Ahmad Hashemi
About two years ago, when the so-called pro-democracy
movement, better known as the “Arab Spring,” began in the region, many
commentators hailed it as “a great step forward,” “a turning point in the
contemporary Arab world history”, and a “fourth wave of democratization.” I
remember those days very well because my colleagues at Iran’s foreign ministry
were very excited. Like most Iranians, they supported the toppling of the old
tyrants in the Arab world. Many of my colleagues were saying – in private of
course – that Iran would be next in the domino effect, and the whole region
would take great strides towards democracy.
I was not as optimistic. I argued that, unlike Iran’s opposition
Green Movement – which was an uprising backed by predominantly secular, middle
class and pro-western layers of society – the major opposition forces in the
Arab streets were made up of Islamists and even salafists from poor
neighborhoods, not real forces for change for the good. I contended that
circumstances were not ripe for a positive transformation and that quick and
bloody change would only exacerbate the situation by bringing anti-West extremist
elements to power.
My skepticism gained further momentum by hearing and reading
news headlines such as: “With more than 2000 years of Jewish heritage, Egypt
shuts down its last synagogue,” or “Attacks on Coptic places of worship
continue,” and “Egyptian high profile officials call Jews `apes,`” and “David
Gerbi, the Libyan-Italian Jew who returned to his homeland, receives death
threats,” and “The last synagogue in Iraq is closed, signaling the end of a
2,700-year Jewish presence there.”
These and other similar examples were indications that not only
were the remaining small Christian and particularly Jewish communities becoming
extinct in the Muslim world, but the already low tolerance towards the “other,”
was shrinking. This is the main reason I continue to believe that Arab
uprisings are unlikely to bring any change for the better.
“Israel is to blame” policy
“Israel is to blame” policy
With the start of the Arab Spring revolts, both the rulers and
the opposition tried to portray the issues through a ridiculous but strangely
rife theory that Jews were behind all the events and were busy conspiring
against Muslims and Arabs. By forging competing anti-Semitic propaganda and
producing conspiracies for the purpose of pointing a finger at Israel and Jews,
each side tried to demonize the other side by associating it with Israel. In
Libya, rebels claimed that the mother of Muammar Gaddafi was Jewish as a way of
defaming the anti-Semitic dictator; Iranian officials did not hesitate to call
the Syrian uprising, in its early phase, a conspiracy masterminded by Zionists;
and Bashar al-Assad repeated the same accusations. And this list goes on.
Narrow-mindedness kept the uprisings’ leadership and supporters
from harnessing all existing potential. Instead of dealing with root causes of
the problems, they had a ‘one size fits all’ diagnosis with a single
prescription for all ills: just point a finger at Israel and the Jews.”
In my view, one reason why the Arab Spring succeeded in toppling
old dictatorships but didn’t succeed in replacing them with genuine democracy
was that narrow-mindedness kept the uprisings’ leadership and supporters from
harnessing all existing potential. Instead of dealing with root causes of the
problems, they preferred to choose a simplistic answer and solution for all
unresolved issues. They had a “one size fits all” diagnosis with a single
prescription for all ills: whenever there is a mess, a dilemma or a complicated
situation, just point a finger at Israel and the Jews.
This particular strategy has been employed extensively in Iran’s
domestic politics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, both as a scapegoat for
internal problems and as leverage against political rivals. For example, after
President Ahmadinejad defied Supreme Leader Khamenei, ultra-conservative groups
labeled him a secret Jew. His mentor, Rahim Mashai and Rahim’s companions are
labeled `Devious Current` by Khamenei’s supporters. This is partly because,
despite disavowing his words and lambasting Israel’s policy, Rahim Mashai once
opined that the two nations of Iran and Israel are friends. Within this
context, Jews equal evil and are considered the source of all wrongdoing,
misery and misconduct.
My personal experience
I used to write in Persian but when I decided to write in English a couple of months ago, I chose to contribute to Israeli papers. To my surprise, my close friends became infuriated and told me that “writing in Jewish media is a red line and you are putting your credit and your future at stake by getting your pieces published there.” I told them I’d continue to contribute, even though I might anger my old friends and colleagues.
