On April 11, 2012, the Syrian daily Al-Watan, which is owned by President Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf, published an article by France-based columnist Firas 'Aziz Dib, in which he warned the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, and his wife, Mozah, of a fate similar to that of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, who were executed four years after the outbreak of the French Revolution. Dib claimed that just as Louis' familial ties to the Austrian royal family did not save him from the gallows, Hamad's ties to the Libyan rebels and the funds he transferred "to destroy the Syrian state" will not save him and his wife. According to Dib, the situation in Qatar and the other Gulf states is very reminiscent of the situation that brought about the French Revolution: marriage pacts between ruling families in order to make political alliances and establish tyrannical regimes; the rulers' excessive ambitions, which cause foreign policy quagmires; a combined regime of the ruling family and the religious establishment; and disregard of the people and its demands for regime change. Therefore, Dib says, a revolution in the Gulf is only a matter of time, despite the difficulties.
The following are excerpts from the article:[1]
In the Gulf, as in the Days of Louis VXI, Familial Ties Strengthen the Rule of Tyranny
"... Have you heard of the foolishness of Louis XVI? He was born in the Versailles palace in 1745. During his reign, in 1789, the French Revolution took place, ending monarchical rule in the country. Louis was executed in 1793 along with his wife, Marie Antoinette.
"This boy, who (unlike [the Emir of Qatar] Hamad) was handsome, ascended to the throne being only 18 years old. He succeeded his grandfather, Louis XV, and did not assume power by a coup (as Hamad and his ilk did). Louis tried to enact reforms in the divided administrations of the country, and especially in the finance and taxation laws (while Hamad and his ilk have no administration to enact reforms in, since they are the ones who decide everything), but his weak and hesitant personality always undermined him. According to sources, it is accepted by all that the reason for his weak character was the impotence from which he suffered, and that the suppression of his sexual desires gave rise to delusions of grandeur. (In the case of Hamad and his ilk, their sexual appetite led to a desire to be entered into the Guinness Book [of Records] as the rulers with the most wives in the world).
"Louis' marriage to Marie Antoinette was a turning point in the course of Louis and his kingdom, since Marie was the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, the Queen of Austria. The fundamental reason for the marriage was to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the French and Austrian ruling families and restore their previous alliance, which suffered after France signed a separate peace alliance with Britain in 1762, and to motivate them to defend each other (much like most marriages between ruling families in the Gulf... which are meant to strengthen the bonds of tyranny on one hand, and the rule of these families over the peoples on the other).
"But Marie Antoinette, who came from aristocratic roots (as Mozah considers herself), chose a fast-paced life centered on her obsession with her appearance and her passion for music and parties. She saw Louis' weak personality as a way to get what she wanted, by pushing him to overcompensate for his impotence with imaginary, incomprehensible ambitions. Marie began stroking Louis' ego regarding... his ability to fulfill roles beyond France's borders, and indeed, Louis began supporting [certain] elements in the American Civil War [sic, apparently the American War of Independence] and declared war on Britain due to his involvement in the American issue. It seems that, due to the serious inferiority complex from which he suffered, he became entangled in matters he could neither understand nor comprehend (just as Hamad and his ilk became entangled in events in Libya, Syria and Yemen)."
The Revolution Will Reach the Emir of Qatar
"That is when the financial crisis in the kingdom was exposed. The state treasury could no longer meet the needs of the people, while money went here and there to assist one element in killing another. The kingdom, which used to boast that it helped the people, suffered outbreaks of popular unrest and outrage... Marie Antoinette spent great sums to satisfy her obsession with her appearance (just like the first lady of the Gulf [Mozah], that cultured lady of the gas-field reserve [i.e., Qatar]) and to display her condescending treatment of her subjects. Protest movements began erupting swiftly...
"Using her control of the palace, Marie tried to hide many things from Louis. She received several delegations that tried to advise in the name of friends, statesmen and religious figures (though it was never said that any of them attempted to dress her in a holy 'Abaya, as Mullah Isma'il Haniya did to Mozah). But all these attempts failed. Louis and Marie rejected the masses and their desire [for France] to become a constitutional monarchy (just as there are those in the Gulf reserves today who persistently object to this). Internal problems erupted, from famine due to rising bread prices to declining agricultural produce and exports. The people became outraged when it understood the level of [the leadership's] disdain for it... Protests began to grow, but not under the banner of 'the people wants,' but rather 'man does not live by wheat alone.' The protests reached the palace gates, where Louis could hear the masses shouting against him. He asked one of his servants: 'What is happening? Is it a protest?' The servant responded: 'It is a revolution, Your Majesty.'
