The Arab Family Is The Deep State
Call it what you will: The mysterious stabilizer in the Arab world is The Family. It could consist of 2 or 2000. But that link is the most enduring. Economy is not a decisive factor. Blood is. I for one, could trace my family linkage, as far as 450 years. Father's origin: Hejaz (Saudi Arabia); mother's: Anbar (Iraq). One streaming North, the other streaming West. Two streams meeting in the land of the Nile.
These facts of history intermingled with geography, encapsulated into a well-defined Arab/Muslim culture source of personal strength!! Call it belonging; call it personal pride. But it pulsates with inner strength, and intrinsic ethos. The responses to these facts are reflexive. You don't need to think hard about which road you choose when you come to the fork. The choice is predestined. No effort in choosing the obvious.
The Arab village is a historical habitat; the city is almost an after-thought. In the village, everyone knows everyone. They greet; they wave; they wink; they commune. Even if no word is uttered. This is the deep State, which shapes personal conclusions. The facts may be blurry. But the bottom line is a certainty, a conclusion. It could double up as a heading.
The village is almost one family: By blood; or occupation; or consensus. All of its inhabitants commune with one another. A common feature recognized, thus described as community. A number of the village feels at home even as he or she approaches its location. There is a sweet smell in the air, a welcoming breeze which causes you to step forward effortlessly. Ah! for the magic of nearness, of familiarity, of empathy, of belonging.
This one big family/village is the real deep State. It acts on cue, a signal learnt as of child birth. No outside force can engineer it. It re-engineers that outside element. Blood is thicker than politics. Much thicken, thus more enduring.
Case in point: My village in the eastern part of Egypt -west of the Suez Canal. Name: Kanayat; province: Sharqiah. Since the promulgation of the first modern Egyptian Constitution (1923), it voted for Ali El-Shamsi as its member of Parliament. At that time, Great Britain had been in occupation of Egypt since 1882. But in 1922, under massive pressure of Egyptian nationalism, Great Britain was forced to grant Egypt self-rule.
And in 1952, Nasser staged his coup against the monarchy. By 1956, he opted for the civilization of the regime's military character. So he sent his top aides to the villages in which they had deep roots. One of those approached the elders of my village (Kanayat, Sharqiah), seeking legitimation through village rots. A nephew of El-Shamsi came knocking on our door.
My father, with deep influence in the village offered him a candid advice. "Get your uncle, El-Shamsi Pasha, out of house seclusion in Cairo. He is your passport to success. The man complied. The village erupted in delirium: 'El-Shamsi to Parliament.'" A frenzied excitement expressing the deep State in residence in the village -that entity of an extended family.
That is more so when the village is far removed from the country's capital. The geographic space breeds isolationist tendencies -even the whiff of near secession. When you add to that mix a desert environment, you get the allure of freedom from central authority. In such areas, law is enforced by "The Camel Corps." In Arabic "Hagganah." The best tracker of fugitives, drug dealers, and law breakers.
The informants (non-paid auxiliaries) are the families. Outsiders are intruders, thus recognizable as suspects. Not entitled to the privilege of "the deep State" -the family throughout the Arab expanse.
Welcome to "The Deep State!!" But only if you belong there. Outsiders need not seek it!!
These facts of history intermingled with geography, encapsulated into a well-defined Arab/Muslim culture source of personal strength!! Call it belonging; call it personal pride. But it pulsates with inner strength, and intrinsic ethos. The responses to these facts are reflexive. You don't need to think hard about which road you choose when you come to the fork. The choice is predestined. No effort in choosing the obvious.
The Arab village is a historical habitat; the city is almost an after-thought. In the village, everyone knows everyone. They greet; they wave; they wink; they commune. Even if no word is uttered. This is the deep State, which shapes personal conclusions. The facts may be blurry. But the bottom line is a certainty, a conclusion. It could double up as a heading.
The village is almost one family: By blood; or occupation; or consensus. All of its inhabitants commune with one another. A common feature recognized, thus described as community. A number of the village feels at home even as he or she approaches its location. There is a sweet smell in the air, a welcoming breeze which causes you to step forward effortlessly. Ah! for the magic of nearness, of familiarity, of empathy, of belonging.
This one big family/village is the real deep State. It acts on cue, a signal learnt as of child birth. No outside force can engineer it. It re-engineers that outside element. Blood is thicker than politics. Much thicken, thus more enduring.
Case in point: My village in the eastern part of Egypt -west of the Suez Canal. Name: Kanayat; province: Sharqiah. Since the promulgation of the first modern Egyptian Constitution (1923), it voted for Ali El-Shamsi as its member of Parliament. At that time, Great Britain had been in occupation of Egypt since 1882. But in 1922, under massive pressure of Egyptian nationalism, Great Britain was forced to grant Egypt self-rule.
And in 1952, Nasser staged his coup against the monarchy. By 1956, he opted for the civilization of the regime's military character. So he sent his top aides to the villages in which they had deep roots. One of those approached the elders of my village (Kanayat, Sharqiah), seeking legitimation through village rots. A nephew of El-Shamsi came knocking on our door.
My father, with deep influence in the village offered him a candid advice. "Get your uncle, El-Shamsi Pasha, out of house seclusion in Cairo. He is your passport to success. The man complied. The village erupted in delirium: 'El-Shamsi to Parliament.'" A frenzied excitement expressing the deep State in residence in the village -that entity of an extended family.
That is more so when the village is far removed from the country's capital. The geographic space breeds isolationist tendencies -even the whiff of near secession. When you add to that mix a desert environment, you get the allure of freedom from central authority. In such areas, law is enforced by "The Camel Corps." In Arabic "Hagganah." The best tracker of fugitives, drug dealers, and law breakers.
The informants (non-paid auxiliaries) are the families. Outsiders are intruders, thus recognizable as suspects. Not entitled to the privilege of "the deep State" -the family throughout the Arab expanse.
Welcome to "The Deep State!!" But only if you belong there. Outsiders need not seek it!!
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