The Middle East’s Tribal DNA
15th October 2011
The basic tribal framework of “us versus them” remains in Islam. The conception “my group, right or wrong” does not exist because the question of right or wrong never comes up. Allegiance is to “my group,” period, full stop, always defined against “the other.” An overarching, universalistic, inclusive constitution is not possible. Islam is not a constant referent but rather, like every level of tribal political organization, is contingent. People act politically as Muslims only when in opposition to infidels. Among Muslims, people will mobilize on a sectarian basis, as Sunni versus Shi‘a. Among Sunni, people will mobilize as the Karim tribe versus the Mahmud tribe; within the Karim tribe, people will mobilize according to whom they find themselves in opposition to: tribal section versus tribal section; lineage versus lineage, and so on.
The structural fissiparousness of the tribal order makes societal cohesion difficult. Affiliation places people and groups in opposition to one another. There is no universal reference that can include all parties. Oppositionalism then becomes the cultural imperative. While the tribal system based on balanced opposition effectively supports decentralized nomads, it inhibits societal integration and precludes civil peace based on settlement of disputes through legal judgment at the local level.
Reminder for the ignorant: Islam is an oppressive totalitarian ideology, under the guise of a religion, with which no co-existence is possible.