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An Insurgency of Consciousness
Foshan, China, September 17, 2012
Salaroche
I hope your weekly endeavors always allow for moments of tranquility and for moments of reflection on the unavoidable truths of existence.
Just sharing a couple of links to two articles, one that I read last night and another that I read a short while ago. Both articles deal with the same subject, ethnic-religious intolerance, and both were written by very celebrated writers, one born in India and naturalized in England, Salman Rushdie, and the other born in Lebanon and naturalized in the U.S., Fouad Ajami.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/17/120917fa_fact_rushdie?CurrentPage=all
I do not agree with Ajami's world political vision, as he is very overtly affiliated with well-known ideologues of the American right, but his perception of the Arab world (although the Lebanese claim to be Phoenicians and not Arabs) is often very clear and verifiable, which means that, as far as this subject is concerned, I sometimes pay attention to what he has to say.
As you may notice if you read the articles in question, although the theme's background is very similar in both articles, the approach, style and development of the subject differ greatly from one article to the other. Rushdie gives us a very compact version of the episode he lived after being sentenced to death by the Ayatollah Khomeini, Ajami gives us a short analysis of the Arab-Muslim psyche. Rushdie shows us his elegant mastery of the English language, allowing us to catch a glimpse of his expansive way of thinking, while Ajami displays his well-known ability for introspection at the ethnic level.
What motivated me to write these words is the fanatic-religious intolerance the world recently witnessed in Egypt, Libya and Yemen, which once again demonstrates the depth of the intellectual and emotional weakness of which the Arab world suffers today.
The Arab world is at a crucial moment in its socio-religious evolution. Now it is no longer possible to hide behind collective dogmas in the same way it could have been done barely 30 years ago. The world is increasingly becoming a single community that weaves together the different countries, races and religions within the same context .
And this is where the Arab-Muslim world comes face to face with an internal conflict from which they cannot escape. The principles they had believed would lead them to succeed in any efforts they undertook have clearly been invalidated by their Western counterparts. Religious authoritarianism, the oppression of women, and the lack of freedom of expression that thus far they had considered as pillars of their cultures have now proven to be the cause of their decline, and not otherwise.
Faced with this undeniable reality, the vast majority of them suffers an inevitable insurgency of consciousness that naturally springs within themselves and, as their sole way out, they seek refuge in resenting the Western World in general and the United States in particular. Unable to accept their self-inflicted socio-cultural failure, they take shelter in self-victimization and often opt for violence as the only means to extract some retribution.
But once you know something, it is impossible to voluntarily return to a state of ignorance about it. And it is there where the story acquires long-term hues, as the reactionary elements within those societies will resort to deception, threats, torture, assassinations, and armed revolts to preserve their political power over the masses for as long as possible.
But not much that I could say could add much to what the two authors in question have already said. Therefore, if ever you were interested in the subject, then please click on the links in question. And if this subject doesn't interest you at all, no problem. I still wish you a good one.
May everything be well with you.
Salaroche
