The world will attain peace, but not through political maneuvers

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Human beings are the core element of this planet. All commercial, political, industrial, and artistic activities are carried out in this world because of us,  human beings. The reason why this world exists and why it was created are ‘human beings’. Countries must prosper, industries, arts, culture and peace must flourish in the world not for a nation, a state, or a corporation, but basically for all human beings.

Politics  is about exercising organized control over human communities. When we look at the practices however, politics has been perceived as a way to manipulate people towards some goals whereas ideally, it must be a way to ensure that each individual attains and enjoys the standards of life they deserve as a human being.

If politics can not accomplish this ideal aim, it is again because of the “human factor” involved in it. If a politician’s primary motive becomes some other concern rather than the well-being of his people, if some other agenda other than the ultimate good of the people are involved, then we can’t expect politics to fulfill its aim.

That is why ethical and moral values are vital in politics. People who have the power to shape this world are also human beings and like any other human being, both in their personal and political lives, they need the guidance of some ethical and moral values, which are essentially provided by the common core values of the three Abrahamic faiths.

The Abrahamic faiths have had a great role in shaping an outlook of life and people’s perceptions of culture and civilization. In this sense, a follower of a religion tends to see things through the perspective of religion. It has been observed that throughout history, faiths encouraged people to live in unity, peace and co-existence whereas religious fanaticism, ideological dissentions and political interests caused conflicts, hostility, violence and destruction.

A correct understanding and practice of religion, entirely purged from extremist and radical elements, is a sound way to build prosperous communities with members who can fully enjoy their civil liberties, democratic rights and everything a person needs to live as a human being. However for this to happen, there is something crucial: religion must never engage in any imposition over politics. Indeed, the warmth, affection and human aspect of religion must be a center of attraction for politicians that will engage their voluntary attention. Political leaders, policy makers and diplomats who put the human element at the core of their practices - with a perspective driven from the warmth of religion - will  make a difference in their approach to problems and conflicts.

For instance, in international relations and diplomacy, instead of presenting lists of issues needing resolution  dominated with technical and political aspects (i.e., visa questions) in a cold and distant matter, such diplomats would instinctively choose to come up with some positive proposals that will lay the ground for more comprehensive systems that will resolve all these issues together  once and for all. Surely such an interaction would again stem from the perspective that the Abrahamic faiths would inspire.

That is because in the Abrahamic faiths’ approach, there is a focus on what unites, and not on what causes division. There is co-existence, collaboration and opting for the common ground for the sake of the good of people, and not separation, self-righteousness, or narrow self-interests. Such people of power who are inspired by the unifying power of religion will  be far more prone to dialogue, empathy and reconciliation and would be more willing to agree on covering the gaps and divergences with an intention to establish peace.

In a policy dominated by the power of these virtues, lovelessness and egoism are replaced by love, affection and empathy, rendering the areas they have influence over livable places. The spread of such a perspective to all levels of governance, on the other hand, will change the face of diplomacy both on the national and international level.

It will not be the smartly devised political maneuvers based on strict interests that will change the world into a better one, but rather heart-warming visions dominated by aspirations for peace, equality and freedom for all people.

The dark side of unemployment in the Arab world

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First, If you are unemployed, or experienced unemployment at one point in your life, tell us how has unemployment affected you? Share with us how does it feel to be unemployed?  Let us attempt humanize this problem of unemployment in the Arab world which has turned in to a number in reports and in the media. Second, propose what do you believe needs to be done immediately to tackle unemployment now.   

Whether the solution lies in changing policy, adopting technology or innovation, training, spreading awareness, influencing the private sector, fostering entrepreneurship in a better way, or any other solution that might come to mind; please do tweet it in 140 words on Twitter, share it on Facebook or simply comment on this article

So much has been written on the topic of unemployment in the Arab world that I am convinced that the average Arab in the street has become an expert on the topic.  

The problem of unemployment has sadly become a fact of life in Arab societies.  Ironically, it is also common for those who are suffering from unemployment in the Arab world go to great lengths to hide it from family and community.  

