The Egyptian People vs. Muslim Brotherhood

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The Egyptian People vs. Muslim Brotherhood

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Editorial This month marks the eleventh anniversary of the January revolution that erupted in Egypt as part of the Arab Spring that stormed the region. A major political aftermath which is worthy of revisiting in this Egyptian timeline is the centre of Dalia Ziada›s article and a lesson for other parts of the region which are still trapped in the unfolding chaos of political consequences. She provides a cautionary political narrative of the fall of people’s aspirations to the secret agenda of the political Islamist group of Muslim Brotherhood, and the manipulative tactics the organization used to take over power, and its subsequent failure at the hands of the public aided with the Egyptian military which saved the country from turning into a theocracy.

This week, also, Jassim Mohamad writes about the repercussions of most recent attacks by Houthi drones against the Abu Dhabi oil company complex.

Bomb-laden drones are frequently used in launching inaccurate terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia and UAE. Major world powers condemned the attacks while warning against the threat of drones to regional security. Mohamad explains how proliferation of drones used by Iranian proxies is threatening to peace and stability of many countries, whether they are used in collecting information or launching suicide attacks.

Commenting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement that he would visit Saudi Arabia next month, Ahmed Taher discusses the signs and challenges of rapprochement between Turkey and Saudi Arabia after various tensions with neighboring countries pushed Turkey into regional isolation and economic crises. Taher argues that “despite all shifts in Turkey’s policies, it is important to start taking confidence-building measures through serious steps to resolve many disputed issues.”

Read these articles and more on our website eng.majalla. com. As always, we welcome and value our readers’ feedback and we invite you to take the opportunity to leave your comments on our website.

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Ghassan Charbel The Editor Mostafa El-Dessouki HH Saudi Research and Marketing (UK) Ltd 10th Floor Building 7 Chiswick Business Park 566 Chiswick High Road London W4 5YG Tel : +44 207 831 8181 Fax: +44 207 831 2310

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

30 Denouncing Iranian Presence, Protests Erupt in Countryside of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

Issue 1888- January- 21/01/2022

26 Iranian Drones Increase

Shakes International Security

Iranian Farmers Suffer over

34 Imports Ban

38 Global Supply Chain Weakness Delays Saudi Auto Orders

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Lebanese Alpine Skier Aspires to Reach the Heights in Beijing 5

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«Belle» a Striking Virtual Reality Riff on «Beauty and the Beast»

56 Watch Out for These Balance Busters

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Saudi women perform yoga in mountains of Al-Ahsa Saudi women perform yoga during a yoga trip to the mountains of Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, January 14, 2022. Picture taken January 14, 2022 AL-AHSA, , Saudi Arabia )Reuters Photos(

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Day of Korea ceremony at the Expo 2020 Dubai Performers dance during the «Day of Korea» ceremony at the Expo 2020 Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 16, 2022 )Reuters Photos(

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SAU

LEBANON Lebanon's healthcare system is crumbling amid an economic crisis that has led to an exodus of thousands of doctors and nurses, forced private hospitals to close some departments and put further strains on the already stretched state sector.

"If this crisis goes on for long without solutions we will, of course, come closer to a great collapse," Health Minister Firass Abiad told Reuters this week.

Lebanon's economy has been in freefall since 2019 and its currency has lost more than 90% of its value, driving much of the nation into poverty and pushing healthcare professionals and others to head abroad for work.

EGYPT Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues are expected to hit $7 billion in 2022 versus $6.3 billion in 2021, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in an interview with Saudi-owned Asharq television.

Earlier on Sunday, Osama Rabie said that a project to expand parts of the Suez Canal was expected to be completed after two years of work in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Egypt registered a primary surplus of 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($204.34 million) for the July-December period of the fiscal year 2021/2022, a cabinet statement quoted the finance minister as saying on Wednesday.

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South Kore Tuesday, w the kingdo guard marc It was the s South Kore wife, who w Crown Prin masked an hands with social dista It is the late Arabia as a resume bila following C parts of the

UDI ARABIA

ea’s leader arrived in Saudi Arabia on where he was greeted in Riyadh by om’s crown prince and an honor ching band. second stop on a Mideast tour by ean President Moon Jae-in and his were greeted on the tarmac by nce Mohammed bin Salman. All were nd President Moon did not shake h the prince, in line with coronavirus ancing practices. est visit by a head of state to Saudi growing number of world leaders ateral meetings and trips abroad COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in many e world.

UAE

QATAR Turkey and Qatar have reached an agreement on ensuring security at Kabul's main airport should they be awarded the mission amid ongoing talks with the Taliban government, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Kabul's international airport is landlocked Afghanistan's main air link to the world.

Following the August takeover of Afghanistan by the hardline Islamist Taliban, Turkey has said it would be open to operating it with Qatar but only if its security demands are met.

Dubai-based payments processor Network International said on Thursday spending in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was now above pre-pandemic levels, supported by the world fair Expo 2020 Dubai.

IRAN China has reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran as the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers announced the launch of a 25-year cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening economic and political ties.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the city of Wuxi, in Jiangsu province on Friday, with a summary of the meeting posted on China's foreign ministry website on Saturday.

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A WEEK ACROS ETHIOPIA.

U.S. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Berlin for talks with allies on Thursday in a diplomatic push to defuse tensions with Moscow over Ukraine, a day after warning that Russia could attack its neighbour at "very short notice".

U.S. President Joe Biden predicted on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a military move into Ukraine after massing troops near its borders, but said a full-scale invasion would trigger a response that would be costly for Russia and its economy.

Ethiopia's foreign ministry has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate its leader for supporting rebellious forces fighting the Ethiopian government.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who previously served as the Ethiopian health minister and foreign minister, said earlier this week that aid was being blocked from getting through to his home region of Tigray, where rebellious forces are fighting the central government.

"Tedros Adhanom's moral, legal and professional standing that threatened WHO's organizational standing," Ethiopia said in a statement late on Thursday. "He has spread harmful misinformation and compromised WHO's reputation, independence, credibility which is evident from his social media postings."

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,

LIBYA.

The speaker of Libya's eastern-ba parliament said on Monday the interim government must be replaced and he would launch a process to redraft the constitutio after plans for an election fell apa last month.

The moves, announced by Parliam Speaker Aguila Saleh as he enter the chamber in the eastern city o Benghazi, could delay by months new election aimed at ending ye of war between factions based in east and the west.

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U.K. CHINA.

A senior Conservative lawmaker accused the British government on Thursday of intimidating and attempting to "blackmail" those lawmakers they suspect of wanting to force Prime Minister Boris Johnson out of power.

Johnson, who won a large majority in 2019, is facing growing calls to step down over a series of scandals, including admitting he had attended a party at his Downing Street office at a time when Britain was under a strict COVID-19 lockdown.

INDIA. India reported new coronavirus infections at an eight-month high on Wednesday and a government scientist warned it will take weeks before data on hospitalisations and deaths will show how severe the latest wave driven by the Omicron variant will be.

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With just over two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, residents of the Chinese capital say they’re disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions that have seen parts of the city placed under lockdown.

Organizers announced Monday that no tickets will be sold to the general public and only selected spectators will be allowed. Access to the famed National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, and indoor venues in the heart of Beijing have been sealed off.

People interviewed Wednesday appeared understanding of the restrictions. Many of them could be seen skating on Beijing’s frozen lakes in a sign of continuing enthusiasm for winter sports.

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The Egyptian People vs. Muslim Brotherhood A cautionary political narrative of the fall of people’s aspirations to the MB’s secret agenda and how Egyptians restored the system

By Dalia Ziada In a few days, Egyptians will be celebrating the eleventh anniversary of the popular revolution that erupted on January 25th, 2011 and brought down the thirty-year-old dictatorship of Mubarak regime.

However, the glorious momentum of the success of the young liberal activists in breaking the bar-

riers of fear and paving the road of the future for pursuing the dream of democracy, was quickly followed by the nightmare of seeing political Islamists exploiting the power vacuum, the then newborn democracy, and even religion to reach the top of power. How the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the Egyptian revolution is one of the most important stories that is rarely told in western media.

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Following the removal of Mubarak, in February 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood employed a number of manipulative tactics against three key parties, in their quest to the mountaintop of political power in Egypt.

Hundreds of Thousands protested in Tahrir Square in 2011. Buildings visible in the background include the Arab League headquarters, top left, and the Egyptian Museum, right center.

(Credit: Pedro Ugarte/ Agence France-Presse / Getty Images)

“If it is not me, it is the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Mubarak in almost every media appearance or official meeting he made. Before the 2011 revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood used to assure the young liberal activists that the group does not seek political power, claiming that the group’s one and only goal is preaching (Da’wa); i.e., to peacefully educate the general public about their version of Islamic Sharia. Yet, time and experience have proven that they were lying. Although they had never encouraged the revolution against Mubarak, they worked strategically to take advantage of the revolution’s success in a way that allowed them to eventually take over the presidency of the state and the ultimate majority of the parliament, by mid2012. cause, at that time, Egypt did not have any well-organized political party that was capable of leading The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood took ad- the state after Mubarak’s fall. The Mubarak regime vantage of the successful integration of their young had, purposefully, weakened the political structure members into the protests to deceive the interna- of opposition by cracking down on secular polititional community into believing that Egypt is going cal parties that can act as threat to his rule. Meanthrough an “Islamic revolution,” similar to Iran’s while, he gave a space to the Muslim Brotherhood Islamic Revolution of 1978. However, this myth to influence grass-roots citizens, especially in rural was quickly busted by a poll, which the Washing- areas to avoid criticism from the west. ton Institute for Near East Studies conducted in early February 2011, on the nature and motives Following the removal of Mubarak, in February of the Egyptians protesting against Mubarak. The 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood employed a numpoll was taken by phone calls in the midst of the ber of manipulative tactics against three key parupheaval. The final results indicated that the 2011 ties, in their quest to the mountaintop of political uprising was not an Islamic revolution. power in Egypt. They are: (1) the liberal activists, who initiated the revolution using nonviolent acThe survey showed that the Muslim Brotherhood tion and strategies; (2) the Supreme Council of was approved by just fifteen per cent of surveyed Armed Forces (SCAF), which took over Egypt’s Egyptians and its leaders got barely one per cent political leadership after the fall of Mubarak; and of the vote in a presidential straw poll. Asked to (3) Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, pick national priorities, only twelve per cent of whom they counted as a serious threat to their Issurveyed Egyptians chose applying Islamic Sharia lamic Caliphate agenda. over Egypt’s regional leadership, democracy, or economic development. When asked to explain the TACTIC 1: NEUTRALIZING LIBERuprising’s motives, the surveyed sample selected AL ACTIVISTS economic conditions, corruption, and unemployment (around thirty per cent each), which far out- The Muslim Brotherhood did not participate in the paced the concern that “the regime is not Islamic nonviolent protests that led to the 2011 revolution. enough” (only seven per cent).

