Why are Arabs behind?
When we talk about an invention or a new drug or a new discovery in astronomy or even a new mobile phone, we expect that this product was not manufactured or invented in the Arab world and we rarely see an Arab mind behind something like that. This is a shameful fact, and it led me to wonder what is wrong. Why we are behind in nearly everything we do, even meeting deadlines and appointments in work and social life. Why our image as Arabs is so damaged? Is there any way out?
The Arab world today has become famous for the export of violence and killings, and we are now an antithesis of the past Arabs who exported science and culture centuries ago. According to World Bank statics, the Arab world's population is approximately 377 million. Arab countries are similar socially, linguistically and demographically, featuring early marriage rates that increase the population growth rates. Financial abundance and large population should be factors of progress and development and not the opposite, but it does not seem like it even with the introduction of technology in our daily lives. We are now very backward and hated.
Why are Arabs behind the times? I believe there are many reasons for this. Firstly, extremism is an enemy of progress and certainly the emergence of extremist movements such as Al Qaeda, Taleban and IS had a negative role due to their calls for fighting non-Muslims, but I don't agree that this is the only reason.
Secondly, because Arabs care about the past, not the future. They are ready to argue, fight and kill over incidents that occurred a thousand years ago and completely ignore the present, wasting time while not offering anything significant to the world or even their lives. The best example of this is the endless discussions they hold on social media over faith, Sunnis and Shiites, hijab or niqab. These discussions are futile because they revolve around the theme that if you are not with me, you are against me! Although some of us live in democratic societies to some extent like the Gulf countries, tolerance and respect for other opinions does not exist. This is a key reason why we are behind. We don't know how to behave when faced with opposing views.
Thirdly, the media used by clerics and fatwas have misled many Arabs. Extremist religious channels have brainwashed the minds of many young people with ideas such as jihad and rebelling against their governments. They used religion as a weapon to intimidate the public, bearing in mind the high rate of illiteracy and ignorance in the Arab world. Another reason is the lack of role models. The ordinary Arab channels focus on actors and singers as role models, but not inventors, scholars or thinkers, and serious talk shows that educate and not only entertain.
Fourthly, education. Education still offers a certificate to get a job without training and is a real tool for human development. Women's status and abuse against them goes hand in hand against the development of any society. The key issues related to women's rights are still debatable. Their participation in their countries' political and economic policy is ineffective to the society. Any society should have active NGOs and here in Kuwait the only active ones are those of the Muslim Brotherhood that will never call to support the female as a full citizen.
Finally, one of the sources of concern for me in Kuwait is that the parliament is more backward than the government. The impact of the parliament is huge over the society, but it only seems to work for certain interests, and this is a concern to me as a citizen and a woman.
I can blame the Arab situation over the Palestine issue and the West. We are good in this policy of blaming others, but we do not know how to market ourselves, our nations and our history. No wonder that the Arabs are in a deep sleep
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