Second Arabic language Revolutionary Communist University 2024: ‘The Power of Ideas’ a great success!

On 27 October, Revolutionary Communist University 2024: The Power of Ideas came to a close. This was the second ever Arabic-language school organised by the Revolutionary Communist International. Arabic speakers from Mauritania to Syria sang The Internationale to celebrate three excellent days of talks and discussions on various theoretical and political topics relevant to the struggle of communists in the Arabic-speaking world.

The University was an incredible achievement, as comrades overcame the difficulties of working in the region to organise this unique event, which brought together many communists from different countries of the Arabic-speaking world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf.

The first session, on Friday 25 October, was on world perspectives, presented by comrade Ben Curry, from the editorial board of marxist.com, who gave a detailed analysis of the global situation.

Ben stressed that the Middle East has become the centre of the world crisis of capitalism, especially for western imperialism. It is here that the weakness of American imperialism is most evident to the world. The outbreak of a wider war across the Middle East would have enormous revolutionary consequences that would extend far beyond the borders of the region. As Ben noted:

“This war is pregnant with revolutionary implications throughout the region.

“It threatens the downfall of a whole series of regimes.

“And those implications extend to the whole globe, which will be battered by the economic effects of such a war.

“But beyond that, Palestine and the Middle East have created a hotbed of raging anger in the West among millions of young people, especially Muslims”.

But that anger must be organised. At the end of his speech, Ben explained that: “In order for the working class to fight and be victorious, we need to learn from the experience of Lenin and the Bolsheviks who built the revolutionary party years in advance of the Russian revolution of 1917. And we must do the same; we must build the revolutionary party before the revolution.”

The purpose of this weekend was to arm ourselves with the ideas needed to build that organisation.

Ben’s talk was followed by interventions on the situation in several countries in the region, all of which agreed that the crisis of capitalism has caused terrible devastation in the Middle East. At the same time, however, it has developed the consciousness of the masses who will inevitably rise up and fight to change their conditions. This confirms the necessity of working with a sense of urgency to build the revolutionary leadership that the working class in our region deserves.

The talk can be watched back in English and Arabic here:

“The Power of Ideas” attracts hundreds of communists

The University focused on defending Marxist theory, which was emphasised by the session ‘Dialectical Materialism: In Defense of Marxist Philosophy’ and the session ‘In Defense of Lenin’. In addition, the event discussed two key issues that are at the forefront of the minds of billions of people around the world: ‘Capitalism and War’ and the situation in Palestine.

This event was made possible thanks to the efforts of many comrades in many countries, who worked for weeks to prepare talks and contributions, as well as advertise the university on social media and among their friends and colleagues. Without their collective efforts, this important and truly unique Marxist event could not have been organised.

There is a real desire among workers and youth in the Arabic-speaking world to understand what is happening in the world today, and for this very reason hundreds have tuned in to listen to a genuine communist analysis, which provides us with the ability to see the deeper processes taking place under the surface.

The most viewed session by far was ‘In Defense of Marxist Philosophy’, which has had hundreds of hits from viewers across the Middle East and North Africa freed up their time that they would normally spend struggling for survival to watch a session on Marxist philosophy.

How many times have we heard that workers and youth do not care about theory and philosophy? How many times have we heard the working class described as only caring about what satisfies their immediate needs? We know that the opposite is true: the masses do not need anyone to tell them that there is a crisis and widespread poverty. They know that better than anyone else. Rather they want to know the reason for this crisis and how to get out of it. Marxist theory is the science that enables us to interpret the world in order to change it.

The second session on the second day was entitled ‘In Defense of Lenin’. Some may wonder why communists in the Middle East would organise a session dedicated to discussing the life and ideas of Lenin, who died 100 years ago.

In the era of capitalist crisis, Lenin's ideas and his dedicated struggle against the capitalist system are more relevant than ever. They provide answers and perspectives for the increasingly radicalised layer of young people from different countries of the region and the world. That is why it was necessary to organise a session to present the real Lenin and his ideas on the centenary of his death, defending this great revolutionary against the Stalinist distortions and the bourgeois slanders against him.

We began the third day with a session on ‘Capitalism and War’, a session of utmost relevance at a time when we are witnessing two major wars, in Ukraine and Gaza. As Comrade Maksim emphasised in his talk: "In order to eliminate wars, we must eliminate capitalism."

Last but not least, we discussed the communist approach to the situation in Palestine. This talk addressed the roots of Israel’s war on Palestine. It also addressed the role of Palestinian organisations.

As comrade Muhammad Hussam explained in his talk: "There is another force other than Hamas and Fatah, i.e. the bourgeois factions, that we must rely on and that is the only force capable of leading the Palestinian struggle towards victory: the working class of Palestine, the region and the world… There is no solution to the Palestinian question within the narrow confines of the capitalist system based on private ownership of the means of production and the nation-state."

Build the Revolutionary Communist International in the Middle East!

The Revolutionary Communist University 2024: The Power of Ideas, was a great success, and all the comrades who helped organise and participated in it should be proud to be a part of a revolutionary International that is building not only in the Middle East, but all around the world.

We organised the University despite all difficulties, as we are all workers and students who are exploited by the capitalist system like the rest of the working class and the masses. A key feature of the Bolshevik spirit, however, is precisely the desire, ability and readiness to overcome all such obstacles and difficulties. This is the distinctive feature of Lenin’s struggle throughout his life, as comrade Nourredine explained in his talk on Lenin.

The RCI has achieved great successes on all levels and in all parts of the world. We now have a presence in several countries in the Middle East and we shall continue to grow despite the extremely difficult circumstances.

The success of the second Arabic-language school of the RCI is only the beginning. It is a single step in the vital process of defending Marxist theory and building revolutionary organisations in every country in the Arabic-speaking world. As a comrade from Egypt noted:

"The university represents a success, especially at a critical period like the one we are living through. We can consider it a step forward to help us reach cadres who will join the International in the coming period."

The capitalist system is collapsing and the crisis is getting deeper and deeper. The Middle East is one of the regions hardest hit by the capitalist crisis: it has seen declining living standards, wars and civil wars, but also revolutions.

This shows the importance of our struggle and our work. As the crisis continues to deepen and periodically erupts to the surface in one country after another, we must build real revolutionary communist parties that can lead the working class to victory and eliminate the capitalist system.

The communist movement has been in decline for decades in our region, and its reputation has been tarnished by the Stalinists and the sectarians just as it has been slandered by the ruling class and the dictatorial capitalist regimes. Yet, at every historical turning point the validity of Marxist theory is proven over and over again. We are determined to raise the clean revolutionary communist banner high and plant its seeds in the soil of our region once again.

As one of the comrades from Syria said: "The sun of true socialism cannot be extinguished, and this is what prompts us to take this matter seriously, intensify our reading, and always be ready to engage in relentless struggles."

After the event, a comrade from Egypt said: "Yesterday was the last day of the University, and I now feel an emptiness that will only be filled by a new theoretical discussion. I thank the comrades for these important discussions. Until we meet again for new discussions, towards an International!"

The Revolutionary Communist University has ended, and now it is time to get to work. We must make sure to return to our workplaces, universities and working-class neighbourhoods to spread these ideas and win the vanguard of workers and youth to the banner of revolutionary communism.

Join us in conveying these ideas to wider and wider layers of the working class and revolutionary youth. Join us in building the revolutionary leadership of the working class.

Long live the working class!

Long live the world socialist revolution!

Long live the Revolutionary Communist International!