble and beautiful behalf with the authorities and AJ: You said recently that supporter of Hassan II’s regime, Islam does exist when terrorist that is the root of the problem. there is no longer an Arab world. religion into a war and I was even accused of being attacks and operations raise How and where did it disappear ideology.” close to the royal palace. questions about the existence of and how do you connect that “All this was of course a big a tolerant Islam? If Islam is not Ben Jelloun’s works with what’s going on in Syria, Moroccan writer lie. For my part, I remained terrorism, then what is the Iraq and Yemen? above these malicious and source of this terrorism? have been translated Tahar Ben Jelloun despicable accusations. I didn’t into 47 languages TBJ: “There is one clear proof want to prove to anyone that I TBJ: “I remember how my of what I am saying; it’s the was a militant opposed to the parents’ and my grandparents’ and he is one of Palestinian cause, which has “Today, the reasons behind regime because I was sure of my Islam was beautiful, serene and the most read Arab become neglected and forgot- the phenomenon of migration convictions and didn’t want to peaceful. Nowadays, some intellectuals in ten. are no longer just economic. prove my sacrifices for my people have turned religion into “The Palestinian cause has They also have political dimen- country. Now, the time has come a war ideology. Perhaps this is the West. been buried in a terrible way. sions, especially the tragedies of for me to tell that story because why the West views Islam as a Israel is now free to do whatever Syrian refugees and other it is an important story from threat and a terrorist ideology. it wants to the Palestinian displaced people from the Arab Morocco’s history.” “Religious scammers and “It is unacceptable that the 5 people and the Palestinian countries along the Mediterra- mercenaries are the ones who million-6 million Muslims living territories; it can declare nean. AJ: It seems that there are manipulated Islam and dis- in France remain unorganised, Jerusalem its capital, with the “The United States has an literary works by Tahar Ben torted its image to the extent as opposed to 600,000 Jews who support and blessing of the undeniable responsibility in Jelloun and other writers that that it has become difficult to are organised in one single United States of America. The creating the phenomenon since allow us to say that the novel is return to peaceful Islam today. framework that ensures their United States is unconditionally it is responsible for destroying just an invention by writers to America is fighting everything interests and fulfils their committed to supporting Israel. Iraq. When it destroyed the induce us into thinking that related to Islam, whether it is demands. “So now, the Palestinians are country, its people, its civilisa- they are not speaking about true or false. This is the clash of “On the other hand, it is the being annihilated without any tion and its history, it created their own lives and human fears that I have always warned duty of the West to shoulder its fuss being raised by the world. the infernal conditions for the experiences or their cities or against. A new dialogue must be responsibility and open up to No one has the power to con- growth of terrorism. The birth of their childhood. resumed between us and the the Muslims and imbibe itself demn Israel and its practices. the Islamic State is the direct others to ensure continuity and with the history of Islam and its Israel has become the most result of the United States’ TBJ: “Let’s just say that the coexistence between future enlightened civilisation and not powerful nation in the world.” criminal policy in Iraq at the writer does not tell about the generations in the West and the to join the others in turning beginning of the current cen- life he has lived as much as he Muslim world. We must over- Islam into a religion of hatred Mokhles Sghaier is a Moroccan tury.” tells about the effect of that life come the state of mutual while it is perfectly innocent of writer. This interview originally on him. Given that, and to ignorance.” i t .” appeared in Al-Jadid, a cultural AJ: Half a century after your answer your exhausting ques- magazine published by Al Arab arrest in 1966 following a tion (he laughs), it could be said AJ: You said once that Europe AJ: In France, where you live Publishing House, and is student demonstration in that the world in which we live if it wants to vanquish terrorism and write in its language, it is reprinted with permission. 24 February 10, 2019 Travel www.thearabweekly.com

Agenda

Beirut: February 12-March 17

Al Bustan International Festival of Music and the Performing Arts is a musical celebration in Beirut that promotes music from all over the world. The festival includes orchestral concerts, choral music, opera and dance performances.

Dubai: February 20-22

The 17th Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival will take place at Dubai Media City Amphithea- tre. Local and international jazz and blues artists, such as Alicia Keys, Snow Patrol and British jazz-funk band Jamiroquai, are A gigantic elephant before it was sunk at the site of the museum. (Ahmed Megahid) to perform at the festival. Marrakech: February 24-May 16 Egypt’s The Marrakech Biennale is a festival with the mission to build bridges between cul- tures through the arts. The seventh edition will take a Underwater multidisciplinary approach to introduce artists and works primarily from the Arab world, the Mediterranean region and Museum is sub-Saharan Africa. Amman: March 1-3

