0

Universität Innsbruck

Master of Arts Program in Peace, Development, Security and

International Conflict Transformation

Warrior in my realms; a brief reading of Warrior in my own

perspective of language, culture, religion, law and politics.

Course Paper Modular Period I

Shehab Mekky

Submitted to: Josefina Echavarría

9 June 2014

1

Table of Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Warrior in my personal perspective ......................................................................................................2

1.1. What is a warrior? .........................................................................................................................2

1.2. Warrior through a more comprehensive look ................................................................................3

2. Warrior in my Mother Tongue ..............................................................................................................5

2.1. Warrior in old Arabic language .....................................................................................................5

2.2. Warrior from a recent point of view ..............................................................................................8

3. Warrior in my Culture ............................................................................................................................9

3.1. Warrior in typical Arabic culture ............................................................................................... 10

3.2. The preferable warrior in the modern Arabic culture ................................................................. 12

4. Warrior in my Religion........................................................................................................................ 13

4.1. Warriors and their role in Islam .................................................................................................. 13

4.2. The Stray warriors ...................................................................................................................... 15

4.3. A religious modern comprehensive warrior ............................................................................... 16

5. Warrior in (inter)national Politics and Law ........................................................................................ 17

5.1. Warrior in politics (nationally) ................................................................................................... 17

5.2. Warrior in politics (internationally) ............................................................................................ 19

5.3. Warriors through the (inter)national legal framework................................................................ 20

6. Shehab Mekky as a warrior ................................................................................................................ 23

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 24

References .................................................................................................................................................. 26

1

“Warriors are warriors not because of their strength, but because of their ability

strength to good purpose” (Greitens 2011, 187)

Introduction

Warrior, as soon as I recognized the word in my mind, I recalled the image of a Samurai

or a Gladiator or a Spartan warrior holding his/her sword and ready to defend his/her land

till death. I do not know why but maybe this is the image, I or most of us grew up

imagining. Warriors throughout time I believe had different images and different tasks

but most of them were centered on the solid definition of the word. That is to say to

protect the country till the last breath using power and ammunition.

As a kid, I was very happy when I received a toy of warriors or soldiers,

sometimes a whole army, where your role as a kid is to move these small pieces to form a

strong army capable of attaining victory. I am not sure if my family was thinking

differently when they bought me these toys. But for boys in this age, I guess it was a

warrior for the boys and a Barbie doll for the girls.

By time and as the world develops in so many ways, with the new changes and

challenges, the term used also develops in a way to adapt to these new variables. The

interpretation of the word ‘warrior’ expanded to include new meanings and possible

images for the word. The term warrior is changing periodically in my mind according to

conditions I experience and plans I carry for my professional career.

In this paper I will define and interpret the word ‘warrior’ through my own eyes,

describe the characteristics of this warrior, followed by showing the shift in that old

typical image. The following papers will unhide my thoughts regarding warrior in myself,

2

my language, my culture my religion, and how this warrior operates in my country touch

basing with the legal side of this warrior. In the end of the paper, I will include a rich

conclusion summing my results upon research findings of ‘warrior’, including discussing

who is a ‘warrior’ for me in terms of personal and professional life.

1. Warrior in my personal perspective

1.1. What is a warrior?

A warrior is someone who fights to deter conquer of his/her nation, or someone who

struggle to raise the livelihood of him/her, family or even state.1

Warriors usually had special characteristics to easily identify their appearance,

intentions and sometimes nationality. The warrior image circulating now in my head as I

am writing this paper is strongly body built, heavily protected and armored male, and in

most of the times sitting on a horse. This image here has two figures, first figure that he is

a person ready to be engaged in warfare and the second figure, shows that person holding

great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness. I think this image goes back to the fact that since

“antiquity humankind has been obsessed with fighting. From the bloody dirt of the

Colosseum to the sacrificial killing grounds of the Aztecs you would be hard pressed to

find a culture, even in the present day, that doesn’t in some way express a fascination for

warfare” (Pegg 2011 ).

I agree that this fact stained the word always with a negative picture, even though

most of the warriors died defending their countries which is a noblest thing to die for.

Because there is nothing more precious than soul for the sake of protecting people and

territory of any state. But in other parts of history warriors were slaves who were made

1 Author’s definition

3

to fight each other to the death for the amusement of Rome's populace, and was given the

name ‘Gladiators’. “Paestum depicts men, both bearded and unbearded, fighting each

other with spears and bleeding” (Welch 2007: 14), in addition to the negative picture here

is because the usage of the term warrior becomes subjective, because warriors are not

always fighting for good causes as most of them will assume and warfares causing

destruction and violence do indeed involve warriors. So warrior here has some sort of

ambiguity between being noble and being destructive.

On the other hand, the word for me also has moral and code of honors that were

very apparent in Samurai warriors. “The traditional cultural fusion of the Samurai’s

honor with violent behavior continued to be influential” (Ikegami 1995, 220). They

followed a philosophy and certain behaviors where for instance they sometimes kill

themselves in case of disgrace or defeat.

