Informing Citizens about the Types of Tyranny and Tyrants
Published in December 31, 2010
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Firstly: there are no 'just and fair' tyrants:
1- There can never be such a thing called 'just and fair' tyrants; because tyranny (the worst type of injustices) cannot be combined with justice. Tyrannical rulers commit injustices against whole nations, not just few persons.
2- To make the nations submit to the injustices of tyrants, tyrants terrorize and intimidate citizens so that they never demand their rights; this is why tyrannical rulers control and own the police civil forces and the military forces of the army who serve tyrants and are ready to kill who oppose and protest against the reign of tyrants.
3- This is why tyranny is the worst form of injustices; tyranny can never be combined with justice. Hence, there is no such a thing as just and fair tyrants: this applies to Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (the second caliph in Yathreb, Arabia) and to today's Omar Al-Bashir in Sudan. The only difference is the degree (and NOT the quality) of injustices committed.
Secondly: there are no tyrants with reasoning minds:
1- There is no such a thing called tyrants with reasoning minds; tyranny can never be combined with being reasonable at all.
2- Being reasonable or having a reasoning mind means to search for the right thing to do as per human conscience and innate, pure nature and instinct inside every human being. This reasonableness contradicts following whims and desires of egoistic persons. The Quranic term "desires" is always linked to disbelief, polytheism, disobedience, and immorality, whereas the Quranic repeated verb "to understand" is linked mainly to the belief in God and in the Last Day, leading to the avoidance of committing injustices as they lead to dire consequences suffered by the unjust ones in this world and in the next.
3- The minimum level of reasonableness is to contemplate on the dire consequences suffered by the unjust ones in this world and in the next. In this world, tyrants create for themselves enemies and retribution-seekers by their injustices who disturb the fake peace of tyrannical rulers, who defend their rule with all their might, while living within ongoing hell of worries, anxiety, and fear, as the present and the future are never guaranteed for them. Thus, if rulers were reasonable enough, they should never commit injustices against any persons; they should deal justly and peacefully with all people to live happily within carefree life without troubles and worries.
4- The best and maximum level of reasonableness is to heed all the time one's Eternal Life after the Day of Judgment by working during one's life to earn the right to be saved from Hell and to enter into the bliss of Paradise for eternity. This performance of good deeds in faith is called piety in the Quranic text. Part of piety is never to commit injustice against God by deifying mortals beside Him in acts of worship and in belief tenets. Part of piety is never to commit injustices against persons while dealing with them.
5- All levels of reasonableness are against tyranny; tyrannical rulers have no reasoning minds at all; they deify themselves explicitly or implicitly by declaring themselves as immune against being impeached and checked by their nations. God is the Only One never to be questioned: "He will not be questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned." (21:23). Tyrants hate to be put to question and that their decrees/words be changed or opposed: this is self-deification, as God is the Only One Whose words never change: "...There is no changing to His words..." (18:27 + 6:115); "The decree from Me will not be changed..." (50:29). Thus, tyrants assume they receive 'divine' revelation to take the 'right' decisions and they are infallible! Thus, they ascribe to themselves qualities of our Lord God; this self-deification is the worst sin ever. Hence, tyrants commit injustices against people and against God as well as against themselves: they live in constant terrible anxiety and fear as their enemies are thirsty for revenge and death spares no one. Tyrants of theocracies assume they are immortal and God-like and that they will never be judged by God! Eventually, they die while carrying loads of injustices committed against God and against millions of citizens; thus, they will dwell in Hell forever. Hence, there is no such a thing as 'reasonable' tyrants.
Thirdly: there are either intelligent tyrants or stupid ones, as intelligence has nothing to do with the reasoning minds:
1- Intelligence is defined as the intellectual and mental faculty of planning to do something accurately; this 'something' might be evil, bad, corrupt, great, or good, as intelligence is a neutral weapon that might be employed for evil or goodness. Real pious believers use their intelligence for the sake of goodness and to defend themselves against aggressors/enemies, whereas the unjust ones use intelligence to deceive people and cause harm to them and to commit injustices.
2- There are various degrees of intelligent unjust tyrannical people; the less evil ones within the lower degrees are those who deceive the innocent and gullible people and manipulate their instinct of greed to confiscate their money in an act of swindle, but such unjust criminals do not commit murder.
3- The worst type of intelligent tyrants are the rulers who deceive millions of citizens and make them engage into useless wars that shed their blood; their money is confiscated by rulers by raising mottoes that are never applied like nationalism, religion, justice, etc. These swindling tyrants deceive millions of citizens as if hypnotized by tyrants who establish theocracy (e.g., in the KSA) or made people like herd of cattle under nationalism (e.g., in Nazi Germany, Nasser's Egypt, and Al-Baath Party in Syria and Iraq), or under glittering, empty mottoes of justice and rights of workers (e.g., within communism). Under such mottoes, unjust tyrannical intelligent rulers commit atrocities against their citizens by first deceiving them by empty mottoes never applied.
4- There is no such a thing as reasonable or fair/just tyrants; but there are either intelligent or stupid tyrants with various degrees. Likewise, degrees of intelligence or stupidity vary within societies ruled by tyrants within different cultural climates in a given era, leading to tyrants to give very little (or nothing at all) to their opposition figures, cronies, followers, and the vast majority of silent citizens.
