Thursday, August 01, 2024

Your Version isn’t Everything

 Sometimes, Your Belief’s Can Hold You Back – and God isn’t a Relator.

Thanks to the assassination of Ismail Haniyah, the political leader of Hamas in Tehran, Iran, every talking head around is now talking about the depressing “escalation” of tensions in one of the tensest regions on the planet.

As expected, the Iranians are furious and the Israeli’s a very pleased with themselves for “taking out” a “terrorist.” The Americans have claimed they knew nothing of the assassination plan and the Russians have said that this is not helpful. Tensions are such that nobody really believes that negotiations and peace deals are going to happen and the usual racial, religious and sectarian tensions will continue to plague the region.

Why is that so? This is, after all, a land called “Holy,” and is considered the most sacred part of the globe by three of the world’s major religions.

If you look at the problems, you’ll realise that the problems stem from the fact that this land is considered “Holy” by the Abrahamic faiths. As such, the conflict extends beyond the region, particularly in the largest superpower on the planet and thus the one party that has the power to bring both parties to the table and thus solving the problems.

As such, American policy towards the region tends to be based on a “religious narrative.” As such, Israel is “Always” right and “Iran” and anything associated with “Iran” is always bad. As such, anyone who fights with Iran gets US support and anyone who gets squashed by Israel must be bad. Whatever happens in the region is supposed to fit into the narrative. In short, policy becomes “religious dogma,” and anything that smacks of compromise becomes a heresy. Look at it this way, Yitzak Rabin, the Prime Minister who brought Israel peace was assassinated by a religious nut job. When Ariel Sharon uncharacteristically withdrew from the Gaza strip, Zionist Christians in America cursed him for giving away “God’s Land.”

Luckily for people in the region, there’s been a rise of another power, which seems more capable of getting people to talk to each other. Think of the 2023 “Saudi-Iranian” deal which they brokered.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/21/china-brokered-saudi-iran-deal-driving-wave-of-reconciliation-says-wang

 


 More recently, this nation has worked to get the Palestinian factions to unify and create some sort of united front for the Palestinian government:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgm147lzv1o

 

Why has this group been seemingly more effective at creating peace than the most powerful nation on the planet? America is the “Land of the Brave and Home of the Free.” China remains a brutal communist dictatorship which grades its citizens on “social credit.” Yet, when you look at what America and China have done in the Middle East, you’ll find that the Chinese have been far more effective in creating “peace” and “stability.”

If you look at what China and America want, you’ll notice that for China, its objectives in the region are simpler. It expects commerce to be able to function, regardless of religion or race. Look at the Saudi-Iranian deal. The Chinese were not interested in promoting the Shia or Sunni versions of Islam. What it wants is for two large oil producers to keep the oil flowing.

Likewise, when it comes to Israel and its conflicts with the Palestinians. For the Chinese, its not about how owns various bits of the desert. What it does not like is the tensions that make the region unstable, because instability is bad for business.

This is not to say that China is a benevolent force in the world. When compared to the Western nations, the Chinese are rather cold. Yet, if you look at the efforts of China in the Middle East and to an extent, Africa, the Chinese have actually produced more benevolent results.

What you could argue is that the Chinese are less obsessed with getting people to fit into a religious narrative but on a commercial result. As such, they’re able to get sides to compromise on practical ends that benefit Chinese interest. Its something that we may have to look at when making decisions.  

 

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Maira Gall