Moroccan writer Said Nachid told Sky News Arabia (UAE) that since the Arab Spring, he has noticed that there is a “spiritual desolation” and a “disease” that is plaguing the Arab and Muslim world. He made his remarks in an interview that aired on October 24, 2021.
He blamed this on political Islam and on religious discourse that he said causes people to feel failure, anger, bitterness, inferiority, guilt, fear, and hatred, rather than peace of mind and spiritual balance. Nachid continued to say that as a result of such religious discourse, which views the world through a lens of war and Jihad, people are unequipped to properly contend with their human nature, and the negative emotions they feel are liable to “explode” at any moment.
When asked what the differences are between Muslims and Islamists, Nachid said that while Muslims think about paradise, God, salvation, and self-scrutiny, Islamists think about the political conquest of Islam, about their political parties, about Allah’s punishments, and about blaming others for their failures.