Download File - Just Remember the Past

Culture clash: The relationship between the Arab
World and the West
Introduction
The attacks of 11 September 2001 had a powerful impact on the already complex
and difficult relationship between the West and the Middle East, characterized as
it is by suspicion and stereotypes. The Middle East is all too often depicted as a
violent, threatening society from which emanates terrorism, hijackings,
bombings and reactionary revolutions. Equally, the West is seen as the
perpetrator of all kinds of imperialism, an instigator of plots, and an oil-hungry
and self-interested actor. If the Arab and Western worlds are to create and
sustain peaceful relationship, they must overcome the misunderstandings and
tensions caused by the clash of different cultures.
Background
The Crusades
Arab resentment towards the West goes as far back as the Crusades in the
medieval period. Pope Urban II urged all Christians to embark on a holy war to
reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims who occupied it. Whilst publicly Urban
claimed it was purely an attempt to take back what he believed belonged to
Christians, many historians believe that the main objective was to reunite the
Christian church which had split into two; the Roman Catholic Church centered
in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Constantinople (now
Istanbul). Many Arabic people today see the Crusades as the first attempt at
Western colonization and cruelty in the Middle East. Saladin is an Arab leader
who successfully fought back the Crusaders in the late 12th century under the
banner of Islamic Jihad.
1. Why did Urban II call a Crusade?
2. What do many historian believe to be the real objective of the Crusades?
3. Why do the Crusades contribute to the negative stereotype that some
Arabs have of the West?
The Ottomans and WWI
The increasingly troubled relationship between West and East continued with
the growth of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Ottomans seized
territory in the Balkans and twice laid siege to Vienna. However, by the 19th
century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline and the industrial nations of Europe
took advantage to begin their colonization of the Middle East. France took
control of Morocco and Algeria, whilst Britain ruled Egypt, and many of the
modern Gulf States. This European domination was confirmed in the aftermath
of World War I when the Ottoman Empire finally crumbled. Lebanon, Syria,
Palestine and Iraq all fell into European hands and borders were hastily redrawn
to suit the occupiers.
1. How far into Europe did the Ottoman Empire spread?
2. How were European countries able to gain control of the Middle East?
Arab Independence
After World War II, a number of factors occurred to finally grant Arab countries
independence. Firstly, as the ‘old’ powers of Europe had fought two costly wars
within 30 years of each other, they were increasing unable to maintain their
empires. Secondly, the USA was emerging as a dominant superpower that
supported Arab independence. Finally, the rise of Arab nationalism, which had
been cultivated by the West for their own ends (for example in helping to defeat
the Ottomans during WWI) but was now demanding self-determination for the
Middle East and North Africa. The Americans had quickly recognized the value of
the vast quantities of oil available in the Arabian Gulf and desperately wanted to
avoid Soviet influence in the area.
Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser was seen as the embodiment of Arab
nationalism and shortly after gaining independence seized the Suez Canal from
the British and the French for his people. A combined British, French and Israeli
attempt to recapture the canal failed when it did not gain American approval.
1. Write one reason why Arab nations were able to gain independence.
2. Why did the USA support Arab independence?
3. How might the Cold War assisted in the failure of the British, French and
Israelis to recapture the Suez Canal?
The Arab-Israeli Wars
Despite the West recognizing the huge benefits of good relations with the Arab
world, the USA and the UK created uproar in 1948 with the creation of the state
of Israel. The Zionist movement had been growing steadily in Britain and
America since the start of the 20th century and had their sights set on a Jewish
state in the Middle East. In order to solve the problem of millions of Jewish
refugees spread across Europe as a result of the Holocaust and a growing Jewish
population in Palestine, the Zionists were finally given their wish. The British,
with the support of the USA and the UN, partitioned Palestine into two. This led
to a series of wars between Israel and many Arab countries as well as the massmigration of many Palestinians across the Middle East.
The consequences that occurred as a result of the creation of Israel are: 1948
Arab-Israeli War, 1967 6 Day War (where Nasser’s Egypt attempted to
partially blockade Israel’s access to the Red Sea), the creation of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Lebanese Civil War
and the First Intifada (Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories). During
the Yom Kippur War, Arab states that were angry at the pro-Israeli west
announced an oil embargo that saw a surge in oil prices worldwide.
1. When was the state of Israel created?
2. Name two consequences of the creation of Israel.
3. How has the creation of Israel affect Arab-Western Relations?
1979- A crucial year for Arab-Western Relations
In hindsight, much of what happened before 1979 was merely the context
to events of much greater significance. If Arab-Western relations had been
strained before, two events were to happen that would exacerbate the situation.
The first event was the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Under the command of the
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, Iranian Shi’a overthrew the government
of the Shah (who was seen as a puppet ruler of the USA) and established a
theocracy. Khomeini denounced the USA as the “Great Satan” and following the
USA’s offer of political asylum to the deposed Shah, ordered Iranian troops to
storm the US embassy in Tehran. 52 American diplomats were taken hostage for
444 days. This led to an American trade embargo with Iran that remains in
place to this day. Other than damaging Iranian-American relations, the Islamic
Revolution threatened to alter the balance of world politics by encouraging other
Muslims (particularly Shi’a) to overthrow their monarchies and replace them
with Islamic Republics. This was threatening to nearby Sunni dominated states
such as Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, many of whom were monarchies and led
to the Iran-Iraq War.
