by Andrew Korybko
The politics of the Mideast are intimidatingly complex, with many observers struggling to understand its dynamics and instead falling victim to false simplifications of “Sunni vs. Shiite”. The reality is a lot different than surface stereotypes let on, as the region’s processes are actually determined by the interplay between four official ideologies – Israeli Exceptionalism, Secular Republicanism, Islamic Republicanism, and Monarchic Absolutism – which divide themselves into two blocs, the competition of which has resulted in the creation of two ideological subsets (“Islamic Democracy” and Wahhabist Retrogression), three dysfunctional states (Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen), and the exceptional status of Egypt. The selectively inserted disruption of American-imposed Liberal Democracy and its associated influences makes everything all the more chaotic, and it can truly be difficult to decipher what exactly is going on in the Mideast, how it got this way, and where it’s all headed.
To aid in one’s understanding of this topical but tough matrix of interactions, the first part of the article begins by describing everything that’s essential to know about the ideologies and statuses of the Mideast states, and it includes a categorization of each country’s political identity and present affiliation (both officially and de-facto). Following that, Part II chronicles key events in Mideast history and proves the appropriateness and accuracy of using this ideological prism to explain them. Finally, the acquired understandings are then employed in Part III to forecast a couple scenarios for what the Mideast might look like in the coming years.
Dividing Lines
This introductory section explains the core of the four official ideologies and then examines their three sub-categories, including Egypt’s exceptional status. It then presents a revised categorization which proves how each non-dysfunctional state clearly falls within one of two competing blocs.
The Big Four
On paper, there are only four official ideologies currently being practiced by the region’s governments:
Israeli Exceptionalism:
Israel self-describes itself as a Jewish state and refuses to recognize the rights of the Palestinian population that was forcibly brought under its control. The Zionist ideology of “Israel/Jews first” is observable in the country’s foreign and domestic policies, and a government-manipulated siege mentality is exploited to ‘justify’ this state of affairs. In the context of this article, one of the most impactful manifestations of Israeli Exceptionalism is the Yinon Plan that was conceived of to divide and weaken Israel’s Arab neighbors, and ensure that Tel Aviv can indefinitely exercise regional influence disproportionate to its miniscule size in prolonging its geopolitical survival. It should also be footnoted that this ideology is not necessarily interchangeable with the religion of Judaism, as many Jews do not hold to it that their political entity is a God-given ‘Return to History’ that entitles it to act with impunity towards everyone else, especially its regional neighbors.
Secular Republicanism:
There was a point in time when this ideology was all the rage in the Arab world, led first by Nasser and then continued by Hafez and Bashar Assad, who have staunchly kept it in existence despite myriad attempts to snuff it out. It adheres to a left-wing model of development that preaches secularism and social equality, and as such, it’s violently abhorred by Israeli Exceptionalism and Monarchic Absolutism. It also has a strong tradition of Resistance in not kowtowing to the West, however, despite the on-paper adherence of a handful of states to this ideology (Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt), it’s only still in de-facto practice by the Syrian Arab Republic (especially in the geopolitical sense), and the reason for this will be explained as the piece progresses.
Islamic Republicanism:
The only Mideast state practicing this ideology is Iran, which adapted this form of government after the 1979 Revolution. It mixes together religion and republicanism, and it’s perfectly suited to Iran’s domestic political needs. One might question why the Secular and Islamic Republics don’t fight against one another, considering the major difference they have over the role of religion in their given societies, but the fact is that neither tries to impose its model on the other, and the shared Republican foundation seals together their bonds and fortifies their geopolitical relationship (‘The Resistance Bloc’). Accordingly, the Republics (both Secular and Islamic) continually find themselves being attacked by the Israeli Exceptionalists and Monarchic Absolutists, and this dichotomy is the defining feature of the Mideast today.
Monarchic Absolutism:
Rounding out the four official Mideast ideologies is the one practiced by all the GCC member states and Jordan. These countries prioritize the role of their ruling families over all else, and preserving this state of affairs and retaining the absolutist form of control is the primary objective of their authorities. The unrepresentative nature of Monarchic Absolutism makes its population exceptionally susceptible to pro-Republicanism sympathies, which thus explains the obsession that the Kingdoms have in destabilizing and destroying their ideological opposites. Ironically, because they have the same geopolitical goal as the Israeli Exceptionalists, they’re aligned in a marriage of convenience alongside the US (“ Cerberus ”) that sees them strategically joining forces in pursuing aggression against Syria and Iran (albeit for very different reasons, of course).
Bastard Children
Cerberus’ attacks against the Resistance Bloc have been facilitated by the creation three sub-categorical innovations that serve as ideological weapons in their own right:
“Islamic Democracy”:
Otherwise known as the Muslim Brotherhood, this sub-facet of Cerberus was specifically birthed in order to divide the population within the Secular Republics and advance coup plots against their sovereignty. The end goal was to see the imposition of a ‘liberal-democratic’ “Islamic Democracy” take their place, whose ever-cycling representatives then be easily manipulated by each of Cerberus’ three heads (the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia) for their own purposes. This concept posed little chances for blowback in the strictly controlled confines of the Cold War, but afterwards it became a threat to Saudi Arabia, especially after geopolitical upstart Qatar began actively patronizing it as a proxy ideology in the region.
