Trending News: ‘In Gaza We Die a 1000 Deaths a Day’Amnesty Condemns Netanyahu’s Visit to HungryTrump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’Israel Violates Syria With 11 Air Raids15 Martyred: Why Does Israel Kill Ambulance Men?Burning Muslim CivilizationIsrael Kills Journalist and His Family in Gaza‘Its as Bad as Ever in Gaza’ – UN WorkersThank You AnnieGaza Cracks Trump’s Image as ‘Peacemaker’How Israel Uses Its Legal System For GenocideThis is GazaThe Middle East OctopusGaza: Back to The Killing FieldsHouthi Missiles, Trump and The Israeli depth‘All Attempts at Displacing Gazans Failed’ – A Historical OutlineCanadians Say No to Arms Sales to IsraelUS Launches War on Yemen With 15 Airstrikes‘No One in Lebanon Wants to Normalize with Israel,’ says PM Nawaf SalamIsrael Kills Children as World Looks onIsrael Sentences Dr Abu SafiyaCartoon Made 13 Years AgoThis is Not Hiroshima, This is GazaAl-Duwairi: Houthi Missiles on Tel Aviv Confirms Failure of US Airstrikes on YemenIsrael’s Top Court Says No to NetanyahuIsrael: Displacement Versus Regional ExpansionGaza Massacres ContinueS. African Ambassador Gets Huge Welcome After Expulsion by TrumpSaudis Say No to Israeli Displacement AgencyGaza Deaths Top 50,000 as Israeli Army Continues Bloody OnslaughtIsrael Kills Two Journalists in Gaza Spiking their Number to 208Netanyahu’s Trap!Israel Destroys Turkish-Palestinian Friendship HospitalGenocidal Maniac From The Start!Israel’s Intensifies Displacement Campaign in GazaIsrael Kills 200 Children in GazaIn a Psychedelic Arab WorldIsrael Kills 130 Children in Gaza in a Single-Day – UNICEFIsrael, Trump and the Latest Bombing of GazaIsrael Kills One of Its Prisoners, Injures Two in Latest Gaza Attack – Hamas OfficialWhite House Complicity: Bloody Days Return to GazaTop Pakistani Architect Says No To Israeli PrizeIsraeli Raids: 326 Killed in Gaza in Five HoursIsrael Re-Launches Its War on GazaRachel Corrie RememberedWar in The Red Sea EscalatesIreland Stands TallHow Do You Deal With a ‘Political Earthquake’?Trump Orders US-Israeli Airstrikes on YemenRamadan Iftar Among The RubbleIsrael Kills 3 Palestinians Every 24 Hours in GazaTrump: Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is The First of Many’Indonesia to Rebuild 100 Mosques in Gaza18,000 Bombs Delivered to IsraelThe A, B, C to Rebuilding GazaTrump: ‘Nobody is Expelling Any Palestinians,’ From GazaRebuilding Gaza: The Arab Plan V. Trump’s DisplacementPezeshkian: Iran Will Not be Bullied, Tells Trump to ‘Go to Hell’‘Godmother’ of Illegal SettlementsUS-Hamas Talks: Netanyahu’s Double-WoundTrump’s Envoy Boehler: Hamas Leaders Are “Actually Pretty Nice Guys, Guys Like US”On Hamas Talks: ‘The US Has its Own Interests’ Says Adam BoehlerShut!Israel Did This!Copenhagen’s Palestine SquareDark Days in Gaza ReconfirmedDevastating Loss!Israeli Settlers Want a Deal!Talking to Hamas: What is Trump up to?Litmus Test: Israel-USA Ties Dive as Trump Officials Talk to HamasStranger Than Fiction: Hamas in Trump’s WorldIsrael’s Forgotten Story: Palestinian Women PrisonersIsrael Kills 24 Women Journalists in Gaza‘You Have No Rights’Free Dr. Hussam Abu SafiyaAfter ‘Muzzling Out’ Trump Now Wants a Nuclear Deal With IranHouthis Give Israel Four Days to Allow Aid Into GazaIsraeli Violates The CeasefireIsrael Attacks Southern LebanonRemember Hind RajabJerusalem: 90,000 Perform Prayers Despite Israeli RestrictionsSocial Media Lash Out at BBC For Gaza FilmFirst Act of News Israeli Army Chief: Sack Daniel HagariGermany Backs Egypt’s Gaza Reconstruction PlanFrench Nurse: Women Are Center of Life in GazaAl Jazeera English Wins Top Award in London…‘This is How Israel is Moving The US Along’Bloomberg: Gaza is a Story of ResilienceDeliberate GenocideTaraweeh in Al Aqsa MosqueIts Free PalestineHow do You Stop Israel’s New War?‘The Only Right The Israelis Have is Pack Their Bags and Leave Palestine’Bombing Kids is Not Self-DefenceDouble-standardCARE Calls on Israel to Lift Aid Blockage Into GazaIsrael Rejects Egypt’s Plan to Rebuild GazaIsrael Returns to ‘Total’ Starvation of GazaIsraeli Prisons: Places of TortureSaudi FM: KSA Rejects Displacement, Calls For Ceasefire Guarantees
Fri. Apr 4th, 2025 2:55:54 AM
