Friday, August 25, 2006

Mona Fayyad: An important voice to cultivate?

I am slightly amused by the attention being giving to Mona Fayyad as a dissenting voice within the Shia community. Her article was a condescending rant, and an unconstructive one at that, which individuals are claiming as a positive step within the Shia community, which is also a condescending attitude. Change will not be instigated by her. Mona Fayyad will have no effect on thought within Hezbollah's circles, and championing her on will not lead far, as it could eventually create an intellectual pariah out of her within the very community she is thought to have a potential effect on. To really change the stream of thought within this community, a more powerful voice is needed, someone who already has gained the respect of groups within the community, and who does not generalize with the sarcasm implicit in Mona's writings.

However, I may be wrong. Maybe her voice is the one to cultivate.


posted by Lazarus, 5:42 PM

9 Comments:

  • I would agree with the post (and not the comment) and go further to argue that the nonsense currently surrounding her suggests some desperation among those actively seeking to undermine Hizbullah ...

    I would not doubt that all kinds of Hariri money is flooding out of Sidon and other areas into the hands of any marginally credible Shia voice that will take a public stand against Hizbullah. I am not denying the authenticity or presence of those Shia would do not support Hizbullah, but there is a very nasty game going on right now and to focus on the money coming out of Hizbullah hands may be misplaced when we tally up the books at the end (as if that were ever possible in Lebanon!). What I find rather amusing is how maladroit those forces are ... An editorial in An-Nahar -- what a coup! I guess it is good enough for neocons like Amer Taheri and their Lebanese cheerleaders, but what it really reveals is how "alien" the south has become for the powers that be in Beirut and how "illegitmate" the powers that be in beirut have become for the people of the south ... Oh well ...

    By Blogger Unknown, at 11:53 PM  

  • You are not wrong.

    In fact you are right.

    By Blogger Moussa Bashir, at 3:15 AM  

  • A few points:

    -She is not going to be the single factor that is going to undermine HA's influence or power or support. That goes without saying.

    -The main question that you have to answer yourself though is would you rather if she had stayed silent?

    -She is not at fault if politicians want to capitalize on her article, they are.

    -There is a difference between being condescending and being sarcastic.

    By Blogger R, at 3:27 AM  

  • Apokraphyte,

    So anyone who dares speak out against sectarian consensus is being paid for it? What is soo wrong with the woman expressing herself ?

    By Blogger R, at 3:30 AM  

  • To answer your question, no and nothing. But as they say, the truth of a libel is no defense, or in other words, context is everything ...

    By Blogger Unknown, at 10:13 AM  

  • everyone is free to express him/herself R. I don't think A. was arguing against that. However, I fail to see how such an article could potentially create a productive dialogue, since the article wasn't productive in itself, and just dealt with cliches worthy of typical dinner conversations.

    And R, yes there is a difference between being condescending and being sarcastic. In my opinion she was both.

    By Blogger Lazarus, at 10:15 AM  

  • I just can't see your point Lazarus. Fayad zoomed in at the "expected" stereotypical Shia behaviour. Her article was a commentary on conformism at times of crisis (at the very least).
    I guess what I don't understand is why exactly are you objecting to her article.
    People like Talal Salman and Joseph Smeha rant and rave everyday in their newspapers (not to mention the entire Diyar paper)and I think the content of their articles is far more objectionable than the article of an academic.

    Apocraphyte, you said that "context is everything". I am just warning against the folly of logic like that. It easily leads to "la sawt fawk sawt il ma3raka"...

    By Blogger R, at 1:15 PM  

  • Habibi, I agree and call for eternal vigilance against all ... That is the point of "context is everything." And I would add it is not a matter of logic, but one of experience. And if you look at my first comment, I was looking into what all the uproar surrounding the article suggested about larger structural, social and political realities.

    If you want to argue politics, we can do that too ;)

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1:46 PM  

  • No, it would not. Too easily purchased for the right political/financial price ...

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:28 AM  

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