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Publishers and owners: Assoc. Prof. Dr and Dr. Honoris Causa Sabahudin Hadžialić and Peter Tase, MBA Whitefish Bay, WI, United States of America MI OBJEDINJUJEMO RAZLIČITOSTI... WE ARE UNIFYING DIVERSITIES |
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Latuff...2012
DIOGEN pro culture magazine for the World peace
Rokiah Hashim (Siti Ruqaiyah Hashim)
Malaysian Born freelance writer, poet, film and theatre critics
Peace and Human Rights Activist
Now residing in the Balkans, Europe.
26.2.2021
INTERVIEW - Jose Luis Rubio Zarzuel
INTERVIEW WITH Jose Luis Rubio Zarzuel, A POET AND EDITOR FROM Conil de la Frontera, Spain
for DIOGEN pro culture magazine
INTERVIEW - Jose Luis Rubio Zarzuel
INTERVIEW WITH Jose Luis Rubio Zarzuel, A POET AND EDITOR FROM Conil de la Frontera, Spain
for DIOGEN pro culture magazine
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14.1.2021
INTERVIEW - Taib Kovač
INTERVIEW WITH TAIB KOVAC, A PROMINENT ARTIST FROM SARAJEVO, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA BY SITI RUQAIYAH HASHIM
For DIOGEN pro culture magazine.
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Poetry
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ART - PAINTINGS
29.10.2019.g.
INTERVIEW - Mr Abdallah Tayeh, Asst. Secretary of General Union of Palestine
For DIOGEN pro culture magazine BY ROKIAH HASHI
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20.09.2019.g.
INTERVIEW ZDRAVKO ODORČIĆ
For DIOGEN pro culture magazine BY ROKIAH HASHI
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1.10.2019
GEORGE WALLACE
Interview
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Poems
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POEMS GEORGE WALLACE
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20.01.2019
Dr. NASHARUDIN MAT ISA
Interview
06.01.2018
Aziz Isa Elkun
Interview, Biography
CREATION OF THE PEACE THROUGH THE ACTS
AND NOT JUST THROUGH THE TALKS
Interview with Dr. Nasharudin Mat Isa
1) Please tell us more about your education and career history since beginning till now
In terms of education, I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Jurisprudence from the University of Jordan, an MA in Comparative Law from the International Islamic University of Malaysia and a PhD in Education (Leadership) at the Awang Had Salleh Graduate School of Arts and Science, University Utara Malaysia (UUM). Career-wise, I started as a lecturer, lecturing at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), then Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (also known as National University of Malaysia(UKM) before venturing into politics and becoming a two-term Malaysian Member of Parliament. Of more recent, I headed my own Foundation focusing on socio-educational activities, prior to becoming the CEO of the now-defunct Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF). Upon the latter’s closure, I set-up the Wasatiyah Centre for Peace (WCP) feeling that the message of ‘wasatiyah’ and/or moderation is still very much required within the field of peace-activism.
2) What is Wasatiyah Centre of Peace?
WCP aims to integrate a “culture of peace” discourse, and part of it is through the message of ‘wasatiyah’ which also bears similar connotations in other religions and cultures of the world, i.e. ‘the golden mean’, balance, moderation to name a few. Of a particular objective, the organisation seeks to be a centre which endeavours for the promotion and imbuement of such a culture of peace, and this will admittedly be a process for the long haul. It is not something that is visible or felt overnight. The measures that we see currently being implemented, be they hard or soft-wise, are there to address the issues and drivers of terrorism and violent-extremism, but in the long-term, it is only the ones through education and cultivating a culture of peace, of excellence and civilisation can we address the problems of conflicts and violent-extremism that we see now today.
This is what WCP aspires to, and it is why we are looking to cooperate and collaborate with many a numerous organisations to that end. We have participated in a number of engagements with the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC), ranging from CVE/PVE to intercultural discourses programs, and as of now, also looking to develop concrete and meaningful collaborative programs with UNAOC - especially events and programs within this parts of the world.
3) Why the need for promoting world peace? - where is the world heading to?
Faith or belief-wise, all religions essentially teaches and preaches upon the path of peace, non-violence and compassion amongst one other. However, it is only some segments of individuals or groups – and a small minority at that – that manipulate the teachings for the purposes of their own agendas, and thus recruiting or radicalising others in the process. It is here that the conflicts lie in. And it is here that we need to address the crux of the matter – of the hearts and minds. Messages of peace, of the proper teachings of the religions need be done less our civilisation fall into the abyss (and this is where the world may head or lead to if conflicts, violence and terrorism be left unattended).
On the other hand, in terms of policy-makers and international organisations, they too can and must play a part in promoting world peace by stressing and acting upon the need to strengthen international understanding, and cooperation to enhance security and stability within the various regions of the globe. All of these have to be done within the framework of international resolutions and the necessity for respect for sovereignty of States, the local communities as well as cultural contexts.
4) What is wasatiyah.org doing in Malaysia and on global scenario?
We are still new, operationally-speaking. As of the moment, in Malaysia, we are simply conducting collaborative researches focusing on our four focus agendas of peace. Realising on the need to enrich the discourse of ‘wasatiyah’ within the field of peace-activism, we are planning to release a number of research-based publications to that very end.
At a global scenario, it is simply in trying to actively participate (online or on the ground) in delivering presentations/talks/opinions as invited by those within the global peace-activism communities, as well as international organisations. I believe we have experiences to share with others, and likewise, to learn. I must add here, that one of our aspirations is to maximise our utilisation of the Internet, or social media rather, as efficiently and effectively as possible, given the impact it is able to rear. There are a few programs in the pipeline, with regards to online-based engagements that we are currently devising and looking to implement soon, which cuts across our focus initiatives of peaceful coexistence, civic education & CVE/PVE) and scope of approaches (capacity building. researches and publications as well as consultation &-community relations). Among our upcoming activities being planned are a few research-based workshops, publications, video documentaries and a conference.
5) What are the differences between concept of peace in Islam and other conflict resolution theories and practices?
The concept of peace in Islam, well, it occupies a central-focus (and interrelated) among the other precepts such as justice, dignity etc. The word Salam – which denotes peace – originate from the same root word as Islam. One Islamic interpretation is that personal (and communal peace) is attained through submission to Allah. Thus peace in Islam, for Muslims, essentially begins and ends with God (Allah). Any other forms of transgression will invariably violates this sense of peace.
This would be the one and obvious difference with secular (and possibly other religions’) conflict resolution theories and practices.
Besides that, the rest would be seemingly similar, generally speaking, of respect, and proper knowledge which is required to mete out justice. It is for this very reason that Islam promotes no compulsion in religion, a freedom of others’ to live by their religious choices. This consistently cultivates a sense of respect of one another and to live in peaceful coexistence in which justice serves as the common denominator. The problems, or conflicts that we see today, is invariably a result of injustices and grievances that have been left unfettered.
6) Is peace education necessary now?
It is very much necessary, more so in the current context. Throughout my experiences and deliberations, we believe it is high-time that peace education and those of similar relevance, be promoted actively within the education sector to that of civil society at large. For an example, UNESCO has its project – called Global Citizenship Education – and it is one example of a significant initiative which should and need to be advocated by parties at various levels. As for us, and somewhat quite similar, our initiative is on activities promoting peaceful coexistences of the faiths and communities. Thus, to answer your question, yes, I have no doubt whatsoever on the necessity of peace education.
7) What are your hopes and dreams for world peace to exist?
Primarily speaking, and to be honest, peaceful coexistence. That would be it. During one of my previous working engagements, in Washington DC, I was afforded the opportunity to see a beautiful sight – where peaceful coexistence was in action. It was on a Friday, naturally, there was an issue of Friday prayers, and it was heart-warming to see Jews and Muslims coexisting, with the former allowing the latter use of their synagogue in performing their Friday prayers due to the limitations of space. The same show of tolerance was experienced when I visited Perth in Australia, where a Church was opened for Friday prayers. Malaysia too demonstrated something similar, when one of its state was hit by the flood, the musalla and mosques there opened its doors to flood victims to seek shelter, regardless of religion and race.