In accordance with the US’ Lead From Behind strategy, Qatar wanted to facilitate a transnational Muslim Brotherhood elite coming to power from Algeria to Syria, functioning as a sort of Arab version of the Cold War international communist party. By this it’s meant that the group would have secret cells all over the region, be dedicated to gaining power, and be financed by a substantial international patron (the US, Qatar, and Turkey in this case) that would use it as a proxy controlling force. This aggressive expansion of covert ideological subversion explains Saudi Arabia’s fears and the GCC ‘Cold War’ of 2014 between Doha and Riyadh (a precursor to the US-Saudi troubles of 2015), which required the ‘ Abdullah-Thani Pact ’ to resolve. Egypt’s place in this ideological rivalry will be explained in the next section.
Lastly, it needs to be stated that President Erdogan has attempted to transform Turkey from a pro-American “Secular Republic” to an “Islamic Democracy” (or more aptly, an Islamic Dictatorship), but he’s been prevented from fully succeeding by the considerable domestic resistance that manifested itself in the last general election. Erdogan, himself an “Islamic Populist”, saw the geopolitical potential in utilizing the Muslim Brotherhood for the aforementioned purposes that the US envisioned, and after the Abdullah-Thani Pact, he sought to steal Qatar’s thunder and become the covert network’s primary patron. By entrenching what can only be described in political terms as his hoped-for dictatorship within Turkey, he hoped to avoid the liberal-democratic voting cycles that could remove him from power within the regional “Islamic Democracy” system that he seeks to control, but his gambit failed at the very moment that he needed it to succeed the most, ergo the country’s present political crisis and the upcoming snap elections.
Wahhabist Retrogression:
A virulent and state-sponsored strain of Monarchic Absolutism, it was supported by Saudi Arabia (just as the US and Israel supported “Islamic Democracy”) during the Cold War to subvert the Secular Republics and organize resistance to the Soviet intervention forces in Afghanistan during the 1980s. Wahhabism is the official ideology of Saudi Arabia, where it is kept under strict control, but it’s weaponization as a geo-ideological weapon was bound to become uncontrollable sooner than later, which eventually happened with the creation of Al Qaeda, and later, ISIL . The general idea of Wahhabist Retrogression is that the 7th-century lifestyle experienced during the time of the Prophet Mohammed is the purest one in history, and that all social developments that occurred afterwards are in contrast to the religion’s core and most conservative tenets. As a result, socially advanced and non-Islamic countries such as the USSR and the US are perceived as the greatest evil imaginable, with the Arab Monarchies coming not far behind, but for very different reasons (e.g. their alliance with the US, not being conservative enough, etc.)
It was originally intended to be a temporary recruitment tool that could be called upon whenever it was deemed ‘necessary’ by Saudi Arabia and its American patron, but it soon took on a life of its own and predictably became hard to control. That, however, doesn’t mean that it’s difficult to corral, since Washington has for the most part mastered the art of guiding the terrorists in the most advantageous direction possible, which is why it’s so steadfastly against eliminating the group in Syria while the shared regime change goal still remains unfulfilled.
Saudi Arabia has had a harder time keeping the terrorists under its thumb, ergo its fears that the US might eventually use them as proxy weapons of pressure against the monarchy. It shouldn’t be taken to infer that Saudi Arabia won’t ever again weaponize Wahhabist Retrogression for its own purposes, but that its direct sponsorship of ISIL is likely a thing of the past, replaced by support for the “ Army of Conquest ” and other similar but more easily controllable (for now) ideological groups in Syria. To evoke an over-used but very relevant cliché, Pandora’s Box has been opened, and now it’s impossible for any of the actors to put its contents back in, thereby explaining why those responsible are still attempting to use and exploit the beasts that they’ve unleashed, with all the consequent blowback entailed in this risky and short-sighted venture.
Dysfunctional States:
The last sub-category of ideology that Cerberus is responsible for is the emergence of dysfunctional states. These countries (Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen) are the direct result of the trilateral alliance’s destructive policies against the Resistance Bloc, and they’re marked precisely by the presence of no clear-cut ideology, or in the event that there is one (Secular Republicanism by Ansarullah and Hezbollah), it’s very difficult for its proponents to implement on a state-wide level. Such ideological vacuums weaken the Resistance Bloc and play into the hands of Cerberus by creating breeding grounds for “Islamic Democracy” and Wahhabist Retrogression. While to the benefit of the US and Israel (the latter of which has never been attacked by Wahhabist Retrogressionists), this poses a clear risk for Saudi Arabia, although one which its narrow-minded leadership has yet to grasp. The Dysfunctional States are thus battlegrounds between Cerberus and the Resistance Bloc, and their countless domestic problems thus inhibit the practicing of any ideology by its state representatives, thereby creating a category all of its own.
The Egyptian Exception
Egypt stands alone as the ideological exception in this regional construction, and this is because of its unique history of being pulled between all sides. It came to geopolitical maturity as a Secular Republic under the leadership of Nasser, only to have Sadat betray the ideology’s principle of resistance by surrendering to the Israeli Exceptionalists and becoming an American proxy. Mubarak was unlucky enough to be presiding over the country when the US decided to roll out the theater-wide “Arab Spring” Color Revolutions that aimed to usher in the transnational Muslim Brotherhood “Islamic Democracy” that was previously discussed, which explains his patron’s abandonment of him subsequent replacement with Morsi.
For that brief period of time that it was controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, the country was on the brink of becoming an even larger exporter of terrorism than Saudi Arabia (albeit of a different and conflicting brand), but the power reversal by General Sisi preempted this horrifying scenario and moved the country so close to the Monarchic Absolutists that it now acts as their military contractor in Yemen. Still, Sisi seems to harbor grand ambitions to return his country back to its Resistance Bloc roots, but he’s simply unable to do so for the foreseeable future due to the heavy amount of indebtedness he shortsightedly got himself in to with the GCC (barring Qatar, likely spurred on by their shared hate for the Muslim Brotherhood). For this reason, Egypt is officially a Secular Republic but one which geopolitically behaves as an extension of the Monarchic Absolutists, albeit with more leeway to pragmatically practice various policies such as the intensification of ties with Russia.