They neither planned nor initiated any of the rallies that called for Mubarak’s removal, during the first Yet, unfortunately, this did not stop policy-mak- week of the revolution. Instead, the leaders of the ers in Washington, and other important European group spoke publicly against the liberal activists’ capitals, from supporting the Muslim Brotherhood calls for protesting on the police anniversary on as an alternative to Mubarak. That is perhaps be- January 25th. However, after one week of success-

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ful continuous protests, the Muslim Brotherhood leaders decided to send their young members to join other revolutionists, without declaring their collective identity as members of the Muslim Brotherhood. They did not use any specific Muslim Brotherhood logos or Islamic slogans, but they moved together in blocs. Meanwhile, the leaders of the group started to make media statements praising the revolution and echoing activists call for ousting Mubarak.

In the beginning, the members of the Muslim Brotherhood were not welcomed by liberal revolutionists, who resented their refusal to participate in the January 25th protests from the beginning.

However, this resentment vanished when the high-

The Egyptian people, aided with the military, overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood out of the power that they sneaked to at a critical moment of state weakness.

ly organized youth of the Muslim Brotherhood managed to defend the scattered nonviolent protesters against one of Mubarak’s attempts to disperse the protests in Tahrir Square.

On the eighth day of protesting, on February 2nd, members of Mubarak’s dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP) paid owners of tourist camels and horses around the Pyramids area in Giza, to storm into Tahrir Square riding their camels and horses and walk over the bodies of the sit-in protesters. As helpless as nonviolent liberal activists were, the camels attack was supposed to succeed in scaring and scattering the activists’ gatherings.

However, the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood youth, who recently joined the protests, altered the whole scenario in favor of the revolutionists.

When the camel riders stormed into Tahrir square, the participating youth of the Muslim Brotherhood, used the martial combat skills they acquired through the group’s secret militia training, to counter the attack. In a matter of seconds, they organized themselves into “U” shape around the helpless and shocked protesters to protect them.

Meanwhile, the front liners pulled the attackers off of their camels and horses and fought them. This specific scene ignited a strong bond of sympathy and trust between the young liberal protesters and the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Egyptian army special forces soldiers stand guard near the Republican Guard headquarters, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 19, 2013. Thousands of protesters are holding rallies across Egypt to demand the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. (Credit: Hussein Malla/AP)

“Mohammed Morsi for President,” reads the t-shirt of a supporter of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. (Credit: Marwan Naamani/ AFP)

As their popularity grew among protesters, the Muslim Brotherhood leaders started presenting themselves to foreign media as spokespersons of the revolution. They also stepped up to negotiate, on behalf of the protesters, with Mubarak’s regime and intelligence. The politically inexperienced and naively idealist young liberal activists were too occupied by their anger against the Mubarak regime to plan for the next steps after the fall of the dictator. Their lack of organization and clear long-term vision was a point of weakness, which the highly organized and politically skilled Muslim Brotherhood cleverly manipulated to hijack the fruits of the revolution that they made.

of Armed Forces (SCAF) was assigned as the political transitional ruler of the country. The people, including young liberal revolutionists, did not oppose handing power, temporarily, to SCAF until a new constitution and presidential elections be convened. In general, the military is highly respected and trusted by citizens. In addition, the military played a very important role in making the revolution succeed by declining to use violence against the protesters. Yet, the Muslim Brotherhood felt threatened by this increasing popularity of the military. Therefore, their next challenge was to destroy military’s credibility in the eyes of the Egyptian public and Egypt’s Western allies.

TACTIC 2: DISCREDITING THE MIL- Accordingly, the Muslim Brotherhood built on the momentum of the successful revolution to keep ITARY AS A POLITICAL LEADER After neutralizing the liberal democratic youth, Muslim Brotherhood’s next challenge was the highly popular military. The Egyptian military was not only popular among the Egyptian people, but also for Egypt’s most powerful ally, the United States. The strong ties between Egyptian and American military helped shape a lot of vital decisions in Egypt’s domestic policies, regional geo-politics, and diplomatic affairs, since the reign of President Sadat.

After the fall of Mubarak, The Supreme Council

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nonviolent protests in the streets going for longer.

This way, they managed to keep SCAF busy with trying to control chaos at home, while enhancing the mostly-false impression inherited by Egypt’s Western allies, especially the United States of America, that the Egyptian people collectively rejected military’s political rule. This was necessary so the Muslim Brotherhood could introduce their group to the world as the best, and only, potential alternative to Mubarak’s regime.

In parallel, the ongoing protests were an excellent opportunity for the Muslim Brotherhood leaders

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to engage with public citizens and promote their Islamic Sharia agenda to them, as an alternative to Mubarak’s secular and corrupt government. While Muslim Brotherhood efforts to discredit the military gained momentum at home and abroad, high profile members of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the group’s spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, were invited to speak to the public at Tahrir Square about the political applications of Islamic Sharia.

Every Friday, in Tahrir Square, the Muslim Brotherhood organized and led a massive protest. On the first two Friday protests, they were celebrating the success of the revolution alongside liberal activists and ordinary non-politicized citizens. Later on, the

The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood took advantage of the successful integration of their young members into the protests to deceive the international community into believing that Egypt is going through an “Islamic revolution.”

Muslim Brotherhood started to invite other social categories into the protests to call for their economic rights, including the members of disadvantaged trade unions.

Gradually, after about two months of regular Friday protests, the Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders started to openly attack the military leadership and criticize almost all SCAF decisions and moves. On one of those protests against the military, the Muslim Brotherhood brought to the square some young military officers, in military uniform, who announced their rebellion against SCAF, which is loaded with much older military commanders. The young officers claimed that the army is a corrupt institution and that the people should rebel against it.

After that, the slogan “down with military rule” became a staple in all the Friday protests. This was the first indication of the Muslim Brotherhood’s success in damaging military’s popularity and reputation among local citizens and Western allies. Soon after, the Muslim Brotherhood officially revealed its plans to run for presidency and parliament.

TACTIC 3: OVERTHROWING AL-AZHAR’S GRAND IMAM After neutralizing revolutionists, especially the su-

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Second from left Mohamed Saad El-Katatni, Muslim Brotherhood guidance bureau member, and centre Egyptian Secretary General of the organisation Mahmoud Hussein.

Next to him is president of Freedom and Justice Party, Mohamed Morsi, and party vice-president Essam El-Errian.

(Photo: AP)

President Mohammed Morsi (L) named the then Gen Sisi as his defence minister. (AFP)

per idealist young liberal activists, and discrediting the military domestically and internationally, the next challenge for the Muslim Brotherhood, in their quest to power, was abolishing Ahmed Al-Tayeb from his position as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

Al-Tayeb has always been a thorn in the back of the Muslim Brotherhood, since he was a professor at Al-Azhar University. Muslim Brotherhood leaders knew that they could not promote their extremist agenda of governing through Islamic Sharia, while he continued in commanding Al-Azhar.

They could not think of dismantling Al-Azhar, as an institution, because this would have ignited anger against the group by its religious grassroots supporters. At the same time, they did not want Western allies to see the Muslim Brotherhood as an Islamic group fighting moderate Islam, represented in Al-Tayeb as the Grand Imam, and in Al-Azhar as a worldly renowned centrist Muslim institution.

The victory of Islamists in presidential and parliamentary elections, in 2012, was a result of disgraceful manipulation of people’s religious piety and starvation for democratic change.

lated to students’ fees, employees’ rights, teachers’ salaries, etc. As the protests inside the campus succeeded in gaining momentum and higher number of supporters, the Muslim Brotherhood organized much louder and wider protests outside the office of Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb at the headquarters of the Sheikhdom of Al-Azhar. The biggest of those protests took place on the 26th of April, 2011. More than fifteen thousand scholars, employees, teachTherefore, the Muslim Brotherhood resorted to ers and students from Al-Azhar gathered outside organizing massive protests, once again, to pres- the office of Al-Tayeb calling for Al-Azhar’s legal sure for overthrowing Al-Tayeb from the leader- independence from state and for electing a new ship of Al-Azhar. The Muslim Brotherhood affili- Grand Imam. ated students at Al-Azhar University, instructed by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, organized a series In a stubborn response that shocked and confused of complaint-based protests inside the university’s the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Tayeb refused to recampus, about internal administrative policies re- sign and decided to fight back. He made a public

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statement indicating that his resignation would put Al-Azhar in the hands of the “wrong people,” in reference to religiously extremist professors affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist movement. He asserted that “as a servant of Islam and a servant of Al-Azhar,” he would stand strong in the face of the protests, while continue to exert his best efforts to improve Al-Azhar’s governance system and educational curricula. The initiative was widely welcomed by Al-Azhar scholars, as well as political observers, in Egypt and abroad.

form Al-Azhar from within, Al-Tayeb decided to actively participate in managing the political chaos that took place in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. He was, perhaps, motivated by the fact that this chaos was enabling extremists from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists and, thus, becoming a threat to Al-Azhar and moderate Islam.

CLIMBING POWER TO A RESOUNDING FAILURE

As the Muslim Brotherhood lost hope in overImmediately after the launch of the initiative to re- throwing Ahmed Al-Tayeb, they focused all their resources on manipulating the religious piety of the grassroots citizens to win the parliament elections. By the end of 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood, and their allies from the radical Salafist movement, won the majority of parliament seats, and thus seized control over Egypt’s legislative power.

Within only one year, Egyptians lost their patience over Muslim Brotherhood’s discriminative beliefs and actions against women and Coptic Christians, in addition to Morsi’s resounding failure in running state affairs or improving the economy.

On the 24th of June 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsi, was announced as the new president of Egypt. He won elections with a very narrow margin (51.7%) against Mubarak’s prime minister and former military aviator general, Ahmed Shafik. Sadly, Morsi’s victory was widely celebrated by Western media, academia, and political observers, as a step towards containing Islamic extremism within an organized political system. However, the general reaction in Egypt was

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Gen Sisi became a hero for some Egyptians after he ousted President Morsi. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) meets with Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed alTayeb at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt February 26, 2017. (Credit: The Egyptian Presidency / Reuters)

a heightened sense of shock and defeat, especially among the young liberal activists, who initiated the revolution. The majority of the Egyptians, who participated in the revolution against Mubarak’s autocracy, had never wanted or expected to see Egypt turning into an Islamist theocracy governed by the Muslim Brotherhood in presidency and the Salafists in parliament.

Despite that, the rise of political Islamists to the top of political and legislative powers, in 2012, was not challenged by any one. The military and the liberal activists had no choice but to swallow their defeat and accept the new status quo. If the military challenged the ascendance of Islamists to presidential and legislative powers, Egypt would have been exposed to a huge national security threat. Legitimately, military’s worst fear, during the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, was to see Egypt sliding into the same tragic Arab Spring scenario of Syria, Libya, or Yemen. Likewise, the young liberal activists’ worst fear was to see Egypt returning to being a dictatorship under one of Mubarak’s political associates, in case they opposed or challenged the results of the elections.

Several non-governmental organizations, including a leading human rights organization that I was working for at that time, were monitoring the electoral process and collected evidence on forgery and fraud that took place in favor of Morsi. In ad-

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dition, the victory of Islamists in presidential and parliamentary elections, in 2012, was a result of disgraceful manipulation of people’s religious piety and starvation for democratic change. The slogan the Salafists used in parliamentary elections, for example, was: “we are your way to Heaven.”

