By Daoud KuttabAMMAN – For decades, the Arab world has suffered from disunity. While it is connected by geography, language, and culture, the region’s lack of cohesion has long allowed foreign powers to plunder its resources. The legacy of colonial divide-and-rule tactics remains pervasive, and parochialism has prevented Arabs from leveraging their huge oil wealth and relatively educated populations. But the FIFA World Cup has shown us another way.Football has emerged as a great unifier following a string of unexpected victories for Arab countries. In November, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, Tunisia defeated France, and Morocco routed Belgium. Then, during the knockout stage, Morocco <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2022/12/10/world-cup-2022-moroccos-road-to-the-semi-final" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">made history</a> by eliminating both Spain and Portugal to become the first Arab country to secure a place in the semifinals.Morocco’s victories were the result of a perfectly executed plan devised by coach Walid Regragui, who placed goalkeeper Yassine Bounou at the center of the team’s strategy. Bounou repeatedly stymied Spain’s attempts to score, and Morocco went on to eliminate the team in penalty shootouts. Nor could Portugal’s attackers find a way to beat Bounou, and Regragui’s side pulled off a stunning 1-0 win. “I’m trying to think of when such a shock as this has happened in the World Cup,” one commentator <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/61047820?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6394bab4e7e8f473cfbfd3bd%26Ronaldo%20in%20tears%262022-12-10T16%3A58%3A28.626Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:1b6fa710-a8da-4f51-b8d5-263ed9405e42&pinned_post_asset_id=6394bab4e7e8f473cfbfd3bd&pinned_post_type=share" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">told the BBC</a>. “Pinch me, I’m dreaming,” Bounou <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/moroccos-tactical-masterplan-ignites-unlikely-world-cup-run/2022/12/11/4b30e3d0-796c-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html?isMobile=1" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">said</a>.The team’s success is no dream. Morocco knew it was an underdog from the beginning. Its David and Goliath-like plan involves a defense-heavy <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.therecord.com/ts/sports/soccer/2022/12/11/moroccos-tactical-masterplan-ignites-unlikely-world-cup-run.html" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">4-1-4-1 formation</a> that leverages the strength of its star goalkeeper. But every position is crucial and requires utmost dedication to a single goal.Morocco’s players have shown that dedication, inspiring people throughout the region. Following the team’s victories, Arab children danced in the streets, and fans and players in Qatar were seen <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/sports/soccer/palestine-flag-world-cup.html" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">waving the Palestinian flag</a> in shows of Arab solidarity. Every winning Arab team made sure that their group picture and public statement included signs and words of solidarity with Palestine.Perhaps not surprisingly, Bounou, who also plays for Sevilla in Spain’s La Liga, has become something of a role model for Arab youth. Tall and agile, his confidence, humility, and sense of community make him stand out in a sport whose stars are more often known for displays of swagger and arrogance.The same vices have held back the Arab world more broadly. While basing a team’s strategy on cohesion might seem like a no-brainer, Arab states usually find this hard to achieve – in sport and in life. True, Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi won the 1,500-meter run gold at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj bagged gold medals for the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter runs in Athens in 2004, and in 1996, Syria’s Ghada Shouaa won gold at the Atlanta games heptathlon. But all these players won in individual events. When it comes to team sports, Arab countries usually fail miserably.Similar shortcomings are reflected in business and trade in the region. The Arab League, for example, was created to foster greater unity in the Arab world. But intra-Arab trade <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08853908.2022.2029725" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">still accounts for</a> less than 10% of Arab countries’ imports and exports. Family-based small businesses may thrive, but Arab corporations barely make a dent in global commerce. This seems unlikely to change anytime soon. The World Economic Forum estimates that over <a fr-original-style="" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/family-businesses-lifeblood-of-the-middle-east/__;!!M9LbjjnYNg9jBDflsQ!GQ2Q07pdmW4huqaJPYxEavBOS4cBKEQDrBkxxJnKCGPlKR4WlJQq8eesQF-DinJO_8fI0BxmDGwIGn-myBNSVjsC$" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">75% of the Arab world’s successful companies</a> are family-owned.Disunity has serious political consequences as well. The absence of a unified strategy to address famine in Sudan, a country often thought of as the region’s breadbasket, is surely making the situation there worse. Likewise, Palestinians’ internal division when it comes to control of their territories has contributed to their failure to achieve the dignity and freedom they so desperately need. In the last Israeli elections, Arab political parties couldn’t agree on a unified slate of candidates for the Knesset, wasting hundreds of thousands of votes as a result. Even citizens of wealthy Arab countries face hunger and literacy problems.Arab unity based on well-executed and realistic strategies would make a huge difference to the region. And it is here that Morocco’s World Cup should inspire us. Only by applying more broadly the concepts of selflessness and teamwork that have been central to the team’s success can young Arabs and future politicians, who remain glued to their TV sets as Morocco makes history, translate their shared enthusiasm into real-life unity.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, is a former professor of journalism at Princeton University.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2022. <a fr-original-style="" href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">www.project-syndicate.org</a>

Arab unity based on well-executed and realistic strategies would make a huge difference to the region. And it is here that Morocco’s World Cup should inspire us. 

