Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Arab Leaders Are Quietly BACKING Israel - And REJECTING Islamism

 Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Arab Leaders Are Quietly BACKING Israel - And REJECTING Islamism

Introduction 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: I was asked to come here and answer the question, will the Islamic world ever accept a Jewish state in its midst? 

Among the people of Israel and the Jewish diaspora   overseas, there is growing anxiety about the future of a Jewish state. 

Israel is currently fighting a multi-front war against Iran which is ruled by a theocratic genocidal regime with countless proxies across the Middle East and it continues to pursue its dream of becoming a nuclear armed power. 

At the same time, states such as Qatar, still treated as an ally of the United States, are ramping up their diplomatic and indeed financial efforts to drive a wedge between America and Israel. 

Perhaps most of all, mass immigration into Europe, or rather mass Muslim immigration into Europe and the English-speaking world has eroded the pro-Jewish sentiment that since the Second World War could be taken for granted in Western countries. 

My purpose is to tell a more positive and upbeat story because I believe there are real reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. 

Of course, it's easy to get swept up in the doom and gloom of Gaza, the media demonization of Israel, the many hostages still trapped in Hamas made hell holes who, God help him may never come out alive. 

Our American president is accepting a jet from Qatar and is engaged in what to some looks like and feels like a revival of Barack Obama's naive diplomacy with the Iranian Mullahs. 

And all this is before we even get to the alarming resurgence of anti-semitism across the West. 

But please do not surrender to angst and depression about the state of Israel. 

Like all complex matters, the question as to whether Arabs and Muslims will ever accept a Jewish state in their midst is certainly a confounding one. 

But sift through the layers of convolution* and a more encouraging picture comes to the surface. (* 1.a thing that is complex and difficult to follow.)

Three things stand out to me. 

Three things stand out to me 

Number one, Israel's real enemy is Islamism. 

The good news is that Islamism is also the sworn enemy of other increasingly important political and ethnic forces across the Middle East. 

And also the wider Muslim world, not to mention the non-Muslim world. 

Number two, the evidence strongly suggests that in the non-Islamist dynastic rulers in the Middle East who have serious political staying power, the future looks a great deal grimmer for the Baghdadists, the pan-Arabists and the pan-Islamist strongmen. (* Pan-Arabism is a pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arab people in a single nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely connected to Arab nationalism, which asserts the view that the Arabs constitute a single nation.)

Historically, these movements have been far more hostile to the Jewish states than, say, the United Arab Emirates or even Saudi Arabia. 

Yet, even since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in   2003, the Baghdadist slide into irrelevance and oblivion has only accelerated. 

Strangely, few in the western media seem to note Baghdadism's end with the fall of Bashar al-Assad of Syria. (* Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian former politician, doctor and military officer who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until his overthrow in 2024 after the Syrian civil war. As president, Assad was commander-in-chief of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. 2024•The Syrian uprising; A decade later, in March 2011, al-Assad faced his first major challenge as Syrians took to the streets demanding democracy, civil liberties and the release of political prisoners.)

And number three, even though our mass media obsesses over the Palestinians, there are a myriad other ethnic groups seeking autonomy and statethood in the region, many of whom actually harbor little or no hostility towards Israel and the Jews. 

Islamism

Let's start with the first point. 

Islamism is a relatively modern political ideology. 

Yes, it is born of Islam and it builds its political   narrative by drawing upon and romanticizing the story, the mission, the morality and teachings of the founder of Islam, Muhammad.

Islamists zealously cite the Quran, the Hadith, and the other key scriptures that all Muslims profess to believe in. 

In doing so, they claim to speak for Islam and the entire community of Muslim believers, the so-called Ummah.  

They take advantage of Islam's lack of an acknowledged central power or spiritual authority akin to the Catholicism pope. 

It also works to their advantage that there is no separation of politics and religion in Islam. 

The Islamists assert that Islam is politics and politics is Islam.

This was the substance of the fallout between the political and clerical wings of the Ottoman Empire when it was defeated, invaded, colonized and in 1922 abolished by the infidel powers of Europe. 

There were men who concluded that that traumatic experience that the way forward for Arabs and Muslims was to adopt European style nation states such as republics and monarchs or other forms of dynastic rule like the sultanates with discrete boundaries. 

And then there were those who were determined to revive the fallen caliphate or Islamic state by any means necessary and regardless of how much time it took. 

The latter are what we now essentially later call Islamists. 

They constantly modernize and they update their strategies, their plans, their means and methods of working towards their major goal which is the re-Islamization of Muslim societies and at the same time they seek to continue to Islamize the rest of the world. 

The Islamists hate Jews, Zionism and Israel. 

