Unity march was against terror, which has no faith

What the Arabic language media is saying about the rise of extremism, featuring Al Khaleej, Asharq Al Awsat and Al Bayan.

A participant in the unity march in Paris holds aloft a pencil in solidarity with the murdered journalists of Charlie Hebdo magazine. Photo: Stephane Mahe / Reuters

Extremism takes many forms, from movements now active in the Arab world some years after the Arab Spring, to those in western societies that stage acts of violence such as the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Yousif Makki, writing in the Sharjah-based daily Al Khaleej, considers issues to do with social stability and the security provided by the state. He wrote that the state is responsible for a whole gamut of activities: “From planning and managing the relationship between members of the same society ... its resolutions are binding to all, regardless of controversy and disagreement.”

He went on to write: “The Arab Spring essentially touched five countries – Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. It took the form of peaceful protests in the beginning. In Tunisia and Egypt, these resulted in the ousting of heads of state and the start of a transition period, one that was crowned with success in Tunisia but stumbled into another change and another transitional period in Egypt.

“The Muslim Brotherhood was active in all these countries. It took advantage of the social and political upheavals to try to take power, using peaceful and non-peaceful means. But Egypt prevented the Muslim Brotherhood from taking over and from achieving its goals.”

The transitional periods in Egypt and Tunisia did not lead the state to collapse, although both countries had to pay the price and withstand the extremism and terrorism of the Muslim Brotherhood, he wrote. “In the case of Libya, the ruling authority representing the state, and the rebels, who were known for their affiliation to Al Qaeda, both used violence,” he said, noting that foreign intervention led to the collapse of the regime and then of the Libyan state. In Syria and Yemen, by contrast, the state remained in existence, but with a weakened role.

“The militarisation of the Arab uprisings led to the spread of terrorism. Defeating it means making a distinction between revolution and terrorism, including rehabilitating the state as the entity that ensures security, stability and the future of the community,” he concluded.

In the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, Shamsan Bin Abdullah Al Manai wrote that the terror attacks in Paris were the start of a new phase.

“Such acts were unknown to France for decades and this signifies that terrorism has reached a culmination point globally. No one expected France, the country of culture, freedom, peace and moderation to be hit by terrorism, right in its heart.”

Dubai-based Al Bayan editorialised that the unity march in Paris on January 11 reflected the denunciation of violence and terrorism generally.

“The march sent a clear message to extremist and militant groups that they must reconsider before planning or executing new crimes against civilians or any act threatening the stability of countries in the world and in the region”.

The remarkable feature of the march, the editorial concluded, was that it “stands against a terrorism that has no religion. It was against extremism and violence, regardless of its roots, regardless of its perpetrators.”

Translated by Carla Mirza