Have We Learned Anything From Our Mistakes?

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The voices of many across this homeland have grown hoarse warning of the consequences of our actions and deeds — deeds that heed neither God’s law nor even the most basic human values and conscience. They made sacrifices to bring the truth to light, and in the end paid a heavy price, the gravest of which was people’s indifference to what they said and did. They stood with the people in defense of the future, of coming generations, of pride and dignity, and of sound religious concepts and correct teachings — yet many people were seduced by their present circumstances and by the lure of money and position, and wandered off into hypocrisy, lying, and contributing to the deterioration of our condition.

…ruins its own national production? What people is it that tolerates thugs and gunmen roaming the streets with weapons that spread terror and fear, and that spread depravity and extortion? What people is it whose own sons crowd at the doors of a president who hands out money in exchange for hypocrisy and the sale of consciences? What people is it that accepts provisions from its own executioners? What people is it that endures factional rivalries that tear down the homeland? We played the hypocrite, we accepted injustice and enslavement, and we applauded the opportunist, the oppressor, the hateful, the broker, the liar, and the trafficker in the cause. And now we bemoan our wretched luck for what has become of things. This is not our luck or our fate — it is the harvest of what we ourselves sowed. Whoever sows laziness reaps chaff; whoever sows stupidity reaps sorrow and humiliation; whoever sows hypocrisy reaps hellfire.

Do we want a dignified life? There is only one solution before us: to rebuild our national production, which we ourselves have wrecked with our own hands, to reduce our consumption, and to build a life of mutual solidarity in which each of us carries the other. This requires a leader who thinks, plans, and executes, and a people who believe in their Lord and belong to their nation and homeland. We need to rebuild ourselves through education so that we may become good guardians of our own interests and the interests of the homeland. But if what we want is to depend on Western money, nothing will befall us but defeat, and we will be sated with nothing but humiliation. We must try the path of honor and dignity, for only in that lies the surest guarantee of a life not controlled by others. Certainly we will not achieve full self-sufficiency, but our eyes should turn toward support from Arabs and Muslims, not toward aid from Zionists and Westerners. The key is in our own hands, and abandoning it brings nothing but disgrace and shame. So shall we not rise up against ourselves and vindicate our dignity, our religion, our heritage, and our civilization?

Professor Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “هل أيقنا بعد هذه التجارب التي مررنا بها أننا قد وقعنا في أخطاء وفي خطايا أوصلتنا إلى ما نحن فيه من قلة الموارد وشح المصادر والإذلال من قبل الاحتلال وأعوانه الداخليين والخارجيين، ومن تشتت الصفوف ومناكفات الفصائل ووهن الجسد وجمود الفكر؟ هل أيقنا الآن بأن قيادات الشعب الفلسطينية لم تكن على مستوى المسؤولية، وأننا كشعب فلسطيني كنا نرى الأخطاء فنغمض عنها، بل وربما نشارك في تعميقها؟ هل تعلمنا الدرس بعد هذا التضييق والحصار الذي نعانيه من أطراف عربية وفلسطينية وأجنبية؟ وهل تعلمنا بأن الذي يريد الاعتماد على الآخرين لن يشبع إلا ذلا وهوانا ومهانة وتحقيرا؟” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.