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Between concept and identity

  • Bouthaina Shaaban Bouthaina Shaaban
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 13 Nov 2024 16:06
  • 2 Shares
10 Min Read

Western hypocrisy in the Zionist genocide against Gaza revealed the true nature of Western colonial and racist policies.

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  • Between concept and identity
    Western hypocrisy in the Zionist genocide against Gaza revealed the true nature of Western colonial and racist policies (Illustrated by Zeinab al-Hajj; Al Mayadeen English)

What event could possibly divert attention away from the American electoral campaign at its most feverish and active phase, as it works relentlessly to persuade the American public to cast their votes for a particular candidate? Usually, it is difficult for any event, no matter how significant, to gain a presence in the Western media that surpasses the spotlight of the massive, frenzied American media race between the two dominant parties vying for the White House. It’s almost like a Hollywood movie titled “American Democracy”. However, the surprise was that an Iranian student, who, according to her university records and her ex-husband's testimony, suffers from psychological issues, effortlessly achieved this goal simply by stripping in one of the university corridors and walking among the veiled and modestly dressed students. The moment this occurred, Western media hastily and foolishly rushed to portray the incident as if it were a significant rebellion against the Islamic dress code of Iranian women, as though something monumental was unfolding within Iran itself.

Regardless of the stance on the hijab or chador, the Western reactions to this disgraceful and obviously reprehensible incident reveal one thing: the West's continued commodification of women's freedom and the cheap exploitation of their bodies to promote the repetitive and false narrative of Western superiority in respecting women's rights and dignity. It is the same narrative that Western media started promoting in the early 1970s when it portrayed women’s deviation from the principles of modesty in appearance as essential conditions for liberation and equality between men and women.  

In this dubious Western concept, there is a departure from the entire human experience; African and Asian women have been working side by side with men for centuries, holding prestigious positions within their tribes, communities, and cities, to the point of becoming rulers, like Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, Shajarat al-Durr, Sakina Bint al-Hussein, who founded the first literary salon, Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, and many others. In all corners of the earth, none of these women or any women in their societies were required to display their bodies to assert their presence in their communities.

Regardless of the Islamic hijab, constantly criticized by the West, a look at images of women throughout history shows that European, Asian, Arab, and African women have embraced head coverings that complement the garments they wear. 

The key point here, in this example, is the West's desperate attempts to impose its loose concepts and its naked model on the rest of the world, using its controlled media, unaware that it has been exposed to the world after supporting the genocidal war on Gaza. The false media image that the West propagated after the Cold War, which portrayed the United States as the country that no one in the world could do without, as the shining city on the hill and the symbol of freedom, is no longer the image in the minds of the people who are experiencing the catastrophic results of US policies, including the American people themselves, whose youth are unable to start families due to the pressure of expenses, low income, and the lack of money and time. This is what the general American public feels, as they face financial distress due to the squandering of public funds on foreign wars by spending billions of American taxpayer dollars to fuel the war in Ukraine and supplying the Zionist entity with the latest weapons and ammunition to kill more and more Arab children. Meanwhile, the image that the administration promotes to the world is that of the five percent who thrive and make billions by igniting wars and conflicts, exploiting American resources to amass their wealth.

Wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and finally Gaza and Lebanon have contributed to revealing the true face of the United States; arrogant, bloodthirsty, and eager to destroy the lives of millions of people. However, the genocidal war perpetrated by the Zionist entity for over a year against innocent civilians in Palestine and Lebanon, with unlimited military, financial, media, and political support from all Western countries, and primarily from the United States, has been the final straw that broke the camel's back in terms of the United States' political and moral position in the world. It became evident that the US played a disgraceful role in disrupting the international system and in preventing the United Nations and the Security Council from fulfilling their duties to stop the killing, destruction, and the Western blockade on defenseless civilians. The shameful role of the United States in standing as a formidable barrier to achieving justice, securing the rights of peoples in their homelands, and defending them to ensure their identity, independence, and the dignity of their citizens to live freely on their land was also exposed. 