The second crucial event was the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. On the
request of the Marxist government, Soviet troops entered the country to protect
them. Determined to force the USSR into a lengthy, costly war, the USA funded a
local guerilla movement, the Mujahedeen, who were resisting the invaders. The
CIA supplied them with intelligence, weapons and training and combined with
the Mujahedeen’s knowledge of the mountainous terrain, turned the Afghan War
into “Russia’s Vietnam”. This strategy of supporting any enemy fighting
communism worldwide was called war-by-proxy and by putting pressure on the
USSR, was a big factor in ending the Cold War. However, this strategy backfired
long-term with regard to Afghanistan. One of the influential Mujahedeen was a
member of the Saudi royal family called Osama bin Laden. He was strongly
influenced by the events of the Islamic revolution in Iran and by the idea of
Islamic Jihad. Whilst the Soviets were defeated and withdrew from Afghanistan
by 1989, the idea of Islamic Jihad continued to grow.
1. Why did Iranian troops storm the US embassy in Tehran?
2. What was the impact of the Islamic Revolution on the Arab world?
3. Why did Afghanistan become “Russia’s Vietnam”?
4. Why did US support of the Mujahedeen backfire?
The Invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War
No sooner had the Cold War ended, than another former ally of the USA,
Iraq (who they had supported in the Iran-Iraq War) invaded Kuwait in 1990.
This also put Iraq within striking distance of the Saudi oil fields. Kuwait was and
still is an important business partner of the West (it is the second largest oil
producer in the world) and a US-led coalition liberated the Gulf State in 1991.
Immediately after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Osama bin Laden recognized the
vulnerability of his homeland and offered the House of Saud protection from his
growing band of Mujahedeen (who had left Afghanistan and were now called Al’
Qaeda). He was made extremely angry by the rejection of the Saudi Arabian
government who instead accepted an offer from the USA to repel Saddam
Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. He publicly criticized Saudi Arabia’s dependence
on US military help and considered the presence of non-Muslim troops in the
land of Mecca and Medina an act of sacrilege.
The Americans chose not to invade Iraq hoping instead that the crushing
military defeat would signal the collapse of Saddam’s Ba’athist party. President
George W. H. Bush encourage the Kurds in Northern Iraq to rebel but failed to
follow up his promises of US military assistance. When the Kurdish uprising
failed and Saddam surprisingly clung on to power, 1.5 million Kurds fled their
homes.
1. Why was Osama bin Laden angry with the US-led liberation of Kuwait?
2. Why did the USA decide not to invade Iraq?
3. What do you think was an impact of the American failure to support the
Kurds?
The Rise of Al’ Qaeda
Following what he perceived to the outrage of the presence of Western
troops on Saudi soil, Osama bin Laden ordered his organization to attack US
military and economic targets. He is believed to be behind the bombing of the
World Trade Center in 1993, an armed attack on tourists in Luxor in 1997
(killing 62 civilians), the bombing of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya
in 1998 and an attack on the warship USS Cole off the Yemini coast in 2000. His
organization is also considered responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
Post 9/11
Following the 9/11 attacks, US foreign policy shifted dramatically. Whilst
the Clinton administration recognized the threat of Islamic fundamentalism to
the United States in the post-Cold War world, George W. Bush’s government
failed to take this threat seriously. In the aftermath of 9/11, Bush ordered an
invasion of Afghanistan to capture Al’ Qaeda and the Taliban (who were accused
of harboring them). In 2002, Bush declared a “War on Terror” and announced
that there was an “Axis of Evil”- members of which included Iran, Iraq, Cuba and
North Korea. In 2003, the USA and UK attempted to gain a UN resolution
authorizing an invasion of Iraq on the basis that he possessed weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). Having failed to convince the UN of this, The US and UK
chose to invade Iraq without UN authorization. Whilst this invasion was
successful and led to the execution of Saddam Hussein, no WMD were found.
Many people in the West and in the Arab world believe that one of Bush’s
aims on taking office was the invasion of Iraq in order to gain access to its
considerable oil reserves. They claim the presence of western occupational
forces in Iraq has only served to take valuable resources away from the search
for bin Laden and Al’ Qaeda in Afghanistan whilst encouraging many Muslims to
distrust the West. In 2004, trains in Madrid were bombed killing 191 civilians
and in 2005, 52 civilians were killed during a coordinated attack on the London
transport system (known as the 7/7 attacks).
1. With reference to the subsequent invasion of Iraq, why do you think Bush
announced that there was an “Axis of Evil” in 2002?
2. Why could the Iraq War be considered a significant strategic failure of US
foreign policy?
Activity
 You are either an adviser for a Western or an Arab country.
 Your job is to advise your leader by producing a report on how you think
your country should conduct its foreign policy with either the Middle East
or the West (depending on who you picked).
 You should aim to write at least 1 paragraph on each of the points below.
 You need to include in your report:
o The historical background of the relationship between the West
and Middle East (as related to your country).
o The current state of the relationship as a result of the past.
o What foreign policy goals you think your country should pursue.
o Strategies that should be used to pursue these goals.
o Why you think these strategies will be successful.