They deceived the religious grassroots citizens into believing that voting to Salafists or the Muslim Brotherhood is a vote for God. However, within only a few months of Islamists’ disappointing performance in parliament and presidency, the grassroots Egyptians realized the huge mistake they committed and became determined to fix it. Within only one year, Egyptians lost their patience over Muslim Brotherhood’s discriminative beliefs and actions against women and Coptic Christians, in addition to Morsi’s resounding failure in running state affairs or improving the economy. By June 2013, on the first anniversary of Morsi’s election as president, the Egyptian people, aided with the military, overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood out of the power that they sneaked to at a critical moment of state weakness.

Dalia Ziada is an Egyptian author and Director of the Liberal Democracy Institute. Her work covers military affairs, political Islamism, and geopolitics in the Middle East and North Africa. Tweets at @ daliaziada.

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Regional Isolation, Economic Crises Prompt Ankara to Change Foreign Policy Would Turkey’s Rapprochement with Saudi Arabia Help Resolve Disputed Issues?

By Ahmed Taher – Baku

Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to visit Riyadh, and we will discuss many issues related to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on bilateral ties,” he told senior Turkish exporters during January 3 that he will travel to Saudi Arabia next a trade event in Istanbul.

Erdogan added that he will discuss with King Salman month.

“I received an invitation from Custodian of the Two bilateral trade relations and the means of removing

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any obstacles hindering them.

His remark came in response to a question by a Turkish businesswoman about the undeclared Saudi ban on Turkish goods and her demand to resolve this issue.

The Turkish administration later stated that the date of the visit is not confirmed yet, but it did not deny Erdogan’s revelation.

Russia’s Sputnik news agency quoted the Turkish administration as acknowledging that Erdogan’s visit to Saudi Arabia was not confirmed yet.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

Previous meeting between Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ankara’s unclear stance on the date of the Turkish president’s expected visit to Riyadh is very suggestive regarding developments in the course of Turkish-Saudi relations, in particular, and Turkish-Gulf relations, in general.

This is also true of the Turkish administration’s announcement of Erdogan’s upcoming visit to the United Arab Emirates. Despite the news published by some websites quoting the Turkish foreign minister as saying that the president will visit the UAE in midFebruary (Feb. 14 or 15), yet the administration once again did not provide any confirmation.

“The date of Erdogan’s visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia is not confirmed yet, and all we have are his statements about intending to visit both countries,” Ankara told Sputnik.

Turkey faces various internal, regional and international challenges that prevent it from smoothly taking a firm stance and determining its orientation precisely and clearly, especially in regards to the complex issues which are topped by its ties with the Kingdom.

Ankara has recently shown willingness to restore relations with Riyadh and has taken concrete steps to express its goodwill. Below are some indicators: 1- Erdogan’s statement about rapprochement with the Kingdom was not the first. In an interview in December with TRT World, a Turkish public international news channel, he said that Ankara is keen to promote ties with Riyadh. “We are determined to improve Turkey’s relations with all Gulf countries... and there are very serious possibilities for cooperation between us.

Our economies are integrated, and I hope to see new cooperative projects based on mutual benefit, such as joint investment opportunities.”

His remarks are in line with previous statements by

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For the past two years Turkey has been undergoing several transformations in its foreign policy. It aims at returning to zero crises with its neighboring countries after suffering from regional isolation.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, in which he expressed Ankara’s willingness to enhance relations with Riyadh.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic also told a press conference in late June that Turkey attaches great importance to the security and stability of the Gulf region, adding that Ankara is keen to develop cooperation with the Gulf States and the region. He affirmed that there is no political disagreement between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

2- Turkey’s compliance with many Arab demands regarding the extremist and terrorist organizations it supports and uses as leverage against some Arab countries.

Perhaps its decision to halt its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and violent extremist organizations that raise tensions in multiple regions and threaten the stability and security of many Arab countries reflects its actual willingness to settle its differences with major Arab countries in the region, specifically Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 3- Turkey’s hosting of high-level talks in November 2021. Turkish Vice President Fuad Oktay met with Saudi Trade Minister Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qabasi in Istanbul and discussed bilateral ties, especially in the field of commerce. The talks aimed at boosting bilateral trade, which suffered a significant decline during the past three years due to the dispute between the two countries.

According to official statistics, this dispute has led to a high inflation rate and the plunge of the Turkish lira to an all-time low.

4- Turkey’s respect for Saudi court’s decision in Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi’s case, which sparked tension between the two countries.

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“They had a court. Trials have been held,” Kalin said.

“They made a decision, so we respect that decision.”

Ankara considers it unreasonable to define TurkishSaudi relations and interests based on this case, which represents a major shift in Turkish policy towards the Kingdom. Turkey has repeatedly interfered in Saudi Arabia’s internal affairs under the pretext of following the developments of this case, a policy which has proven to be a failure.

5- Turkey’s recent shift in its policy towards the Arab Gulf and Egypt.

It has recently enhanced relations at all levels with the two Gulf States, the UAE and Bahrain, which supported Saudi Arabia’s rejection of the Turkish interventions.

The UAE-Turkish rapprochement has prompted the Kingdom to respond to Ankara’s attempts to restore ties.

It is possible to notice the beginnings of a shift in the Saudi stance towards Turkey, in support of the enhanced ties between Turkey and the GCC, on one hand, and Egypt, on the other hand.

Saudi Arabia is aware of the importance of its position and role in promoting GCC objectives. It has been keen to bridge the rift among GCC States and support their path to preserve their unity, in light of all the various challenges and crises.

The Kingdom decided to restore ties with Turkey since it maintained good relations with Qatar, Kuwait and Oman and has enhanced cooperative ties with the UAE and Bahrain.

Therefore, it is possible to notice the beginnings of a shift in the Saudi stance towards Turkey, in support of the enhanced ties between Turkey and the GCC, on one hand, and Egypt, on the other hand.

ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED In light of Ankara’s recent strategy, and the Kingdom’s policy to interact positively with any steps taken by parties with whom it has differences, Erdogan’s upcoming visit to Riyadh could open major doors for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples.

However, Turkey must be aware of the importance of changing its approach and committing to implement whatever is agreed upon, especially as there are several issues that should be addressed and settled.

Among these are the two following issues: 1- Turkey’s interests and Saudi Arabia’s boycott of Turkish products.

The Turkish economy was negatively affected by the Kingdom’s decision and has been facing major chal-

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in May 2021.

International pressure hasn’t deterred Turkey from intervening militarily in northern Syria.

lenges. According to the data released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GAStat) in late August, Saudi purchases of Turkish goods are still at their lowest historical levels despite recent efforts to mend the strained ties.

2- The interests of Saudi Arabia and its regional partners. This issue is related to the security and stability which the Kingdom supports to protect the region from internal conflicts and foreign interventions.

This topic applies in the ongoing Turkish interference in the Libyan crisis, which disrupted the process of restoring stability and security there.

It is also the case in Iraq, where progress has been stalled due to the Turkish and Iranian interventions.

Both countries have been keen to create conflicts that hinder any prospective agreement to establish peace and security in the country.

Turkey should commit not to support the extremist and terrorist organizations which it deploys to implement its agenda in the region.

To conclude, Turkey has been witnessing several transformations and shifts in its foreign policy for the past two years. It aims at returning to the principle of zero crises and problems with its neighboring countries that have left Ankara largely isolated in the Arab world.

In the recent past, Ankara disregarded the divisions caused by its policies, especially in the Middle East region. It reversed them from “zero problems with neighboring countries” to direct interventions in their affairs, military deployment in Syria and Libya, expanding its existing military presence in northern Iraq, and antago-

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Despite all these shifts in Turkey’s policies, most of which remain verbal, it is important to start taking confidence-building measures through serious steps to resolve many disputed issues. nizing the major regional powers.

However, the severe crises, especially at the economic level, and the international political developments, topped by the new US administration’s adoption of hardline positions towards Erdogan’s regime, have pushed Ankara to mend ties with regional countries.

“We have no hidden or declared biases. Nor do we have enmities against any party. We sincerely call on all parties to work together to enter a new phase and achieve stability, security, justice and respect,” the President said.

However, despite all these shifts in Turkey’s policies, most of which remain verbal, it is important to be very cautious about dealing with these statements, through which Turkey is trying to reassure countries of the region.

It should start taking confidence-building measures through serious steps to resolve many disputed issues.

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olitics

Iranian Drones Increase Shakes International Security

Repercussions of Houthi Attack on UAE Oil Company Complex

By Jassim Mohamad – Bonn A Houthi drone attack near Abu Dhabi airport killed at least three people and set off several explosions on January 17, 2022 and

a statement by Abu Dhabi Police stated that three tanker trucks carrying fuel exploded in the Musaffah area of the emirate after it caught fire and investigations indicated a drone attack.

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The explosion hit three oil tankers near a compound of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Mussafah Industrial Area, a pipeline located about 22 kilometers from downtown Abu Dhabi where there are 36 fuel tanks. The site of the explosion is a short distance from Al Dhafra Air Base, a military facility that hosts US and French forces.

A picture shows an installation of drone models in Tahrir Square in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on January 2022 ,18. (Photo

by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Britain, France and Germany had previously condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia, which were claimed by the Houthis, saying that the proliferation of drones poses a serious threat to regional stability.

The site of the ADNOC facility where the explosion occurred in the tanks is located about 1,800 km northeast of Saada, the stronghold of the Houthis in Yemen.

The Houthis have previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Abu Dhabi airport. The Houthis used bomb-laden drones to launch inaccurate terrorist at- of threat, by means of drones, against the tacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE dur- UAE and the region. This means that unless regional countries can find a solution ing the war. to deter Houthi militia attacks, the region The Houthi militia also fired missiles at will remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Saudi airports, oil facilities and pipelines and used booby-trapped boats to launch The UAE has been fighting a war within the Arab coalition to support legitimacy attacks on the main shipping routes. in Yemen since 2015 and despite the A spokeswoman for the Secretary-Gen- withdrawal of its forces from Yemen, it is eral of the United Nations, Antonio Gu- still supportive of the Arab coalition and terres, condemned the attack on the Unit- legitimacy in Yemen. ed Arab Emirates and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and pre- The increasing use of drones by Iran and vent any escalation. French Foreign Min- its allies in the Middle East is raising ister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the attack alarm in Washington. The United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran over would threaten regional stability. its supply of drones and related materials Britain, France and Germany had previ- to rebel groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen ously condemned the attacks on Saudi and Ethiopia.

Arabia, which were claimed by the Houthis, saying that the proliferation of drones The majority of Houthi unmanned naval poses a serious threat to regional stability. attacks targeted commercial cargo ships The attack on Musaffah Industrial came such as tankers or cargo tankers and taron the heels of the loss of the military of- geted civilian ports and oil production and distribution facilities. fensive in Yemen’s Marib.

The UAE, a member of the coalition, has supported and trained local Yemeni forces that recently joined the fight against the Houthis in the energy-producing areas of Shabwa and Marib in Yemen.

The attack can be considered a new form

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On October 29, 2021, the US Treasury announced new sanctions against two prominent members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, two other individuals, and two companies that the United States says is affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s drone program.

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The US Treasury said the proliferation of Iranian drones throughout the region threatens international peace and stability. Houthi rebels have used drones to target and assassinate Yemeni leaders and have also struck key national infrastructure in places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The attack indicates a new form of threat, by means of drones, against the UAE and the region.