These actions are commendable when done with mutual respect and tolerance between two or more parties, and with no ulterior motives or agendas. They indicate the beauty of coexistence, when and how it is conducted with no personal agendas or vested interests are not part of the equation. Of course, it is probably such a utopian concept, but it has to start somewhere, and there must be the political and social will to do so.
8) Please add links to your articles and papers presented at UNO and other conferences and seminars in relation to world peace.
For further information and readings on articles as well as papers presented, kindly refer to https://www.wasatiyah.org/the-president-and-ceo/
Dato’ Dr. Nasharudin Mat Isa
President and CEO
Wasatiyah Centre For Peace
Level 3, IOI City Tower Two,
Lebuh IRC, IOI Resort City,
62502 Putrajaya,
MALAYSIA
Mobile No: +60193865908
Telephone No: +60389590970
Fax No: +60389596572
email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Thank you very much for this exclusive interview for DIOGEN pro culture magazine, respectable NASHARUDIN MAT ISA.
@copyright DIOGEN pro culture magazine 2019
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FROM REFUGEE TO RIGHTS DEFENDER
interview with Uyghur poet Aziz Isa Elkun
Tell me, please more about your family and childhood and education background?
I was born in Shayar county in East Turkistan. The region was occupied by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949 and re-named in 1955 as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Shayar is located close to the Tarim River on the northern edge of the world’s second largest desert, the Taklamakan. I lived in our village Yengi Chimen until I finished my primary school. My early memories of my family are of my mum carrying me to school on her back, and coming home and finding there was no food to eat. That was the last years of the China Great "Cultural Revolution" and I always felt hungry.
After finishing Primary School I went to boarding school in our local town Toy Boldi. I didn't know at that time that was I was saying goodbye to the village and would never live there again. In 1985 I went to No. 1 High School in Shayar Town. I passed the University exam and in 1988 I was accepted to study Russian and Chinese languages at Xinjiang University.
How did you go to London and what are you doing now?
I came to London by lorry from Calais, France in August 2001. After I arrived in London, I was kept in a refugee "reception centre" near Cambridge for 15 days because I had illegally entered the United Kingdom. I was granted political refugee status after five months. At that time I gave an interview to the BBC titled 'How I got to UK illegally' on Thursday, 14 March, 2002. The story is still on their website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1869263.stm
What is happening to the Uyghur now? - historically, plight of the Uyghur now ?
China has locked up over a million Uyghurs in extra-judicial internment camps. Its treatment of the Uyghurs is inhumane. Can you imagine your parents, brothers and sisters don’t dare to answer your phone call because they will be arrested and locked up in a detention facility if they do? That is exactly what’s happening to Uyghurs living outside China’s borders. We can’t get visas to visit our families even if our parents are on their death beds and want to see us one last time. This is not because we or our parents did something to deserve this treatment, but simply because we happen to be Uyghurs.
Please read this story about my family who are living in East Turkistan:
http://www.azizisa.org/en/an-unanswered-telephone-call
Situation now similar to the Cultural Revolution 1960's or worse?
I think that it is worse than China's Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s.
What has been done and at what level? –UN -ICJ -OIC ?
China is committing crimes against humanity in East Turkistan but sadly, world governments are still doing too little about these crimes. There have been worldwide protests against the Chinese Government’s treatment of the Uyghurs, and the UN and the European Parliament, UK Parliament and the US Congress have raised the issue with China, but China has simply denied the charges against it.
What is the best solution to the problem? -Autonomous? Separation?
The Uyghurs only wanted to live in peace and be granted their rights to cultural and religious freedom but now it’s clear that this cannot be expected from China. Only Uyghur Independence will solve this crisis.
China charges Uighur as terrorist and extremist. Is that true?
This is a fake mask made in China for Uyghurs. Uyghur have never given up their desire to live as an independent people and independent country, and before 2001, China’s campaigns against the Uyghurs mainly took the form of campaigns against separatism. Since the "War on Terror" started in 2001, China hijacked the idea of "Islamic extremism" and used the fact that Uyghurs are Muslims to legitimate their repression of the Uyghur.
Uyghurs and Tibetans had distinct homelands, identities, history and cultures and lived as equals to their larger neighbour China for much of the last 2500 years. There were times they were politically and militarily stronger than China and provided help when asked. This history is all well-documented, but today China treats us as backward, primitive and in need of civilising.
What are your hopes and next plans?
We are in this place today because so many governments are now too indebted to China or too keen to make trade deals with China to care about its human rights abuses. If international governments were more principled and were willing to highlight China’s unacceptable behaviours, we would be in a much better place. The world needs to take responsibility for the deteriorating situation before it is too late for the Uyghurs.
Thank you very much for this exclusive interview for DIOGEN pro culture magazine, respectable AZIZ ISA ELKUN.
@copyright DIOGEN pro culture magazine 2019
06.01.2019
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A brief biography of Aziz Isa Elkun
Aziz Isa Elkun was born in East Turkistan (Uyghur Autonomous Region, China). He spent his childhood in Shahyar county which is located close to the Tarim River on the northern edge of the world’s second largest desert, the Taklamakan Desert. He graduated from Xinjiang University majoring in Chinese and Russian and languages. He has been living in London since 2001. He studied at Birkbeck University in London.
He has published many poems, stories, and research articles in both Uyghur language (www.azizisa.org) and English (www.azizisa.org/en). He has co-authored English language articles in Inner Asia and Central Asian Survey (‘Invitation to a Mourning Ceremony’: Perspectives on the Uyghur Internet and ‘Islam by Smartphone: the changing sounds of Uyghur religiosity’).
He worked as Research Assistant on the “Sounding Islam China” project based in SOAS, University of London, and conducted collaborative fieldwork in Central Asia for the project. In 2017, he published a Uyghur language research article arising from this fieldwork, titled “The Uyghurs are known in Central Asia for their laghmen”.
He is an active member of the exile Uyghur Community and founder of a Uyghur music group – the London Uyghur Ensemble (www.uyghurensemble.co.uk). Since September 2017, he has served as Secretary of the International PEN Uyghur Centre (www.uyghurpen.org). From September 2018, he is working as a researcher on a British Academy Sustainable Development project “Uyghur Meshrep in Kazakhstan” based at SOAS, University of London.
http://www.azizisa.org/en/category/aziz-isa-elkun-biography
Aziz Isa Elkun was born in East Turkistan (Uyghur Autonomous Region, China). He spent his childhood in Shahyar county which is located close to the Tarim River on the northern edge of the world’s second largest desert, the Taklamakan Desert. He graduated from Xinjiang University majoring in Chinese and Russian and languages. He has been living in London since 2001. He studied at Birkbeck University in London.
He has published many poems, stories, and research articles in both Uyghur language (www.azizisa.org) and English (www.azizisa.org/en). He has co-authored English language articles in Inner Asia and Central Asian Survey (‘Invitation to a Mourning Ceremony’: Perspectives on the Uyghur Internet and ‘Islam by Smartphone: the changing sounds of Uyghur religiosity’).
He worked as Research Assistant on the “Sounding Islam China” project based in SOAS, University of London, and conducted collaborative fieldwork in Central Asia for the project. In 2017, he published a Uyghur language research article arising from this fieldwork, titled “The Uyghurs are known in Central Asia for their laghmen”.