As a result and as time passed, warrior changed from the fighter holding a sword

and riding a horse to the recently referred as modern soldier holding a weapon and using

for example aircrafts and tanks to move. That is to say most of the possible definitions of

the word fell into the solid and military meaning of resistance. I believe a warrior can be

anything, anywhere and anytime. And it is unfair to cage the word into the past narrow

interpretations only.

1.2. Warrior through a more comprehensive look

Away from the typical warrior, a warrior for me is anyone who fights for a better future

for his/her country, family, career or even sports team. The list here never ends, but with

relation to the realms of conflict transformation and my future plan to be a humanitarian

4

worker in an emergency response organization, I will focus on who is a warrior in my

country and who is a warrior in my professional life. And just to say it clear this look is

the more closer to my heart.

Egypt is a country that had two major uprisings in less than two years, a

revolution on 25th

of January 2011 and what is debatably called the second so called

revolution in 30th

June 2013. Since 25 January 2011, I never felt that there is a real

change that happened in the political, economic or even social corridors of Egypt’s

system, rather it is getting worse. I will not discuss the various reasons for this recession

but I wanted to say that I was a warrior when I chose to say no the former dictatorship,

even though, I was not prepared nor protected to take part in protests but I gave up

everything risking my life to do something I always wanted to do, and it is to bring down

a totalitarian regime. My example applies to many Egyptians. Some of them lost their

lives, other injured and whoever is left is trying. Instead of typical warriors dying in the

field, these warriors died in the street with hope that Egypt has a better tomorrow.

On a societal level, warriors in Egypt are women who suffer daily sexual

harassment (UN women 2013) in the streets of Egypt and chose to stand up and advocate

for a new law to protect them. “Non-violent discipline is a key to success and must be

maintained despite provocations and brutalities by the dictators and their agents” (Sharp,

2012: 49). These sorts of battles warriors are engaged in are means of peaceful struggle

and resistance to attain our rights in a better future. Women in Egypt had showed great

courage lately in terms of their active involvement in realms of politics and grass root

movements. Women feel outraged because they have to think twice before going into the

street, what to wear? When to go? And where? Not to forget to mention the role of the

5

state and funded sexual mobs in using sexual harassment as a tool in oppressing women

to keep them away from political discourse.

I have been always interested in the humanitarian work and especially in the field

where alleviating suffering and leaving a positive footprint can be possible and

achievable. In the sector of emergency response and disaster relief organizations, I see

special types of warriors; warriors who left their countries which in some cases are one of

the best livable countries to go to a very dangerous environment to help reduce the

suffering of the affected country or region. These warriors risk their personal safety,

sacrifice their personal or social life to change things, they believe in good intentions and

humanity away from political or economic influences which unfortunately control our

world today. I intend to be one of those warriors after finishing my studies in conflict

transformation. This is for me a transformation from a warrior in my country against

oppression to another form of warrior but in another place and in a different context.

Just like Einstein said” “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be

changed from one form to another” (Einstein 1905). Same applies with warriors; they

transfer from one place to another and from one context to another. They carry the burden

of surrounding circumstances and try to change these circumstances to a better form.

These circumstances might be political, economic, social or humanitarian.

2. Warrior in my Mother Tongue

2.1. Warrior in old Arabic language

I believe that language is largely involved in conditioning us to think the way we do. It is

the part of our upbringing, minds and culture. My mother tongue is the language I use to

6

think, express my feelings, thoughts and even in some cases even dream with. I was born

in Egypt, lived a big portion of my life in Saudi Arabia, consequently my mother tongue

is the Arabic Language. Classical or Standard Arabic language (known in Arabic as

Fusha) or اللغة العربية الفصحي is the one taught in schools, spoken on TV news and written

in newspapers while Egyptian Arabic is the slang term used in daily conversations and

situations. Asif Agha in his book ‘Language and Social Relations’ says that Language is

closely linked to our social relationships and is the medium through which we participate

in a variety of social activities. (Agha 2007).

Egyptian dialect is supposed to be popular and well-understood in most of the

Arab speaking countries. “It was partly Egypt’s head start that led to the distribution of

Egyptian films and awareness of Egyptian dialect all over the region” (Hammond 2005,

113). Speaking Arabic makes me proud since my language is spoken all over 22

countries; as well it is the language of the Quran and constitutes one of the six official

languages of the United Nations system. Arabic Language is a component that unifies all

Arabs regardless their geographical location and therefore a carrier of Arab culture,

values and traditions.

In relation with the last chapter, and after experiencing the term ‘warrior’

according to my own perspective, this paper, I will engage with the word again but

through the lens of the Arabic Language. First I will explore the word in the old times,

what did the word ‘warrior’ mean in the past? How the interpretation changed though out

time to include different and new meanings? What does it mean to be a warrior today in

the Arabic language?

7

Before diving into the deep meaning and possible interpretations of ‘warrior’ I

would like to mention the definitions for the word in two of well-known English-Arabic

dictionaries. 1st dictionary (Elias’ Pocket Dictionary 1973, 402) defines ‘warrior’ as

while the 2 (Hero) بطل or (Soldier) جندي or (Fighter) محاربnd

dictionary (AL-MAWRID

1996, 1045) mentions exactly the same three words defining the word. All the three

words in my opinion are related to warfare or battle conditions and conceal feelings of

resistance, confrontation and anger. A fighter fights in a fight (For example wrestlers). A

soldier defends his/her country in a battlefield and eventually if he dies he becomes a

hero or in some cases they live to tell their stories and also become heroes.

