Andalusian cities have lessons for Lebanon today [THE NATIONAL]

August 6, 2015

Over the last couple of weeks, a rather unusual story has been hitting the headlines in the Arab world and in the international media. In a region where there are many conflicts and countless desperate situations, it was astounding to see that the inability of Lebanon to manage its waste disposal managed to grab so much attention. But beyond the piles of rubbish, there is a deeper problem.

In medieval Europe, one of the most famous parts of the Arab world was what is commonly described as "Muslim Spain". The area actually accounted for most of what is present-day Portugal as well as Spain. Regardless, it is viewed by historians as being an exception within Europe at that time for many reasons, including intellectual advancement and cosmopolitanism.

But one thing that is often underappreciated is the way that the cities of Andalus were managed. There are lessons in that: not only for Beirut today, but the Arab world at large, including contemporary Baghdad with its power cuts.

Historians describe the streets of the cities of Andalus as being "lit up", at a time when electricity was absent. There was a reason for that.

Unlike today, where all the world’s inhabitants seemingly expect the state to provide street lighting, those cities had civil groups who were responsible for both funding the lights and making sure they functioned properly.

That required two things: societies that were healthy enough to provide such management, and a leadership and overall governance that facilitated such groups.

It is now almost fashionable to suggest that the situation in much of the Arab world – a region in which so many find themselves in a worse situation than they were before 2011 – was much better before the revolutions. But that rather misses the point.

The uprisings happened as a result of systemic failure. If the system had been working, the uprisings would have had no reason to emerge.

The day after Hosni Mubarak was removed from power in Egypt in 2011, I remember being in Tahrir Square, assisting young patriots who were cleaning the square. They simply wanted a better future for their children and grandchildren.

I met a young activist who told me that a few years before he’d tried to set up a waste disposal collective in his neighbourhood.

He was told outright by the security services that this was forbidden. The subtext appeared to be that if this young man could organise people in this fashion, who could predict how they would be organised in the future. The experience was very instructive.

Some of this has to do with the state being overpowering and overbearing and fearing the creativity of its own people. But a major factor that many tend to ignore is the corresponding weakness of civil society in this part of the world – going back many decades, even centuries. There are many reasons for that, going through colonialism and post-colonialism.

When the old Arab city is considered, the level of organic settlement is astounding. Cities were built with a sense of symmetry. Not only was the city planned around certain points, such as the public square or the major mosque, they were also built in the materials and styles of the local environment.

There is something very profound about that, which is a major factor in understanding how so many of the buildings of those eras continue to survive today. They have not only been preserved, but they are a part of their surroundings.

Can that truly be said of the contemporary Arab city?

Is it likely that in 200 years’ time, many of these modern structures will remain intact, as structures built in the early part of Arab history survive today? Or will they have been demolished, either due to being out of fashion or because the materials they are built with are not meant to stand the test of time?

These are not the issues that truly confront the young people of this region: they need jobs, security and comprehensive development.

But as the 21st century ticks on, it may be reasonable to pause and wonder: was everything the Arab world pursued in the 20th century worth the chase? Or perhaps to go further more confidently, it may consider how much was lost that is worthy of regaining? At this point in its history, it has the resources to look deeper into that question – that’s not necessarily always going to be the case.

Dr HA Hellyer is an associate fellow in international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London, and the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC

On Twitter: @hahellyer

Source: The National

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