The People: A Source of Wisdom or a Tool for Mobilization? (Pharaoh or the Queen of Sheba)* _Captain Mohamed Hassan Al-Taher
_Date: October 10, 2025_
The Silent Majority
In an era of rapid transformations and tangled interests, the people remain the silent majority—intentionally kept that way. It is often said that _“the people are the source of authority,”_ yet reality frequently reveals that they are merely a source of symbolic legitimacy, stirred when needed and sidelined when decisions are made. Thus, their fate becomes a journey between awareness and marginalization.
The people are not just a mass of bodies inhabiting a geographic space; they are a living, breathing entity composed of individuals with will, memory, and aspirations. Yet this entity is often reduced to slogans and exploited in speeches, without being genuinely consulted in policymaking. This is where the distinction emerges between:
– *Enlightenment*, which means involving the people in decision-making
– and *Manipulation*, which means keeping them ignorant and reactive, in a state of perpetual emotional agitation without true awareness.
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*❓ The Central Question*
– Are the people meant to be consulted or merely provoked?
– Are they seen as a source of wisdom or a tool for mobilization?
True enlightenment begins with recognizing that the people are not a herd, but partners in destiny. Investing in the people without involving them is a modern form of concealed manipulation.
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*🏛️ The Arab League Model*
In the journey of nations, it is customary to seek a model to follow—one with sacred legitimacy or a unique message whose structure and intellectual content can inspire a framework adaptable to each context of time, place, and human condition. This raises the question:
– Can the Arab League be considered that lost paradise or ideal model?
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*✊ The Answer*
If we want the *Arab Peoples’ League* to be a beacon rather than a podium—one that enlightens rather than incites—then we must redefine the relationships between:
– Ruler and ruled
– Elite and public
– Decision and destiny
The people:
– Are not stirred by speeches, but awakened by justice
– Are enlightened by freedom
– Are consulted when a real future is to be built
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*🧠 Pharaoh vs. Queen of Sheba: A Quranic Reflection*
In today’s world, where power intersects with the masses and slogans are used more than intellect is invested, a fundamental question arises:
– Are the people treated as a source of wisdom or merely mobilized as a crowd?
We seek a logical answer through the lens of the Quran, examining:
– *Pharaoh*, who addressed his people from a tower of arrogance
– *The Queen of Sheba*, who spoke to her people from a platform of dialogue
This contrast reveals a historical paradox still alive in the Arab political reality—between tyranny and participatory governance.
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*👑 Pharaoh’s Model*
In historical narrative, Pharaoh saw his people only as a means to consolidate power. He spoke with arrogance, saying _“I am your supreme lord,”_ and used fear and deception to control minds before bodies.
– The people were not partners in decision-making, but a crowd to be provoked and suppressed
– Mobilization was coercive
– Wisdom was absent because the people were denied the chance to think or participate
—
*👸 Queen of Sheba’s Model*
When the Queen of Sheba received Solomon’s message:
– She did not rush to respond; she gathered her advisors and said: _“O chiefs, advise me in my affair”_
– She was the first to embody participatory governance in ancient Arab history
– She did not seek applause, but counsel
– She spoke not from above, but from among her people
Here, the people transformed:
– From tools to sources
– From audience to collective intellect
*🔄 The Present Echoes the Past*
Today, regimes still oscillate between these two models:
– Some see the people as mere tools for media and political mobilization—provoked during elections, marginalized in policymaking
– – Others are beginning to realize that collective wisdom is the only path to a sustainable future, and that the people are not a burden but an asset
*🎭 The People Are the Text, Not Just the Audience*
The people are not spectators in the theater of power—they are the script itself. When consulted, they produce decisions that are more just and stable. When used only for mobilization, they become ticking time bombs, awaiting detonation.
The difference between Pharaoh and the Queen of Sheba is not in the throne, but in how each viewed those around them.
– Do we want people who are led, or people who participate?
– Do we want leaders who are applauded, or leaders who listen?
In times of crisis, only those who believe that:
– Wisdom cannot be monopolized
– And that the masses are not just numbers in ballot boxes, but minds worthy of respect, consultation, and nation-building
can truly save their people.