Our Battle with the Jews 

I will not bore you with the reasons for doing so because I'm assuming most of you here today in this room, nor why. 

In any case, they shouted from the rooftops. 

Their anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist and anti-Israel output is too much to catalog here. 

It was articulated comprehensively by one of the most revered Islamist thinkers and activists of the 20th century, Sayyid Qutb in his essay 'Our battle with the Jews'. 

(*Sayyid Qutb's 'Our Fight With Jews'. the Arab Muslim Fundamentalist ...Despite its rather small volume, 'Our Fight with Jews' is a really influential text, especially among the fundamentalist milieu in the Arab societies. The essay's sole purpose was to clarify Qutb's hostile attitude towards Judaism and the Jews.) 

Qutb lays out in that landmark essay the ideological groundwork for Islamist anti-semitism presenting the conflict with Jews as both existential and  divinely mandated and justifying perpetual hostility and violence against them. 

He claims that the Jews have always conspired to destroy Islam in and are inherently evil, not just through their actions, but their very nature. 

He accuses Jews of being the malign forces behind materialism, moral decay, the destruction of families, and the dissolution of societies, referencing anti-semitic conspiracy theories such as the protocols of the elders of Zion. 

Qutb asserts that the conflict with Jews is a cosmic unending war and that if they are permitted to win, the result will be the eradication of Islam. 

He insists that there can never be reconciliation or compromise with the Jews. 

He concludes that the only solution to this supposed threat is jihad, framing the struggle against Jews as a religious duty for Muslims. 

The Arab Spring 

Unfortunately, all Islamists and far too many ordinary Muslims share these insane beliefs. 

For them, the question we're discussing this morning has a simple, straightforward answer. 

Arabs and Jews should not and will not accept a Jewish state in their midst. 

Islamism is the governing ideology of the theocratic regime in Iran. 

The president and probably his cabinet of Turkey, Qatar to a certain extent, the international Muslim Brotherhood and other worldwide Islamist groups who believe in the revival of the caliphate. 

However, while all of these Islamist state and non-state actors are powerful and determined, it is important to look beyond them. 

The Jews may rank as enemy number one for Islamists, but undoubtedly a second, a close second are the dynastic, more secular governments in the Arab world who have no interest in reviving the lost caliphate. 

True. 

In the last century or so, these non-Islamist powers have often ignored, tolerated, accommodated, empowered, and even collaborated with the Islamists. 

At times, they have used and abused Islamist movements by betraying them and renegating on their promises. (* Reneging refers to a situation where one party goes back on a promise or breaks an agreement or contract that they had previously accepted.)

Some regimes have promised, have imprisoned,  assassinated, and even massacred Islamists, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood. 

But the public uprisings we came to call the Arab Spring in the early 2010s served as a game changer in the relations between secular Arab leaders and   Islamist movements, between those who wish to separate government from religious doctrine and those who wish to make Islam the dogmatic basis of a totalitarian social blueprint. 

The secular leaders realized that while the Islamists ever to win elections and wield power, their fate would not be much better than that of the Jordanian military pilot who was burned alive in a metal cage by the Islamic State in 2015. 

(*Man charged over killing of Jordanian pilot burned alive by IS

Reuters; A Jordanian girl holds a poster of pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh

The death of Moaz al-Kasasbeh shocked Jordan 

This article contains distressing descriptions of death

Swedish authorities have charged a jihadist already serving a life term in jail over the 2015 killing of a Jordanian pilot who was burned to death in Syria.

Osama Krayem, 32 - a Swedish citizen - was on Tuesday charged with war and terrorism crimes relating to the death of Moaz al-Kasasbeh.

Krayem is currently in prison after being convicted for his role in the deadly 2015 and 2016 Islamic State attacks in Paris and Brussels respectively.

The BBC has contacted his lawyer fr comment relating to the latest allegations. He has previously denied the charges, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported.

Krayem's trial is expected to begin on 4 June.

"It is painful for my parents to be confronted with this event again, but we are grateful that the Swedish authorities want to give us justice," the pilot's brother, Jawdat al-Kasasbeh, told Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio following the announcement of the charges.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority last week announced they planned to charge a man with the "execution" of Lt Kasasbeh, along with other suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Jordan confirmed the death of Lt Kasasbeh in 2015, following the circulation of a gruesome video published online by IS that appeared to show the 26-year-old being burned alive in a cage.

He was captured when his plane came down near the city of Raqqa during a mission against IS in December 2014.

At the time of Lt Kasasbeh's death, Jordan - which was part of a US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria during the civil war - had been attempting to secure his release as part of a prisoner swap.

