[Text/Fumigation cage essence of Wu Mai Ye]
Recently, under the auspices of the Chinese side, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) held consultations on internal reconciliation in Beijing (hereinafter referred to as the "Beijing talks") and made positive progress. When news came out, Chinese people who care about world events were happy and hoped that the Palestinian people could unite, Work together to find a bright future.
Many Chinese compatriots simply believe that people in the Middle East must have the same reaction. For Middle Easters, this news certainly carries weight. However, "the Middle East" is a very broad concept, where the situation is complex and not monolithic. In terms of "ethnic groups", at present, there are three major ethnic groups - Arabs, Persians (the so-called Aryans), Turks (the so-called Turks), and other ethnic groups such as Kurds. Different religious beliefs are interspersed among different ethnic groups, such as Sunni, Shiite, and Christians in Islam.
Some concepts we often come into contact with are not equal to each other. For example, the "Islamic world" includes all countries in the world with Islam as their state religion, and refers to the vast regions from Morocco and Turkey to Malaysia and Indonesia, north to Central Asia, south to East Africa, and even includes Muslim communities in many countries; The Middle East roughly overlaps with "West Asia", but also includes part of North Africa. In recent years, the concept of "Greater Middle East" has emerged, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Among them, no matter how ambitious the Turks are and how crazy they have been instilled by the West, the current reality is that the majority of Turks live in the "nationstate" of "Turkey", and the nation and the state are highly overlapping; The Iranians are the same. In modern times, they established a national state, "Iran (Aryan)". The Iranian nation mainly lives in Iran. Outside Iran, the Iranians became ethnic minorities and immigrant groups. In other words, Turkey and Iran are both countries in the Middle East and West Asia.
But Arabs are different. In modern times, they have established countries of all sizes. Those countries are distributed in North Africa and West Asia. The westernmost part starts from Morocco, along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and extends to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, forming the "Arab world" often mentioned in the media.
"The Arab World" on the map (photo source: Internet)
Whether the above ethnic division conforms to history is another question. In terms of the current situation, the complex pattern of the contemporary Middle East was gradually formed after the two world wars and formed part of the "modern world system". In such a world system, the majority of people in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen are Arabs, who are of the same race as the Arab peoples in North Africa and West Asia. It is also clear that they are not Turks or Persians.
Our people often do not understand the situation and mix three different categories of Islam, the Middle East and Arabia together. Last year, after the signing of the China Iraq Saudi Arabia tripartite agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "tripartite agreement"), a friend happily said to me, "The Arabs are finally united!" The misunderstanding is roughly equivalent to that China and Japan have formed a certain cooperation, and an Arab lamented that the Chinese are united! (Interestingly, this is the current view of the Middle East that "East Asians" are all "Chinese".)
The situation in the Middle East is foggy, so when we talk about the situation there, we should describe different groups separately. This article just talks about the Arab world's views on the "Beijing talks".
The Arab world has lost confidence
The Arabs, of course, are very sensitive to the "Beijing talks", but generally believe that they will not achieve substantive results. They further believe that China's current approach will not have much effect. What we are really interested in is that kind of theory:
China is taking advantage of the current situation to promote a new Middle East order and a new world order.
The words of the Egyptian writer Murad in Gaza War and the World Order are typical:
"(Since the 'flood action') China and Russia have taken advantage of the political, strategic and status situation to disrupt the world order led by the West, and strengthened their leadership role, replacing the leadership role of the United States."
To this end, two young scholars (one is an Arab scholar working in Australian University and the other is a Western scholar teaching in the School of International Relations of Fudan University) jointly published "What is China's True Position in the Gaza Israel War
"At present, there is no transition from Pax Americana (if it can be really called that) to China's peace in the region, and there is no such continuous transformation process". "Our research shows that China does not feel that it is a preferred script to take over the traditional hegemonic role of the United States in the region."
Screenshot of What Is China's True Position in the Gaza Israel War (photo source: webpage screenshot)
However, such a rational voice is difficult to meet people's psychological needs, so it is not valued.
In today's Arab world, the mood of failure is pervasive. People have generally lost self-confidence, subjective consciousness, and even self rejection and self denial, leaving the western "empire theory" to erode their hearts.
