The Global Map Post-Corona

Written by Dr. Hamada Al-Antably

Anyone tracking the global situation amid the global crisis of the Coronavirus—that virus which breached borders, halted the global economy, and forced everyone to stay indoors, closing mosques, churches, and temples alongside the suspension of prayers, all religious rituals, and every public gathering—will notice profound changes. Schools and universities have closed, with some resorting to digital means for distance learning, signaling the future of the educational process. All movements between countries, and even between regions within the same country, have been suspended, causing social distancing. Markets have stopped functioning, streets have become deserted, and athletic activity has ground to a halt; all current and near-future championships, most notably the Olympic Games, have been indefinitely suspended or postponed. Even terrorist operations, burglaries, and looting have all ceased. Everyone fears this microscopic virus that has brought life on planet Earth to a standstill.

Along with this, we find ourselves before a new page of human existence. Without a doubt, humanity will triumph and pass through this period just as it passed through others. However, the global scene indicates that the face of the world before Corona will be completely different from its face after Corona. We see political and economic entities collapsing and set to collapse even further, most notably the European Union, which is fracturing and seeing its powers crumble as though it were a fragile structure, rather than the mighty entity Europeans boasted about over past years. And there is America, the controlling monster of the global economy, collapsing after becoming number one globally in terms of the number of infections.

On the other hand, we find China, that giant rising to seize control of the global economy and indeed the entire world in all its details. It is the country from which this virus spread to the whole world, yet it is also the one that triumphed over it through the will of its people, science, and discipline, and now emerges to assert its presence upon the world. Everyone is praising China’s strength and its ability to conquer the virus through science, willpower, and discipline.

We are now facing a newly sketched image of the world whose dimensions and features are taking shape successively—politically, economically, scientifically, athletically, and socially. The entire deck of cards will be reshuffled anew, and everyone will witness that the post-Corona world is completely different from the pre-Corona world.

I hope that we, as Arabs, will have a role in the new global scene. I hope that this crisis will end after we have formed alliances that make us an active player on the global stage rather than mere followers. I hope the day will come when Arabs are actors rather than acted upon, as is customary. This is an opportunity we must invest in; we possess all the components and lack nothing. We have scientists, economic resources, faith, and many things that unite us. So let us hold fast to what unites us and consider this an opportunity to gather our scattered pieces and form alliances so that the Arab giant may emerge alongside the Chinese giant as an entity capable of controlling the world, ending the myth of the American and European monster.

I hope we seize the opportunity and that the day does not come when we cry over spilled milk. Life is about opportunities, and this is our opportunity in the new world. May God protect our countries and our families from all harm, and may God bring us out of this ordeal in our strongest possible state. We are all in the same boat, and salvation is inevitable, God willing, if we hold fast to the teachings of our religion. As the Almighty said: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.”

By Dr. Hamada Al-Antably