Arafat:
From Defender
to DictatorRevealing biography of Arafat
by Said K. Aburish
. Pub: Bloomsbury Paperbacks,
London, UK, 1999. Pp: 360. Pbk: 7.99
By Abd Rahman Koya
Celebrity biographies have become a major part of the western publishing
industry. Many of these biographies are of contemporary political leaders,
whose names are familiar to readers from the news, and virtually all are
written within a political framework that suits the wests political
agenda. Recently, Muslim politicians and leaders have attracted
biographical attention: king Hussain of Jordan, Saddam Hussein, Imam
Khomeini and others, whose profiles in the west (as hero or villain) have
been very different, but all of whom have had a market. One such man is
Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), who
has the rare distinction of having been both villain and hero in turn.
Said Aburishs Arafat: From Defender to Dictator is just one of a number of
books reflecting fresh western interest in the man who was condemned as a
terrorist for years, until being re-discovered as a man of peace after
auctioning off the Palestinian cause at Oslo in 1993. Aburish, a Christian
who lives in the west and holds an American passport, considers himself
well-equipped to write about Arafat. Being an Arab, Aburish hopes to
debunk some of the myths which, he says, invariably rise to the surface
whenever an "outsider" writes about Arabs. In his introduction, Aburish
attributes such myths to a "cultural divide which foreign writers cannot
bridge and a lack of understanding of todays Middle East and its
politics."
Aburish, however, fails dismally to lived up to his promise of providing a
more sympathetic analysis, instead falling into racist
characterisationshimself. His use of derogatory expressions normally found
in western works, such as "wily Arab tribal chief," which he uses to
describe Arafats leadership, makes it difficult for readers to be
convinced of his objectivity. Elsewhere, Aburish laments that the
"legendary Arab lack of organisation" was evident among the Palestinian
groups opposing the zionist occupation. Yet the book itself consistently
balances its condemnation of Arafat with flattering comments, as if to
demonstrate the authors non-biased view.
Aburish, himself from Jerusalem, also carefully casts aside the Islamic
dimension in the Palestinian conflict. His use of jargon such as "Islamic
fundamentalists" only reinforces the readers suspicion that he had his own
agenda when he set out to write about Arafat. Again, his use of the term
"folk mentality" in describing Arab Islamic leaders reflects a contempt
for them that appears to have clouded his judgement.
The book gives more space than one would expect to Arafats early life and
personality, which, Aburish says, has often been confused by Arafats own
contradictory claims. The book gives readers some interesting anecdotes
from Arafats early life that were previously unknown. According to
Aburish, Arafat comes from an elite Palestinian background and his family
has grown ever richer. He was not interested in studies, and barely
managed to complete a civil engineering degree; in his youth he ran a gang
of "neighbourhood children" who employed bully tactics; he had a difficult
relationship with his father, whose funeral he did not attend and whose
grave he never visited. Arafat was also close to Hajj Amin al-Husseini,
the revered mufti of Palestine, in the 1940s.
Being a Christian, it is not surprising that Aburish often refers to
Arafats Egyptian origin when he wants to emphasise that Arafat is
ill-qualified to represent the Palestinian cause. The authors failure is
his refusal to recognise that the Palestinian question is not a purely
Palestinian cause, but an Islamic one, because of the special reverence
Muslims have for al-Aqsa mosque. It was for this reason that the late Imam
Khomeini (a non-Arab) laid such great emphasis on the Palestinian cause
that he declared the last Friday of Ramadan to be Yaum Al-Quds Jerusalem
Day.
Many times in the book, Aburish tends to get too personal in his
condemnation of Arafats character. For example, he even asks why the young
Arafat once applied for admission to the University of Texas, despite his
"anti-Americanism". He then takes yet another swipe at Arabs in general:
"It was no different from the anti-Americanism of most Arabs, which has
always fallen short of boycotting the USA or taking concrete action
against it," he writes.
This book, however, has its own achievement: turning the popular western
perception of Yasser Arafat upside-down from a heroic freedom-fighter who
has kept the hopes of millions of displaced Palestinians alive to a
narrow-minded operator, out of touch with reality, whose personal
ambitions have led to a rule based on cronyism in which the people around
him are rewarded with jobs and money despite their incompetence.
But for Muslims the authors own solution is laughable. Aburish himself is
not a great fan of the Oslo peace accord and has often spoken out against
wasting ones time at the negotiating table. A contradiction, however, lays
bare his own agenda for Palestine. At one point he berates Israel as
bereft of generosity towards the Palestinians and any attachment to peace,
saying that the Oslo agreements were vehicles for Israel to further its
expansionist policies. Then, almost immediately after that, he offers his
own solution: replace Arafat with a "triumvirate of Heidar Abdel Shafi,
Faisal Husseini and Hanan Ashrawi," a group he believes is capable of
"negotiating a better deal" with Israel.
