If a van load of thugs arrived in your country and started beheading your brothers and sisters it would be reasonable to assume that you might get a bit cross. Not so if they appear thousands of miles away.

It must be one of the greatest questions as to why the Arab world with all of its wealth is so bent on self-destruction.

How do you engage with a culture where only yesterday one of its countries recommended to lift a ban on driving for woman over 30 who must be off the road by 8 pm and cannot wear makeup behind the wheel. (The Ban is part of the general restrictions imposed on woman based on strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah law.)

The problem is that Sharia is not just a set of laws, but rather an ideology that encompasses the Islamic way of life, covering topics from business transactions to food. The Koran, the holy book of Islam, uses the term sharia to refer to the revealed guidance and directives given by Allah.

The Koran does not explicitly say you have to cover yourself in this manner. The Koran basically says you should “cover” yourself, without being specific. It probably means, “Don’t run around naked”

As with many other religious scriptures, the reference to dress is open to interpretation and has been shaped by centuries of cultures in different nations.

We like to think all cultures are morally equivalent and hold the same beliefs as we do. They don’t and we have a long way to go to accept all our cultures in the meantime the Arab woman will achieve equality—but wisely, on her own terms rather than those of the western woman.

The atrocious treatment of women in the Arab world is well-known.

Forced to wear the hijab, i.e. headscarf

–          Forced to marry someone according to the family’s will

–          Must undergo excision “procedure”

–          Gang rapes for not “respecting” Islam

–          Killed by a relative because for “dishonoring” the name of the family.

It seems to me as we in the West are the driving force in history ( ignoring ancient history) that ever since the establishment of Israel the Arab world has being in a constant state of conflict. Whether they are interested in foreign affairs, emergent markets, human rights, understanding their heritage is a question still to be answered.

We on the other hand can hang our heads in shame of most of the history we have created. Now like in the past we are moved by an array of forces that we do not fully understand.

We have turned a blind eye to the Arab world for millennium out of fear of upsetting the price of Oil. As a result we are now ( for the last thirteen years) witness the destruction of one of the riches old civilization in the world – the Middle East.

Why is it since the Arab Spring that Arab countries seem to be incapable of creating countries that are stable?

Is it because since 9/11 we over react and think the solution is Democracy that creates countries that are supermarkets of Capitalism.

Those of us who are live in what we call Democracy are only just beginning to realizes that wealth has to be shared, that inequalities have to be remove, that values have to be restored, that power has to be reflected throughout the population, that freedom of expression, and religious beliefs must be respectful of the nation that they reside in if unrest is to be avoided.

The problem with Arab countries (some of which now can be difficult to call countries, Syria, Iraq) is that they are run by vile regimes cushioned by the wealth of oil and gas (which is running out) they remain hidden behind a religious belief that dominates all functions of life. (See previous post: To most of us the World of Islam seems incomprehensible)

Surely it is time that we heard from talented Arabs. Not those that are suffering from some pathological antipathy to democracy. But from intelligent humans that with common sense could remove religions beliefs from the functions of state to allow their countries become respected citizens of the world. I know that such a suggestion is repugnant to many Muslims but Islam is itself is an addict of modernization.

After all whether you like it or not we all share the world no matter what we believe in.  Then again if we all the same the world would be an extremely boring place. On the other hand none of us would exist or will exist if we don’t stop branding it with wars, abuse, and our beliefs while it is in our short time of care.

I am sure that if Mohammad or Jesus were around these days they would both preach that life is not a bunch of fanatics bent on killing and destroying the world and that Capitalism and Greed do not have to go hand in hand.

It becomes increasingly difficult to form an image of the future other than as either a perpetuation of the existing state of affairs or as a catastrophic obliteration of it. It seems that the exploration of the future has become too detached with Social Media from our present to be useful.

We find ourselves in a perpetual state of transition. We need to learn how to limit the pain and suffering of change as well as how to impact effectively on the direction of change. Then we can live and nurture change with pride rather than shame.

When we’ve found a way other than death to annihilate our beliefs, we can finally stop thinking one way or the other about it all. Go back to simply being alive. Neither selfish nor selfless, each one of us just another creature inside an ever-changing world of experiences.

Or would we be just exchanging one distorting lens for another. The problem is as old as time itself. It is becoming easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.

Just look at nuclear power it is again reasserting itself, presented by governments and the industry, as a ‘savior strategy’ to the far more serious threats of carbon emissions and climate change. If democracy is to mean anything, it means that everyone gets to weigh in on the process of how these promises are made and renegotiated. The future city is expected to give us absolution for all our industrialized sins:

ISIS HAS BEEN CREATED BY US IN THE WESTERN WORLD. SURELY WE CAN DO BETTER. Western countries made a bundle selling arms to Arab despots. We can wiped Isis off the face of the earth at cost of many lives, but why bother when lack of fresh water will lead to further conflicts.

The water crisis can become an opportunity for a new form of peace where any two countries with access to adequate, clean and sustainable water resources do not feel motivated to engage in a military conflict.

If only Israel and Palestine political leaders promoted a one nation solution using the above truth they would achieve more in bringing lasting peace to the Arab world and all of us.

It would brake the back bone of ISSI and show the world a true example of brotherhood. In a few years opposing camps will have little choice but to co-operate and share resources, or face ruinous conflict. A moment’s glance at the strife and violence endemic in the Arab Middle East tells us that is a tall order.

We followed news reports stating different reasons for the uprisings happening in so many countries at once.  Poverty, repression, decades of injustice and mass unemployment have all been cited as causes of the political convulsions in the Middle East and north Africa

We don’t need a one world government. We need a one world people.