Unless regional countries can find a solution to deter Houthis, the region will remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

It is likely that the current technology of the most advanced drones could be used to launch terrorist attacks in the future.

Drones, especially those that are used for military purposes, have become a serious threat to many countries of the world. In addition to being used to collect information from outside the borders of states, they are also capable of launching “suicide attacks.”

The danger is also that they are difficult to detect by conventional radars, especially modern UAVs with stealth capabilities.

Drones are a new threat to maritime navigation.

The Houthis now possess a range of cruise and ballistic missiles, drones and other confrontational weapons capable of striking targets throughout the Gulf and the region.

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Men stand next to a tank at a storage facility of oil giant ADNOC in the Msaffah industrial district in the Emiarti capital Abu Dhabi on January 2022 ,17. Three people were killed in a suspected drone attack that set off a blast and a fire in Abu Dhabi today, officials said, as Yemen’s rebels announced military operations in the United Arab Emirates. Two Indians and a Pakistani died as three petrol tanks exploded near the storage facility of oil giant ADNOC, while a fire ignited in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport.

(Photo by AFP)

This handout satellite image made available by Planet Labs PBC shows a fuel depot of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Musaffah industrial district in the Emirati capital, on January 2022 ,15. (AFP PHOTO / © 2022 Planet Labs PBC).

This requires the United Nations to condemn Iranian interference in support of the Houthi militias and to demand that Iran abandons its support in the Vienna negotiations when supporting the Houthi militias.

It is important to hold international forums or conferences in order to show the dangers of using drones by Iran and its loyal militias, especially in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and other countries.

Houthi and Iranian attacks in the Gulf have repercussions for US partners, such as Israel, which faces a significant threat of confrontation from Iran-linked groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

What the United States, the United Nations, and the Security Council should do is impose sanctions on the Houthi militia in Yemen and put it on the terrorist list.

It should highlight the military attacks of the Houthis and Iranians against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah’s continued supply of weapons systems to the Houthis.

There is no doubt that the Houthi naval threat is real and escalating to commercial ships, so the best measures must be taken to avoid approaching drones, to preserve the Gulf or the Red Sea. It has become necessary to support countries facing the challenges of the militias the Houthis, armed factions and chaos, to impose security and disarm those militias.

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Jassim Mohamad is a researcher who focuses on international security & counter-terrorism; his work covers Europe, Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran and Yemen), and African Sahel. He is the Head of the European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies ECCI.

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Denouncing Iranian Presence, Protests Erupt in Countryside of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

Expert in Iranian Politics Reveals to Majalla Reasons Behind Demonstrations

By Jiwan Soz - Qamishli Popular demonstrations took place in various parts of the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, Syria, at the beginning of this week, denouncing the control of Iranian-backed militias over parts of that province, which lies on the border with Iraq.

Those demonstrations took place in towns located in the countryside of the province under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is supported by the international coalition led by the United States against ISIS.

They called for expelling the militias backed by Tehran from their areas.

Local sources told Majalla that “the demonstrations are spontaneous, and the participants are calling for the fighters to return to their homes,” after the militias backed by Tehran seized control of the parts of the province that were under the control of the Syrian regime forces.

The SDF controls parts of the countryside of Deir ez-Zor while the regime forces control the greater part of the governorate center and its affiliated towns. Meanwhile, the militias backed

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Muhammad Mohsen Abu Al-Nour, political researcher and head of the Arab Forum for Iranian Policy Analysis (AFAIP).

A fighter from Deir al-Zor military council which fights under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds the council’s flag in the village of Abu Fas, Hasaka province, Syria September 9, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said

by Tehran are present in the parts under the regime’s control.

“These demonstrations are made for security and societal reasons,” said political researcher Muhammad Mohsen Abu Al-Nour, head of the Arab Forum for Iranian Policy Analysis (AFAIP).

He stressed that “protesters were aware of Iranian goals in the long run, and therefore they went out in these demonstrations to denounce the Iranian presence in their areas”.

Here is the full text of the interview that Majalla conducted by phone with the international expert on Iranian affairs.

Q: There were demonstrations in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor governorate with protesters demanding the removal of Iranian-backed militias from their areas. What do you think has prompted residents to go out in these demonstrations?

A: With regard to the recent demonstrations of the people of Deir ez-Zor governorate, they, of course, come in the context of their demands for security and improvement of their economic living conditions in addition to getting their political and social rights, especially as they demanded the departure of the militias supported by Tehran from their areas.

Obviously, the demonstrators do not want Iranian influence in Deir ez-Zor province, especially since Tehran is working on a policy of demographic change in those areas and the garrison of loyalist militias in them.

Q: Are there other reasons behind the emergence of these demonstrations?

A: It is also known that the people of Deir ez-Zor are of the Sunni component, as is the majority of the Syrian society while Iran brought sectarian militias from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Q: Why did the protests take place at this particular time?

A: Iran wants these militias to be part of Syrian society and not simply be an emergency situation that changes with changing circumstances, and of course this is unacceptable.

But the problem is that Deir ez-Zor is located within two

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“The demonstrators do not want Iranian influence in Deir ez-Zor province, especially since Tehran is working on a policy of demographic change in those areas and the garrison of loyalist militias in them.” areas of influence, one of which is under the control of the SDF and the other is under the control of the forces of the Syrian regime which is fully supported by Iranian militias.

The people of Deir ez-Zor realized that Tehran wants to position itself in their areas strategically and on a longterm basis, to be part of the future of Syria, not merely to deal with the current problems regarding the situation prevailing in Syria since March 2011.

Therefore, demonstrations took place in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor denouncing the Iranian presence due to the awareness of protesters in this strategic point regarding Tehran’s continued presence in the Syrian future.

Q. Tehran has many armed militias in Syria and they are located in sectors that are adjacent to vital areas such as the borders with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

Therefore, do these militias pose a threat to regional security in addition to menacing the Syrian interior?

A: Of course, it creates a very great danger and it has already posed a threat to international peace and security, not only in the Middle East. It has created heresies that other parties may follow. The evidence for this is that Turkey resorted to sea, air and land militias during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the fall of 2020 and Iran created a great problem back then.

After thirty or fifty years, historians will say that Iran is the one that invented the idea of portable sectarian and loyalist militias moving from one country to another to carry out military and strategic missions, and this poses a very great danger to security.

Not only on an international and regional level, but at the level of the Syrian interior, Iran destabilized the country and does not want to make compromise solutions in the next stage.

It wants to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad personally as part of Syria’s future at any price through a settlement such as the Sochi and Astana agreements. It is looking for an economic role, as in the real estate and telecommunications sectors which is also a great danger.

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pinion

Arab World, Neighboring Countries Addicted to Instability

By Abdelkader Zaoui

The relationships between Arab and non-Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are unstable. The interrelationships, both bilateral and multilateral, which seemed to be unbreakable, suddenly became fragile or cold and sometimes hit rock bottom. Circumstances that were not imagined until recently have actually existed, developed and deepened secretly and publicly, and in all areas. While other ties seem to be inconsistent, sometimes they are active and other times they are lukewarm without any explanation behind the reason of this change.

This instability is the result of a group of factors that emerged after the fall of many taboos that were prevalent in the region, the loss of loyalties and the eruption of buried grudges. It led to an almost chronic state of uncertainty in the area extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the mountains of Afghanistan. In fact, it has become divided among entities immersed in bloody civil wars and others drained by border disputes, and most of them are involved in ethnic, religious and sectarian conflicts or economic problems and their subsequent political and social tensions.

most of the bilateral and multilateral ties, especially after the margins for maneuver have narrowed or disappeared, prompting all the countries of the region to take more precautions and be constantly prepared for any emergency. They seek major resources to develop their military and security potentials at the expense of construction and development requirements. These countries realize that the world will not shed a single tear of grief for the weak and can live with the reality imposed by the strong.

In this context, it is not surprising that regional countries possess the most weapons in the world. Their military spending in the past decade was estimated at about $500 billion, without calculating the value of locally manufactured arms in some countries such as Turkey, Iran and Israel. Many of these countries, especially those with high population density and limited resources, lag behind in the international indicators of economic and human development.

These unstable ties do not dismiss attempts and initiatives by parties that are either directly involved in the tensions or fear their negative reOf course, this instability results percussions to bridge the rifts. They in widening the gap of mistrust in claimed efforts to launch bilateral 32

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or group dialogues, according to the cases, to find commonalities between the parties concerned to pave the way for achieving serious and acceptable settlements to the conflicts that are rampant throughout the region or at least contain them and limit their repercussions.

However, most, if not all, of these attempts and initiatives were hindered by the fact that some parties do not have sincere intentions to help initiate serious talks. Many experiences have proven that the calls for dialogue were only a pretext to gain time to complete the assembly of the elements of power necessary to change the facts on the ground and impose a new reality, which was evident from their intransigence in several cases.

end up differently. They all failed or spun in closed mazes. The Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have been long paralyzed not only in the face of the existing problems among some of their members but also in issuing common stances on the issues that concern them.

Some of the recent initiatives that have failed to attain their objectives are: * The US project of a Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), which was first announced during then US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2017, with the participation of the six Gulf States, the United States, Egypt and Jordan

* Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), which was esTherefore, all these efforts failed to tablished in 2015 and comprised 41 settle the region’s problems and its countries. Most these countries anvarious conflicts. The United Na- nounced took part on paper only. tions and its affiliated organizations stood helpless in the face of the long- * The Iranian-Qatari proposal to form lasting and perennial conflicts such an organization similar to the Organas the Palestinian cause and the Ar- ization for Security and Cooperation ab-Israeli conflict, the emerging dif- in Europe to avoid the region’s conferences such as civil wars that have flicts reaching the edge of the abyss. destroyed many countries, including It was not even discussed.

Syria, Libya and Yemen and some border disputes such as that over the In 2017, Germany’s former Foreign Moroccan Sahara Region. Added to Minister Joschka Fischer wrote that these is the tension fueled by Ethi- the defeat of ISIS is likely to open opia’s intransigence and failure to a new chapter in the region’s bloody ensure fair and legal quotas for both and chaotic history. “The continuEgypt and Sudan in the Blue Nile ation of this violent pattern seems waters. almost certain because the region remains unable to resolve internal conThe efforts of local regional organi- flicts on its own, or to create anything zations, as well as the attempts and like a resilient framework for peace.” initiatives by some regional countries, which cooperated with each Has the region become addicted to inother or with foreign powers, did not stability? Or this is its fate?

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This instability is the result of a group of factors that emerged after the fall of many taboos that were prevalent in the region, the loss of loyalties and the eruption of buried grudges .

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Iranian Farmers Suffer over Imports Ban

Lack of Control and Poor Commitment to Safety Standards Endangers Iranian Agriculture

By Majalla – Tehran

decided to ban the import of red watermelons from Iran.

Many countries have banned the import of Ira- Kihosru Jankluay, head of the Plant Conservanian agricultural crops, whose quantities are tion Organization, said, “The main reasons that estimated at thousands of tons. These countries led Russia and other countries to ban Iranian aginclude Russia, which has not accepted Iranian ricultural crops is the use of 4 types of pesticides pepper, Uzbekistan, which refuses to import po- that do not comply with safety standards and the tatoes, India, which has banned the import of absence of an identification tag containing data kiwi, as well as some Gulf countries that have such as the name of the product and the place of

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Azam Bahrami, an Iranian expert in environmental affairs

production.”

