"A Mirror to Ourselves"

True Awareness: A Look Behind the Scenes of the Middle East Crisis

Author: Gouya Roshan (Güya Aydın )

A truly aware individual looks at themselves before criticizing others. They first recognize and accept their own mistakes, and only then speak about others. This simple yet profound principle is the key to understanding many of the complexities of today’s Middle East.

At a time when the world is rightly looking at the West and criticizing its policies and crimes, we must not forget that Middle Eastern countries are also complicit and involved in many human tragedies.

The genocide of Palestinians, the massacre of the Rohingya, the destruction of Afghanistan, Yemen, and other countries are all the result of inefficiency, self-interest, and internal and regional conflicts.

This bitter reality confronts us with fundamental challenges: ignoring the truth is not the path to reform.

If we are not willing to see and accept our own mistakes, any criticism from outside will be ineffective, and sometimes even harmful.

The responsibility for change begins from within.

Real reform is only possible when every society, every country, and every group honestly and courageously starts from within and confronts its own mistakes.

For example:

When Zionism is criminal and thirsty for the blood of Muslims, openly massacring Palestinians; when Trump treats Muslims with contempt and violence; when the West turns a blind eye to crimes against Muslims and remains silent—

My question is this: which Muslim country has done anything for Palestine, Rohingya, Yemen, and other suffering nations besides securing its own interests?

Is it not Egypt that does not even allow Western aid workers to travel to Palestine to provide help?

The same Egypt that built a wall so that the oppressed population of the Gaza Strip could be massacred and displaced by the Zionists?

Is it not Azerbaijan that supports Israel by selling fuel and energy, thus fueling the massacre of Palestinians?

Is it not Turkey that trades with Israel and opens more doors for it, instead of closing its embassy while Palestinians are being slaughtered?

And Saudi Arabia, which speaks of Islamic unity but arrests anti-Israel protesters?

So, what can we expect from countries that have never stood with us?

Therefore, we must first fix the roots, not just the branches.
True awareness means looking at problems impartially—not to blame, but to understand them better and build a better future.
Thus, as long as we remain trapped in a cycle of prejudice, self-interest, and self-deception, any criticism we make of the West or foreign powers will only be a piece of the puzzle—not the whole picture.