Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid

Arab News

Stories about the assault on Saad Al-Faqih vary greatly. But it is notable that the event was of no interest to the British media, which historically allocates hefty segments to Saudi and other Arab opposition groups and individuals. Their activities and comments are always closely followed.

This time, despite the importance of the event — if it is true — most of the British media went against the grain, dealing with it as though it was an incidental occurrence. Some ignored it completely. Why? I believe that it represents a divorce between the two sides — the British media no longer considers the Egyptian, Saudi, Pakistani or Algerian resistance (united by Islam) real political resistance deserving of any attention. They have, in their eyes, become merely intellectual rather than popular movements.

Extremist opposition groups haven’t only lost the media but all Western benefits too. They lost the left wing, liberals, democracy advocates, human rights advocates and intellectuals. They have even lost those who for their own reasons abhor the existing regimes.

They have therefore lost their most important advocates, and they have lost them because the extremists among them have become symbols of hatred in the West. These extremists announced their hatred of both the nations and governments that have given them asylum, who pay their living expenses and shelter them under a security umbrella. An example of this came when a member of these extremist opposition groups announced in front of a crowd that Britain, the country that granted him residence and protected him from the death penalty, was just another toilet. Most extremist dissidents who enjoy British protection cheered the military operations that targeted foreign citizens in Muslim countries — which served to further infuriate and disgust the public.

I have no doubt that Sept. 11 was a weapon that turned against these politicized, extremist and hate-filled movements. The whole world has witnessed their hypocrisy. By their actions they have spoilt relations between Arab countries and the West on both the political and military front. It has taken a decade for the true face of these movements to be revealed to the media, human rights organizations, and the public. Their issues are no longer of importance for people in the UK. They are alone.