no wise men can disagree that the situations in the local and gulf arenas are painful and heartbreaking. hearts are filled with sorrow when we follow them, knowing that all this is because of years of ignorance which led us to bring about these tragic situations among us. what we see locally are sectarian hatred, abuse and conflict among different sects within a society including the backward personalities and politicians who were not born today and this hour. these represent the product of accumulation of ignorance and repeated failures for over half a century including the failure to create citizens who do not know the interests of their countries or even their personal interests, as they are blinded by sectarian religious hatred from seeing the truth and are willing to even burn the whole nation in support of a fictional ideology. i am not excluding anyone; we all are wrong and we therefore must bear the consequences of the mistake we have committed against each other and against our small and beautiful homeland. we had been warning so many times about religious extremism, which has reached such an extent that many dare to threaten our personal security, incite the ignorant against us, and define us using the worst-possible descriptions. doctrinal extremism, in the absence of any punishment or government accountability, not only makes the relevant party persist in its extremism but will inevitably push the party that opposes it to become very radical and entrenched. it looks for those who protect them and provide them with material and logistical support. this is certainly not a justification for seeking external parties for protection. we have often criticized the invitations sent to known sunni and shiite extremist preachers to visit the country. they end up destroying the minds of the youth and even the minds of those who think of themselves as “wise”. they incite people against each other, thereby provoking sectarianism; but no one cares or pays any attention when we have been writing about this time after time. we called for bringing an end to all the educational doses of religious materials at various levels. we insisted on the need to close down the college of sharia, supervise associations and societies labeled as “charity” and close down any of the “charity” organizations that violate the law. we repeatedly called for an end to the unofficial and undeclared ban on employment of people from a certain sect for some jobs because such a thing represents immoral and nonnational behavior. we also urged for increase in the inclusion of national education and ethics in the curricula. all that is happening now is only the result of leniency in those matters, while turning a blind eye to the stances and views of extremists and radical preachers. this homeland does not have a place for all this hatred. everyone must know his/her size — politically and sectarian-wise. if someone tramples on the fingers of others, even deliberately, it does not mean the homeland or even the entire sect of that person must pay the price because such a thing would be absolute madness. we must all abide by the rule of law, respect the rulings of the judiciary irrespective of their nature, and act accordingly. we must refrain from atoning and labeling each other. at the same time, we must not be silent about any violation of the rights of innocent people under any pretext whatsoever. it seems that we all need self-rehabilitation as well as national rehabilitation.

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