Trending News: ‘In Gaza We Die a 1000 Deaths a Day’Amnesty Condemns Netanyahu’s Visit to HungryTrump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’Israel Violates Syria With 11 Air Raids15 Martyred: Why Does Israel Kill Ambulance Men?Burning Muslim CivilizationIsrael Kills Journalist and His Family in Gaza‘Its as Bad as Ever in Gaza’ – UN WorkersThank You AnnieGaza Cracks Trump’s Image as ‘Peacemaker’How Israel Uses Its Legal System For GenocideThis is GazaThe Middle East OctopusGaza: Back to The Killing FieldsHouthi Missiles, Trump and The Israeli depth‘All Attempts at Displacing Gazans Failed’ – A Historical OutlineCanadians Say No to Arms Sales to IsraelUS Launches War on Yemen With 15 Airstrikes‘No One in Lebanon Wants to Normalize with Israel,’ says PM Nawaf SalamIsrael Kills Children as World Looks onIsrael Sentences Dr Abu SafiyaCartoon Made 13 Years AgoThis is Not Hiroshima, This is GazaAl-Duwairi: Houthi Missiles on Tel Aviv Confirms Failure of US Airstrikes on YemenIsrael’s Top Court Says No to NetanyahuIsrael: Displacement Versus Regional ExpansionGaza Massacres ContinueS. African Ambassador Gets Huge Welcome After Expulsion by TrumpSaudis Say No to Israeli Displacement AgencyGaza Deaths Top 50,000 as Israeli Army Continues Bloody OnslaughtIsrael Kills Two Journalists in Gaza Spiking their Number to 208Netanyahu’s Trap!Israel Destroys Turkish-Palestinian Friendship HospitalGenocidal Maniac From The Start!Israel’s Intensifies Displacement Campaign in GazaIsrael Kills 200 Children in GazaIn a Psychedelic Arab WorldIsrael Kills 130 Children in Gaza in a Single-Day – UNICEFIsrael, Trump and the Latest Bombing of GazaIsrael Kills One of Its Prisoners, Injures Two in Latest Gaza Attack – Hamas OfficialWhite House Complicity: Bloody Days Return to GazaTop Pakistani Architect Says No To Israeli PrizeIsraeli Raids: 326 Killed in Gaza in Five HoursIsrael Re-Launches Its War on GazaRachel Corrie RememberedWar in The Red Sea EscalatesIreland Stands TallHow Do You Deal With a ‘Political Earthquake’?Trump Orders US-Israeli Airstrikes on YemenRamadan Iftar Among The RubbleIsrael Kills 3 Palestinians Every 24 Hours in GazaTrump: Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is The First of Many’Indonesia to Rebuild 100 Mosques in Gaza18,000 Bombs Delivered to IsraelThe A, B, C to Rebuilding GazaTrump: ‘Nobody is Expelling Any Palestinians,’ From GazaRebuilding Gaza: The Arab Plan V. Trump’s DisplacementPezeshkian: Iran Will Not be Bullied, Tells Trump to ‘Go to Hell’‘Godmother’ of Illegal SettlementsUS-Hamas Talks: Netanyahu’s Double-WoundTrump’s Envoy Boehler: Hamas Leaders Are “Actually Pretty Nice Guys, Guys Like US”On Hamas Talks: ‘The US Has its Own Interests’ Says Adam BoehlerShut!Israel Did This!Copenhagen’s Palestine SquareDark Days in Gaza ReconfirmedDevastating Loss!Israeli Settlers Want a Deal!Talking to Hamas: What is Trump up to?Litmus Test: Israel-USA Ties Dive as Trump Officials Talk to HamasStranger Than Fiction: Hamas in Trump’s WorldIsrael’s Forgotten Story: Palestinian Women PrisonersIsrael Kills 24 Women Journalists in Gaza‘You Have No Rights’Free Dr. Hussam Abu SafiyaAfter ‘Muzzling Out’ Trump Now Wants a Nuclear Deal With IranHouthis Give Israel Four Days to Allow Aid Into GazaIsraeli Violates The CeasefireIsrael Attacks Southern LebanonRemember Hind RajabJerusalem: 90,000 Perform Prayers Despite Israeli RestrictionsSocial Media Lash Out at BBC For Gaza FilmFirst Act of News Israeli Army Chief: Sack Daniel HagariGermany Backs Egypt’s Gaza Reconstruction PlanFrench Nurse: Women Are Center of Life in GazaAl Jazeera English Wins Top Award in London…‘This is How Israel is Moving The US Along’Bloomberg: Gaza is a Story of ResilienceDeliberate GenocideTaraweeh in Al Aqsa MosqueIts Free PalestineHow do You Stop Israel’s New War?‘The Only Right The Israelis Have is Pack Their Bags and Leave Palestine’Bombing Kids is Not Self-DefenceDouble-standardCARE Calls on Israel to Lift Aid Blockage Into GazaIsrael Rejects Egypt’s Plan to Rebuild GazaIsrael Returns to ‘Total’ Starvation of GazaIsraeli Prisons: Places of TortureSaudi FM: KSA Rejects Displacement, Calls For Ceasefire Guarantees
Fri. Apr 4th, 2025 2:55:54 AM