The media elites came together to publicize that the Middle East has been the arena of imperial hegemony since ancient times, so today it cannot escape the fate of empire. Then we pushed the boat along the current, and attributed the fate of the entire Middle East to the "affairs" and "responsibilities" of big powers, that is, if big powers want to benefit from the Middle East, they must also conduct governance and control. One of the typical figures is Hassan Sharbayl, the editor in chief of the Saudi newspaper Middle East News. He is a hard core pro American. As a conscientious senior reporter, he has been to the suffering scene in the Middle East and Africa time and again, which makes him feel powerless and frustrated. However, he firmly believes that "the world needs a policeman", and that policeman can only be the beacon of democracy in the United States. In an article titled "The Land of War, Accidents and Earthquakes" in early 2024, he misrepresented the conflict around Gaza as Iran's attempt to expel and replace American forces in the Middle East, and openly asked:
"The region (the Middle East) is currently facing a changed war, which raises the question: Where is Iran's border in the region? Where is the border of the United States in the region?"
The above questions reflect the current consensus of Arabs (except for a few leftists), that is, they believe that "the empire is boundless", that is, where the power of the empire expands, its tangible or intangible boundaries extend to; The expansion of the empire is inevitable, so is the extension of its boundaries; Moreover, the borders of the empire also have the right to extend freely on the land of other countries and people. What kind of national sovereignty, what kind of world order, meets the flexible boundary of the empire, all of them become invalid.
Today, pro American groups like Sharbayl are becoming more and more isolated. In fact, his heart is also shaken. The Arab people are unable to control their own destiny and have witnessed the failure of the United States in seeking hegemony in the Middle East. They turn their eyes to the major eastern countries, and take the initiative to assign the Middle East, including the Arab world, to China as a "responsibility", waiting for China to solve all their problems!
After the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban fired guns to celebrate (photo source: ICphoto)
This has formed a gap in understanding between China and Arab countries:
China believes that the Middle East is of course the Middle East of Middle Easterners, and Middle Easters are the main body of the Middle East. China can only be a friendly, positive and benevolent auxiliary force. If the Middle East wants to become better, it can only rely on the people of the Middle East to find their own ways and give play to their subjective initiative;
However, the Arab side believes that China is the active side, and the entire Middle East has become the passive side. It is a burden that China cannot shirk and must take charge of—— The Chinese people are waiting with hope for the Arab world to stand up. Unexpectedly, they just lie down.
In such a state of mind, the Arab side instead condemned that the Middle East turmoil has continued to this day and is getting worse, partly because the dragon in the East is not strong enough. The media is full of such remarks:
"China will protect its trade routes and oil zones through diplomacy in the future, and perhaps also through warships, just as Portugal, Britain and the United States have tried to protect their trade routes in our region in the past." (Abdulrahman Rashid, "Is the Saudi American conflict about to end?")
"Why did Saudi Arabia not sign a defense agreement with China? The fact is that Beijing is the party to avoid this situation. Although it is the largest buyer of oil and its demand for oil is also increasing, unlike the past Britain and the current United States, its strategy does not rely on military force to protect its interests in the Gulf. It has no fleet of ships, aircraft carriers and military bases in the region, and has not been involved in regional conflicts. It only relies on its huge economic strength to achieve its goals. What is happening in the Gulf is very rare, and this irony cannot escape anyone's eyes, especially compared with what is happening in the South China Sea, where the United States and China directly confront each other through military action and opposing allies. However, in the Gulf region, both forces can coexist through good relations with Saudi Arabia. " (Co author of The Subtle Balance in Riyadh)
The Taiwan issue is an internal affair of China, and the Middle East issue involves international politics. The two issues are different in nature. The Arab elites categorically deny this.
Sabena Siddiqui quoted Foreign Minister Wang's words in her article "China's progress in the Middle East is full of various limitations": "China firmly supports the people of the Middle East to explore the path of development independently, and supports the Middle East countries to solve regional security problems in unity and self-improvement."
However, the Arabs just can't understand this! The article unexpectedly interpreted China's claim as "affirming Beijing's commitment to the region", and said frankly: "The biggest shortcoming of (China Saudi Arabia) bilateral relations is the lack of a military role of Beijing."
