FINDING PERSPECTIVE: OF WORDS AND MEN - A LOOK AT WORDS AND MEANINGS

Words and meanings run the world more so than money I think. The subtle nuances, the context, the many meanings, the translated meaning, the root word, the new jargons, the invented words, the body language, the tone, pronunciations, and the interpretations. That is a lot to one word isn't it? Over the years words have been used with different meanings and in different industries.

I particularly like one made up by my friend Anne Trim Shade, but her beautiful word is, lierd. I like spelling it as liard like bastard. Now there is a word. Liard to Anne is simply someone who is prone to telling lies. My favourite word for the last few years has been twisted. Come to think of it, there is a common interest between them both. What could that mean?

There are some words with some pretty sinister meanings and plots too! While others remain tied to a very controversial past. One such word is Philistine. A whole nation is described in this one word and much history and controversies since the 12th Century BCE. By 1820 it was used in British language to mean someone who is neither intellectual nor cultured but materialistic. (Read more on the Philistine in Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda.)

Since I started blogging I have grown to dislike the word effort. Maybe until Jesus comes there are some words that we will be hearing about and this is definitely one. Let's take a look at some of these words, and how meanings can change in different context, not as Philistines of course but it will be in the context of the Middle East (ME):

Often we make the mistake of trying to impose our modern language, our thinking and our western values on the Middle East. We do not quite understand the intricate and deep rooted issues, traditions, beliefs and history. We are innocent to the duplicity that exists and understood as an underlying current. I had quite an eye opener around 2014 when I interviewed a man who worked in the Middle East. The cameraman and I listened attentively to his stories.

He spoke about the Alawaites, a people who used manipulation, drugs and cunning. Accordingly, you can ask an Alawaite for anything he has and he will give it to you. But he will find you in the night, take your life and take back his possession. This is the type of hypocrisy I refer to. To many people it is part of the culture (maybe religion).

AGREEMENT:

There are hidden codes that may sound ridiculous to us from the western or modern world but are still in effect. Perhaps because we just want everyone to get along we choose to believe that such codes are in the past or are just about fanaticism and quite fanciful. One example that has been responsible for more loss of human life that I can imagine is the Al-Hudaybiyyah Code from 628 AD. This means that one can agree with one’s enemies until one is once again ready to attack.

Picture in medium shot of Yasser Arafat, wearing his kaffiyeh and has his hands on his lips as though he is saying its a secret

Yasser Arafat, then Chairman of the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation

Despite signing the Oslo Accord in 1993, Yasser Arafat invoked the Al-Hudaybiyyah Code in his speech in Johannesburg in May 1994. He promised a continued jihad to win Jerusalem as a purely Muslim capital. The code allows one to sign any agreement of peace and break it when they have rebuilt and regrouped.

It was almost impossible for Israel to keep the terms of the treaty and they did start to honour it. Nabil Sha'ath one of Arafat's lieutenants explains how it works and how it is interpreted by Palestinians at a Nablus forum in 1996:

We decided to liberate our homeland step-by-step. Should Israel continue - no problem. And so, we honor the peace treaties and nonviolence... if and when Israel says 'enough'. In that case it is saying that we will return to violence, but this time it will be with 30,000 armed Palestinian soldiers and in a land with elements of freedom. If we reach a dead end we will go back to our war and struggle like we did forty years ago. (Sha'ath, 1996)

Remember it is not how we of the western or European world understand it. There is a play of words and in the context of the Middle East the words have a different meaning. Here is what he is saying:

we are in agreement with this strategy (same as Arafat's Strategy of Stages)
the objective is still a liberated homeland
this is our homeland (this land belongs to us, that means no dual state is accepted)
it is only a step
we do commit violence (terrorist activities)
in the meantime we strengthen
when Israel has completed its commitments we will have more freedom to return to violence

Similarly during the negotiations Yasser Arafat maintained the one map of Palestine which showed Palestine as one nation without Israel. He never changed from his military clothing. The kaffiyeh was worn draped over his shoulders in his own unique fashion to shape the map of his envisioned Palestine which did not include Israel. Those were subtle messages to Israel and the Islamic believers.

The rhetoric remains the same always. Besides reminding everyone about the Al-Hudaybiyyah Code, Mr. Arafat would use words such as jihad and continue to say such things as all the options are open to the Palestinian people (Ordbit Television, April 18, 1998). In other words, by any means necessary.

Hudna

Hudna is another word for peace settlement. I wish it could be that simple. The hudna with a non-Islamist is a temporary agreement. Most times it is mistaken for a cease fire or for a truce. It is unilateral by nature and therefore on the overly zealous side. One was done in 2003 but it was not made with Israel directly. To be honest in researching this incident I came to a conclusion that Arafat was biding time for them to arm themselves more and surprise Israel.

The hudna was made between the different factions of Palestine and Mr. Y. Arafat. It was supposed to last three months in 2003 Israel was in talks with him at the time. Within two months of the hudna, Hamas sent a suicide bomber into Jerusalem killing 20 people including 6 children and injuring 130 people. The response from Hamas was that although they are responsible they will honour the hudna. (Does that sound odd to you too?).

The hudna was for them to regroup, plot, and to provoke Israel in different ways when it is advantageous to them. Hamas is allowed to stay in Gaza. Hamas is supposed to be a religious group but have been banned in other Muslim nations. In fact President Nasser forced Mr. Yasser Arafat out of Egypt and banned the Muslim Brotherhood for the same type of language. A language known as Islamic radicalism. Yet, Israel was forced to negotiate with Yasser Arafat.

Taqiyya

A Muslim is allowed to lie under Sharia Law, Islam’s legal system. If you are anything like me you would be asking, How could a lie be legal? Sharia Law comes from the Koran and the rulings of Islamic scholars. It acts as a code for daily living for all Muslims. Through Taqiyya you can agree if the majority is saying something and you do not agree. Meanwhile promote your agenda. It gives you time to strengthen your position and raise up again in a better situation. Sometimes I think words like integrity don't exist but this might be me imposing western values.

Reminding myself that in ME the cause is greater I see that integrity is sacrificed. The strategy is to sit with the majority in agreement, take advantage of any opportunity that can be gained, and manipulate the stakeholders to promote your cause. To get it right, understand that this is not the ultimate cause but the personal cause that the sacrifice is made for. They can take funding without ethical issues although they are not committed.

My example would be like those who claim to be persecuted by radicalism in their own country but when they get comfortable as a refugee they practise same radicalism and bully others into following them. Again we hear from Nabil Sha'ath speaking about Yasser Arafat, in an interview on ANN television in London on October 7, 2000:

No one believed him when he used to say it...[but] The choice is not at all between options of negotiation and fighting. You can have negotiations and fight at the same time

This 17 year old Hamas terrorist murders in cold blood a 23 year old Israeli and a 21 year old Israeli soldier (as seen in the picture below). This is after the ceasefire. This is how peace treaties are broken in May 2021.

Israeli soldier pictured kneeling down with a knife protruding from his back and blood pouring out.

Murdered Israeli soldier after cease fire in May 2021

I hope I have not betrayed your trust. Due to political correctness and the veiled threat behind it I can only go so far. But I think I have presented enough for any reader to understand the difference in the meaning of agreement in ME. I think that it is obvious that word games are played conveniently. I invite you to read some more of this series on words and meanings.