As the war between Israel and Palestine rages, google and check out the geographical extent of these warring countries. Miniscule. Tiny. That is however average size of many Arab states/Middle Eastern countries barring a few larger ones like Saudi for instance. The limited terrestrial spread makes security a major and constant headache for these already volatile nations. Most share borders with at least two or three neighbours making them vulnerable to coup attempts etc. Basically Arabs are nomadic tribes and terrain wars are in their blood. They are best left undisturbed. The warring factions maintain a precarious balance that the outsiders unwittingly can tilt making it worse for them. There is fragile peace in existence that must be maintained at all costs. The prosperity of the oil exporting nations does not automatically guarantee them the sense of security. Typical example is Kuwait which was invaded by Iraq under Saddam Hussain. The very limited geographic territory as well as native population make the Arab states sitting ducks to militant coups and conspiracies by local tribes. A sultan may marry many women and beget a dozen sons who will all be raised in secrecy, in fear of their safety. Among those who survive, someone can ascend the throne at a later date. More than anyone we Indians know how Islamic societies/reigns function. In Mughal dynasties, siblings killing siblings, fathers disposing of sons, sons assassinating or imprisoning fathers etc., is not unheard of. In fact this is documented history. Family is dispensable for them for the sake of the throne. The trust factor among the ruling elite family members is practically absent. Wives conspire against each other’s sons, even when they remain married to the same sultan. Have you read about the bed chambers of Arabs? The men sleep in separate bedrooms. The queens sleep in their own chambers. The king will choose to spend the evening with whichever queen but later return to sleep in his own quarters for the night. Couples don’t sleep together in arab culture.
In Arab culture and in general islamic culture, men eat out of the same platter whether it is bread basket or biriyani. I used to be impressed by this brotherhood but later I was told that, this practice is in place from historical times fearing poisoning by conspirers. Eating from the same plate ensured that your life remained safe. To that extent, you can see paranoia in Arab society in every aspect of life. Nothing is to be taken for granted. Any son or crown prince can be assassinated by a mercenary even in foreign soil such as America or England. So the Arab royalty takes nothing for granted. They live forever fearing for their lives, for the safety of their families and a military coup or uprising any moment and especially at unexpected times. Which is why security in these nations is very detailed. The arab countries never take chances. They have very strong setup of ultra sophisticated security of many tiers instituted by western thinktanks. This is very much understandable. From poisoning to hit-and-run, anything can happen to Arabs in power anytime. The western countries are also gawking at them waiting for an opportunity to start a war and decimate them in the garb of global security or fight against terror. All these probabilities are practically factored in by intelligent Arabs these days who hire expert tech advisers in these matters. Remember with their kind of oil money, they can command any service to work for them.
At times, having lived in this hotspot for years, I do feel a heaviness when I think about the temporary nature of their survival. It always used to strike me that, at best the Arab nations can only postpone their chaos. The threat of instability lurked in every corner. It never took much to overthrow any sultan in the gulf states as history has revealed. Arabs award death sentence for dope suspect/drug carriers/conspiracy suspects because this is vital for their survival.
I am a citizen of India where thousands of uniformed soldiers guard our national frontiers in the boundaries we share with China and Pakistan. India is also a peninsula surrounded three sides by ocean which makes us safer geographically, to a large degree. We are not a landlocked nation. Our population of 1.3 billion is our strength. India is also the seventh largest country in the world. We are sizeable geographically that no military coup can ever overthrow our government for the simple reason that we are too big to contain by limited power. Small countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium etc., amazed me therefore. They gave me a sense of insecurity in that, I imagined them being easily accessible in event of a war and being dependent economically overwhelmingly on neighbours or third party countries. Singapore looked forward to Malaysia even for their water supply. India is a safe heaven.
Arab countries may have oil money but that did not prevent Kuwait getting invaded. Arabs therefore impose stringent laws for their self-protection. Most places in arab countries are restricted zones where photography may be prohibited. Violation of laws can get you prosecuted landing you behind bars. Arabs are also acutely aware of the hostility they face in the rest of the world. So their strict laws are better adhered to. Never take anything lightly in Arab soil. Remember in Islamic societies, if a woman files a case of rape in a legal court, it is she who will be awarded sentence and not the man! Under worst circumstances, she could be sentenced to death. She could count herself lucky should she manage to get away with cane flogging or stoning! So where laws are different or skewed, foreign nationalities have to be extremely careful not inviting problems. Foreign citizens and even foreign governments also must contemplate on the heightened sense of insecurity most Arab states live with. There is no guarantee that any crown prince will take over the reins of the sultanate from his father. There is no possibility for democracy because in essence, Arabs are tribal groups, divided into rival gangs. Getting them united under one banner is not easy. Sabotage or suspected espionage therefore becomes an unpardonable ‘war against state’ in arab dictionary. If you get this simple logic, you will understand the arab paranoia.
All these may make the expatriates living/working in middle eastern countries develop sympathy for the Arab rulers. Self defense is valid reason for nations beefing up security. In today’s world, war first assumes at the tech sector. The expats respect the state of mind of arab states and the laws and rules and regulations they have put in place for their own security. Cyber-vigil and always on their toes anticipating unforeseen trouble, the middle eastern countries always are on their edge. Until forty years back, most arabs were still bedouin communities who led a nomadic life wandering the Arabian deserts with camel herds, not restricted by geographical divisions. The concept of nationhood and parcelling of lands into different nations is a product of the second world war – even if by and large we had an idea. The arab countries also like most of the world were torn apart in conflicting ways. Israel-Palestine problem is an outcrop from this situation. While some parts of the world have since cooled off, Middle east continues to be a flashpoint in this respect. Americans can be the last group of the humankind to ever attempt to understand the complexities of Asia and in specific the Middle east. ARabian gulf is a hornet’s nest. Do not disturb unless and until you are confident you can fix everything gone wrong there (in your high opinion that is). Otherwise stay away.
It is important to respect the territorial sanctity of geographically small nations as well. Just because we live in a well appointed villa, we can have no ethical or moral right to park in front of our poor neighbour or trespass or try to outright buy the adjacent property or simply squat/take over their possession. Every square inch of their national territory must be protected from illegal encroachments. Big, powerful nations of the world must give a thought to that. In your capacity, help the small nations survive amidst animosity and insecurities they may face from conspiracy groups.
vijiravindran's 