February 17, 1999

EDITORIAL: "THE SUCCESS OF UNIFYING SAUDI ARABIA OPENED UP ALL THE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN MODERN HISTORY FOR THE ARABS AND THE MUSLIMS." Along the years and in several continents and from many people, there have been successive experiences of state building and the establishment of societies in the light of Islam as it has been understood by its followers. Those who were successful have added their contribution to the long process of the development of human culture. There were some who were not successful for various reasons. Society sometimes saw for itself a movement which successfully personified the ideals of Islam and gave a bright and positive picture of Islam, while at other times they and Islam would be portrayed a negative light. This century, the Twentieth Century, started with the Ottoman Empire being the largest Islamic state which most Muslims looked up to. However, despite its past glory and status, this empire had begun to weaken and to regress. Elements which were at odds with the spirit of Islam and its guidance grew inside the Ottoman Empire and there followed the appearance of cracks in the faÁade. A mentality of idolatry broke into its life and into the behaviour of its people and penetrated into all the internal political and military levels of the empire. Muslims, both those under the Ottoman yoke and those outside it, especially the Arabs of the peninsula, felt that this state was no longer even able to defend itself. It could neither face its own internal problems nor could it face the greed which was coming from outside, increasing its difficulties and its insecurity. This made the empire go from one extreme to the other, from a damaging laxness on the one hand and an uncalled-for brutality on the other, especially when it came to the attempts at rebirth in the lands of Islam. This increased the ambition of the sons of the Arab lands to find their own roles. The last Islamic state at that time, by which we mean the Ottoman state, had begun to drift towards the sunset and to be lost in the mists of history, when Arab Islamic movements began to appear in the Arabian peninsula. These movements expressed the feelings which were prevalent at the time that the people of the peninsula, in whose land Islam had appeared, were the true candidates for a role which would bring the best consequences for Islam and the restore the glory of the Arabs. It is difficult to imagine the success of King Abdul Aziz's historic act of founding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without his correct reading of the experience of those of his ancestors who had come before him in authority. There is no doubt that one of the things that brought Abdul Aziz to maturity and which brought his plans to fruition was the way he read and understood the elements which had ensured the success of his predecessors who had also been successful in what he was undertaking. This is why Abdul Aziz avoided disclosing what he was up to in a direct and sharp way in the face of the international powers. On the contrary, he dealt with his projects in a way that was characterised by great intelligence. He did not allow the voices of intellectual agitation, which came from all directions, to appropriate the reputation of his state. Nor did he follow a path of isolation either regionally or internationally. One of the things that weakened the previous attempts to set up a state in the Arabian Peninsula similar to that of the Kingdom of Abdul Aziz was that they began as if they were an aggressive opponent to the Ottoman empire, which was considered by the majority to be the state which represented Islam. Abdul Aziz was able to achieve what seems to continue to be the most difficult achievement right up until today in the modern history of the Arabs, by which we mean a real success in the field of unity and unification. All aspects, such as liberation, construction and modernisation, are relatively easy when they come to be compared with the subject of unification, which is the most difficult achievement in Arab life. Success in what is most difficult is one of the requirements for Arab Islamic renaissance, that is in the field of unity and unification and especially in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. This is what has opened up all the other opportunities in modern history for the Arabs and the Muslims. Any achievement made subsequently by any Arab or Islamic regime, or by any people in any Arab or Islamic country, in the fields of liberation and self-determination and the beginning of construction, has been made because it followed on from the firm historical leap made by King Abdul Aziz. In its elements of independence, in form and content, or in the depth of its principles, which are deeply rooted in the experiences of history, or in the heroic stance which accompanied it, has been a shining example for the Arab region and the entire Muslim world. Had the Kingdom not been established in the peninsula, it would have been difficult or even impossible for much of what we see in the Arab and Islamic worlds today in terms of an ability to achieve solidarity and effectiveness, and the continuation of steadfastness in the face of internal and external pressures which seek to lay waste to any material or spiritual power which is still present in the Arab and Islamic world. Even in those situations in the Arab world where certain people have set up imaginary disputes with the Kingdom, those people would not have been strengthened without the presence of the Kingdom nor would they have continued to exist. In this way, the achievement of Abdul Aziz Al Saud is like a sun which shines down on everyone. The Kingdom's national day, in addition to its being a salute to the Saudi experience, is also a day of Arab and Muslim pride for an entity which is effective on an international level and in which the experiences of unity and unification have truly become personified. It also represents the balance between the fixed and the variable elements, and the principles and interests, authenticity, modernity, pioneering, unity and solidarity of the Arab and Islamic peoples. In the shadow of the capable state and under its auspices, these days allow many and various trends among the people to come together with tolerance, making the blooms of civilization flower because man meets man in the shadow of security, unity and stability, the oldest of the old with the newest of the new. The Kingdom which is steeped in the past has also come connected with the secret of the strength of today. It is the closest to the past and the closest to the present, and to be a student of Abdul Aziz's school of thought, as it came to be personified in his life and his state after him, is to understand oneself and the world outside. This is because no good comes from an understanding of oneself and forgetting the world and no good comes from understanding the world and forgetting oneself. At the forefront of what has given Saudi Arabia a special role amongst the Arab and Islamic countries is not only its position in their history, geography, their spiritual ideals. Nor is it in their material capabilities, nor in its stand in national and humanitarian crises. It is in its policy which is based on accepting the various countries and societies of the world as they are and not seeking to curtail the choices of others or to restrict their way of life. It is the way it seeks to help them from within their own volition. This acceptance of the other has made every Arab and Muslim feel that Saudi Arabia is not an interfering country but one which is supportive, for it has always been ready to deal with those who are different from it in any respect. Speaking as a Lebanese, I say that it is not an insignificant matter that Lebanon, which is known to preserve its individuality and special character among the Arab countries, has always been able to enjoy the strongest and most honest relationship with the Kingdom. Riyadh, which Abdul Aziz entered a hundred years ago, is in one form or another at the forefront of the political and economic capitals of the Arab world and in some aspects is one of the most important capitals of the world. Saudi Arabia, since it was established, has continued to steer clear of political focal points which cause fragmentation. It always maintains a firm hold on the reigns, drawing its political lines and establishing strong links with the countries of the world, especially in its relationship with its Arab brethren. To the Arabs, it has been the prime example for the possibility of their becoming united and one of the pioneers of the formation of their Arab League. And it has always been one of the makers of their solidarity and a supporter of their capabilities. The Kingdom has been a pillar for all the Arabs in the spirit of unity that has been represented by it. It has been a pillar in the way that it has helped the other Arabs through construction, strength and solidarity. But perhaps the most important thing that can be said about Abdul Aziz and his men is how they made it possible for a person or for a nation to have dreams and to be practical at the same time; how they were able look up to the sky with the faith of a true Muslim while their feet were firmly planted on the ground; and how they showed that it is best to catch the right moment to generate the enormous project of building a society and a state in their own country from the womb of history.