Why are the Arabs losing on every front?

With 22 member countries, 14 million square kilometers of land, a population of 450 million and rich underground resources, the Arab World could be the world's most effective institution, but with its ridiculous meetings, is instead a disappointment. The events before and after the Arab League summits are proof that the member countries use the summits as a platform to defend their foreign policies and contend with their competitors.

Why can't Arab nations join forces? This is a very antiquated question. The Arabs, who lived a scattered and tribal-oriented life in the pre-Islamic period, achieved unity with the rise of Islam.

The Qur'an describes the horrific state the Arabs were in, and then explains how they escaped from that state. Prior to Islam, Arab tribes were divided into enemy camps, and declared war for trivial reasons. Human life had lost its sanctity and people were killed remorselessly. Had Islam not saved them, the fire of enmity could have burnt Arabia. The Evs and Hazrec tribes, who had been enemies for years, fought bloody battles and launched violent attacks on one another, but became brothers upon accepting Islam. Not only that, the tribes made unprecedented sacrifices for the comfort of emigrants from Mecca.

Having captured a terrific brotherhood, solidarity and unity, the Arabs then receded into unrest and corruption, becoming divided once more. Though they may have united during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, they soon disintegrated into regions and the clashes started. They were united under the Ottoman reign over the geography. For 400 years, they were united by the Ottoman Empire. However, following the demise of the Ottomans, the Arabs also became divided. In the century from 1917 to today, the situation of the Arab World is truly painful.

Established in 1944, the Arab League has become famous for its fierce debates and controversies, and dispersing without reaching an agreement at the summits it has held up to now. This has unfortunately proven the saying “Arabs agree to not agree" to be true after every meeting. The silence of the Arab League nations in the face of the massacres in the Arab world is proof of this saying.

With 22 member countries, 14 million square kilometers of land, a population of 450 million and rich underground resources, the Arab World could be the world's most effective institution but, with its ridiculous meetings, is instead a disappointment. The events before and after the Arab League summits are proof that the member countries use the summits as a platform to defend their foreign policies and contend against their competitors. Established with the nationalistic enthusiasm brought by the end of World War II, the Arab League not only reflects the political and ideological division of the Arab World, but has also become an organization whose activities and very existence has become debatable about half a century after its founding.

Many reasons can be counted as to why the Arab nations fail to unite, but over the course of my 20 years of experience in the Arab World, I have boiled it down to three. The first is a problem of egocentricity. What I see as a moral issue, is present not only within the government, but also within the community, civil society organizations and the general public. The weakness of national spirit and dominance of tribal-oriented thoughts will bring the Arab World to the brink of a fire pit again.

Another reason as to why the Arab World cannot unite is because of lack of power. We can attribute this entirely to external problems. Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Arab geography could not find its true borders, true identity and true politics, and has been under Western influence over the past 100 years. Gulf states, which were previously under British influence, are surrounded by the economic interests of U.S. oil companies. Syria, Jordan and Egypt, which the Arabs call the public states, are under Israeli influence. Any change in these countries means the collapse of that country. Their existence and maintenance is bound to the will of Israel.

Previously Tunisia and Libya were, and currently Algeria is under military administration. The Maghreb region is under the influence of America and Europe. Iraq was previously under the influence of Russia, but since the American invasion, it has been under Iran's control. Tunisia has close ties to the U.S. but has no definite identity at the moment and its future is an enigma. Libya and Yemen are in ruins. Sudan is impoverished and is collapsing more each day. Oman is slowly being pulled under Iran's wings.

Political culture has not yet matured in the region. Another reason as to why the Arabs cannot unite is an intellectual problem. The national spirit is quite weak. Arab scholars are fragmented. Intellectuals defending Arab unity were silenced by being oppressed or left to die in a dungeon. The dictators brought about by the intellectuals in 50 years do no more than applaud their leaders.

Hope for a unified Arab World is distant at a time where dictators and kings rule. It would be absurd to speak of unity in a geography where the public is poor despite great riches, a blind eye is turned towards the terrorizing of Islam and there is no freedom. The public who are dealing with their daily livelihood prefer to distance themselves from politics. This is because of the horrifying pressure of the regimes and the distrust of opposition groups. In the last 50 years, opposition groups that have emerged in nearly all Arab countries were formed by the dictators to test the public or were besieged by the regimes. It is evident that besides a few countries like Qatar, Arab leaders have no intention of uniting. Despite the atrocious events that have unfolded, everyone seems content. Everyone is putting up a struggle to leave the government as an inheritance to their kids.

Those who unite the people and the community are faithful and trustworthy people who have never sought power or riches. Today, the Arab region is seeking reliable and self-assured people; or a Muslim force that will reunite them like the Ottomans did.

The cause behind the struggles of Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria and almost all Arab fronts is the problem of not being able to ensure true unity. All of the Arab states are working against each other on these fronts. Countries like the UAE, Egypt and so on support Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Salih and the Houthis under the table, whereas Saudi and Qatar support the opposition. Among the groups supported by Saudi is Yemen's strongest political establishment, Ihvan supporter El-Islah Party, making opposition-supporters highly uncomfortable. Libya is a similar example. The UAE and Egypt, among other countries, support Major General Halife Hafter, whereas other Arab countries support Libya's legitimate government in Tripoli.

Division is found not only amongst Arab countries. Controversies are more common among groups fighting in the field. The number of Syrian groups fighting against the Assad regime in Syria, the Daesh terrorist organization and the PYD terrorist organization has exceeded 150. Although some groups appear united under one roof, nothing has changed in the field. In recent years, the foundations of broad-based alliances have empowered groups, but later they have also been able to divide the powers that had united. There are two main reasons for this; the first is that each Arab state supports different groups and the second is that the groups have different religious understandings and views. However, the only thing the religion asks of them is to protect the homeland and their children. Religion never asked nor will ask them to establish a Sharia state. The Syrian people only wanted one thing: national unity. However, opposition groups had not formed true unity until the day Aleppo fell, and this caused their unraveling. There is no longer any meaning in crying or lamenting. Historical truth has once again been manifested: those who cannot unite cannot be successful…