Revised Categorizations
Taking into consideration all the ideological contours described in this part, it’s now necessary to revise the prior ‘official ‘categorization of the Mideast’s countries in order to reflect their actual disposition. Nothing has changed when it comes to Israeli Exceptionalism and Islamic Republicanism, but one must revisit which countries are included in the Secular Republicanism designation. The only one that still embodies this form of government and has retained its full membership in the Resistance Bloc is Syria, so it’s worthwhile to see exactly why it is that none of the previously listed states qualify for de-facto recognition as Secular Republics in the traditional geopolitical sense. Egypt’s status was already explained above, so thus follows the remaining former members of this category:
Iraq:
Iraq’s Secular Republic was disintegrated into a Dysfunctional State after the 2003 American Invasion, but even before its collapse, it was never a member of the Resistance Bloc and had strained relations with Syria and a legacy of hatred towards Iran. Thus, it was nominally a Secular Republic but satisfied none of the geopolitical criteria for Resistance, and instead was more of a regional ‘rogue’ state in the sense that it had no friendly ties with nearby states, although it did have strong business contacts with out-of-regional ones like Russia, China, and France.
Lebanon:
This artificially constructed state is another fake Republic, satisfying the on-paper credentials but functioning as something geopolitically different. The country is officially a “Republic”, but the domestic political system of sectarianism makes it the complete opposite of secular. Furthermore, aside from the period when it was receiving Syrian military assistance and prior to the Cedar (Color) Revolution of 2005, Lebanon has always been pro-Western and opposed to the Resistance Bloc, although the political rise of Hezbollah in recent years has tried to change that. At the moment, however, Lebanon’s domestic difficulties brought about by its sectarianist system have paralyzed its government and threaten to turn it into the latest Dysfunctional State, and even if it pulls away from the abyss, so long as the root of its original problems isn’t eradicated, it will continue to remain this way indefinitely.
Yemen:
Another Secular Republic-turned-geopolitical-fake, this country is presently dysfunctional due to the Saudi war against it. In sum, the Ansarullah want to return the state back to its sovereign nature, having previously been an American and Saudi puppet since the 1990 unification. Prior to that time, only the South (officially The People’s Republic of Yemen) was independent of the West, but afterwards the entire combined entity fell under the Saudis’ sway. By trying to change this, the Ansarullah have provoked the deepest levels of paranoia within the Saudi monarchy, which panicked and commenced a destructive military offensive against it. Presently, the southern part of the country is under the control of affiliated Monarchic Absolutist forces (with southern separatists prepared to unwittingly create a Saudi political proxy whether they realize it or not), while the north is dysfunctional due to the blockade and famine risk , and thus incapable of exerting influence over the rest of the country and interacting with the other Republics (both Secular [Syria] and Islamic [Iran]) on a state-to-state basis.
Turkey:
Turkey was discussed at partial length earlier, but a few words need to be said about its present categorization. As explained, Turkey is on the cusp of becoming an “Islamic Democracy”, but it remains to be seen whether Erdogan can succeed in formally building his vision, and what’s most important, in actually retaining this political system once it’s in place (unlike Morsi, who was quickly ousted by the military). There’s the distinct possibility that Turkey’s current political and ethnic troubles, coupled with Erdogan’s divisive “Islamic Democracy” drive, could combine to make the country a Dysfunctional State in the future. Although right now these chances aren’t likely, they are experiencing a noticeable increase as Turkey’s problems drag on.
Until the second round of general elections on 1 November, when the situation is expected to drastically change in one direction or another, it’s best to describe Turkey as an Islamifying “Secular” Republic under heavy American influence. Except for the Dysfunctional State scenario (which could also be advantageous to the US in a certain strategic context), if Turkey becomes an “Islamic Democracy” or remains a nominal Secular Republic doesn’t really matter because it’ll still be a part of Cerberus in some form or another, much as Egypt has remained such despite shifting from a pro-American Secular Republic to an “Islamic Democracy” and then to a pro-Saudi Secular Republic.
Salam Andrew Korybko,
Excellent article above and close to the truth. However, one of thing you need to address in your Part II is the concept of Freewill (Shia) and Predestination (Sunni). The Shia are called Rafidi (Reject) of God’s Will and therefore they are heathen. The questions arises what do the Shia Reject?
The Sunni believe that all these so called Caliphs, Monarchies and Leaders are appointed by the Will of God due to predestination. These Leaders are appointed by Allah over Muslims by His Will and He Only Appoints those who are capable. The Shia reject that.
In the early 20th century in Egypt, some learned individuals realized that the Shia are correct. They realized that these Leaders are not appointed by The Will of Allah, but they are appointed by The Empire. Thus, they started a brave and a novel project called, Muslim Brotherhood.
Muslim Brother become a threat to The Empire, so it had to be infiltrated and the concept of Leaders chosen by The Will of Allah has to be reintroduced, and of course in this process the Shia are to be demonized again.
Qatar being very, very tiny was under thread by Wahhabism, by the Big Brother Saudi Arabia. So, they adopted the Muslim Brotherhood, which no longer was spouting the so called, “Islamic Democracy”. The Qataris brought in Yusuf al-Qaradawi who started spitting his venom against the Shia. For Yusuf al-Qaradawi, please see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_al-Qaradawi
Best regards,
Mohamed
@ Mohamed,
I always feel bamboozled when I look at [and read about] the wider ME region and its history.
