Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor
Guest Commentary
The enlightened thought, sweat and sheer hard slog that has gone into making the UAE the near Utopia it is today is incalculable. Together we have created a harmonious multi-cultural, peaceful society offering bright individuals unlimited opportunity. Our country is beautiful from the inside out, a place where innovation and creativity can flourish. Success hasn’t come easy. I know. I’m old enough to remember the hard times we faced. I shared our nation’s struggles from its inception in 1972 and watched with pride as we overcame each obstacle with flying colors.
Emiratis are arguably the most privileged on earth. We enjoy a better standard of living than the so-called developed world and the same is true for most GCC countries whose citizens are provided with financial assistance, homes, inexpensive utilities — and the highest standards of education and healthcare, at home and abroad. Nobody here is forced to sleep on the street or worry where their next meal is coming from, unlike the wealthiest countries on earth where even middle class individuals down on their luck are queuing outside soup kitchens. In the UN Development Index, the UAE ranks first in the region for “very high human development” in terms of health, education, income and gender equality. We have so much to be proud of.
So hearing that UAE security authorities in coordination with Saudi Arabia had arrested “an organized cell” (consisting of Saudi and Emirati nationals) planning to carry out actions against the national security of the UAE, Saudi and other Gulf States, sent my blood boiling with rage.
I thank God that the UAE has a sophisticated intelligence and security apparatus capable of interrupting such unthinkable plans. Intelligence officials deserve our utmost respect for their great efforts. But even the idea that there are people out there plotting to do us harm is a cause of distress. The question is why? What is it that drives some of our own citizens to destroy rather than build? What kind of creatures are these? A WAM report on the arrests was non-specific mentioning only “a deviant group.” It is not unlikely that they are part of a rogue state like Iran and its allies.
“The only conspiracy that Emiratis should worry about is that of the government to stamp out any and every semblance of dissent,” said the Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson following the arrests, while asking “Just how many Emiratis does the government intend to jail for expressing political opinions?” I would respectfully ask Ms. Whitson to either get her facts straight or mind her own business. They were detained for committing crimes that harm state security and for having affiliations with groups harboring foreign agendas, according to WAM, and not for expressing political views.
Whoever were involved in this latest plot are failures, men with weak, dysfunctional minds that have either been brainwashed or paid by outside entities, those same entities that are causing upheaval in Bahrain and Kuwait. They are traitors who no longer deserve to be called Saudis or Emiratis. They should be made an example of. No punishment is too severe for people whose agenda includes the spilling of innocent blood and threats to our safety and security. We must never allow our soil to be polluted by even one drop. Our police forces and intelligence communities must remain vigilant to keep these diseased ideologies far away from our shores. And every patriot in the UAE and the GCC should be alert to any hint of this poison among us before it begins to flow through our society’s veins and become unstoppable.
Forget the complaints of human rights organizations with nothing to lose and which care more about the rights of terrorists than safeguarding populations. Terrorists and troublemakers don’t have rights, end of story. The day they begin assembling bombs or planning to bring down buildings, they forfeit their membership of the human race. They contend that they’re true Muslims, an obscenity when Islam is a peaceful and tolerant faith. The UAE and the GCC governments and citizens abide by the pure teachings of Islam and its laws without distortion. We are guided by the legitimate interpretation of Islam every waking hour by showing respect to the beliefs of others and reaching out a hand to the needy irrespective of the recipients’ faith, race or color.
If I sound intolerant, so be it. I cannot and will not tolerate anyone seeking to make my beloved homeland a hell on earth whatever the pretext, and worse, doing so while using Islam as their banner. They are nothing less than traitors and blasphemers and I would urge the UAE, Saudi and other GCC authorities to crush their cells with an iron fist. There must be no freedom for those who will stoop to heinous acts to rob us of ours.
We only have to cast an eye at the mayhem all around us to realize the urgency of cleansing our countries from the enemy within and to protect our borders from enemy infiltrators, especially Iranian-backed sleeper cells with a malicious agenda. Those groups patiently waiting to take advantage of the slightest opportunity are an even bigger danger than Islamist organizations. The loyalties of GCC citizens working with Iran in any capacity should be evaluated by intelligence authorities. Iran’s surrogates intent on our downfall are the most lethal and poisonous of all because their aim is to place us under Tehran’s boot as an Iranian province like predominantly Arab Ahwaz is today.
I don’t know which Holy Book those bent on our ruin adhere to, but for certain it’s not the Holy Qu’ran that states the killing of one person — other than someone who murders or spreads mischief in the land — is akin to the slaying of all humanity. Moreover, numerous references in the Qu’ran enjoins Muslims to be unified, such as Surah Al-‘Imran 3: 103 — “And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves.”
These are some of the most worrying times in our nation’s history requiring each one of us who loves his country to support our government’s efforts to protect all that we’ve worked for and keep us safe.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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One of the most frequently cited journals on the Middle East in the field of international affairs, Middle East Policy has been engaging thoughtful minds for more than 40 years with high-quality, diverse analysis on the region.
