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British and Middle Eastern Monarchy: Acceptable vs the unacceptable
Global Village Space |
Jovaria Naseem |
Monarchy is one of the oldest forms of government. The word “Monarch” comes from the Greek word monárkhēs which means absolute ruler or one single ruler. Currently, there are 27 monarchies in the world including United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Norway, Spain, and Swaziland.
The never ending frenzy over royal fairytale wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, according to Akamai, caused global web traffic of rising 39% above normal. YouTube alone had 72 million live streams. Another source reported, over 1.5 billion people across the globe watched the royal wedding. The event in London itself was covered by as many as 8000 or more journalists. From Kenya to China, the enthusiasm surrounding the event was matchless.
“An estimated 2.5 billion people watched the funeral procession of Princess Diana of Wales. Over a million people lined the route of the funeral cortege to the abbey and along her final journey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.”
– BBC, 6 September 2005.
Read more: The Middle East conundrum: What is the safe passage for Pakistan?
On the other hand, there has been a fairly consistent growing demand for democracy to topple monarchy in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia. Few of the most intense anti-monarchy voices are from the quarters of US, European Media, Europe, Pakistan, Iran etc.
In our strange behavioral patterns towards different monarchies lies the paradox. While British Monarchy draws our love and revere; the Middle Eastern Monarchies are the ones which receive our frowns. Sometimes the reasons of frowning are bizarre. The sentiments range from anti-Islamic to medieval and primitive ones.
Tony Blair, the ex-British Prime Minister, is accused of invading Iraq and causing present day Middle Eastern turmoil. However, he alone is not to be blamed.
Many Muslims in Pakistan, Iran, and the West believe Monarchy is anti-Islamic. They support democracy. Here lies the dichotomy. The very fabric of democracy is Greek and by that it means, it is a very Western phenomenon that transcended into East. Monarchy, on the other side, is not entirely a Western idea. Many of the Prophets in Islamic history have been Kings from Prophet Dawood (A.S) and Prophet Suleman (A.S) to Prophet Yousuf (A.S). The concept of Monarchy is not alien to Islam. What is alien to Islam is hypocrisy and the duality of approach or in behavior on a subject.
One can argue that British Monarchy has mastered the art of generating public goodwill vis-à-vis their press and PR, something the Middle Eastern Monarchies are yet to discover the irresistible charm of media.
Read more: How Nations can move on after Apologizing for their Past
As an illustration, the war on Iraq is a perfect example. Tony Blair, the ex-British Prime Minister, is accused of invading Iraq and causing present day Middle Eastern turmoil. However, he alone is not to be blamed. The Queen stood by his decision. She had signed for the war. Never has the British media or global press or public worldwide questioned British Monarchy over Iraq.
Iraq War isn’t the first instance or the last, British Monarchy has been guilty of War Crimes and crimes against humanity. Notable ones, but not limited to, are Kenyan Camps, Jallian Wala Bagh, Irish Famine, Iraqi Revolution (1920), The Cyprus Internment (1955-59), Chinese Resettlement (the 1950s), and the Boer Concentration Camps.
What happens if Saudi Arabia & other Middle Eastern Monarchies decided to follow British suit and chose to become a substantive democracy with constitutional monarchies that had the power to ratify the wars, would it be acceptable to public.
Read full article:
British and Middle Eastern Monarchy: Acceptable vs the unacceptable
Global Village Space |
Jovaria Naseem |
Monarchy is one of the oldest forms of government. The word “Monarch” comes from the Greek word monárkhēs which means absolute ruler or one single ruler. Currently, there are 27 monarchies in the world including United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Norway, Spain, and Swaziland.
The never ending frenzy over royal fairytale wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, according to Akamai, caused global web traffic of rising 39% above normal. YouTube alone had 72 million live streams. Another source reported, over 1.5 billion people across the globe watched the royal wedding. The event in London itself was covered by as many as 8000 or more journalists. From Kenya to China, the enthusiasm surrounding the event was matchless.
“An estimated 2.5 billion people watched the funeral procession of Princess Diana of Wales. Over a million people lined the route of the funeral cortege to the abbey and along her final journey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.”
– BBC, 6 September 2005.
Read more: The Middle East conundrum: What is the safe passage for Pakistan?
On the other hand, there has been a fairly consistent growing demand for democracy to topple monarchy in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia. Few of the most intense anti-monarchy voices are from the quarters of US, European Media, Europe, Pakistan, Iran etc.
In our strange behavioral patterns towards different monarchies lies the paradox. While British Monarchy draws our love and revere; the Middle Eastern Monarchies are the ones which receive our frowns. Sometimes the reasons of frowning are bizarre. The sentiments range from anti-Islamic to medieval and primitive ones.
Tony Blair, the ex-British Prime Minister, is accused of invading Iraq and causing present day Middle Eastern turmoil. However, he alone is not to be blamed.
Many Muslims in Pakistan, Iran, and the West believe Monarchy is anti-Islamic. They support democracy. Here lies the dichotomy. The very fabric of democracy is Greek and by that it means, it is a very Western phenomenon that transcended into East. Monarchy, on the other side, is not entirely a Western idea. Many of the Prophets in Islamic history have been Kings from Prophet Dawood (A.S) and Prophet Suleman (A.S) to Prophet Yousuf (A.S). The concept of Monarchy is not alien to Islam. What is alien to Islam is hypocrisy and the duality of approach or in behavior on a subject.
One can argue that British Monarchy has mastered the art of generating public goodwill vis-à-vis their press and PR, something the Middle Eastern Monarchies are yet to discover the irresistible charm of media.
Read more: How Nations can move on after Apologizing for their Past
As an illustration, the war on Iraq is a perfect example. Tony Blair, the ex-British Prime Minister, is accused of invading Iraq and causing present day Middle Eastern turmoil. However, he alone is not to be blamed. The Queen stood by his decision. She had signed for the war. Never has the British media or global press or public worldwide questioned British Monarchy over Iraq.
Iraq War isn’t the first instance or the last, British Monarchy has been guilty of War Crimes and crimes against humanity. Notable ones, but not limited to, are Kenyan Camps, Jallian Wala Bagh, Irish Famine, Iraqi Revolution (1920), The Cyprus Internment (1955-59), Chinese Resettlement (the 1950s), and the Boer Concentration Camps.
What happens if Saudi Arabia & other Middle Eastern Monarchies decided to follow British suit and chose to become a substantive democracy with constitutional monarchies that had the power to ratify the wars, would it be acceptable to public.
Read full article:
British and Middle Eastern Monarchy: Acceptable vs the unacceptable