He is an active member of the exile Uyghur Community and founder of a Uyghur music group – the London Uyghur Ensemble (www.uyghurensemble.co.uk). Since September 2017, he has served as Secretary of the International PEN Uyghur Centre (www.uyghurpen.org). From September 2018, he is working as a researcher on a British Academy Sustainable Development project “Uyghur Meshrep in Kazakhstan” based at SOAS, University of London.
http://www.azizisa.org/en/category/aziz-isa-elkun-biography
22.12.2018
Prof. Mohamed Rabie
Interview, presentation, essay
PALESTINIAN PEACE MOVEMENT
PEACE DOES NOT HAVE ALTERNATIVE
Tell me, please, about your family and childhood background
I was born in Yazour, one of the most beautiful towns in Palestine; adjacent to the city of Jaffa, which was called “the bride of the sea.” In 1948 we were ethnically cleansed by Jewish terrorist gangs, which caused me and my family to lose everything we ever owned. As a consequence, we were forced to live in a miserable refugee camp that lacked all health and social services; the camp, in which we lived 5 years, was located outside the city of Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Two of those 5 years were lived the hunter-gatherer way of life which appeared about one hundred thousand years ago; then my father began working in a palm trees orchard located in the desert between Jericho and the Jordan River. Due to my frequent visits to him, I was fully exposed to the way of life of the tribal society which first appeared about thirty thousand years ago. In 1954 we moved to Jericho where my father worked as a farmer in charge of a nice orange and other fruits grove, where I had to help him, and that exposed me fully to the life of the agricultural society. Due to unusual circumstances, life in Jericho prepared me to deal with women as colleagues and friends. In Jericho, life became less harsh and more interesting and enjoyable. After finishing the 6th grade in the refugee camp, I transferred to Jericho’s Hisham bin Abdulmalik high School.
Tell me more about your education background
I graduated from high school in 1957, ranking first in the Jericho district; as a consequence, I received a scholarship from the UNRWA to study in Cairo, Egypt, where I studied economics at the University of Ain Shams, graduating first in my class in 1962. But as I was studying for an MA degree in economics at the American University of Cairo, I received a scholarship from the German Government to pursue my graduate studies in Germany. Though I loved almost everything in Germany, I did not like the German educational system of the time; so after living in Germany about 2 years and being fully exposed to the way of life of a mature industrial society, I left for the United States, where I received a research assistantship from the University of Houston, Texas. In Houston, I received the MA and PhD degrees in economics in 1968 and 1970, respectively. During my studies there, however, I took every course the university offered in sociology and anthropology.
During my studies in high school I was fond of history, which lead me to read the few history books available; and as a victim of the Zionist colonialist settler movement whish was supported by the great colonialist powers of the time, I got involved in politics at an early age; and as a man who started his life living the life experience of the hunter-gatherer man, moved from there to experience the life of the tribal man, followed by the life experience of the agricultural man, and then the life of the industrial man, I lived in my own life the life experience of more than 700 generations, starting with the hunter-gatherer and ending with the knowledge man of the 21st century. Therefore, I can say with confidence that I lived a life like no other; no human being has lived my life experience, and no one will; because many of the societal transformations I lived in the past had come and gone and will never come back again.
Tell me about your career history
In 1967, I began teaching at Texas Community College in Houston, and a year later, I started teaching at Texas Southern University, in addition to studying at the University of Houston. After three years teaching in the US, I joined Kuwait University in 1970, where I spent 6 years teaching undergraduate and graduate students. And while being in Kuwait, I managed to accomplish many things that usually take decades to accomplish: 1. changing the educational system at the university, adopting the American system after modifying it to suit the Arabic culture; today, about two-thirds of all Arab universities use the system I wrote from A to Z back in 1973; 2. In 1974, I launched the Social Science Quarterly and served as its managing editor until leaving Kuwait in 1976; 3. In 1974, I wrote the proposal for the OPEC Development Fund which was established in 1975, which has its headquarters in Vienna; 4. In the summer of 1974, I initiated summer school for college students for the first time in the Arab world; 5. I conceived and wrote the proposal for Kuwait’s Foundation for the Advancement of Science, and invented a creative way of finance it from the private sector; the foundation was established in 1976. 6. In 1973, I led a group of businessmen and concerned individuals to establish a corporation to serve Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis as a cooperative selling its products at reduced prices. 7. In 1974, I conceived the idea of convening the best minds in the Arab world to discuss the issue of “The Crisis of societal Development in the Arab World” I organized the conference and gave the gave the keynote speech at the end of it; and much more. And while at Kuwait University, I published two books; The Brain Drain, which was the first book ever to be published on this issue; and Economy and Society, in addition to hundreds of newspaper articles and several scholarly papers and tens of public lectures and radio and TV interviews.
In 1976, I resigned from Kuwait University and moved to Jordan, with the intention of living there; however, the intelligence services told me politely that I had no place in Jordan. Fortunately, I had a standing invitation from Georgetown University to teach there for the summer; and this enabled me to get a visa for me and my family and go back to the United States. While living in Washington, I taught also at the Johns Hopkins and the American universities as well; gave tens of public lectures on several issues such as the Arab Israeli conflict, the economics of oil and energy, Third World development, and doing business in the Arabian Gulf region. In addition, I organized several conferences and participated in many more and kept travelling between the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and America speaking on political, economic, cultural and educational issues. In the meanwhile, I served as executive director of the Palestine Research Institute in Washington, and established the not-for-profit Institute of Educational Development to help students study in the US.
In 1985, while speaking at Stiftung Wiesenschaft und Politic, Germany’s most prestigious research institute, I predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in my book, The New World Order, published in 1992, I predicted the financial and economic crisis that hit the US and the world in 2008; however, the crisis was delayed a few years due to the advent of the Internet and the GPS which created thousands of new businesses and millions of jobs. In addition, I predicted the ‘Arab Spring’ in more than one book and article and in a poem written in 1995, saying that change was coming but not necessarily for the better.
In 1998, Prof. Peter Glotz, who was chosen to reopen Erfurt University after being closed for almost 200 years, asked me to help him prepare the educational programs of the university. The university was closed due to the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries and because Germany was divvied into tow states following the Second World War. So for almost 3 years, I served as the university’s director of international relations and US representative, where I helped create a joined program for a BA degree in social sciences between the American University in Washington, DC and Erfurt University. In 2001, the Al Akhawayn University in Morocco invited me to join its faculty, and help develop the MA program in international relations and diplomacy. And in 2013, I returned to Morocco, joining the School of Governance and Economics in Rabat. After returning to Washington in 2014, I concentrated my efforts on writing academic books and my memoirs. Nevertheless, I continued my travels to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and other places. In 2015, I won the Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the State of Palestine; and in the next year, South Korea’s Economic Institute invited me to deliver the keynote speech at its annual conference.
Until today, you have published about 44 books in English and Arabic that cover several disciplines, and hundreds of article and numerous scholarly papers. How do you feel being chosen as one of the top 100 world writers for 2017 by the International Biographical Center, Cambridge, England?...and...The award is for Literature. But most of your books are on politics and economics. How do you feel about that?
Any recognition by an international institute or organization is an honor to be appreciated and celebrated. However, when you read the statement of the recognition, you notice that it says you are one of the writers “who made a significant contribution in their field to endanger influence on the local, national and international basis.” This means that the recognition is not limited to literature, but includes all other fields and writers who make a difference in the lives of other peoples. In fact, the award I received from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany’s most prestigious academic foundation lately, which gave me the opportunity to spend 3 months there is another international recognition of great value; it enabled me to visit several German cities and historic towns, give 3 public lectures; conduct a weekly seminar for 6 weeks at the German American Institute in Heidelberg, and meet a few important personalities from Germany and other parts of the world. In fact the Alexander von Humboldt foundation had invited me back in 1992 to become a fellow and granted me a six months stay in Germany. And though the foundation did not ask me to do anything in particular, I used my time and money to travel to Austria and Hungary and other European states and write my book, “Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity,” which was the first book to articulate a theory of conflict resolution.
Are you working on a new book to be published soon?
