Analysis: Arab summit in Qatar - a demonstration of weakness

The yearly gathering of Arab leaders which took place this week in Doha was supposed to be a summit of reconciliation; instead it laid bare the depth of the chasm in the Arab world, which was revealed in all its helplessness.Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi...

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi speaks during the opening session of the Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar, Monday.
Photo: AP
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Scheduled to run for two days - March 30 and 31 - it closed its doors at the end of the first day.

It had become clear to the participants that they were going nowhere: so profound were the differences of opinion that there was no point of going on and no hope of reaching a consensus.

Saudi King Abdullah did meet during the summit with Moammar Gadhafi after an estrangement of six years but that was a very small step which had no impact on the overall picture.

The closing communiqué paid lip service to the very few points of agreement between the participants and did not even try to touch on any of the issues that were on the agenda.

First and foremost among those issues was the Iranian question.

Iran's subversive activities know no boundaries and impact all Arab countries to such an extent that they are threatening the stability of the region.

The pursuit of nuclear capability by the Teheran's Ayatollahs is felt as a clear and present threat and pushes Arab countries on the path to a nuclear development of their own, the cost of which they will find difficult to bear.

And if that was not enough, Iran has launched an all out effort to promote Shia Islam in predominantly Sunni countries, endangering the homogeneity of the traditionally conservative society of those countries.

This has led Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to lash out publicly against these attempts on a number of occasions over the past few months.

Morocco went further and cut off diplomatic relations with Iran over the same issue. Sheikh Qardawi, considered as the leading religious authority of the Muslim Brothers launched a scathing attack on Iran.

This did not deter Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas from carrying out Iran's bidding.

Syria shows no sign of considering severing its strategic ties to that country in spite of the blandishments of the French president, and those of the newly elected American president. Hizbullah refuses to lay down its weapons and threatens Lebanon's stability. Hamas has dealt a mortal blow to the Palestinian cause since its brutal takeover of Gaza, and blocks the establishment of a united Palestinian front to negotiate with Israel while unsettling Egypt.

As for Iran, it is still holding the three islands in the Persian Gulf it wrested away from the United Emirates in 1971 and is reinforcing its grasp by building there and reinforcing its military presence. A high ranking Iranian official stated recently that Bahrain is an Iranian province, provoking such an uproar that President Mubarak made an unscheduled visit to affirm his support to "Arab Bahrain.