From 1973 to 2036: Why the Arab World’s Clocks Are No Longer in Sync
On October 6, 1973, Egypt crossed the Suez Canal and breached the Bar-Lev Line. The lesson extended beyond military victory: resources become power when they are coordinated and brought into alignment. Fifty years later, October 7, 2023, offered a stark reminder of the cost of unresolved conflicts and the consequences of nations moving on different timelines.
Today, the divide emerging across the world is no longer simply between rich and poor, or North and South. Increasingly, it is a divide in time.
While some societies build data centres, develop artificial intelligence, and debate the risks machines may pose to jobs, privacy, and consciousness, others face humanity’s most fundamental questions: Where can I find water? Where can I find shelter? How can I survive until morning? Both realities exist on the same planet, yet they seem to belong to different centuries.
In 1973, Arab states had their disagreements, but at a decisive moment, they managed to bring their clocks into alignment. Today, each capital increasingly operates according to its own timeline, shaped by different threats, economic pressures, and national priorities.
The danger is not merely that some societies will arrive late to the future. It is that they may arrive without having had a role in designing it.
By 2036, the greatest risk may not be falling behind. It may be becoming accustomed to being behind.
That is why I propose an Arab Pact for Time: an initiative to protect the infrastructure that keeps societies connected to their era, including schools, universities, water systems, power networks, and data centres. It would also establish an Arab sanctuary for minds, keeping scientists and researchers connected to the technological frontier even when conflict forces them away from home.
The next crossing will require neither a canal nor a sand barrier. It will be a race against becoming accustomed to standing still.
Time, like debt, compounds. Every year the crossing is postponed increases its eventual cost. This is my contribution to that crossing: a stone of thought.
