Ruba Mansour, Mamdouh Bitar:
We are almost certain that Bedouin culture dominates Arab societies. Most, if not all, of the behaviors of these societies are merely manifestations of this Bedouinism, which is characterized by several characteristics, the most important of which is the phenomenon of denial and the inability to see negatives that must be corrected realistically, not fabricated through manifestations of boasting, arrogance, conceit, and conceit. The pastoral Bedouin culture, by definition, does not allow for the practice of objectivity. There is no declaration of weakness, no admission of defeat, and no declaration of error. Bedouinism does not make mistakes, and it is always right. The Bedouin, even in his plunder and looting, is right, because he steals what originally belongs to him and what his sword can help him in this regard. The Bedouin does not practice self-criticism and does not apologize, because self-criticism is humiliating. Anyone who claims that this hypothesis is false should take a quick look at how the collective and personal mind deals with the phenomenon. Genocides, and how they justify and legitimize them! The killing of approximately 1.5 million Armenians was a national duty, the slaughter of Banu Qurayzah was to save the religion from the plague of blasphemy, the slaughter of Ibn Nuwayrah was to implement the tax law, and the robbery of Zaynab bint Jahsh was to carry out a divine command, etc. Bedouinism manifests itself in the context of “dialogues,” using all available weapons to crush the other interlocutor or intellectual opponent, crushing him to the ground in order to escape. Under the Bedouin formula, dialogue turns into a fight and a duel for the dignity of the individual, his family, his tribe, and the dignity of a billion and a half believers. Bedouin dialogue knows only the outcome of victory or defeat, like a duel between the knights of tribes that are subject to the rule of either kill or be killed. Even if the defeat has objective reasons, defeat is equivalent to the loss of honor and dignity. One of the necessities of dialogue is the crushing of the intellectual opponent, and crushing is necessary because there is no room for changing the values rooted in the souls of Bedouins. Even the survival of the opponent represents humiliation and disgrace for the Bedouin. As for dealing with the girl’s honor, Bedouinism here is in its most obvious form. Protecting the girl’s honor requires eliminating those who have tarnished her honor. When this is not possible, they are eliminated and removed from existence, then victory is declared and the deed is bragged about. The process of the honor crime represents the removal of the terror of the loss of honor by means that have nothing to do with honor. Protecting honor is not achieved by consecrating dishonor, it is not achieved by savagery that even crosses the borders of the jungle, it is not achieved by baseness, inflation, and swelling of the ego, followed by practicing bravado, outbidding, and selfishness. The pastoral Bedouin mind rejects the practice of analysis and deconstruction, because analysis and deconstruction go in the opposite direction to Bedouin categorization, which recognizes only the credibility of the sword’s edge, which separates life from death. The sword is a necessity of Bedouin life; it is the source of livelihood. With the sword, they plunder and defend their entities and stolen property. Due to their familiarity with the culture of the sword, they practice fighting and sometimes bloody conflicts as a sport and a hobby. Therefore, manifestations of strength, extreme bravery, and boasting of violence are characteristics of Bedouinism that have permeated urban life in the countries of this region and dominate urban culture. Thus, things have proceeded contrary to logic, which sees the natural dominance of urban life over Bedouin culture, which is based on the equation of elevating one’s self and devaluing the other. The mere presence of the other is tantamount to a threat, so the other must be eliminated by any means. The Bedouin’s self-respect is a translation of the other’s respect for him, and the other’s respect for him means nothing but the other’s submission and inferiority. The Bedouin’s system of virtue does not spring from within him, but from the perception of others of him, through the duality of his loftiness and their decline. The Bedouin does not look within himself, but rather at his image in the mind of the other. The hideous ignorance is to hide behind people’s assumptions about you, assumptions dictated by your dominance over them, their fear of your sword, and their dependence on the crumbs of your generosity, the characteristics of Arab leaders!
What has been mentioned are only examples of the Bedouin mind that was eclipsed by the urbanization. The religion that sought to limit Bedouinism by establishing the concept of the “nation” submitted even in the Saqifah to the logic of Bedouinism, and adopted its system of virtues represented by the logic of the sword, coercion and victory. Bedouinism turned against religion, dominated it and molded it in its mold, and the molding is effective to this moment. We live in an environment created by the Bedouin mentality centered around violence, the sword, and the system of spoils of war that produces corruption. This mentality has transformed the human being into a mere “tool” waiting to obtain his rights in the form of favors from the shepherd. The rights of the citizen are linked to the favors of the shepherd, not to the state’s duties towards the citizen. This situation, framed by a framework or aura of giving, establishes a change in the formula of rights, from the formula of acquired rights to the formula of granted rights. Formulas that are not subject to the concept of justice or law. A formula that deceives the deceiver and the deceived. The deceitful shepherd deceives him that he is devoted to the sake of others, and the deceived among the flock deceives him that he has obtained his rights! Which are represented by pleasing him, pleasing some of the sycophants! Pleasure is one thing, and rights are something completely different. The Bedouin mind imposed a system of government that has no connection to the philosophy of the state. Even classifying those who rule and control the Arab countries as pre-state is an injustice to the concept of pre-state. The so-called states of the region exist in the stage of tribal Bedouinism, which cannot establish a state. Rather, in the best of cases, there is a tribe alongside other tribes that fight with each other and plunder each other. There is no escape for Bedouins from plundering, which we call corruption. Corruption is not only the work of the shepherd, but also the work of the shepherd and the flock, that is, of Bedouinism. Some people may get bored by talking about Bedouinism and Bedouin occupation. They consider this talk empty and thus worthless chatter. For our part, we consider combating the Bedouin mentality the basis of a necessary revolution against oneself, a revolution that changes people’s ability to practice corruption, a revolution that changes people’s ability to tolerate dictatorships, and prepares society for democracy and liberation. Bedouinism is a cultural colonialism, and as long as this colonialism remains, backwardness, dictatorship, corruption and slavery will remain.