Swedish prosecutors said in its statement last week the offences Krayem has now been charged with took place between 24 December 2014 and 3 February 2015.

They added an investigation had shown Krayem "armed and masked, together with others forced the pilot into a metal cage".

"The cage was subsequently set on fire by one of the co-perpetrators, and the pilot died as a consequence of the fire."

Krayem is originally from the Swedish city of Malmo and is thought to have travelled to Syria in September 2014 to fight for IS.

In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the November 2015 Paris attacks - in which 130 people were killed - and for planning a separate attack on Amsterdam airport.

A year later, he was also found guilty of errorist murder for his role in the Brussels attacks that killed 32 people.

He has been temporarily transferred from France to Sweden in order to participate in this latest trial.)

The lesson, it seems to me, that some Arab leaders took from that period of regional tumult was a positive one. 

They saw it as in their best interest to provide better for their young, increasingly restive populations and to avoid the fates often very gruesome of the Arab world's once seemingly invincible dictators. 

Among the many Arab strong men who have lost their grip on power since 2011, only the late Zin Elidin bin Ali of Tunisia, the late Hashimak of Egypt, Bashar of Assad, still alive but stranded in Moscow, managed to avoid sticky ends. 

Saddam Hussein was dragged out of a hole in the ground and hanged. 

Ali Abdullah Salah of Yemen was shot dead by a Houthi sniper and Muhammad Gaddafi of Libya was lynched by a mob of his own people. 

Non-Islamist governments in the region have been wise enough to take note. 

And this brings me to my second point. 

Secular governments 

The options for these more secular governments, whether the UAE or Saudi Arabia are somewhat limited. 

They are quite right to reject the Islamist agenda of reviving the caliphate. 

That would entangle them in perpetual conflict with the rest of the world and it would not address the basic needs of their youthful citizens. 

However, the option of adopting western style models of democracy as Israel has done is also off the table. 

This is simply not how things work in Arab Islamic countries. 

Not to mention the very real risk that in many of these countries the Islamists would probably win free and fair elections as in Egypt in 2012 with the victory of Muhammad Morse's Muslim Brotherhood and before that in Turkey in 2002 when Recep   Erdogan now president became prime   minister. 

(*Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Turkish politician who has been the president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Justice and Development Party, which he co-founded in 2001.)

Is there a third way? 

Economic models

An alternative to fullblown Islamism on the one hand and attempts to replicate western style democracy in a region with no historical experience of such government on the other. 

There are two powerful men who are seeking to reorient their societies towards viable economic models beyond fossil fuels. 

They prefer prosperity to piety. 

Each of them has a strategy and a concrete plan to work towards their stated goals. 

These men are now known by their initials. 

MBZ stands for Muhammad bin Zed and MBS for Muhammad bin Salman. 

MBZ is the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi. 

And MBS, of course, is the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. 

MBZ's vision is summed up in the UAE's Centennial 2071 plan. 

His goal, he says, is to secure the UAE's position as a resilient, diversified, and globally influential economy for the next 50 years and beyond.

 He aims to build what he says is a sustainable knowledge-based society that thrives on innovation, world-class education, and economic   dynamism, ensuring prosperity for future   generations. 

According to the director of trade policies in the UAE, Bad AI-Masharak, the MBZ has quote crafted a distinctive economic model for his country, often described as a strategic hybrid of mixed economy. 

This approach, he goes on, fuses the dynamism and innovation of free market capitalism with strong strategic state intervention and long-term   planning. 

The private sector is empowered to drive investment, entrepreneurship and innovation while   the state provides direction, regulatory frameworks, infrastructure and significant investment through sovereign wealth funds. 

This model, he says, allows the UAE to benefit from market-driven growth while maintaining   stability and resilience against global shocks. 

This strategy seems to me to be paying off. 

As of 2023, non oil sectors contribute to over 70% of the UAE'S GDP. 

One feature of MBZ Economy Development's plan is to invest the UAE's massive sovereign wealth in global markets, infrastructure, in technology, and renewable energy and ensuring macroeconomic stability and future growth. 

Another feature is heavy investment in innovation and technology, digital infrastructure, Artificial intelligence, renewable energy and startups. 

Ladies and gentlemen, all this requires a shift away from the madrasa* mentality of the 20th century to the market mentality of the 21st century. (*Madrasa, sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious, whether for elementary education or higher learning. In countries outside the Arab world, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam, though this may not be the only subject studied.)

Most important this most importantly this is fantastic news for Zionism and Israel. 

MBZ has already formalized and deepened ties with the Jewish state. 

As he has said himself, he did this for three reasons. 