A Winning World Cup Strategy for the Arab World

<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">"Adolf Menju"</h2>Adolphe Jean Menjou (18 Şubat 1890 - 29 Ekim 1963), Amerikalı aktör. Kariyeri hem sessiz film döneminde ve hem talkie döneminde devam etti. 1931'de The Front Page için Akademi Ödülü'ne aday gösterildi. Yukarıdaki yazının yazıldığı tarihte Türkiye’de gösterilmiş olan en popüler filmi, “Yanık Kalpler” olarak çevrilmiş olan Morocco’ydu.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/2/1669719411229.png" width="550" height="457" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.20" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Morocco filminden bir sahne. Adolphe Menjou ve Marlene Dietrich&nbsp;Akşam gazetesinin 9 Ağustos 1929 tarihli nüshasından sinema sayfasında kendisiyle ilgili şöyle bir haber de yazılmıştır:<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/2/1669719413492.png" width="550" height="689" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Menjou, Amerikan Karşıtı Faaliyetleri İzleme Komitesi’ni destekliyordu. Bu sebeple, Alman Demokratik Cumhuriyeti (GDR) yandaşları, genellikle batılı muhalifleri Menjou tarzı bıyıklarla tasvir etti. GDR'nin propagandasına göre bu tarz bıyıklar, bir siyasi muhalefet ifadesiydi. Bu bıyık tarzı bir çeşit sembol hâline geldi. Almanya sinemasında ve tiyatrosunda şüpheliler, oportünistler, yozlaşmış politikacılar, dolandırıcılar, evlilik sahtekarları ve diğer suçlular bu tarz bıyık ile resmedildi. Bu bıyık tarzına Almanya’da hâlâ Menjou-Bärtchen deniyor.Ayrıca Salvador Dalí de kendisine hayrandı. Menjou’nun bıyıklarını&nbsp;"la moustache d'Adolphe Menjou est surréaliste" ("Adolphe Menjou'nun bıyığı sürrealisttir") diyerek sürrealist ilan etti.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/2/1669719410624.png" width="550" height="385" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.43" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Avangard fotoğrafçı Umbo'nun en ünlü fotoğraflarından biri "Menjou En Gros" başlıklığını taşır. (1928)

İstanbul'da Nasıl Eğleniyorduk?

<h3 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Discover with Kerimcan who spends his life on the road and takes photos instead of notes.</h3><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">A desert night in MoroccoIt's late afternoon, we are on the winding roads of Morocco that are long enough for us to lose track of time. The North African sun is nearing the end of its shift. We are entering a town of two-story buildings with brown and yellow tones. It is as if suddenly the hustle and bustle that dominates Morocco disappear as calmness descends upon us.The city of Merzouga has a gate that looks like a filter. We have nothing to do in the city - we are heading to the Sahara, the largest desert in the world. We continue on from the city center and after a short journey, we reach the area in the desert where we will camp. We leave our stuff in the tents and head out. We are late for the most important appointment of the day, we realize that we have overstayed our last break. With quick steps that become 2-3 times more tiring than usual, we climb a sand dune and watch an exquisite sunset. We are surrounded by the perfection of nothingness.<p contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-wrapper fr-deletable" fr-original-style="text-align:center" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; box-sizing: border-box;"><a bgcolor="#000000FF" color="#FFFFFFFF" contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-link" fr-original-style="background-color:#000000FF !important;color:#fafbfc !important" href="https://apos.to/i/a-desert-night-in-morocco" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(250, 251, 252) !important; text-decoration: none; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Read more</a><p contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-wrapper fr-deletable" fr-original-style="text-align:center" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; box-sizing: border-box;"><a bgcolor="#000000FF" color="#FFFFFFFF" contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-link" fr-original-style="background-color:#000000FF !important;color:#fafbfc !important" href="https://apos.to/n/ruta-12b" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(250, 251, 252) !important; text-decoration: none; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Subscribe</a>

Morocco ile ilgili hikayeler