On the other hand, Kaveh Zarkaran, head of the Agriculture and Processing Industries Committee in the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated, “There are laws regarding the levels of pesticide residues, but they are not implemented, and there is no control over the levels of pesticide residues carried by crops in farms, and therefore these crops are taken out of farms and sold in the markets in the absence of audit about the quantity of pesticides that they carry.”

Majalla interviewed Azam Bahrami, an Iranian expert in environmental affairs residing in Italy, to discuss the ban on Iranian agricultural products, its causes and repercussions.

Q. Are the levels of pesticide residues checked when exporting agricultural products in Iran?

Are there laws in Iran that specify the maximum use of pesticides?

The Iranian regime uses the “Executive Regulations for the Handling and Payment of Plant Pesticides.” This regulation contains more than 60 articles that explain in detail these pesticides, how they are used, and the permissible standards, including their shelf life on crops. The regulation indicates what farm owners must do regarding the use of pesticide spraying equipment and the types of equipment available. This regulation also emphasizes the need to train farmers.

Many authorities supervise agricultural crops in different periods, namely planting, care and harvesting. The Plant Conservation Organization is overseeing part of the operation, and this organization is affiliated with the Ministry of Jihad and Agriculture, which directly oversees or through one of its affiliated bodies on the stage of distribution and use of agricultural pesticides, the schedule prepared for distribution and use, training of farmers and supervision of the quantity of pesticides distributed among farms.

We also have many bodies, including the Food and Drug Organization of the Ministry of Health that organizes the identification tag for agricultural crops and issues an endorsement for meeting the required standards for the product. The National Veterinary Quality Assurance Laboratory separately supervises poultry and livestock.

Local laboratories in each governorate monitor the levels of antibiotics and other substances in meat in slaughterhouses and poultry farms.

This means that the process of supervision and

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“The main reasons that led Russia and other countries to ban Iranian agricultural crops is the use of 4 types of pesticides that do not comply with safety standards.” scrutiny in Iran is distributed to many competent parties, but all this talk remains on paper and is not being implemented on the ground, and none of these institutions perform their duties well. Reports on the ban on importing Iranian agricultural crops may have been published recently, but they have already existed for a long time, and we have multiple examples of banning Iranian exports by several countries for various reasons such as high pesticide residues, the use of invalid pesticides that do not conform to international standards or mold, especially processed foods and rotting nuts, and falsification of product certificates and documents.

Countries set more stringent standards every year to ensure the safety and quality of food products and are keen on more mechanisms to control them because countries are constantly developing standards and conditions for food products and crops and their safety.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is taking stricter measures every year and many countries in the world are bound by them. In any case, these authorities are taking precautions and strict measures due to the spread of globalized agriculture, the increase in the number of farms, increased production of food products and multinational companies that produce genetically modified seeds and equipment to control agricultural pests, pesticides and fertilizers polluting the environment.

Concerned organizations are constantly updating their standards and requirements for foodstuffs to reduce global warming, such as labeling genetically modified crops and promoting a low-carbon diet, with the aim of maintaining consumer health and the safety of agricultural products and promoting ecological agriculture.

So we have a set of intertwined laws and inter-

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connected international, regional and local organizations with the aim of preserving the environment.

Countries around the world take strict policies on importing food products. Is Iran adopting strict measures regarding safety requirements for imported food products?

Available data indicate that the rate of control over imports and exports in Iran is very weak and this is the reason for the many problems in the export and import of adulterated, poorquality and moldy food products, which caused food poisoning on a large scale similar to rice imported from China and India, frozen Brazilian meat and even spoiled skincare products, makeup products and cosmetics. The Iranian Ministry of Health does not have any control over the import of these cosmetic products and medicines that are packaged and sold on the black market.

The Oil-for-Food Programme has led to some forms of exploitation and harmful practices by the powerful mafia on the black market. They are importing poor quality foodstuffs without any supervision on the one hand, and on the other hand we see that Iran’s economy is in isolation. Therefore, the Iranian regime has no way but to seek to strengthen its economic relations with a few countries such as China and India, which leads to acceptance of the products offered by these countries for sale to Iran, regardless of their poor quality or not meeting the necessary standards.

Production, regardless of quality, is the main goal of the Iranian regime to achieve the goals of the “resistance economy” and reach “self-suf-

“Production, regardless of quality, is the main goal of the regime to achieve “resistance economy” and “selfsufficiency.” Production ‘whatever the price is’ leads to weak oversight.”

ficiency.” Here we are talking about production “whatever the price”, which leads to weak oversight. Producers and factories try to reduce the cost of production as much as possible. Reducing the cost of production, in turn, leads to ignoring many of the specifications and conditions necessary in the stages of selecting and purchasing raw materials and packaging. Thus, all these factors result in selling the inferior product at a higher price than its real price in the market.

All of these practices exist in Iran. It can be said that consumers in Iran are being oppressed and their rights are lost, especially in food products with short shelf life. These products are experiencing poor quality and packaging and a decrease in quantity in Iran because huge amounts of materials used in food packaging, from plastic to paper, are not recycled. As we note, there are many factors that contribute to good production practices. Iran has good soil and abundant water resources through which to carry out the best production practices for food products, but the authorities today are going against this trend due to the absence of control and supervision overall production stages in Iran.

What are the most prominent health risks resulting from the indiscriminate and uncontrolled use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers on Iranians?

There are direct and indirect effects due to the extent of the use of pesticides as chemical poisons and the rest of them on the surface or inside agricultural products. If Iran does not adhere to these standards, this will negatively affect agriculture in the long term, because the soil will absorb these toxins, which will lead to its pollution and will result in health problems for consumers, including short-term ones such as dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, skin allergies, eye allergies and other allergies. The other is long-term effects similar to cancer types such as rectal and colon cancer, stomach cancer, leukemia and reproductive problems. Even reports issued by the FAO during the past ten years indicated that the indiscriminate use of pesticides in agriculture may lead to Parkinson’s disease.

Indiscriminate use of pesticides has indirect

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A farmer carries bundles of rice seedlings for workers to plant on his field near Amol, 220 km (137 miles) northeast of Tehran, May 6, 2008. REUTERS/Caren Firouz

consequences such as water and soil pollution.

These toxins enter the groundwater, which may not only be for agricultural purposes, but also for human consumption. Farmers in the northern part of the country face many challenges, such as the use of poor quality pesticides and the absence of an efficient irrigation system in farms, especially in rice fields. These toxins also may enter the body of fish that retain large amounts of lead and heavy metals in their bodies for a long time, and this leads to serious diseases in children and the elderly when eating these contaminated fish.

The proportion of antibiotics and medicines given to birds and livestock is of great importance because quantities greater than the ceiling set in international standards may remain in the meat and lead to the growth of bacteria resistant to the antibiotics we take and thus the body does not respond to the antibiotics we need in the event of a disease. These are some of the indirect consequences of the indiscriminate and uncontrolled use of pesticides.

There is an important matter in this regard, which is if farmers become accustomed to the indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemical

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If Iran does not adhere to standards, it will negatively affect agriculture in the long term, because the soil will absorb these toxins causing pollution and health problems for consumers. fertilizers, which leads to a rapid increase in crop yields, this may lead to the prosperity and spread of companies producing and promoting these pesticides and fertilizers, and to completely ignoring organic farming systems and organic pesticides, which will result in a significant increase in the prices of organic products and the inability of farmers to purchase them in Iran.

Therefore, the agricultural sector in Iran faces major challenges and problems that lead to poor quality and safety standards, and the biggest loser is the consumer.

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Global Supply Chain Weakness Delays Saudi Auto Orders

With Exception of Luxury and Chinese Cars

By Motasem Al Felou - Jeddah

problem and how it affected car sales in the Kingdom.

“Buying a vehicle, new or used, has become more difficult than before. The biggest car dealers told me I had to book the car 3 to 6 months before I receive it. I was told that car manufacturers are having complicated production problems. Japanese, Korean, American and European automakers are not producing enough cars,” Hamed Abdulkhaliq, a Jeddah-based private sector employee, told Majalla.

Except for luxury cars, the huge demand for new cars in Saudi Arabia is not being met by automakers for different reasons. The car production challenge is related directly to a bigger crisis: COVID19-. Let’s trace the origins of the

SHORTAGE OF SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPS “In March 2020, automakers were forced to close their plants temporarily all over the world. They halted orders from suppliers without knowing when production would be resumed. On the other hand, the demand for electronic devices rose dramatically. Semiconductor chipmakers re-routed their supplies to electronics companies to fill the rising demand for TV’s, computers, video games, etc.,” said Yousef Salem, a car sales expert based in Jeddah.

But how is this related to cars? What is the importance of electronic chips?

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Salem answered, “Semiconductor chips are extremely important in the auto industry. From door locks and brakes to dashboards and radios, chips are essential and cars cannot be made without them. The chip industry is worth USD 500 billion. The production was disrupted in countries like South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries around the world. Those countries were hit hard by COVID19- and the factories have not restored production to the pre-pandemic levels!”

“According to the latest industry reports, the world has lost around 11 million units of production in the car industry worldwide. This trend will continue in 2022 and 2023 until the chipmakers fully recover. Each chip order takes 6-3 months to be finalized and shipped to carmakers. It will take us 2 to 3 years for chipmakers to restore their capacity with more investment and plants being built now,” he explained.

It is important to note that the auto industry accounts for less than %10 of the global chip market, meaning that chipmakers’ priority is electronics companies, a matter that causes further delays in chip orders.

WEAK SUPPLY CHAINS GWM Haval car at Auto Expo 2020, on February 2020 ,5, in Greater Noida, India. Chinese GWM Cars have recently established presence in Saudi Arabia. (Getty)

Supply chains refer to the process of making and selling commercial goods, from supplying raw materials and manufacturing to distribution and sales.

It is a full circle that needs to be completed to have consumer products available in the markets. When supply chains are disrupted, markets will eventually suffer from shortages. This is exactly what is happening in the auto industry.

“If we take Japanese cars as an example, we will find that tens of countries are included in the supply chain. Each part of the vehicle is brought, produced and manufactured in one country or more, and sent to Japan which does not produce any raw materials. Due to closing production facilities in different parts of the world following the COVID19- lockdown, the supply chains have been disrupted, which made it difficult for Japanese automakers to fill in gaps. That explains the delay of car orders to the Saudi market and the rest of the world,” said expert Yousef Salem.

Except for luxury cars, the huge demand for new cars in Saudi Arabia is not being met by automakers for different reasons. The car production challenge is related directly to a bigger crisis: COVID- 19. addition, higher inflation rates have made automakers more cost conscious. That’s why car prices are rising by %10 to %15 in the Saudi car market. This is a clear example of “imported inflation” that raises consumer prices for goods coming from abroad,” he added.

LUXURY CAR EXCEPTION “Luxury cars are available in the market and you can buy and receive your car on the same day from Saudi dealers. The automakers of luxury cars produce fewer vehicles than the ones dedicated to the “middle classes.” The supply chains for luxury cars were less exposed to shortages and weaknesses,” said Ousama Hamad.