To top all that off, the history I’ve been taught isn’t even about history. It’s full of fairy
tailstales and intellectual and moral fallacies.It’s up to us, the famous gray masses, to restore the truth.
As long as the ‘divide and rule’ adagio hums it wicked notes, we’re in for a rough ride, but the ride will be forward, to where the future lies.
Thank you for your additional clarifications [here and further down below].
I hope you’ll find a way to contact Andrew Korybko and help him directly with [or when he’s doing] his research.
Salam Daniel,
Very true about divide and rule. The main, central and recurring theme of Holy Quran is that Human is an oppressor and likes to sow the seeds of discord.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam Brother Andrew Korybko,
In the list of Monarchic Absolutism, you missed out Morocco.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam Brother Andrew Korybko,
Your following quote below is absolute kaka (sh*t) and shows your lack of knowledge of Islam.
Yes, the Wahhabis would love the world to believe the above. However, before the fall of Ottoman Empire of Turkey (The Caliphate). The Wahhabism was created by The Empire.
A nobody called Abdul Wahhab, was chosen by The Empire in the late 18th century to lead a new and improved religion based on the theories of a deranged Muslim Scholar in 12th century called, ibn Taymiyyah.
Ibn Taymiyyah was so deranged, his ideas were so radical and against Islam, that the Muslims imprisoned him and literally threw always the keys to his imprisonment in the ocean.
What Abdul Wahhab did under the protection of The Empire is to kill Muslims (Sunni and Shia) right and left, loot them and to destroy the Muslim’s Heritage. Abdul Wahhab went for three years to Kerbala, Iraq, killed and looted more than 100,000 Shia pilgrimage in these three years.
Today, with Pedro Dollars and Cerberus, both ibn Taymiyyah and Abdul Wahhab are called, Sheikhs of Islam.
All the Muslims Archaeological Sites are destroyed in Saudi Arabia. The House in which Prophet Mohammad (saws) lived all his life is destroyed, and toilets are built over The House. The Muslims had enough when the Wahhabis tried to torpedo The Grave of Prophet Mohammad (saws). So what is happening throughout the World to The Archaeological Sites is nothing new.
No, The Pandora Box is Not Opened. It is controlled by The Cerberus.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam Andrew Korybko,
The part of Islamic Republicanism (Iran) you have got is wrong. You erroneous conclusion that both Islam and Secularism cannot co-exist, shows your lack of Islamic knowledge and that you have based your above article on Geo-Politics only. Your erroneous conclusion that both Islamic Republicanism (Iran) and Secular Syria only exist due to Resistance.
If one looks at any Islamic Countries beside Saudi Arabia (read Wahhabism), those countries have always been secular. However, it is fashionable to Credit Baathist-ism with Secularism. The Jews, Christians, Hindus and so forth have been living in the Middle East long before the times of Prophet Mohammad (saws) and advent of Islam, until recently due to Wahhabism.
The Empire created the Baathist Secular BS, where a country like Iraq which is majority Shia population, a Sunni is put over them. And, where as a country like Syria which is a majority Sunni population, a Alawite is put over them. Divide and Rule!
There is a term in the Holy Quran, which is called, “People of The Book (singular)”. Who are The People of The Book. They are Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians and Muslims combined.
How Secular Islam Can Get!
Mohamed
Hi Mohamed, very interesting input…I’m reading it but not able to comment without getting mixed up…but I’m learning ! Saker’s is like school…wonderful school
Salam Ann,
True about Saker School and being wonderful too.
What Andrew failed to mention that Iran is a very secular country too. Just one example, there are quite a few Jews who live in Iran of their own choice. They have proportional representation in the Parliament.
Best regards,
Mohamed
I remember a post by Saker, in it he said of all countries in the world, he thinks maybe Iran has the best system.
Hi Ann,
I don’t know how religious you. I am very religious but I am not practicing kind, a contradiction in term. What you have asked is a very religious and controversial question. I will try to give you some links so that you can study it at your own pace.
It is the central question of Church and State. In Islam it is believed that one cannot separate these two, how hard one tries to do so. During the times of Jesus, it was not Kingdom of Earth, therefore Jesus told his followers to give to Caesar what is due to him. When Jesus Kingdom will come to Earth and he will rule, there won’t be separation of Church and State.
For Sunnis it is much easier due to their belief in predestination. Any leader over them is Chosen by the Will of God, and God chooses only the capable ones, rather than that leader was put by his father or brother over them as in the case of Saudi Arabic. According to Sunni, this leader is called, “Leader/Master of the Pious Muslims”. Thus, no separation of Church and State.
The Shia believe in Imams and not in Caliphs. Therefore, during the times of Imams, the Shia followed their Imam as Church and followed the Caliph as State. The majority of Shia are 12ers, meaning believers of 12 Imams.
The problem came for Shia, when the 12th Imam went into occult state. Here the 12ers split into 2 sects, called the Usulis (majority) and Akbari (very small minority, mostly in Bahrain). The Usulis followed a system called, “Taqlid” and here is a link to a Shia site:
http://www.al-islam.org/articles/taqlid-meaning-and-reality-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi
In Iran, it is the first time the Shia are ruling. So, Iran has come up with a system called, “Wilayat al-Faqih”. A link from the same Shia site:
http://www.al-islam.org/shia-political-thought-ahmed-vaezi/what-wilayat-al-faqih
Basically, Wilayat al-Faqih is a pseudo system which combines the Church and State with minority rights until such time the Kingdom on Earth.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Thanks Mohammed..Ive watched Selma again tonight in the link you gave..such a delight.