Yes; I am working on 3 projects at the same time; the first is to complete the translation of my memoirs from Arabic to English. During my stay in Germany, I was lucky to meet a nice lady who is a professional translator; she is now reading what had been translated of the memoirs in preparation for translating it from English to German. In addition, my last stay in Germany gave me the opportunity to meet a publisher to publish the memoirs in German once they are completed. The second project is a new book whose title is more likely to be “The Crash of Western Civilization”; the book starts by explaining that the West did not become civilized until after the end of the Second World War. Before that, the West had behaved as savage states that fought each other and sought to dominate the world, enslave the poor peoples and steel their natural, and later on, human resources to enrich themselves and foster their superior power. Thus to speak about a “Western Civilization” misses the point; what the West had in common between the 17th and 20th centuries was a culture created by the industrial revolution. Therefore, the West had no civilization because the word ‘civilization’ implies talking about a group of civilized nations, which the West did not and could not have until the 1950s. The third project is another book that tries to articulate a new global social order to replace the one we currently have and suffer from its excesses due to being controlled by the riches 1% of the world’s population who own more that 50 percent of the world’s wealth. The book to be called, “A Future of All” proposes new political and economic and social systems that guarantee fairness and enables the poor and weak of the world to regain their rights and dignity.
You were involved with the peace process between Palestine and Israel because you were the person who conceived the idea of the US-PLO dialogue that led to the Oslo Accord of 1993. But the situation now is such that Israel is breaking many rules and UN resolutions and treaties, especially the demolition of houses of Palestinians, expansion of settlements in the West Bank for Jewish migrants, and the siege they imposed on Gaza and its people.
What more constructive actions could be taken against Israel?
In 1987, following the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifada, I began thinking of a way to start a meaningful dialogue between the United States and the Palestine Liberation Organization or the PLO. After some work, an American friend who served previously as an assistant to the US president in charge of the Middle East at the National Security Council agreed to partner with me. So I wrote a one page statement outlining the US conditions for opening a dialogue with the PLO, and the PLO conditions for accepting the US conditions; all of this was done before informing Arafat, the PLO leader of what was being done. To our surprise, US officials accepted the proposal within minutes of being presented to them; and that forced me to fly to Tunis to meet with Arafat the same day. After the PLO Executive Committee accepted the paper, I coordinated the secret contacts between the two parties until final agreement was reached and the dialogue started at the end of the year. However, neither the PLO nor the American government was able to take advantage of that opportunity and make meaningful progress toward a solution to the Arab Israeli conflict. To my surprise, I discovered later that the US has never intended to help establish a state for the Palestinians in their land
Is the BDS the answer to make Israel play by the rules?
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement is not the answer to making peace, because the movement calls for pressuring Israel through actions that involve boycotting Israeli products, and withdrawing investments made by foreign companies and banks in Israel, and imposing sanctions on Israel to force it to abide by international law and UN resolutions concerning the rights of the Palestinian people. However, there is no doubt that the BDS movement has scored many victories; it convinced several American universities and churches to withdraw investments made previously in Israeli companies; it also convinced many European and American athletes and artists to boycott events in Israel. However, Western governments have largely ignored the BDS demands for action, and some are trying to outlaw the movement in their countries like the US. However, the BDS public impact, particularly among college students is positive, which paves the way for future change, while containing Israeli propaganda and preventing it from dominating the streets and campuses.
You were born in Yazuor and grew up in Jericho but made it big in USA. Tell us, please, about this.
Yes; I was born in Yazuor which is a small town next to Jaffa, grow up in a refugee camp near Jericho and graduated from high school while 9 of us (the parents, 3 girls and four boys) lived in one room. However, it was the parent’s encouragement and insistence that we get the best education available and my determination to be the first in my class that helped me succeed and excel. Honesty, love of knowledge, perseverance, and knowing what I wanted form life were other factors that made it possible for me to reach the highest level of education in my field. In addition, I recognized that the American system and a large portion of Americans discriminates against people like me, but without getting angry and feeling helpless. Recognition of a bad situation does not mean accepting it and adjusting to it; rather, it means identifying it as a serious obstacle and doing what you can to overcome it and succeed. Keeping focused on my goals and working hard to reach them helped me to move from one achievement to another with ease while enjoying life and respect wherever I went. However, I consider all recognition I received in my life was little compared to the praise and appreciation I have received and continue to receive from my students; my ideas, writings, way of teaching and caring were designed to make sure that they get the best education and guidance, while helping them free themselves from the illusions of ideology, conspiracy theories and the past. Every book I published gave birth to new ideas for one or more book; and that kept my spirit high and the incentive to do more alive.
What are your hopes for peace in the Holy Land?
My hope is to achieve peace, not through negotiations with the Israelis, but by starting from the ground up, and convincing as many Jews inside Palestine and outside it that the only way to free Jews and Palestinians from hatred and enmity and fear, and enable them to live meaningful lives is to create a hospitable space where all are able to live side by side in peace and harmony. This requires an acknowledgement that no Israeli leader is willing or able to make peace with the Palestinians; because any peaceful agreement between the two sides requires the evacuation of the approximately 700 thousand Jewish settlers who live in the West Bank; and that could cause a civil war in Israel.
My proposal for achieving an Israeli Palestinian peace calls for several things to be done, including the following:
1. The transformation of the entire land of Palestine into a shared homeland for all Israeli Jews and Palestinians to live in and share;
2. The establishment of one state in Palestine that is secular, democratic and demilitarized, while acknowledging the existence of two communities; one Jewish and the other is Palestinian; this community would include all non-Jewish minorities living in Palestine at the time of establishing the new state.
3. Constructing an innovative political system that enables the two communities to share powers indefinitely, where the people elect a parliament and a president directly.
4. While the parliament controls the legislative powers, the president shares the executive powers with a prime minister.
5. Parliament elects the prime minister from outside its ranks and the prime minister forms his/her cabinet from outside the ranks of the parliament in order to guarantee the separation of the executive from the legislative powers.
6. Palestinians who lost property in Palestine since 1947 would regain the rights to their property; as a result, they would be free to develop it, rent it or sell it to whomever they chose without interference from the state or anyone else. Nevertheless, there would be no forced evacuation of Jews from the homes they would be living in at the time.
7. All those who were born in Palestine or one of their parents or grandparents at anytime in the past would have the right to return to Palestine and claim citizenship, regardless of their nationalities. This formula would solve all issues that hindered the brokering of a political settlement to the conflict in the past. (a copy of the proposal is attached for future publishing).
Israel just passed the Jewish Nation-State Law. There are about 1.8 million Palestinian in that country. This law spells out Israeli apartheid system clearly. What do you think about this?
In 1948, Jewish terrorist gangs and the Israeli army occupied 78 percent of the land of Palestine and expelled its native inhabitants, causing about 800,000 Palestinians to lose their homes and land and property and become homeless living in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza and the neighbouring Arab states. However, an estimated 156,000 Palestinians remained in Palestine, many of them hid themselves in abandoned homes and caves to avoid being killed or expelled from their homeland; the number of those Palestinians has grown since then to more than 1.8 million today.
The nation-state law passed by the Israeli Knesset is clearly an act to deny all Palestinians, and not only those Palestinians who became citizens of Israel the right to live in Palestine as full citizens; as such it is worse than the laws enacted by the Apartheid state of South Africa four decades ago; the Israeli law says that Palestine is home to the Jews only. So a Jew who was born in Ukraine or Poland even before Israel was created has the right to be a citizen of Israel, while a Palestinian like me who was born in what is today Israel and his parents and grandparents were born also there has no right to return to his homeland and live there. Israel today dictates to most European governments and the US government what they should do and how to deal with the Palestinians rights. Yes, there are courageous retired politicians and intellectuals and many professors and hundreds of thousands of students scattered all over Europe and America who reject almost everything Israel stands for; and though their numbers are growing, they are still weak to effect meaningful change in policies. This requires that everyone who stands for human rights and against discrimination and racism should join the forces that oppose Israeli policies and defend the rights of the Palestinian people.
What about World Peace? Is there a future for it?
