The problem with civilian (non-violent) jihad which I believe in and work for is that most people consider it a synonym for surrender. They ask: what is the use of a jihad in which no blood is shed, no children are killed, and people prove their heroism and manhood by tearing out their stomachs with bomb-belts? Seeing the effect of bullets and so-called intelligent bombs, they take no notice of the truly intelligent weapons of civilian jihad.
A few years ago I was speaking in Ireland a country which was then, like the Arab world now, filled with killers until they woke up and discovered the futility and stupidity of violence. I said that the Palestinians had committed the gravest mistake and harm to their homeland in 1948 by defying the UN decision to divide Palestine and establish a Jewish homeland. They carried their guns and went out into the streets to fight the Jews. Now we know the result. It was the beginning of the complete loss of Palestine.
If every capable Palestinian male who went out with an old Ottoman musket to face the Stern guns of the Israelis on that night of 15 May 1948 when Israels statehood was declared had instead signed a fast-track marriage contract with his cousin, his neighbours daughter or his friends sister, he would have rendered a better service to his country. The Negev, Jerusalem and many of the areas allocated to the Palestinians would not have been lost. A Palestinian state would have been achieved. A substantial minority of Arabs would have remained inside Israel with no patriotic duty other than to spend a good time with their women in bed. A few more years and the Arabs would have become the majority in Israel.
They havent done so. Why? Because they listened to and obeyed their leaders who were mostly in their 60s and 70s (or even their 80s) with very little time left for them to see the results of this slow, organic and historical process emanating from the wedding chambers. Most of them were no longer even capable of joining in.
The tragedy of mankind is that the life-span of leaders is much shorter than the history of their peoples. The Iraqi poet, al-Jawahiri, put it plainly thus: We shall remain but the despots have only a short life.
The follies of the Israelis match those of the Palestinians. Whenever we hear of a suicide bomb killing some of their children, Israels government hastens to impose a blockade and curfew on the entire area. This is the most foolish decision to take. What will Abu Abdul do whilst imprisoned in his own home, with nothing to do and nothing to say? Of course he will grab Um Abdul and drag her to bed for as long and as many times as the Almighty God may bless him with. Some nine months later another Palestinian is born and the hated Palestinian population is increased by one more, or (with the blessing of God) two more. This is the demographic time bomb the real bomb terrifying the Israelis, not the belt bomb which often leads to nothing but the reduction of the Arab presence by at least one more citizen.
This is only one of numerous Israeli follies. If they hadnt imposed curfews and blockaded villages, Abu Abdul would have gone to the local café and spent the evening arguing vigorously about the policies of Arafat, listening to a man who saw the image of Saddam Hussein on the moon, and ending the evening with a heated debate on the suicide operations and whether janaba (sexual uncleanliness) annuls the value of martyrdom on the day of judgment.
The exchange would become so animated and bitter that Abu Abdul returns home a bundle of nerves and full of anger against Abu Hassan and all those who contradicted him. He would enter his bedroom to find his exhausted wife deeply asleep and snoring like a brewery. He would fling his body next to her and, in a few seconds, join her in her snoring until sunrise. He would wake up, rub his eyes and quarrel with Um Abdul for making him miss the dawn prayer.
It would be in the best interests of the Israelis to make more room for such behaviour. But in their continuous arrogance they would never listen to such advice, especially from a Muslim and an Arab.
During the Iraq-Iran war, the Israelis pointed out that the war had reached stalemate as a result of the balance in incompetence between the two parties. I should like to add to that by saying that the present deadlock in Palestine is the result of the balance in follies between the Arabs and the Israelis.
This article appears in Arabic in the newspaper al-Sharq al Awsat and on the authors website: www.kishtainiat.com