Another exception is the Chinese cars. I visited some Chinese car showrooms in Jeddah and noticed that almost all models are available. Luxury cars which cost USD 80,000 and above were ready for sale without waiting lists.

“The Chinese were better prepared and they are ahead of competition. Our customers don’t have to wait to get their car delivered to them,” said a showroom salesperson.

It seems that Chinese automakers managed to keep their supply chains on track, which gives them a bigger slice in the Saudi car market.

CAR PLANT CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

MARKET INSIGHTS

Tens of thousands of workers in the auto industry were laid off worldwide in 2020 as companies could not afford paying its workers with the decline in sales. There were huge stocks of cars that nobody bought and automakers were skeptical about the future.

“With more money pumped into financial institutions by governments and the quick recovery of car markets in 2021, it was not easy for automakers to restore their production capacity,” said Ousama Hamad, a long-time car expert in the Saudi car retail market.

“Automakers had to hire people again to resume production, but the lack of semiconductor chips slowed new hiring. In

Saudi Arabia is the biggest car importer in the Middle East with a %40 share. In 2019, the total value of imported cars was USD 12 billion. The demand remained stable despite global decline because women are a major growth driver after they were granted the right to drive cars in 2018.

“Saudi Arabia is on the radar of major auto makers. The Saudi markets have recovered from the consequences of the pandemic and the economy is expected to grow by %7 in 2022. This is good news for automakers. However, they need to strengthen supply chains and produce more vehicles to satisfy the rising demand, especially with the Saudi banks’ policies to lend more money to consumers,” concluded expert Ousama Hamad.

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The Secret to Creating New Public Parks Out of Thin Air: Foam

By Nate Berg

At Cascade Park, a new green space along Lake Michigan outside of Chicago’s Loop, the sloping grassy hillside and pockets of trees and shrubs belie what’s happening just below the surface. Covering nearly an acre of land, the park is a kind of landscaped facade.

Under the few feet of soil that sustain the plantings, the earth gives way to 3,000 cubic yards of what’s known as geofoam, a lightweight structural material. That sea of foam blocks sits on a cantilever of concrete holding the park above a still-active network of service roads, below. Instead of looking down on those streets, the foam and the landscaped park turn the airspace into a new chunk of urban land, draped over the emptiness.

In projects across Chicago—and in a growing number of urban centers around North America—the spaces above parking garages and other transportation infrastructures are being transformed into parks and green spaces, seemingly out of thin air. Using lessons from Chicago’s experience topping buildings with park-like green roofs, designers are finding new ways to conceal unsightly urban infrastructure with usable urban space that requires only the thinnest layer of actual dirt and roots.

Cascade Park is an example of how this approach is making new public space in the more challenging locations. Developed by Lendlease and Magellan Development Group, Cascade Park is adjacent to a new -37story apartment tower and -47story condominium.

Connecting to the shore of Lake Michigan, the park transcends 55 feet of grade change, carving a steep, yet accessible, path between the water and the residences. Opened in August, the park creates a ground floor amenity for both buildings’ residents and the

neighborhood (newly dubbed Lakeshore East) at large.

It’s an approach that offers new possibilities for urban design, according to Tom Kerwin, founding principal of Chicago-based bKL Architecture, which designed the development that includes Cascade Park. The park was enabled by a revision in the site’s overall master planning: eliminating the first five floors of each building’s chunky concrete garage podiums. In their stead: open space looking out over the service roads

Geofoam blocks being installed for an MTA project in New York City. (Photo: MTA/ Flickr via TNS)

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Cascade Park is adjacent to a new -37story apartment tower and -47story condominium. (Photo: Dave Burk/courtesy Confluence via TNS )

below. This reduction in parking allowed more space for the park, which now juts out over those service drives in a seamless expansion surrounding the buildings. “It’s really a new ground plane,” Kerwin says.

The park itself was designed by Claude Comier + Associés of Montreal and executed by Confluence, a landscape-architecture-and-urban-planning firm with nine offices across the Midwest. Matthew Strange, a principal at Confluence, says new materials are enabling these kinds of parks to be built in unlikely spaces, often without any indication that they’re topping some preexisting infrastructure. Had soil been used for the entire depth, the park would have weighed an unwieldy 3,300 tons. Instead, the combination of geofoam and soil totals a mere fraction at just 2.25 tons, making it possible to cantilever this space over an active street below.

“There are some places where it’s 3 or 4 feet thick with foam underneath. You’d never see it at the surface, but underneath there’s a massive amount of foam,” says Strange. “Everything that’s needed to support the weight of a structure like that has really advanced technologically over the last three decades.”

Many of these advancements have been accelerated by Chicago’s green roof ordinance, which offers incentives to developers who add vegetation to at least %50 of their buildings’ rooftops. This has resulted in -500plus vegetated roofs citywide, covering more than 5 million square feet.

The approach is being used to create new types of urban spaces. One of the most notable examples sits just a few blocks away from Cascade Park at Millennium Park,

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Using lessons from Chicago’s experience topping buildings with park-like green roofs, designers are finding new ways to conceal unsightly urban infrastructure with usable urban space that requires only the thinnest layer of actual dirt and roots. a vast green space and concert venue, which was built atop a wide stretch of discontinued rail lines running into and through downtown Chicago.

Confluence has several similar projects underway in Chicago, including a plaza along the riverside that floats above active rail lines, and a forthcoming -1.5 acre public park built over a parking garage across from Union Station. Other projects are underway in Nashville and Dallas.

“They really represent this opportunity to create public space where there wasn’t any before,” says Strange.

“Places that were previously parking garages or highways or whatever, all of a sudden now, can become these really vibrant public spaces.”

This article was originally published on Fast Company.

A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Sa Robert Lewandowski: Best Men’s Player of the Year

www.majalla.com

F

eature

From Homs with Love

Arabic Calligraphy and Home Themes Adorn Works of Syrian Fashion Designer

By Amany M. Salem

techniques used.”

Beyond the simple meaning of a place of residence, “home” is often synonymous with all the nostalgic feelings that carry us to the beginnings whether these were childhood moments, family gatherings, all cozy settings that embraced our best memories, or a homeland that we moved from in pursuit of a better future.

This longing can be integral to an expat’s life, but a simple representation of their homeland would just be as heartwarming and blissful as it would be nostalgic.

That’s one result achieved by almost every piece of art created by Dawlat Khaleel, a young Syrian woman based in Homs.

From her art studio, Dawlat produces unique and customized clothing designs with a signature drawing or Arabic calligraphy that travel across the world.

Dawlat was born in Homs, Syria, and spent her childhood between Homs and Damascus. She studied economics and was specialized in finance and banking, and pursued an additional degree in English literature.

“I loved drawing and fashion since my childhood, and my family was supportive at that young age, but their priority was finishing my academic education so I had to focus on my studies, and take arts as my hobby,” Dawlat told Majalla.

Although it was not related to art, she decided to use her economics education in starting her business as it helped her with conducting the feasibility study required.

“Now I’m studying fashion design online,” she noted.

“Self-education was my means to refine my artistic skills.

I also had to do a lot of training and experimenting, in addition to continuous research for the best materials and

SIGNATURE CALLIGRAPHY STYLE At the bottom of a shining cashmere-colored dress, Dawlat aesthetically wrote an Arabic line from the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry: “We love life if we find a way to it. And we steal from the silkworm a thread to build a sky and fence in this departure.”

Dawlat believes that painting and calligraphy are related, because in calligraphy Arabic letters are drawn according

A scarf adorned with a verse from Mustafa Sadiq Al-Rafi’s poetry in Arabic calligraphy. (Courtesy of Dawlat Khaleel)

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When choosing lines from Darwish, Mustafa Sadeq al-Rafi, Nizar Qabbani, the Rahbani brothers, and many more to draw on her designs, Dawlat is resorting to a trove of Arabic prose, poetry and songs. international calligrapher and learned calligraphy in a different and beautiful way.”

When choosing lines from Darwish, Mustafa Sadeq alRafi, Nizar Qabbani, the Rahbani brothers, and many more to draw on her designs, Dawlat is resorting to a trove of Arabic prose, poetry and songs.

“The process of designing any piece starts with thinking of its color, cut, and the position, size and colors of the painting. The final stage is when I choose the saying, which represents me and the spirit of my work,” Dawlat explained.

She revealed, “Choosing the sentence is the most difficult for me. I prefer it to be deep and subtle, gently addressing the hearts of those who read it and I often go for the words closest to my heart while creating the piece.”

One of her project’s objectives is the emotional profit of drawing a smile on the faces of whoever sees my work.

“I firmly believe that art can relieve the world’s hard times, especially in times of wars and crises. ‘Art can comfort people who suffer,’ so I take my time to choose the most appropriate sayings.”

Dawlat Khaleel modelling one of her designs. (Courtesy of Dawlat Khaleel)

to specific rules.

“I am not a calligrapher. I love Arabic calligraphy and the handwriting of Arabic letters. I revere it because it is a hallmark of our Arab identity and I try to use Arabic script in my paintings to serve my idea and designs,” she clarified.

“I love the Diwani style specifically, because it is vivid and smooth. Its circles and curves allow me to write freely, that’s why I chose it in most of my designs.”

She told us about some training she received from the international Syrian calligrapher Adnan Sheikh Othman, saying “It was a brief period of time, but I had an important and rich experience with the renowned

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MINIMALIST FASHION DESIGNING Fashion designing came later in her business and was subsequent to painting on clothing, when she opted for simple designs.

“I am keen on creating simple designs which can accommodate my painting, in order to produce a unique product that lasts for the longest possible time. I try to avoid ultra-fashionable cuts and usually go for the minimalist designs. I am always keen on making room for Arabic calligraphy on my product, so it should be sort of simple and elegant to suit the Arabic script and the depth of the sentence written,” Dawlat said.

However, she confirmed her commitment to following

A full circle skirt dress in cobalt blue adorned with Diwani style calligraphy and geometrical ornaments. (Courtesy of Dawlat Khaleel)

every year’s fashion trends, while adding the oriental touch to the designs.

“I study the world’s fashion trends of each season, and select those which are appropriate for our eastern culture and environment. Then, I can begin with the design.”

She added, “But in drawing, I am more daring to leave my obvious signature, and create a design that represents me and my ideas. Many in my audience can recognize my work whenever they see someone wearing an item I designed.”

Having a growing base of customers who enjoy a high taste of art and are interested in Arabic language and

Explaining why many expats love to own her products, she answered, “Because it is made in Syria and carries Syrian identity. They can find their beloved hometown signature on the work.”

At the bottom of a shining cashmere-colored dress, Dawlat aesthetically wrote an Arabic line from the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry: “We love life if we find a way to it. And we steal from the silkworm a thread to build a sky and fence in this departure.”

literature as well as everything that is unique, Dawlat hinted that most of them know the value of handmade products, so she finds dealing with them easy and exciting.

“People of different ages and intellectual categories have started to join my customers, even those who were not interested in Arabic calligraphy, as they grew attracted to the design, colors and ideas,” she noted.

INSPIRATION IN THE OLD CITY WALK Explaining why many expats love to own her products, she answered, “Because it is made in Syria and carries Syrian identity. They can find their beloved hometown signature on the work. Sometimes I draw old houses and windows of my homeland’s alleys. Sometimes I draw Syrian jasmine and wheat.”