Religion, Nationalism, Middle East Style!

Dr Khairi Janbek 

When you consider yourself as a member of the greatest group in existence, irrespective of its characteristics, it is only natural to assume that the values of this group are the greatest, and consequently, the only valid values which are permissible to hold.

However, we must not delude ourselves, because religion cannot be neatly put in the pigeonhole as a moral, or personal spiritual force, for the very ancient nature of organised religion has given it a powerful role in defining peoples personal and group identities, 

in other words, religion plays a national as well as personal, moral, and spiritual roles.

Nationalist and religious identities are both manifestations of the need for belonging, as people have the basic need to belong, a need which can be expressed in inclusive or an exclusive way leading to serious consequences.  

Dualism

In the context of the Arab world, dualism has ruled supreme, the choice has always been, either religion or nationalism, but Iran, Israel and Turkey, have managed to fuse religion into nationalism.  Each one of those countries, reflecting on themselves individually, thought of themselves as great nations, consequently, this meant that great nations require great religions, and not only that, but their own perspective of their own faiths can only be the true path.

The Arab world till now, shows that religion and nationalism remain irreconcilable, which makes it difficult for the Arab individual to understand Iranian, Israeli, and Turkish societies.  

In fairness however, one must say that, the reluctance of any Arab state to claim representation of Islam is very likely to bring severe opposition from both Islamists and nationalists. 

Therefore by separating Islam from nationalism, the individual Arab state strengthens its own brand of legitimacy, and as we see, every Arab state is comfortable with the abstract notion of an Islamic Umma (greater nation) in as much as it is comfortable with the abstract notion  of Arab Umma (greater nation).

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian writer based in Paris and the above opinion is that of the author and doesn’t reflect crossfirearabia.com. 

Dr Khairi Janbek

Dr Khairi Janbek

Related Posts

Opinion
Trump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’
Trump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’

Experts say the Middle East region is poised on an impending war with the top protagonists being the USA, Israel and Iran.  They stand on a military pedestal of violent conflict where Armageddon has become the new catchphrase.

The man at the center of it all is US president Donald Trump who has been elected on a so-called global “peace” ticket but is fueling the worldwide escalation with his rhetoric.

