Page 221 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

106 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

gained independence, it joined the Arab League in 1953. also took Arab countries to task for their treatment of
Next to join were Sudan in 1956, Tunisia and Morocco women.“More than half of Arab women are illiterate, and
in 1958, and Kuwait in 1961. Other members include many suffer from legal and social discrimination. They
Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Oman, also have the lowest levels of political participation;
Qatar, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates. women have 3.5 percent of seats in Arab legislative bod-
ies, compared with 11 percent in sub-Saharan Africa...
Lack of Unity [And] despite substantial investment in education, Arab
Although the idea of the Arab League showed promise, schools are producing graduates ill-suited to the global
the organization’s effectiveness has been hampered by economy. Only 0.6 percent of Arabs use the Internet,
members who at times refuse to work together. Political compared with 54 percent of Americans” (USA Today
divisions have often made consensus impossible. Since its 2002, 6A).
inception the Arab League has acquired a reputation for Meanwhile the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the
inaction in the face of crisis. The Egyptian weekly news- violent actions of the terrorist network al-Qaeda have cre-
paper Al Ahram observed in a 2002 retrospective that the ated splits between moderate Muslims and those from
Arab League had not been notable for success in han- more conservative countries. Whereas the league has
dling inter-Arab disputes. issued policy papers that condemn terrorism, some mem-
When problems arose in the Arab world, the league ber countries have actively supported terrorism. Even
tended to react with anger or blame. For example, when when a Muslim despot mistreats his people, the Arab
Egypt’s president,Anwar Sadat, decided to make a peace League still seems reticent to criticize a member country.
treaty with Israel during the late 1970s, the league mem- Since 2002 members of the league have made a renewed
bers united and expelled Egypt from membership, mov- effort to unite and develop new strategies, brought about
ing meetings that had been held in Cairo to Tunis, by world events such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but the
Tunisia. A decade would pass before Egypt was rein- May 2004 summit, held in Tunis, showed that the league
stated. In addition to ongoing antipathy toward Israel still has a long way to go: One leader walked out, and
(and the perception that U.S. foreign policy unjustly eight others didn’t attend at all.Although a series of posi-
favors Israel), other issues led to feuds between member tion papers emerged from the summit, including one that
countries. During the late 1980s the league was unable pledges to implement economic and social reforms and
to resolve a dispute over oil between Iraq and Kuwait. work toward peace in the Middle East, we must wait to
This dispute led Iraq’s Saddam Hussein to order the inva- see what role, if any, the Arab League can play in solving
sion of Kuwait.The United States intervened, driving Iraq the region’s problems.
out of Kuwait during the first Gulf War.
Donna L. Halper
U.N. Report See also Islamic World
Although the Arab League has at times been an impor-
tant voice for improvements in the Arab world, a United
Nations report issued in 2002 showed how much needs Further Reading
to be done. Prepared by fifty Arab scholars, the report Al-Arian, L. (2004, July-August). Prospects for democracy in the Middle
examined political, economic, and cultural problems in East. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 23(6), 88–90.
A new Arab order? Or just the settling of scores? (1991, September 28).
Arab countries and concluded that these countries were The Economist, 320(7726), 4–8.
lagging behind other parts of the world. “Arab countries Brewer, S. P. (1945, March 23). Charter adopted by Arab League. New
York Times, p. 8.
are the least free in terms of political participation, civil
Coury, R. M. (1982).Who invented Arab nationalism? International Jour-
liberties and independent media,” the report stated and nal of Middle East Studies, 14(3), 249–281.