“Old Homs” is one of Dawlat’s recent artistic works. It is a light grey baize vest adorned with a painting of an aged building with a number of traditional windows on its side, above which an Arabic line of Nizar Qabbani’s poetry is scripted in Persian style: “I love you and I don’t know the boundaries of my Love.”

“When I draw old houses, I am drawing my homeland, Syria, which I love so much. Old houses form the alleys and roads, and these alleys form my town, this town is my homeland,” Dawlat said passionately.

“Before starting work on any design, I wander throughout

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A light grey baize vest adorned with a painting of an aged building with a number of traditional windows on its side, and an Arabic line of Nizar Qabbani’s poetry is scripted in Persian style: “I love you and I don’t know the boundaries of my Love.”

A jacket designed and adorned by Dawlat Khaleel.

old Homs, where I contemplate every road, every door, every stone and detail. I return back to my studio with positive vibes to start drawing.”

Talking about Syrian heritage costumes, Dawlat indicated that “they are usually modest with ornaments and embroidery reflecting plants, animals, geometrical, and other patterns, which come in bright colors as rich

“I firmly believe that art can relieve the world’s hard times, especially in times of wars and crises. ‘Art can comfort people who suffer,’ so I take my time to choose the most appropriate sayings.” as the rural environment. Syrian costumes also vary from region to another.”

Her designs are not limited to women’s fashion. She created a few designs for men. “There is demand for men’s products, and I intend to expand my product range, but now expansion is not available due to some difficulties,” she noted.

While focusing her marketing strategy only on online platforms because most of her clients reside abroad, Dawlat still has a lot of ideas, but due to her country’s current circumstances and limited financial resources, she said she can only implement %5 of her designs.

“I still hope for a better future and opportunities,” Dawlat concluded.

An Arab bride in France wearing a lovely dress specially made for her wedding by Dawlat Khaleel.

(Courtesy of Dawlat Khaleel)

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«Belle» a Striking Virtual Reality Riff on «Beauty and the Beast»

A High School Student Becomes a Global Singer After Entering a Virtual World

By Justin Chang «Belle,» a dazzling new anime from the Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda, drops us into a surreal cyberscape known as «U,» where internet users hide behind outlandish avatars, enormous humpback whales float through the digital ether and a nobody can become a somebody overnight.That nobody would be Suzu (voiced by Kaho Nakamura in the original Japanese version), a moody, freckled teenager who finds herself suddenly reborn as Belle, a pink-haired, silver-voiced diva who racks up millions of followers, even as she draws the attention of a mysteriously bruised and brooding Beast. It›s a tale as old as time and as newfangled as TikTok, in which the virtual world, though packed with fantasy and artifice, can bring startling truths to the surface.

Hosoda sketches in Suzu›s pre-virtual existence early on, with a mix of present-day bustle and aching flashbacks that coalesce into a messily moving portrait of teenage malaise. We witness the terrible tragedy that scarred her childhood and the sadness and shyness that have haunted her ever since. We also learn about her love for singing, a gift she›s stifled in the midst of her near-constant anxiety and grief. All these traits — Suzu›s sensitivity, her loneliness, her musicality and, yes, her freckles — wind up shaping her avatar, Belle, thanks to the wonders of U›s groundbreaking «body-sharing technology,» which draws directly on a user›s physical and psychological makeup.In other words, Belle isn›t just a mask; she›s a striking reflection of who Suzu is, as well as a portal into an intense new plane of existence. Like all U avatars, she provides both concealment and revelation.

If that sounds like a somewhat idealized view of technology, well, it is. Hosoda›s virtual reality conceit may hail from a stilldistant future, but he isn›t in a particularly dystopian mood.

Technology has its pitfalls, of course, as the movie demonstrates with light dollops of social media satire. As Belle becomes U›s

newest celebrity, she brings out all manner of online trolls: kneejerk cynics, jealous rivals and many others who dislike the songs she sings and dismiss her as an attention hog. (Suzu is horrified to have so many haters, but her tech-whiz best friend, Hiroka, sets her straight: «If you only get compliments, you only have hardcore fans,» she notes. «In U, stardom is built on mixed reception.»)

Suzu must also deal with everyone›s curiosity over who Belle really is, and she clings tightly to the anonymity that has paradoxically enabled her to shine so bright. She isn›t the only one keeping her identity a secret, of course, and in that respect, the extravagantly stylized world of U isn›t all that different from Suzu›s small-town high school, where she›s one of many hiding their feelings in plain sight. Masks proliferate in «Belle,» not all of them strictly virtual; in a flurry of romantic-comedy subplots, we meet a number of Suzu›s classmates, who turn out to have unspoken desires and anxieties of their own. (They lend the story some sweet emotional heft, as do the choir ladies who provide Suzu with moral support.)

But the most troubling mask is worn by U›s Public Enemy No. 1, a sharp-fanged, dark-maned, double-horned Beast also referred to as the Dragon (voiced by Takeru Satoh). Having left a trail of digital destruction in his wake, the Beast is being hunted online by vigilante forces, but it soon becomes clear that only Belle has the power to tame him. And so begins a very conscious homage to «Beauty and the Beast,» one that›s more Disney than Jean Cocteau, starting with our heroine›s choice of moniker.(She actually begins by calling herself «Bell» — «Suzu» means «bell» in Japanese — before her fans Frenchify it for her.) But Hosoda pushes his retelling of this fairy tale into significantly darker, wilder territory. At the heart of «Belle» is a harrowing story of abuse and violence, of sacrifice and rescue — one that at times seems rippedfrom-the-headlines topical and elsewhere feels as trippy as

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Does this ring a “Belle”? Storied anime writer-director Mamoru Hosoda’s newest resets “Beauty and the Beast” in a musical, virtual environment — among other modern twists. (GKIDS/TNS)

A scene from Mamoru Hosoda’s anime feature «Belle.» (GKIDS/TNS)

a «Matrix» movie, complete with death-defying, skyscrapershattering acrobatics.

Earnest, youthful journeys into otherworldly realms are nothing new for Hosoda, whose earlier animated features include «The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,» «Summer Wars» and the 2018 charmer «Mirai.» His storytelling may leave something to be desired in terms of elegance and economy, but my interest in «Belle,» though frequently dragged hither and yon, never flagged. Despite the unwieldy narrative complications, Hosoda achieves an adroit, ultimately instructive balance of kinesis and stillness. U›s virtual arena may tilt toward sensory overload, but the time Suzu spends there is matched — and ultimately overpowered — by an everyday reality she›s spent too long eluding.

Hosoda›s backdrops, with their soft colors and photorealist details, are always gorgeous enough to get lost in, but they also tell a deeper story of community and healing. An early shot of a frustrated Suzu walking alone across a narrow bridge in coldest winter is answered by later images of her with her friends, happily framed against a warm, sun-kissed landscape.

The images dancing across our screens, cinematic or virtual, may be addictive and transfixing. But as «Belle» is wise enough to acknowledge, the world that enables and inspires those images

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As Belle becomes U›s newest celebrity, she brings out all manner of online trolls: knee-jerk cynics, jealous rivals and many others who dislike the songs she sings and dismiss her as an attention hog. will always be a deeper wellspring of magic.

This review was originally published on Los Angeles Times.

‘BELLE’ In Japanese with subtitled English and dubbed English versions MPAA rating: PG (for thematic content, violence, language and brief suggestive material) Running time: 2:01 Where to watch: Now playing in theaters

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Lebanese Alpine Skier Aspires to Reach the Heights in Beijing Manon Ouaiss: “I am thrilled to be the only female athlete representing Lebanon in Beijing 2022”

By Sarah Gamal Lebanon, a mountainous country with summits reaching heights of over 10,000 feet, is sometimes referred to as the «Switzerland of the East.» Skiing there has been a popular sport since Ramez Ghazzoui, a Lebanese engineer, returned from his studies in Switzerland and introduced his friends to the sport in the mountains near Aley in Mount Lebanon in the early twentieth century.

The rising Lebanese alpine skier, Manon Ouaiss, grabbed the spotlight after she wrapped her neck with three golds and a bronze, and raised the Lebanese flag over the mountaintops of Montenegro. Thanks to her, the Lebanese women won the championship of the small countries in alpine skiing.

Ouaiss, who is 21 years old and residing in Paris, is a law student who was born in Beirut. Her origins go back to the village of Shahtoul, which is covered with snow every winter. She loved Nature with its white color as much she loved challenge and victory, and the values and principles represented by sport.

Since she took her first steps, Ouaiss’s family encouraged her to ski and she joined the Lebanese Faraya Club.

When Manon singled out Majalla for an exclusive interview from the French capital. She had just returned from training in France that had provided her more possibilities than her mother country,

which suffers from difficult conditions on all levels.

“I’m 21 years old, French and Lebanese, and I’m currently studying law [master’s degree]. I grew up in Lebanon and went to France for my studies after obtaining my French baccalaureate,” this is how Manon began her interview with Majalla.

“I started alpine skiing at the age of four thanks to my parents who insisted firmly that I and my

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Cortina d›Ampezzo, Italy - February 2021 ,20 Lebanon›s Manon Ouaiss, Naya Kurdi, Maria Abou Jaoude and Carlie Maria Iskandar celebrate after their runs in the Women›s Slalom.

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

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FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Cortina d›Ampezzo, Italy - February ,20 2021 Lebanon›s Manon Ouaiss reacts after her run in the Women›s Slalom. REUTERS/ Leonhard Foeger.

brothers become good skiers. At an early age, I discovered a passion for skiing as I thought it was a sport that combines everything: speed, adrenaline, strict technique, unique setting outdoors, and majestic mountains,” Ouaiss continued.

Ouaiss is influenced by the feats of Croatian Ivica Kostelić, the former World Cup alpine ski racer, especially since his wife supervised her first training in Austria when she was ten years old. She followed Ivica’s victories that led him to the world championship, even though his country was not in the ranks of developed countries.

Manon wanted to focus on a part that might seem depressing, she said, «When I was sixteen, I was fit and about to qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2018. I had an injury in the fifth race and then I saw my dream vanish when I had three surgeries to treat a broken collarbone and a complete ligament tear.

Despite a torn cruciate ligament and the crack in the joint cartilage, I came back stronger than before my injury and became more enthusiastic and stronger after recovering. What happened to me is a summary of life in general-- we have to get up after a fall. Life is like sports and we have to rise and keep going.”

As for her family’s support, Ouaiss said “My family is extremely supportive and they represent an essential balance and moral support in my sports career and in my life in general.”

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Ouaiss’ origins go back to the village of Shahtoul, which is covered with snow every winter.

She loved Nature with its white color as much she loved challenge and victory, and the values and principles represented by sport.

When asked about how she balances between alpine skiing and studying law, Ouaiss said, “It’s an everyday challenge to reconcile my academic and sports ambitions but determination, passion and hard work are what keeps me going. Whatever I undertake, I do it with a WILL and a fighting spirit. My life is quite hectic but I like it because I never stop learning and this is an accelerator of experience.”

Ouaiss was a Silver medalist in the 2016 Asian Alpine Ski championships, Silver and Bronze medalist at the 2017 Alpine Skiing SES cup, and -3time Gold medalist at the 2021 Alpine Skiing SES

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cup. She also represented Lebanon at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships (Davos, Switzerland, January 2018) and at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships (Are, Sweden, February 2019 and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 2021).

