Middle East needs democracy, says Bahrain ambassador at SIS forum
(from American Weekly, Oct. 10, 2006)

photo by Jeff Watts

Bahrain ambassador Naser Al-Belooshi told School of International Service students and faculty at a Dean’s Issues Forum last week that peace in the Middle East is only possible with increased democracy. During his talk, “The New Middle East in Twenty-first-Century International Relations,” he touted his own country’s efforts toward democracy, laid out a recipe for continued development in the region, and said that Arab groups must recognize Israel.

When they adopted a more democratic form of government in 2001, said Al-Belooshi, Bahrain citizens realized a desire most people in the Middle East share. “We are going with the wind,” he said, arguing that the region sees democracy as the key to stability and growth.

High oil prices have led to a robust annual economic growth rate of 6 percent throughout the Middle East, Al-Belooshi noted, but history has shown that high oil prices won’t last forever. Continued growth, he said, requires “three pillars of political stability—democracy, individualism, and capitalism.”

To move toward this more stable future, Al-Belooshi said, the Arab world must abandon unproductive ideas. “Hammas,” he said, “should accept and recognize Israel.” Though many have ideological reasons for thinking otherwise, the ambassador felt such ideologies should be abandoned because they lead to continued suffering.

“What is the use of having ideas,” he asked, “if those ideas do not help the people?” —MG