He is telling Iran, nay warning it, to either hitch out and agree to a new accord on the country’s nuclear file or face the American wrath where its Persian cities and nuclear facilities would be wildly attacked in a first-time development that is turning international relations upside down.

And so a war of words began between Tehran and Washington since Trump sent a stern letter to Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, telling him to submit to a new nuclear agreement to stall his country’s nuclear facilities or face extensive US bombing. 

This was a callous, stark warning. The international system has never, till now, faced such discursive diplomatic parlance, even at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Iranian leadership saw Trump’s verbiage as an outright threat and refused to submit, even telling US president that Iran will not be bullied and he can to “go to hell”, a comment made by Iranian president Massoud Pezeshkian. He was speaking for the Ayatollah and the top leadership in the country.

Since then however, and in spite of the occasional utterings, recently made by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Iraghchi that Tehran would respond quickly and heavily to any outside attack, both sides have been involved in a “jostling affair” issuing different and irk statements short of the war-mongering tirade Trump started.

Military brink

Today, and on the face of it, both sides appear to want to pull back from the military brink. The Iranians are now saying they would be prepared to negotiate but only indirectly through Oman, the country that has traditionally served as a consummate link between Washington and Tehran.

Whilst the Trump administration may be contemplating such a fact, although it’s on record for stating it would prefer direct face-to-face negotiations involving fully-fledged American and Iranian expert teams in the field of nuclear weapons and proliferation, Washington has not closed the doors to such an offer from Tehran and it is still considering it which means it might be softening its position.

But there is another snag to this. Iranian officials have stated they want confidence-building measures from the Trump administration and don’t believe in negotiations under threat but this appears to be what is happening today.

As the diplomatic chit chat continues, Washington is sending military reinforcements with jet fighters, mass bombs and missiles to the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Red Sea as part of their stepped-up fight against the Houthis and potentially against Iran, both of whom are against the Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip which is being financed by the USA.

Thus, what is happening now is that both sides are involved in sending out mixed signals despite the military escalation and war of words with Trump in what is becoming his customary U-turns. He is now saying that he doesn’t want a fight with Iran and is prepared for negotiations. 

But the ball is turning so to speak. For one thing Israel has long sought deadly strikes on Iranian cities and nuclear facilities and for it, today this is a “golden opportunity” being flanked and supported by US warships in the area.

Israel sees such a series of strikes as more urgent than before because after 2018 when Trump got the USA out of the nuclear deal, Iran started once again to boost its uranium enrichment program and many argue it’s very near to achieving a nuclear bomb and capability.

But that may be over-stating the fact, because Iran has always stated its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and its officials have maintained an official dialogue with the countries it originally made a deal with in 2015 officially named as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

So the current escalation may be tinged with diplomatic talk for although Trump maybe rash in what he says, there is usually a back up plan up his sleeve of not reaching beyond the military brink with brinkmanship being played at the highest levels.

This comment is written by Dr Marwan Asmar, chief editor of the crossfirearabia.com website.

Continue reading
Opinion
Gaza Cracks Trump’s Image as ‘Peacemaker’
Gaza Cracks Trump’s Image as ‘Peacemaker’

By Giorgio Cafiero

The Gaza ceasefire had been extremely fragile ever since its implementation on Jan. 19. Many analysts doubted that phase two would begin, and the main question was about when, not if, the ceasefire would fall apart. It came as no surprise when Israel completely ended the ceasefire on March 18 and resumed its genocidal war on Gaza, killing roughly 600 [1] Palestinians within the first four days after the truce collapsed.

It is beyond disturbing to think about what will come next for the 2.2 million people in Gaza, especially given that Israeli authorities imposed [2] a blockade on all humanitarian aid on March 2. While briefing the UN Security Council on the day Israel resumed its war, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said [3] “food is rotting and medicines are expiring.” The Israelis quickly undid all humanitarian progress achieved by international actors during the 42-day ceasefire. “Essential survival resources needed are now being rationed,” warned [4] Fletcher.