As I mentioned repeatedly in the previous articles, it is the consensus of the Arab world to ask China to send troops directly. As early as the war broke out in Syria, Arabs sincerely believed that China would send a large army to counter rebellion. Mohammed Fayez Farahart, an expert in Egyptian Asian studies and professor of the Pyramid Research Center, said frankly in the article "The Belt and Road Initiative in the Eyes of Egyptians":
"Although compared with those crises in the Middle East in the past, China has played a more obvious role in the current Middle East crisis, but this aspect still needs to be improved and strengthened... The Syrian crisis has exposed the lack of some coordination between China and Arab countries, or the conflict of positions between China and some Arab countries, because several Arab countries support accelerating the pace of the Syrian crisis The Ministry of Military Affairs intervened in the process, which made China suffer from multiple accusations. "
This mentality has continued to this day. Despite China's unremitting efforts for peace in Palestine and the Middle East, the Arabs think of another thing: why not send an army when there is one? In "Controlling the Second Nakba (Arabic term, referring to the exile of Palestinians caused by the Israeli occupation)", Sharbayl expressed his gratitude to the United States. "The fleet and transport aircraft (of the United States) have arrived. This role especially imposes a huge responsibility on the United States. It has become its responsibility to take action against this conflict and prevent it from happening again by stopping the new Nakba ". In contrast, Russia and Europe have no time to care, and" China is unwilling and unable to do so ".
Arab Understanding of the "Tripartite Agreement"
In such a myth, the Arabs have totally different ideas from us about the relationship between China and the Middle East.
For example, last year, after the signing of the "tripartite agreement", the Chinese people were generally happy. Naturally, everyone believed that China had helped Saudi Arabia and Iran to smooth relations. Next, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries could unite and cooperate on the big stage of the Middle East and work together for a better day. I hope the Middle East will turn around.
However, the interpretation of the Arab world is completely different. Their understanding is that the main body of the agreement is not the two Middle East countries, but China. The two countries and the solution are not Saudi Arabia and Iran's affairs, but China's affairs. The relevant rights and responsibilities are also in China. Therefore, whether the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran can be sustained and whether good results can be achieved depends not on the capabilities of those two countries, but on the capabilities of China. In their view, the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran is China's "strengthening its presence" in the Middle East and China's "success". If the follow-up situation is not good, China's prestige will be damaged.
Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a settlement under the mediation of China (photo source: online)
Dr. Surami, the head of the International Center for Iranian Studies in Saudi Arabia, even said in "More efforts are needed to end the crisis of confidence in Iraq and Saudi Arabia":
"Iran knows what the consequences will be if it violates the terms of the agreement signed with Saudi Arabia under the patronage of China. The Iranian leader ordered the official radio station to stop negative reports, derogatory comments and criticism of the Kingdom. Nevertheless, after the signing of the agreement, Iranian media continued to have some negative comments on Saudi Arabia, which violated the principle of non-interference in its internal affairs and protection of national sovereignty... A lot of criticisms and insults were made against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "
Faisal Abbas, the chief editor of the Arab News, said in the Three Consequences of the Issa Accord:
"This is also the first time that China has appeared on the world stage as a peacemaker (in the original, the Arab elites really don't learn history), and it is a test of their respect as a global superpower". In addition, China and Iran signed a 25 year agreement, "Therefore, there is no doubt that the Chinese dragon will breathe on Tehran's neck to ensure that the agreement is complied with - in my opinion, this is the only way (to ensure the implementation of the tripartite agreement)."
On March 11 this year, on the first anniversary of the signing of the tripartite agreement, Surami published the "Saudi Iraqi relations in the past year of the agreement" in the Arab News, taking stock of the achievements of the two countries and the areas of slow development of relations, pointing out that the long-term trust crisis between the two sides is difficult to solve quickly, and then said:
"At the same time, China's promotion of the agreement marks a major diplomatic transformation of the country on the global stage. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to go head to head with any attempt to undermine the agreement, continue to achieve results, and continue to repair."
That is to say, if Iran performs well, it is that the eastern powers have gained face and confidence; If Iran does not behave well, it is a dragon that loses face and interests.
The Arab world characterizes Iran as expansionism
The "One year long Agreement on Saudi Arabia Iran Relations" is full of negation and criticism of Iran, which is the current "political correctness" in the Arab world.
