Fatfatism

fatfatism is a new political concept emerging from the anti-government protests in lebanon in december 2006. its use is comparable to words like ‘conservativism’ and ‘socialism’, and its use is -n-lagous to words like ‘stalinism’ and thatcherism’ and ‘reganism’ because it derives from the name and policies of a person – ahmad fatfat, lebanon’s minister of the interior.

this fatfatism ideology, which has come to refer to a certain “moderate” breed of political behavior in the middle east, can be explained, according to dr. as’ad abu khalil, the intellectual who coined the term, as such:

“…it requires no commitment to principles; it merely adjusts to the interests of the political status of ahmad fatfat. the ideology contains contradictions: it speaks of democracy and ‘liberalism’ and yet cultivates support among bin laden supporters in north lebanon and serves as a client for saudi wahhabism; it speaks in favor of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘independence’ while it faithfully represented the interests of the tyrannical syrian regime, and now represents the external patrons of sanyurah. the ideology of fatfatism believes that the most effective way for fighting foreign occupation is serving tea to the occupation soldiers. while it is widely believed that fatfatism is a lebanese phenomenon, it is now noticed that fatfatism is spreading in countries in the middle east and well beyond the middle east.”

the december protests in beirut, lebanon in 2006 included chants which echoed a popular understanding of fatfatism. the chant went, according to primary sources:ahmad fatfat, you tough guy; one coffee and two tea. this reaction to fatfatism can be understood in the wider framework of discontent in the middle east with politicians like hosni mubarak, abu mazen, and iyad allawi who are perceived by islamic fanatical and “leftist” sectors of the arab public to be no more than tools of western imperial powers.

fatfat to clinton:”not now clinton, i’ve got thirsty soldiers waiting,go and w-nk in the corner”

father to son: “stop being a fatfat and learn to read.”

“i went to use the public lavoratory, but the bowl was backed up, as someone had done a fatfat in there, previously.”

“israeli soldier: man oh man! you shoulda seen it!
olmert: what happened? is this another tale of fatfatism?
felipe: yes! fatfat was getting whipped by shlomo again. he told fatfat to bring home lebanese mint that he found on the ground from beirut to ashdod, so he picked up the plants, put them on his horse, and galloped for eight hours, and then dropped it in the middle of shlomo’s driveway.
olmert: yep. that’s fatfatism for ya.”