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Syrian writer Nidhal Naisa was interviewed on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) on July 14, 2020. Naisa said that the Arab Spring was merely an "Islamist enterprise" that caused nothing but destruction in the Arab countries. He said that the regimes in the Arab countries are incapable of managing their own affairs and supplying their citizens with education, health, food, and other basic needs, and he elaborated that today, the Arabs are nostalgic for the times of the colonialists, who he said came to the Middle East in order to bring advancements to the people. He went on to say that people in the region still regard human rights and equality with disdain, and that the Muslim Brotherhood-backed revolutions have advanced the opposite of these values. In addition, Naisa said that colonialism is a "cure" for the Arabs’ backwardness, since it teaches them how to use the toilet and brings them electricity and medicine. He added that for people in Arab countries, luxuries like cooking gas, electricity, and water are merely a dream. For more about Nidhal Naisa, see MEMRI TV Clips No. 1448 and No. 2482.
Nidhal Naisa: "Everybody is talking about colonialism and what is going on in this region now. What is going on is an extension of colonialism that came from the Arabian Peninsula..."
Host: "Nidhal, Nidhal, cut to the chase! Talk about the colonialism that we are experiencing now. What does the Arabian Peninsula have to do with it? Please, go ahead."
Naisa: "There is no colonialism now. All of this can be traced back to the Arab and Islamic colonialism..."
Host: "Nidhal, Nidhal, Nidhal, Nidhal, Nidhal... Either you talk about the Arab Spring or I will move on to another guest."
Naisa: "There is no such thing as 'the Arab Spring.' It is an Arab Frost, an Arab Hell, an Arab Winter, an Arab Destruction. This 'Arab Spring' was an Islamist enterprise. It was a transition from the destructive Pan-Arab enterprise to the even more destructive Islamic enterprise. The return to the Islamic Caliphate, the transition from the Pan-Arab state to the Arab Empire..."
Host: "Let's stick to the issue of colonialism. Why did colonialism return?"
Naisa: "There is no colonialism. It is because these [Arab] peoples are incapable of governing themselves, and of running these states and societies. We witnessed the destruction and devastation in these countries at the hands of these regimes and these peoples that are unable to organize their lives and provide their basic needs. The education system is in ruins, and so is the health system, all the services are in ruins, everything is in ruins. We reminisce about the colonialists who came [here] and speak about them in a very nostalgic way and with a lot of respect... The Western colonialists came here to advance these backward, slumbering, subservient, and enslaved peoples that never experienced the taste of freedom, that did not have [an independent] country, and that did not know what civil [rights] are. To this very day, nobody knows what civil [rights] are. To this very day, these peoples regard human rights, justice and equality between men and women with disdain. How are you going to advance these peoples? With revolutions or whatever? The rebels that the Muslim Brotherhood is talking about are against human rights, humanism, justice, and equality, and they support discrimination, sectarianism, slavery, reactionism, and all the types of ideological and cultural savagery that we know. What revolutions are you talking about? What Arab Spring are you talking about? Colonialism is a cure for your [backwardness]. It teaches you how to go to the toilet, and bring you light, electricity, services, and medicine. Hosni Mubarak, the President of the biggest Arab country that you mentioned - when he became ill, he went to Germany for medical treatment. He did not build a hospital in his own country. What kind of regimes are these? What kind of countries are unable to provide bread for their people?"
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