The Return Of Fascism

And there goes our world intoxicated with tyranny.

One may think that in light of savage systems’ failure, rendering the planet almost uninhabitable, humanity would inevitably turn towards creating new political designs that are more just, tolerant, and compassionate, based on cooperation and unity, rejecting competition, greed, and theories of superiority and discrimination.

For a moment there, one would think that the recent pandemic has provided humankind with blatant evidence of the need to devise a new approach to managing the planet’s wealth in consideration of the people it carries. Still, the painful truth indicates the obstination of ruling elites worldwide to adhere to globalizing tyranny. And the ongoing struggle in its most explicit form today between the West and the Eastern West over monopolizing wealth is the most prominent evidence of the failure of the human race in inventing a new approach. That is a struggle that could lead us to extinction. It is a struggle that will push the entire planet into new fascism. In major crises, people move towards the left or the right wing. Today we are moving steadily towards the far right.

We have heard shocking phrases used by the “free world” media to describe people fleeing the war in Ukraine, such as: “They have green eyes, they have skin like ours, we belong to the same religion.”
It is not surprising, really, or anything we haven’t seen before coming from that type of brutal media, except that, a while ago, it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed without broad harsh criticism. It seems that we are witnessing again racism that we thought had dissolved, but the new reality today proves that this supremacist ideology still rules the elites’ minds and controls the minds of large segments of the masses. Not to promote pessimism, but we are referring to the falsehood of the “democracies” ruling worldwide. This falsehood appeared unambiguously when the welfare of some populations was slightly shaken.

In the Western world, media professionals utter racist inflictions on-air and continue to practice their profession as if nothing had happened. The Goethe Institute withdraws its invitation from Palestinian activist Muhammad al-Kurd, in the name of anti-Semitism and as punishment for him having an opinion. Palestinian artists in Berlin are subjected to intimidation and harassment while authorities stand and watch. DW Deutsche Welle expells its journalists (mainly Palestinians) for simply criticizing Israel, labeling them with anti-Semitism, an accusation tailored to the measurements of the Zionist movement. The German parliament criminalizes the boycott of Israel movements, as France and Britain follow suit. The American president declares openly and from Palestine that he is a bonafide Zionist and fails to pronounce the name of martyred journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who holds the American nationality.

Monstrous regimes are no longer exerting efforts to hide behind their fake democracies. Perhaps it is helpful for the masks to fall off. However, having the masks off intensifies the brutality and indicates the intention of the authoritarian regimes to go far in protecting their well-being, even at the expense of life on the planet—fascism in its purest form. From the conflict in Ukraine and the shameful segregation of war escapees to the catastrophic management of the pandemic and its vaccines to the attempts to liquidate Palestine and silence those who call for justice, to the hijacking of women’s right to abortion in the United States of America, and the rise of white supremacy movements everywhere: It is neoliberal fascism in its most explicit form, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

That’s talking about the western side of the world. As for us, extremist movements hide behind diverse masks due to the diversity of our ethnic and religious societies. Since the fall of Mu’tazilism, rightist or leftist thinking has produced extremist ideologies that settle into societies and practice expiation against all who are different, which goes beyond the ISIS phenomenon. The takfirist ideology prevails from the far left to the far right, and authoritarian regimes are only part of its many manifestations.

There goes tyranny, spreading through the Arab land, from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Alaa Abdel-Fattah represents thousands of prisoners of conscience, not only in Egypt but in Syria, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya as well, where tribes are fighting over scraps of looted oil while Tunisia steadily reproduces a new authoritarian regime.

In Bahrain, the Minister of Culture is laid-off for refusing to shake hands with the Israeli ambassador. In Saudi Arabia, those with different opinions choose safety in hiding, people are collectively punished for their choices, and the Yemeni people are being wiped out as the western ally watches and applaud.
In Lebanon, a country in crisis at all levels, religious figures and their gangs scattered in the streets are getting creative in suppressing everything related to the LGBTQ+ community, as they control the judiciary, political, and media structures.

In our part of the world, religious and ethnic institutions produce extremism, butchering our societies to pieces and driving them slowly to death. Violence here is nearly the only means of communication. The examples are almost endless, and the calamities are difficult to enumerate, but the obvious constant is the expansion of fascism in all its forms in our Arab region, the western world, and all parts of this earth.

We do understand that the mind that runs a system of tyranny does not operate based on high moral principles. It is only interested in accumulating wealth and is ready to monopolize the entire resources of the planet by any means necessary. A small number of individuals possess all the wealth and are capable of putting to use extremism to serve their interests. That is what is happening today, and what a surprise that extremism grows around energy sources!
Given this dark reality, institutions working in arts support, including cinema, in the Arab world or across the planet, have double the responsibility.

We stand confirmed that we are working based on principles of equity as the right of every person to benefit from the planet’s resources, goodwill in justice and equality between humans, and beauty as a fundamental essence of the human soul. Art, by its nature, is organically linked to this essence and cannot be separated from it. Beauty is one, the human soul is one, and art is an unblurred declaration of this unity. Every artistic production, by its nature, stands up to brutality and fascism.
Today, we stand before two choices: reinventing systems (an opportunity we cannot afford to miss) or succumbing to the savagery that will lead to our destruction. The choice is clear: art against extremism.

We stand with justice, and as Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi says, homeland is where justice is. No homeland is left on the face of this planet. We must recreate the principles of justice far and wide, anywhere the sun shines.

Let us unite.