World peace is a challenge that no group of people or a state can by itself face; however, it is an existential challenge that no one can avoid facing; a challenge that will affect our future as humans and our relations to each other and to our natural, social, technological and economic environments. Today, the richest 1% or the world’s population owns more than 50% of the world’s wealth, leaving less than 50% of the wealth to the other 99% of the world’s population; in fact, while the richest 1% of the world’s population own over 50% of the world’s wealth, the unfortunate poorest 50% of the world’s people, who represent about 70% of the world’s workforce, own 2.7% of the world’s wealth only. The inequality report finds that the richest 1% of the world’s population received 27% of the world’s income between 1980 and 2016. The bottom 50%, by contrast, got only 12%. And since income is the major source of wealth, the more income the richest 1% gets, the wider the wealth and income gaps become. In addition, about 95% of the increase in income goes to the richest 10% of the world’s population, leaving 5% only for the other 90%, not enough to keep pace with the annual increase in population and inflation. As a consequence, the current income and wealth distribution has denied the overwhelming majority of the world’s people from maintaining the living standards they had enjoyed in the 1970s.
In my latest book, The Global Debt Crisis and its Socioeconomic Implications, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) I proved that the widening income and wealth gaps worldwide cause the global economic growth rates to decline. While it is possible to have a good year once a while, there is correlation between the two trends; as those gaps widen, the economic growth rates decline. And that causes the tax revenues of states to shrink and limit their abilities to provide the social services the public needs, which causes poverty to spread and alienation and unrest to increase, as we are witnessing today in France. Social crises, when ignored, usually transform themselves into political crises that force the existing social orders to change, sometimes fundamentally and irreversibly.
I believe that there will be no peace in our world unless the ruling elites of the great powers of our times, namely the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France change their attitudes and policies to become more conducive to world peace and cooperation. But what we see today is more friction, more animosity, more divisions, and more ruthlessness and wars that poison the international atmosphere. In fact, I believe that the West in general has never had a collective leadership that is so politically and economically corrupt and morally and intellectually bankrupt, which makes this elite untrustworthy and therefore, unfit to govern and lead. However, the unfolding crises in France, Britain, Italy, Greece and Hungary, in addition to the racism crisis sweeping most European countries, particularly those of Eastern Europe, are signs that the worse is still to come.
To deal with the global debt crisis and address its sociopolitical and socioeconomic and sociocultural manifestations, I articulated in my latest book a comprehensive plan (Ramo Plan) to reset the entire world economy. The plan provides a venue for all rich and poor nations to repay their entire public debts in their own national currencies at once; and at no cost to a state, bank, investor, or taxpayer. In addition, as the plan repays the debt it generates in the process $10 trillion to create 4 global funds; these funds are the Educational Fund, the Humanitarian Fund, the sustainable environmental Fund and the Development Fund. The mission of those funds is to deal with the social, educational, humanitarian, environmental and economic aspects of the current global situation, which manifests itself in a global debt crisis, slow economic growth rates, spreading poverty and alienation and radicalism in most parts of the world. The Ramo Plan is designed to help everyone and penalize no one; the full implementation of this plan is expected to take us within 25 to 30 years from a state of turbulence, poverty, enmity, ignorance, war and class conflict to a state of peace, tranquillity and sustainable development, creating a new world for all to love and enjoy living in.
Thank you very much for this exclusive interview for DIOGEN pro culture magazine, respectable Prof. Mohamed Rabie.
@copyright DIOGEN pro culture magazine 2018
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AUTHOR PROF MOHAMED RABIE
One Human Race with a Shared Destiny
This is a narrative that tries to answer five basic questions concerning our existence and future as human beings living on earth, which is our only home. 1. How did we get to be what we are today? 2. How should we understand the concepts of nation and nationality? 3. How should we view the role of religion in our lives? 5. How should we understand the meaning of the word “truth”? 5. And who are our adversaries and how to deal with them? The arguments that follow are partially scientific, partially theological and partially philosophical.
First; there are two major theories that try to explain how human beings became to be what they are today: the first is the creation theory, which claims that all humans were created by a mighty, mysterious power called God that no one can see; the other is the evolutionary theory, which claims that all creatures evolved from primitive species over billions of years, starting about 4 billion years ago, and continued to evolve reaching what they are today.
People who believe in creation also believe that all humans are the descendents of one man (Adam) and one woman (Eve). Since we have the same mother and the same father, we must therefore be one people belonging to the same and only race, the human race. People who believe in evolution also believe that we all came from an animal that looks like an ape that appeared first in Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago; and from there people moved in bands to populate our mother earth. As a consequence, both theories say that all of us share a common ancestor and therefore we are one race. In fact, whenever we define ourselves, we tend to unconsciously say the human race, not the human races.
On our way to populate earth, we were exposed to three powerful forces that shaped our life experiences and greatly influenced the way we look, live, think and behave. These forces are: first, natural selection, or the law of the survival of the fittest, which caused some humans and animals and plants to survive and flourish, and many more to vanish. Second; random mutation that gave us the many shades of black and white and yellow, and the diversified features we have today. Third, an unpredictable and often harsh environment that forced us to move from one place to another and adapt to nature’s dictates and its changing mood; and that caused us to develop different cultures, many religions, countless languages, and forge unique associations with place, time and each other. Consequently, we gained cultural and religious diversity, but we encountered no other races to acquire racial diversity.
Embracing our cultural and religious diversity enriches our lives, opens our minds, and fills our hearts with joy, love and hope; believing in racial diversity poisons our hearts, closes our minds, and undermines our shared sense of brotherhood and humanity, which leads us to hate one another and fight with each other.
Second; nationality is a shared identity associated with a certain land and state; some nations have more in common than land and state, they have a shared language and culture and/or history. A German, for example, is a person who was most likely born in Germany and identifies with the German land and state; Germans also share a language and a historical experience. An American is a person who lives in the United States of America and is a citizen of the USA; however, Americans have no shared history or culture. Indians, meanwhile, speak tens of languages and have hundreds of religions, yet they are one nation inhabiting the same land and having allegiance to the same state. In fact, if the United States, with its 320 million people coming from every place on earth carrying their particular traditions and religions can be called a nation, then any people sharing a land and belonging to one state must be considered a nation. Thus nationality is identification with a particular land and state only.
Third; Religion is an accident of birth; we all know that no one of us had the liberty to choose the religion he was born into. Today, as ever, no one is able to choose his parents or religion, place of birth or time of birth, his name, color or social class at birth. Therefore, no one should be punished or rewarded because of things he inherited at birth: religion, identity, color, name, social class or wealth; everyone should have the right to stay in his inherited religion, change it, or abandon it; and it is the duty of society to respect everyone’s religious choice, and the responsibility of the state to protect everyone’s religious and nonreligious rights.
People who believe in God also believe that religion and what comes with it at birth is an act of God. Since it is God who chooses for each one of us his parents and religion, the time, place and life conditions at birth, no believer is in a position to reject God’s will. Nevertheless, most believers tend to accept God’s will when it comes to their inherited religion, and reject God’s will when it comes to other people’s religions. Since God chooses for each one of us his religion, every religion must be considered legitimate and thus must be respected by every believer; anyone who refuses to accept other peoples’ religions is in fact rejecting the will of his own God. No rational believer therefore can accept what God chooses for him and, at the same time, rejects what God chooses for his fellow human beings.
Fourth; how should we interpret the word “fact” or “truth”? Both words tend to refer to the same thing, and therefore the truth should be understood as something that at least one person in the world believes to be true; this thing could be an imagined one like the devil, or an incident that happened in the past like miracles, or a claim that embodies eternal information that tell the life story like religion. Nevertheless, every fact or truth of this nature has three characteristics; it is relative; partial and tentative. It is relative because some people believe it to be a fact and others do not; it is partial because everyone looking at it is able to see only one side of it; and it is tentative because science could prove it to be wrong.
For example, belief in miracles is relative because miracles defy our human experience and because only some people believe they happened in the past. A mountain that stands in front of our eyes is a partial fact because no one is able to see it in its entirety at one time. The truth is also tentative because it is subject to change due to many natural and cultural and scientific factors. For example, until the 17th century most people in the world believed that earth was flat and the center of the universe, and that the sun rotates around it. Then science came to prove that earth was oval and not flat, represents a tiny portion of the universe not the center of it; and that it rotates around the sun and not the other way around.