Fourthly: highly intelligent tyrants:
1- There are highly intelligent tyrants who retained authority and bequeathed it to their offspring with the least amount possible of dangers and threats.
2- Those highly intelligent tyrants understand the cultural climate of their era surrounding their citizens and how it affects the 'eternal' and 'absolute' authority they desire to retain. Naturally, such highly intelligent tyrants understand the modern-age culture of human rights and democracy – long established and infiltrated into the EU and the USA citizens as natural and basic rights – but those tyrants in the Arab world know that such culture is not yet firmly established in the Arab countries except within the cultural elite members (who constitute less than 1% of citizens) and it is nonexistent among the silent majority of citizens. Thus, the culture of tyranny is maintained, but it is gradually fading and thawing; this fact is firmly settled in minds of highly intelligent tyrants, who also know that the vast majority are still victims of the culture of slaves and of tyranny who bear patiently with tyranny (as per Wahabi/Sunnite, Shiite, and Sufi teachings) as a 'natural' component of life! Sadly, oppressed citizens deify dead tyrants and consider them as heroes that cannot be criticized as this is deemed highly reprehensible conduct or even a blasphemous act! This silent majority of citizens has its clergymen who use religion as opium to divert people and make them submissive (in the name of earthly, man-made religions of Satan); clergymen serve highly intelligent tyrants who pay them handsomely and give them a measure of authority and power. In contrast, highly intelligent tyrants hate very much reform-seekers and free thinkers who are outspoken and vociferous about radical change. Hence, highly intelligent tyrants fear the cultural elite members who know all about the culture of democracy and human rights as opposition figures emerge from their ranks; sometimes, ambitious rule-seekers form groups that ally themselves to highly intelligent tyrants and flatter them in the hope to replace them one day on the throne and share greater parts of wealth and power. Thus, highly intelligent tyrants direct the silent majority of citizens to face the opposition minority. The minority of cronies and flatterers are hypocrites waiting to ally themselves to the next sultans or tyrants once the current ones die or ousted, and the former highly intelligent tyrants are cursed by those hypocrites who desire to get nearer to the new tyrants. Such is the real climate in which highly intelligent tyrants exist and play by certain rules of the game of power to maintain their thrones with the least dangers and threats as possible.
3- These highly intelligent tyrants fight corruption as much as they can within their cronies and high-rank followers as their injustices will undermine tyrants' authority and tarnish their image. Indeed, highly intelligent tyrants give such cronies the minimum amount of wealth and power so as not to grow too powerful to overthrow existent tyrants within conspiracies, schemes, and plots.
4- Indeed, highly intelligent tyrants confine their opposition figures to the field of media and politics only, with a narrow margin of freedom of expression; they never allow foes who hold different views in religion to impose it on people, as tyrants feign to care for freedom of thought and religious ideologies as long as no one else would claim the throne or take over the rule in the name of theocracy or any other ideology. Thus, the vast majority of citizens remain loyal to the highly intelligent tyrants.
5- Within the domain of political life, highly intelligent tyrants allow certain measure of freedom for opposition figures, with a certain ceiling they cannot reach above it at all and they cannot up the ante at all in terms of deeds or words; this is a sort of venting the bent-up anger or frustration, so that people would not revolt one day: this is a red line that shall never be crossed by herds of cattle, of course.
6- Hence, highly intelligent tyrants allow some peaceful demonstrations and sits-in while solving problems (e.g., of syndicates and some sectors) in ways that never lessen the awe of tyrants and make them win more support from people, as if highly intelligent tyrants were reformers who seek to care for interests of citizens! This sham picture or fake reality is maintained so that no opposition figures or foes might undermine the rule of the highly intelligent tyrants.
7- The highly intelligent tyrants rarely use exceptional or politicized court rulings and verdicts to penalize their foes; and this keeps a veneer or an appearance of democracy, and they even allow courts to issue verdicts against some of their followers who are scapegoats used as part of the propaganda machines of the highly intelligent tyrants who claim that courts and laws uphold justice.
8- The highly intelligent tyrants do NOT steal too much money of the citizens; they donate small shares of such billions ill-gotten money to charities. This is the method of lords of drugs and dealers of narcotics (in Colombia and other countries) whose charity work makes them win the support of millions of the poor, the homeless, the ill, the orphaned ones, etc. Besides, media cameras cover such events and laud and praise the 'charitable' billionaires and tyrants who 'patronize' the needy and the weak.
9- Those highly intelligent tyrants rarely deal with their foes and opposition figures with cruelty or brutal force; indeed, they win them over by money and high-rank posts sometimes to make them as their followers and cronies. So, instead of torturing people in prisons and building new prisons that increase violence and retaliation/revenge feelings, all such money is saved tactfully by pleasing and appeasing the foes and opposition figures with less amounts of money; but if some of them refused or cooperate or would go too far to pose a threat to highly intelligent tyrants, they are incarcerated for a while.