I believe this to be a key reason why the available statistics on unemployment are not very accurate.  This might be one of the reasons why policymakers have not yet fully comprehended the extent of the unemployment problem.

We have all seen how some of the affected hide their current status and choose to live a kind of ‘double-life’ claiming to be -for example- ‘Businessmen or businesswomen’, ‘self-employed’ Brokers, Freelancers or consultants. What is worrying in this case is when an unemployed person is forced to actually assume these roles not by choice or qualification, but out of desperation or lack of alternatives. Another way I have personally observed how unemployment affects individuals is when the unemployed chooses to disappear or minimise their engagement with relatives and community.  

They do so because they dread having to explain themselves when that embarrassing and awkward question is asked “So how is work? Or what are you doing nowadays”?  Unemployment is not only a problem in the Arab world, it is also a stigma.  

The price of it is too high and it’s the society that will eventually have to pick up the tab at the end of the road.  How high has the price of unemployment been in the Arab world you might ask? Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries that have felt the winds of the so called ‘Arab Spring’ is a good place to start the answer with.  If you go deep into the eye of the storm that has become known as the ‘Arab Spring’ you will find that it was mainly fuelled by the prevailing status quo of unemployment among the youth and social inequality.

Throughout the years there have been countless solutions that have been proposed to address the problem of unemployment in the Arab world.  You might have noticed that these proposed solutions share two key common traits: First, most of the solutions are either from foreign entities or from policymakers. They claim to feel the weight of the problem, but is it really the same to being unemployed and having to carry the burden of unemployment every day? Are they too far from the problem? The second trait you might have observed is the impracticality of some of the solutions. Looking at some of these solutions, sometimes I am led to think that some experts are so out of touch with reality that they are borderline delusional.  

Let’s take for example the common proposition we keep hearing whenever unemployment is discussed in the Arab world which advocates the review, overhaul and change of the education system.  Such a feat could take decades in some of the Arab countries. Or how about the recently trending yet potentially perilous solution proposed by the advocates of “promote entrepreneurship instead of employment” movement.  

I am all for entrepreneurship, however the brutal truth of the matter is this; jobseekers are only concerned with solutions that address questions such as; will any of these solutions help them find a job that will provide them with a stable income, security, or a decent life for themselves and their families?  Will any of these solutions provide them with a formal identity (also known as status) in their community or country say, tomorrow, or next month? Or even sometime this year? The truth is, I have yet to meet a jobseeker who is interested in long term solutions derived from economic or social theory.  

Our dilemma today lies in a simple fact, and that is we have been addressing an old pressing problem that requires immediate intervention with long term “potential” solutions.  

This post is not about discussing the challenges that face unemployment AGAIN.  Neither am I interested in proposing ‘potential solutions’ that require years of research to implement.  What I am interested in is prompting all the stakeholders of this problem –the jobseekers, employers, policymakers and society- to take an immediate remedial action now.  How can we achieve this? First, by getting our voices heard about how it really feels to be unemployed to the concerned.  Hopefully, this might change the way the unemployed are viewed by policymakers, decision makers and society; as ‘real’ people with ‘real’ problems as opposed to being viewed simply as statistics or bureaucratic processes that need to be processed.
 
Second, I want this article to be a platform where readers voice out what they think should be the immediate and rational steps that need to be taken NOW in order that we begin stimulating the job market and creating jobs.  So here is my ‘call to action’;

First, If you are unemployed, experienced unemployment at one point in your life or know someone who is going through unemployment, tell us how has unemployment affected the unemployed? Tell us how does it feel to be unemployed?  Let us humanize this problem of unemployment in the Arab world.

Second, propose what do you believe needs to be done immediately to tackle unemployment now.   

Whether the solution lies in changing policy, adopting technology or innovation, training, spreading awareness, influencing the private sector, fostering entrepreneurship in a better way, or any other solution that might come to mind; please do tweet it in 140 words on Twitter on the following Hashtag #ArabUnemployed.   Share your thoughts on MBC Time’s Facebook page or simply comment on this article.  Whatever you do, remember, jobseekers are real people with immediate needs.  Long term solutions and theories might look attractive, but what everyone in the community is interested in pragmatic and immediate solutions to an urgent problem

What does Turkey’s 2014 local elections tell us?

