Understanding Conflict in the Middle East

Year 12 English

jillmargerison@drjmargerisonjill.margerison@tss.qld.edu.au

Curious about the conflict?

How do we understand the conflict in the Middle East?

“Roots of Muslim Rage”

Does Islam have “bloody borders?”Is this a “clash of civilisations?”

Samuel Huntington

Thinking about your sources?

When sourcing articles in Google remember to use country codes eg site:sy arab spring

site:ir - iran site:fr - France site:eg - Egypt site:tn Tunisia

“Roots of Muslim Rage” (1990)Bernard Lewis theorized about West and Islam in 1990 publication suggesting clash would occur due to 1. lost domination in world to advancing power of

West2. Muslim authority undermined in own countries3. Mastery in own houses challenged by

emancipated women and rebellious childrenSamuel Huntington further elaborated and expanded upon Lewis’s work contending that in Post Cold War era there would be large scale conflict between seven to eight major civilisations - particularly between the West and non-West

Muslim and Christian societies

Sharp decline of tolerance in 1980s and 1990s between Muslims and ChristiansThis came at time - collapse of communism Collapse removed a common enemy of West and Islam

“Clash of Civilisations” Huntington (1993)

Prediction - future wars between different civilisations Argued that key question not “Which side were you on?” but “What are culture are you?”

“Clash of Civilisations” Huntington (1993)

Muslim population growth = large numbers unemployed & disaffected youthRecruits to the Islamist cause - many migrate to WestIncreasing contact between Muslims and Westerns highlight and in some cases exacerbate differences

“Arab Spring”Began in Tunisia December 2010Mohammad Bouazizi set himself on fire because police had confiscated his card and beaten him when he complained

Prior to Arab Spring ?Iranians experienced “green movement” after disrupted presidential election in 2009Authoritarian and tyrannical regime uprising peaceful - public wanted a voteIran’s first real civil rights movement - this became inspirational for others in neighbouring countries

Countries involved in unrest

Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Bahrain and Syria

By end of 2011 - Arab SpringGovernments overthrownTunisia - Ben AliEgypt - MubarakLibya - Gaddafi New era where Islam is coming under the context and conditions of a democracy

How did “Arab Spring” develop strength?

Qatari based Al-Jazeera, YouTube, Twitter,

What do people want?Economic and employment opportunitiesGreater accountability from governmentTackle corruptionRule of law re freedom, democracy and human rightsNot necessarily clash against civilisations but awakening of Arab people for civil and human rights

Religion - supportive identity?

Is there an identity crisis for many Muslims?Thousands of Muslims are dying in clashes with their Muslim governments - not with the West

What would Huntington make of this?Identity crisis for Muslims?

Modernization and 21st Centuryindustrializationurbanisationincreasing levels of literacy and educationsocial mobilisationuniversal access to technologyability to interact on a wide scale

Morphing Identity?Whilst Huntington suggests that Islamic identity creates the impetus for clash and conflict - we have to acknowledge that the Islamic identity for young Muslims can change and developAlso Islamic democracy and freedom may not develop to mimic that of the West

Clash and Conflict

Political awakeningClash of two civilisations or clash of erasFreedom and oppressionDemocracy and dictatorshipWest as a scapegoat to maintain a stability ?Above image from Jocelyne Cesari’s book The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity and the State

Al-Jazeera TV Feb 21 2006The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21th century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and violation of the rights, on the other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings.” (Al-Jazeera TV, Feb 21, 2006).

Source http://societieswithoutborders.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/kashefifinal2013-9-17.pdf

What is the clash really about?Revolution?Freedom?Oppression?Better economic justice and socio-economic conditions for the people