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Электронное приложение к журналу «
Международная жизнь
»
Author : A. Frolov
Leading research associate, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International
Relations, Doctor of Science (Political Science)
LAST SPRING, an event in the Arab world shocked everyone. The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Bahrain and the United Arab Emi-
rates (UAE) withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, the capital of
Qatar, their ally. One of the smallest members of the Cooperation
Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) was accused of sup-
porting "anyone threatening the security and stability of the GCC
whether as groups or individuals - via direct security work or through
political influence ... and hostile media."
Later, the three initiators handed Doha a list of 13 demands to end a
major Gulf crisis, insisting that Qatar should shut down the Al Jazeera
network, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.
They gave Qatar 10 days to comply with the demands and agree to an-
nual audits in the following 10 years. Qatar rejected this ultimatum as interference in its sovereignty.
Possible repercussions notwithstanding, what happened to Qatar can be described as a manifestation
of the deeply rooted social and political changes in the Arab East caused by the color revolutions
unfolding amid globalization, informatization, democratization, gradual destruction of the traditional
values of Eastern societies, and the frantic efforts to find adequate answers to these challenges.
Today, Islamism has become the dominant ideology in the Arab East even though it cannot be de-
scribed as one doctrine and has not yet acquired a definition acceptable to all. It is much better char-
acterized as a set of ideas that look at Islam not only as a religion but also as a political and social
system and the way of life according to the Sharia. Today, Muslims should return to their religious
roots and reunite politically. This explains the very different manifestations of Islamism and political
trends of all sorts ranging from moderate to extremist and persistent attempts either to discover a
unifying idea or make one of the trends dominant.
One thing has become perfectly clear - Islamism is a response of the Arab and, wider, Islamic world
to alien ideological constructs imposed on it through external interference.
THE DEMANDS that the Arab countries have presented to Qatar are excessive and unreasonable.
The state has the right to make friends and select partners yet realities are much more complicated.
The Russian proverb "A man is known by the company he keeps" is applicable to the Middle East,
as we know it today.
The Arab countries tied together by Saudi Arabia have their reasons. They defend their religious
and historical specifics against external, including regional, influences to maintain their internal sta-
bility. In a conflict between the small and the big, the latter obviously predominates.
Solitaire Arabian Style