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor
Guest Commentary
The enlightened thought, sweat and sheer hard slog that has gone into making the UAE the near Utopia it is today is incalculable. Together we have created a harmonious multi-cultural, peaceful society offering bright individuals unlimited opportunity. Our country is beautiful from the inside out, a place where innovation and creativity can flourish. Success hasn’t come easy. I know. I’m old enough to remember the hard times we faced. I shared our nation’s struggles from its inception in 1972 and watched with pride as we overcame each obstacle with flying colors.
Emiratis are arguably the most privileged on earth. We enjoy a better standard of living than the so-called developed world and the same is true for most GCC countries whose citizens are provided with financial assistance, homes, inexpensive utilities — and the highest standards of education and healthcare, at home and abroad. Nobody here is forced to sleep on the street or worry where their next meal is coming from, unlike the wealthiest countries on earth where even middle class individuals down on their luck are queuing outside soup kitchens. In the UN Development Index, the UAE ranks first in the region for “very high human development” in terms of health, education, income and gender equality. We have so much to be proud of.
So hearing that UAE security authorities in coordination with Saudi Arabia had arrested “an organized cell” (consisting of Saudi and Emirati nationals) planning to carry out actions against the national security of the UAE, Saudi and other Gulf States, sent my blood boiling with rage.
I thank God that the UAE has a sophisticated intelligence and security apparatus capable of interrupting such unthinkable plans. Intelligence officials deserve our utmost respect for their great efforts. But even the idea that there are people out there plotting to do us harm is a cause of distress. The question is why? What is it that drives some of our own citizens to destroy rather than build? What kind of creatures are these? A WAM report on the arrests was non-specific mentioning only “a deviant group.” It is not unlikely that they are part of a rogue state like Iran and its allies.
“The only conspiracy that Emiratis should worry about is that of the government to stamp out any and every semblance of dissent,” said the Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson following the arrests, while asking “Just how many Emiratis does the government intend to jail for expressing political opinions?” I would respectfully ask Ms. Whitson to either get her facts straight or mind her own business. They were detained for committing crimes that harm state security and for having affiliations with groups harboring foreign agendas, according to WAM, and not for expressing political views.
Whoever were involved in this latest plot are failures, men with weak, dysfunctional minds that have either been brainwashed or paid by outside entities, those same entities that are causing upheaval in Bahrain and Kuwait. They are traitors who no longer deserve to be called Saudis or Emiratis. They should be made an example of. No punishment is too severe for people whose agenda includes the spilling of innocent blood and threats to our safety and security. We must never allow our soil to be polluted by even one drop. Our police forces and intelligence communities must remain vigilant to keep these diseased ideologies far away from our shores. And every patriot in the UAE and the GCC should be alert to any hint of this poison among us before it begins to flow through our society’s veins and become unstoppable.
Forget the complaints of human rights organizations with nothing to lose and which care more about the rights of terrorists than safeguarding populations. Terrorists and troublemakers don’t have rights, end of story. The day they begin assembling bombs or planning to bring down buildings, they forfeit their membership of the human race. They contend that they’re true Muslims, an obscenity when Islam is a peaceful and tolerant faith. The UAE and the GCC governments and citizens abide by the pure teachings of Islam and its laws without distortion. We are guided by the legitimate interpretation of Islam every waking hour by showing respect to the beliefs of others and reaching out a hand to the needy irrespective of the recipients’ faith, race or color.
If I sound intolerant, so be it. I cannot and will not tolerate anyone seeking to make my beloved homeland a hell on earth whatever the pretext, and worse, doing so while using Islam as their banner. They are nothing less than traitors and blasphemers and I would urge the UAE, Saudi and other GCC authorities to crush their cells with an iron fist. There must be no freedom for those who will stoop to heinous acts to rob us of ours.
We only have to cast an eye at the mayhem all around us to realize the urgency of cleansing our countries from the enemy within and to protect our borders from enemy infiltrators, especially Iranian-backed sleeper cells with a malicious agenda. Those groups patiently waiting to take advantage of the slightest opportunity are an even bigger danger than Islamist organizations. The loyalties of GCC citizens working with Iran in any capacity should be evaluated by intelligence authorities. Iran’s surrogates intent on our downfall are the most lethal and poisonous of all because their aim is to place us under Tehran’s boot as an Iranian province like predominantly Arab Ahwaz is today.
I don’t know which Holy Book those bent on our ruin adhere to, but for certain it’s not the Holy Qu’ran that states the killing of one person — other than someone who murders or spreads mischief in the land — is akin to the slaying of all humanity. Moreover, numerous references in the Qu’ran enjoins Muslims to be unified, such as Surah Al-‘Imran 3: 103 — “And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves.”
These are some of the most worrying times in our nation’s history requiring each one of us who loves his country to support our government’s efforts to protect all that we’ve worked for and keep us safe.