Yes I am very religious but not church person…I read alot by Rudolf Steiner. Very religious and open minded but not for everyone I suppose.
Mohammed…he says that yes, Jesus will return (reincarnation) but the Christ Spirit is a ancient powerful great Spirit of Light, and will not reincarnate. This ‘being’ entered into Jesus at the Baptism by John. And died with the soul of Jesus on the cross, and became again a Spirit of Light who was visible to those who had been with him and now is the Spirit Guardian of the Earth.
I will put your links carefully in folder and read another day…going to sleep now…
Thanks for such kind and good communications.
Salam brother.
Salam Sister Ann,
The Muslims believe that Jesus didn’t die on The Cross and is still alive and in occult. The Wahhabis believe that later on he died naturally.
The Muslims beside Wahhabis believe that Jesus will come back and will have his Kingdom on Earth.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Yes Mohamed, Jesus will come back…that’s reincarnation….but Muslims don’t mention Christ…higher being…is called Son of God, but is a higher being…much higher than an angel….I guess I’m a gnostic and also love Zoroastrian’s God Ahura Mazdao…who is also the same being as Christ by Christians.
Hi Ann,
To Muslim, Jesus is not dead. He didn’t die on the cross. He is still alive. He is in occult. And, he will reappear to die on earth like every mortal. So, this doesn’t leave any room for reincarnation.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam Brother Andrew Korybko,
You have ask yourself 2 questions?
1. Why the Shia are persecuted throughout the centuries?
2. Why the Sunni countries are afraid of Iran and not Syria?
First two Islamic concepts: Lanat and Salam:
“Terminologically, lanat means to pray to Allah to keep a person far from His Mercy. Lanat is the opposite of Salaam, which is a prayer to Allah for His Mercy on a person.”
Add to it the term “Amer al-Moumeenin” which means Leader/Master of Pious Muslims.
Each and every Leader of Muslim Country beside Iran is called, The Master of Pious Muslims.
Why? Due to these Leaders being Chosen over Muslims by The Will of Allah. Any Muslim who disagree with this is out of the fold of Muslims. Thus, the King of Saudi Arabia is chosen over it citizens by the Will of Allah.
Who says so? The Muslim Scholars in the those countries, who are appointed by the Leaders themselves. What is needed for the Sunni World is Henry VIII.
Even the sixth Caliph Yazid (Lanat on him) is supposedly chosen by The Will of Allah rather than his father, who ruthlessly committed genocide and annihilated the House of Prophet Mohammad (saws). The Wahhabis call Yazid, Amer al-Moumeenin and send Salam on him instead of Lanat. The Sunni much differ with Wahhabis on this, and they are with Shia on this.
Ali Khamenei is not called Amer al-Moumeenin by the Shia, and he is selected by mere human beings.
Thus, one can see and understand the threat from both Shia and Iran. However, Iran under the new President has been reassuring the GCC.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Mohammed I have a question, I wonder if you can answer it, which is, what is the role of the tribes in the Arab world? How much do they influence, or interfere, or promote, various events?
Sorry, I put an extra ‘m’ in your name.
Hi David,
You are absolutely correct and my name has two “m” in English language. Arabic is the Central Semitic Language and Hebrew is a dialect of Arabic. You might well remember that during the times of Jesus, people spoke Aramaic and not Hebrew.
Hebrew w
However, if I write the Old, Old and Modern Arabic language, I will write it with one “m” as the language doesn’t have punctuation marks, diacritical marks and short vowels.
Hi David,
You are absolutely correct that my name has two “m” in English language. Arabic is considered the Central Semitic Language and Hebrew is a dialect of Arabic. You will well remember, that during the time of Jesus, people spoke Aramaic.
Hebrew was revived from Arabic during the 19th century.
If I write the Old, Old and Modern Arabic, I will write my name with one “m”. This is the Arabic used in everyday street writing. It doesn’t have punctuation marks, diacritical marks, short vowels and so forth. It is mostly guessed and recognized.
In the educated and in formal legal documents, I will write my name with two “m”, as this Arabic language has full fledged grammar. This Arabic is called, Quranic (classical) Arabic as it was introduced with the Holy Quran (Koran).
Therefore the Torah, TaNaKh (Old Testament) written before Islam was written without punctuation marks, diacritical marks, short vowels and so forth. During to 12th to 15th centuries, from Quranic Arabic, the punctuation marks, diacritical marks, short vowels and so forth were added to Torah, TaNaKh (Old Testament)….
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam David,
The Arabs are very tribal but to to modern convenience and everyone is moving to big cities for jobs the tribalism is slowing, slowing dying. It might take another couple of generations.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Dear Mohamed,
Your interesting reply sent me scuttling away to wikipedia, particularly to the word “Tanakh”. (Although I think I have Israelite ancestry I know nothing about their religion, my god is not omnipotent or omniscient nor capable of predestinating anything, although my god is smarter than all of us humans put together and works for good ) Anyway, Tanakh resembles Khanak with the T and K transposed, easily done, and Khanak is Enoch the son of Qayin or Cain, who may well be the Sumerian god Enki (a joining of An and Ki, the two original Sumerian gods), which given the transposition of cuneiform could be Kian, the Chinese god Heaven. I have done some reading on that so it interested me to come across “Tanakh”. Then I find it has nothing to do with it! So that’s that, I guess. I was interested to learn about the legalese in Arabic, the legalese in English can be a great irritation when the law is a weapon, as it usually is.
