generalspeaking

Pride and Prestige

Appeasement doesn't work, it's been generally agreed, when attempting to settle situations where one side is monumentally aggressive and the other remains wedded to pacifism. There is no appeasing a political or religious or ideological movement that believes it has an inherent right to oppress another group, and devotes itself to that very pursuit.

Attempting to bargain with, reason with, trade with, and somehow relieve the tension of belligerence and intent of military attack has always proven to be without merit. It demonstrates to the militant that those they plan to assault are vulnerable, and thus encourages the very attack they sought to avoid.

To those dedicated to war and violence, appeasement is a sign of weakness. It's also interpreted as a signal to proceed,that there will be no opposition to their attack by a weak and defenceless target. That success in launching an attack and prosecuting a war is assured in the face of a target that is unwilling to defend itself. That has been the historical record of the past, reflected in two world wars.

That reasoning is a practical demonstration of the deterministic perception of a group insistent on their right to launch a territorial, political and social assertiveness on the sovereignty of another country, government and population. And nowhere, it appears, is that apprehension more strongly held than in a culture and a tradition that recognizes its cultural dignity and honour to reside in its existential supremacy.

Historically all geographies and their populations regard themselves as superior to that of their neighbours. This is our genetic inheritance as human beings, primally hard-wired to exert ourselves, violently as the case may be, to ensure our genetic survival not merely as a species, but as a clan, a tribe, a single living entity.

In the Arab world where Islam is embraced as the sole true religion, traditionally rejecting the legitimacy of all others, it is anathema that lands once conquered by the Muslim armies of righteous jihad be taken by infidels, unbelievers, and transformed into lands reflecting other religions, traditions and customs. When Islam lost its hold on Spain, India and elsewhere, it suffered a grievous loss of self-respect.

A millennia-long simmering resentment at the ineffable dishonour to Islam has never resolved itself into acceptance of a pluralistic world. The world of Islam and Arabism is an insular, aggrieved and defensive one, unforgiving of the insult it suffered to its honour. Nothing mitigates the incendiary resentment of the fundamentalist faithful who have seen the prestige of Islam wither as the rest of the world prospers and advances.

The most egregious assault on Islamic sensibilities arose when a formerly humble and disenfranchised ethnic, religious group whose prior historic claim to Middle East territory and sovereignty pre-dated Islam, and who succeeded in re-taking land consecrated in perpetuity to Islam, to make there a haven for themselves. The presence within the Middle East of the State of Israel presented as an unendurable onslaught on Arab pride.

Prejudice and distrust that always existed at the simmering stage was re-fired into a frenzy of retaliation, in a concerted effort and determination at removing the pestilence of Jewry occupying Arab land. With its deep-seated enmity toward Jews as usurpers of the holy, and its eventual capitulation through unsuccessful attempts at violent removal of Israel, the Arab world's tradition-steeped culture of pathological grievance, revenge and hatred morphed into the birth of modern violent jihad.

People so utterly convinced of the righteousness of their claim to the sacramental land of Islam, that there is no measure of reason to be invoked in attempts to come to an amicable conclusion to decades of violence. Resentment triumphs over pragmatism. In defiance lies honour. No sacrifice too great. Inclusive of the sacrifice of countless members of the Muslim population toward the greater glory of reclaiming Palestine.

Rejecting the perception of Islamism's responsibility for civilian deaths in Gaza. The simple fact being as it is perceived by Arabs, by the Islamic world, that it is the fault and responsibility of the defender, not the offender. Israel, in deploying her military in defence of her sovereign territory and the right of her people to live in peace and security, is held responsible for the deaths of civilian Gazans as the fall-out of a war to remove Hamas's capabilities of attacking Israel.

It is simply not possible to reason, in the ways of the West, with such intractable, irrational minds, utterly devoted to the concept of holy war, even when it is deemed to require the sacrifice of countless innocents. On the other hand, Gazan Palestinians voted for a Hamas-led government, they are ready, willing and eager to teach their children to hate Jews, and they are complicit with the bombing of Israel.

How to meet this irresolvable histrionic resentment with cold, clear reason that it is in their best interests to resolve the territorial problems at the negotiating table where each side must be prepared to give a little to gain security? The ancestral and indigenous rights of the Jews to remain where they are will not be recognized by the Islamists who see only their own inalienable right to residence and land ownership, granted them by virtue of Islamic law and tradition.

The region's simmering humiliation at one defeat after another on the battlefield, by a rag-tag, formerly landless, disrespected ethnic, social and religious group transformed into the region's most militarily successful defence presents as a suppurating wound. Which no amount of reasonable dialogue appears capable of dissolving. The perceived arrogance of Israel has only served to solidify Arab resolve.

The countries of the Middle East, with the exception of Syria and Iran, have finally appeared to come around to the realization that they can all learn to live without strife, that to engage in trade and the mutual exchange of scientific advances and business opportunities would benefit the entire region. The two hold-outs have engineered, encouraged, and financially supported proxy jihadist terror groups to do their bidding.

It has become the life-defying motif of Hezbollah and Hamas, along with other unaffiliated but equally committed terror groups to destroy the State of Israel, to murder its citizens, and to restore the landmass to Arab rule. To surrender to the reality of the existence of Israel is to submit to the boundless humiliation of Islam.

Labels: Israel, Middle East, Political Realities, Traditions

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, January 10, 2009