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Written by Sasan Aghlani
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The West has a long history of selective focus in covering the Middle-East. Rather than presenting the developments, cultures, religions and politics of the region in an objective manner – the Western world as it is embodied by its media outlets, governmental and non-governmental institutions, and even many of its’ academics have persevered in presenting the region to the peoples of Western Europe and North America from a severely skewed perspective. Instead of the Middle-East’s many complexities, subtleties and fluid definitions being included in political debates – we are predominantly presented with a vulgar simplification – and orientalised and 'Othered' continent which has to be dealt within the context of Western interests. Thus we find that unless Western interests are disturbed – it is rare that a situation, an issue or even an idea from the Middle-East will even find its way into the public consciousness.
It should then come as little surprise that the most economically deprived state in the Middle East gets little attention in the West – it has little oil, does not offer the considerable geopolitical leverage of the likes of Iraq and Iran, and has a ruler that seems to not threaten their interests. Despite these factors which on paper offer the exterior of stability – it could very well be that Yemen is on the verge of political disaster.
Despite much evidence therefore pointing to the stem of the conflict in Saada being chiefly domestic – President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his cabinet maintain that the war is one between a democratic, united and apparently secular Yemen – and an extremist, authoritarian and radical “Islamism”.
To his credit, Saleh has in recent months played down the role of Iran in the violence to being no-more than wishful thinking. Nevertheless, Saleh’s and the government’s incapacity in accepting that the Houthis, Zaydis and even Sunnis north of Sana’a are fed up with the government’s apathy towards the grim living conditions in Yemen may prove to be a serious blunder. This is all, of course, before we even begin to talk about the discontent in Southern Yemen..
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Written by Mohammad Marji
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The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been following a precise branding strategy. The country became one of the most attractive business and touristic destinations in the Middle East. One slogan dominates the center stage and is the core of the official ideology: Jordan is a haven in the war-torn Middle East. This is a great leap for a country with little historical importance (except archeological), without a coherent national identity and deprived of natural resources. Amman, Jordan’s capital, is trying to be Beirut and Dubai at once – a liberal cosmopolitan city like Beirut and a business hub like Dubai. What is the cost of such a transformation?
Defensive democratization characterizes regimes which respond to threats by cyclic political liberalization usually aborted when stability is restored. In addition, Jordan’s economic liberalization is taking place not only at the expense of the deprived, but also at that of political liberalization thus leading to growth without development. In fact, political activity is nearly non-existent in the traditional monarchy. Today, frustration is the key word in many Jordanian cities and among a number of Jordanian groups.
Zarqa, a mostly poor city a couple of minutes outside Amman, is also home to the very infamous Zarqawi (who holds the city’s name) – an Al-Qaeda militant killed in 2006. Many young Jordanians are recruited to join organizations linked to Al-Qaeda fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even Amman’s luxurious hotels were not spared by violence in the 2006 bombings. Every summer, a number of tourists are subject to violent acts (stabbing, shooting) in the more popular areas of Eastern Amman. At the same time, the king of Jordan seems to believe that the most prominent threat comes from Tehran and its Shia crescent – putting an end to the construction of the first Shia mosque in the country in 2006.
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