Anyway, I hope the tribal aspect of life in the Middle East can be overcome, it provides the fascists with a way to divide society, and the Americans and English have had a lot of practise setting tribes against one another and also splitting tribes internally by co-opting leaders and so on. The faster a person’s tribe can become a minor memory the better, as far as I can see.
Aloha,
David
Aloha David,
Excellent Reply.
TaNaKh is a Hebrew acronym which stands for Torah, Naviim (Prophets) and Ketviim (Books). Old Testaments is a Christian terminology, and Jews don’t have such thing as New and Old. It is very insulting for Jews, that their Scripture named TaNaKh has been taken by Christians and renamed as Old Testament. And, then made part of the Bible as Old Testament and New Testament.
Basically, both the Torah and TaNaKh is Jewish Scriptures and organically written in Hebrew. The translation to Greek/Roman is not the real McCoy. Neither the chapter called, Isaiah in the Old Testament is the last chapter in TaNaKh.
According to Jews, Isaiah has to do with prophesy about King of Babylon and not Jesus. There is no such thing in Isaiah in TaNaKh as Lucifer. Lucifer has to do with Greek/Roman language.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Hi David,
LOL. The Judeo-Christian tradition thingy is a laughable thingy. It basically means:
Best regards,
Mohamed
Aloha Mohamed,
You are too learned for me, I am just a transplanted prole from Blighty. I finally get the sense that in stark contrast to the heathen west, religion in the middle east is important! And it occurs to me after reading your posts that this is due to the nearness of the events. Your history really includes what for someone like me, far away, is just a collection of old stories. And that makes it more of a wonder how all the different beliefs can co-exist, along with the tribal and other historical facts that can’t be swept under the carpet. I hope and pray that the evildoers are destroyed and Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen . . . are rebuilt, and tolerance can get a foothold.
Aloha
David
yeah Mohamed, I agree with that doctrine…and the Jews are the ‘chosen people’ because Christ chose them to incarnate only once, in human body – Jesus –
Hi Ann,
The Chosen People is BS and nothing more!
The complete Bible (New and Old Testaments) organically is in Greek/Roman and not in the language spoken by Jesus.
Go figure!
And David George is correct to call them, “is just a collection of old stories.”
Woven tales by the Slaves of Egyptians, who were originally Cow Worshiper and took them 40 years to go Palestine from Egypt.
Go figure!
Mohamed
I do not understand why they talk about judeo dhristan tradition? this misnomer started after second world war because before that zelout christains were very much opposed to Jews. The Jews have much more common with Islam than with Christians. Cicumcision, fast, Friday as holy day, skull cap, jelous and angry God, habit of keeping beard etc,
You know, I don’t think anyone (including myself) really understands the Muslim Brotherhood. I see lots of people confidently saying stuff about MB, and they all say different stuff. And this includes people with generally similar ideological positions themselves–nobody seems to agree about just what the Muslim Brotherhood represents.
Personally, I don’t like them much. But at the same time, I find myself doubting they’re as horrific as some of the allegations about them, which often seem rather wild. They certainly seem to get some money from Qatar, but I doubt their loyalty to Qatar goes much further than thinking, “When we finally manage to overthrow the monarchies, we’ll do Qatar last!”
They started out as a reform movement.But then became secretly infiltrated by the US CIA.And at least since the 1950’s have had dealings with the CIA.Its sort of a secret,that has been talked about in the press a small bit.But no one I know of has really done a real detailed “expose” on it.I doubt that the “rank and file”MB members know some of their leaders are CIA operatives (true also of the rank and file ISIS member,and Ukie maidan protester,who also are clueless of how they are being tricked).
Thing is, with a clandestine movement that has some kind of stated ideology, a few leaders being in the CIA’s pay does not necessarily mean the movement as a whole can be summed up so easily. All those people who don’t know they’re controlled by the CIA would turn ugly if they found out.
Muslim brotherhood waslotted and started bybwho else, but English nation which is the same evil nation responsible for both world wars and present syrian war. The pure evil.
This needs an infographic to keep things straight. Lots of terms and descriptions with various shadings. Could use color chart to great effect.
Important lay of the land overview that tidies up our thinking about who is who and what is really behind the events and turmoil.
Since the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 it was morphed into quite a problem, regardless of who bankrolls and directs it. Thank God for SISI and the Egyptian military for clipping its wings and bottling up Morsi.
All the intricacies of Islam that Mohammed offers is a graduate studies course. I told have time for that. For my interest is in what Russia offers to calm the situation in Syria, Egypt and Libya, and by default Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Those are people living, not being killed; cities remaining intact, not being bombed; children going to school, not to hospitals or graveyards.
Russian, the great Orthodox citadel, friend to peace loving Muslims, exemplar for multi-polarity and friendship, is back in the Middle East.
Already we have seen the Israelis rush to Moscow. Israel has lost its impudent air strike capability over Syria. It must rely instead on diplomacy and deal-making. Russia acts. Others listen. (Like training a dog.)
I’m sure this is a great article but it’s way beyond me. The middle east is complicated to be sure but it’s also pretty simple. The bible described it as the final battle between good and evil at Megiddo – Armageddon. The details and timing are up for grabs but love and anti-love seem to be in a fated dance at this time and place. I try to remember that this planet is a speck in the wholeness and holiness of things so we can go up in smoke and the vast universe would hardly notice. It’s another chance to prove our love in the game of life. More at thelovegovernment.com. Thanks to all and wisdom to those few who hold our destiny in their hands.
