In a recent TV interview, prominent Saudi reformist and Shura Council member Ibrahim al-Buleihi stressed the need to overcome the cultural backwardness prevalent in his country. In the interview, which aired on Rotana Khalijiya TV on July 22, 2012, Al-Buleihi said that the Arabs were not even aware of their backwardness, treating the people who created the "great and lofty civilization" of the West as if they were "carpenters and blacksmiths." The problem of the Arabs in countries like Egypt or Iraq, he said, was that "the colonialists left too early, before they had established [democracy]."
Following are excerpts:
All The Consumer Products We Use Are Made In The West
Interviewer: "We Arabs are a consumer society, even though there has been some change. But to what extent? Are we about to leave our backwardness?"
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "Oh no, we haven't even begun, because we have yet to acknowledge that we are backward. Perhaps 10-20% of the people are aware of this backwardness, but the majority do not even realize it."
Interviewer: "So our problem is that we are backward and don't know it..."
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "Exactly. We don't know that we are backward. On the contrary, we treat [Western] people are if they were carpenters or blacksmiths. We treat the people who created this great and lofty civilization as if they were carpenters and blacksmiths. We view them as mere laborers, while we consider ourselves to be men of thought, science, and culture, who embody everything you aspire to in life. This is the exact opposite of how things should be."
Interviewer: "Why are you so pessimistic?"
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "That's the reality. If we were to send back to the prosperous [West] everything we got from it, what would be left? Even the 'Aqqal headband you are wearing was made in Britain. We are incapable of producing anything.
"We can't do without [the West]. If you have a headache, you need to swallow the aspirin that they made. If you want to travel, you must take a plane or a car; if you want to get some sleep, you must turn on the air-conditioning, and the same is true of all the implements of civilization."
Interviewer: "Civilizations complement one another..."
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "Complement?! What have we given them?"
Interviewer: "Oil, the religion of Islam..."
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "The oil came from Allah, and on top of that, we need the West to extract it. If not for their industry, our oil would be worthless. It had been in this land for centuries, yet we did not benefit from it in any way. Oil became valuable only when others came up with inventions, and later came here to extract it from our land."
[...]
Civilizations Are Measured By Their Ability To Change, While We Believe In Unchangeability
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "Civilizations are measured by their ability to change. We are exactly the other way around. We believe that the measure of success is unchangeability, and this is a great problem.
"If societies remained static, civilization would not develop. Their development is dependent upon their willingness to change."
[...]
"The reason that the West developed is that it stemmed from Greek culture, which was founded on the objective use of reason. When this great beacon of light was extinguished in the Middle Ages... the great mathematics [of the Arabs] had a role in the development of the West, but I still believe that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the source of modern culture."
[...]
The Problem Of The Arabs Is That The Colonialists Left Too Early
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "The problem of the Arabs in societies that were occupied, like Egypt or Iraq, was that the colonialists left too early, before they had established [democracy]. As a result of the British occupation or colonialization, Egypt was preparing to become a democratic country. There was cultural and political pluralism. Egypt was on its way to becoming a democratic country, if not for the [1952] coup, which was dubbed a 'revolution.'
[...]
"Are we enslaved by our identity, or should it serve for our development? History, identity, and culture should belong to society, and not vice versa. Otherwise, it is as if you are locking yourself in a cage. People are not unchanging, like rocks or trees. A person needs to change. One should choose one's own identity, rather than have it imposed upon him."
"Opening Up To The West Will Determine Our Development"
Interviewer: "Let's talk in practical terms. You say that we suffer from backwardness, while culture and prosperity are limited to the West..."
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "...And to people who borrowed them from the West. When I talk about the development of the West, some people say to me: What about Japan and China? If these countries had not emulated the West, they would not have progressed. Their progress was determined by the extent to which they borrowed from the West."
Interviewer: "So our opening up to the West will determine our development?"
Ibrahim Al-Buleihi: "Absolutely."
[...]