For all the misleading and outright inaccurate reporting in the Western media, it is clear that Hamas wanted phase two to begin, which was supposed to take place on March 1. However, Israel wanted phase one extended and was against moving into phase two. Had the second phase begun, Hamas would have handed over all the remaining Israeli captives. Now, amid this intense warfare, Hamas claims it is considering US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s “Bridge Proposal,” which aims to extend the collapsed ceasefire into next month, beyond Ramadan and Passover, to permit negotiations for a permanent ceasefire to end this war.

It is not difficult to understand why this genocide resumed on March 18. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies in the government were crystal clear that they did not support the ceasefire and wanted Israeli military operations against Gaza to resume. It was only pressure from the incoming Donald Trump administration during the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency that led Tel Aviv to agree to the tenuous ceasefire. Now that the Trump administration removed that pressure on Israel and the American president went all-out with his rhetoric about “hell” in Gaza, Netanyahu received the green light from the White House to continue the genocide.


Trump’s desires and reality

What US President Donald Trump realistically sought to achieve with his obscene rhetoric about a “clean out” [6] of Gaza and outlandish talk of transforming the war-ravaged enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East” [7] is a question for another article. Nonetheless, it is easy to conclude that such language emboldened the most right-wing and aggressive Israeli elements, including those in the government. These extremists have spent decades fantasizing about a second Nakba and establishing a Palestinian state outside Palestine.

Put simply, for Netanyahu and those around him to champion this plan of mass ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of millions of Palestinians into Egypt, Jordan, and perhaps also some Gulf Arab countries, continuing the war on Gaza is a necessary part of this process. After all, human history has shown that people don’t volunteer to leave their ancestral homeland but typically only do as a result of massive bloodshed.

The Israeli leadership understands this about the Palestinians and their quest to remain on their land. So much was on display with the leaflets [8] that Israel’s military recently dropped on Gaza, which threatened to make Trump’s plan for a “clean out” of Gaza the new reality.

To be sure, Israel’s domestic politics and Netanyahu’s own legal situation were relevant factors too. By restarting the war on Gaza, Netanyahu was able to secure stability within his own coalition. Now, not only is there no reason for him to fear more cabinet members quitting the coalition, but former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who left in January because of the ceasefire has returned [9] due to the genocide’s resumption.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial, set for the day that the war on Gaza recommenced, was postponed, [10] highlighting how “security developments” [11] shield him from legal consequences for his alleged [12] breach of trust, bribery, and fraud.

A key question is, where does this all leave Trump? After all, he campaigned on being a “peacemaker” president. While delivering his inaugural address just over two months ago, Trump declared, [13] “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

At this point, Trump might find himself trapped in Gaza, preventing him from reducing the US military footprint in the Middle East. Trump is escalating conflicts in the region—from Gaza to Yemen and possibly soon Iran—that could keep the US bogged down in this part of the world, which is the opposite of his promises regarding US foreign policy if elected to a second term. It remains to be seen how Trump’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza and his escalation in Yemen—closely tied to Palestine—will impact his standing among his MAGA base.

The author is the CEO of Gulf States Analytics

[1] https://www.euronews.com/2025/03/22/israel-orders-idf-troops-to-advance-deeper-into-gaza-as-renewed-operation-expands

[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/02/middleeast/israel-halts-gaza-humanitarian-aid-intl-hnk/index.html

[3, 4] https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1161246

[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-intensifying-gaza-strikes-press-hamas-into-freeing-hostages-defence-2025-03-21/

[6] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/27/middleeast/trump-clean-out-gaza-middle-east-intl/index.html

[7] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trumps-gaza-israel-plans-riviera-rcna190748

[8] https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-drops-leaflets-saying-no-one-will-care-if-gazans-vanish

[9] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/18/israels-ben-gvir-to-rejoin-netanyahus-government

[10,11,12] https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/report-netanyahus-testimony-corruption-trial-postponed-due-gaza-war

[13] https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/01/the-inaugural-address/

Continue reading

You Missed

Features

‘In Gaza We Die a 1000 Deaths a Day’

‘In Gaza We Die a 1000 Deaths a Day’
News

Amnesty Condemns Netanyahu’s Visit to Hungry

Amnesty Condemns Netanyahu’s Visit to Hungry
Opinion

Trump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’

Trump, Iran And The ‘Nuclear Fight’
News

Israel Violates Syria With 11 Air Raids

Israel Violates Syria With 11 Air Raids