Religious writings plus ardent followers leads to self-fulfilling prophecy.
Salam SanctuaryOne,
How True!
Best regards,
Mohamed
OT, w apologies, for maybe breaking news.
Thierry Meyssan’s newest:
“Within less than a week, massive quantities of armement and more than 2,000 men were transported to Syria. Technically speaking, the CSTO has the capacity to deploy up to 50,000 men in less than two weeks.”
But then he says
” The CSTO will intervene as from October 2015, both in Iraq and Syria, against individuals described as « terrorists » by the UNO, in other words al-Qaïda, Daesh, and all the groups allied with them. ”
His most surprising comment reinforces his statement a couple months ago that Obama-faction & Putin had come to agreement that Syrian war wd end:
“The United States, who have already waged a huge secret joint operation with the Syrian Arab Army in Al-Hasakah, are ready to conlude an agreement with the CSTO. Their British and French allies are ready to renounce the idea of overthrowing the Syrian Arab Republic.”
http://www.voltairenet.org/article188763.html
PS he announced CSTOs participation on Syrian TV.
Lets all hope he is correct there.
Korybko: Bless your attempting the impossible. To try to place a structure on the shifting sands of ideological and tribal alliances is a bold venture indeed. But people don’t move like a Sudokko game or fit into neat catagories and because your mental structure misses the element of time and circumstance it becomes way, way too arid to be of much use. Dynamic is the word for the midEast especially these days–what with Erdogan unleashing the hounds of desperation onto Europe and his selective bombing of PKK Kurds ( why do you always miss the Kurds?) and his bullying of the opposition in his set up for a probable future coup ( do you really think this man who may turn out to have clay feet but not cold feet will give up power when faced with electoral defeat?)
The Mid East is a fascinating story…not a Venn diagram. In all due respect..You would be a great theoretical math major.
@ Andrew Korybko,
Thank you for producing yet another lofty body of work. As a board-certified heretic, I’m not articulated at all, when it comes to religion. I have noticed though, that it can make people prickly, very quickly, when in disagreement.
Would it be fair to condense your entire article into 1 sentence;
“You’re either supported by the US… or in/directly attacked by it.”?
Andrew:
Thank you for your work in making sense of a region which has become chaotic. I wonder how large a role you feel that the usual jihadist proxies are playing in Yemen?
I notice from the commentary on the Russian-sponsored UN ministerial meeting on the 30th at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42850.htm that apparently Russia is going to address the problem of “terrorism” across the Middle-East & North Africa. I don’t suppose that she will name the fact that it’s all NATO/GCC sponsored.
In Turkey is there any sensible party for the people to vote for in the November elections? Erdogan has shown himself as such a brutal dictator that I wd guess AKP will lose even more seats. But the recebtky-mainstream Kurdish party is apparently involved in violence, as is the Nationalist Kurdish-hating party. Is there another choice?
Hi Andrew !! Great article, by the way, I totally love your references to the Greek Mythological stories…my favorite myths. And thanks for un-complicating the different regions of the middle east.
Greetings Mohammed,
Thanks for all your teaching posts. Totally agree with Ann on this one – the Saker blog *is* like a graduate-school on so many dimensions!!
I have also heard the Iranian system requires religious minorities to be represented in their parliament – Jews and Christians both.
That would likely categorize Iran as ‘sectarian’, rather than democratic. But its most important institutions are republican, as they understand majority Islamic rule could lead to an authoritarian despotism and institutionalized discrimination. Religious sectarianism did this in Northern Ireland ( and currently does in Israel.) They have avoided this pitfall in a different way to Syria, but with the same socially inclusive/representative end in mind.
I think Andrew is doing an ‘Isms For Dummies’ for the sake of clarity: he’s trying to reach a wide audience that doesn’t have the knowledge-base to process the Middle East otherwise.
Salam eimir,
Long time ago, Ann asked my views on another thread on Iranian system, which for some reason I failed to answer her. No system is perfect and they are all full of pitfall. Take the Democratic System in USA which is based on three forms of Government, namely being the Legislative, the Executive and the Judaical system, which supposed to be independent of each other.
In USA we are supposed to have separation of Church and State, but look at the Holidays of USA, they are based on the Christianity. Before anyone jumps at me, there is nothing wrong with that as majority of population is Christians. However, it is like having your cake and eat it too.
The question arises is the Baathist system a secular system? No the Baathist system has not and never been secularist, whether in Egypt, Syria or Iraq. The cronies have been given preferences not based on proportional population and the majority have been repressed, whether Iraq or Syria. In game of the politics, let us be clear eyes about it.
The Baathist system was started by The Empire, if one looks at the history of it. Also, if one looks at the history of Islam, it has always been secular. Supposedly, the founding fathers of USA, such as Thomas Jefferson, based the USA Constitution on the Medina Constitution created by the Prophet of Islam himself, Prophet Mohammad (saws).
Let us be clear eyes, the Assad family has not been perfect angels in the past. If the Empire wanted to take out Bashar al-Assad, they could easily have done it in these 4 and half years and Putin have not been able to do anything.
But The Empire and President Obama are sick of Israel, The Lobby and most importantly Netanyahu. In the fog of chaos, The Empire is bringing back Russia in all Arabs countries and at the doorsteps of Israel. No wonder Netanyahu recently went to meet Putin with his two top Generals, which is unusual. Netanyahu had burned his bridges with both Obama and Putin. He cannot turn to Obama and cry wolf again.