First, both the UAE and Israel view Iran's regional ambitions along with those of the Muslim  Brotherhood and its Islamist affiliates as existential threats. 

Cooperation with Israel serves to strengthen the UAE'S security and intelligence capabilities against these adversaries. 

The second reason for normalization with Israel is the need for a response to the growing influence of Turkey and Qatar, both of which have supported the Muslim Brotherhood. 

By and still continue to do by aligning with Israel, the UAE positions itself as a bullwark against Islamist movements in the state battles. 

And finally, Israel is a leader in technology, innovation, and defense. 

Closer ties offered the UAE access to cuttingedge Israeli tech, agricultural advances, and cyber security, supporting the UAE's economic diversification agenda. 

Embracing the Abraham Accords and subsequent agreements with Israel provides the UAE with enhanced standing in Washington and other Western capitals, strengthening its diplomatic and economic future. 

Conclusion

If we were to classify the non-Islamist powers in the Muslim world according to how much of a threat they pose to Israel, then on a scale from green through amber to red, the UAE would be bright green. 

Under the visionary leadership of MBZET, the UAE can be said to inspire solid trust. 

It is also encouraging that Saudi Arabia, while for the moment closer to amber than green, seems to be moving in a similar direction to the UAE. 

MBS is not only more pragmatic than the Islamists who menace so much of the region, but he is more aminable to Western influence and therefore a great deal more flexible. 

Under MBS, the Saudis have been working to deepen not only their economic and diplomatic   relations with the West, but to foster new and potentially lasting cultural ties as well, ranging from well attended World Championship boxing fights to high-profile football transfers. 

Sporting superstars as visible as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema now play football in Riyadh. 

There's also a growing fatigue with the very Islamist actors that the region Saudis have historically sponsored. 

While MBS still pays lip service to the Palestinian issue, there are credible reports that he personally does not care very much and finds the whole drama as annoying, an annoying vexacious distraction from the more important priorities of Saudi Arabia in the border region. 

Last but not least, it must be stressed that the Palestinians are not the only stateless people in the Middle East or across the Muslim world. 

There is no shortage of other ethnic movements pursuing either full self-government or greater local autonomy. 

These include the Kurds, the Baluch and the Drewge among countless others. 

The good news is that these movements have historically shown next to no interest in doing harm to Israel. 

Their rising salience is therefore an undoubted blessing for the Jewish state. 

The situation of Israel today may seem weaker than it was 6 months ago.

Then the Iranian regime was on its knees, its air defenses ripped open. 

Assad had fled to Russia. 

Hizbollah had been eviscerated and decapitated. (*To eviscerate a person or animal means to remove their internal organs, such as their heart, lungs, and stomach. )

Hamas seemed close to defeat. 

I confess to having been surprised by some of the recent decisions of my President Donald Trump and his administration to discuss a new nuclear deal with Iran to negotiate directly with Hamas to confer legitimacy on what looks to me like an Islamist regime in Syria to agree to a ceasefire after an inconclusive assault on the Houthis. 

Yet compared to with the situation of Israel half a century ago when only Egypt among its Arab neighbors seemed remotely amenable to peaceful coexistence, today Israel's strategic   situation has immeasurably improved. 

The ultimate silver lining for the Jewish people is that their enemies today, like the Nazis before them, subscribe to a fanatical belief system that is fundamentally self-immolating. 

By their rotten fruits, shall we know them? 

Whenever Islamists take power, they commit unspeakable atrocities. 

They force their own people to live in a state of constant terror. 

They run any areas under their rule into the ground. 

Invariably, this guarantees either a fatal backlash or rapid degeneration into misery. 

It is in the nature of death cults that they cannot survive for long. 

They perish because by their essence they are hostile to civilizational health. 

In this way, Israel's en enemies do credit to the life affirming values of the Jewish people. 

When the Islamists say they love death more than the Jews love life, they mean it. 

This may make them more dangerous in the short term, but it should also help to seal their eventual downfall. 

For all their many faults, the more sober leaders of the Arab world, particularly MBZ, but also MBS, do not have such a morbid obsession with death. 

Whether or not they always admit it they share Israel's defining interest in making the most of this life, not slaughtering innocents and the expectation of enjoying 72 virgins in the next life, as written in the Quran. 

Sooner or later, Arab leaders will be forced to choose. 

They can either make their peace with the existence of a thriving Jewish state, the regional power most able to assist them in their desire for prosperity, or they can give up the entire Muslim world and with it their own livelihoods to the forces of darkness and decay. 

For now, the Jewish people should count themselves lucky to have such suicidal enemies at a time when the rest of the Arab world is hoping for a century of boisterous good health. 

Thank you so much.

[END]