Additionally, Ouaiss was selected from a pool of over 200 students to represent Lebanon at a worldwide sports event (Jeux Internationaux de la Jeunesse, Singapore, June 2016) in the aquathlon, climbing, orienteering, badminton, and touch rugby.

Ouaiss enjoyed a strong 21-2020 season with four victories in slalom and giant slalom in Cedars, and great showings at FIS events in Montenegro.

Regarding her best moments of victory, she told Majalla, “I am most proud of the races that allowed me to qualify for the Olympics, winning the six races in Lebanon in addition to 5 FIS races which satisfied the criteria imposed by the IOC. I’m also happy about being 2nd in the Asian championship

in 2016 and winning 1st place three times at the SES cup in Montenegro last year.”

Ouaiss hopes that Lebanon will be able to overcome its problems and that the sport of skiing will become part of a culture that extends its hand in support, especially since the season in Lebanon lasts three or four months. She praises the efforts of the President of the Lebanese Ski Federation, Freddy Keyrouz, who does a lot to preserve this

Between Paris and Beirut, Manon Ouaiss› dream of representing Lebanon in the Winter Olympics became a reality after she proved herself by facing what was impossible until recently.

Manon Ouaiss with Lebanon’s Women Skiing Team /Photo courtesy of Manon Ouaiss.

At the end of Februarybeginning of March at Les Cèdres, Manon Ouaiss (on the top step of the podium) won six gold medals in six races contested during the Lebanese Alpine Skiing Championships /Photo courtesy of Manon Ouaiss.

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Manon Ouaiss during a training camp (training on injected snow) in Kabdalis, 2021 Sweden – November Photo courtesy of Manon/ Ouaiss

unique Lebanese feature.

“I am thrilled to be the only Lebanese female athlete who will represent Lebanon in Beijing 2022 during these extremely hard times and I’ll try to show the most positive image possible of my country and its people. I want to send a message that there are still athletes who are able to raise the flag of Lebanon, which is going through major crises and difficult periods. The honorable representation of my homeland Lebanon is greater than achieving a medal

Ouaiss hopes that Lebanon will be able to overcome its problems and that the sport of skiing will become part of a culture that extends its hand in support. or ranking,” Ouaiss said proudly.

Currently training at her base near Les 3 Vallées in France, Ouaiss said, “I do alpine skiing sessions daily in the zigzag fields of Courchevel and Méribel. My coach manages this and I always coordinate with him. From January 24 to 27, I will be in Lebanon for 4 days in order to qualify for the Courchevel and Méribel World Championships to be held in 2023. In February, I will fly to Beijing to participate in the Winter Olympics.”

“I still can’t believe I will be part of the worldwide Olympic family. It’s a huge privilege and the experience of being an Olympian is not limited to time and place but is always existing in the mind,” she continued.

Between Paris and Beirut, Manon Ouaiss› dream of representing Lebanon in the Winter Olympics became a reality after she proved herself by facing what was impossible until recently.

An Active Rest Day in Méribel / Photo courtesy of Manon Ouaiss

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Sa Robert Lewandowski: Best Men’s Player of the Year

By Majalla Illustration by Jeannette Khouri “You broke records, and you, too, would have deserved to win this,” Lionel Messi told Robert Lewandowski after the Argentine picked up his seventh Ballon d’Or in Paris in November. “You had an incredible season.”

It was always believed that surpassing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in individual achievements is almost impossible and requires a different approach, and even different standards, no one can match their stunning numbers, and therefore those who surpass them in this new era must possess capabilities such as those of Robert Lewandowski.

Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich’s top scorer, retained the award for the best player in the world at the “The Best” ceremony for the year 2021 on Monday, which may constitute partial compensation for his loss of the Ballon d’Or award to the Argentine Lionel Messi, the current star of Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite the impressive statistics possessed by both Messi and Ronaldo, Lewandowski entered the same circle of excellence as these two global stars, and we have to search for new vocabulary to describe his brilliance.

The Polish striker has achieved a lot in 2021 - the most goal scoring player in consecutive Bun-

desliga matches, the most goal scoring player in consecutive home matches, scoring in nine consecutive Champions League matches in multiple seasons. Moreover, he surpassed Klaus Fischer to become second in the list of players with the most goals scored in the history of the Bundesliga, and he passed Raul to take the third place in the list of the most goal scoring players in the history of the Champions League.

Alongside Johan Cruyff, Lewandowski is the only male football player to have won a treble of a national title, national cup and Champions League, while also becoming top scorer in all competitions.

Also, the 33-year-old broke Gerd Müller’s 40goal record in Germany’s top flight, a record that was regarded as untouchable, all in the season after winning the sextuple with Bayern and being voted world footballer of the year. These are numbers that catapult footballers to elite status, but there are few superstars who are as down-toearth as the modest Pole.

And it is not only about scoring goals, as Lewandowski is an integrated player, as he is able to excel in physical struggles with the defenders of the rival teams, and he is still active and energetic as if at the beginning of his football career, but he may be in better physical form now than it was before, since it is clear that his muscular composition is now much better than it was when

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he joined Borussia Dortmund in 2010.

Lewandowski was born on August 21, 1988 in Warsaw, Poland. He is the son of Krzystof Lewandowski, a national judo champion as well as a soccer player for Hutnik Warszawa in the 2nd Division, and his mother Iwona Lewandowski, a volleyball player for AZS Warszawa, and party vice president Partyzant Leszno.

In his international career, Robert made 3 matches for the national under-21 football team in Poland, all in friendly matches against England, Belarus and Finland, and participated with his country in 118 international matches, in which he scored 66 goals.

In October 2017, the day after scoring to help Poland qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Lewandowski finished Bachelor of Physical Education (BPhEd) with coaching and management at the Academy of Sport Education in Warsaw, concluding a decade of studies The life and rise to stardom of Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski will be depicted in a documentary on Amazon Prime Video, set to be released in 2022. “We want to tell a story of ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses unfiltered - to present the events as they really happened,” said Lewandowski.

“I want that the documentary will be an inspiration to the children who dream of achieving something big but do not believe that they can do It” added the Pole.

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Watch Out for These Balance Busters

Health Problems, Medications, and Environmental Hazards Throw Off Balance 56

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By Heidi Godman Our balance wanes as we age, putting us in jeopardy. The problem reflects a mix of issues that set us up for falls, which are a major cause of hip fractures, head injuries, and disability.

This slight but noticeable change in memory and thinking skills is sometimes a precursor to dementia. The condition can affect your attention, reaction time, and ability to sense where you are in space.

The good news is that you can fight back by recognizing and addressing potential balance busters. “Everything we do to maintain our health, alertness, fitness, and mobility will slow the trajectory of our declining balance,” explains Dr. Steven Rauch, medical director of the Balance and Vestibular Center at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Eye and Ear. degeneration (which destroys central vision).

WHAT IS BALANCE? Your balance is controlled by a miraculous system-one that involves your whole body.

“Your eyes tell you where you are in space. Balance organs in your ears read your head movements. Nerves send information about the position of your body. All these signals from your eyes, ears, and nerves are processed by your brain, which then sends messages back to your sensory nerves, muscles, and joints that help you keep your balance. As a result, you can walk, keep your gaze stable while you move, or catch yourself after tripping,” Dr. Rauch explains.

Photo Credit: Harvard Health

These different parts of our balance system decline as we age. “Vision and hearing don’t work as well as they used to, messages in the nerves can get garbled, muscles shrink and get weaker, joints wear out, and our brain may not be as quick to make adjustments to maintain balance,” Dr. Rauch says.

HEALTH-RELATED BALANCE RISKS Many health conditions can hurt balance. Here are some common culprits.

Vision problems. Eye diseases can reduce the ability to relay your location to the brain. Three conditions in particular become more common with age: cataracts (cloudy eye lenses), glaucoma (which causes loss of side vision), and macular

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Inner ear conditions. Some disorders can im­pair balance organs and trigger a sense of spinning (vertigo). Three common conditions are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (caused by loose ear crystals), inner ear infections, and Ménière’s disease (in which fluid buildup leads to pressure and damage).

Neuropathy. This type of nerve damage, often caused by diabetes or compressed nerves in the spine, causes tingling, numbness, or pain in the limbs and limits your brain’s ability to sense your legs and feet.

Foot conditions. Anything that affects the way you walk threatens your balance, whether it’s a heel problem or fallen (painful) arches.

Orthostatic hypotension. This means your blood pressure dips too low when you stand up, which can make you feel dizzy and fall. It becomes more common with age and can be a side effect of medicines.

Mild cognitive impairment. This slight but noticeable change in memory and thinking skills is sometimes a precursor to dementia. The condition can affect your attention, reaction time, and ability to sense where you are in space.

MEDICATION-RELATED BALANCE RISKS Many medications can make you woozy and

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cause you to lose your balance. These include: - some antidepressants - drugs to treat anxiety, such as benzodiazepines - antihistamines - blood pressure drugs, such as ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), and beta blockers - diabetes drugs, such as insulin, glipizide (Glucotrol), and glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase)

There’s plenty you can do to improve your balance and reduce your fall risk. Start at home: get rid of hazards and add anti-slip equipment.

- drugs to treat irregular heartbeat - prescription pain medications, such as opioids - sleep medications, such as sedatives and hypnotics.

TRY THIS BALANCE EXERCISE Stand up straight with your feet together and arms at your sides. Bend your right knee, lifting that foot several inches off the floor, and balance on your left leg. Hold, then lower to starting position. Now try the exercise with your left leg.

Repeat both exercises 10 times.

ENVIRONMENTAL BALANCE RISKS Hazards in your environment threaten your balance and can make you trip and fall. Watch out for the following: Outdoor hazards, such as icy walkways, uneven pavement, poorly lighted walkways or parking

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Photo Credit: Pixabay

Photo Credit: Marcus Aurelius – Pexels

lots, paths blocked by shrubs or large tree roots.

Indoor hazards, such as floor clutter, throw rugs, poorly lighted hallways or stairways, furniture that blocks your path, extension cords, loose carpeting, loose handrails, slippery bathroom floors, broken steps, and tile floors.

Pets that can get underfoot, such as cats and small dogs.

Ill-fitting shoes that keep you from sensing the ground properly, such as shoes that are too loose or squishy.

WHAT YOU CAN DO There’s plenty you can do to improve your balance and reduce your fall risk. Start at home: get rid of hazards and add anti-slip equipment. “Install grab bars by the tub and toilet, nonslip treads in places that get wet, night lights so you don’t bump around in the dark, and handrails that can support your body weight,” Dr. Rauch advises.

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Ask your doctor if any of your health problems or medications could be increasing your fall risk. Ask if you might benefit from physical therapy, and if an assistive walking device (like a cane or rollator) might improve your balance.

Wear supportive shoes with laces to keep them snug on your feet.

And hone your balance skills by challenging your balance safely. “Stand on one foot when you brush your teeth in the morning, then stand on the other when you brush at night -- holding the sink counter for balance. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. And exercise: walk, cycle, do tai chi or yoga or dance,” Dr. Rauch urges.

“Use your balance, because there’s no question that good balance is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition.”

This article was originally published by Harvard Health Letter.