Fifth; the most serious challenge that faces humanity today is the widening income and wealth gaps between the rich and poor. Income and wealth reports indicate that the richest 1% of the world’s populations owns over 50% of the world’s wealth, which means that this 1% owns more than the rest 99% of the world’s population. In fact, the richest 42 men in the world own as much wealth as the poorest 50% of the world’s population. And due to the tremendous power the rich have, they are able to manipulate every system and situation and take advantage of every opportunity to make more money and accumulate more wealth. In addition, reports indicate that the richest 10% of the world’s population own 85% of the world’s wealth, leaving 15% for the other 90% of the people. In the meantime, income reports indicate that about 95% of the annual increase in income goes to the richest 10% of the people, leaving 5% for the other 90%. This explains why the middle class is shrinking everywhere and poverty is spreading and becoming structural, causing alienation, radicalism, racism to spread in most parts of the world.
This means that the current global social order is unfair and needs to be changed to protect the rights of the poor and weak. And though unfair orders are unsustainable in the long run, we should not wait for things to happen to us; we must make things happen for us; no social order will change by itself. People who are aware of the need for change should take the initiative, articulate programs for change and create movements capable of effecting the desired change. This also means that our anger should not be directed at the rich but at the social order and ourselves because we have so far failed to do our job in exposing the excesses of the system and opposing the policies that got us to this point. Since the rich work hard to perpetuate the current social order, we need to work harder to change it and liberate ourselves from the existing socioeconomic and sociopolitical orders that keep many of us weak and poor and undermine the future of future generations.
In addition, economic reports indicate that half of the world’s largest 100 economies were corporations at the end of the 20th century. In 2017 corporations represented 69 of the world’s largest 100 economies; all such corporations are either owned or controlled by the richest 1% of the world’s population. In the meantime, no two rich states or individuals are at war with each other, but many poor ones are fighting each other or waging bloody and destructive civil wars. As we fight each other, we waste a good portion of our precious natural and human resources; meanwhile, money we spend buying weapons goes to enrich the rich, and further impoverish the poor. As a consequence, we remain poor and largely enslaved, killing each other instead of working with one another to liberate ourselves from poverty, need and oppression.
To achieve our goals of reclaiming our rights and a fair share of the world’s wealth and income, we must realize that we, the 90% of the world’s population, share the same grievances, hopes and destiny. Therefore, anyone of us who stands with a deprived minority somewhere is, unconsciously, standing against another deprived minority elsewhere. As we seek change, we need to further realize that neither the free market system nor the democratic system is able by itself to correct its mistakes and enable us to achieve our objectives; both systems are corrupt and largely dysfunctional. Therefore, we need to create a mass movement covering all parts of the world and articulate a strategy for change that seeks to transform the existing economic and political systems and replace them by a new global social order that guarantees fairness. Reclaiming our rights can only be achieved by working together in a peaceful manner to deny our adversaries any excuse to label us as radicals trying to destroy this or that culture, and undermine peoples’ ways of life in the West or East, North or South.
Being one and the same race, having traveled the same road, driving to reach similar goals should make us, poor and rich, strong and weak, view each other as brothers, sisters, friends, lovers and colleagues; embrace our shared humanity, celebrate our cultural and religious diversity, and learn from each other the art of living together in peace and harmony. Again, embracing our cultural and religious diversity enriches our lives; believing in racial diversity undermines our shared humanity.
Our motto should be: together, we empower each other, create a global power, and change our world for the better, forever.
www.yazour.com
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Prof. Mohamed Rabie
Palestine Peace Movement (PPM)
One State in a Shared Homeland for two Communities
Due to the failure of all efforts to reach a political settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, a new vision and a new approach is needed to address this century old conflict and achieve lasting peace. After negotiating for 25 years, no progress was made, and the “peace process” ended in complete failure. Meanwhile, Jewish settlement activities started in 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza have made a solution based on the two-state idea an impossibility; no Israeli leader dares to evacuate the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers living on Palestinian land occupied in 1967; and no Palestinian leader dares to abandon the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. The failure of negotiations, while causing many Jews and Arabs to loose hope, has given the radical forces on both sides of the conflict a golden opportunity to gain more power and influence, putting the future of the entire Middle East region at risk.
The Palestine Peace Movement (PPM) is a political organization whose purpose is to facilitate the creation of a unified state on the entire land of Palestine where Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs live side by side in peace as equal citizens. To promote this goal, PPM intends to participate in the Israeli and Palestinian politics, nominate candidates for parliament and promote the establishment of one state in Palestine. However, despite being an active political movement, PPM shall refrain from making proposals to deal with social or economic issues; it shall work instead to change public perceptions on both sides to support the one state solution.
Being an open political movement, PPM gives all individuals and groups, regardless of their views, affiliations and nationalities, the right to become members, provided they commit themselves to supporting Arab-Jewish peaceful coexistence in Palestine as equal citizens of one state. This simply means that every Israeli and Palestinian committed to the one state solution is able to run for office under the umbrella of PPM, regardless of his/her social views. The new state that PPM seeks to create shall be democratic, secular and demilitarized. To felicitate the creation of such a state, PPM plans to lobby Arab, Jewish, European and American politicians, participate in Israeli and Palestinian politics, and seek the support of world leaders, renowned intellectuals, as well as national and international civil society organizations.
Since the major lines dividing world societies today have become more sociocultural and less socioeconomic, the one-man one-vote democratic formula has lost its ability to function properly. It, as a result, has become a scheme to empower a tiny minority in every democracy to monopolize political and economic power and dominate and exploit the overwhelming majority of each ‘democratic’ society. The democratic formula envisioned by PPM calls for the sharing of political power by Israeli Jews and Palestinians and major civil society organizations in Palestine. As a consequence, Palestine will be transformed into a shared homeland for two peoples living side by side in peace; setting an example for other peoples to solve their conflicts and live in peace as well.
The Palestine Peace Movement is a membership organization having two membership types: one regular; the other sustaining. Nevertheless, all members are entitled to participate in group discussions, serve on all committees, and represent PPM in international forums. But due to the role PPM intends to play in the Palestinian and Israeli politics, sustaining members would not be able to run for office or vote. PPM members are required to pay membership dues; such dues are paid one time only, and membership is for life. Every member is free to determine his and her membership dues; the minimum, however, is 100 US dollars. The following are the main principles and objectives that guide the work of PPM:
1. The creation of a bi-national state in Palestine where Israeli Jews and Palestinian live side by side as equal citizens, sharing the same land, resources and political power;
2. The proposed name of the new state is: “The Holy Land State of Palestine:”
3. The drafting of a visionary constitution that guarantees the sharing of powers by Jews and Palestinians, and the division of executive powers between the president and the prime minister of the future state;
4. Giving the public the power to elect the state’s president and parliament, while giving parliament the power to elect the state’s prime minister from outside its ranks;
5. In view of the power sharing principle, if the elected president happens to be Jewish; the parliament would be required by law to elect a Palestinian prime minister; and if the elected president happens to be a Palestinian, the parliament would be required by law to elect a Jewish prime minister;
6. The allocation of 25% of the parliament seats to the major civil society organizations, divided equally between the Palestinian and Jewish organizations;
7. After allocating 25% of the parliament seats to the civil society organization, every political party will get its share of the remaining seats according to the votes it gets.
8. All people holding an Israeli citizenship at the time of forming the Holly Land State of Palestine shall have the right to live in the new state as full citizens;
9. All other people holding the Palestinian citizenship at the time of forming the Holly Land State of Palestine shall have the right to live in the new state as full citizens;
10. Every man and woman born in Palestine or one of his/her parents or grandparents shall have the “right of return” that entitles him/her to live in Palestine and gain the right to full citizenship after living there permanently for one year; such people need not be Arabs and Jews only; all people who meet this condition shall have the same right, regardless of their nationality, religion or origin;
11. All Palestinians who lost property in Palestine since 1947 shall have the right to regain ownership of their properties, and be free to develop it, rent it or sell it to whomever they wish without outside interference; however, there will be no forced evacuation of people living in Palestine.