Putin is going to arm the Syrian and Arabs countries with the latest Military Equipment, just like USSR used to do. USA cannot provide Arabs with the latest Military Equipment due to The Lobby. Russia was very week after USSR, but now both Obama and Putin being in cahoots things are changing under the disguise of chaos and ISIS. The best thing that can ever happen to Islam, is ISIS, such as under Dubya Bush the Muslims were bad, but now under Obama the Muslims are not bad, it is the Liver Eaters ISIS.
I predicted this 2 years ago on the old Saker blog, that both Obama and Putin are in cahoots. People thought that I being a Ahab, didn’t know the meaning of cahoots. The Crimea was given to Putin on a Silver Platter, and the rest of Ukraine belongs to Putin too. However, Crimea is no longer part of Ukraine, it is now officially part of Russia.
Obama is throwing the sectarian between Sunni and Shia out of the window. I live in the bridging country called, Oman which is part of GCC. The predominate religion in Oman is Ibada, not Sunni, not Shia. As a Shia we are only 2% of the population, and Oman is truly a Secular Country under the control of a Benevolent Monarch called, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Allah to keep his shadow over us for years to come. Amen.
It is I who told Ann that I am a 63 years student, and the day I quit learning, I will be 6 foot under. My wife of 40 years, an is ex-WASP from Dixie Land and we could have stayed in USA if we had choose to do so, but we live in Oman, a heaven on earth.
In closing, the Shia used to consider the Alawites as non-Muslims. All Muslims believe that every century a reformer (renew) of Islam comes to reform and renew Islam. The last one Muslims believe is Ayatollah Khomeini. As recent as him who brought the Alawites in the fold of Islam.
People say that under Putin, Libya would never been under Chapter 7. However, as recently as less than a year ago, Yemen is under Chapter 7. Go figure!
Best regards,
Mohamed
Salam eimar,
LOL, Netanyahu has become History and a chicken without a head. What did The Empire call him, a chicken sh*t.
Never underestimate your opponent. Never underestimate The Empire! Watch with clear eyes what The Empire is doing not what The Empire is saying.
Best regards,
Mohamed
Mohammed,
Thanks for taking the trouble to clarify. I admit I have difficulty processing the notion of Islam as ‘secular.’ Or any religion. Seems like an oxymoron.
Then I came across this:
http://www.maskofzion.com/2011/01/occupied-iraq-new-year-same-zionism.html?m=1
The article was written four years ago in Occupied Iraq, but is now being circulated on US alt media. It explains a lot about the various factions in Iraq, but even more so, how Zionism is indeed Anglo-devised, with the Zionist Entity (funny, that now makes more sense than ‘Israel’) used to light a series of fuses designed to re-carve the Middle East as new energy resources/ earth riches emerge through explorations conducted by the transnationals stilled controlled by the colonial powers.
All the colonial powers operate through rigged political systems to this end.
The Zionists are the ‘managers’ and specialized operatives. The takfiris are the cannon-fodder.
The US military provides the Christian/Mormon cannon-fodder, resources and ideological fig-leaf for ‘humanitarian interventions.’ But the terrorism is essentially mobile, always ready to be activated and deployed where required, even though the various elements have little or only the smallest inkling of overall strategy.
Now I understand why you said in an earlier post that ISIL (and the rest) is a ‘figment of the imagination.’ As is ‘Israel.’
And that the Caliphate is a myth Erdogan fell for to be wooed away from normative nation-state -consolidation through trade with with neighbours in the MENA. Guess Zion tapped into his neo-Ottoman fantasy and devised ISIL to that end:Turkey was the underbelly of the Middle East. (Cyprus is next.)
I also understand from the attacks that took place in Egypt that the Middle East countries had a have a long and painful lesson on colonial exploitation of sectarian differences. And how the Egyptians have not fallen for it this time.
The response to the supposedly religiously-motivated attacks (particularly on the Coptic Christians) shows the opposite to takfiri thinking, while Wahaabism perfectly mimics Zionisim. They are not just cut from the same cloth, they are using personnel in parallel. And they are all emanating from the same region in the world, and coordinated through the colonial banking system, with the Rots the most visible tip of the iceberg.*
So if I don’t quite understand the idea of a Muslim state being also secular, its because I have a lot yet to learn.
But at some pre-linguistic level, I think I might eventually ‘get it .’
Regards
Eimar :)
*The ‘iceberg’ is, thanks to global ‘warming’ becoming both more visible and melting: it is a lot smaller than we thought, and vulnerable to ‘icebreakers’ in way it wasn’t before.
Thanks heavens for Russian ‘technology.’ :)
Greetings eimar,
Excellent reply!
It is The HOPE, that keeps mankind alive. Hope for better future if not for us, at least for our children.
As the Holy Quran says: “satan plans and Allah plans, and Allah is the Best of Planner”.
Have a great day,
Mohamed
Thai is why I always said that the real evil paradite pest on this world is England whuch uses others as either ISIS mercenary or zionist bankers but the wealth and piwer always flows to that evil England.
Others are just foolish patsies including usa which is used by English to serve her agenda in europe- to kerp Germany down and Russia out through Anglo created Nato.
Yemen and Iraq were not dysfunctional states-they were destroyed by angloamerican evik parasites. So your very furst assumptions are not right to begin with.
Muslim brotherhood was created by the british and it is English paraditestoday who have plottedsyrian destabilisation today as evedenced by interview of ex French foreign miniter dumas about Englisgh plots against Syria in 2010.
It is also English parasites who created thisshia and then Sunni divide in secular Iraq. Do not blame usa when it jusf follows what his master the evil England asks it to do.
Thank you, Mr. Korybko. Very helpful.