Dead Sea Fashion Week is an annual event and country-wide divers’ haven (Ahmed Megahid) A car statue at Egypt’s Underwater Museum. celebration of talent, creativity and diversity that aims to com- Ahmed Megahid was damaged after divers acciden- bine the worlds of fashion, art, tally struck it with their flippers. music and culture. Innovative “So, our plan was to create an runway shows, presentations Dahab alternative diving site,” Mekkawi and entertainment encourage said. “The aim is to divert divers’ collaborations and consumer gypt’s Underwater Museum interest from the Blue Hole, where relationships between design- was created a few years there is a concentration of coral ers, buyers and media experts. ago to reduce pressure on and marine species, to another site E coral and marine life in that would be equally attractive.” Cairo: the popular diving site in Dahab, a The project proved successful. March 8-29 small tourist town north of Sharm Scores of divers and marine life el-Sheikh. lovers have visited the new site to Downtown Contemporary The site has developed into a ma- view sunken statues on the seabed. Arts Festival is Egypt’s only jor diving location and a magnet for The team submerged seven piec- international multidisciplinary international tourists. es in the “Lighthouse,” another contemporary arts festival. It “This is no coincidence,” said popular diving area. It took organ- takes place over three weeks Abdel Rahman al-Mekkawi, an isers almost seven years to install each year at various locations Egyptian diver who masterminded the artworks, which were made of in Cairo. the project 15 years ago to divert di- environmentally friendly materi- vers’ attention to a new spot. als. Zammour, Tunisia: Mekkawi dived in Dahab’s popu- The sunken artworks include a March 27-30 lar Blue Hole site for almost three statue of Horus, an ancient Egyp- decades before he and other local tian deity linked with the sky, the A view of the statue of Bes. (Ahmed Megahid) The third Zammour Fest will divers decided to establish an un- sun, kingship, protection and heal- take place in a Berber village in derwater museum away from the ing, and the statue of Bes, an an- the Tunisian Sahara. Over four site. They noticed that many ma- cient Egyptian deity linked with the for the deepest scuba dive. Gabr’s a natural aura and making them days and three nights, visitors rine species, such as the Napoleon protection of children and women, statue is made of 100 pieces of stand coherently with their beau- camp in Bedouin tents, trek or wrasse, usually found near coral especially during childbirth. granite and has the face of Ptah, tiful and colourful surroundings, bike in the village, visit moun- reefs were disappearing from the A gigantic elephant, weighing another ancient Egyptian god. Ghalab said. tains, attend folklore parties Blue Hole. 700 kilograms, was placed next to “The best thing about the mu- Nonetheless, the Underwater and enjoy traditional food. Turtles and other marine crea- a life-size statue honouring iconic seum is that each of the sunken Museum is a “work in process.” tures for which the area is famous Egyptian diver Ahmed Gabr, who artworks appeals to a specific cate- Only seven statues are available at Beirut: were also becoming rare, as coral holds the Guinness World Record gory of divers,” said Amr Abu Grie- the site but Mekkawi and his col- April 3-14 sha, an Egyptian diver who has de- leagues are working on a major veloped a strong interest in diving pyramid. The Beirut International Plat- near Dahab’s Underwater Museum. form of Dance, considered one The elephant statue has drawn Sunken artworks include a of the most important dance Asian divers while the Egyptian de- statue of Horus, an ancient festivals in the region, brings ity statues are especially attractive deity linked with the sky, to the stage local and interna- to devotees of ancient Egyptian tional dance companies. civilisation. Gabr’s statue is popu- the sun, kingship, protection and healing, lar with professional and career Tunis: divers who either know the iconic and the statue of Bes, an April 4-14 diver personally or have read about ancient deity linked with him. the protection of children The 14th Jazz a Carthage, an Approximately 50,000 divers and women. annual music festival, brings explore the Lighthouse site every together renowned interna- year, attracted mainly by the muse- Mekkawi said the team is con- tional and local musicians for um, said Ahmed Ghalab, the head tacting international artists and concerts, lectures, exhibitions of the Environment Ministry’s Red sculptors to convince them to bring and nightly jam sessions. Con- Sea Section. other works to the museum. certs take place in Gammarth, “The Underwater Museum in “This will increase the interna- Tunis, Sidi Bou Said and La Dahab has saved marine life in the tional appeal of the Underwater Marsa. Blue Hole area. It reduced pres- Museum. It will also contribute sure on the marine wealth and has to attracting more tourists to the area,” he said. given corals a chance to regenerate We welcome submissions of The museum is solely funded and return to their former beauty,” calendar items related to by Mekkawi and his colleagues Ghalab said. cultural events of interest to though it was highly commended The statues were designed to travellers in the Middle East by the Egyptian ministries of tour- facilitate the creation of new coral and North Africa. reefs. Some have open-ended steel ism, antiquities and environmental tubes where coral can regenerate affairs. and small marine creatures find Mekkawi said the museum Please send tips to: shelter from predators. should be adopted as a national [email protected] Coral has started forming on the project aimed at saving the coun- A diver is seen near the Statue of Horus. (Ahmed Megahid) surface of the statues, giving them try’s marine wealth and coral reefs.