The one state solution outlined above is the only formula capable of overcoming the five major obstacles hindering the two-state solution at once: the issue of Jerusalem, the borders of an assumed Palestinian state, Israeli security requirements, Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the Palestinian right of return to Palestine; and well as the division of Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza.
Declaring Palestine a shared homeland for both Israeli Jews and Palestinian ends conflict over Jerusalem as it becomes the capital of the new state. And since the borders of historic Palestine will become the borders of the Holy Land State of Palestine, both issues of borders and security would be solved to the satisfaction of both Israelis and Palestinians. Giving the Palestinian refugees the right to regain ownership of lost property, while having the freedom to rent or sell such property, serves to indirectly facilitate the solving of the complicated issues of the right of return and Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Declaring Palestine a shared homeland for Jews and Palestinians who claim a right to that land is the only practical and humane solution to the conflict; no other solution is possible or workable. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs and Arabs had lived together in peace in the past; they can live together in peace again; they also have two of the world’s richest pools of human talent, experience, money and world-wide connections to build a very dynamic economy and a rich, diversified culture.
In fact, the creation of one state in Palestine is the only way for both Palestinians and Israelis to reclaim their humanity, free themselves from hatred and enmity, and save their children and grandchildren from the Tsunami of radicalism that continues to gain strength on both sides of the conflict. Ideological radicalism is the most malicious cancer humanity has ever known; it dies only when it kills the body it inhibits. Therefore, we must work together to foster the immunity of the Palestinian-Jewish body so it can resist radicalism, overcome decades of war and enmity, and establish an ever lasting peace in the land of peace.
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CV
Professor Mohamed Rabie, PhD
[email protected]; [email protected]
Prof. Rabie was named distinguished professor of International political economy by the School of Governance and Economics in 2013. He graduated from Jericho High School in Palestine in 1957, continued his college and graduate studies in Egypt, Germany and the United States. He received a bachelor degree in agricultural economics and an MA in rural sociology in 1962 and 1964, respectively from Ain Shams University in Cairo, and received an MA and PhD degrees in Economics In 1968 and 1970, respectively from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
Prof. Rabie taught at several Arab and American universities, including the University of Houston and Texas Southern University in Houston (1967 – 1970), Kuwait University in Kuwait (1970 – 1976); Georgetown University (1976 – 1977 and 1982 – 1983), The Johns Hopkins University and The American University in Washington DC (1984 – 1986); Al Akhawayn University (2002 – 2004) and the School of Governance and Economics (2013 -2014); both schools are in Morocco. Between 2003 and 2005, Prof. Rabie was a guest professor at St. Galen University in Switzerland; and between 1998 and 2001, he served as an academic advisor to Erfurt University in Germany and director on international studies. In 1985, he founded in Washington the non-profit Center for Educational Development and served as its president until 1994.
During the years 1977 to 1983 Prof. Rabie was involved in business consulting and healthcare. In 1978 he was a founding partner of the Texas Health Plans in Houston; and in 1979 he was the publisher of Your Health magazine; and between 1995 and 2001, he served as president of the Association Health Care Management.
Prof. Rabie has so far published a total of 43 books in English and Arabic. English books include: The Politics of Foreign Aid (Praeger, 1988); A Vision for the Transformation of the Middle East (Center for Educational Development, 1990); The New World Order (Vantage Press, 1992); Conflict Resolution and the Middle East Peace Process (Duetsches Orient Institut, Hamburg, Germany 1993); Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (Praeger, 1994); the US-PLO Dialogue (University Press of Florida, 1995); The Making of History (Authors Choice, 2001); Saving Capitalism and Democracy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); Global Economic and Cultural Transformation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); A Theory of Sustainable Sociocultural and Economic Development (Palgrave Macmillan 2016); and The Global Debt Crisis and its Socioeconomic Implications; Creating a Sustainable, Peaceful and Just World, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
Major books in Arabic include: The Brain Drain, Kuwait University, 1972; Economy and Society, Publishing Press, Kuwait, 1973; the Other Side of the Arab Defeat, Riyad El-Rayyes Books, London, 1987; the Making of American Foreign Policy, Dar Al-Carmel, Amman, Jordan, 1990; The Making of the Arab Future, (Bahsoon Publishing House, Beirut, 2000); Leadership and the Making of History, (Al-Yazouri publishing House, Amman, 2009); Culture and the Arab Identity Crisis, (Arab Thought Forum, Amman, 2010); Arabs’ Self-Destruction, (Naumann Cultural House, Beirut, 2013); the Making of History, (Al-Yazouri publishing House, Amman, 2015); Sustainable Societal Development, (Al-Yazouri House, Amman, 2015); Arabs in the Eye of the Storm, (Duroob, Amman, 2015); Culture and Democracy, (Duroob, 2016): The Tragedy of Arab Culture, (Duroob, 2016); Man and the Challenges of Time, (Duroob, 2016). In addition, Dr. Rabie published in Arabic a short story, A Journey with Worries; two novels, Escape in the Sun's Eye, and Jahlawad Kingdom; and 3 books of poetry, in addition to his memoirs of 5 books, Memories that defy Forgetting; (Ward Publishing House, Amman, 2014) and more than 60 scholarly papers and over 1000 newspaper articles.
Prof. Rabie had served in the mid-1970s as a board member of the Arab Fund for Technical Assistance for African Countries; and the Palestine National Fund; and member of the steering committee of the Euro-Arab Dialogue. Currently, Rabie is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation since 1992 (Prof. Dr.), the President of the Arab Thought Council in Washington, DC; a senior member of the Arab Thought Forum; the American Sociological Association; the Authors Guild, The World Union of Poets, the UNESCO–sponsored "Book in a Newspaper Project; and a few other associations. Between 1972 and 1976, Prof. Rabie was the founding editor of the Social Sciences Quarterly published by Kuwait University; and between 1983 and 1985, he served as the executive director of the Institute of Palestinian Studies in Washington DC.
Prof. Rabie has participated in tens of conferences, seminars, and dialogue groups in more than fifty countries. Between 1989 and 1992, he was a member of the Harvard University team and the Brookings Institutions working group to advance peace and development in the Middle East. He was also a board member of the Search for Common Ground Middle East Initiative, which is based on the ideas he articulated in his booklet, A Vision for the Transformation of the Middle East. Prof. Rabie is the recipient of several grants and awards as student and professor from American, Egyptian, German, Jordanian, Kuwaiti and UN agencies and foundations. In November 2015, Prof. Rabie was honored by The State of Palestine for his intellectual contributions and awarded “The State of Palestine Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015”; and in 2016, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arab American Community in Houston. In 2018 Alexander von Humboldt foundation granted Prof. Rabie a 3 month stay in Germany to pursue his research and give a few lectures in Germany; where he started “the Heidelberg Seminar”.
In 1985 Dr. Rabie predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in a lecture at Germany’s Institute for Economics and Politics (Stiftung wiesenschaft und politics); and in 1988 he conceived the idea of the US-PLO dialogue, drafted the original document that guided negotiations, and coordinated the secret contacts between the US and the PLO that led the US government to recognize the PLO, open a dialogue with it, and launch the peace process. In 1992, Prof. Rabie predicted the Great Recession in his book, The New World Order, but the recession was delayed by some 10 years due to the unexpected advent of the Internet and the GPS which created thousands of new companies and millions of jobs worldwide. And as for “The Arab Spring,” he predicted the scenario of the political upheaval and the Islamic forces ascension to power in more than one article and in his book, the Making of the Arab Future published in 2000, as well as in a poem written in 1994.
