What would Trump mean for the Arab world?

Nehal Fathi and Oussama Lakhdar debate the merits of the Republican candidate.

If Donald Trump becomes president, will he be good or bad for the Middle East? Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Last month, the Munathara Initiative, an Arabic-language debating forum, hosted a discussion in Istanbul between two youth finalists from its debate competition, Nehal Fathi from Libya and Oussama Lakhdar from Morocco. They were joined by Mazin Al Shaiker, a former Iraqi government adviser, and Nagham Ghadri of the Syrian National Coalition. The motion debated was "Trump is Better for the Arab World". Below is a summary of the two arguments.

Donald Trump is better for the Arab world

Mr Trump represents a historic break from US policy towards the Middle East. His focus on defeating ISIL, the most significant threat to our region, is a welcome change to the weak campaign undertaken by Barack Obama, which Hillary Clinton would no doubt continue as president. Mr Trump is ready to use all the violence necessary to eliminate ISIL. We need a president in the US who will not waver in the war against ISIL. Mr Trump will be that president.

Mr Obama’s support for the Arab Spring has left the region devastated and created a situation in which Syrians kill Syrians, Iraqis kill Iraqis and even Egyptians kill Egyptians.

US policy has invited the invasion of foreign armies into the Arab world, undermining our sovereignty and security.

Before the Arab Spring a barrel of oil was over $100. Today it’s hovering around $40. The collapse of the price of oil has put Saudi Arabia in the situation of having to run a budget deficit, weakening one of the region’s most important economic powerhouses. Mr Trump respects strong leaders who are committed to battling threats against their nations and building up their economies, like Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt.

While Mr Trump’s rhetoric may be harsh, it’s not true that he hates Arabs and Muslims. He has made many Arab and Muslim friends. He is unflagging, however, in his focus on protecting the US and promoting America’s national interests, which is the responsibility of any president. Moreover, the extent to which he shows the self-interested side of US foreign policy will only serve to unify Arabs and expose America’s claims of supporting human rights and democracy in the region as lies. It is better to face an honest leader in the White House than a duplicitous one.

We aren’t saying that Mr Trump is perfect or will magically improve the situation in the region. That said, in this election there is a bad option and there is the worst option. Mrs Clinton is the worst option.

Donald Trump is bad for the Arab world

The belief that Mr Trump will be a strong leader in the fight against ISIL is misplaced. His racist and marginalising rhetoric against Muslims is a gift to ISIL. His anti-Muslim discourse helps ISIL recruit more fighters and win more sympathisers. He helps to polarise the world into believing the US is fighting Muslims rather than ISIL and that increases the threat from ISIL rather than lessening it. The extremist ideas Mr Trump promotes produce an equal and opposite extremist response among our youth that makes combating such ideologies all the more difficult. It’s also important to remember that former US president George W Bush was the one who brought Al Qaeda to Iraq. Previously Al Qaeda was isolated in Afghanistan. The Republican Party’s track record on fighting terrorism in the Arab world is not promising.

What’s worse is that Mr Trump supports Russian president Vladimir Putin, who is massacring civilians in Syria and backing the murderous regime of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad. We cannot accept such a position. Mrs Clinton, on the other hand, clearly opposes Mr Al Assad and Russia’s intervention in Syria. On this crucial Arab issue, her position is clearly the preferred one.

In terms of the refugee crisis facing Arabs today, Mr Trump’s position is clearly against Arab interests. He has demonised refugees and wants to deny asylum to those fleeing Mr Al Assad’s barrel bombs and torture chambers. We need a president who protects the Syrian people fleeing the devastation of their country. Mrs Clinton’s commitment to settling refugees in the US is crucial to the safety of the Syrian people.

With respect to the problem of Israel we recognise that Mrs Clinton doesn’t support our interests, but let’s be realistic.

Neither Mrs Clinton nor Mr Trump, neither a Democrat nor a Republican, will change US policy towards Israel. Anyone who says otherwise is simply trying to deceive you.

Mr Trump is against us in every way possible. He sees in every Muslim an extremist and in every Arab a killer.

We cannot support a man who demonises us and opposes us at every opportunity.

It’s impossible to understand how an Arab who knows all this about Mr Trump can still support him.

The debate concluded with 67% of the audience standing against the motion, and 33% in support. To learn more about Munathara's upcoming debates and competitions follow them on Facebook. You can find the whole debate on the Munathara Initiative Youtube channel.