MENA Reimagined!
!اعادة تخيل المنطقة
I recently received an invitation to attend the pilot event of an initiative called Reimagine MENA, organized by my friends at 3BL Associates, based in Bahrain. Hard to resist attending an event with that name! The event was held on April 21 to 23, in anticipation of a wider launch in Q1 of 2017.
Prior to attending we were asked to think about what we thought of MENA and how we would like to reimagine it. The below is my own personal opinion and of course does not represent the views of 3BL or the event. The below harsh talk is mine and my responsibility alone!
If you are an Arabic speaker, here also is a video of an interview I gave at the event in which I say my opinion on what is needed in the MENA, admittedly (and a little regrettably) in a much more polite manner than what I wrote below.
When I think of the MENA region now, I imagine a flat, monotonous, very heavy piece of thick wood…barely alive, dead, monolithic.
It has some imperfections for sure.. some knots and irregularities that have risen a few millimetres above the surface, maybe have tried to escape the prison of the block…but they are barely noticeable when you look at the block from a distance.. and most likely will eventually either get sanded back in, or will jump far enough from the block to land on another continent, somewhere else.
It is a block that is pretty depressing.. pretty static.. lacks creativity…lacks critical thinking…patriarchal.. blasé…accepts everything it is told as a given. For the most part it is joyless, or the joys it thinks it enjoys are materialistic and greedy and all about consuming and buying and eating and blingbling and in the end, at the core, most of its molecules are like lifeless robots..The block likes to use empty, meaningless, nausea-inducing phrases like “we should uphold the values of our society”!!!!
Very few of the molecules derive pleasure from thinking and debates and ideas and innovation and creativity. The ones that do are the knots and imperfections, the ones that rise a few millimetres above the surface of the block, only to be sanded right back unless they rise high enough to break free and end up landing on another continent.
The block is also a coward. It is afraid of asking questions, of challenging the status quo, of upsetting its friends or rulers or family, or anyone. God forbid that it voices an independent thought! And the block suffers from the root of all evil: the omnipotent, oppressive, heavy, rigid, unquestionable, always right, not open to reinterpretation, presence of religion. It stifles everything. It keeps the block’s brains busy with silly and trivial things. It kills in the bud any attempt to question or update or think or criticize, and the killing happens swiftly like a swatter kills a fly. The majority of the molecules of the block are afraid to rise above it for fear of being swatted right back into it…
So how would I reimagine MENA? I would like to see it as a block where the small imperfections that rise a few millimetres above its surface have grown and expanded and taken root. I would like to see that this block has lost its uniformity and has instead become a fusion of many organic, living, breathing, thinking sub-entities, each free to express its identity and lifestyle and thoughts, while still forming a big but irregular block.
It is a block where thinking and innovative ideas have started flowing from one sub-entity to another; a place where many have chosen to update religion and update their understanding of it and update their relationship with it; a block where the holy is still holy for those who want to keep it holy, but it is not so holy as to be untouchable. A block where the molecules are not threatened and do not have existential identity crises if someone dares to voice an opinion that criticises what they believe in! Instead, when that happens, they either try to push back with a rational argument, or simply and easily shrug and say “enta 7orr fi ra2yak!!”
It is a block that is capable again- like it used to be only a few decades ago- of creating the sort of experiences that would draw a loud, unashamed, joyful, orgasmic scream of elation when hearing Om Kolthoom sing about love and passion!
This is the MENA I would like to see, as I have a conviction that only the free flow of ideas, the spirit of innovation and non-conformity, and the positive interaction between different groups can advance any region.
And this is why I am starting a blog. It is a simple, small attempt to grow one of the imperfections. Give it strength, give it a voice, allow it to thrive in this oppressive desert environment, and maybe be an example to other imperfections to do the same thing, so together we can all push back and grow and take over the mono-block, and become the block itself rather than just imperfections rising a few millimetres above it, waiting to break free and land on another continent!
The beauty of a piece of wood are the knots in it. A knot is where a branch died. It is a “hard” memory. Too many imperfections and a piece of wood breaks apart; maybe that’s your strategy? You need the heartwood for a knot to exist, and a plank to form, or not? Beauty only surfaces when few knots are sanded down, why not? Now say this ten times.
We don’t want knots to die nor do we want to sand them down! We can sand down a few of the ones we don’t tolerate if you like, as I said in my “Values” post
And we don’t want to fragment the heartwood either, and the strategy is not to fragment…but to celebrate diversity and break hegemony…anyway, I doubt that you did not get my intention 
I still would like to know who you are!
I applaud your passion and clarity of view in that interview (though your effervescent energy may have given the cameraman abit of a stability challenge haha).
The status quo is a concrete obstacle that must be broken down to achieve that MENA you refreshingly imagine. I agree with you completely on the building blocks of that wall being the omnipotent misinterpretation of religion, superior all-knowing regimes, superficiality of priorities, etc.
