Arab writers from the Middle East opine on Sudan’s deal with Israel and on the danger to the region of Erdogan remaining president of Turkey.
Sudan’s Deal with Israel: A Courageous Act
By Muhammad Al-Sheich
Al-Jazirah, Saudi Arabia, October 31
Sudan is the Arab country that suffered the most from the disasters of political Islam, particularly from the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood ruled the country for nearly 30 years and applied all of its perverted theories in it, turning Sudan into a weak, divided, and failed state in every sense of the word – in addition to one boycotted by most of the Western world. The ousted al-Bashir regime embarked on grandiose ventures that proved to be utterly foolish. This put Sudan on a bleak path, which got bleaker and bleaker with each passing day, until the Sudanese people finally took to the streets and replaced their regime.
I visited Sudan many times; I know it well and have many friends who still live there. I know firsthand that Sudan boasts incredible human resources: people who want to do good in the world, who seek to build a better future for themselves and others, who wish to put their country on the right track. The problem of Sudan is that it is a museum of ideologies: Every Sudanese you find sympathizes with a different party or a group and the common factor between all these groups is their animosity toward each other. The last revolution was a genuine revolution, carried out by the young men and women of Sudan, but it fell short of its objectives. It failed to generate a real leadership capable of lifting Sudan out of its mess. The biggest problem of the defunct regime, along with its Brotherhood supporters, is that it insists on reinventing the wheel instead of drawing on past experiences, theories, and applications. This results in a never-ending state of failure. The Brotherhood, in all of its formations, has been Sudan’s Achilles’ heel. It brought destruction to Sudan time and again. Thankfully, there are early signs suggesting that the people of Sudan have finally learned this lesson. Instead of promoting more regional conflict and ideological clashes, they took the right path by prioritizing their collective national interest over the interest of various power groups. More specifically, I’m referring to their decision to normalize their ties with Israel. It goes without saying that Israel is one of the most innovative and technologically advanced nations in the field of agriculture.
Partnering with Israel could bring great breakthroughs for the Sudanese economy. The two countries share similar soil and climate conditions. Rejecting the Israeli experience to boost Sudan’s well-being would thus be foolish. In addition, by normalizing ties with Israel, Sudan will finally be able to remove itself from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. This, in turn, will pave the way toward much-needed international loans and aid that would flow into the countries. In short, Sudan can reap incredible benefits from a deal of this kind. Therefore, I saw this with confidence: Sudan’s decision to normalize its ties with Israel is one of the most courageous decisions in the nation’s history – one that may very well change its fate and put it on the right path for decades to come.
– Muhammad Al-Sheikh
Boycotting Turkey – Security and Economic Necessity
By Muhammad Al-Sheikh
Al-Jazirah, Saudi Arabia, October 24
A popular campaign has been spreading across our country like wildfire: the boycott of Turkish products, goods, and services. My hope is that popular campaigns of this sort, in Saudi Arabia and beyond, will finally be able to influence Turkey and serve as the last nail in Erdogan’s coffin, forcing him to step down.
Erdogan is facing problems from almost every direction. On top of his growing opposition at home, he is encountering tremendous pressure abroad, where Turkish troops and mercenaries are deployed to carry out their czar’s grandiose ambition of reviving the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan is deeply committed to this vision of Ottoman greatness. It is this idea that guides almost every one of his decisions. It is also this idea that pitted Turkey against nearly every other country in the world, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt. Indeed, Turkey under Erdogan’s rule has become an imminent threat to all Arab countries. This makes the downfall of Erdogan an urgent priority for the Arab world. There is no way to achieve this goal except to apply immense pressure on the Turkish economy and force its leadership to change its ways. The entire free world, not just the Arab Gulf, would benefit from Erdogan’s departure. Turkey is one of the world’s largest and most important sponsors of terrorism. Take, for example, ISIS, which is still fighting in Syria and Iraq thanks to ongoing Turkish support.
All of this is happening right before the eyes of Europe and America, yet not a single country has lifted a finger to intervene in this situation. Add to all of this, cheap Turkish products are flooding international markets and undermining local industries. Morocco, for instance, was forced to impose tariffs on Turkish cotton in order to protect its own cotton industry. Jordan is planning on taking similar action, as is Algeria. These new tariffs, together with the boycott movement taking shape in the Gulf, will ultimately constitute a large and powerful financial force against Turkey. Erdogan has already asked his cronies in Qatar to assist him in curbing this new campaign. In response, Qatar bribed Saudi expatriates living in London and Canada to speak up against the boycott campaign waged by their compatriots. Similar efforts have been carried out to convince the people of Iraq to stand by Turkey. But this attempt, too, is doomed to fail. Let’s not forget that it was Turkey that made its bases available to the Americans when they chose to invade Iraq. Saudi Arabia, in contrast, refused to be complicit in the war that destroyed Iraq.
The important thing, dear readers, is to continue this campaign no matter what. I have no doubt that the boycott will grow larger and larger, forcing the Turkish people to rid themselves of this ghoul who is sending their country backward.
– Muhammad Al-Sheikh
*Translations by Asaf Zilberfarb
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs
