Despite all of the unwanted developments of 2022, it was a good year because the scenarios we had been weary of did not play out. Many may disagree, even without me putting some of my optimism into the article. They might think I am presenting a deceptive reading of 2022.
It is important that we take a few steps back and contemplate developments and their deep ramifications without being misled by outside appearances.
The biggest story of the year is the Ukraine crisis. With all its bitterness, it did not spread and involve other countries as had been predicted by many analysts; indeed, some even went as far as claiming it would lead to a World War.
None of this transpired for two reasons: the Ukrainians managed to hold their ground thanks to Western support, and China did not enter the conflict on Russia’s side. We also expected the war to divide the world politically, and that did not happen either. Instead, we saw a Chinese-American summit that openly declared the war would change nothing in international relations between great powers.
The talk about multipolarity is all theoretical, but we find nothing on the ground. The majority is benefiting from the current global order, and they do not want to destroy it. The war is bloody, but we luckily avoided the worst, and it could well end at some point during the upcoming year.
2022 was a good year because we saw more of the positive outcomes of the AlUla Summit, which changed the balance in the region. The Saudi Crown Prince led this regional shift that did not impact the Gulf but also encompassed Türkiye, Egypt and Yemen, taking it from a place of tension and conflict to a place of great reconciliation.
This change of mood could clearly largely by explained by Riyadh’s constant push in this direction as it extinguished the sparks of tension and left itself free to pursue development and build the future. This is the rising country’s biggest obsession.
An extension of the ongoing positive outcomes of the AlUla Summit seen in 2022 is that the extremist Muslim Brotherhood saw its influence plummet, and not just in the Gulf. They have also left their strongholds in Türkiye and dispersed across several separate countries. Istanbul had been turned into a hub for which they spread their extremist poisonous and inflammatory ideas, but the Turkish government has decided to banish them, changing its behavior completely.
The fact that the Muslim Brotherhood and co. have lost their influence has created room for moderate and compassionate ideas that develop society, and we are now seeing the real image of Islam for the first time.
Islam is a moral, civilized religion led by moderates like Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa. For such an ideology to take hold, it needs, for a period, to go without competition and distortion by the handful of extremists, who used to smear it under the pretext of resisting “Westernization” or the “dilution of religion” to implement their agendas.
Despite the number of deaths and all the repression we have seen in Iran since Mahsa Amini was murdered, we should be happy to see that, for the first time, the world is seeing the Iranian regime, which has always had people who would defend it around the world for various reasons, for what it really is after.
This year, the protests that rocked the country exposed the real reason why the Iranian people, as well as the Arab peoples dominated by Iranian sectarian militias, are in crisis. The year 2022 may be the worst year on record for the Iranian government in its battle against the youths of the country living in a region that is flourishing and witnessing major transformations.
The Taliban’s ban on women receiving an education is the worst development of 2022, without a doubt. But this law being condemned by the Arab and Muslim world points to two things. First, the Taliban’s extremist rhetoric has become marginal and isolated, unlike before. The second matter is that major Arab countries do not adopt catchy ideological Islamic and nationalist slogans to speak to primal instincts and maintain their political legitimacy. Instead, they are focusing on economic development more than anything else. This is a radical shift away from the rhetoric and propaganda that leads us to places none of us want to go.
Elon Musk buying Twitter was also among the most significant developments of the year. Despite the mistakes he has made, it is positive that the left‘s monopoly control of mass corporations has been broken after its rhetoric became extreme in the US and Europe, not just in the media but also in universities.
Those with opposing views were pushed to the sidelines as these corporations monopolized the truth, damaged society, and undermined freedom of expression and healthy debate. Musk came and broke this closed circle, allowing the world to breathe again.
Musk claims that he will save civilization, an obviously naive claim, but he has in fact done a service to those with opposing views who had been deprived of their voices.
What is left? Many things, but since I am a journalist, I will note that it has been a good year for journalism, as 2022 affirmed the real value of journalism over the past few years.
The Ukraine crisis was reported on by reporters from around the world, some of whom have lost their lives. It was not influencers on social media broadcasting these images to the world, though they are nonetheless brilliant at what they do.
During, the COVID crisis, reporters moved across high-risk countries after residents had fled, and during wars and conflicts, they put themselves on the frontlines in search of a scoop or a piece of information. 2022 was a good year for them despite everything.
Perhaps 2022 will be remembered as a year that everyone criticized. But it has made their world better, or at least it has not made things worse.
Happy new year to all.