The etymology of the word according to Egyptian etymology dictionary known as

Al-wageez or المعجم الوجيز mentions that the roots of the word ‘warrior’ comes from war

and limited the use of the word to 3 situations, someone who fights an enemy or حرب

fights god2 (in terms of being non-believer and offending prophets and believers) and

finally someone who fights windmills.3

Egypt which is a part of the Arab region suffered from foreign occupation for a

long time till independence in late 1950s, followed by Egyptian-Israeli wars in 1967 and

1973 respectively and finally unresolved Palestinian-Israeli case. These events of course

molded the meaning of warrior in the subconscious minds. “Foreign occupation therefore

becomes ‘The very basis’ of contemporary Egyptian civilization” (Said 1977, 35). For

example ‘Road to Eilat’ or in Arabic (Al-Tareek Ela Eilat) الطريق الي ايالت is a movie

showing Egyptian soldiers as warriors in their successful attempt to blow up the two

2 I will focus on this definition later in ‘warrior in my religion’

3 It is said when someone is living in vain or without a clear goal for his/her life.

8

Israeli vessels in the port of Eilat during the War of Attrition4. So warriors here in this

context are soldiers and heroes as well.

2.2. Warrior from a recent point of view

Honestly, I did not like the idea of warrior in Arabic language almost stuck in the typical

image of warrior, because warriors can exist in all fields and not just in the battlefields.

So I chose to ask my father who is 60 years old and I believe he witnessed the time where

Egypt had the nationalistic stain during and shortly after 1973 war between Egypt and

Israel. I asked him what you think a warrior in Egypt can look like. And what does he or

she do mainly? He answered saying that Egypt is done with wars, and this is the least

important thing to worry about. Egypt has been struggling after three years of tremendous

political unrest and thus he thinks a real warrior nowadays in Egypt is someone who

fought and still fights autocratic regime, a man or a woman struggling to offer basic

needs for his or her family amid economic deterioration (Mekky A, personal interview,

17 April 2014). The Arabic language (Egyptian dialect) is very close to the idea of Egypt

as a nation state, in other words I cannot separate my Egyptian dialect without speaking

about Egypt as a nation state.

I back up his words quoting “Many Arab countries are dominated by autocratic

regimes, a fact which fuels popular resentment against the status quo” (Tamari N.A, 6)

and thus a warrior is not that soldier fighting for independence but rather politicians and

citizens risking their personal security resisting totalitarian regimes and on the

economical level, Egyptians fighting the hard living conditions to keep up with the

minimum requirements of decent life. ‘Egyptians against Corruption’, a movement

4 inconclusive war (1969–70) chiefly between Egypt and Israel

9

started in 2006 which awards an annual award called ‘anti-corruption warrior’ or المحارب

to the person who whistle blows at the corruption acts done by or under المصري ضد الفساد

the eyes of Egyptian government (Eissa 2010). This article was written on of Egypt’s top

newspapers Al-Ahram Weekly and this in my opinion shows how written media

broadened its perspective to defining a warrior.

Unfortunately I believe the usage of the word warrior has become subjective, a

warrior for me can be a terrorist for another. Some of the Islamic extremists started using

this word in refer to their so called ‘freedom fighters.’ “We mourn the holy warrior who

died in an accident” said by Ansar Beit el-Maqdis انصار بيت المقدس (World Tribune 2014)

while earlier in 2005, a group calling itself "Egypt's mujahidin" or Egypt's holy warriors,

has claimed responsibility for a Sinai peninsula bomb blast that wounded two Canadian

women peacekeepers (Aljazeera 2005). So being a warrior does not necessarily mean

doing actions based on a noble purpose or cause.

Here the falsified warriors used and manipulated with the Arabic language in

specific verses of the Quran seeking persuasion among their followers, which of course

has an echo specially in environments void of education and development. Despite being

mentioned in writings as warriors, true warriors do not kill civilians, nor carry feelings of

hatred or revenge, true warriors for me who hopefully to be mentioned positively in my

mother tongue are people who risk their comfort zone to achieve a better improvement

for a country, family or even a career.

3. Warrior in my Culture

10

3.1. Warrior in typical Arabic culture

Warriors are affected by the culture they are raised in and accordingly will operate later.

How is a warrior in the Arabic Egyptian Culture? What molded that image? And how do

I look to a warrior in modern culture of my country?

Culture determines our behaviors and inter-communal responses between

individuals or groups of same community and other communities as well. Culture is more

than merely one aspect of intercultural communication where each definition serves

particular interests. Based on the previous words and my Arabic Egyptian roots, I find the

following definition of culture the closest to my mind “Culture is the effort to provide a

coherent set of answers to the existentialist situations that confront all human beings in

the passage of their lives” (Yankelovich 1981, 36). It can be a set of behaviors,

communication and language affecting our dealing with individuals, groups of my

community with each other and foreign communities as well.