"Several days later Louis fled and the revolution was victorious. Four years later, Louis and his family, including his wife Marie Antoinette, were executed. The marriage ties to the Austrian royal family did not help him. The Libyan rebels [will not help Hamad]... nor will the large sums he paid to destroy the Syrian state... The ambitions of Hamad and his Mozah have failed. Daydreams are not necessarily an achievable target. Sometimes they are a form of fatal megalomania."
The Factors That Led to the French Revolution Exist in the Gulf States
"Dealing with Hamad opens the door to deal with the entire Gulf region, which has completely left the framework of human civilization, since all the rulers of this region are Louis... The important point is that the [situation] in this region is similar to the one that afflicted the French kingdom, which was under the combined rule of the religious establishment and the ruling family. These authorities forbade every kind of literature, art, and philosophy, as the rulers of the occupied Hijaz [i.e., Saudi Arabia and the Gulf at large] do today, which lead to a regression of the mind and to benighted conservatism in society.
"This is no different in the Gulf. The ruling families [there] attempt to keep their people under the yoke of ignorance, backwardness, and degeneration... They warned their peoples with religious fatwas, and then bought them with money, so that they become peoples who cannot act and invent. If we search books, newspapers and websites, we will be hard pressed to find the name of a [single] Gulf citizen who enriched human culture. When Nasser Al-Sa'id [the first Saudi regime oppositionist from the mid-twentieth century] tried to be an exception [to this rule], he was kidnapped, just because he wished to expose their shame, and his fate remains unknown to this day. The peoples in the [Gulf] reserves have become incapable of [even] producing a basketball player. On one basketball team, more than half [of players] are naturalized [foreigners].
"[The Gulf rulers] have made their peoples think that culture means building the world's tallest tower [in Dubai], or opening a branch for some [foreign] university... Culture, in their eyes, is producing TV shows that deal with the corruption of Syrian society, via collaborating Syrian artists (who are as dangerous as arms dealers), while completely ignoring the deterioration and depravity that afflict their own societies. Culture [in their eyes] is also in [TV] channels that drug the people's [mind]..."
In the Future, People Might Speak of Hamad and Mozah as They Speak of Louis and Marie
Later in the article, Dib claimed that a revolution is coming to the Gulf, despite the demographic and cultural obstacles. In addition, he claimed that recent statements by Gulf officials indicate intra-Gulf conspiracies. According to Dib, these indicate the onset of a plan to divide the Gulf and the entire region; this will transform Qatar into the region's most important country, which will please the U.S. and realize the ambitions of the Emir of Qatar and his wife. However, Dib assessed that Qatar's strength will not prevent a revolution there, and that its Emir and his wife might end up like Louis and Marie. He wrote:
"Among the most important factors behind [most] revolutions are hunger and lack of freedoms, but they are not enough. The thing that will cause revolution to spark [in the Gulf] is the religious authorities, which currently help these benighted governments to strengthen their rule. Therefore, no matter how they try to sweeten things, the Gulf is definitely heading towards two things:
"First, revolution, which will be very difficult [for the Gulf peoples to carry out, for several reasons]: the peoples [in the Gulf] have been marginalized and are described as the 'Formula peoples' [referring to Formula 1 international motor races that take place in Gulf countries], and are unable to act...; [in addition,] there is the issue of minorities, whom no one dares to help, because [the rulers] have caused [the peoples] to think that they are groups that deviate from the straight path; and there is also a lack of a sense of citizenship, [especially] when you have Gulf reserves where more than 30% of the citizens are not from the Gulf, but were imported from poor countries and care only about food and drink, not revolution. However, despite all this, there are those who believe that a revolution is definitely coming. The Gulf cannot stay the same in light of the turbulences witnessed by the entire region."
"Secondly, the [Gulf] countries conspire against each other... This clearly indicates the start of the final phase of the plan for the entire region – the phase relating to the Gulf... [This plan aims] to divide what is [already] divided, so that Qatar becomes the first and foremost country in the region, and the main decision maker, to the satisfaction of the Americans, in order to fulfill the ambitions of Hamad and his Mozah.
"History will retain its special aroma, and maybe in a few centuries people will speak of Hamad and his Mozah just as we have spoken of Louis and Marie. [But] the most important [question is]: When will the [Arabian] Peninsula produce those who will storm the great Bastille named the Gulf of Conspiracy? Even if it is hard, due to the oppression, it is not impossible. Noble people exist everywhere. If we Syrians have learned, during the decades of being under an economic, ideological and social siege, to save on everything but respect – then you, the tyrants of that weak Gulf, can buy everything but respect. Respect is born with the free, and is not purchased, and there are surely many free men amongst you."
Endnote:
[1] Al-Watan (Syria), April 11, 2012.