Aburish also exposes the shaky foundations of Arafats leadership, and
shows that the PLO has never been a revolutionary movement. The PLO was
even reluctant to support the intifada which erupted in 1987, although it
later claimed to have launched and led it. At the time, Aburish says, "it
was Arafat who... manifested the most reluctance to provide the rebellion
with support because he feared the effects of another failure on his
already reduced position."
Aburish reveals that since 1963, when Arafat first established contact
with the CIA in Beirut, the PLO has been involved in secret talks with the
US, effectively a betrayal of its people. Readers, however, do not need
people like Aburish to tell us the obvious fact that Arafat has created
one of the ugliest expressions of absolute dictatorship even by Middle
Eastern standards.
Throughout the book, perhaps unconsciously, Aburish has given so much
attention to explaining Arafats personality that, in the end, what one
gets is not an understanding of how Arafats early life shaped his future
activities, but how the author himself thinks the Palestinian conflict
should be perceived. The readers suspicion about the authors hidden agenda
is confirmed when Aburish heaps praise on George Habbash, the Palestinian
Christian activist, while condemning Muslim groups as suffering from "folk
mentality" (whatever that means).
Ultimately, this is a book about Aburishs perspective of the Palestinian
conflict more than about Arafat himself. And frankly, Aburishs perspective
is as irrelevant today as Arafat is.
(NOTE: Muslim Media articles may be reprinted/reproduced without prior
permission, but acknowledgement on reproduction will be appreciated.)
Our weakness
We must know that our weakness is Israel's strength.The regimes that are in power in our countries are like dead bodies, our "leaders" are politically finished. Instead of stepping down in honor, they cling bitterly to power and try to drag their peoples along into the precipice.
In the first place, we must conquer tyranny, decadence and corruption in our own hearts and in our countries! Instead of giving up, we must work seriously to create the economic, political, military and social conditions for the future victory of the Justice.
The future belongs to the forces of Islam. The Hezbullah, Hamas and the Jihad are the Islamic response to the Zionist challenge. The Islam began in the 6th century as a cultural, and spiritual movement against the superpowers of that time.
The military strength of the Islam grew as a consequence of its spiritual strength. Today, capitulating before the jewish arrogance is not a solution; it is betraying the future generations. If we can not create victory today, we muste not create defeat ourselves. The least We can do is to capitulate without resisting.Any "solution" violently extorted, any unjust "peace" (capitulation) will be rejected by the future generations. The only real solution of the Palestinian question lies in the return of the Palestinian people to their fatherland.
Ahmed Rami, writer, journalist, is the founder of the radio station Radio Islam.
Donations to help his work may be sent (in cheques or in notes) to his address:
Ahmed Rami - Box 316 - 10126 Stockholm, SwedenPhone: +46708121240
= Nos voleurs!
Il y a des problèmes extrêmes où nous nous debattons et que nous avons trop tardé à regarder en face. A la différence des pays occidentaux, nos "pays musulmans" ne connaissent que peu de hold-up de banques. C'est que les voleurs d'envergure savent qu'aujourd'hui, dans nos pays, la source d'enrichissement la plus sûre, la plus rapide, la seule à vrai dire, est le pouvoir. À titre d´exemple : le systeme féodal (makhzen) - qui n´a rien à voir avec l´Islam - que Hassan II a pérpétué anachroniquement au Maroc en plein XXe siècle - fait de la corruption généralisée un systhème de gouvernement.
Le régime de Hassan II constitue, pour notre pays, pour notre peuple et pour notre avenir un danger mortel réel. Face à ce danger et à son défi, il n y a, devant nous, qu´une seule alternative et une seule réponse: une révolution islamique radicale, éclairée, intelligente, tolérante et liberatrce!
En Islam, la liberté est la régle et l´interdit est l´exception.
Il s´impose donc urgence et nécessité vitale de créer un Front Islamique uni pour la Liberation du Maroc.
Les grands ne sont grands que parce que nous sommes à genoux. Levons-nous!
Ahmed Rami,
fondateur de RADIO ISLAM
Ahmed Rami, founder of the radio station: RADIO ISLAM
Louis Farrakhan´s Speech
USA´s Rulers - All Jews !
4 excerpts from Alfred
Lilienthals famous book "The Zionist Connection":
No hate. No violence.
Races? Only one Human race
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Know Your enemy!
No Time To Waste! Act now!
Tomorrow it will be too late!
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Ahmed Rami is the founder of radio station Radio Islam. Box 316 - 10126 Stockholm, Sweden. Phone: +46 708 121240, Email
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