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If this controlled and Zionist-funded Western media and these Zionist-aligned Western governments are concerned about women's rights, then where are they when it comes to the right to a dignified life for Palestinian women whose homes are bombed day and night? And where is their concern for pregnant women in Gaza, whose bellies were torn open by savage soldiers filled with racist hatred?! And where are the Western governments and their shackled media when it comes to detained Palestinian women, who recount to their lawyers the horrors, torture, and humiliation inflicted on them daily and every hour by the Israeli soldiers, without any charges being brought against them, but simply because they defended relentlessly their land, homes and children?! And where is the West when it comes to Palestinian children detainees, while it constantly boasts about children's rights?

The UK's representative at the United Nations claims that her country prioritizes women under the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda, unaware that no one believes their words anymore after the Western hypocrisy in the Zionist genocide against Gaza revealed the true nature of Western colonial and racist policies. It has become clear that the West is only seeking to dominate the resources of the world peoples, especially the Arab nation, plunder its wealth, and settle its lands.

This exposure, however, does not only concern our Arab peoples, who are affected gravely by Western support for aggression, occupation, killing, and genocide. It also applies, to some extent, to Western peoples, especially the young generation and university students whose consciences were awakened against the Israeli aggression on Gaza. They rose by all available means against the killing, injustice, and displacement before being brutally suppressed and silenced. These are the ones who defeated the Democrats in these elections at the first opportunity they had to express their rejection of the ongoing brutal genocide crimes. Analyses confirm that the American youth, who voted for the first time in the United States, did not cast their votes for the Democrats, regardless of the future stance of the new administration regarding the situation in the region. However, the message is clear: the final word throughout history belongs to the people. Even if the arrogance of Zionist-aligned rulers and their whims blind their eyes and hearts to this established truth, it does not change the matter.

In addition to the disasters that have cast shadows over the suspicious Western concepts of women's liberation, which have merely commodified women, the Western concepts of democracy, such as the idea of Western liberal democracy, which bears no relation to the culture, history, and development of the civilizations of the world, are also false concepts that many nations have rebelled against. These nations have developed their own systems of governance, such as China, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and others, as well as countries in Latin America and Africa. It becomes obvious that nations will make their choices based on what suits their needs and aspirations, independent of Western propaganda and hegemony, which have fallen morally and politically. They will never again succeed, neither in the media nor in reality, to uphold any of their claims and assertions that they have been repeating to the ears of the world for decades. 

Instead of engaging in self-reflection and serious critical thinking to reconsider silly phrases like “Rules-Based Order” and re-evaluating their brutal policies in supporting a terrorist entity like Netanyahu's bloodthirsty regime with money and weapons as it perpetuates the lie of “self-defense” at a time when Palestinians and Lebanese represent the true essence and concept of self-defense, the West is once again engaging in desperate attempts to change the value of martyrdom in our societies, as well as the values of honor, nobility, and modesty; concepts that have become embedded in the very DNA of our generations and which we take pride in. It tries to infiltrate our societies by spreading the concepts and behaviors of nudity and moral decadence, using failed phrases like “self-salvation” and “material wealth and a carefree life, and let there be flood after me” along with all these misguided notions that have no connection to our civilization or the rich history of human civilization.

Do they not feel ashamed of Mahmoud al-Basal, Hussam Abu Safieh, and dozens of journalists who see their comrades martyred and then shift their cameras to document another aggression against their people and deliver it to the world?! Do they not feel ashamed of a refugee who has carried his cause for seventy years, moving from land to land, refusing to leave his sacred soil even if he dies of thirst and hunger, yet will not allow the Zionist aggressor or the foreigner coming from across the seas to pass except over his body?!

All the suspicious and failed concepts they broadcast in desperate attempts to alter the course of human civilization history will not change the sacred concept of identity, nor the noble, steadfast, and historical attachment to this identity, no matter the cost, until truth prevails and falsehood is vanquished. 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Gaza Strip
  • war on Gaza
  • Palestine
  • West
  • Israeli aggression
  • Israel
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • Lebanon
  • Gaza
Bouthaina Shaaban

Bouthaina Shaaban

Arab Intellectual

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