When History Turns from a Lesson into Glorification
Not all dates that pass over peoples are worthy of celebration, nor are all days that changed the course of history victories deserving of glorification. There are days that should remain in our memory, not to be celebrated, but to be learned from, so that their tragedies do not recur. In our Arab world, some dates associated with wars, coups, conflicts, and destruction have become occasions for glorification, as if the passage of time can transform tragedy into achievement. We sometimes celebrate the day, forgetting to ask: What happened afterward? How many people lost their lives? How many families were displaced? How many cities were destroyed? And how many years did it take for peoples to pay the price for that day? We have many examples from past decades, from dates of coups and internal conflicts, to the invasion of Kuwait, to the events of October 7 and the subsequent war, destruction, and immense human tragedy. Political narratives may differ regarding the causes and characterization of these events, but the truth that humanity should not dispute is that the loss of lives, the destruction of cities, and the displacement of civilians are not achievements to be celebrated. The problem is not in remembering those days, but in how we remember them. History that killed the nation’s sons should not become an occasion to perpetuate hatred, and history that destroyed cities should not be presented to generations as glory. History that moved peoples from a better state to a worse one should not be repackaged as a victory simply because a political faction prevailed at a certain moment. True victory is not in toppling a city, ousting an opponent, seizing power, or raising slogans above the ruins of states. True victory is when people move from fear to security, from poverty to development, from ignorance to knowledge, from division to unity, and from weakness to building a strong state that safeguards the dignity of its citizens. Therefore, the greatest dates in our consciousness are those associated with light, guidance, and construction. For example, the greatness of Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree) does not lie in it being merely a date, but in the message it carried for humanity: “Indeed, We sent it down during the Night of Decree.” Similarly, the Conquest of Mecca represented a historic transformation from conflict to a new phase of building society and the state. We need to redefine the meaning of glory in our Arab memory. Not everyone who wins a battle creates glory, and not every day that changes history deserves to be celebrated. Let us teach our children that history is a school, not a platform for sanctification, and that we should remember dark days to understand their causes and avoid repeating them, not to pass on their feuds and grudges to our children. Living nations do not glorify their ruins; they learn from them. They do not measure their greatness by the number of people killed in their conflicts, but by the number of lives they saved, by what they built for their generations, and by the future they created for their children. If we want a better future for the Arab world, we must stop glorifying days that created destruction, and begin glorifying days that built human beings.
