In Peril: The Arab Status Quo by Anthony Shadid - Essay Example

The writer points out that in Arab nations like Jordan and Iraq, the rulers appointed by the western world had no roots. In addition, the divisions of the Arab world after the fall of the Ottoman Empire were aimed at creating conflicts rather than solving them. Another allegation is against the US for its failure to solve the Arab-Israel conflict, and also for its supporting the Egyptian and Saudi Arabian governments which were not able to handle their internal affairs. The writer also points out that some of these dictatorial governments have close links with America; thus an attempt to show the western malicious intentions (Shadid). Here one can see an attempt to dig into history to show how France and Britain exploited the area through the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. However, the writer admits that the western states could not be blamed for the inability of Arab nations to solve their problems themselves. Moreover, the Arab states forgot to look into their own internal affairs, and instead, the rulers thought engaging in relentless conflict with Israel would appease their citizens, which has gone wrong as is evident from the recent state of affairs.

The eruption of problems started in Egypt, which was considered the epitome of foreign relations to be adopted by other Arab nations. However, it seems rather surprising that even so many years could not solve any problems in the country it gave birth to new issues like the Christian-Muslim divide. In Sudan, the blacks fight against the Arab rulers and in Iraq, the Shiites are preparing a return to power. Tunisia witnessed another fall of dictatorship due to the extreme frustration faced by people over joblessness and corruption.

In total, the Arab world is fuming; wars against dictatorships, joblessness, poverty, and clashes among interest groups are all shattering the Arab world. It is warned that the coming years will face a great deal of destruction and devastation as a result of the anarchies existing in the Arab world and the absence of powerful leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser who could cover up the issues.

Shadid provides the example of Tunisian leader Habib Bourguiba to show how foolishly the new Arab leaders engage in unpopular activities, facing the wrath of the people. He appeared drinking juice on television in the month of Ramadan, and the protest he will face in a Muslim community is clear. Thus, the article is an attempt to look into the reason behind the unrest that is shaking the entire Arab world. However, the writer, like all others, fails to predict the future.

The issues in the Arab world starting from the fall of Iraq, and now very evident in many other Arab nations, reveal the fact that the people there are eager to achieve total freedom, democracy, development, and transformation. However, the pathetic thing is that due to the lack of powerful social reformists, possibly due to the harsh regimes of Islam religion-centrism, people in the Arab world are still hopeless, aimless, and irrational. The only thing they want to achieve is the kind of freedom people enjoy in other parts of the world. However, the ones who exhibit the power to lead our monarchs as is evident from Iraq and Egypt do nothing for the welfare of the people or to control religious extremism. The Arab world is unlikely to get another George Washington, another Abraham Lincoln, or another Mahatma Gandhi. Another thing that keeps the people always divided is the sectarian ideology promoted by religious leaders who want to take advantage of the existing social chaos. However, the recent developments prove that the people are no longer ready to suffer the unnecessary burdens imposed on them by the nation and the religion.

However, it seems almost certain that as far as the people continue supporting sectarianism in the name of religion or ignoring the need to oppose it, the kind of freedom they expect from the nation will be a distant dream. After dethroning one monarch, they will let another monarch rule them and will suffer under the heavy hands of the new one for many years ahead. They will always suffer poverty, lack of freedom amounting to slavery and will engage in imaginary wars with other people and other nations from which they gain nothing. If the people were exploited by monarchs or vested interests for so long, it was because of their inability or dislike to fight against their real enemy; sectarianism in the name of religion. This is the reason why even after the disappearance of dictatorships, these people are not able to achieve peace. Anyway, as experts predict, it will take years to get a clear picture into which course the Arab nations are going to progress.