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Adnan Oktar - In 2014 a series of important elections are taking place in Turkey. First in late March there were local elections and in August the people of Turkey will elect their President with their own votes for the first time in the Republic’s history.

The local elections in Turkey in March proved the ruling AK Party’s strong position, especially after the party managed to score the highest vote of the past 46 years in any local election while the opposition parties failed to bolster their support. Meanwhile, the AK Party failed to win in the liberal coastal cities, which means both sides need to reconsider their stance.

Yet, none of those are as important as what happened in Southeastern Anatolia, which has been crippled by the actions of the PKK over the last 30 years. Designated as a terrorist group by many international organizations, including the UN and NATO and many other countries, the PKK has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people over the course of its separatist campaign. The Turkish state decisively fought against the PKK, a group that used Stalinist guerrilla tactics. When ultimately the negotiations between the government and the PKK started under the rubric ‘The Solution Process’, terrorist attacks ceased.

However, the terrorist organization proved that it would continue its policy of fear and intimidation. Indeed, before the metropolitan municipality election held in Ağrı for a second time on June 1st and after the cancellation of the main election, PKK again resorted to violence. PKK members stoned the AK Party Provincial Directorate Building and an AKP election bus. As a result two people were wounded. PKK martyred the village rangers, raided the worksites in Ağrı and the entire region, abducted the workers and carried out attacks against the security forces. The message conveyed by these terror acts to the local people was: “If you don’t vote for us, violence will go on. Do not think this is over!” BDP repeated its win in Ağrı during elections under these types of circumstances.  

Under these anti-democratic conditions many locals were compelled to vote for the BDP, albeit reluctantly. The BDP uses racist rhetoric that clearly plays into the hand of the PKK, which seeks to build a Marxist autonomous regime by using Kurdish nationalism as leverage.

The region, mostly populated by our Kurdish citizens today, has been a peaceful abode of respectful co-existence to many different ethnicities for thousands of years that included Arabs, Turks, Armenians and Assyrians. However with the appearance of separatist movements following the Ottoman Empire’s weakening, the locals were subjected to some undesirable oppressive policies of the ruthless face of the state, rather than its fatherly and affectionate side. However, this policy of oppression targeted not only the Kurds, but all the minorities. Illegal organizations incited hatred and discrimination against different ethnical and religious groups. In terms of development and urbanization, Southeastern Anatolia had been neglected for far too long. The locals were simply prevented from  enjoying their basic rights such as speaking their own language, naming their own villages, singing their own songs, or publishing their own books. The region was ruled according to a state of emergency law for a very long time.

With the new outlook introduced in 2002,  the locals are free to learn Kurdish and enjoy a new state TV Channel broadcasting in Kurdish. Recent policies prove that everyone is treated and seen equal. The new airports, dams, highways and booming industries have already changed the landscape and a significant portion of $350 billion have been additionally allocated for more public works.

All these developments produced a surge of trust and love in the locals for the state. Meanwhile, reliable polls show that they didn’t approve the PKK or its separatist policy that could lead to a federal government or autonomous region. The changes in the region crushed the terrorist organization’s plans. At the moment, they pursue a new policy of hiding their anti-democratic and violent methods behind a false veil of demand for peace and democracy, and pushing the people toward separation.

The PKK wishes to build a social system where they can easily operate, one that is reminiscent of Pol Pot’s Cambodia and which is also a threat to entire Middle East and Europe. The Solution Process is building an atmosphere where people are being granted their rights, illegalities are being prevented and equality is being ensured through the utmost freedom.

It is high time for the Southeastern part of Turkey to get the peace it deserves. The best way to ensure that is by supporting moves aiming toward  peace and fighting all illegal organizations that resort to terror and violence in line with internationally recognized laws.

- The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics, religion and science. He tweets @harun_yahya