I was raised in Saudi Arabia and settled in Egypt in early 2000s, both cultures I

can call them a conservative combination, the former being a strict religious conservative

monarchy and the latter being post-colonial, post-revolution5

country. Since I am

Egyptian and lived most of my teenage life in Egypt, I will focus on the former sort of

culture which includes my experience, stories and opinions in respect to the Egyptian

culture.

I mean by ‘typical’ in the head title the past times, in the last Century, Egypt as

well as most of the Arab countries in the Middle East had painful experience with

colonialism. The French Occupation followed by the Ottoman Empire and the British

Mandate ending the colonialism officially in 1979 where Egypt and Israel signed ‘Camp

5 25 January 2011 revolution and 30 June 2013 coup d’état

11

David Accords6.’ These series of events created a culture of resistance to occupation,

resistance to western imperialism and even resistance to western perception of culture.

This limited the image of a warrior in eyes of the vast majority of my country to its

military context only. “This produced a deep-seated anti-Westernism that is a persistent

theme of Egyptian, Arab, Islamic, and Third World history.” (Said 1993, 39). All what

comes from the West is unaccepted and immoral and we have to fight it, this was the

majority mouth piece back in the time. “Resistance to the west was couched in the Arab

terms of the need to defend our freedom and our Arabism” (Jankowski 2002, 32). This

created a wave of nationalists also known as Nasserists aiming mainly to fight western

imperialism and influence in the Middle East. “All these new factors heralded a

postcolonial age and have naturally affected the way Arab intellectuals in common with

other intellectuals in former colonies, saw the European other” (El-Enany 2006, 87).

This image of a warrior holding a gun pointing it to the enemy nesting in the

minds did not impress me at all, I say this because this image has surpassed its time

limits, and this warrior is not supposed to be present nowadays or at least dominant.

Egypt is now an independent country and do not require this warrior as the main image

like before. This typical image affected my culture and my country a lot. The Egyptian

Army has a lot of political, economic preferences in comparison to other sectors of the

country like health or education because they as believed are the only warriors that

deserve financial and moral resources. “Egypt’s military controls not only the political

levers of power, but also the economic ones, and its involvement is getting even deeper”

(Hammond and Wan 2014). This image is transferred from the societal level to the

6 Peace treaty signed between Egypt, Israel witnessed by the United States.

12

official one. This unrealistic image also created an environment for conspiracy theories

which I believe is an Egyptian traditional solution for avoiding blaming ourselves for our

own political, economic and technological lag.

Speaking about another aspect, will be the existence the idea of holy warriors,

known as Jihadists who claim to defend the religion by targeting civilians in Egypt and

outside of Egypt. It is not very difficult to observe how these so called ‘holy warriors’ or

Mujahdeen involvement in Syria, Iraq and the list goes. Cultures change and so must the

image of a warrior stuck to this culture. Globalization makes culture no more bound to a

geographical area, race or religion.

3.2. The preferable warrior in the modern Arabic culture

The Egyptian culture shortly before, during and after 25 January 2013 revolution started

to recognize other interpretations of a warrior. Warriors resisted and still resisting the

dictatorship risking their personal safety. Warriors working in a science lab over the hour

to invent a new cure for incurable disease. Warriors who use their pen to criticize and

shame the government for violating human rights. What I want to say that it has been

clear that warriors existed in every sector of the Egyptian community, all struggling for a

better future without holding the same weapon or armor of the typical Egyptian warrior.

The old image somehow changed in my mind because of two reasons in my

opinion. The first one is the appalling circumstances of the state, and with circumstances,

I mean political stagnation and economic deterioration. And the second reason is the big

gap between Middle East in general including Egypt in specific and the developed

countries on the other side of the map. “Today, Arabs are paying a heavy price for

13

decades of enforced stability which western governments shortsightedly encouraged. The

result was political stagnation where issues that ought to have been addressed –

sectarianism, corruption and lack of accountability” (Whitaker 2014). This gap showed

that warriors in the military are not the mere solution to prosperity but also warriors

promoting for democracy, human rights, and good governance which is the backbone of

any developed nation. Add to these two reasons, the illogic ideas of anti-westernism since

most of the military and economic aid reaching Egypt comes from the West. “The

disconnect between political/security priorities and developmental goals could not have

been greater.” (Tschirgi 2003, 6). It is now the typical depicted image warrior versus the

modern images of warrior and the later image is still seeking its way in the minds of the

population.

4. Warrior in my Religion

4.1. Warriors and their role in Islam

The code of conduct of a warrior is to be surrounded with basic frames of religion or

humanity. Religions are supposed to organize our lives in a way by promoting good

morals and interaction between individuals of same and different beliefs based on respect

and compassion. Religion as an individual and collective meaning system influences

national and international relations by impacting the worldviews and behavior of policy

makers, nations and the cultural environment. Religion can be misused to spread violence

and can be also to promote peace. For example by emphasizing the ‘otherness’ and the

non-believers in a different category to justify and legitimize violent acts against them

14

while on the other hand, religion also hold rituals and teachings calling for respect of the

sanctity of life as well as morals of mercy, compassion and forgiveness.

I am a Muslim, born as Muslim as I believe most of the believers do except in few

cases. Most of us do not choose their religion except in rare cases. Islam as all of other

religions calls for peace and humanity. I do not consider myself as a religious individual

except in practicing Islamic rituals where my head touches the ground 5 times a day.

