The Middle East – let it continue paying the price as it has been doing throughout history

An eminent Egyptian scholar once described the Middle East as the ideal place for professionals from all over the globe seeking to accumulate wealth and those seeking an Islamic way of life. According to what the eminent scholar said about the region, the Middle East is the most important, strategic and complicated place on earth with its different regional and foreign powers and their diverse self-interests.

The involvement of these regional and foreign powers and their intention to safeguard their own interests contribute to the ongoing chaos in this region. As a result, one should not expect a political solution that will settle the disputes in the region even in the distant future, or for a real ideology to form the basis of a social, economic and political system which could lead to peace and stability in the region. There is even no real agreement between the religious leaders in the region concerning the collective interest of the majority of the population as some of them hypocritically and unconditionally support the interests of the elite in the region. Those regional and foreign powers that compete with one another for the exploitation of the region’s resources are the real cause which contributes to this ongoing chaos, and will definitely not give up their interests for the collective interest of the region and its people, not even for what is called human rights or the rule of law.

For a real and permanent solution to the region’s problems, the states in the region must first become honest brokers or neutral powers between the different groups operating within their borders. These states must also develop a political or social system where the rights and freedoms of the individuals are fully respected and protected by the institutions of the states. However, in order for these states to be honest brokers or neutral powers between their different groups, there is a very high price to be paid by the inhabitants of the Middle East to the “real” foreign and regional powers exploiting the region in order to enjoy any human rights, freedoms or the rule of law. The people in the region certainly cannot afford to pay this very expensive price to these powers. Even the “real” power will never allow this to happen because there would be very dangerous consequences for them for many different reasons.

Firstly: What if the human rights, freedoms or the rule of law granted to the people of the Middle East pressurize America and its allies to put an end to the exploitation of the region’s natural resources?

Secondly: What if human rights, freedoms or the rule of law pressurize wealthy sheikhs to share their wealth with their populations?

Thirdly: What if the people in the Middle East who enjoy human rights, freedoms or rule of law want to develop nuclear weapons like Israel? Is- rael is the enemy within that is benefitting mostly from the bloodshed and the ongoing crisis in the region.

Fourthly: What if there is a democratically elected government in Egypt that wants to increase the passage toll for ships passing through the Suez Canal? This would surely cause a financial crisis to the capitalist economies all over the world.

After all, can one imagine a time when the wealthy sheikhs of the Middle East together with America and its most important and influential ally in the region Israel give up their self-interests for the sake of the common average people? Like the environment, the people in the Middle East do not have anyone who can defend their collective interest. As a result, the people of the Middle East will continue paying the price as they have been doing throughout history! Moustafa Megawer