Layalina Productions, Inc. | The Layalina Review: "Arab World Reacts to Iranian Crisis"

The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 14, June 19-July 02, 2009

Arab World Reacts to Iranian Crisis

In the midst of the post-election turmoil in Iran, both Arab governments and people have expressed mixed feelings, reports Ian Black of The Guardian. While some find the massive display of people power impressive, others worry about the repercussions of the crackdown in Tehran.

The Arab world has been keeping a close eye on Iran as the stability of countries including Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon are directly related to the political outcomes of major regional and national powers. The loss of stability in Iran could affect the Middle East as a whole, warns Saseen Kawzally of Menassat.

Kawzally claims that Arabs are not impartial to the situation in Iran, as many moderate Arabs are promoting the notion of “Iranian danger” in an effort to shift attention towards an alternative “enemy” and away from animosity towards Israel.

Abdel Bari Atwan of Al-Quds Al-Arabi told Menassat, “Undermining Iran's stability and spreading troubles in the country increases the possibilities of it turning into a failed state…This cannot be in the interest of the region's countries and in particular the Arab ones.”

While all Arab countries are reacting to events in Iran, each finds itself in a lose-lose situation, reports Rami Khouri of The Daily Star. Arab leaders would be unhappy if the Iranian regime stayed in power, as governments fear Iran’s ability to inspire revolutionary Islamism as well as the country’s hegemonic ambitions.

Khouri also speculates that if the Iranian regime was toppled, Arab leaders would sense their own vulnerability to similar mass political changes. Iran has withstood pressures from America, Israel, Europe and the UN, but is seemingly much more vulnerable to a spontaneous rebellion of its own citizens; a collapse would signal to the Arab world the strength of a populous movement against a regime.

While there have been reactions from both pro Iranian-government actors such as Syria, Hezbollah and Qatar, and from anti-Iranian actors such as Saudi Arabia, there exists a third level of cautious bystanders, which includes Egypt. The media coverage of each region has blatantly corresponded with viewpoints of their respective states, says Khouri.

According to The Washington Institute, media outlets for the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon’s March 14 coalition, and Saudi Arabia have broadcast overtly anti-Iranian stances. Syrian news outlets continue to claim US interference in Iran, and Hezbollah’s Al-Manar has positioned itself with Ahmadinejad, avoiding images of Iranian demonstrations.

The response of the Egyptian Islamist opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, has been restrained as their website carried little commentary on the situation--just five pieces over the past ten days, two of which gave a neutral view on the events.

According to Canada.com, Saudi media has given the most attention to the demonstrations in Tehran. As stated by As'ad AbuKhalil, Lebanese politics professor at California State University, “Arab regimes may also fear that if the Iranian regime feels cornered and pressured, it may lash out, and Saudi Arabia may be the first to feel the wrath of the regime.”

In addition to mixed reactions from governments and the media, Arab opinion seems to be torn on the series of events in Iran and their implications that will result out of it. On the one hand, Egyptian human rights activist and blogger Walid Abbas told CNN that he was jealous of the achievements of the Iranian people.

“Despite the differences that we have with Iran and the fact that many Iraqis don't trust their Persian neighbor, we are still Muslims and at the end of the day that matters a lot,” Abbas said.

Iranians have gained support for their cause through social networking sites and SMS messaging, calling upon the Arab world to rise up in solidarity with the demonstrators, reports Menassat. Though Iranian security forces have attempted to muffle the information that has been coming out of Tehran, digital media tools such as Twitter have encouraged wider support for dissidents.

However, The New York Times blog Room for Debate, features suggestions that Arab reactions have been subdued. Rime Allaf, a Syrian writer and blogger for Mosaics, claims that the brutal repression of civil disobedience of any kind has suppressed responses from the Arab people.

She continues to write that resent has been harbored due to the reaction of the world to the Gaza conflict. “With the wounds of Israel’s war on Gaza still open, many Arabs are particularly stunned that the indifference with which Palestinian deaths were received has turned into an international solidarity campaign for Iranians throwing rocks at their oppressors and shouting ‘we have become Palestine.’”

As the world watches the events in Iran, both the Arab regimes and the people wait anxiously for the outcome and anticipate the consequences that will resonate throughout the region.

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