The contradictions between the Arab countries and Iran are very complex, but Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries have established a set of official words:
Iran implements imperialism, continues to expand in the region, supports agents in neighboring countries, and creates turbulence for those countries. What drives Iran to do so is a "evil force". Today's Iranian political system is "the system of the devil", and it is determined to "shake the Arab and Islamic world".
In turn, Iran has the same accusation against Saudi Arabia, and adds one more accusation, that is, Saudi Arabia's relations with the United States harm the interests of the Middle East and the Islamic world.
Let's put aside the Iranian issue. Let's talk about it again when we have the opportunity. Today, let's talk about the purpose of Arab stigmatization of Iran.
Once Iran is defined as an imperialist country, all its actions will become a deliberate destruction of the Arab world. Therefore, the suppression of Iran by the United States will be cleared and justified - punish and contain "rogue countries", and maintain the "rule-based international order" under the unipolar leadership of the United States.
This kind of characterization of Iran will inevitably make people feel aggrieved. As anyone who has been to Iran knows, the continuous high pressure sanctions of the United States have actually turned Iran into an invisible concentration camp. The Iranian people are trapped in it, almost isolated from the rest of the world, and have lost the opportunity for development and communication with people around the world. In Iran, it is obvious that the country has stagnated in the 1970s. Even the cars running on the streets are European and American models in the 1970s. Outside Iran, such models can only be seen in old movies. However, the self defense and resistance of the victims trapped in the concentration camps were stigmatized as imperialist expansion, which was a reversal of black and white.
The streets of Tehran, the capital of Iran (photo source: ICphoto)
Not only that, the power group that holds the right to speak in the Arab world also judges the "arc of resistance" as a tool used by Iran to disintegrate the Arab world. The "arc of resistance" is a statement formed in recent years, that is, an arc of resistance formed by Iran, Syria, Iraq's Shi'ite militias, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, and Yemeni Hussai armed forces. It was originally called the "arc of Shi'ite", and is now also called the "axis of resistance". How to understand the arc of resistance is a matter of different opinions. It must be carefully studied, debated and discussed to reveal its complexity. However, the official discourse established by the Arab authorities affirmed that the arc of resistance is only a tool for Iran to expand, and leaders of different countries and regions are Iran's agents. This discourse has generated a map, in which the resistance of all parts of the arc of resistance is no longer the struggle of the local people to survive, but Iran's seizure of Arab territory. As a result, the contradiction between Iran and Arabia, or the actions of various parts of the arc of resistance, have become Iran's "dream of expelling the United States from the Middle East" (Sharbayer, The Iranian Flame in the Chinese Kitchen). Thus, a kind of argument is formed:
Although the United States has its own interests in all its actions against Iran, it is also protecting the interests of the Arab world. On the contrary, the existence of the current system of Iran itself is a threat to the Arab world.
What really makes us unbelievable is that the Arab authorities use the differences between Sunnis and Shiites to determine that Iran, dominated by Shiites, is a "devil". In his article, Sharbayer said:
"Does Iran find it difficult to achieve its dream of becoming the number one partner of" Great Satan "?"
Once the conviction in the style of this religious tribunal is imposed, it is impossible for Arab countries to cooperate with Iran, let alone jointly resist foreign aggression. Our idea is that "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors" and "neighboring countries are immovable neighbors", but it seems that Middle Easterners do not think so.
Understanding this will not only help us understand the ups and downs in the Middle East in the past 40 years, but also help us understand the situation after the "flood action".
As mentioned earlier, the Arab world is full of failure and has no confidence in mastering the destiny. When the "flood action" just happened, the whole Arab world was shocked and excited. Subsequently, the continued suffering in Gaza tortured people's hearts, and Arabs felt humiliated, angry and helpless. However, when the arc of resistance rose to action, at least the Arab obtainable interest groups were frightened and bent on planning their own lives. They refused to modify the established political discourse, but still asserted that:
"Today, many groups associated with or supported by Iran are still influential roles - for example, in the Israel Gaza war, (Iran) helped to expand the conflict and spread it to other Arab countries." (45 years ago - How Iran's Islamic Revolution reshaped the region) "As Tehran seized strategic leadership", "Those militias, under the banner of liberating Jerusalem, recovering Al Aqsa and adhering to the Palestinian cause, harboring a betrayal and despicable mind, cover up the war (the truth) that is destabilizing the region, as a strategy of spreading hegemony, growing public opinion and advocating their military presence and influence against the United States!" ("Greater Iran") Permanent War with the Region)
Two days after the "flood action", the Arab News published the emotional article "Causes and Implications of the Al Aqsa Flood" by Palestinian scholar Barud, pointing out that:
By choosing the date of commencement, "the Palestinian Resistance Movement hopes to send a clear message that the cause of Palestine remains the cause of all Arabs."