Recently I have read, watched and even witnessed a lot of violent acts done by Muslims,

sometimes calling themselves as ‘warriors’ under the cloak of defending Islam. These

acts achieved nothing but distorted a religion, which in the very beginning had the

purpose of promoting peace and humanity and not vice versa.

The term warrior was introduced in the history of Islam specifically during the

expeditions led by Prophet Muhammad aimed mainly to defend Muslims against

transgressors at that time. “The harsh natural conditions of the Arabian Peninsula led to

the pre-Islamic practice of ghazw (raiding), aimed at the acquisition of camels and other

animals for their milk and meat” (Al-Dawoody 2011, 21). I am not going to debate

whether these expeditions were under justifications of offense or defense; I would rather

focus on the circumstances of that time that depicted the warrior as a man riding a horse

or camel, holding a sword and armor. “The nature of ghazawat (raids) may be classified

into the following two main categories: (i) preaching and making peace treaties and (ii)

attacks on the Muslims and series of incidents” (ibid). Both categories required warriors

with specific characteristics to withstand the tough circumstances.

15

A warrior in Islam is linked to two aspects, the minor Jihad7which includes

military side and the major Jihad which is self-control. I would focus more on the later

one since for me it is more important. Self-control of our whims and struggling to be a

moral good doing sort of individual is crucial for maintaining peace. In a broader sense,

jihad means striving to the utmost extent of one's ability and power by exerting oneself

spiritually in the way of Allah and doing one's best to preach the message of Islam to

others. This is the jihad that a Muslim can carry out for Islam throughout his/her life

instead it is being used only in the narrower sense of fighting against a visible enemy.

“And those who strive for us - We will surely guide them to our ways. And indeed, Allah

is with the doers of good” (Quran 29:698). I would love to see warriors in Islam striving

against their own whims and doing good deeds for the sake of humanity in accordance

with the true essence of Islam.

4.2. The Stray warriors

This section of the paper will talk about some extremist Islamic warriors as they claim

themselves to be. Unfortunately few Muslims choose to focus on the narrow and solid

meaning of warriors and Jihad misusing and misinterpreting basic verses of Quran and

Sunnah.9 These falsified warriors involve in violent and barbaric acts against innocents

distorting the true essence of a peaceful religion, claiming to defend Islam and they are

way too far from doing that. Islam considers all life forms as sacred. I perceive them as

falsified because I see a warrior must distinct between his/her actions and never falls

7 The Arabic word "jihad" is often translated as "holy war," but in a purely linguistic sense, the word” jihad" means

struggling or striving. 8 English Translation obtained from www.Quran.com

9 Sayings and teachings of prophet Muhammad

16

under violence to change. The value of human life is so great, that the Quran equates the

taking of even one human life unjustly with the killing of all humanity. ”Whoever kills a

soul unless for a soul or for corruption done in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind

entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely” (ibid, 5:32).

This stresses that warriors must focus on respecting the lives as possible with respect to

promoting good morals and humanity actions.

For me Jihad is smiling in tough moments, forgiving, keeping patience in hard

times, struggling for good deeds, taking care of old parents in a loving way. To strive and

to struggle to change the image, the media shows.

4.3. A religious comprehensive warrior

I see a Muslim warrior concerned with raising the status of the Islamic world to focus on

two main aspects, either to study one of them or both of them if applicable, the first one

focusing on religious Islamic science (known as Fiqh10

and Aqeedah11

to try to clear and

omit the misinterpretations used by a not a few number of fundamentalists nowadays, in

addition to promote the peaceful morals of co-existence present in the religion. This point

also includes that with proper counseling of moderate Islam by specialized preachers,

these extremists can opt out from violence. While the 2nd

aspect includes life sciences for

example biology, chemistry and physics where Muslims can also take part in the race of

technology and development.

As I am interested in humanitarian work, specifically emergency response and

disaster relief, I see working as aid worker in a conflict zone for the sake of humanity and

10

Islamic jurisprudence (code of conduct) (translated by author) 11

Islamic Theology (translated by Author)

17

alleviation of suffering of susceptible people is in fact a very appreciated and humane

work, in addition these people hold the courage of a warrior as well as the kindness and

the compassion of a conflict worker. Not to forget to mention that by doing that I will be

abiding with Islam morals and teachings which I guess is nearly the same with all other

religions and beliefs.

There are in fact many religious humanitarian organizations and non-

governmental organizations (NGO’s) working currently in the field in humanitarian

assistance motivated by the desire to help the less fortunate. These organizations include

warriors who combined the precious balanced equation of serving their religion and

restoring faith in humanity. For instance ‘Catholic Relief Services’ and ‘Islamic Relief’.

Prominent religious leaders have played quiet often roles to mediate peace and conflict

resolution such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

5. Warrior in (inter)national Politics and Law

5.1. Warrior in politics (nationally)

Speaking of a broader pillar that affects warrior in our world today is politics and law.

