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حان وقت التغيير – The Time has Come for Change

ملاحظة: هذه المقالة قد نشرت لأول مرة في جريدة النهار في 28-03-2013

Note: this piece was first published in Lebanese daily An Nahar on March 28, 2013. You will find an English translation below.

ان ثمة شعارات ومواصفات لتحديد لبنان و ميزاته وفرادته. نتباهى, على سبيل المثال, بأن في البلد حركة دائمة و متجددة لا يشعر أناسه بالضجر. هذه الظاهرة تعني ان المشاكل فيه تتراكم و المشكلة الجديدة هي لتنسينا القديمة و تحل محلها, و يصير حلّ المشكلة في تأجيلها. Continue reading “حان وقت التغيير – The Time has Come for Change”

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الغاضبون هم هنا

“هذه ليست أزمة، إنها خدعة.” “نحن لا نفتقرالى المال. المشكلة ان اللصوص عندنا كثيرون.” “من حقّنا ان نكون غاضبين. “

هذه الشعارات- الصرخات وغيرها تزامنت مع فترة ركود اقتصادي ,تزايد البطالة , سياسة التقشف, مشاعر يأس عميقة، فكان أن خرج الشعب الاسباني الى الشوارع و الساحات: رجالاً ونساء، كباراً و صغاراً ، مثقفين ومكافحين لأجل كسب لقمة العيش ليقولوا لحكوماتهم: كفى. Continue reading “الغاضبون هم هنا”

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The Indignants Are Here

“This is not a crisis, this is a fraud.” “We don’t lack money, we just have too many thieves.” “We have the right to be indignant.”

With these and many other slogans, at a time of recession, unemployment, austerity and profound despair, the people of Spain, men and women, young and old, intellectuals with those struggling to make a living, took to the streets and plazas to tell the government: enough. Continue reading “The Indignants Are Here”

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The Politics of Finger Pointing

“We just want to remind people, for those who don’t know what is secularism, secularism doesn’t mean being against God, secularism is just the separation between religion and state, secularism makes all citizens equal before the law with the same rights, secularism leads us from confessionalism to citizenship.”

(Closing remarks on satirical show “CHI NN” on Lebanese Al Jadeed TV, February 4, 2013)

With raging discussions on a new electoral law and civil marriage in recent weeks, the role of religion has once again been brought to the mainstream political debate. The role of religion in politics and our daily lives is certainly nothing new in Lebanon. Continue reading “The Politics of Finger Pointing”

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Obama’s Middle East Strategy: A Brief Commentary

Recent events in the Middle East seem to dictate that, at least in the short and medium-terms, America’s hopes of turning increasingly towards Asia in the 21st century do not seem to be anywhere near coming to fruition.  And if there was ever a more pertinent time for a clear-cut and long-term U.S. strategy for the Middle East, it is today.  In light of the region’s ever evolving political landscape, ongoing transitions, ferocious battles and rotting stalemates, America’s role in the region is once again put to the test, with an opportunity to overturn weaknesses and mend past failures. Continue reading “Obama’s Middle East Strategy: A Brief Commentary”

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What Turkish Model for the Middle East?

At a time when many argued that democracy was incompatible with the Muslim-majority countries of the Middle East, the Turkish democratic model was always used as the ultimate example to the contrary. Developed in the backdrop of a ruthless military and a fiercely secular tradition, it provided a model that could be easily emulated by its neighbors, given similar societal composition and other commonalities that came with geographic proximity.  But is Turkey the best democratic example for its neighbors to follow? The more I read about Turkey and its recent trajectory, the more I believe the answer is no. Continue reading “What Turkish Model for the Middle East?”