THE MINORITY’S SPRING
By OMER GENDLER
Rudaw
April 16 2012
Iraq
Ever since Britain and France occupied the Middle East, the myth of
the “Arab” Middle East spread across the world. Large parts of the
world saw the Middle East as one homogeneous unit-the Arab nation-with
other unwanted minorities to blame for the woes of the region.
We learn this to be an illusion, especially following the Arab Spring.
Iraq’s liberation from the hands of Saddam Hussein provides the
most telling example. The de-facto division of Iraq into different
minorities-Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds-exemplifies the myth of the
regions homogeneity. Especially in northern Iraq, the long-standing
Kurdish minority sprung forward and demands its historical rights in
the renewed wave of self-determination.
The same process occurs in the greater Middle East. The breakup of the
Soviet Union granted independence to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two
countries, although geographically distant from the core of the Middle
East, feel historically and culturally connected to the region. The
Armenians see themselves as the original Christian followers and
zealously guard the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City. And,
the Shiite Azeris see their legacy deeply rooted in the ancient
Persian Empire, no less than the Iranians themselves.
Additionally, Southern Sudan, which recently gained independence,
illustrates another example as it represents the first time in
modern history that sovereignty was passed from an Arab to a
Christian country. Finally, Libya’s recent civil war exemplified
the insurmountable divide between the Tripolitania, Benghazi and the
Touareg tribe of Fezzan.
The aforementioned examples demonstrate that the “Arab” North-African
countries are not so Arab. Among them we find enormous minorities-tens
of millions of people-including Berbers, Darfuris, Coptic Christians,
and many other who have nothing in common with the Arabs.
Syria illustrates the most recent example heading toward an “Iraqi”
future of its own. One would expect opposition to unite in times
of strife. Nevertheless, as the death toll rises and Assad’s regime
continues to struggle, no unified opposition is prepared to take the
lead and raise the flag following victory. The somewhat organized
changes of government in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen are not expected to
repeat in Syria. On the contrary, Syria is on the verge of a second
civil war, and can easily split into various minorities including
Alawites, Christians, Sunnis, and Druze among others. Syria today risks
becoming its Eastern neighbor-Lebanon-which has been divided since
its establishment. Such future composed of an endless mosaic of tiny
minorities that stretch from the Beirut shores on the Mediterranean
Sea to the Basra shores in the Persian Gulf.
The Arab Spring revealed that all that is known about the Middle East
could change overnight. More specifically, as the once all-mighty
leaders can now be overcome, so can Middle East borders be subject
to changes in accordance with the rising minorities. The Arab Spring
exemplified the desire of Arab youth to have their voice heard. More
importantly, however, the Arab Spring illustrated that the Arab Spring
is not only Arab and that there are many other voices ignored and
forgotten that now demand to be heard. This is the Minority’s Spring,
which signals the end of the Arab hegemony in the area. We have been
introduced to a new Middle East-a Minority’s Middle East.
* Omer Gendler is a researcher in the field of International Relations
specializing in Civil Wars. He is based in Jerusaelm.
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