My concern is that based on human history (and realistic reasoning) I believe such monumental change is almost exclusively possible through grave misfortune. The status quo is a state of societal-mind slumber. An awakening is what affects serious re-thinking of popular scale, and awakening usually happens by a slap on the face… Aka grave misfortune. Do we actually need to hit rock bottom then to change our irresesponsible ways? Mind you, rock bottom already exists in atleast one of the rooms in our house: Syria, yet the slumber continues!
I’m not consciously pessimistic or discouraging your efforts. A start through consolidation of individual efforts definitely is a good one, atleast to plant the seeds. I’m just addressing reality, or my concerns of it.
Thank you for the comment. Well, one is certainly tempted sometimes by the evil thought I heard many times in Egypt: “Ya rabb 7ofra kebeera men el maghreb lel khaleeg terdomhom kollohom” so we start from scratch :)) Not sure what other major misfortune might work, as I don’t think anything worse than the atrocities of ISIS for example or of the practices of some regimes in the Region can happen, and yet you can argue that they have not managed to cause any shifts. And yet, one cannot ignore the actions of youth here and there…they appear fragmented and unable to face the obstacles but they are growing in number and I think indicate a gradual change in mindset. The power of youth and their desire for change, and the consolidation of those that are not young but let’s say “young at heart :)” to make their voices louder and more provocative is the only path forward I can see. Along of course with long term strategies of education and so on, but I don’t know if one can rely on those given that they are for the time being in the hands of the corrupt elite..I really cannot see any way forward other than empowering youth and other voices of dissent. I am not saying this to convince you, I know you are in agreement
I like the various metaphors as they illustrate so well what the situation is and what one would wish for to break free. Much of the blame of course goes to the leaders of the region (political and religious ones), who oppress the masses by keeping them afraid, apathetic, subdued, in order to control them better and then publicly exorcize whoever dares to think differently ( at all levels, political, cultural, religious, artistic. Just look at the variety of things they ban in Lebanon, one of the more “liberal” countries).
I agree that leaders in the region are to blame for most if not all of our ills. The problem is they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon, so the options seem to be either fight back or accept. What I’m proposing is for various sub-groups (whether religious, atheists, spiritual, alternative, LGBT, hedonists, etc etc whatever!) at the grassroots level to consolidate to build strength and assert their voices, and maybe that would create a dynamic that would break this oppressive mold. A lot of effort like that is already being done in Lebanon for example; it must be strengthened and it must occur in other countries as well. I think the issue is a lot of people work individually or within their own small circles, whereas action should be not only to define the sub community but to assert its voice. I know its easier said than done, but I don’t think its impossible and I think its one of the few routes still available for us. What do you think? I would really like to get funding for a project aimed solely at creating sub-communties!!!
Great vision and such a brave conversation you made! The MENA society is derived by its religious past and they leave that define their future that’s why they don’t think forward! They think backward … liked the sentence ( it’s a block that’s pretty depressing) .. the MENA culture is pretty depressing full of hate , fear and insecurities therefore the creativity is limited by the limits of the society and religion! And I believe that the bigger problem that stands in the way is the MENTALITY of the society. You can not have a free mind if you were raised around a society that all what they care about is look what he or she is wearing instead of reading a book… a school of sheep that follow anything they been told with out using that little watermelon on their shoulders to at least analyze what they see and hear , a society that can not separate fact from fiction! A society that expects the world around them to adapt to their cultures but they would never adapt to any other cultures! I’d love to see this part of the world thrive and get its ancient glory back! The key is education, quality one, and by giving the freedom to the students to study what they are passionate about , separate religion from education it should be a choice not an educational obligation and replace it with R&D, science, art, music etc. Allow more access to technology. Expose the youth more to the world…. Also allow the flow of knowledge and ideas in this area, easy travel and easy communication between its people! And I think what’s also really important is to teach the kids how to be self confident from a young age…how to be themselves and be brave! Motivate and appraise!
Powerful education, powerful youth, powerful minds, powerful economy and then they may gain the respect of the other countries which are more powerful than they are. And not only respect but also collaboration and more advancement!
I agree of course with what you’re saying- increase in proper education including analytical and critical thinking skills in parallel with a decrease in the overwhelming presence of religion permeating all aspects of life. There is no denying that is essential for success- however, these are big strategies that people have been talking about for a while and still nothing is done, I believe mainly because those who do have the power to do something about don’t really want to (either because they’re not convinced or because it’s not in their interest for people to wake up). So what I’m proposing is another route, in parallel, which starts directly from the grassroots and from whatever already exists: basically encourage/ empower small groups that are different (culturally, in lifestyle, in religion, etc) to consolidate, grow, make their voices heard, and slowly begin breaking the hold of the one omnipotent cultural norm that we in the vast majority of the MENA region suffer from. It is not easy and needs courage and a long term perspective, but it is at least doable if done smartly.