Unfortunately, our society is so biased and unfair when it comes
to Israel and its policies that even many pro-reform, pro-democracy groups in
and outside Iran deliberately distance themselves from anything that can tie
them to Jews. Writing and talking about B’nei Yisrael and their past sufferings
is still a taboo and no one wants to hear prejudice-free information about Jews
and their tragic history, such as the forced 20th century exodus, en masse
expulsion and massacre in the Middle East.
I strongly believe that if we are going to establish a healthy,
tolerant society that respects differences, and pursues a pluralistic
democracy, we have to accept that Jews and the Jewish community have been part
and parcel of our own communities. This affirmation of coexistence represents
the essence of today’s civilization. An ‘Arab Spring’ without religious
tolerance that rests on strong anti-Semitic attitudes cannot bring about
genuine democracy and freedom. In a peaceful and democratic Middle East,
everyone can prosper and flourish.
As the most successful democracy, possessing a strong and
diversified economy and a dynamic multiparty political system in a
tyranny-affected region, Israel can be a role model. I sincerely believe that
there are many other things that we can learn from each other provided that we
put aside prejudice and hatred and embrace new ideas with an open mind. We need
a change in mentality, and, as Muslims, we will need to make strong cordial
ties with the Israeli people and build the future of our shared Middle East
together with Jews and Christians. Then, the Israelis will be ready to
sacrifice some disputed lands and approach a compromise for a lasting peace
guaranteeing their security and existence in a hostile region currently
surrounded by adversaries.
Intellectuals as well as secular and religious scholars of the
Muslim world need to understand that without resolving the core principle of
tolerance for the “other” – starting with Israel – they cannot reach genuine
democracy and peace. We must search within ourselves for the roots of our
problems. The age-old problems of inequity and discrimination, violence,
disrespect for human rights, misogyny and anti-woman behaviors, intolerance and
racial hatred, sectarianism, corruption, fundamentalism and extremism are
deeply rooted in our sociopolitical structure. Our region has faced these
problems since long before the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 and
they have nothing to do with the Israel of today.
We need to be self-critical and reexamine our values and revise
the way of thinking which has led us to this chaos. We need to address this if
we are to live in a better future. We should embrace and welcome the very
existence of the Jewish state and its people as a dispersed but indigenous and
ancient regional nation. Most of the wars and clashes in the Middle East and
North Africa have taken place between the Arab and Muslim countries themselves.
Despite nonsensical remarks made by certain extremist Muslim and even Jewish
(Neturei Karta) clerics, the disappearance of the State of Israel would not
solve the region’s lingering problems. The existing culture of fratricide and
endless clashes among rival groups within the Arab and Muslim countries exist
irrespective of the State of Israel and have nothing to do with it.
Some measures that could serve to heal our wounds are cultural
relativism, respecting human rights, accepting the fact that the Jews and
Christians were living in the region prior to Muslims, religious tolerance and
respecting all faiths including Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and
non-Abrahamic monotheism (like the Bahá’í faith, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism)
as well as agnosticism and atheism.
Iran’s state sponsored anti-Semitism
The scourge of anti-Semitism has a long and disgraceful history
which should not be reduced and limited to the Nazi crimes. For example, even
“Jew” and “Jewish” still bear insulting and negative connotations in our
proverbs and daily conversations. The most abhorrent example of state-sponsored
anti-Semitism is theocratic Iran, particularly the current administration.
Anyone who denigrates Jews, denies the Holocaust and rejects the
existence of Israel can turn into a hero overnight. Holocaust deniers and
anti-Semites like Edoardo Agnelli, son of the owner of Fiat auto giant, the
late French thinker Roger Garaudy (a mentally unbalanced Holocaust denier who I
witnessed some years ago receiving a hero’s welcome at the Qom Feyziye
Seminary, in Iran), and anti-Israel rabbis such as Yisroel Dovid Weiss and
Moishe Arye Friedman are all welcome in Iran only because they hate Israel and
deny its right to exist.
As writers, scholars, human rights activists and ordinary
citizens of the region, we owe a historic apology to the Israelites for the
harassment, persecution and mass expulsion from their ancestral lands. This is
a phenomenon that can be labeled a “lesser holocaust” which led to the
annihilation of Jewish communities in most Arab and Muslim countries. Even
though we can do nothing to undo what happened in the past, we need to have the
courage to face the realities with the hope of a brighter future, enriched by a
mosaic of different cultures, religions and colors.