Politics is literally connected to every action we take in our lives; politics manage our

homes, work places, and even sports. Laws are present in our world to reform and rectify

our actions in order not create chaos. Politics and law are linked and interrelated together

along with the term ‘warrior’. Wrong management and practice of politics represented in

bad governance decreases the feeling of security strengthening the military side of the

term ‘warrior’ on the other hand, implementation of certain laws in specific incidents

18

such as martial and emergency laws results in the same feeling and consequently the

same outcome.

The 21st century has come with its challenges most of which are related to

international security, climate change and poverty. I think we are now living in a world

with more conflict than cooperation. The term ‘warrior’ should be extracted from its

narrow meaning to include broader and also other forms of being a warrior, but

apparently this is becoming a very challenging issue as because of the previous

circumstances mentioned that are becoming a part of our life.

The situation in Egypt post 25 January 2011 revolution and 30 June 2013 coup

d’état is intense and violent. “Moderate has become a dirty word in Egypt. Since the

army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, anyone who refuses to support either

side uncritically has become a traitor to both” (Bayoumy 2011) with the vanishing

moderates, often bombings in the capital and upcoming presidential elections, warriors

are only in uniforms wandering the streets either dispersing protests or diffusing bombs

or maintaining random security checkpoints in preparation for next week’s elections. This

situation has not been recent, rather a normal wave since 3 years. The sole focus on the

military side of warrior made its way along the official levels, street talks and news

headlines.

In my last paper in the previous semester about ‘security’ I said that politics are

drawn in the country mainly by the military institution. The military or as it is customary

called ‘warriors factory’ controls a big portion of Egypt’s economic system along with

other influential tools like the media. Noam Chomsky said regarding the military "They

will act as army officers usually act and seek to control the system and economy while

19

crushing their opponents and human rights" (Q&A on Egypt with Noam Chomsky 2013).

This of course takes away all the attention from other possible forms of warriors present

in the Egyptian society for example, a doctor risking his/her life (risks of infection)

treating patients in a governmental hospital that lacks basic medical resources because of

the low budget if compared to those allocated to the ministry of interior and ministry of

defense.

Another example, a student seeking proper education amidst the stalled

education system. “Egypt Scores Dead Last on Schools and Egyptians Couldn't Care

Less” (El-dahshan 2013). This was the headline of an article published, simply because

security issues are taking over the country. I am not trying to undermine the efforts made

by the military and police to counteract terrorist attacks here and there but it is a matter of

balance, and warriors in other forms can also help the Egyptian society to get better

without even holding weapons or wearing uniforms. This narrow meaning gives

unrealistic expectations that only solider warriors are capable of offering a secure and

developed climate for Egypt.

5.2. Warrior in politics (internationally)

We live in a world controlled mainly by political and economic interests, which if added

to religious and cultural tensions creates violence and terrorists attacks here (for example,

the Somali famine following Somali civil war/western intervention 1993) since I am

interested in the work of emergency humanitarian organizations, I will name them as

non-state warriors and on the other side, states (individually or under the umbrella of

International organization such as the United Nations) as state warriors. The narrow look

20

of the states towards meaning of warrior made a lot of stated to spend vast amounts of

money on counter-terrorism and national security programs. So the individual narrow

interpretation of a warrior has been transferred to the state level, this time the state is

using power to gain specific interests or to intervene in a country for humanitarian

reasons which in most of the cases carry hidden agenda behind the intervention.

“However, such enforcement is often highly controversial precisely because it would

potentially sacrifice the national security of one state member of international society for

the good of the whole society” (Preece 2011, 20).

Non-state warriors or humanitarian organizations do a lot of work in countries and

regions struck with natural disasters (floods and earthquakes for instance) and man-made

disasters (Conflicts). The main motive and imperative for this work is humanity and not

strategy as in state warriors. “As warriors, as humanitarians, they've taught me that

without courage, compassion falters, and that without compassion, courage has no

direction” (Greitens 2011, preface). To be honest, some of the humanitarian organizations

have hidden political and economic interests and they use the humanitarian cause as a

justification to intervene in conflicted countries. But I am speaking here of the mere

intuition and conscience of a warrior humanitarian worker who is neutral, impartial and

acts based only on humanity and unity.

5.3. Warriors through the (inter)national legal framework

“The rule of law refers to a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and

entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to law” (Anaan

2004, 616). The rule of law, in essence, is a conceptual framework for a society in which

the state adheres to the law, ensures equality before the law, provides efficient impartial

21

justice and safeguards human rights. While international law simply is that organizes

relations between states and prohibit serious crimes (slavery, genocide for example). “It

serves as a framework for the practice of stable and organized international relations”

(Slomanson 2011, 5).

In Egypt as the warrior has mainly one form and one task, logically the legal

framework in which they act is the Egyptian Penal code and Emergency law, with the

latter being lifted in November 2013. “The Egyptian government said it is lifting a nearly

three-month state of emergency and curfew” (Casey and Haber 2013). According to

report published by Arab center for development of the rule of law and integrity, the

Egyptian judicial system “protects the society by the umbrella of legitimacy and rule of

law” (The Arab Center for the development of the rule of law and integrity, 10). But for

me it has been obvious that the penal code is the main platform where warriors in Egypt

depend upon. Along with the security challenges, sole focus on one side of a warrior;

ironic sentences have been carried out. “Egypt sentences to death 529 supporters of

Mohamed Morsi” (Kingsley 2014). What annoys me is the apathy from the society

because of the sole focus on military sides of the warrior only and that these warriors can

do whatever they want under the justification ‘war against terrorism’, or as the saying say

“The laws are silent in presence of war”. The misused or ‘politicized’ law can be a fertile

soil for turn warriors into destructive warriors and endanger the cohesion of a society,

shifting away from their primary noble role.

