Ahmad Al-Sarraf

MANY countries, big and small, come to us, seeking good relations with us. They send their representatives to us, not because of our cultural importance, strong economy, our population which is less than one third of the Indian population, our stock of ballistic missiles or even our oil which is soon becoming of very low value.The reason is the rabble living among us who have been threatening international security and harming the financial markets of the West. They destroyed our tourism and our economy, damaged our properties, and demolished our hospitals and libraries. We witnessed this in Libya, Syria and Iraq as well as in many other countries.Why did the kind and humble Pope Francis, despite being of old age, visited our countries even though we killed the followers of his Catholic belief? We did not show them any consideration when they offered food and shelter to the Syrian refugees. We saw Pope Francis wash the feet of poor refugees after they faced killing and displacement in our countries, but we continue to kill the followers of his belief.Have we become the representatives of evil in this world? Everyone in the world is seeking our friendship just to avoid facing our aggression.Both Muslim and Christian Egyptians have lived together in wonderful harmony until the group emerged to attack churches and kill worshippers. For more than 1,000 years, Syrians — Sunnis, Shiites, Catholics,  Orthodox believers and Assyrians — have been coexisting peacefully. Then they came across those who turned everything upside down.In Iraq, the scene is not different. The Kurdish had been living in harmony with the Sunnis and Shiites; but now everything has changed and Iraq is no longer a place of coexistence.Then, the president of the most powerful country in the world decides his first overseas visit should be to our region. Is it because of our exceptional importance or is it aimed at changing our attitudes and preventing our evil from spreading to the entire world?The small DAESH part that exists inside the heads of many among us will emerge sooner or later. The world will destroy that DAESH if we fail to get rid of it.We have become tired. Our intellectuals, citizens and rulers as well as the entire world have become tired. Something must be done to bring an end to this madness. We need someone to convince us that life is wonderful, and it will be great to contribute something good to this world because we leave in it. We need to work as though we will live forever. It will also not be bad at all if we lived each day as though it was the last.[email protected]By Ahmed Al-Sarraf