Samaher Saif Al-Yazal
The Kuwaiti thinker and academic, Professor of Sociology at Kuwait University, Dr. Mohammed Al-Rumaihi stressed the importance of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries keeping pace with regional and global changes by focusing on the quality of education, developing the Gulf economy, and building a common market capable of embracing new innovations, pointing out that the region is between two expansionist narratives and enlightenment is the way out.
He pointed out that the levers of development are no longer what they were in the past, and that technology has become the most important element in sustaining growth and progress, explaining that maintaining the stability of the Gulf countries requires more unity and policy coordination among its countries to confront these challenges.
For his part, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abdulnabi Salman, stressed that political security can only be built on the basis of economic and social security, calling for the issuance of national legislation that strengthens internal unity and supports social cohesion, in addition to expanding the horizons of cooperation and development integration between the Gulf states as it is the basic foundation for enhancing their security and stability.
Salman said: “The unity of Gulf societies is the basis for preserving the integrity of the region, and no security system can succeed in isolation from a cohesive society and a strong economy capable of absorbing developments.”
This came on the sidelines of the intellectual symposium organized by the Graduates Club yesterday evening in the Issa bin Salman Cultural Hall at the club’s headquarters in Adliya, under the title “Gulf Security in a Changing World,” as part of the club’s cultural program for the years 2025-2026, in the presence of Nabil Al-Hamar, Advisor to His Majesty the King for Media Affairs, and a group of thinkers, media professionals, academics, and those interested in Gulf affairs.
The symposium addressed the social and political factors affecting the stability of the Gulf states, in addition to the regional challenges represented by Israeli and Iranian expansion, and the opportunities and risks resulting from international transformations that require the formulation of a unified Gulf vision for security and development.
Al-Rumaihi reviewed the roots of the two narratives, explaining that Israel relies on the myth of “God’s chosen people” that justifies aggression and expansion at the expense of the Palestinians and Arabs, while Iran relies on the “Persian myth” based on the tendency to show off nationalism.
He also addressed the development of the “Jewish question” in Europe, explaining that the Jews moved from a state of persecution and isolation to empowerment through the European Enlightenment, which allowed them to integrate into modern thought and civil society.
He explained that the Judeo-Christian culture, which took root in the West through evangelical Protestantism, reread religious texts to justify the establishment of the State of Israel as a religious and historical necessity, until Western defenses of Israel became part of the political and cultural identity in Europe and the United States.
He pointed out that Israel has invested in this intellectual and scientific accumulation to transform into a major technological and economic power, as its spending on scientific research in 2023 reached about 24 billion dollars, and its technical exports exceeded 70 billion dollars, considering this a “civilizational and scientific challenge” that the Arabs must face with knowledge and enlightenment, not emotion.
As for the Iranian side, Dr. confirmed. Al-Rumaihi said that Iran today suffers from a division between currents that live in the past and others that are trying to modernize, while it continues to employ military and political arms in the region under the pretext of “resisting Israel.”
He pointed out that economic corruption, declining freedoms, and high unemployment are fueling the Iranian internal crisis, and that the regime is still captive to the ideology of “war beyond borders” to justify expansion.
Dr. touched on Al-Rumaihi referred to the memoirs of the late Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian, “Subh al-Sham,” considering it an important political document that reveals the Iranian regime’s way of thinking.
Al-Rumaihi stressed that awareness and enlightenment are the only way to secure the future of the Gulf, calling for overcoming “religious stagnation and deadly superstition,” and relying on a rational study of Jewish and Iranian issues, far from emotional outbursts or mythical explanations.
