Apart from some positive moves towards democracy and social justice, the so-called Arab Spring has turned into a nightmare. Neglect and abuse by corrupt political systems in the past left people with no choice but to revolt, seeking change by any means possible. Criminal elements and opportunists cloaked in self-serving religiosity, that is anti-Islamic, gained control to benefit from popular movements, seeking relief from corrupt regimes. It is now well known that the satanic hordes of Al Qaida that spawned Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), came into existence when western powers created terrorists to fight the Soviet Union in the name of Islam in Afghanistan.
The toxic waste created by the West is now knocking on its doors and in effect lighting the flame of an ‘American Spring’. Americans are somewhat out of their wits in fear of Daesh, after the recent deadly killings in the United States and Europe.
The raging cyclone that has hit the American presidential election is changing the political map of America and has practically nullified the political authority of the Republican Party, creating uncertainty in the country and across the world. Many of the Republican voters are angry with the leadership of their party, after losing their jobs that have moved to Mexico and China. They assume that both the houses of the Congress have been bought and paid for by special-interest groups, in the form of lobbies, in Washington, that have been increasingly nullifying the will of the American people for years without end. It only took a demagogue, “a wheeler dealer” well-versed in making deals to enrich himself by commercialising his name — Donald Trump — to tap, use and abuse the extreme anger and frustrations of the voters of the Republican Party.
For the first time, lobbies in Washington have been nullified in a presidential election, including the biggest one of all — the Zionist/Likud lobby. The ‘American Spring’ has also had some effect on the Democratic Party, as seen in the movement supporting Senator Bernie Sanders. There is great concern now that Sanders’ supporters, in order to wreck the established political system in Washington, could support Trump come November!
The changing political map in the US has also prompted a significant change as Arab Gulf countries moved to achieve self-reliance to attain an economy that is not totally dependent on oil, with Saudi Arabia announcing a major plan towards this purpose. Within this context, Arab Gulf countries have established with Egypt an Arab axis based on a civil, not religious, identity away from a theocratic system of government, unlike the one established in Iran.
Such developments have reinforced a conviction among many Arabs that their unity, backed by bold economic plans, high education and well-paying jobs are the right way to change the Arab World for good and defeat Al Qaida and Daesh.
The ‘American Spring’, meanwhile, has been energised by Trump’s campaign of bigotry against Mexicans and Muslims, in particular, in view of the recent terrorist actions in Europe and “the deadliest mass shooting in American history”, that was undertaken in Florida by “an inspired [Daesh] supporter”. By equating all Muslims with Daesh, the Trump campaign has in effect joined hands with the blasphemous mentality of the colonial religious-Right now ruling Israel. ‘The Israeli Spring’ — the steady transformation of the Zionist state into its worst — has been taking place since the Likud Party came to power, turning the secular state of the early Zionists into a self-destructive religious entity, thereby negating the non-Jewish native Palestinian population.
The rising tide of fascism in Israel has prompted the Israeli military to speak up, as reported by the media, saying “top defence force officer Yair Golan compares modern Israel to the 1930s Nazi Germany, while addressing a Holocaust Memorial Day in front of Israeli politicians”. Another reaction came from Knesset members, including the Likud deputies, trying to prepare Israel to deal effectively with the changes taking place in Western Europe and America. Israel is planning to introduce a bill to limit premiership to two terms only to end the rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the text stating: “It is important in a democratic system to see changes in leadership in order to prevent degeneration and detachment in government. Democracy is not a monarchy and it is necessary to avoid a government headed by the same [person] for years on end”. This bill received a boost after Avigdor Lieberman took over as the Minister of Defence.
Such extremist political trends ignore a historical fact that bloody revolutions can never, in most cases, bring about reforms and always end up in self-destruction. Many today witnessing Daesh’s ‘rule’ in parts of Libya, yearn for the days of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Evolution in time prepares people for constructive change that must come slowly into their lives to avert possible destruction.
Professor As’ad Abdul Rahman is the chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopaedia.
