As I walk around campus, friends, professors and fellow students are curious to know my take — as an Arab-American and political science student — of the ongoing turmoil in the Arab world. One friend asked, "I don't understand what the whole fuss is about, it happened many times in many places, what's so different about the Middle East?"
It appears to me that recent events in the Arab world demonstrate the Arab people's choice of uprising through popular protests instead of extremism that calls for suicide bombings and destruction. They proved to the world that ruthless regimes and dictators could be toppled by popular uprising and civil resistance rather than terrorism.
It is as if the Arab people were questioning Bin Laden and al-Qaeda: Why bring down our dictators through mass-murder and destruction when we could peacefully mobilize and protest instead? Why authenticate our current dictators by engaging in immoral acts when there is a vital need for new, honest leadership?
Some of you might think back to the popular uprisings of apartheid – South Africa, British-India or segregated-America, but what is different here is the astounding level of participation and swift developments that spread throughout multiple countries.
Back in January, the Jasmine Revolution, an explosive series of street protests that occurred on the streets of Tunisia, led the authoritarian President Ben Ali to step down. It only took 28 days to topple the 23-year brutal Tunisian dictatorship.
In Egypt, more than 8 million took to the street in multiple cities against a regime known for its brutality against its own citizens. Peaceful protesters were attacked by security services, harassed and even run-over by pro-Mubarak sympathizers; however, the defiance, determination and unity of the Egyptians paid off during the 18th day of protest when the 30-year old dictator was brought to his knees and resigned.
It seems that such successful revolutions in both Arab countries have caused a chain reaction because similar mass protests are currently taking place in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Oman, Syria, Iran and even Iraq.
The million-dollar question everyone should be asking is: why have citizens of the Arab world just now begun to act against their governments that have held them back for so many years?
The Middle East has a well-known past of political turmoil in which empires clashed, dynasties collapsed and countries fought; however, today it is not about empires, dynasties or countries, it is about the people of the Arab world.
An increase in college graduates, a lack of opportunities and rapid population growth combined with a dearth of political freedom fed the desire for new leadership. The initial spark occurred in Tunisia and was offset by a dire economic situation and government repression. The success of President Ben Ali's overthrow gave strength and courage to the neighboring Arab citizens, notably the Egyptians.
The unexpected and rapid spread of pro-democracy movements throughout countless cities, multiple countries and two continents to suddenly demand change from powerful, unchallenged, and often merciless-rulers is just startling. If any of the participants in any of these countries were asked whether the overthrow of an Arab dictator was even fantasized weeks earlier, the answer would have certainly been "Not in a million years."
As one political commentator put it, "the levels of recent Arab uprisings were so unexpected that Ben Ali [the toppled Tunisian president] himself probably had breakfast without a single clue in mind that his fate would take him fleeing to Saudi Arabia only hours later."
– Mohamed is a senior political science and conflict studies major from Brooklyn, N.Y. opinion@thedepauw.com