However, their hopes were dashed. In the rich Arab countries, what the rulers and cultural elites want is how to compromise as soon as possible, suppress the arc of resistance, and change their attitudes.
Therefore, in their opinion, it is better for the eastern powers to send troops to carry out comprehensive control, not only to control Israel, prevent the second Naqba refugee flow, but also to control the action of the axis of resistance, and calm the situation.
Gaza Strip devastated by Israeli invasion (photo source: ICphoto)
However, when the power of hope refused to come, the Arabs felt disappointed and dissatisfied. In their view, it was due to the coldness of the eastern power's indifference to others. That power "was not eager to play a powerful role", and "patiently sat on the river bank waiting for the floating bodies of the enemy" drifted by day and night.
The Arab Dilemma
It is not difficult to see the confusion in Arab thinking:
If Iran really wants to engage in imperialism, so it is evil, then how can it be a good thing for Arabs to accept that a foreign country, such as the United States, as an empire, extends its borders to the interior of the Middle East and meanders wherever it wants?
The reason must be very complicated, and scholars need to study and analyze it. But I must say that we have benefited from the excellent ideological tradition since the May 4th Movement. In our country, as long as a country engages in imperialism and colonialism against China, no matter whether it is a neighboring country or a distant country, no matter what race, region or other name, the Chinese people must defeat it thoroughly under the leadership of an excellent political party to win the glory of independence and liberation. Therefore, no matter how well Japan and the United States sang, since they were imperialist countries, they were like birds of a feather. The Chinese people would never allow them to succeed.
In contrast, Japan has been parroting Western historiography since the Meiji Restoration, implementing brutal aggression and colonization against Asian countries under the banner of "leading Asia to defeat Western whites". Today, Japan still indulges in that kind of discourse and refuses to admit guilt—— By the way, Japan was supposed to lead Asia to defeat western whites, which has been the mainstream view in the Middle East so far.
Japanese fascist propaganda posters of the so-called "Greater East Asia Co prosperity Circle" (photo source: online)
What I want to discuss briefly next is that some friends always ask me, what do you think of ordinary people in the local area when you repeat the views of Arab elites?
The Arab people are, of course, honest and kind-hearted on the whole, but there is no advanced group to educate and enlighten them. They have only two possibilities: one is to be influenced by the Western elites' views; Second, always live in a conservative traditional concept system. Most of them belong to the latter situation, or both. In fact, the lower level people are, the more difficult it is to access information beyond their living range.
In front of the general public, there is a threshold of language: Arabic is divided into standard language and dialect. The former is similar to our Mandarin, while dialects in different regions differ greatly from each other and from standard language. Only educated people can master the standard language. Many people at the bottom of the society only know dialects, and they can't understand the content of modern media like Peninsula. Therefore, the standard language of Arabic is the tool of the elites. Just because of the language, there is a gap between the elites and the middle and lower class people. A large number of ordinary people who only know dialect can only rely on the surrounding information channels and must live in the information cocoon room - I hope the new media on the Internet can play a role in breaking the cocoon room.
As a result, the more grass-roots people are, the more pious and conservative they are. They have no doubt about the teachings they have mastered since childhood. In a news on Al Jazeera TV, an old man in Gaza stood by the ruins, looked up to the sky and cried "Arahuakba" for many times. He was very sad. From the tone of voice, you can understand his prayer: "Great God, do you show your spirit in the end?" I was extremely sad, but at the same time I couldn't help being anxious: since the reality has proved that your God is so hard to use, Why did you never think that it might not exist at all?
