A lot is missing here, including the fundamental. When talking about protests or ‘revolutions’ the causes have to be highlighted. The causes mentioned in the article are not causes by symptoms. There is not even a hint to the shared political economy/the dominant economic model and its operations from economic development to finance to debt to finance to unequal exchange. The protests are not new thus one should have a longer overview stretching decades and summed up in a couple of paragraphs, especially when an article is not a news item, one of ‘Big Question’ as the section is called.
By Nadeem Mahjoub Documentary film-makers G. Troeller and M. C. Defarge once asked a cabinet minister in South Yemen, why socialistic ideas were so readily acceptable in that part of the Arab world. He replied: “Because we have been communists for a thousand years! My mother was Qarmatian.” Official Muslim scholars and clerics, and many so-called moderates (whether individuals or groups) oppose sedition ( fitna ). Tensions and contradictions in society should be solved peacefully and even if the ruler was unjust and impious, it is generally accepted he should still be obeyed, for any kind of order is better than anarchy and sedition. “The tyranny of a sultan for a hundred years causes less damage than one year’s tyranny exercised by the subjects against one another.” Revolt was justified only against a ruler who clearly went against the command of God and His prophet.” 1 Here we look at not what happened in the minds of people who call for calm, oppose dissent and preach the re...
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