Samir Sadek, Moufid Bitar:
Dictatorships have receded throughout the world, gathering in remarkable numbers in the Arab countries .
The exceptions of Lebanon and Tunisia may be possible, albeit partially. The former is due to the unique nature of the Lebanese situation, and the latter is due to Tunisia’s proximity to democracy and the army’s lack of interference in internal affairs. Meanwhile, it continues to appear as if tyranny, authoritarianism, and arrogance are no longer a characteristic of authoritarianism, but rather a popular one. Individuals have become carriers of the contradiction of rejecting and exercising tyranny. This individual has transformed into a twin who acts as an oppressor when circumstances permit, and who practices subservience and cowardice when circumstances require it. In other words, they have transformed into both an oppressor and an oppressed.
The reason this human being has become an oppressor is somewhat clear. Those who experience oppression for a long time subconsciously transform into oppressors. Those who are subjected to oppression for a long time become accustomed to it, and subservience becomes an organic characteristic. Subservience has become part of this person’s nature, primarily due to chronic and ongoing suffering. But can it be said that the source of this particular subservience was tyranny, which only allows subservience? Or are there other qualifications or causes for the birth, growth, and entrenchment of this characteristic in the human psyche to the point of organicization?
These subservient peoples live under worldly tyranny and also live in the shadow of religiosity, which is at its most extreme in this region compared to other regions of the world. Religiosity is a religion that carries spiritual energy and exerts a dominance over people unparalleled in the world. Among the many faces of religiosity, there is, on the one hand, the face of tyranny, and, on the other hand, there is, unfortunately, a face that encourages submission and coexistence with injustice based on the principle of resignation. There are many concepts that qualify a person who believes in them to practice submission, and the goal of mentioning some of them is to try to free himself from its influence. The first thing that comes to mind here is the concept of fatalism, which asserts that everything that happens is predetermined, and no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to change our destiny. Therefore, we must accept our portion determined by the Creator. According to this logic, the self is absolved of causing illness, poverty, or injustice, and the self is exempt from working hard to remove the injustice that has befallen it. Therefore, there is no human cause for disasters, nor is there a human capacity to confront disasters. God is the organizer and manager of everything, and He is capable of everything! In addition to submission to fate, there is submission to contentment, considering contentment as an inexhaustible treasure. This concept represents a domestication of the concept of happiness. Happiness must be lived under any life circumstances, because there is no change in life circumstances, no matter what they are and no matter how hard a person tries. It is nice for a person to feel happy under circumstances that cannot be practically changed. Here, a deception takes root. God, according to Sheikh Al-Shaarawy’s claim, divided provisions according to His sovereignty, the validity of which is undoubted. Due to the injustice in the division of provisions, God can be accused of injustice and corrupt governance, although God has nothing to do with all of that. The division of provisions is subject to worldly will and rulings. Even Sheikh Al-Shaarawy did not subject himself during his illness to the divine will, as he tried to regain his health in the best Western hospitals and spent huge sums of money on that. In his attempt to rebel against God’s will, he was a role model for a large number of sheikhs. Let us mention, for example, Al-Qaradawi, Al-Huwaini, and especially Sheikh Zaghloul. The carpenter who treated people with camel urine, however, was only treated in the best American hospitals, and in these hospitals, camel urine is not used for treatment (during a tour to promote the benefits of camel urine in Saudi Arabia, the carpenter suffered a health problem that led him immediately to the aforementioned hospital). Sheikh Al-Huwaini did the same, rejecting God’s desire to eliminate him and having his kidney replaced in Europe. This is the conviction that represents an inexhaustible treasure for the poor! There are many ways to deceive people and subject them to ignorance and deception, and what we have mentioned is only a small part and an example of the concepts that hinder liberation and progress. As a result, there is no escape from the political and social role of religion, which qualifies people for clique-based fatalism and narcotic conviction. The problems of these peoples are similar to those of other peoples, and the solution to our problems can only be like the solution of others to theirs. Here, we must learn from those who precede us, not those who fall behind us!
