Leave the Arabs alone. Historically, there is no doubt that big parts of our culture is influenced by Arabs. This goes for every non-Arab Muslim.
Having said that, modern day Arabs are inferior to almost every single non-Arab Muslim nation.
I'm just describing the ground reality of the Muslim world. Though, nothing is cast in stone in the Islamic world.
Modern-day Arabs are not inferior to most non-Arab Muslim nations. In fact it is often the opposite case based on economic purchase power, GDP (nominal), HDMI, GDP per capita, living standards, welfare systems, education levels, crime rates, university rankings, infrastructure etc. Even non-oil/gas rich Arab states like Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia etc. have standards higher (on most fronts) than the average Muslim country. All this despite being ruled by largely unelected regimes whose priority is to stay in power.
It was the case when no reforms took place and it remains the case when reforms takes place. Depending on the section and worldview of the individual Muslim, he will always have a strong opinion regardless.
Leaving Arabs alone (speaking about the Muslim world here) is not an option since Arabs will always be people (for religious, historical, cultural, linguistic, the location of holy sites etc. reasons) that will be in a perpetual spotlight no matter what happens. That's always been the case. For instance the Ottomans would never have had any legitimacy to proclaim themselves as heirs of the Abbasids in 1517, if they had not controlled Makkah, Madinah and al-Quds/Jerusalem.
"Leaving Arabs alone" won't ever happen by the likes of Turkey and Iran either as both depend (to stay relevant in the region) on pro-Turkish or pro-Iranian segments or Arab regimes. If not for that a country like Iran would be totally irrelevant in the Arab world yet it has a say in the likes of Iraq, small Lebanon, Syria (although blown out of proportion but their influence since 1979 cannot be completely ignored) and to a much smaller degree Yemen. This is also due to their Iranian Arab Mullah regime and their policy (Shia Islam as their main ideology). If not for that (say if Iran's main ideology was nationalism) Iran's cultural reach would be limited to neighboring Afghanistan (a perpetually failed state divided on ethnic and religious grounds) or tiny Tajikistan. Arguably Kurds too (at least some segments of Kurds) and maybe, just maybe, Azerbaijan, although that country is firmly in Turkey's sphere of influence.
However no outside meddling (whether from the West or fellow Muslims) is what would be the best for the Arab world as those meddling are all about what suits their interests and not that of Arabs which is a natural behavior of nation states. However it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
So why not go all the way then. Let us abolish the access to the internet in this holy area, let us cut telecommunications, remove paved roads and airports, remove any nearby hotels with air conditioning, food services etc. Enjoy walking over mountains with a stick to reach the holy sites, then you can rest in a tent without air conditioning, perhaps you will catch a virus, no more communication with your family back home.
Without those holes in the mountains you can't drive through mountains, the alternative is you walk on top of them how about that. Old people already complain all the time about the most simple things, imagine them visiting Makkah without those services.
You're daydreaming about some cut off isolated resort to experience the 'prophet era' whilst neglecting the management of these area's which include the daily, weekly, yearly human traffic and its logistical needs. BTW, are you sure all the internet traffic that passes through the holy lands are halal? It's very easy to talk.
Abu Hurayra said that, and I say the above.
Perfectly well said.
Add to that, that people expect locals who rely on Hajj and Umrah to take care of pilgrims for free. They are not allowed to make a living of this like locals in Najaf, Karbala, Jerusalem, Mashhad, Qom and other holy sites of the world do.
Moreover everything should also be for free. So not only should KSA pay for everything (which is very expensive and which is why KSA barely makes any surplus on Hajj and Umrah) but simultaneously it should have no say on affairs on its own sovereign land due to "Makkah and Madinah and Hijaz as a whole apparently being the property of all 1.6 BILLION Muslims".
As I wrote yesterday, a Jamaican convert in some UK prison that converted to Islam yesterday, has a right to claim ownership of Makkah, Madinah and Hijaz. More so than native peoples who have lived in those two holy cities for 3000+ years. He can just play the Muslim card and everything will be all right.
Let him play the Muslim card by meddling/claiming territory in say Turkey or Iran since those two countries are Muslim too. Or what about Somalia? Let's be consistent here.
The hypocrisy is hilarious but you get used to it. Arabs are always judged in a different light by those segments that we have discussed in this thread. It's always been the case since I joined the internet some 18-19 years ago as a kindergarten child.
Using sane arguments tend to work but good luck "educating" hordes of such people from all corners of the world with propaganda at their disposal 24/7. No thanks.