On the International level, the states alone or under international organizations

(UN) act according to international law serve as state warriors to try to maintain world

peace and prevent atrocities from happening and in some cases coordinating

22

humanitarian relief missions in the affected regions. These warriors hold and create new

legal documents regularly to protect human rights (UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR12

) but as

I believe we do not live in an idealistic world, and due to conflicting interests and other

reasons which requires more than this paper to mention, the true essence of a warrior has

been lost in the international realms where political, economic and military power

influence the balance and controls relations between those warriors.

Humanitarian organizations or as I call them non-state warriors have been

devoted to human suffering alleviation and promoting humanitarian actions. The legal

framework which controls their code of conduct is the 7 humanitarian principles13

(humanity, universality, impartiality, neutrality, unity, independence and voluntary

service). Luckily those non-state actors have not been or at least most of them affected by

political influence and continue to work as noble and courageous warriors’ regardless

security risks and harsh conditions. Nevertheless, politics of humanitarian work exist and

is always a debatable topic when it comes to certain interests behind delivery aid for

instance.

Well, it is obviously crystal clear that I am biased towards non-state warriors and

their role in our world today that state warriors, this is simply because politics has defiled

relations between nations, creating humanitarian crises quiet often which to be managed

and treated via non-state warriors. It is unfair to solely blame states for our world’s

problems but they certainly hold a big share of it. Giles Bolton in his book Aid and other

dirty business says that humanitarian crises happened in DR Congo and Rwanda is a

painful reminder of what can happen when people receive no benefit from their

12

(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) 13

International committee of the red cross code of conduct

23

citizenship (Bolton 2008), in addition to the world’s indifference if the country

encountering crises does not possess any strategic, political or economic significance.

6. Shehab Mekky as a warrior

Throughout my personal, social and professional life, and based on the culture, religion

and language I come from, I see warrior in myself in two simultaneous pictures. When I

chose to continue resisting the return of an oppressive regime (especially after former

Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won a landslide victory in a presidential

elections last week), either by non-violent protests, writings or even taking role in the

Egyptian government as a diplomat, reminding myself that it is going to be a fierce battle

but I guess that is a right I have to reimburse to my country. This scenario not only will

also show that warriors are not only police or army officers but civilians demanding

better governance for their countries.

The other picture for me was to work for a humanitarian relief international

organization, and specifically in emergency response and disaster relief sector which is

the case currently. These organizations seek to relief suffering in short time range to

leave a permanent humanitarian footprint. My passion towards this work will for sure

help me to quickly gain expertise as a humanitarian warrior. There should be no

underestimating the extraordinary things that can happen, if warriors are given the right

opportunities. “We need to understand that individual effort, by thousands of people

working together, is the only way we are likely to achieve the societal outcomes we want

in areas where business and the mainstream media do not take an automatic interest”

(Bolton 2008, 304). May this work inspire me as well as others around the globe to rise

24

above national interests, self-interest to recognize humanity and offer me a satisfying and

enriching experience.

I am more biased to working in a relief International organization more than

working in pure decision and politics making circles such as Egyptian government

because I feel by working in such organizations, I can always live to see a positive

footprint in a work rarely misused or desecrated by politics interests. Making someone

life better does not change the world but for this person the whole world changes.

This does not mean that humanitarian work is not affected nor drove by politics

but for me the satisfaction and self-recognition of doing and leaving a positive footprint

in a conflict affected area to most vulnerable people is what attracts me to this sort of

work. I believe in humanity and by my work, I can always promote principles and values

of humanity and unity.

7. Conclusion

We might have different personal perspectives, cultures, religions, laws or even political

systems but what warriors have in common is way more than what they differ at.

Warriors can be state and can be individuals and can be humanitarian organizations as

well.

A warrior can be a resistor to a dictatorship; can be a negotiator with a warlord to

guarantee freedom of movement for humanitarian workers. Dictatorships, conflicts,

disasters are not permanent. Every day, warriors are being born around the world; each

does what he or she believes can attain his/her country, family, financial status, career a

better condition. They restore my faith in humanity. This reality helps me gradually to

25

change in my mind and spirit, the idea of a typical warrior holding a weapon to defend

his or her nation to a unique sort of warrior, supporting his or her good-intentions spirit

while struggling with his/her mind in silence to go on with this peaceful battle.

Warriors fight for a meaning in life and this meaning can be concealed in any

sector but focusing on the military interpretation only of a warrior undermines the true

essence of the word. Hate is an emotion possibly cultivated in warriors. Compassion and

empathy for the ‘other’ make willing warriors. Some warriors are born to indistinctly

vanish; others earn a remembrance, either in a good way or by affixing disgrace to their

names.