Website: www.yazour.com
Professor Mohamed Rabie, PhD
[email protected]; [email protected]
Prof. Rabie was named distinguished professor of International political economy by the School of Governance and Economics in 2013. He graduated from Jericho High School in Palestine in 1957, continued his college and graduate studies in Egypt, Germany and the United States. He received a bachelor degree in agricultural economics and an MA in rural sociology in 1962 and 1964, respectively from Ain Shams University in Cairo, and received an MA and PhD degrees in Economics In 1968 and 1970, respectively from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
Prof. Rabie taught at several Arab and American universities, including the University of Houston and Texas Southern University in Houston (1967 – 1970), Kuwait University in Kuwait (1970 – 1976); Georgetown University (1976 – 1977 and 1982 – 1983), The Johns Hopkins University and The American University in Washington DC (1984 – 1986); Al Akhawayn University (2002 – 2004) and the School of Governance and Economics (2013 -2014); both schools are in Morocco. Between 2003 and 2005, Prof. Rabie was a guest professor at St. Galen University in Switzerland; and between 1998 and 2001, he served as an academic advisor to Erfurt University in Germany and director on international studies. In 1985, he founded in Washington the non-profit Center for Educational Development and served as its president until 1994.
During the years 1977 to 1983 Prof. Rabie was involved in business consulting and healthcare. In 1978 he was a founding partner of the Texas Health Plans in Houston; and in 1979 he was the publisher of Your Health magazine; and between 1995 and 2001, he served as president of the Association Health Care Management.
Prof. Rabie has so far published a total of 43 books in English and Arabic. English books include: The Politics of Foreign Aid (Praeger, 1988); A Vision for the Transformation of the Middle East (Center for Educational Development, 1990); The New World Order (Vantage Press, 1992); Conflict Resolution and the Middle East Peace Process (Duetsches Orient Institut, Hamburg, Germany 1993); Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (Praeger, 1994); the US-PLO Dialogue (University Press of Florida, 1995); The Making of History (Authors Choice, 2001); Saving Capitalism and Democracy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); Global Economic and Cultural Transformation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); A Theory of Sustainable Sociocultural and Economic Development (Palgrave Macmillan 2016); and The Global Debt Crisis and its Socioeconomic Implications; Creating a Sustainable, Peaceful and Just World, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
Major books in Arabic include: The Brain Drain, Kuwait University, 1972; Economy and Society, Publishing Press, Kuwait, 1973; the Other Side of the Arab Defeat, Riyad El-Rayyes Books, London, 1987; the Making of American Foreign Policy, Dar Al-Carmel, Amman, Jordan, 1990; The Making of the Arab Future, (Bahsoon Publishing House, Beirut, 2000); Leadership and the Making of History, (Al-Yazouri publishing House, Amman, 2009); Culture and the Arab Identity Crisis, (Arab Thought Forum, Amman, 2010); Arabs’ Self-Destruction, (Naumann Cultural House, Beirut, 2013); the Making of History, (Al-Yazouri publishing House, Amman, 2015); Sustainable Societal Development, (Al-Yazouri House, Amman, 2015); Arabs in the Eye of the Storm, (Duroob, Amman, 2015); Culture and Democracy, (Duroob, 2016): The Tragedy of Arab Culture, (Duroob, 2016); Man and the Challenges of Time, (Duroob, 2016). In addition, Dr. Rabie published in Arabic a short story, A Journey with Worries; two novels, Escape in the Sun's Eye, and Jahlawad Kingdom; and 3 books of poetry, in addition to his memoirs of 5 books, Memories that defy Forgetting; (Ward Publishing House, Amman, 2014) and more than 60 scholarly papers and over 1000 newspaper articles.
Prof. Rabie had served in the mid-1970s as a board member of the Arab Fund for Technical Assistance for African Countries; and the Palestine National Fund; and member of the steering committee of the Euro-Arab Dialogue. Currently, Rabie is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation since 1992 (Prof. Dr.), the President of the Arab Thought Council in Washington, DC; a senior member of the Arab Thought Forum; the American Sociological Association; the Authors Guild, The World Union of Poets, the UNESCO–sponsored "Book in a Newspaper Project; and a few other associations. Between 1972 and 1976, Prof. Rabie was the founding editor of the Social Sciences Quarterly published by Kuwait University; and between 1983 and 1985, he served as the executive director of the Institute of Palestinian Studies in Washington DC.
Prof. Rabie has participated in tens of conferences, seminars, and dialogue groups in more than fifty countries. Between 1989 and 1992, he was a member of the Harvard University team and the Brookings Institutions working group to advance peace and development in the Middle East. He was also a board member of the Search for Common Ground Middle East Initiative, which is based on the ideas he articulated in his booklet, A Vision for the Transformation of the Middle East. Prof. Rabie is the recipient of several grants and awards as student and professor from American, Egyptian, German, Jordanian, Kuwaiti and UN agencies and foundations. In November 2015, Prof. Rabie was honored by The State of Palestine for his intellectual contributions and awarded “The State of Palestine Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015”; and in 2016, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arab American Community in Houston. In 2018 Alexander von Humboldt foundation granted Prof. Rabie a 3 month stay in Germany to pursue his research and give a few lectures in Germany; where he started “the Heidelberg Seminar”.
In 1985 Dr. Rabie predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in a lecture at Germany’s Institute for Economics and Politics (Stiftung wiesenschaft und politics); and in 1988 he conceived the idea of the US-PLO dialogue, drafted the original document that guided negotiations, and coordinated the secret contacts between the US and the PLO that led the US government to recognize the PLO, open a dialogue with it, and launch the peace process. In 1992, Prof. Rabie predicted the Great Recession in his book, The New World Order, but the recession was delayed by some 10 years due to the unexpected advent of the Internet and the GPS which created thousands of new companies and millions of jobs worldwide. And as for “The Arab Spring,” he predicted the scenario of the political upheaval and the Islamic forces ascension to power in more than one article and in his book, the Making of the Arab Future published in 2000, as well as in a poem written in 1994.
Website: www.yazour.com
.
Copyright © 2019 Sabahudin Hadžialić
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Freelance gl. i odg. urednik od / Freelance Editor in chief as of 2009:
Sabahudin Hadžialić
All Rights Reserved. Publisher and owner: Sabahudin Hadžialić
Whitefish Bay, WI, United States of America
Diogen pro kultura magazin (Online)
ISSN 2296-0929
Diogen pro kultura magazin (Print)
ISSN 2296-0937
Library of Congress USA / Biblioteka - Knjižnica Kongresa SAD
Contact Editorial board E-mail: [email protected];
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Pošta/Mail BiH: Sabahudin Hadžialić, Grbavička 32, 71000 Sarajevo i/ili Dr. Wagner 18/II, 70230 Bugojno, Bosna i Hercegovina
Pošta/Mail USA: DIOGEN pro culture, 5023 NORTH BERKELEY BLVD. WHITEFISH BAY, WI, 53217, USA
Design: Sabi / Autors & Sabahudin Hadžialić
Design LOGO - getrhythm as of 1.7.2018O
Design LOGO (2009 - 1.7.2018) - Stevo Basara.
Freelance gl. i odg. urednik od / Freelance Editor in chief as of 2009:
Sabahudin Hadžialić
All Rights Reserved. Publisher and owner: Sabahudin Hadžialić
Whitefish Bay, WI, United States of America
Diogen pro kultura magazin (Online)
ISSN 2296-0929
Diogen pro kultura magazin (Print)
ISSN 2296-0937
Library of Congress USA / Biblioteka - Knjižnica Kongresa SAD
Contact Editorial board E-mail: [email protected];
Narudžbe/Order: http://www.diogenpro.com/diogen-all-in-one.html
Pošta/Mail BiH: Sabahudin Hadžialić, Grbavička 32, 71000 Sarajevo i/ili Dr. Wagner 18/II, 70230 Bugojno, Bosna i Hercegovina
Pošta/Mail USA: DIOGEN pro culture, 5023 NORTH BERKELEY BLVD. WHITEFISH BAY, WI, 53217, USA