However, this is the state of mind of the vast majority of Arabs, including many elites. There is a column of Mohammed Abdulhadi, a journalist writer on the Arabic official website of the Peninsula, focusing on the Palestinian issue. One of the columns, "Allah Belongs to You, Hamas!" praises the unyielding of Hamas and the Palestinian people. The whole article is religious rhetoric, both indignant and enthusiastic.
In the existing world order, the middle and lower levels of the Arab world are in a disadvantageous position and suffering. They also understand that it is the specific reality that has caused their plight. However, the real world is a westernized world, and the strength of the West is everywhere, which makes them feel that "modern things" are "western things", and those things are "toxic", so they increasingly return to the tradition. Compared with the elite, they are more rebellious, but they do not have advanced ideological weapons, so they can only use traditional religious ideas as the basis for resistance.
Palestinian father and son injured by Israeli terrorist attacks are on the ruins (photo source: ICphoto)
Recently, some Chinese netizens have been concerned about the arc of resistance, thinking that it is a group of hard bones, who dare to fight and fight, but do not accept softness. However, with the exception of Syria, the members of the Arc of Resistance are all based on religious conservatism. This is the dilemma of today's Arab world, and perhaps the dilemma of the entire Islamic world: the elites who aspire to modernization believe in Western right-wing ideas, while those who rise up to resist stick to the most conservative religious traditions, and it is difficult for both to have a bright future.
As a result, there are only two situations for the outside world to face Arabs: either the elites who have been captured by the Western right-wing ideology and admit defeat, or the people who are indomitable, devout and faithful to conservative religious ideas. This makes it difficult for the outside world to help.
It can be inferred that the Arab elites' willingness to "enhance their presence" in China may not be entirely influenced by imperialism, nor is it just for personal gain. Perhaps they hope that a new force can have a catalytic effect on the Middle East and play a leading role. On the media, there are constant writers reminding compatriots to learn from China's experience. Just last year, Omani author Hu Laibi published "How can the new international order learn from ancient China?" in the Omani Observer, introducing Shang Yang's reform and sighing with his fate:
"Those who realize how profound the reform is are always using their power to punish reformers. This is why when the reform and development plan is unpopular, many people talk about it, but few are willing to sacrifice and promote it", "Real improvement takes time, but if capable people are not willing to make sacrifices, they will not be conducive to successful paradigm shift."
It can be seen that Arabs are trying to be sober, analyzing and analyzing their own problems, and have a desire to learn from others.
As mentioned above, it can be seen that the situation in the Arab world is far more complicated than we thought. It is extremely different from China in any aspect. At present, it seems that there is no way to break through the dilemma. We are used to projecting ourselves on others, which is also blind and childish.
At the same time, it should also be noted that Arab talents place special hopes on the "Belt and Road Initiative" because they cannot find a way forward. They are eager for the modernization drive brought about by the initiative to create stability in the Middle East, help people get rid of poverty, get rid of traditional ideas, and accept the influence of modernization in ideology.
Arabs are well aware of the complexity of the situation in this region. As early as 2017, an Arab author, Mohammed Said, published "The Chain of Pearls -- A Chinese Dragon's Journey to the Arabian Desert" on the official website of the Peninsula, and there was such a metaphor:
"If you indulge in gazing at the abyss, the abyss will also look back at you, which is what China is worried about. The Chinese firmly refuse to portray the Belt and Road Initiative as a new Marshall Plan", "partly because China hopes to avoid linking its new plan with any military level, on the one hand, it is afraid of causing panic in the United States, on the other hand, it is afraid of being involved in the Middle East conflict. In the past few decades, China has tended to adopt an unbiased policy towards various problems in the Middle East, especially in the Palestine Israel conflict and the Saudi Iran conflict, which has helped her avoid direct military conflicts in the Middle East, in contrast to the United States. However, there are some signs that the abyss of the Middle East has begun to stare into China's eyes. "
It is masochistic to describe the place of birth as a black hole like abyss. However, this fallacy is "victim guilt". The Arab world is the victim of modern Western imperialism and colonialism, and the latter should bear the responsibility.
What's more, the Arab world with a long civilization, rich resources, intelligent and tenacious people and an important geographical location is not an abyss, but a land of hope. With the end of the era of Western hegemony, the Arab people will eventually break out of the predicament and explore a way forward.
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