10- In fact, highly intelligent tyrants attempt to raise the economic level of citizens and their standard of living, while retaining basic needs of their lives so that they would not revolt and demand their share of rule within a décor of democracy. The simple citizens among the silent majority desire nothing but to eat and feel secure under their roofs, while to be able to marry off their daughters and sons one day. Such citizens make appearances in media of highly intelligent tyrants to assert their loyalty and to get some money within salary raises from the tyrants. Even when those citizens talk about their problems, they mix such complaints with flattering the highly intelligent tyrants who solve the problems, apparently. Thus, those highly intelligent tyrants are legitimate and elected rulers who maintain the loyalty of the silent majority within a fake, sham democratic décor or façade.
11- Those highly intelligent tyrants own all weapons and control the armed forces of the military and police, but they rarely use them to beat the citizens, but as deterrent force, and they control courts and the judicial authority that uphold justice partially. Those highly intelligent tyrants control media within a measured space of freedom, with a not-too-high margin or ceiling, within domesticated opposition figures in the parliaments, but criticisms are never directed at highly intelligent tyrants, but at cronies, ministers, etc. who are sacrificed as scapegoats in the nearest possible chance. Such flexibility makes the rule of highly intelligent tyrants remain for longer durations.
12- There are tyrants of medium-level intelligence who prohibit so many items and give so little and their margin of freedom granted to citizens is so limited; such a type of tyrants may turn into another type: the stupid tyrants.
Lastly: stupid tyrants: May God prevents their evil:
In fact, stupid tyrants are mostly found in military regimes of military rulers, and as per their military backgrounds, they have the following features.
1- They know nothing but issuing orders/commands that are expected to be obeyed blindly, as opposition means to declare war on military regime/rulers.
2- The enemy here is not merely opposition figures, but also all friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and relatives of the opposition figures who are severely punished/tortured/tormented inside the country and/or outside it till they surrender.
3- Those military tyrants never negotiate; they know nothing but brutal force, and the armed forces have but one sole mission: to protect the tyrants who embodies their countries!
4- Thus, any opposition trends are real arch-enemies of the homelands and dealt with as committers of high treason, as tyrants embody the homelands!
5- As such tyrants theoretically defend their homelands, their armed forces may kill any 'enemies' who betrayed the tyrants, as tyrants embody the homelands!
6- This means that armed forces are used within military regimes to oppress and quell citizens with live ammunition to protect the military tyrannical rulers, instead of defending borders/citizens against enemies; history provides us with many painful examples in the Arab world.
7- Thus, citizens are classified based on their degrees of loyalty to tyrants who embody the homelands, as enemies of tyrants are deemed as enemies of the homeland who are penalized, tortured, incarcerated, and/or killed, while the rest of people are domesticated as loyal 'subjects' among the silent majority of citizens.
8- Those citizens who form the client majority are being politicized by military tyrants to be used against the possible foes; thus, the silent majority of citizens cheer and praise tyrants to avoid being branded as enemies who would die or get penalized!
9- Thus, tyrants grant some measures of money and power to their cronies, henchmen, and followers who are trusted servants/slaves, while experts in all fields and reformers are doubted, persecuted, and accused by many people as they are not obedient and loyal enough!
10- Within such climate, all corruption crimes and all atrocities are allowed with impunity to those classes of affluent cronies and followers, while the 'neutral' citizens and opposition figures are persecuted however peaceful they might be.
11- This is a state of general injustices committed daily against silent citizens who never engage into any sort of political participation and their freedom of expression is confiscated.
12- Military tyrants commit another major sin: to interfere in the religious life and freedom of citizens. This is a grave injustice committed against God; God made people free to choose (dis)belief, whereas tyrants force people to follow certain vision of religion that serves tyranny and corruption (e.g., Wahabi Sunnite and Shiite are man-made religions that serve to maintain tyranny and corruption). Thus, tyrants create a day of judgment on earth before the one in the Hereafter to persecute and intimidate citizens within inquisition-like measures and create/show hell to those who peacefully oppose tyranny within torture, incarceration, persecution, etc.
13- Is there a worse type than the military tyrants? Yes, of course: the theocratic tyrants, as they rule in the name of God/religion by usurping God's authority. Sadly, the stupid military dictator like Mubarak in Egypt bans all religious freedom and persecutes religious reformist thinkers, while allowing Wahabis to dominate media and education; one day, the terrorist Wahabi MB and Salafist groups would undermine the Mubarak rule and replace him, and they would be ten times worse than Mubarak, as they would declare opposition figures as Hell-dwellers in the Hereafter and heretic 'infidels' who must be put to death not to prison! Thus, theocratic tyrants cannot be impeached, questioned, or checked, as if their foes were enemies of the Lord God!
14- The stupid tyrants are of two types: the military tyrants and the theocratic ones, as both commit tyranny and unprecedented levels of injustices that turn life into ongoing unbearable hell to citizens. Besides, all such tyrants cannot sleep as nightmares of phantoms of their dead victims haunt them all the time, making them live in constant fear and anxiety that create a vicious circle; the more they worry and fear, the more injustices they commit, thus be deserving (after their death) the curse of God eternally in Hell in the Hereafter.
15- May God curse all types of tyrants!