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Conspiracy Theories Mislead Many in Middle East

Ron Coody - 1/10/2009

Among the many conspiracy theories floating around the Middle East one that is particularly interesting is the Greater Middle East Project. Though this theory has many variations the basic theme is that the Western powers, mainly Israel and the US are working to establish some sort of unified presence in the Middle East under the banner of an Ottoman-like imperial rule, characterized by the emergence of a watered down coalition of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The idea is that the unified religion under the direction of Turks and other Westernized Muslims will finally pacify the region and bring much easier access to oil production.

The Middle East media can provide ample “evidence” to support this theory, thus persuading large percentages of the populations that veiled outside forces are diligently at work preparing to undermine national sovereignty. The fear level among ordinary people and the hostility to outside interference continues to rise with the prevalence of the conspiracy theories. Recent acts of violence against minorities in Turkey could have something to do with the level of paranoia produced by the theories that say their identity is being threatened on the deepest level by the introduction of a new cultural and religious entity manufactured in the minds of some Western strategists.

Once such thinking gets a foothold in a society, almost everything will be interpreted according to the conspiracy. For example, some years ago a children’s film called “The Prince of Egypt” was released by American studies. The story is a whimsical retelling of the story of Moses found in the Old Testament. Though it takes artistic liberty, the storyline basically follows the original text. When it reached the Middle East , it quickly went through the conspiracy mill and came out labeled a piece of Jewish propaganda, designed to legitimize Zionism. What probably seems like an absurd conclusion about a children’s cartoon makes perfect sense in the context of wildly imaginative conspiracy theorizing.

Hoping to bring some sort of cohesive, rationale--and we should add face-saving--explanation to the conflict with terrorism and Jihadism that has brought major fighting to Iraq and Afghanistan, Middle Easterners have turned to the Greater Middle East Project and other conspiracies, even if it stretches or ignores the facts. At the same time, the tendency toward conspiracy theories meshes well with the victim mentality also prevalent throughout the Middle East. Blaming someone else for one’s problems can be much easier than trying to fix them, especially in an honor/shame-based society where facing one’s problems is considered shameful. There is no conspiracy, just a sensational media making a comfortable living speculating about it.