A COMING DISASTER? OIL – ACCOMODATION WITH ISLAM The Islamic countries control almost 70% of the world’s proven oil reserves, while the United States has only about 2.5%. The U.S. public’s insatiable appetite for energy has addicted it to imported oil, yet America’s dependency on oil imports accelerates daily, as its domestic production continues to decline. America’s domestic oil production amounts to about five million barrels of oil per day and meets only about 30% of its daily requirement. We Americans are at the mercy of foreign oil suppliers, as are most European countries. While Middle East countries supply only about 15% of American requirements, they have their hand on the throttle, able to exert strong pressure on OPEC production quotas. American politicians and diplomats must come to the realization that they need to maintain good relations with the Arab oil producers. To do this a better understanding of Islamic culture and politics is vital. Since Islamic and Western cultures have little if any common ground in either religion or politics a permanent solution remains elusive. · The Arabs Jump Forward The West’s desperate need for oil depends largely on Islamic oil producing countries in the Persian Gulf region. The Islamic people have vaulted into the Twentieth Century from the distant past, all as a result of oil and gas exploration and development since the 1940s. Prior to the discovery of oil and gas in the region the lifestyle of the people was tribal and nomadic – two thousand years behind the modern world. Disease was rampant, literacy was almost non-existent. Even in the late 1940s an eye disease, trachoma, was widespread in Saudi Arabia; the disease almost always resulted in blindness. A further example of this gap was Saudi Arabs’ complete lack of understanding of modern tools or machinery; to most automobiles were unheard of. I can remember in the late 1940s that it was not uncommon for a Saudi worker, having no sense of speed beyond that of a horse or camel, to step off a moving vehicle, and suffer serious injury. Western oil companies were responsible for these lifestyle changes when discovery of vast oil reserves commenced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In less than six decades the Saudis have modern bustling cities with expressways and airports. Literacy has grown at a fantastic rate, and educational facilities mushroomed for the average person. Improved sanitation and personal hygiene have all but wiped out trachoma. Medical care is available to the masses, and huge investments have been made to improve living standards. While these improvements are not yet in a class with developed countries, they are spectacular. There has been a quantum leap forward – some two thousand years in less than six decades. Yet deep resentment is still held by many Arabs as a result of their treatment by the Western powers. · Observations on Arab Society’s Thought Processes The Arabs, generally speaking, had only superficial exposure to the West prior to World War II. Unfortunately, this exposure was linked to a “Sahib mentality” that led to deep-seated indignation. Over those six decades an elite highly-educated governing class developed; most of whom were educated in the United States. This elite group has an excellent understanding of Western culture, yet they have no desire to become a part of it. Only by having a better understanding of the Islamic faith and principles can a Westerner comprehend the Arab’s point of view. Neither is it possible to fathom the Arab’s thoughts and feelings toward the West until one has closely examined the West’s policies and practices in North Africa and the Middle East since World War I. Having done so, the observer finds that Arab society is not liberal, either politically or morally, in the Western sense, but neither is it totalitarian in the fascist or communist sense. Generally Arabs have little interest in the principles of democracy. There is an acceptance of the will of the majority, but not in the sense that votes are cast and counted. Pressure of public opinion accumulates slowly over a long period of time until common consent is reached. Community consensus in the Islamic countries means the majority rules and there is absolutely no room for minority or eccentric opinion. A strong and stable political structure almost always exists in Islamic societies; one in which rebellion against authority is not tolerated. The educated elite become annoyed whenever they feel their personal liberties are being violated, but their growing prosperity soothes and mitigates the effects of the irritation. Islamic rule has taken the form of political passivity and acceptance of the status quo. Much of the industrial world’s energy supplies depend on Arab oil reserves; while future economic development of the Arab world depends on agricultural and manufactured goods obtained from the West. It is critical that Westerners reach an accommodation with Arab culture and Islamic thought processes; otherwise the future may be dismal for both peoples. · Violence and Terrorism The West, and Americans in particular, have a distorted view of the Arab world and the trustworthiness of Arabs in general. A number of ill-advised policies have been pursued by the West in its dealings with the Islamic people. Many have already resulted in disastrous consequences. For example, the United States blocked an Arab attempt to appeal to the International Court of Justice on the United Nation’s right to partition Palestine against the will of the majority of the population in 1947; at that time the United States induced the Arabs to accept partition and negotiate the United Nation’s armistice agreement. Seven years later the Israelis repudiated it. The Arabs did not forget that Jewish terrorists of the Irgun blew up British headquarters at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in July 1946, and next the robbery of the Ottoman Bank in Haifa. Did this act of terrorism set off the violence that continues to plague the Middle East? · Arab-Muslim vs. Judeo-Christianity In North Africa and the Middle East the term “Arab” and “Muslim” are synonymous, but the Iranians (Persians), who are also of the Islamic faith, are excluded. Beyond their religion there is little, or no, similarity. In fact, they have had a basic mistrust of one another for centuries, and time has not healed this deep-seated hostility. When outsiders lump Arabs and Persians together they make a serious error which Middle Easterners find offensive. The Islamic dogma, unlike the Jewish and Christian faiths, does not ‘pigeon-hole’ everything as being absolutely ‘black or white’. Western maxims cannot be reconciled with Muslim precepts which extend beyond religion to include – business, ethics, politics, judicial and government. The Judeo-Christian West and Islam are very dissimilar in their moral outlook, ethical values, and modes of thought and ideas about international law, diplomacy and agreements. Wide latitude in trade and business is allowed within the Islamic code – “the end justifies the means” if the outcome benefits the group, tribe or country. Persian Gulf producers have promised on a number of occasions to hold oil prices at levels set out in formal agreements. Each time they have broken their promises. The Islamic code sanctions such actions. Arabs believe that they, as descendants of Abraham, are the truly chosen people, the guardians of the ‘true faith’, and are ordained by God to receive the homage and compliance of others. We, of the West, must realize that there is a great symbolism attached to the fact that Islam originated among Arabs, was revealed in Arabic by an Arab prophet. Islam and Arabism are inseparable. Jews and Christians believe that each individual life is priceless, while Muslims are persuaded that all life belongs to God, and in the end returns to God. The significance of this persuasion has been displayed on numerous occasions – in the Iraqi-Iranian War when human waves of children were used in assaults on enemy positions, children used as suicide bombers in recent years in Iraq and Israel. Muslims are convinced that after death they are assured a place with Allah because they died for a holy cause. On the other hand, Western religions consider that the collective loss of many individual lives represent a tragic lack of fulfillment here on earth. · Now what? Presently, American diplomats seek to arbitrate a peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Unfortunately, the problem is multi-faceted because permanent peace will only come when common consent is reached within Islam. Past differences and hostilities between the Arabs and the Israelis are a hurdle that must be surmounted and set aside. Western diplomats must take a very long-range viewpoint, one that will try the patience of Western governments. While Israel stands as a bastion of democracy in the region, the West must come to an accommodation with the Islamic players in the Middle East. Somehow reconciliation must occur, otherwise the future will be bleak for both the West and the Islamic countries.