In the paper, I aimed to discuss all the possible interpretations and practical

applications of the term ‘warrior’ in my personal perspective, mother tongue, culture,

religion and country. As well as the results of these findings reflected on my personal and

future professional life.

26

References

Al-Dawoody, Ahmed. 2001. The Islamic Law Of War. NewYork: Palgrave Macmillan.

Aljazeera. Group claims Sinai peacekeeper attack. August 115, 2005.

http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2005/08/2008410142815267163.html (accessed

June 8, 2014).

Al-Mawrid. 1996 English-Arabic Dictionary. Dar El-Ilm Lil-Malayen.

Annan, Kofi. 2004 The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies.

report of the Secretary General , NewYork: United Nations Security Council.

Arabic Language Lexicon. 2004 (مجمع اللغة العربية). Al-Wageez (المعجم الوجيز). Al Amiria printing

press (المطابع األميرية).

Agha, Asif. (2007). Language and social relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bayoumy, Yara. November 11, 2013 "Moderates fade from political view in polarised Egypt."

reuters.

Bolton, Giles. 2008 Aid and other dirty business . United Kingdom: Ebury Press.

Casey, Mary, and Joshua Haber. November 13, 2013. "Egypt declares end to emergency law."

Foreign Policy.

Chomsky, Noam. October 2013. interview by MIT. Q&A on Egypt with Noam Chomsky.

Einstein, Albert. June 30, 2005. "On the electrodynamics of moving bodies."

http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www/ (accessed June 9, 2014).

Eissa, Sarah. December 30, 2010. "Fighting back." Al-Ahram Weekly Online.

El- Dahshan, Mohamed. October 17, 2013. "egypt scores dead last on schools and egyptians

couldnt care less." Foreign Policy.

Road To Eilat (Al-Tareek Ela Eilat). 1993. Directed by Inaam Ali. Performed by Ezzat El-Alaili,

Nabil Halfawi and Salah Zulfikar.

El-Enany, Rasheed. 2006. Arab Representations of the Occident. NewYork: Routledge.

Elias' Pocket Dictionary. 1973. English-Arabic dictionary. Edward Elias Elias.

Greitens, Eric. 2011. The Heart and the Fist: The education of a humanitarian, the making of a

Navy Seal . Boston: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT.

Hammond, Andrew. 2005. Pop Culture Arab World. Library of Congress .

27

Hammond, Joseph, and James Wan. April 14, 2014. "Egypt’s military economy: Money is power,

power is money." daily news egypt.

Ikegami, Eiko. 1995. The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of

Modern Japan. Harvard College.

International Committee of the Red Cross. "ICRC." International Committee of the Red Cross.

January 1, 1979. http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/fundamental-

principles-commentary-010179.htm (accessed May 2014, 19).

Jankowski, James P. 2002. Nasser's Egypt, Arab Nationalism, and the United Arab Republic.

Colorado: Lynne Rienner.

Kingsley, Patrick. March 24, 2014. "Egypt sentences to death 529 supporters of Mohamed

Morsi." The guardian.

Mekky, Alaa. April 17, 2014. interview by Shehab Mekky. Who is a warrior in your opinion?

Pegg, David. 25 of History’s Deadliest Warriors. December 8, 2011. http://list25.com/25-of-

historys-deadliest-warriors/?view=all (accessed April 2014, 2).

Preece, J. Jackson. 2011. security in international relations. Ungraduate Study, London:

University Of London,

Quran. Quran. n.d. http://quran.com/ (accessed May 11, 2014).

Said, Edward. 1993. Culture and Imperialism. NewYork: Vintage Books.

—. Orientalism.1997. London: Penguin books.

Sharp, Gene. 2012 From Dictatorship to Democracy. London: SERPENTS'S TAIL.

Slomanson, William. 2010. Fundamental Perspectives on International Law. Boston: Cengage

Learning.

Tamari, Steve. "Who are the Arabs?" George Town University. n.d.

ccas.georgetown.edu/document/1242771122913/Who_Are_the_Arabs.pdf (accessed

April 16, 2014).

The Arab Center for the development of the rule of law and integrity. study, 2007. "Promoting

the rule of law and integrity in the Arab Countries".

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. sexual

harassment report. 2013.

http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publi

cations/2013/6/UNwomen-AnnualReport2012-2013-en%20pdf.pdf (accessed 2 April,

2014).

28

Tschirgi, Necla. 2003. Peacebuilding as the Link Security and Development: Is the window of

opportunity of closing? NewYork: International Peace Academy Studies in Security and

Development.

Welch, Katherine. 2007. The Roman Amphitheatre: From Its Origins to the Colosseum.

Cambridge University,

Whitaker, Brian. al-bab. January 20, 2014. http://www.al-

bab.com/blog/2014/january/revolutions-are-messy.htm#sthash.N6axtHmP.dpbs

(accessed April 29, 2014).

World Tribune. Founder of Egyptian insurgency militia killed in Sinai explosion. March 17, 2014.

http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/03/17/founder-of-egyptian-insurgency-militia-

killed-in-sinai-explosion/ (accessed June 8, 2014).

Yankelovich, Daniel. 1981. New rules, searching for self-fulfillment in a world turned upside

down. Random House.