Palestine / Arab

The Arab world, shaped like a bird, spreads its wings across the North of Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. Geographically, the Arab world is located in two major continents Africa and Asia. And it borders one continent, Europe, and two oceans the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. Arabs form a mosaic of races and cultures, all collected under the cover of one mother tongue, the Arabic language. An Arab in the most basic definition is a person who speaks Arabic as a first language.

The Arabic language is an ancient language which is poetic in its essence. The Arabic language is a language of emotions and feelings. The language is reflected with great clarity upon its people. Arabs are simple people who define their lives primarily with bravery, generosity, hospitality and honor. “Murouwa” is the concise term which defines the code of conduct every Arab aspires to follow.

Arabs, having vast Islamic majority, have a rich history. Islam had a long lasting golden age which started with the Prophet Mohammed’s (pbuh) rise (610) until the fall of the last Islamic Empire, the Ottoman Empire, at the end of the Great War (1917). Throughout this Golden Age, Arabs as well as Muslims excelled in many academic avenues, such as Mathematics, Medical, Physical, Chemical, Astrological, Linguistic and many more sciences. Islam motivated exploration and education. Islam taught the Arabs of the Heavens. Most of all Islam promoted Murouwa.

Murouwa” is the Arab code of virtue – bravery, patience, loyalty, hospitality, generosity to the poor, protection of the weak, defiance toward the strong-“. Murouwa is dwelled deep into the Arab conscience and psyche. In the Arab cultures how good a person is, is measured by how well he/she follow the Murouwa. The prophet Mohammed (pbuh) repeatedly promoted the characteristics that made up Murouwa. Many of the noblest of Arab forefathers chose to die rather than sacrifice their honor or Murouwa.

Today’s Arab world, the eagle of Arabhood, spreads its wings over approximately 13.5 million square kilometers of rich and beautiful lands.  Arabs today total up to approximately 275 million people. These are enormous land and human resources. Arab land holds approximately one third of the worlds oil reserves. It has three of the worlds largest rivers. It contains beautiful deserts. It holds the most sacred and religious cities in the world. The Arab lands are rich in all kinds of metals and minerals. And it is all located in the center of the world. In comparison the United States, the sole superpower of today has 250 million people, and covers only a 9.3 million square kilometer island, isolated in the western hemisphere of the world. The ex-USSR which was the worlds second superpower consisted of 260 million people spread over 22 million kilometers of land. By all means the Arabs should be a strong united world superpower.

Sadly the truth is much different.

The Arab world is divided into 22 countries. Divided by borders, races, political ideologies, and religions. Arabs are still monarchs.  They have increasing kingdoms and many sheikdoms. Although the rest are democratic republics, very few Arab leaders leave office in their lifetime, and their sons apparently ineherit the popular vote!

The Arab countries are all weak. Many of them are poor. Some are starving. At least four of them are labeled “rogue” by the United States, and at least three have severe sanctions on them. The United States placed strong army units in the Arabian Gulf, primarily to blast Iraq into oblivion whenever its “interested” in doing so, and secondly to blast any other Arab country which defies its “interests”. Israel currently occupies Palestine (all of it), Syria’s Golan heights, and the southern part of Lebanon. These definite violations of Arab sovereignty come contested only by unanswered cries to the UN for help.

The Arabs are leaders today in the plague of “Global Povertization” with their weak, far from efficient economies. Their currencies are free falling. Industrial power is almost non-existent. Arabs today survive only on oil sales and tourism. The state in which Arabs find themselves in today is quite sad, as almost any effort to change the self destructive status quo could result in imprisonment and persecution. The Arab leadership lacks Morouwa.

It is my hope that Arabs dissolve into one large United Arab confederation of States.  I dream of a single nation of many states and the richness of many cultures. I dream of a single nation with only one flag, one people, one constitution, and one purpose. Most of all, I dream of a nation with definite Murouwa.