I know that there is competition between the GCC countries to attract international events and investments in addition to their race to build touristic attractions to draw the attention of the global tourism market. There is no doubt that the competition is accepted and understood as it leads to more infrastructure, new cities and so on.
There is a similar positive shift in the education sector as the GCC countries have competed by inviting prestigious European and American universities to open branches. However, this shift could have risks in the short- and long-term unless we take steps to preserve the Arab culture and history.
Let me cite one risk. At one of the foreign universities which opened a branch in a GCC country that teaches modern and contemporary history of the Middle East, a foreign teacher said: “The state of Israel is under continuous attack from Palestinian terrorists who must be fought by all peace-loving countries.”
Arabs from the region, Gulf students in particular, do not get history lessons in high school, which could consolidate in their minds historical values of the Arab and Muslim world. That’s why most students cannot debate with foreigners, they see the history of their countries through Western eyes.
There are students from non-Arab countries who may attend these lectures and build up a negative image if wrong information is not corrected. Hence, facts turn upside down and problem pops up when our history is distorted and facts are denied.
Palestine has been inhabited by Arabs from the Jebusites and Canaanites for ages. Yet, the Zionist campaign that strangles Palestine is a recent settlement. Israel is not a ‘state’ in the fullest meaning of the word as it has neither borders nor historical roots in the region. In this sense, Israeli proofs referring to their rights to have a state in Palestine have been refuted by fair-minded non-Arab historians, particularly Americans and Europeans.
Palestine, like other Arab countries in the Middle East, is considered a fully-formed nation.
Based on this, I would like to stress that the Gulf society needs to protect itself against this cultural intervention and secure its communities by enacting new laws with regard to foreign universities on their lands. This will work as a deterrent to anyone who wants to falsify our history, culture and values as is the case with many foreign universities established on our soil on our will!
I was invited to Jordan by Shouman Centre to participate in a cultural workshop, held in cooperation with the prestigious Al Rawad Centre. A participant brought up an interesting topic during a panel discussion.
He said: “There are in many European and American capitals public relations offices which aim to harm Qatar’s reputation in the Western media. These offices are founded by Arab countries but run by American and European writers.”
The participant even named the Arab countries, but I will not mention them here as a matter of ethics. I asked this person about the goal behind this raging media campaign against Qatar and benefits for other Arab countries from defaming Qatar by spreading lies and misinformation.
He said, “Don’t you know the goal?” I said, “No”, especially when speaking about the involvement of some Arab countries as he claimed.
He told me that the goal is to thwart the 2022 World Cup to be hosted by Qatar. He kept on giving more evidence to what he claimed and referred to the declining oil and gas prices in the global market so that Qatar won’t be able to build infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup. It is true that it will be an endless debate on the topic. But isn’t it a success for all Arabs if an Arab country hosts the World Cup tournament? Should not they cooperate with Qatar to make this international sport event a success so that another Arab country could be able to host a similar international event in the future?
The participant said the PR offices founded by Arab countries launch propaganda on issues that not only exist in Qatar but all Arab countries.
For example, unemployment is a common concern of the Gulf, not exclusive to Qatar; same is the case with human rights issues. The weather changes to cold and warm — a normal thing all Gulf countries share, not a customised Qatari weather!
Speaking about Qatar as an undemocratic country does not mean all Gulf countries are!
Qatar and its GCC partners live under the same sky. In my view, Qatar stands better than other GCC countries in terms of living conditions.
Invite all GCC intellectuals and the elite and their neighbours to “… help one another in goodness and piety and do not help one another in sin and aggression…” (Quran 5:2)
